Our Team

CS Atul Mehta (Founder Partner)

B.Com, B.G.L. / Atul Mehta FCS, B.Com, B.G.L.

CS Atul Mehta co-founder at Mehta & Mehta is also a practising Company Secretary and has experience of more than 25 years in the field of corporate law, capital market, and HR. He is also the founder of Mangalam Placement Private Limited.

After starting as a practising company secretary, Atul Mehta served as company secretary compliance head for 5 years. He is a secretary of the International Association of Company Secretaries comprising 42 global countries as its members.

President of the Institute of Company Secretaries (ICSI) for 2015-16, he has also been legal head for more than four years while simultaneously continuing consultancy and practice in legal background.

The former chairman of the Western India Regional Council (WIRC) he has also been a member of the Central Council of ICSI. He is also a faculty for various training programs conducted at WIRC such as ICSI-CCGRT and various other B-schools. Apart from being the founder and head of the department at the institute, he is also an Independent Director at various companies. Further, he is also part of the committee of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and a member of the RBI Committee. He is also a part of the Institute of Directors (IOD).

His strong associations with ICSI in the past are listed here:

• President, ICSI, 2015
• Central Council Member, ICSI 2011 onwards
• Chairman, Capital Market Committee, ICSI
• Member, Secretarial Standard Board, ICSI
• Member, Finance Committee, ICSI
• Member, Corporate Laws and Governance Committee, ICSI
• Member, Practising Company Secretaries Committee, ICSI
• Member, Information Technology Committee, ICSI
• Co-chairman, Centre for Corporate Governance, Research and Training
• Ex-ocio Member, Western Regional Council of India (WIRC)
• Chairman, The ICSI, 2009

He was also a member of the Company Law Committee (6 members), Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

CS Dipti Mehta (Founder Partner)

CS Dipti Mehta B.Com, LLB/ Dipti Mehta FCS, LLB,  BCom

CS Dipti Mehta is a practising professional and co-founder of the Mehta and Mehta firm with expertise in corporate and legal consultancy and advisory services for more than 24 years. She is also a member of the International Women’s Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation and is a practising Insolvency Professional registered and has a Foundation Certificate of International Insolvency Law (INSOL). Starting her career as a CFO, our founder CS Dipti Mehta worked as an Administrator at the Thane Electric Supply Company Limited, a listed company for four years. She also went on to carry duties as Compliance Head and Finance Manager in the industry at the corporate level for 5 years. She has expert knowledge in FEMA, SEBI regulations, listing agreements, ESOP, buybacks, restructuring, due diligence, to winding up or closure of business, service taxes, labour laws, and also Intellectual property rights including trademarks, patents, copyrights, etc. She is a very dynamic professional and is specialised as Insolvency Professional for the past few years.

Apart from being well-versed in the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, she is also a Law and Arbitration Committee member for the Indian Merchant Chamber (IMC) as well as that of the Maharashtra State Council and National SME Council of CII. She is a firm believer in Woman Empowerment and has given speeches on the Prevention of Sexual Harassment in the Corporate world. She staunchly believes that productivity at the workplace can be doubled if women are provided with a comfortable and warm atmosphere.

Mr. Sudhakar Saraswatula CA, CS, LLB (Chief Consultant)

Mr. Sudhakar is a Fellow Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, Fellow Member of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India, Qualified Secretary of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators – UK and a Law Graduate from Mumbai University, with over four decades of wide-spectrum of experience in Legal, Secretarial, Finance and Accounts fields.

He Worked with Reliance Industries Limited as Vice-President (Corporate Secretarial) for 17 glorious years and with Berger Paints India Limited for about 15 years as Senior General Manager Finance & Accounts apart from other companies.

Mr. Sudhakar is a member for some prestigious committees, Boards and Groups which are listed here:

• Member, Secretarial Standards Committee of ICSI and Vice-Chairman of Expert Committee on Secretarial Standards of ICSI for the years 2021and 2022.
• Member, Secretarial Standards Board of ICSI, since 2016 onwards.
• Member, Vision Core Group and Vision Implementation Group of ICSI and member of several other committees.
• Member, Corporate Affairs Committee of PHD Chamber of Commerce & Industry since 2017 to 2022
• Member Ethical Standards Board of ICSI for the year 2023
• Chairman of Working Committee of ICSI for Youth Board Meeting Competitions
• Member ESG Committee of Delhi Management Association

Furthermore, Mr. Sudhakar is a Regular faculty at Institute of Directors (IOD) and Guest faculty at Indian School of Business (ISB), NISM (National Institute of Securities Markets), K J Somaiya Institute of Management, Mumbai, ICLS Academy, a Central Training Institute of Ministry of Corporate Affairs. Also, he is a Guest speaker at the programs organized by Marcus Evans, Wolters Kluwer’s IIM Mumbai and IIT Roorkee.

Mr. Sudhakar so far addressed approximately 900 plus workshops, seminars, conferences, training programs and webinars organized by ICSI, ICAI and ICWAI, several other Chambers of Commerce. He has Contributed for the several articles on Corporate Laws, Management and Corporate Governance to Professional journals & financial newspapers and is regular faculty Member for SMTP / MSOP / CLDP of ICSI for over 20 years.

Mr. Sudhakar is a Chairman of Study Circle Committee of NIRC of ICSI for over 12 years.

Mr. Rajendra Moholkar (Advisor)

Rajendra Moholkar (64) has over 40 years work experience. He is M. Com., AICWA, ACS and Masters in Finance (MFM). His experience is mainly in corporate secretarial field where he has over 30 years experience. He was with Tata Consultancy Services Limited (TCS) from August 2010 and worked as Company Secretary of TCS from April 2017 to October 2021. He retired from TCS on January 31, 2022.

Prior to TCS, he worked as Company Secretary of Citigroup Global Services Limited, since November 1996 until its merger with TCS in October 2013 and as Company Secretary of ICICI Securities and Finance Co. Ltd. for about 4 years. His other work experience includes working with Raymond, Mahindra & Mahindra and Blaze Advertising in accounts, taxation and allied fields for about a decade. He also worked as a lecturer for two acadmic years in leading commerce colleges in Mumbai.

Post his retirement in January 2022, he is doing freelancing work in the field of corporate secretarial and has handled various assignments inter alia with Tata group and others.

Mr. Ajay Walimbe (Chief Consultant)

Mr. Ajay Walimbe is a Company Secretary, a law graduate and has acquired a masters’ degree in Commerce with Finance & Accounting. He is also qualified as an Insolvency Resolution Professional of IBBI. He has diverse professional experience over 30 years having spent as a Company Secretary & In-House Counsel with various Companies including multinationals like Novartis, Thyssenkrupp, Fiat and DHL.

Mr. Walimbe recently retired from Phoenix ARC Private Limited (part of Kotak Mahindra group), was working as Business Head. During his tenure at Kotak for over 14 years, he was involved in Corporate Advisory, Regulatory Compliance and Business Development. Ajay has comprehensive experience in ARC compliance, acquiring and restructuring of nonperforming loans, drafting resolution plans in the process of IBC and recovery of debt through stressed asset management.

In addition, Mr. Walimbe is also a visiting faculty for various Management Institutes including ICSI, NISM. Being well versed and passionate about Indian stock market and as a qualified Equity Research Analyst he has been regularly interviewed on various television channels on economics, stocks & investments.

Ms. Ashwini Inamdar (Senior Partner)

Ms. Ashwini Inamdar is a Fellow Member of ICSI and has a Masters in Law. She has an overall experience of 15 years. She started her career with a listed company – Cummins India Limited. Currently as a Senior Partner at Mehta and Mehta, Company Secretaries she is handling a portfolio of 300 plus clientele including top 100 listed companies.

She specializes in Listing of Companies on the Stock Exchanges and has a vast experience in matters relating to the Listing Agreement, Takeover Regulations and Companies Act. She is a certified POSH trainer and regularly trains corporates including SBI for Insider Trading Regulations and Listing Regulations.

She is also a certified CSR professional from ICSI.

Mr. Jagdish Patel (Partner)

Mr. Jagdish Patel is a Company Secretary with over 30 years in practise under the name of Jagdish Patel & Co which is now merged with Mehta & Mehta. He is a pioneer and first ever Company Secretary to start his practise in Vapi, Gujarat.

He plays a predominant role in corporate management, rendering corporate advisory services, due diligence and corporate restructuring by way of advising, organizing and implementing mergers, demergers, compromises and arrangements, capital market issues, capital reduction, transaction advisory and documentation, compliance management services, advising and assisting in dealing with offences and prosecution under the Companies Act, SEBI Act, compounding of offences, answering show cause notices, handling inspections and investigations, obtaining relief and advising on remedial action to be taken.

Ms. Alifya Sapatwala (Partner)

CS Alifya Sapatwala is an Associate Member of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India and is also a Commerce & Law Graduate from Mumbai University. She possesses around 10 years of experience in the Corporate Secretarial and legal field. She specializes in listing, FEMA and NBFC compliances and has been handling compliances under various corporate laws for both listed and unlisted companies.

Mr. Arun K Kamalolbhavan (Partner)

Mr. Arun K Kamalolbhavan is a Fellow member of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India. He has Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management in Finance from Jain College and has a degree in Bachelor of Science in Mathematics.

Served as Chairman of the Kochi Chapter of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (2017)

Served as a member of the ICSI Corporate Law Publications Committee and Research Committee of the SIRC of the ICSI

Keynote speaker on National Seminars

Served as a faculty for Institute of Directors (IOD), ICSI for student development programs and conducted various sessions on Corporate Law matters.

He is the promoter and founding partner of the firm AKJP and Associates Company Secretaries which eventually merged with Mehta and Mehta and serves as its Kochi branch office. He has distinguished exposure, and over a decade of experience in the corporate world. He has expertise in various spheres of secretarial advisory and plays a predominant role in corporate management, corporate litigations and resolution of shareholder disputes, rendering legal advisory services as well as carrying out various types of due diligences, advising, organizing and implementing acquisition of control, setting up of companies, limited liability partnerships, appearances, advising and assisting under the Companies Act, SEBI Act, FEMA, Trademarks and compounding of offences, obtaining requisite approvals required from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in the event of foreign investment in an Indian company, whether in the form of joint ventures, or wholly owned subsidiaries.

He is also associated and worked with various Multinational corporate like Reuters, Unisys and Deutsche Bank. Handled critical compliance issues related to recent developments in the corporate world about strike off and disqualification of directors.

Ms. Monali Bhandari (Partner)

Ms. Monali Bhandari is a practicing Company Secretary having over 10 years experience in the fileds of Compliance, Secretarial and Legal under the Companies Act,2013 and allied acts. She began her career as a partner in Jagdish Patel and Company, a partnersip firm in practice for over 30 years.

Her knowledge includes Corporate Legal Consultancy, Companies Act, LLP Act, Due Diligence, Secretarial Auditm Factory Due Diligence, Corporate Due Diligence, Managing Scrutinizer functions at General Meetings and Postal Ballot and other Certificate based compliances under SEBI LODR.

CS Jasveen Bindra (Partner)

Jasveen Bindra is a member of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India as a practicing professional. She secured an All India Rank 9 in her CS Executive Examination. She is a Partner at Mehta & Mehta. She has an enriching experience in the fields of Corporate Restructuring, Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) Compliances, Strategic Due Diligence and many such fields. She has also authored several articles in the fields of insolvency and corporate restructuring and has been a speaker at several platforms.
She has dealt with several cases in the following fields:

1. Initiation of Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process;
2. Handholding of Insolvency Professionals for the smooth conduct of Corporate Insolvency
   Resolution Process (CIRP) and Liquidation process;
3. Process specific compliances during Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process, Liquidation and
   Voluntary Liquidation of a Corporate Person;
4. Recovery of operational debt by Micro and Small Enterprises under the Micro, Small and Medium
   Enterprises Development Act, 2006;
5. Corporate Restructuring and Strategic Management;
6. Due Diligence of Companies;
7. FEMA Compliances;
8. Drafting and Review of Commercial and other agreements;
9. Company Law compliances;
10. Other Corporate Laws.
    She has also attended several meetings of the Committee of Creditors, Board Meetings and Annual
    General Meeting as an invitee.

Ms. Sarita Kakani (Partner - Branch Head)

Dr. Sarita Kakani is a Company Secretary & Legal Professional with 9 years of experience in the fields of Compliance, Secretarial and Legal.

She is Doctorate in ‘Commerce & Management’, and her subject is “Franchise relationship management and modelling franchise success”. In addition, she holds Masters degree in Commerce, Law and Philosophy.

Her knowledge expands from Companies Act, Corporate Restructuring, Due Diligence, Securities Law compliance, SEBI regulations, Start-ups and SME, Secretarial Automation Software, and other economic & commercial laws.

Ms. Nayan Handa (Partner)

Ms. Nayan Handa, a Fellow member of ICSI (Institute of Company Secretaries of India), brings a wealth of expertise and a commendable track record in the field of Secretarial and Corporate Law, accumulating a total of 9 years of experience. With 7 years of post-qualification and 2 years of pre-qualification experience, She is well-versed in navigating the intricacies of legal and regulatory landscapes.

Her proficiency extends to efficient management skills, allowing her to independently engage with statutory authorities such as the Registrar of Companies, Company Law Board, and RBI. Ms. Handa is adept at e-filing of documents with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) and excels in routine secretarial tasks. Her skill set also encompasses the meticulous drafting of various agreements and legal documents.

Ms. Handa’s extensive knowledge and practical experience span a wide spectrum of legal domains, including Company Law, Securities Law, Legal Due Diligence, Trade Mark and Licensing related to FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India), Legal Metrology, and Trade. Her profound understanding of these areas positions her as a valuable asset in providing comprehensive legal counsel.

Furthermore, Ms. Nayan Handa specializes in handling matters related to High Value Debt listed entities, with a notable client portfolio that includes National Housing Bank. Her role involves navigating the complexities of financial regulations, ensuring compliance with relevant laws, and contributing to the overall governance framework of these entities.

In addition to her adeptness in corporate law, she is well-versed in matters concerning SEBI LODR (Securities and Exchange Board of India Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements). Her expertise in this area involves ensuring that the listed entity adheres to the regulatory obligations mandated by SEBI, thereby contributing to transparency and corporate governance. Ms. Nayan Handa’s multifaceted skills and extensive experience make her a trusted professional capable of providing strategic and effective legal counsel in the ever-evolving landscape of corporate governance, securities regulations, and high-value debt transactions.”

Ms. Raveena Dugar (Partner)

Ms. Raveena Dugar Agarwal has more than 5 years of experience in the Corporate Secretarial and  Compliance field. Her experience includes working in manufacturing sectors like Iron and Steel and polymer processing, besides consumer sector industries like sleeping mattress manufacturing units.

Besides, she has also worked with practising Company Secretaries in advisory roles.

Her forte includes Listing Regulations and Scheme of Arrangments, Due Diligence, Secretarial Audit, LLP  incorporation, Corporate Legal Consultancy, HR and Placement services and procurement process. She is also associated with the Insitute as a Career Awareness Programme (CAP) volunteer to help students come to a wise career choice.

CS Ronak Kalathiya (Partner)

Mr. Ronak Kalathiya is a Qualified CS Charter Holder with over 10 years of experience in the fields of Compliance, Secretarial and Legal under the Companies Act, 2013 and various SEBI Regulations. He started his career as a Senior Manager at an esteemed practising CS firm Jagdish Patel & Co. and was later promoted to Partner. He has hands-on experience and expertise in Corporate Due Diligence, Restructuring of the Company, Issue of preferential allotment of various securities, Secretarial Audit, Compliance Management of takeover transactions, Compliances of Buy Back, etc., and Labour Law compliances for setting up Unit/factory. He has worked with organizations from various sectors viz. manufacturing, engineering, EPC, and real estate and has rich experience in Corporate Secretarial Due Diligence and related Compliance matters.

Ms. Nupur Gadekar Kalyankar (Partner)

Ms. Nupur Gadekar is a member of the ICSI as a practicing professional and has completed MCom & pursuing law. She has worked as a consultant with various leading practicing CA and CS firms and comes with enriching 5+ years of experience in corporate secretarial compliances, secretarial audits, internal & concurrent audits for DPs, PMS Broking companies.

Mr. Nikhil Surdi (Associate Partner)

Nikhil Surdi is a member of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India as well as commerce and law graduate. He is an Associate Partner at Mehta & Mehta. He has worked with the listed corporation and has an enriching experience in the fields of SEBI Listing Regulations, Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) Compliances, Strategic Due Diligence, Labor law compliances, Companies Act and many such fields.

Ms. Sonia Sahni (Associate Partner)

Ms. Sonia Sahni is an Associate Member of Institute of Company Secretaries of having over 15 years of experience, in the field of Compliance, Secretarial and Legal. She holds a Master’s degree in Commerce, Bachelor’s in Law & CMA (Intermediate).

Ms. Mridul Sharma (Associate Partner)

Ms. Mridul is a member of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India and a law graduate from the Faculty of Law, Delhi University. She has also undergone a specialised Post Graduate Program in Management, Strategy & Leadership from The Strategy Academy, Kolkata. In her professional journey of 22 years, she has held multiple roles as Company Secretary, Head of Compliance and Head of Legal across various corporate sectors including steel manufacturing, hospitality, fintech, digital technology, investment management, banking, insurance, pensions, mutual funds, health care, oil & gas. She has acquired vast corporate experience, in both Indian and global domains, while working at the GFG Alliance (Liberty Steel Group), Estee Advisors, Lalit Suri Hospitality Group, Max New York Life Insurance and Centre for Sight. A unique aspect of her profile is expertise in setting up the legal, and compliance systems for innovative ventures of ET Money (Times Internet Limited), Airtel Payments Bank, Estee I-Alpha algo-trading technology, and the Micro-Pension model for the vast informal sector in India.

Ms. Mridul is well-versed in company law matters, corporate governance norms, AI technology, data privacy laws, restructuring & strategic alliances, FEMA, Finance sector regulations of SEBI & IRDAI, LODR, Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code, labour laws, IPR- trademarks & copyrights, and secretarial audit functions. She is equally passionate about knowledge sharing and professional networking and is a speaker at national-level conferences and corporate events covering niche topics.

Ms. Gauri Dharme (Department Head)

Ms Gauri Dharme is a professional having deep Interest and experience in company law,  labour Laws, IPR. She has a keen interest and experience of over 7 years in client acquisition, business strategy and planning, management services,  etc. an experienced and accomplished professional in the area of management and research services.

Comfortable in navigating, strategizing, implementing, and performing within multiple business units expertise in liasoning with various departments. Takeover business and management strategy.

Over all management and advisory to major co-operative housing societies in Pune.

The major areas of interest include client acquisition, management and advisory services with convergent thinking.

Ms. Kinjal Dedhia (Associate Partner)

Kinjal Dedhia is a member of Institute of Company Secretaries of India. She has an overall experience of 10 years practicing as a Company Secretary.She possesses practical experience and proficiency in establishing companies and LLPs, as well as ensuring compliance with all related regulations. Additionally, she is well-versed in corporate due diligence, company restructuring, preferential allotment and private placement of securities, secretarial audit, compliance with buyback regulations, and representing clients before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in matters pertaining to the Companies Act of 2013.

Ms. Sakshi Gupta (Associate Partner)

Sakshi Gupta is an associate member of the ICSI and has completed her bachelors in Commerce and Law. Previously, she has worked with Multi Commodity Exchange of India Limited and has experience in the fields of Incorporation of Company/ LLP, Increase of Capital, conducting Board and Annual General Meetings, compliance of SEBI Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirement (LODR), Securities Contracts (Regulation) (Stock Exchanges and Clearing Corporation) Regulations, SEBI Prevention of Insider Trading Regulations, Companies Act, etc.

Ms. Sheetal Thakar (Associate Partner)

Ms. Sheetal Thakar is an Associate Member of ICSI and possesses Masters’ Degree in Law from University of Pune; Bachelors’ degree in Law and Commerce; and Diploma in Cyber Law from Asian School of Cyber Law.

She carries over 14 years of experience in the legal profession handling various roles within legal framework including litigation & non litigation matters and 6 years’ experience as a Company Secretary in Infrastructure, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Industry.

She was also associated with the academic field for over 6 years imparting law education and provided mentorship to Company Secretary and Law students.

CS Namrata Tatiya (Associate Partner)

Ms. Namrata Tatiya is a Fellow Member of ICSI with 8 years of experience as a Practicing Company Secretary and has a Bachelor’s in Law and Commerce. She specializes in Legal and Corporate Secretarial matters, Startup Compliance, Mergers, etc. Ms. Namrata has worked as a consultant and advisor with various leading CA firms, Startups, Investors, Government Companies, Educational Institutes, Franchise businesses, etc. She is currently the Lead, Headstart Chhattisgarh, advisor to Women and Child department, Chhattisgarh and has served as Secretary, ICSI-Raipur Chapter. She is a Certified POSH trainer and eligible Independent Director.

Ms. Namrata has been a part of many startup & corporate events as a judge, conducted seminars with various organisations including central & state government. With an aim to make secretarial compliance accessible, she has trained more than 2500 budding entrepreneurs in their early startup journey for business set up and legal compliance. She has been invited as guest speakers in institutes like:

• IIM- KASHIPUR
• IIIT- RAIPUR
• RAISONI GROUP, NAGPUR
• IIM- RAIPUR
• ICSI- DELHI
• ICSI- GURGAON
• HEADSTART
• ITM- RAIPUR
• LSE- NAGPUR
• KIIT- BHUBANESWAR
• SHANKARACHARYA- BHILAI
• SHANKARACHARYA- RAIPUR
• AIC@36 INC
• RUNGTA INSTITUTE

Ms. Namrata is one of the delegates of UAE-India Startup exchange, 2023. She has been amongst top 25 women entrepreneurs in India as mentioned in the book ‘Eves against the odds’, Vol I, 2021.

Ms. Zankruti Dave (Associate Partner)

Ms. Zankruti Dave is an Associate Member of ICSI and possesses Masters’ Degree in Commerce, Bachelors’ degree in Law from Mumbai University and is currently pursuing Diploma in Cyber Law from Asian School of Cyber Law.

She carries 9 years of experience in the corporate secretarial profession handling various roles in corporate secretarial services including incorporation of foreign subsidiaries, regulatory compliances, trust related compliances and non-litigation matters.

Apart from academics she has keen interest in teaching, reading and travelling.

Mr. Teja Bathineedi (Associate Partner)

Mr. Teja is an experienced compliance professional with over 6.5 years of diverse industry experience in legal and compliance support. He is skilled in managing the Corporate Secretariat function and overseeing corporate governance and board administration processes. Mr. Teja holds a postgraduate degree in Financial Planning Services from Canada, is an Associate Member of ICSI, and has a Bachelor's degree in Commerce.

Qualifications: PG in Financial Planning, ACS, BCom

Mr. SK Dutta (Director - Legal and Compliance)

Mr. SK Dutta has 30+ years of professional experience and has worked in senior positions (as a CFO, a General Counsel, and a Company Secretary) in large corporates, Banks, and NBFCs. This gives him a wonderful opportunity to understand the Corporate Legal, Litigation, Compliance, Banking & Finance, Treasury, corporate finance, commercial, and Regulatory requirements of various industries and Businesses.

He possesses academic qualifications like ACIMA (London), FICWA, FCS, LLB, LLM, MBA, ACTM, CAIIB, MA (Eco), BSc etc. He also has a Diploma certificate from IIM Lucknow in IPRI and has in-depth knowledge of Regulation, Law for corporate practices, Private Equity, Debt and equity raising, all derivatives and loan swapping, restructuring and NCLT matters, securitization, incorporation of International funds, etc.

He has worked with SAIL, ACC, ESSAR, WELSPUN, KEPL, Shriram Transport Finance, SREI, True North PE, State Bank Group, Birla Sun Life, Livfin, etc. He specializes in banking and finance, debt restructuring, and insolvency matters, acquisition finance, real estate finance, structured finance, project finance, debt capital market, litigation and dispute resolution, employment dispute, and shareholder dispute