Civil & Property Disputes
Suits for possession, partition, specific performance and injunctions. Title diligence and pre-litigation notices to avoid court where possible.
Est. 2012 · Original & Appellate Side · Fort, Mumbai
Cases are won in preparation,not in oratory.
I represent individuals, families and businesses before the Bombay High Court and courts across Maharashtra — civil, commercial and family matters, with an honest assessment before we file and thorough preparation after.
Part I · Practice
Areas of practice
A deliberately narrow practice. If your matter sits outside these areas, I will say so at the first meeting — and refer you to counsel who does it well.
City Civil · High Court
Commercial & Contract
Recovery, breach of contract, shareholder and partnership disputes, arbitration under the A&C Act — drafting clauses that hold up, and enforcing them when they don't.
Family & Matrimonial
Divorce, maintenance, custody and domestic-violence proceedings — handled with discretion, and with settlement explored genuinely before contest.
Writs & Appeals
Writ petitions under Articles 226/227, first and second appeals, and revisions — where the record is everything, the record is prepared to be everything.
KR
Portrait — replace with a formal photograph, chambers or library backdrop
Adv. Kavita Rao · B.A. LL.B. (Hons.)
Part II · Counsel
Candour first, then strategy
Fourteen years ago I carried files up the stairs of the City Civil Court for a senior who taught me one rule: never let a client hear something in court that they didn't hear from you first. My practice is built on that rule — honest merits assessments, written opinions before we file, and no fee for telling you not to litigate.
Roughly six of every ten matters I take on resolve before trial — by negotiation, mediation or a well-timed notice. The ones that don't are prepared as if the judge has read nothing and opposing counsel has read everything.
EnrolmentBar Council of Maharashtra & Goa — MAH/1284/2012
EducationB.A. LL.B. (Hons.), ILS Law College, Pune — Diploma in ADR, NALSAR (2016)
MembershipsBombay Bar Association · Advocates Association of Western India
LanguagesEnglish · Hindi · Marathi
Part III · Record
Notable matters
Representative matters, anonymised. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes — every case turns on its own facts.
2024 · Bombay High Court · Commercial Appeal
A family business, divided
Acted for the minority branch in a partnership dissolution over a three-generation trading firm. Secured interim protection of stock-in-trade; matter settled at mediation with a buy-out at independent valuation.
2023 · City Civil Court · Suit for Specific Performance
The flat that was sold twice
For a homebuyer against a developer who resold an allotted flat. Decreed with costs after a three-year trial; execution completed without appeal.
2022 · Family Court & High Court
Custody, resolved without a contest
Negotiated a shared-parenting plan in a cross-border custody dispute, converted to consent terms — avoiding a contested trial the child would have carried for years.
2021 · Arbitration · Construction
₹4.2 crore in withheld dues
For a contractor against a developer under an EPC contract. Award for principal with interest; enforced under Section 36 within eleven months.
Detailed citations available on request, subject to client confidentiality.
Part IV · Method
How a matter proceeds
i.
The first meeting
Documents first, story second. You leave knowing the strengths, the weaknesses and the realistic timeline — in writing within three days.
ii.
Opinion & strategy
A written opinion on merits with options: notice, negotiation, mediation or filing. Fees for each path quoted upfront.
iii.
Preparation
Pleadings drafted, compilations prepared, witnesses readied. You review everything filed in your name before it is filed.
iv.
Hearing & beyond
You get a note after every effective hearing — what happened, what's next, what it costs. No surprises in court or in the bill.
Courts & forums
ForumSince
Bombay High Court — Original & Appellate Side
2014City Civil & Sessions Court, Mumbai
2012Family Court, Bandra
2015NCLT & NCLAT (briefing counsel)
2019Arbitral tribunals — MCIA & ad hoc
2017At the bar
2018 — Present
Independent practice
Chambers of Kavita Rao, Fort
Own chambers with two juniors; civil, commercial and family briefs, plus drafting and opinion work for two law firms.
2014 — 2018
Associate counsel
Chambers of Sr. Adv. R. M. Kulkarni
Appellate-side practice — writs, appeals, and the discipline of the compilation.
2012 — 2014
Junior counsel
City Civil Court, Mumbai
Trial-side apprenticeship: drafting, cross-examination notes, and every procedural mistake a junior is allowed to make once.
Part V · In their words
What clients say
She told us on day one our claim was weaker than we thought, and exactly why. Then she settled it for more than we expected. That first honest hour is why we trust her.
Proprietor, trading firmCommercial dispute · 2024After every hearing there was a note in plain language — what happened and what comes next. In four years of litigation before her, no lawyer had ever done that.
HomebuyerSpecific performance · 2023Part VI · Writing
Notes on the law
Plain-language notes for clients — what the law actually says, before you need it.
May 2026
Before you sign a flat-purchase agreement
The five clauses that decide most homebuyer disputes — and the one everyone skips.
Read the note →March 2026Mediation is not weakness
Why six of ten matters in my practice settle before trial, and why that is usually the win.
Read the note →January 2026What a legal notice can and cannot do
A notice is a chess move, not a threat. When to send one — and when it hurts your case.
Read the note →Part VII · Questions
Frequently asked
i.What does the first consultation cost?
A fixed fee of ₹3,000 for up to an hour, adjusted against professional fees if you engage me. If I advise you not to litigate, that advice is part of the same fee.
ii.How are fees structured?
Drafting and opinions at fixed fees; appearances per hearing or as a lump sum per stage, quoted in writing before we begin. No fee is revised mid-matter without written agreement.
iii.How long will my case take?
Honestly: it depends on the forum and the opponent. I give a realistic range at the first meeting and update it whenever it changes — most clients find the range more useful than optimism.
iv.Will you personally argue my matter?
Yes. Juniors assist with research and compilations, but every effective hearing is argued by me. Where a Senior Advocate adds value, I will recommend one and brief them.
v.Do you take up matters outside Mumbai?
Across Maharashtra regularly, and elsewhere through trusted local counsel whom I brief and supervise.
Part VIII · Consultation
Book a consultation
Chambers14, Advocates' Chambers, 2nd Floor, Hutatma Chowk, Fort, Mumbai 400 001
Telephone+91 98123 45678Clerk: Mon–Sat, 10:00–19:00
Emailchambers@kavitarao.inReplies within one working day
WhatsAppMessage the chambersFor appointments only — no legal advice on chat
HoursMon–Fri · 10:00–19:00 · Sat 10:00–14:00 · Sundays & court holidays closed
This website is for information only and is not an advertisement or solicitation, in accordance with the Bar Council of India rules. Nothing here constitutes legal advice; no advocate–client relationship arises from visiting this site or sending an enquiry.