What happens if a real estate transaction worth hundreds of crores reaches a legal standstill, caught between a ticking clock, changing regulatory standards, and unresolved title issues? Most people find it concerning. Priyesh Sharma sees it as a familiar challenge and a chance to restore order to an otherwise chaotic situation.
With more than fourteen years of transactional expertise in institutional real estate, private equity, and M&A, Priyesh performs well under pressure. He is a business enabler who understands that every transaction has a strategic objective that needs to be safeguarded, aligned, and fulfilled; he is not merely a lawyer checking off legal boxes.
From his early days as a partner in a law firm to his current position as internal leader, Priyesh has established a solid reputation for being able to simplify complicated ideas. He ensures that legal judgments help, not impede, business results by working across functions, boundaries, and difficulties. He assists firms in closing deals with assurance and long-term goals in a dynamic real estate ecosystem impacted by foreign capital and regulatory evolution.
Redefining the Real Estate Deal Table
Priyesh has had the opportunity to work with leading law firms and exceptional dealmakers across sectors. Transactional work’s intensity, pace, and strategic depth have always inspired him. Being part of the team that structures, negotiates, and closes deals continues to be a driving force for him.
After spending ten years in law firms, Priyesh made a deliberate transition to a corporate legal role to understand how businesses operate from within and how legal strategy aligns with commercial decision-making on a day-to-day basis. Real estate, with its inherent complexity, constant negotiation, and evolving regulatory frameworks, emerged as a natural fit for an M&A lawyer like him.
Law with a Business Lens
Priyesh approaches high-stakes decisions by focusing on perspective, prioritization, and timing, always anchored in the broader business context. With experience in top law firms and in-house roles, he blends legal rigor with commercial pragmatism, eschewing disclaimers to take clear, accountable positions. In real estate and asset management, he simplifies complexity, highlights key risks, and identifies viable paths forward. Priyesh’s advice empowers stakeholders to act confidently, delivering solutions that are legally sound, actionable, timely, and aligned with long-term business goals. He aims to enable decisions that are both defensible and commercially sustainable.
From Practice Head to Purpose-Driven Professional
Priyesh shares, “I consider myself fortunate to have been elevated to the role of Partner relatively early in my career. Taking on the responsibility of Co-Head of the core practice area of M&A at ARA Law at that stage was a significant milestone that provided a strong leadership foundation and helped shape the trajectory of my professional journey.”
Leading both the M&A practice and the firm’s office was a humbling, challenging responsibility he embraced fully. This role involved managing high-stakes transactions and complex deal structures, balancing client expectations, and mentoring junior professionals. It required more than legal skill; it demanded building trust, fostering a leadership culture, and developing a strategic outlook.
The experience was transformative, sharpening his commercial thinking, honing his negotiation skills, and cultivating lasting client relationships. Crucially, it instilled the discipline and mindset to grow with the practice while supporting others’ growth.
Bridging Law and Strategy in Real Estate
Over his career, Priyesh has evolved from providing transactional legal advice in a law firm to becoming a strategic business enabler within a corporate setting.
He advises compliance and applies legal principles within operational, regulatory, and strategic contexts. This role demands both legal expertise and a deep understanding of deal dynamics, be it structuring platform investments with international investors or preparing multi-asset portfolios for REIT and exit readiness.
It has also required developing commercial acumen, cross-functional collaboration, and the foresight to pre-empt legal and regulatory risks. Priyesh notes, “Today, I see myself not just as a legal gatekeeper but as a facilitator of business strategy, someone who helps unlock value while managing risk in a highly nuanced sector.”
The Pillars of Effective Deal-Making:
During major transactions, Priyesh is guided by the values of clarity, accountability, and mutual respect. He ensures all stakeholders (legal, commercial, or external) understand their roles and objectives in fast-paced, complex deals.
Priyesh says, “I prioritize transparent communication, being straightforward about challenges, timelines, and expectations to build trust and prevent misalignment.”
Ownership is key; he leads by example, encouraging all team members to take full responsibility regardless of seniority. In high-stakes transactions, attention to detail and consistent follow-through are vital to avoid ripple effects from small oversights.
His style is defined by commercial awareness and a solutions-driven mindset. Legal positions must be robust yet commercially sensible. Whether negotiating or advising stakeholders, he focuses on understanding business pressures to find balanced, pragmatic solutions.
Turning Regulatory Challenges into Strategic Opportunities
In the regulatory-heavy and evolving real estate and M&A sector, Priyesh knows that staying ahead requires continuous learning, strong internal alignment, and external awareness. He stays connected with regulatory developments, such as FDI norms, SEBI guidelines, and real estate compliance, through industry updates, legal publications, and counsel networks.
But staying informed isn’t enough; Priyesh translates knowledge into business-relevant insights. He proactively flags emerging legal trends to management and operations, assessing their impact on transactions. Whether implementing structural changes to meet new investment rules or adapting processes for ESG requirements, he focuses on early action and practical execution.
He also ensures legal strategy aligns with broader business goals by collaborating with finance, investments, compliance, and business leaders. Priyesh emphasizes, “I encourage my team to think beyond legal risk and consider strategic opportunity because being future-ready isn’t just about compliance, it’s about positioning the business to lead in a changing environment.”
The Art of Collaboration and Litigation in Real Estate and M&A Law
Priyesh frequently faces challenges in real estate and M&A due to the sector’s complexity. A key challenge is cross-departmental coordination, as projects involve diverse stakeholders, from legal and finance to operations, with differing priorities and timelines. Clear communication and persistent engagement are essential to align these groups.
The evolving legal landscape is another hurdle. Changes in foreign investment laws, REIT regulations, and sector-specific compliance require constant vigilance and strategic interpretation.
Litigation is often complex, involving legal, commercial, local customs, land titles, and political factors. Resolving disputes demands a strategic, multi-dimensional approach balancing legal merits with practical realities and stakeholder management.
To overcome these challenges, Priyesh fosters collaboration, proactive communication, and pragmatic solutions. He also relies on external experts and counsel to enhance in-house capabilities, ensuring the best insights and support.
A Career Shaped by Appreciation and Industry Distinction
Priyesh’s greatest motivation comes from the appreciation and trust of his team, seniors, colleagues, and mentors, which has shaped his growth and commitment to excellence. Client recognition for managing complex, high-value transactions has been meaningful. Industry accolades have also boosted his confidence, including being named among the Top 10 Real Estate Legal Experts of 2024 by Tradeflock and included in the Global Power List of 2025 by Enterprise Review. These honors inspire Priyesh to keep pushing boundaries, stay updated with industry trends, and continue delivering tangible value to the organizations and sectors he serves.
When Timing and Opportunity Align
While discussing the firms that shaped his career path, Priyesh highlights, “It’s honestly tough to pick just one, because each of those firms came into my journey at a different phase and offered exactly the kind of mentorship and role I needed then.” That said, if he were to highlight one, it would be JSA; the timing was just right. The firm provided him with the right exposure to the industry, clients, and work that truly helped shape his focus and eventually led to his deeper involvement in real estate-driven M&A. JSA played a pivotal role in aligning his interests with the opportunities that followed.
The Winning Combination for Priyesh
Priyesh has worked with multiple domains. When asked about his favorite one, he says, “That’s a tough one! As a corporate lawyer, I genuinely enjoy working across all three: M&A, PE/VC, and Real Estate, each brings its own set of challenges and excitement.”
Real estate has become Priyesh’s new passion; he finds it dynamic and deeply connected to how businesses expand on the ground. While M&A forms his foundation, where he developed his core skill set, his experience in private equity and venture capital has enabled him to engage in some interesting cross-jurisdictional deals. If he had to choose, Priyesh would say that M&A with a strong focus on real estate is the area that excites him the most at present.
Family, Mentorship, and the Journey Within
He is a firm believer in life beyond the desk and traffic. Priyesh states, “For me, quality family time is non-negotiable. I don’t want to look back and realize that my daughter grew up while I was stuck in traffic jams or waiting for the ‘right time’ to leave the office.” He genuinely believes that, whether you are in a law firm set up or in corporate, if you know your work well, you also know how to manage your time around it. It’s not difficult, it just requires clarity on priorities and a belief that both worlds, personal and professional, can be nurtured without compromise.
Beyond work and family, one of his greatest passions is mentoring and teaching. He continues to stay connected with various law schools and, whenever he finds time, especially on weekends, he makes it a point to spend time with students in classrooms, sharing experiences, mentoring, and learning from their fresh perspectives too.
And then, there’s travel, something that truly resets him. He loves exploring new places, discovering diverse cuisines, and meeting people from different phases of life. There’s something powerful about being in a completely unfamiliar setting; it shifts his perspective on life and living. Every time he comes back from such a trip, he feels a renewed sense of clarity, both as a professional and as a person.
Perspective on Gen Z’s Role and Growth
Priyesh notes that Gen Z legal professionals bring fresh perspectives shaped by their values of flexibility, work-life integration, purpose, and digital fluency, offering opportunities to reshape the profession.
He advises young lawyers to master the fundamentals, understanding law deeply while considering business realities, as corporate law and M&A focus on enabling value-creating transactions. Curiosity, proactivity, and learning from all experiences—due diligence, negotiation, or integration—are key to growth.
Strong communication skills are critical for explaining complex legal issues clearly to business stakeholders and building trust and partnership. Patience, resilience, and integrity sustain careers through complex, lengthy deals. Priyesh also stresses fostering strong relationships within teams, clients, and external counsel, as collaboration and connections underpin long-term success in the legal profession.
Evolving with Purpose in a Shifting Legal Landscape
Looking ahead, Priyesh believes in setting ambitious goals while remaining open to the natural flow of opportunities and challenges that arise. While he has clear aspirations to deepen his expertise and assume greater leadership roles within the legal and real estate sectors, he understands that planning is an evolving process shaped by experience and insight.
He is particularly excited by the opportunity to contribute to increasingly complex and transformative transactions, especially as the real estate and M&A landscapes continue to evolve in response to innovation and regulatory shifts. Ultimately, Priyesh focuses on steady growth, delivering value, and staying adaptable and prepared to take the next step when the right moment presents itself.
