Legal Lighthouse is a boutique maritime law firm in Delhi NCR. Our founding counsel commanded ships at sea before he came to the Bar — so a single instruction gives you both the technical reading of the facts and the legal case, from one source. We also advise on civil, commercial and corporate matters and criminal defence.
Founding Counsel
Capt. Pramod Kumar Singh
Master Mariner (F.G.) · 28 yrs at sea & in shipping · Advocate
Legal Lighthouse is a boutique maritime law firm, small by design. Our clients are shipowners and managers, P&I clubs and correspondents, FD&D insurers, overseas maritime firms needing Indian co-counsel, and seafarers. They instruct us when a vessel is under arrest, a cargo is short or damaged, or a casualty has to be answered for, and they need a view that is precise rather than performative.
The practice draws on three decades of experience across courts, tribunals and boardrooms in Delhi NCR and beyond — with particular strength in maritime and admiralty law, alongside civil, commercial and corporate matters and criminal defence.
Being boutique is a deliberate choice. It means every brief is handled personally by senior counsel. It means every client speaks directly to the lawyer running their case. And it means we accept matters selectively — capacity is finite, and so is attention.
Being boutique is a deliberate choice — capacity is finite, and so is attention.
Our work is concentrated in three core areas, led by counsel with subject-matter depth and active courtroom experience — with particular strength in maritime and admiralty law. We accept matters selectively; capacity is finite, and so is attention.
India-side counsel for casualties, cargo claims and ship arrest — for shipowners, charterers, P&I clubs, FD&D insurers, overseas maritime firms, manning agents and seafarers. Ship arrest and release, charterparty and cargo disputes, marine insurance and P&I, and seafarer matters before the coastal High Courts in their admiralty jurisdiction.
Learn more →Contract and commercial disputes, commercial arbitration, company-law and shareholder matters, and advisory work for businesses across sectors. Counsel for both claimants and defendants.
Learn more →Trial defence, bail and anticipatory bail, white-collar and economic-offence work, and appellate practice in the High Courts and the Supreme Court. Led by counsel with twenty-five years at the Bar.
Learn more →We act as India-side legal counsel for P&I clubs and correspondents, defence and recovery support for FD&D insurers, and Indian co-counsel for overseas maritime law firms — on casualty response, cargo claims, ship arrest and security, and recovery actions. You instruct once; we coordinate across India's admiralty jurisdictions and run the matter wherever it needs to be run.
Capt. Pramod Kumar Singh brings a deep and unusual blend of experience to the bar. Ten years in command of vessels at sea as a Foreign-Going Master Mariner, followed by fourteen years as General Manager of marine operations and four years as Director of Marine & Commercial Operations — nearly three decades of working knowledge of bills of lading, charter parties, marine claims, vessel safety, and shipping commerce before he turned to the law.
His commercial grounding is directly relevant to P&I and chartering work: fourteen years running marine operations and four years as Director of Marine & Commercial Operations, handling chartering, claims, and the day-to-day commerce of running ships. He is a Member of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers (M.I.C.S., UK). For survey and marine-insurance assessment, the firm instructs IRDA-licensed marine surveyors as each matter requires, under counsel's supervision.
That depth of subject-matter knowledge anchors the firm's maritime practice and informs its civil, commercial and criminal work. Capt. Singh appears before the High Courts and the Supreme Court of India.
B.A., LL.B. · 25 Years at the Bar
Adv. Rahul Sharma leads the firm's criminal practice and is its senior-most counsel after the founding counsel. In twenty-five years at the Bar he has conducted trial defence, bail and anticipatory bail matters, criminal appeals and revisions, and quashing petitions under Section 482 CrPC (now Section 528 BNSS), before the Delhi District Courts and the High Courts of Delhi, Punjab & Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh. His practice extends to white-collar and economic-offence work, and he brings to every brief the forensic discipline, cross-examination craft, and courtroom judgment that a quarter-century of criminal trials confers.
LL.B. · LL.M.
Focused full-time on the firm's maritime practice. Has independently handled ship arrest and release proceedings under the Admiralty Act, 2017, and a range of seafarer matters — wage claims, repatriation issues and MLC 2006 disputes.
Master Mariner (F.G.) · B.Sc. Nautical Science (Distinction) · LL.B.
The firm's second Master Mariner. Capt. Chauhan holds a Certificate of Competency as Master (Foreign-Going) and commanded bulk carriers, following sixteen years at sea and progression through the ranks from cadet to command with Anglo-Eastern, Synergy and Fleet Management. Ashore, his work covers vessel operations, QHSE and regulatory compliance across fleets of bulk carriers and container vessels: voyage performance and optimisation, laytime and demurrage, vetting and terminal questionnaires, RightShip and audits, flag-state inspection, incident investigation and root-cause analysis, risk mitigation, safety management systems, charterparty compliance, cargo claim handling, and liaison with P&I clubs, underwriters and insurers. A law graduate trained in international commercial arbitration under the UNCITRAL framework, he reads operational reality and legal exposure together. In a cargo or charterparty dispute, he reads the documents the way the people who created them do.
B.A. LL.B. · Gold Medalist
Supports the firm's maritime and civil-commercial matters with drafting, legal research and hearing preparation, including ship arrest and release proceedings and seafarer disputes.
Advocate
Works on the firm's maritime and admiralty matters — ship arrest and release, charterparty and cargo claims, and seafarer disputes. Drafting, research, and hearing preparation in support of the maritime practice.
Maritime & litigation
Works on the firm's maritime and admiralty matters — supporting ship arrest and release proceedings, cargo and charterparty claims, and seafarer disputes, with drafting, research, and hearing preparation. Careful attention to procedural compliance.
Law Student · 3-year LL.B.
Supports the practice with legal research, drafting, and hearing preparation across matters. Works directly with associates and senior counsel.
Our process is deliberately structured. It ensures that no matter the complexity of the brief, you always know where things stand and what comes next.
i.
A confidential conversation — in person, by phone, or over video — where we hear the matter, ask the right questions, and tell you honestly whether we can add value.
ii.
Document review and a written opinion outlining the legal position, options, indicative costs, and a realistic view of outcomes. No optimism without basis.
iii.
A clear engagement letter, a defined scope of work, and a single lead counsel who is your point of contact from filing to final order.
iv.
Diligent prosecution or defence, with structured updates after every material development. Transparency is not optional — it is the practice.
Legal Lighthouse grows by inviting careful, curious, and capable people who want to do serious work alongside senior counsel.
i.
Associate counsel · 0–5 years PQE
We're open to applications from qualified advocates with up to five years of post-qualification experience in any of our three practice areas — with a particular welcome for those drawn to maritime and admiralty work. Clear writing, careful research, and the temperament to work closely with senior counsel.
Please send your CV, a one-page cover note, and (where available) two recent writing samples.
ii.
Internships · Year-round intake
We accept applications from students in the 3rd, 4th, or 5th year of the integrated five-year LL.B. programme, or the 2nd or 3rd year of the three-year programme. Interns work directly with associates and senior counsel.
Please share your CV along with your year of study, university, and preferred internship dates.
Short, practical notes on the matters we work on most often — written for clients, in-house teams, and counsel who want a working view rather than a textbook one.
More cargo claims are lost to the calendar than to the merits. A claim that is sound on liability, well documented, and…
Read note →For a foreign shipowner, trader, bunker supplier, or P&I club holding an unpaid maritime claim, the practical question is rarely whether the…
Read note →Ship arrest is one of the most powerful remedies in maritime law. A vessel earning thousands of dollars a day in hire…
Read note →Articles publish periodically as the workload allows. For specific questions on a matter — not just commentary — please contact the firm directly.
If your question is not here, write to us directly — we typically respond within one working day.
Our practice centres on three areas: Admiralty & Maritime Law, Civil, Commercial & Corporate matters, and Criminal Defence. Our founding counsel's maritime background allows particularly deep work on shipping, charterparty disputes, ship arrest, marine insurance, P&I and cargo claims.
You may request a consultation through the enquiry form on this page, by email, or by phone at +91 98714 19797. We aim to respond to all enquiries within one working day and will confirm a mutually convenient time for the consultation.
Yes. All consultations and communications with our firm are kept strictly confidential and protected by attorney–client privilege under the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (formerly the Indian Evidence Act). Information you share is used solely to assess and act on your matter.
Yes. While our principal office is in Delhi NCR, we appear in courts and tribunals across India where the subject matter and forum require — including the Bombay, Gujarat and Madras High Courts for admiralty matters, and the Supreme Court of India where so engaged. For matters in regions where local representation is preferable, we co-counsel with trusted associates.
Fees are discussed transparently at the time of engagement and depend on the nature, complexity, forum and likely duration of the matter. We follow the fee guidance issued by the Bar Council of India. Depending on the matter, we may offer fixed-fee engagements for defined scopes or hourly engagements where appropriate. A written engagement letter sets out the agreed fee basis before work commences.
At engagement we agree a communication cadence with you — typically including written updates after significant hearings or developments, prompt responses to your enquiries, and advance notice of upcoming filings or court dates. Our boutique structure means you communicate directly with the counsel working on your matter, not through intermediaries.
We work in English and Hindi. All written work product — pleadings, advice and correspondence — is typically prepared in English in line with the working language of most courts and tribunals. Hearings and client conversations are conducted in whichever language you are most comfortable with.
No. Submitting an enquiry, sending an email, or other initial communication does not by itself create a lawyer–client relationship. A formal relationship arises only after we have conducted a conflict check, agreed scope and fees, and signed an engagement letter. Until then, please do not send confidential information you would not wish disclosed.
"A good advocate is not the one who promises certainty, but the one who tells you, plainly, where you stand — and what may be done about it." — The practice, in a sentence
Initial consultations are confidential and without obligation. We respond to all enquiries within one working day. Urgent maritime casualty and ship-arrest matters are answered out of hours — call or WhatsApp +91 98714 19797 directly.
Office
New Delhi, India
By appointment only
Phone
+91 98714 19797 +91 98101 16699Mon–Sat · 10:00 – 19:00 IST
All fields kept strictly confidential. We typically respond within one working day.
