Kokila Alagh

Kokila is an accomplished Corporate and Technology Lawyer, attaining almost two decades of legal practice in the Middle East. With a wealth of knowledge and experience, she has led global corporations, major government organizations, affluent clients, and cutting-edge start-ups.
Owing to her core strength as a specialized commercial and corporate legal practitioner, with a strong financial and technology background, profound entrepreneurial spirit, and extensive experience in the region, Kokila has established a boutique law firm—KARM Legal Consultants. Offering top-notch legal services on Fintech, Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, Data Protection, AI, Robo-advisory and open banking is the key competency of KARM Legal Consultants. Under Kokila’s leadership, and supervision, the firm has successfully on-boarded and advised multiple crypto-exchanges, token offerings (STO/UTO), consortium/enterprise blockchains, crowdfunding platforms, and payment gateway.
The KARM Founder has a keen interest in Data Protection laws and exposure to transactions across various industries, including healthcare, real estate, media, retail, and hospitality. Her expertise also extends to investments. Thereon, Kokila has been providing policy, regulatory, compliance, and governance advice to a prestigious clientele that offer highly specialized technology such as Fintech, MedTech, Insure Tech focused entities.
Kokila's expertise and achievements have been recognized in the legal community, as she has been nominated for various awards. Recently, she has been named among the Asian Legal Business Super 50 Lawyers in MENA 2022. With her unique legal insight and specialized knowledge, Kokila’s vision is invaluable for navigating the complex legal landscape in the Middle East and beyond.

Akshata Namjoshi

Akshata is an Associate Partner at KARM Legal and has extensive experience in the UAE. At KARM, she heads the FinTech, Gaming and Emerging Tech practice. In addition to that, she works extensively with crypto and tokenization-based projects. Throughout her time at KARM she has engaged with various crypto-exchanges, blockchains, payments platforms, crowdfunding platforms and game operators to advise on structuring, licensing and regulatory aspects.
Under her supervision, KARM team regularly engages with central banks, securities regulators and monetary authorities in the region to find regulatory solutions for niche projects. Additionally, Akshata has been instrumental in drafting of various policies on digital-ID and e-KYC in the Arab region through her engagement with Arab Monetary Fund and MENA Fintech Association. Akshata has been nominated as the ‘Rising Star Lawyer’ at various awards and has been recognized as one of the top 30 under 30 lawyers by Business World Legal in the past.

Soumya George

Soumya, a corporate commercial lawyer with over 9 years’ experience, is the Head of the Corporate – Commercial and Regulatory Practice of the Firm. With substantial exposure to the UAE market trends, she is skilled in handling complex legal transactions and guiding clients through intricate legal structures. She regularly advises on joint venture transactions, equity financing and strategic investments and counsels senior management on governance matters. As a Head of the Regulatory Practice team, Soumya is well-versed and knowledgeable in the laws and regulations of the financial regulators of UAE including the CBUAE, SCA, FSRA and DFSA. She efficiently manages regulatory filings and applications for clients in the financial services industry including payment service providers and VASPs. During her career, Soumya has represented major corporations (both public and private), broker-dealers, crypto-exchange, asset management companies, information/emerging technology and fintech companies on transactional and regulatory matters.

Carolina Rios

Carolina, a Ph.D. and licensed attorney with 15 years of post-qualification experience, is a recognized expert in blockchain technology, virtual assets, and crypto regulations. Her global experience spans Asia, UAE, LATAM, and the U.S., where she has advised startups, multinational corporations, and government institutions, showcasing her versatility in navigating the rapidly evolving tech and legal landscapes.

At KARM, she leads the Virtual Assets team, guiding clients on legal matters related to NFTs, gaming, token issuance, wallets, DAOs, DeFi protocols, and Web3 business structures.

Vaibhavi Tadwalkar

Vaibhavi Tadwalkar, Senior Associate at KARM, specializes in fintech and has extensive experience as a start-up lawyer. She has assisted in licensing applications and advised on commercial contracts and product structuring. Vaibhavi’s background in corporate transactions and fintech product launches has made her a key player in the sector.

Tanvi Ahuja

Tanvi, an associate at KARM, brings over three years of experience across corporate commercial and financial regulatory practice areas in the South Asian and the Middle East regions. Her experience has spanned a diverse client base, including multinational private equity funds, investment firms, developmental finance institutions, renewable energy investment firms, sustainable finance platforms, digital asset and token issuers and virtual asset broker-dealers. Additionally, she has worked on advising Metaverse as a Service (MaaS) providers, NFT marketplace issuers in the UAE, and Software as a Service (SaaS) providers in the MENA region.

Tanvi's legal expertise includes legal due diligence, corporate establishment, corporate structuring at different stages in a company’s life cycle, fundraising, and transaction advisory for mergers and acquisitions. She also has experience advising clients on employment and estate planning in the UAE. In the corporate commercial sector, she excels at drafting a range of M&A transaction documents, corporate structuring documents, agreements for services and collaborations, demonstrating her commitment to comprehensive legal solutions in a rapidly evolving corporate landscape in the Middle East.

Gail Pereira

Gail Pereira, Associate at KARM, focuses on Corporate Commercial and Virtual Assets Regulatory practices. She has advised on token issuance, payment aggregator applications, and business setup in ADGM. Gail’s experience includes M&A, private equity, and venture capital investments, with a strong focus on strategic collaborations and cross-border investments.

Ahlam Faouzi

Ahlam Faouzi, Junior Associate at KARM, has a diverse academic background in law and politics. She specializes in corporate structuring, drafting agreements, and regulatory compliance in the UAE and KSA. Ahlam has also assisted in company incorporation and regulatory applications for virtual asset and payment service providers.

Sarthak Chawla

Sarthak is an Associate at KARM Legal and has worked in the M&A and Private Equity space in India earlier. He has advised gaming startups, fintech startups, and startups in the virtual asset landscape in their regulatory applications and restructuring processes. He has also assisted clients in their general corporate transactions involving different verticals of commercial agreements. At KARM, he works across the verticals and assists in matters related to Gaming, Blockchain, Virtual Assets, Financial Technologies and other emerging technologies. He has advised multiple clients on fundraising through seed and crowdfunding and setting up of cryptocurrency exchanges. Additionally, he has also advised clients on their regulatory applications.

Medhavi Mishra

Medhavi is an accomplished legal professional specializing in fintech, digital businesses, and emerging regulatory frameworks. With multi-jurisdictional experience spanning India and Dubai, she has advised international companies on compliance frameworks, data protection laws, and intellectual property rights.

Her expertise includes drafting and negotiating complex commercial agreements, service contracts, and regulatory policies for technological platforms and digital services. She is also skilled in conducting legal research on evolving regulatory landscapes, ensuring businesses remain compliant across multiple jurisdictions.

Arjun Uppal

Arjun Uppal serves as Of-Counsel in KARM's FinTech Department and has over 12 years of experience with leading law firms, including his most recent role as a Partner with AZB & Partners. 

Arjun’s practice spans a wide range of regulatory matters. He has extensive experience in advising businesses in the FinTech and financial services space. Arjun’s expertise has been assisting clients with legal and regulatory matters connected with electronic payments, e-wallet and new-age Fintech solutions. He also focuses on data protection practice, advising clients on data protection and privacy measures. 

He is a published author on FinTech and data protection, having authored various publications and articles on topical and interesting industry-focused topics. 

Arjun is an enrolled as an Advocate with the Bar Council of Delhi (India) and holds a Certificate of Practice from the Bar Council of India.

With a pragmatic approach that balances legal precision with commercial insight, Arjun plays a key role in helping clients navigate the complex and evolving regulatory landscape in the FinTech sector. His deep domain knowledge and strategic counsel contribute significantly to KARM's capabilities in this space.