Minu Dwivedi

Minu has over 20 years of work experience.

Her practice area is General Corporate and Commercial with special focus on Labour and Employment, White Collar Crimes, FCPA, Anti-Corruption and Anti-Bribery, Disciplinary and Other Workplace Investigations, POSH, Ethics, HR and Corporate Governance. Additionally, she also advises on specialized areas such as Education, Food laws, Drugs and Cosmetics, Statutory and Operational Compliances, Foreign Direct Investment, Environment, Biodiversity, Legal Metrology, FCRA, and Impact Investment work.

She is adept in leading matters for a wide spectrum of domestic and international clients across diverse sectors including IT, Professional Services/Multinational Consulting Firms/Delivery Centers, FMCG, Manufacturing, Life Sciences, Energy, Telecom, Healthcare and Pharma, Hospitality, Tourism and Retail, Education, NGO, Logistics and Transportation.

She is actively engaged in assisting clients on workplace policies and processes, statutory compliances, compensation and benefits structuring, onboarding and off-boarding support, employment agreements and handbooks, corporate investigations, boardroom dispute resolution, HR audits, implementation of retirement/retention schemes, immigration, mobility and other international employment issues, industrial relations, trade unions and labour welfare measures, risk mitigation, litigation, separation strategies and employment law issues within an M&A transaction or other transactional context, and regularly conduct trainings on inclusion and diversity, anti-discrimination, POSH and the new Labour Codes.

She serves as a day-to-day legal advisor and supports the HR departments of multiple clients at various stages of their employment process, from initial hiring and background checks to sensitive termination decisions and the enforcement of post-termination restrictive covenants, confidentiality, non-solicitation, and non-disparagement obligations.

She specializes in conducting investigations in the context of FCPA, Anti-Corruption and Anti-Bribery and Disciplinary Matters, including conducting in-person interviews with the relevant individuals, preparing and reviewing documentation pertaining to the investigation, preparing a detailed report on the investigation findings, recommending corrective measures and assisting in their implementation.

• An American multinational company having three subsidiaries in India with operations in Hyderabad, Chennai, and Kochi: Conducted a detailed independent internal investigation into claims of suspected misconduct, kickbacks, anti-company activities, breach of fiduciary and statutory duties, financial impropriety, corporate processes involving the finance, administration, HR, and IT functions and vendor selection/ management process whereby violations of legal provisions, as well as internal controls, corporate policies, code of conduct, abuse of authority, anti-bribery and anti-corruption provisions and conflict of interest issues were identified. As a sub-set of the above investigation, Minu handled a post-term sexual harassment complaint anonymously made by a former employee against the key witness in the investigation as well as other retaliatory and ancillary complaints received during the investigation period, drafted all required documentation/communications and assisted in implementation of the recommended actions including resolution of the issues that arose during the implementation process without compromising the integrity of the overall investigation process.
• The Indian subsidiary of an American software production and consulting company having operations in Chennai and Bengaluru: Provided crucial guidance and sensitized the company’s management in India and the US on handling of a sexual harassment complaint against a senior employee by working closely with the internal committee to compliantly manage and complete the redressal process in a cost-effective and time-bound manner, assisted in creating a safe working environment for female employees, sensitively handling and managing the parties to the sexual harassment complaint, the company’s stakeholders, and the function heads both in India and the US and advised on issues of cyberstalking and cyber harassment anonymously perpetrated by the accused against the victim, de-escalation of the ramifications arising therefrom, and guided the company in the implementation of more robust processes and policies on sexual harassment, the necessity of having an anti-fraternization policy and related reporting of consensual relationships at the workplace.
• A global pharmaceutical company having manufacturing operations in India: Investigated and submitted findings on a senior employee cum director’s business profile, political connections and associations, criminal records, financial probity, reputation, perceived integrity, social media presence, and the potential exposure therefrom to the global pharmaceutical company, reviewed the company’s contractual arrangement with the global staffing and recruitment firm that had sourced and placed such employee as the head of India operations, advised on actions to be initiated against the employee and other measures to be undertaken in parallel at the management, functional, and operational levels, the company’s rights and remedies against the global staffing and recruitment firm and recommended employment actions to amicably separate with the senior employee without disruption of the business operations in India and handled the employee’s exit from directorship, subsequent appointment of an additional director on the board of directors and other corporate compliances.

• B.A. Philosophy (Hons.), Delhi University (2002)
• LL.B. Campus Law Centre, Delhi University (2005)