Legal support in India, for companies that cannot afford to be told to wait.

Broadly five. A legal notice demanding payment. A complaint under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act if a cheque was given and has bounced. A summary suit under Order XXXVII of the Code of Civil Procedure if the claim rests on written documents. A commercial suit or arbitration depending on what the contract says. Or, where the debt exceeds the statutory threshold, an application under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, which many Indian companies take more seriously than a civil suit.

Which of these fits depends almost entirely on your paperwork, so the first thing we ask for is documents rather than a call.

Yes. A foreign company can sue in Indian courts and can be sued in them. You do not need an Indian subsidiary or a place of business in India to bring a claim. What you do need is a properly executed power of attorney authorising someone to act and to sign pleadings on the company's behalf, and depending on the document, notarisation and apostille or consular legalisation in your own country.

Getting that authorisation drafted correctly at the start avoids objections later, and it is a common reason foreign claims lose time in the first few months.

It varies widely and anyone who gives you a confident single number is guessing. A cheque dishonour complaint or a summary suit generally moves faster than an ordinary civil suit. Commercial Court matters run to statutory timelines that are tighter than the general civil system. Arbitration can be quicker still, though enforcement afterwards adds time.

What we can tell you at the outset is the realistic range for your particular route and forum, and where the usual delays occur, so the decision to proceed is made with the timeline in view rather than in spite of it.

Yes, and it is the single most common way a good claim is lost. The Limitation Act, 1963 prescribes limitation periods, and for most money claims arising out of contract the period is three years from when the cause of action arose. Certain acknowledgements of debt in writing, and part payments, can extend it.

If an unpaid invoice in India is approaching three years, that should be looked at now rather than at the next board meeting.

Generally yes, where the award comes from a country that India has notified as a reciprocating territory under the New York Convention, and where the award and agreement satisfy the requirements set out in Part II of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. Enforcement is resisted on limited grounds, and Indian courts have over recent years narrowed how widely those grounds are read.

The practical questions are usually whether the award debtor has assets in India, and where they are, because that determines which court you apply to.

It depends on which country the judgment is from. Judgments of superior courts in territories that India has declared reciprocating can be executed directly under Section 44A of the Code of Civil Procedure, as if they were decrees of an Indian court. The United Kingdom, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates are among those notified.

Judgments from countries that are not notified, which includes much of continental Europe and the United States, cannot be executed directly. They have to be sued upon afresh in India, with the foreign judgment used as evidence. That distinction is worth knowing before you choose a jurisdiction clause, not after.

There is no universally correct answer, and the honest response depends on deal size, where the counterparty's assets sit, whether you expect to need urgent injunctive relief, and how much control you want over timelines and cost.

What we would say firmly is that a badly drafted dispute resolution clause causes more damage than almost any other clause in a contract. Clauses that name a non existent institution, mix arbitration with an exclusive court jurisdiction, or leave the seat unstated produce a preliminary fight before anyone reaches the actual dispute.

Sometimes, and sometimes not. A commercial failure to perform is generally a civil matter. Where there is evidence of dishonest intention at the time the money was taken, of misrepresentation, of forged documents or of diversion of funds, the position can amount to cheating or criminal breach of trust, and a criminal complaint becomes available alongside the civil claim.

We will tell you plainly which of the two your facts support. Dressing up a contractual dispute as a criminal complaint tends to be seen through, and it can damage the civil case running beside it.

Usually not for routine hearings. Advocates appear on your behalf, and much of the Indian court system now supports video appearances for parties. Attendance is generally required only where evidence has to be led and a company witness must be cross examined, and even then arrangements can sometimes be made.

Most of our foreign clients handle an entire recovery matter without leaving Europe.

We act. Onesto Legal is the in-house legal practice of Onesto Management Consultancy, with advocates in New Delhi. Instructions are handled by our own team rather than passed to an outside firm, and where a matter needs local counsel in another state or specialist senior counsel, we brief and manage them ourselves and remain your point of contact.

Depending on the matter, on a fixed fee for defined pieces of work such as a notice, a contract or an opinion, or on a stage basis for litigation with fees agreed before each stage begins. You are told what a step costs before it is taken.

We will also say when the likely recovery does not justify the cost of pursuing it, because that is more useful to you than a file that stays open.