In the initial phase of your career, you worked with various lawyers and practiced in areas like MCOCA, PMLA, PITA, DV Act, PCA, etc. What has been one of the most endearing experiences from that time?
One of the most endearing experiences from the early phase of my career was witnessing the practical application of legal principles in complex cases like MCOCA, NDPS, PCA, PMLA, etc. where constitutional safeguards and procedural nuances played a crucial role. I distinctly recall filing and handling a writ petition for a minor girl, Sakshi challenging the denial of her admission to FYJC (First Year Junior College) under the HSC Board despite her selection on merit through the First Come-First-Served (FCFS) round of the online admission process for the academic year 2019–2020. Sakshi had been allotted a seat in the reputed institution of the city, Mithibai College, Mumbai, but was arbitrarily denied admission despite vacancies. After the Hon’ble Bombay High Court stepped in, Sakshi got admission in Mithibai College, Mumbai, based on her merit. The Court’s decision made sure that she received the education which she deserved and was treated fairly. This matter marked my first independent appearance, wherein I undertook the drafting of the petition, completed the filing process and conducted the arguments before the Court and ultimately secured a favourable order for the minor girl, ensuring justice was served. The learning process was challenging, but those early years built the foundation for my independent practice and taught me to appreciate both the complexity of law and its real impact on people’s lives.
Coming from a B.Sc. background, what made you choose law as a career? How has your B.Sc. degree helped you in the legal landscape?
Though I pursued B.Sc. out of academic interest, my growing curiosity about social systems, justice, and access to rights gradually pulled me toward the field of law. During my undergraduate years, I became aware of the lack of legal awareness in everyday life, especially among women and marginalized communities. Motivated by this, I had filed a few RTI applications seeking information on public issues for instance, the persistent problem of non-functional street lights around our girls’ hostel area, drainage issue, etc. and these small steps that gave me a sense of law’s power to create transparency and accountability. These experiences shaped my decision to take up law not just as a career, but as a means to contribute meaningfully to society. That is when it hit me that law could be a powerful tool for change. My science background has actually helped a lot. It trained me to think clearly, work methodically and solve problems step by step. This approach really comes in handy when dealing with complex legal issues, especially in white-collar crimes and statutory offences with precision, clarity, and a structured mindset.
What motivated you to establish your own practice after gaining significant experience with various lawyers? Were there any hurdles you faced, and how did you navigate them?
After a few years of working with experienced lawyers, I reached a point where I wanted to build a practice that reflected my personal values like empathy, integrity, and client-centric advocacy. The desire for doing something on my own and deeper involvement in each case naturally led me toward independent practice.
Being a first-generation lawyer, living in a city like Mumbai, away from home, the journey was not easy. Building client trust, managing court appearances alone, and handling all the administrative aspects of running a practice were significant challenges. Yet, with time, I started getting good at matters and the real reward was the satisfaction of helping someone get justice which made every effort worthwhile.
The biggest hurdle came during the Covid-19 pandemic. Just as I had started practicing independently, the nationwide lockdown brought everything to a halt, especially in Mumbai. It felt like starting all over again. But with patience, hard work, and the trust of my clients and family, I slowly rebuilt my practice from scratch. Consistency, strong networks, and a growing support system helped me bounce back. That phase tested my patience and resilience, but ultimately strengthened my commitment to the profession.
What has been one of the most interesting or challenging cases you’ve encountered so far, and how do you prepare for such a matter?
One of the most challenging cases I have handled was a bail application in a double murder case which I have argued before the Bombay High Court and secured bail (BA/2666/2021). The gravity of the offence under Section 302 IPC meant I had to be extremely thorough. I spent a lot of time going through the FIR, charge sheet, forensic reports and witness statements and every detail mattered.
In such sensitive or complex matters, I have learned that preparation is not just about reading the case file. It is about thinking a few steps ahead. I try to anticipate what the other side might argue, apply my mind to the facts and legal issues and dive into relevant laws and precedents that can support the case. I also spend time planning how I will present the matter in court, not just what to say, but how to say it clearly and confidently.
At the same time, I make it a point to understand the client’s background and the full story behind the case. Knowing their situation, emotions and what is at stake helps me build a stronger, more grounded argument. After all, law is not just about rules, it is about people. That human side really matters in how you approach a case.
While dealing with various Criminal Law, Constitutional Remedies, and White-Collar Crimes over the years, what are some of the common issues you frequently encounter in criminal law cases?
One of the most common issues I have come across, especially in criminal law, is procedural lapses. Whether it is a delay in filing the FIR, improper collection of evidence from the crime scene, recording statements of the witnesses, non-compliance with mandatory provisions like Section 41A of Cr.P.C., these lapses often become crucial in bail arguments and trial strategy.
Another recurring challenge is the lack of awareness, both among accused persons and complainants, about their rights, laws of the country and legal remedies. Many clients approach us after having already made statements without legal assistance, or worse, not understanding the implications of their actions.
In white-collar crime cases, what stands out is the volume and complexity of documentation. These matters require not just legal knowledge but a strong grip over financial data, transaction trails, statutory compliance and application of mind. Misunderstandings often arise due to overlaps between civil and criminal liability, and part of our job becomes explaining the legal position in simple terms, both to clients and, at times, even to investigating officers.
What really helps is a combination of legal preparation and practical insight, understanding the ground realities, staying updated with the law and evolving jurisprudence and maintaining clear, consistent communication with clients at every stage.
When handling highly sensitive matters, especially those involving social evils like atrocities against women, how do you manage both the procedural aspects and the emotional sensitivity of the case? How does this affect your personal stress and mental health?
Cases involving atrocities against women are some of the most emotionally intense and legally demanding matters I handle. On one hand, you have strict procedural timelines like filing complaints before appropriate authorities, ensuring protection, custody and maintenance
orders, gathering evidence and on the other hand, you are dealing with someone’s trauma, fear and often a complete breakdown of trust in the system.
What I have learned is that you have to create space for both. I approach the procedural side with precision, ensuring that no technical lapse weakens the case. At the same time, I spend time building a rapport with the client, making them feel heard and safe, explaining to them about their rights and legal remedies available to them. Sometimes that means just being present and not rushing the conversation. Trust plays a huge role in such matters.
Emotionally, these cases do take a toll. It is hard to stay completely detached when you are witnessing the real impact on someone’s life right in front of you. I have had moments of helplessness, especially when systemic delays frustrate the client. To manage the stress, I try to set boundaries after work hours, talk to family members and peers who understand the space and stay grounded in the thought that I am doing my best, I can within the framework of the law.
Over time, I have realized that empathy does not weaken your professional edge and rather it strengthens your advocacy, especially in cases where legal issues are closely connected to real-life experiences.
You played a pivotal role in a case where the Bombay High Court ordered a re-investigation into a fatal road accident after four years. What were the key legal and strategic challenges in convincing the Court to reopen the case, and how did this decision impact the victim’s family and the broader discourse on delayed justice?
Yes, this was a deeply emotional and legally challenging case for me. The biggest hurdle was that the case had already been closed with the deceased, my client’s son who was wrongly named as the sole accused in the FIR and chargesheet. It had been more than four years since the accident, and no steps were taken by the police to trace the actual offender viz. a 10-wheeler container truck driver that had caused the accident and fled the scene.
The turning point for me was gathering and presenting strong evidence, particularly CCTV footage of the accident spot from which the involvement and negligence of the truck driver could be established. Strategically, I had to convince the Court that the original investigation was not only flawed but had caused additional trauma to a grieving mother who was fighting to clear her deceased son’s name from the FIR and chargesheet.
The Hon’ble Bombay High Court ordered a fresh investigation which led to correction of procedural errors and ultimately, the withdrawal of all baseless allegations against the deceased. This decision brought long awaited closure and dignity to the victim’s family. More importantly, it reinforced the judiciary’s role in correcting institutional lapses and revived public confidence in the justice delivery system. It was not just a legal win but it was personal justice. More broadly, this case sends a strong message that even delayed justice is not denied justice.
What guidance would you offer to law students and aspiring litigators hoping to chart a path like yours? Is there a particular mindset, skill set, or approach you believe is essential in today’s dynamic legal environment?
The first thing I would say is, there is no fixed formula for success in litigation. My path will be different from yours, and that is completely normal. What really makes a difference is sticking with it, being patient, staying consistent, and showing up every day, even when it feels like nothing is happening. That is when growth is quietly taking place.
In today’s legal environment, being a litigator is not just about knowing the law but it is about being responsive, reading people, handling pressure and adapting quickly. So, while courtroom exposure is important, equally important is the ability to listen carefully, communicate clearly and write persuasively. Even a well-drafted writ petition can set you apart.
One thing I always recommend to students is, utilise your time by doing internships with diverse lawyers, trial court practitioners, senior counsels, NGOs. Observe how they work, not just what they say in court. These early learnings will shape how you think and practice later.
And finally, believe in the long game. Litigation takes time. You may have to wait to argue your first matter or sign your first client. But if you are honest with your work, keep learning and stay grounded, opportunities do come.
Balancing professional commitments with impactful social engagements is no small feat. As General Secretary (Co-incharge of Nashik Region & Women Advocates’ Cell) with the MPCC, while also actively delivering legal awareness sessions and mentoring young law students, how do you manage your time and maintain personal well being amidst such a dynamic schedule?
Honestly, it is a constant balancing act and I am still learning! What helps me the most is planning and setting clear priorities. I make sure to block time in my week for legal work, social initiatives, student mentoring etc.
But I have also learned that it is okay to say no sometimes. I used to feel guilty about turning down opportunities, but now, I remind myself that quality matters more than quantity, whether it is in court or during any activity.
To manage personal well-being, I try to find small moments in life like taking a walk, going for a trek, grabbing a cup of tea with colleagues, or just switching off from screens for a bit. It really helps. I also lean on my support system – my family, friends and even co-workers who keep me grounded and remind me to pause and recharge when things get hectic.
It is busy, yes, but when you truly care about both your profession and your interest, you somehow find the rhythm that works for you.
You have more than nine years of experience, including civil and common law jurisdictions. Would you be comfortable sharing the kind of initial reason for your interest in law as well as any particular event or any kind of maybe realization that guided you through this whole process in order to make sure that you have the better career, and as you are leading the legal front of an Emerging Institution in Sweden, being one of the first Indian woman over there, please do share it with our audience who are new learners, new entrants for law?
My father was the one who encouraged me to consider law as a career as opposed to what I actually wanted. So I wanted to be an artist. I am a very creative person, and through my childhood and when I was in school, I participated in every art competition. I participated in slogan writing competitions in Delhi. Also represented my school at the national level. Won a lot of awards. So by the time I reached class 10, I realized that art is my calling.
This is what I do best. And then came that moment which really paved my journey to law. So, one evening, me and my family were having dinner, sitting at the dining table, and my father asked me, so what do you plan to do after school? And my instant excited reply was, I want to be an artist.
So he is a chartered accountant. He has his own firm. And he said, okay, do you have a plan B? Because getting into an art university is also very difficult. I said, I don’t really have a plan B, to which he said, what do you think about law as a career? And I was listening. So he said, see, as an artist, it would take you some time till you can build yourself after university and you can start earning, which was actually true.
And then he said that, imagine, what if you study law—how much better your art would be sold if you are a lawyer and also an artist? And that, for me, was a brilliant idea. So from class 10th to 12th, I started preparing for both the art university and the law university, and I realized over the period of preparation I have developed an increasing interest in law because I realized that in art you have to be creative.
You have to have a vision, which you would make into reality. Then you perceive some things, and then you align it with your vision, and then you paint. And that is the same in law. Now, when I look back, I see that, okay, I pull out a Word document, draft a legal document.
Then if that document is a contract, for example, then that contract would be negotiated. Then that contract would be signed. Then that contract would have an expiry date, we would renew it. So I am building a relationship. I am bringing into existence something which was just an idea first. So. I entered the university in 2007, graduated 2012, and proudly became the first lawyer of my family.
Thank you for sharing that particular story. After this, you also did your masters in business in corporate law. What was the motivation behind that particular specialization and how has that particular understanding of business and corporate law doing your masters helped you make your career trajectory reach to the point where you wanted or as you planned?
So I gained working experience before I decided I wanted to pursue masters, and in my university, we were encouraged to do an internship every semester. So by the time I had finished university, I had a couple of internships with law firms like Amarchand, Jyoti Sagar.
And then when I started working. Again, I had an experience. So while having this experience, I could really assess, analyze, understand what is my area of strength, where do my interests really go, and what is my passion? So I realized, looking back at my experience, that I decided to pursue my masters in 2015.
So these years, I realized my area has always been business and corporate law. That is how I decided, okay, this is the masters that I want to pursue. Now because I pursued masters in business and corporate law, and one of our subjects was international business, that really helped me set the foundation of what I will be doing in the future.
So I developed curiosity and interest towards cross-border transactions, conflict management, and assessing the different legal landscapes. How do you set up companies in a country which is not your area of expertise? Those questions really made me think, read more, and that became my passion.
So I would say passion and curiosity led me to where I am now.
While doing all of these things related to business and corporate law, you have also worked with prominent companies. How has working or maybe doing internships or doing a job, paved your way for international legal practice, what were the preparations or the kind of thought process you have had in order to make sure that you transition from national to international practice?
Like I said, curiosity. I think curiosity is my superpower. I realized that because I was curious—reading, meeting professionals, going to events—that really helped me deepen my understanding of law, and prepared me for international practice. So what happens when I encounter something unfamiliar? Because I’m a curious person, it would compel me to read more, reach out to people who have done a similar thing, or if there is a case law that talks about a similar situation, or if there is a post which talks about a similar legal issue, but that legal issue happened in a different jurisdiction.
And if I already know something, my curiosity pushes me to observe fellow lawyers—how did they approach this subject matter? How did they approach this issue? And then it helps me to refine my understanding, my expertise, and that really helps me to improve continuously.
Since you said that curiosity is your superpower, what made you transition from national, especially India to Dubai and then to Sweden? And the kind of changes that you saw in all these jurisdictions, how did that help you actually reach your love I would say for business and corporate law? And what kind of practice did you do that you actually got what you wanted? So how did you do that and what are your suggestions for the same?
When I was in India and I was working with Ansal Housing, I got this opportunity of working on an international arbitration. And now if I reflect back, I think I was put in that project because of my curiosity, because I’m very enthusiastic and I would really love to put in an extra hour if it is something that I don’t really know.
So that experience of working on an international arbitration, combined with my experience and my study of international business law, made me realize that I am ready to step out of my comfort zone, which is India. And I realized that if I want to work on cross-border transactions, work with international clients, and be ready to negotiate deals which are happening in an international sphere, I need to be outside. And I still remember I had a conversation with my then manager, who is the General Counsel of Ansal Housing—an amazing mentor and a wonderful manager—and it was he who really said that:
See, if you go and if you don’t like it, you can always come back, but if you don’t, you wouldn’t really know what your potential is. And I think that was the best mentorship advice he could have given me. So I found this opportunity at a law firm in Dubai, and I moved to Dubai. It was very scary, because I was moving abroad for the first time.
I was always being taken care of in India, but now I am taking care of myself. And it is a very international space. So the work culture is like that. And the expectation from you as a lawyer is different. So I was working in this law firm. We were a batch of international lawyers working together on international issues.
And every new client that we had in the law firm was from a different jurisdiction. So that really put me in a position where I, of course, had to know the law of India because that is where I’m coming from, and it is expected that I can advise on Indian laws. But I was expected to work on an issue with a client who is from Australia, and he wants to set up a company in Dubai. Or a transactioning, a partnership happening with a cement manufacturing company from China who wants to set up the manufacturing company in Spain. So you would understand the nuances of both these jurisdictions. So I realized that experience and that ease of moving from one jurisdiction to another really helped me globally connect, helped me easily move from one jurisdiction to another, and it no longer was a challenge.
Then when I moved to Sweden, it was very different from how it was in Dubai, because now I became a wife, also a mother, and I was in a country in which the first language is Swedish. So then my third language became Swedish. So Hindi, English, and then Swedish. So I realized that now I need to deepen my understanding of the local laws and also the EU laws, because in every European country you would first look at the local laws and then you would look at the EU law if there is any precedent or if there is a law that reflects on the legal issue that you’re working on.
So that is what Sweden gave me—helped me deepen my understanding of local and European laws, and I would say this path or this journey I was on, what really helped me was strategic thinking, being committed to the goal that I set for myself, adaptability, and lots and lots of hard work.
The reason why I say hard work is that there is so much pre-work that I have to do, or any lawyer who moves from a different country to a new country has to do, which may or may not be directly proportional to the role that you would be performing. For example, if you’re moving to a European country or a non-English-speaking country, you would have to learn the language.
And then you would have to understand the working culture in that country, because that is also very different. Like leadership style—what I saw, leadership style in India, in Dubai, and in Stockholm, Sweden is very different. So you need to understand the cultural nuances. So navigating those cultural and regulatory differences was a crucial aspect of having an international career, I would say. Then maintaining a strong network of local lawyers. So I didn’t forget my roots. I still am connected with Indian lawyers who are experts, so I can reach out to them on knowing what is happening. So, just a week back, my manager, who is the CEO, was asking what is the impact of the tariffs that the US is making now in India?
So had I not read that, I wouldn’t know that. Had I not been connected with my local friends, I wouldn’t know how it is impacting. So these small skills really bridge—or really helped me bridge—the international legal career. One tip that I would like to give to a student who wants to pursue an international legal career, or a person who’s already working,
He wants to move abroad: Have a strong network of professionals, and have a strong network of local lawyers who you can reach out to for advice, who you can reach out to reassess your thoughts, your analysis on a legal issue. Having a group of professionals who you can trust is a game changer if you are moving abroad or if you want to have a global legal career.
After relocating to Sweden, you took maternity leave as well, how did you make yourself return to the workforce without the so-called guilt that we always have as working moms?
Second, how did you continue your professional development during the time when you were not there practicing? What were the strategies? How did you connect with the industry? Like you said, we need to be connected with not only good lawyers, but local lawyers as well, who can give you the nuances and the kind of update that you need. So how does that work for you? And during that time, how did you make sure that you don’t lose that particular connect?
I never truly stepped out of the legal field. I was very focused, and I always knew that I want to continue being a lawyer.
I want to continue my legal profession. And I would say, when you move abroad, it’s a great opportunity to reassess whether you want to have the same career or you want to maybe branch out to something different. For me, you know, it is law, it has been law, it is law. So I knew, okay, after resuming my career after maternity leave, it would be law.
So, I had that in mind, and I had the preparation ready. So for me, maternity leave—which we over here call parental leave—was actually not a break, it was a form of professional growth. I looked at the break as a time to invest in myself, to refine my skills, and to actually prepare for the biggest and the most difficult role, which is of being a parent.
And I was being a twin mother, which is, let me tell you, it’s a full-time job. You are a parent yourself, you know it’s challenging. So during the parental leave time, and also because I was moving to Sweden, I took the time to familiarize myself with the culture, the education system, understanding the local laws and understanding the regulations.
Then I actively also followed the domestic developments, which are the developments that are happening in India and in Dubai. Because if I say that I’m an international lawyer and I have worked in India and Dubai, the expectation is that I know what is happening in the industry. So it comes with a lot of responsibility.
So I kept myself updated. Then it was my time to again assess my skills, identify my area of growth, because now I would be stepping into a new jurisdiction. So I stayed focused, connected with my friends who are based in India, who are working in-house and also practicing as lawyers.
I followed—I still follow—professionals on LinkedIn who talk about leadership, who talk about the changes that are happening in the industry. I read newsletters. I love reading. I read a lot. I enrolled myself in the Swedish language course.
So this continuous preparation for what I want to do once I resume my career really helped me to stay confident of my skills and also to bring a very fresh perspective to the role that I would be doing. Staying focused, committed to law, my passion for reading.
Then my curiosity of knowing—so a very small example I’ll give you, like in India, we remove our shoes outside and then we would step into the house. It’s the same in Sweden. So understanding these similarities and, like for us in India, the tea culture is something that brings two people together.
So if you want to call somebody home, you would call for tea. And in Sweden, you would call them for coffee. And there is a culture called Fika. So it is—you have to be mindful of taking breaks, and those breaks are about you sitting with your colleague or you sitting with your friends, unwinding and connecting.
So my curiosity led me to learn so many new things. So I already felt that I am at home. I know what the culture is about. I fairly understand the language. So I was ready. I was ready for the next step.
I think that is what is needed for everyone and probably that has brought you being the head of legal and compliance at VeeOne AB. What kind of primary factors were there? You already have said a lot about your commitment to your reading, to your learning culture. How did you foresee the kind of role that you were going forward for? In particular, it is a totally technology driven industry. So what kind of new learnings did you do while you were transitioning towards being the head of this number one company over there?
Preparation is the key in anything that we do in our life. This role was a little different because this industry was new to me. So VeeOne is a company in crew planning. My focus on legal compliance stemmed from the fact that to have a strong foundation, you need to have a robust regulatory framework. The role of legal and compliance has evolved and I would say has become complex. Earlier, it was very traditional—even for a lawyer, it was traditional.
Either you are in a law firm, or you are in a court, or you are in a company. Now, when there are other factors, like AI, there is data privacy, there are regulatory landscapes that really come into play, and that makes the environment more complex and dynamic.
So I foresee that to perform well in this role, I need to shift my approach from being reactive to be proactive. So there has to be a shift in strategy where there has to be a risk analysis done even before the risk can or may or may not occur. So, we in VeeOne, we try to integrate compliance with innovation or new ideas so we can mitigate the risk.
And I think that is what a lot of companies are also trying to do to have a competitive advantage in the global market.
While you are doing all of this, you also read a lot. First I would like to ask, how do you carve out that much time with being a full-time mother to twins, then working your way up in your organization, being the head you are the most responsible one. So what kind of books do you read to keep yourself inspired to shape your perspective?
Like you said, you follow newsletters also of leadership styles and others. How do you connect all that with your legal understanding and implement it in your career? For the new aspirants or the graduates who are coming up, if they want to pursue a similar kind or maybe the same pathway. So what would be your suggestion? The kind of journals that they should read or they should go through, the kind of books, resources that you may recommend and to build the kind of mindset of always being prepared as yours. What guidance would you like to give them?
First, I would say, and this could be controversial, that reading that you do during work is not something I would say is reading.
Reading is something that you do outside of your work. If you are doing reading during your work, that is to accomplish a task or to work on a project or to expand your knowledge on the issue that is at hand. Reading that you do outside of your work is reading that would grow you as a person, grow you as a professional.
So that being said, when I say reading, it is outside my work. For me, mostly it has been biographies. And I am more inclined towards nonfiction. I have tried reading fiction, but I again gravitate towards nonfiction. So it’s not that I haven’t tried—I’ve tried. So biographies that have really shaped my perspective on life and also on the legal field have been of Nani Palkhivala, J.R.D. Tata.
And very recently I read this biography of Haben Girma. Must read! A beautiful book. She is the first American disability rights advocate. She is the first blind person to graduate from Harvard Law School, and the work that she is doing for the disability community is amazing. So that is on the biography part.
Somebody who wants to start reading, hasn’t read before but wants to have that habit—I would suggest a book called Creativity by John Cleese, a very thin book, a very quick read. It talks about how creativity is not something you are born with; it is a skill that you can develop. What makes the book really interesting is that John Cleese is a lawyer.
He went to Cambridge to study law. Eventually he became a comedian, and he’s a very popular comedian. So that is something that I would suggest to somebody who’s wanting to read, planning to read, has little time, but still wants to get into the habit of reading or come back to reading. Since the role of a lawyer has transformed—from at least when I graduated, it was still very traditional.
Now it has transformed to beyond the traditional lawyer, which is either you are in litigation or you are giving legal advice. I think creativity is now a skill that can help us as professionals, as legal professionals, be ahead of AI. Because there could be possibilities when, for example—a very small example—review of contracts.
If you are very, very good at contracts, there are extremely good contract management platforms, contract review platforms, which can review a contract for you—maybe better than what we can do, quicker than what we can do. So if you want to stay ahead of AI as a professional, creativity is the skill that is a must.
And I would generalize your question when you said somebody who wants to have a legal career. I would say cultivating a hobby. And that hobby should be consistent—something that you would like to do every day. It could be running, it could be reading, it could be swimming, it could be vlogging.
Having a personal passion outside of work will help you contribute to your life—your personal life—and to your professional life in a wonderful way. And your journey as a professional would be very fulfilling, because there are days as a professional, especially as a lawyer, some days are very tense.
Some days are not that tense. So you really need help when those days are tense. So I would say having a consistent hobby.
Then the second most important thing would be finding a mentor. Having a mentor is extremely important. That is how you can have continuous growth, which is required if you are in this profession. For me, I have been very fortunate that I have had amazing mentors throughout my career. Always have a mentor. I would say you are never too expert to not have a mentor.
Then the books that I am reading right now. I usually read two books—one is mostly legal and the other is mostly related to non-legal. The first book is Range by David Epstein. The author talks about how individuals who explore multiple disciplines—that really helps you have a broad skill set. So you would have multiple tools, and then you can really narrow down those expertise to one thing that you would really like to do. So I would say the sum of the book is that sampling is the key to success.
And now if I look back—for me, also because of my internships, because of my experiences—when I decided that I wanted to pursue masters in business and corporate law, I had done my sampling.
So I had worked with NPOs, I had worked with judges, I had worked with senior lawyers. I did my sampling. I realized, yes, this is what I want to do. And this is my area of interest.
Then the second interesting book that I’m reading—and thanks to my current manager, the CEO of my company, he recommended that book. That book is called Getting to We: Negotiating Agreements as Highly Collaborative Relationships. So this book is written by a university professor and two lawyers. One of the lawyers is a Swedish lawyer. So the book tells a five-step process to create a collaborative agreement.
And this was very interesting to me because for me, as a lawyer who is drafting back in India or back in Dubai, I would look only at my liabilities, only at my governing law, only at what impacts me. But the book really shifts the focus from the relationship or the approach being transactional to a strategic partnership. And now when I draft a contract, it is a very different approach.
So if I’m drafting a contract, I would look at the contract or the document from a we perspective, because it is a partnership at the end of the day. It could be an employment agreement, service agreement, partnership agreement. If I only focus on my liabilities, if I only focus on my governing law, if it is very unilateral—first, I would have a challenge when negotiating the contract, there would be red lines everywhere.
Then it would take me a lot more time to negotiate the contract because it is very unilateral. So that book really shifts the mindset and says that to have a collaborative relationship, the agreement should also be collaborative. So if there is somebody who really likes drafting contracts, or says that they’re an expert in contracts, or would like to work on contracts, I would recommend this book.
Thank you for sharing that. I won’t ask how you balance work and life, but rather how do you plan your day? As a mother to twins, your planning must be very intentional. Personally, I’d love to learn how you manage everything without compromising your personal or professional life, especially when your children need you so much. How do you ensure there’s enough time for work, family, and still carve out personal space for yourself for reading, relaxing, and recharging that superpower of curiosity that keeps you moving forward?
You gave out the keyword, which is planning. I would put a prefix, which is strategic planning. So first, it is strategic planning. Then, because both of us are working, both of us have a very demanding schedule—managing our time, managing our schedule—that is what we do. So generally, our day would look like: the twins are off to school, and I am at work, my husband is at work.
We would come home, and some days after work, I would go to an event, I would meet friends. And if I’m not doing that, I would come home, then it would be cooking together. Over here, it’s all about involving the child, no matter how small that child is. So it would be cooking with them, and we have created a habit of asking, How was your day?
So as soon as I step in the house, they would ask me, How was your day? I would ask them, How was your day? After having the meal, we would watch TV, and that is, I think, something that I realized is great because we switched on TV for them when they were very young, and the TV is always on.
So now for them, TV is furniture. It’s not TV. So even if the TV is on, they would not necessarily want to watch the TV. They would want to play or they would want to paint or they want to color. So TV is always on in the background, and that actually helps us to build their language. Because in the school they go to a Swedish preschool.
On the TV we have English programs, and we speak with them in Hindi. So they’re always listening, and we are doing these activities together, which is either watching the TV or coloring or cooking. And then once the twins have slept, it is either my time with my husband—we would either watch something or I would read.
So that is what our schedule looks like. I make sure that I invest time with my friends, with my husband, I attend events, I mentor in Sweden also.
I have two mentees right now, giving time to them, upskilling myself—which is through reading that would directly relate to me. But also, I have to read about how I can be a better mentor, or if my mentee has some questions and I don’t know about them, so I need to prepare myself. Then it is parenting.
We were talking about parenting—the most crucial role. So, there is a lot of reading about what activities can we give the twins, how can we keep them engaged? If they have a question, what should be the right answer for that question? So I think if I know, okay, the task that I have for me in a day—and you gave me the keyword, which is planning.
So I do strategic planning. That is how we plan, I would say.
What drew you towards the field of Intellectual Property law, and what were some of the early experiences that helped lay the foundation for your practice in this domain?
First of all, thank you for connecting with me to share my story. I was quite intrigued by the name of the platform ‘Super Lawyer’. This reminded me of the film ‘The Incredibles’ wherein a character Syndrome says that if all humans will have super powers, none will be a Super hero. Similarly, in my view since all lawyers are Super lawyers, thus no single lawyer is a Super lawyer. Now coming to your question:
I think my interest in Cinema. I was initially drawn towards Intellectual Property as a practice area since I had a lot of interest in movies. I was highly inclined towards Copyright Law, since I wanted to understand how the film industry functions.
As far as early experience that helped me lay the foundation in this domain are concerned, the first litigation matter that I worked upon was a passing off suit. In that suit, over a period of time after filing the suit, Defendant had obtained registration of its trade mark and moved an application for amendment of written statement to plead its registration. At that stage, when I was too young (barely a month into the practice) I thought that the Plaintiff’s case was over since the Defendant had obtained a trade mark registration. At that stage, my then senior told me that registration of Defendant’s mark is of no consequence in a suit for passing off, which is maintainable even against a registered proprietor. He further asked me to read N.R. Dongre and Ors. vs. Whirlpool Corpn. and Anr.; 1996 PTC (16) 583 (SC) wherein apex Court upheld this position arrived at by Single Judge and Division bench of the High Court.
You argued a landmark case where the Delhi High Court, for the first time, ruled on the registrability of geographical names as arbitrary trademarks. Could you share your insights from the case that shaped the Court’s reasoning, and what do you believe are the broader implications of this decision?
To be really honest, I don’t know as to whether it was a landmark decision or not. However, Siddharth Suri vs Registrar of Trade Marks does give a guiding light for registration of geographical names as trade marks where the geographical name has been applied arbitrarily to the goods. In this case, the goods were ‘Leather and imitations of leather, and goods made of these materials and not included in other classes; animal skins, hides, trunks and travelling bags; umbrellas, parasols and walking sticks; whips, harness and saddlery’ for which ‘Andamen’ was not found to be having a goods-place association. Accordingly, the objection under Section 9(1)(b) that the trade mark designates geographical origin was not found to be attracted since Andamen (whether said to be taken from Andaman Sea or from the Andaman & Nicobar Islands) does not have a reputation for goods falling in Class 18.
The broader implications of the decision are that when one comes across a geographical name as a trade mark, they should not disregard its protection/registration just because it is a geographical name but analyze whether that geographical area has an association or reputation for goods for which it is sought to be registered/protected.
You advise clients across diverse sectors including FMCG, pharmaceuticals, liquor, book publishing, and e-commerce. Given the rapid growth of the pharmaceutical industry, what are some of the major legal and compliance challenges entities face in this space?
I think as far as the pharmaceutical industry is concerned, the biggest challenge has been counterfeit products. For a consumer, who may consume these counterfeit products; disaster always lurks around the corner to make its presence felt. In other terms, the consumers are extremely vulnerable to life threatening consequences. I have, in the past, worked on multiple matters, both civil and criminal, where the Defendants/Accused produced identical drugs and it is not possible to identify the fake unless you get inputs from the team who worked on the packaging and in some cases research. The pharmaceutical industry is one of the most regulated industries; since it has to cater to safety and efficacy. Keeping this in mind, it obviously has to comply with safety and cleanliness standards, good manufacturing practices, disclosure of information and that too in line with labelling requirements. The major problem in the industry is fake drug racket, which may or may not be related to any Intellectual property and could be a completely new mark, where the ingredients told on the label will not even be present in the drug and the drug would have been sold or supplied clandestinely with no regulatory approval at all.
As a Partner, staying ahead of the curve is crucial. In your view, how effective have the current government initiatives been in streamlining the IP registration process? What further improvements in your opinion can be made?
In recent times, I could think of four initiatives done at the level of the Intellectual Property office which are commendable. First, is the possibility of search of device trade marks, which has been facilitated online by the IP office. The added advantage of this feature is that depending on the device/image the tool also suggests the possible Vienna Code Classifications; which also aids in saving time.
Second, is the enablement of a queue system for various functions and displaying it online; a real time check for hearing, review applications and examination status; which enables an entity to know as to where it marks stands in the list of hearings before the trade marks office.
Third is the Open house sessions, the IP office does with applicants and stakeholders everyday from 4.30 PM to 5.30 PM virtually to address grievances or take suggestions on any issue related to Intellectual Property Rights.
Last is the ‘Notifications/Reminders’ feature on the e-filing page and the ‘Reminders’ feature on the E-Register Page; which enables one to see latest updates on their portfolio of applications, ensuring that no important update is missed. This saves a tremendous amount of time.
In my view, to ensure a smooth registration process; the first thing that should be incorporated is consistency and standard operating procedures; so that every applicant or stakeholder has a clear idea of the chance of their application getting accepted or rejected.
You’ve worked on intermediary liability matters. How do you assess the evolving legal framework around platform accountability, especially in light of recent judicial decisions and amendments to the IT Rules? What are the core challenges in striking a balance between free expression and regulatory obligations?
I think the intention is always to balance; that’s what in my view, any legislature or government exercising its legislative powers under the IT Act, 2000 looks at while keeping in mind the protection of the people and at the same time working out the economics. So, that’s the word. BALANCE!! – the evolving legal framework in the IT Rules, especially The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 [hereinafter ‘IT Rules, 2021’] indicates a tide towards control but the intent of that control is Balance; The amendments to the same in 2022 required the intermediary to make reasonable efforts so that content which is covered under Rule 3(1)(b) is, inter alia, not displayed on its platform. The intention is some sort of action; but the rule making body steers clear of indicating what sort of action (no pointers whatsoever) and leaves it as a subject of interpretation. However, what are these ‘reasonable efforts’ or what could be some examples of these ‘reasonable efforts’; for that we get an indication from judicial decisions such as the recent decision in Indiamart Intermesh Ltd. v. Puma SE; 2025: DHC:4819-DB which indicates that one of the reasonable efforts for a platform could be that each of the sellers is aware of the requirement to not display counterfeit products and to ensure that they furnish an express undertaking to the said effect to the intermediary. Apart from this, on reading of paragraph 92 of the decision, I think another indication of reasonable effort could also be not to re-list the same seller in respect of the same products whose listings have been taken down earlier.
As far as 2023 amendments are concerned; they appear to have been done majorly to have the online gaming intermediaries under a stricter control (as compared to intermediaries) , especially those online gaming intermediaries who enable the users to access any permissible online real money. A lot of compliance requirements under ‘IT Rules, 2021’ which were only applicable to a significant social media intermediary originally have been extended to online gaming intermediaries as well by virtue of the amendments done in the year 2023.
As far as your last question, I think the standard of morality/scandalous statements keeps shifting with every generation. The biggest challenge I believe is ‘viewpoint bias’ and the evolving nature of the society we live in. Thus, in my opinion there will always be shifting standards and that’s why this area of law will always be dynamic and never ending. In simpler terms, what may be kosher for one; may be outrageous for another and this will be perennial. So, it is extremely difficult to maintain that balance between free expression and regulatory obligations.
With such an enriching and diverse career, what initially inspired you to pursue law? What advice would you offer to law students and young professionals aspiring to build a career in Intellectual Property and litigation?
I am an extremely lazy person when it comes to doing things for myself. I try to take the most convenient and easy route to navigate life choices. So, resultantly, the decision to pursue law was the length of the programme; five years. No worry after school for another five years. I thought in the beginning of the law school that may be after these five years; I will know what I need to do. However, post five years, I just went with the flow. In hindsight, I think I should not have done law. I could have explored a creative vocation where my thoughts could be disseminated freely (Obviously, subject to reasonable restrictions in Article 19).
One of my advice to every aspiring professional in the field of Intellectual Property would be to be tech-savvy. To understand how content is being created these days. What are the terms of the AI platforms, which are used by us for content creation. Further, I would also recommend not to restrict their understanding of jurisprudence on intellectual property to India but analyze what is going on globally. In this decade already we are dealing with landmark decisions on intellectual property issues intertwined with technology utilised across platforms which have shown us issues which we could not have probably envisaged a few decades ago. Look at the issue that is challenging the use of content by AI platforms, ‘keyword advertising’, use of a mark in drop down menu at the back end to trigger a listing if one searches for those products on a platform, violations by virtue of deepfake technology etc. I mean, mirror websites and duping in the name of fraud schemes of investment or employment across the internet, fake domain names, domain name disputes are something that have become traditional violations of Intellectual Property and orders granting real-time injunctions are not being passed only in isolated cases.
So far as litigation is concerned, my advice has always been to be diligent and understand the background and the possible solutions through procedural laws. Litigation is not a predictable game; there are variables across stages in a matter – from inception to trial; from an ex-parte order till consequent appeals. One has to make a strategy giving all possible variables due weight.
Managing a demanding legal practice comes with its own pressures. How do you maintain a healthy work-life balance, and is there a personal philosophy or guiding principle that has helped you navigate your professional journey?
To be really honest, I am unable to maintain a healthy work-life balance. Unfortunately, my matters, the ongoing developments in the fraternity, the need for being constantly updated & networking does not allow me to shut down/switch off. While my office is five (5) days working, the only time I think I am able to be completely at peace is when I sleep or I read. I read a lot, and have also in this process edited a few comic books. These are my only escapes apart from occasional films in theatres or at home. A lot of professionals, who might be really busy may say that they spend time with their families; switch off on weekends etc. Kudos to them!! I am never able to shut down. There is a constant barrage of thoughts in my head unless I am sleeping, reading or watching anything. I am constantly thinking of what needs to be done, are we on top of all our matters, has the team done all the compliances etc. There is a constant urge to ensure everything is under control and all bases are covered. This leads me to not have a work-life balance.
The only guiding principle that has helped me to navigate my professional journey is sincerity and time management. One has to prepare as much as they could for a matter while giving other matters also their due importance. One has to give every advice keeping all the ethical considerations in mind. I try my best every day to do and pull off a lot, sometimes much more than I actually can. Sometimes I succeed; sometimes I don’t. On days I succeed, I stay calm and think something constructive has been achieved. On the remaining days, I am just too hard on myself.
Your journey reflects remarkable versatility and determination. Looking back, what pivotal decisions do you believe have contributed most to your practice over the years?
My journey into law, and specifically as an IP Attorney, was far from a linear path. Unlike many, I never initially aimed to be a lawyer; in fact, the term “IP Attorney” was completely foreign to me until my second year of law school when IP was first introduced as a subject.
Coming from a humble, rural background in Talegaon Dabhade, Pune, my early academic pursuits were remarkably diverse. I chose arts at Ferguson College, majored in Psychology for my B.A., and even dedicated time to learning and tutoring German language while preparing for Nritya Visharad, harbouring aspirations of becoming a classical dancer, psychologist, or German translator. Law was never on my radar.
However, destiny, as they say, had other plans. Being a first-generation lawyer in the family, unaware of the fascinating journey ahead, I took a significant leap of faith. I applied to only one institution, ILS Law College. Getting selected in the first list felt incredibly lucky, as it was a high-risk gamble with no Plan B – a rejection would have meant a wasted year. Although I later transferred to Shankarrao Chavan Law College in my second year, this initial entry into the legal field was itself a pivotal decision.
This unconventional start , directly led to numerous vital career breaks, opportunities, and challenges. The journey itself broadened my horizons, exposing me to diverse people, institutions, experiences, and ideologies. These early experiences undoubtedly instilled in me resilience, an openness to new directions, and a unique interdisciplinary perspective. I truly believe these qualities laid the foundation for my enriching legal practice and have profoundly shaped who I am today.
What motivated you to pursue a Master’s degree in Science and Technology Law? Why did you choose this particular specialization, and how has it influenced your practice?
My decision to pursue a Master’s degree in Science and Technology Law was a pivotal moment in my journey. The dynamic and evolving nature of science and technology, encompassing fascinating areas like Intellectual Property, Biotechnology Law, Cyber Law, and Health Law, deeply intrigued me. This particular specialization, offered by the Department of Law at Savitribai Phule Pune University, provided a holistic overview of the actual laws in place, regulations, and pending bills in these fields.
The one-year LL.M. program was instrumental in cultivating strong research, presentation, and public speaking skills. While Intellectual Property (IP) was my primary focus, this course provided a robust theoretical foundation in IP, which was crucial for my understanding, research, and practice in IP law. I am particularly grateful to my professors, Dr. Jyoti Bhakare Ma’am and the late T.S.N. Shastry Sir, for fostering my interest in research. The affinity for research I developed during my LL.M. studies remains a cornerstone of my practice today. Beyond academics, the program also allowed me to forge valuable connections and a supportive network that continues to be a source of shared knowledge and care.
In the early phase of your career, what experiences or cases helped solidify your interest and expertise in intellectual property law, ultimately leading you to build a career in this domain?
So, from administrative and accounting roles during my LL.B. to becoming a Trademark Associate, visiting faculty, researcher, and ultimately leading my own law firm, every step has been instrumental in building my network, professionalism, knowledge, and interpersonal skills. The one constant thread woven through all these experiences has been Intellectual Property.
A particularly pivotal moment occurred during my third year of LL.B., when I was working in an administrative capacity. However, my main work was to recover pending invoices from clients. For the first time I was tasked with coordinating copyright filings for a corporate client. As I wasn’t yet a qualified lawyer, the initial plan was to outsource this work. However, being new to the field with no prior legal experience or strong professional connections, I struggled to find a trustworthy attorney online, causing a delay in the assignment. Instead of waiting, I took the initiative. Under the guidance of my senior, I decided to undertake the assignment myself. Successfully completing it single-handedly, by the time the registrations were finalized, I had not only gained valuable IP experience, but this experience provided the initial boost of confidence I needed to delve deeper into IP.
At that time, I even found myself daydreaming about having my own law office and all the “corporate fancy things,” largely inspired by series like “SUITS.” From that point forward, the more I immersed myself in this field, the more opportunities I seized. Another impactful experience that solidified my global perspective was assisting foreign attorneys with trademark infringement matters in SAARC countries. Additionally, I had the opportunity to introduce new perspectives to the firm’s trademark practice, which led to a drastic increase in their filings. This invaluable exposure allowed me to read, understand, and apply IP laws in various foreign jurisdictions, especially within Asian countries, further cementing my dedication to this domain.
After working with prominent law firms, what inspired you to branch out and establish your own practice? What were some of the major challenges you faced during this transition, and how did you navigate them?
Establishing my own practice and ultimately my own office was always a core aspiration. While working with Ex- law firms, I actively immersed myself in client counselling, meetings, networking, and client acquisition, eventually realizing I excelled in these areas. By the time I decided to make the leap, I felt confident in my ability to navigate the challenges that lay ahead.
The opportune moment arrived post-COVID-19, amidst a global surge in entrepreneurial spirit. I decided to take the plunge, giving myself a pragmatic six-month window to explore the market. This time, I had a well-thought-out Plan B, given my increased responsibilities. I am incredibly satisfied, happy, and grateful for the overwhelming positive response and trust I received not only from my professional network but also from my husband. What began as an individual practice has since grown into an LLP, offering a diverse range of services beyond IP, including Data Protection, Privacy Laws, Cyber Laws, Entertainment Laws, Legal Metrology, POSH, Litigation, and General Corporate matters. My portfolio expanded organically, driven by my clients’ evolving needs.
A unique challenge emerged during this transition, one that I found both amusing and concerning. I received calls, on multiple occasions, demanding justification for starting my individual practice. These calls explicitly instructed me not to approach former firms’ clients or even to redirect any clients who might approach me in my individual capacity. Such demands from senior industry figures were not only illogical but also fundamentally unacceptable. Indeed, it felt like an attempt to threaten, suppress, and dominate me. But, this act inadvertently bolstered my confidence, affirming that I was on the right track and destined for something significant.
My belief has always been, “There are plenty of fish in the sea; go and catch yours.” I am immensely proud to state that my first 50 clients were acquired purely through my own efforts and network, not by “stealing” or personally soliciting from any previous firm. This is a point I’ve rarely discussed publicly, known only to my closest friends. Naturally, I chose to ignore those unwarranted demands, focusing instead on testing and implementing my own ideas. I am proud to say that I have never had to proactively solicit work from clients. Instead, my clients, friends, family, my husband, and my business partner have organically become my most effective brand ambassadors.
You’ve worked on over 3000 trademark applications across jurisdictions. Could you share a particularly complex or memorable case that left a lasting impact on you professionally?
Yes, indeed. Each and every case and application has its own unique journey with its challenges and surprises. One particularly memorable case that left a lasting impact on me professionally involved a situation where the infringers were, surprisingly, a group of my client’s own students. They had copied my client’s domain name with deceptively similar words and spellings, leading to clear trademark infringement and cyber-squatting.
The complexity arose from the existing relationship between my client and these individuals. A direct legal enforcement action, while legally justifiable, would have severely damaged those relations. Therefore, my approach had to be non-conventional. Instead of issuing a formal legal notice, we had to very politely communicate with them, explaining the legal implications and amicably requesting them to take down the domain name and refrain from future use.
This case was a significant learning experience for me. It taught me that legal solutions aren’t always black and white, and understanding the human element can lead to a far more satisfactory and sustainable outcome for all parties involved.
As a Trademark Facilitator and mentor under the Start-up India initiative, how would you assess the current level of IP awareness among Indian startups? What more can be done to foster a stronger culture of IP protection in the startup ecosystem?
As a Trademark Facilitator and mentor under the Start-up India initiative, I’ve seen India’s startup ecosystem flourish since 2015. While many startups are aware of IP’s existence, there’s a significant lack of strategic understanding in approaching IP registrations. Even after a decade of Start-up India Scheme, very few startups genuinely prioritize and secure their IPs seriously. Those who do are consistently at the forefront of the market, proving the competitive edge IP offers.
To foster a stronger IP culture, we must empower founders with foundational IP knowledge, which shall help them to identify their IP assets. Also, this would prevent them from being misled and enable them to proactively integrate IP protection into their business strategy, which is crucial for long-term success.
You’ve presented research and spoken at international conferences in Singapore and China. How have these global engagements shaped your professional outlook and influenced your long-term vision?
My global engagements, especially the ARCIALA research conference in Singapore and fellowship in China, profoundly shaped my professional outlook. Initially seeking research opportunities in IP, these experiences offered me an invaluable global perspective from diverse international researchers. They provided strong connections and significantly deepened my understanding of the subject. This exposure solidified my long-term vision to practice IP with a broader, more interconnected view, constantly seeking to understand and adapt to the evolving international IP landscape.
Your extensive work across SAARC, GCC countries, and through the Madrid Protocol gives you a unique global perspective. What are some key considerations Indian IP practitioners should keep in mind while managing international trademark portfolios?
Having the opportunity to work on various international trademark assignments, definitely it becomes very important for us as Trademark Attorneys to go beyond eye on details, deadlines and trademark filing requirements of a particular country. It’s crucial to grasp the technical nuances of each country’s trademark law, such as “first-to-use” versus “first-to-file” systems, and ensure the mark is morally and culturally acceptable in that specific region. Thorough due diligence, understanding local language requirements, knowing the protection period, establishing strong connections with foreign attorneys, and being prepared for diverse enforcement procedures are all vital. This comprehensive approach is essential for effective global trademark management.
In addition to your legal practice, you’ve been a visiting lecturer for nearly seven years, work with an NGO, and have co-authored a book. How do you balance your professional responsibilities with these meaningful pursuits, and what drives you to stay engaged on so many fronts?
Balancing my legal practice with lecturing, NGO work as a POSH committee member, and co-authoring a book comes down to strategic time management and prioritizing urgency. I initially took lecturing roles outside office hours, and now, with a diverse practice, I focus on shorter courses and sessions. Co-authoring was part of a job role, yet it significantly advanced my research direction, while NGO work is primarily “as required on site” role.
So, the support and belief of the good people around me drives me across these varied engagements, which keeps me motivated and energized!
With a career spanning over two decades and expertise in Real Estate, General Corporate, and Commercial Transactions, what were some of the early experiences or influences that drew you to these specific areas of law?
Early years in Practice are experimental, one has to be open to everything, each work adds value to your knowledge, it is like experimenting with your own skill set, it is only with years that your client decides what you are good at, so I guess the choice is more about getting your skills to explore everything rather than being selective in the early years. And as you go through handling transactions, each being its own type, over the years, you realise that every transaction has that one element which is different, and there lies the experience, which gradually grows through such handling and conclusions of transactions, it’s a process and there’s no short cut to it.
You began your academic journey with a degree in B.Com. What led you to pursue law afterward and was it a deliberate choice or something that evolved over time?
My career chose me, I guess. I was always meant to be here. In fact, I also cleared my ICWA, Group III and CS, Group I, but ultimately my passion for Law was stronger. I was inclined to do something which had an element of variety in its execution and detailing and Law, has a wide range of skill sets to choose from, here there is no limit to the learning or stopping from being variant and practicing the streams that one intends to, one can be practicing various domains simultaneously, too.
Having worked with prominent law firms and institutions, what inspired your transition to establishing an independent practice? What were some of the turning points that shaped this decision?
Growth is inevitable and so is learning, any point of saturation leads you to level up. That is the only constant. One always wishes to have an independent set up, not for enjoying freedom but also for being able to take up newer areas of expertise, grow. The Covid times, made start up advisory and POSH Practice my added areas of legal services, that was the time that I started rendering legal services and complete legal handholding to start-ups, MSMEs and handled their entire contract cycle. I guess it’s always about learning and as a Professional that should be one’s priority.
You’ve handled a wide range of real estate transactions. In your experience, what are some of the major legal challenges that often arise during due diligence in the real estate sector?
Real Estate Practice is one of the most challenging practice areas, because of the wide range of enactments in force, gazettes and regulations, with plethora of enactments, due diligence for specific land types, tenures as also proximity to certain sensitive areas and coastal areas, personal laws, etc makes it an extensive area of practice. Out of the many transactions that I have been a part of and handled, one such was while being a part of a 50acre acquisition, it had multiple enactment permissions, sanctions and permissions, under various Acts, prior to my client being able to buy it, it was for a German Company. One of the most exciting acquisitions.
Your work with startups, SEZ developers, and major infrastructure companies. When dealing with SEZs in particular, how do you adapt your legal strategy? What makes the legal landscape involving SEZs distinct from others?
Start up and SEZ are two distinct set ups, calling for totally different approach. While for a start-up it is important to understand their vision statement to be able to legally handhold them, for a SEZ it’s the scale of acquisition, permissions involved. A start up may still be naïve to hiring a Lawyer yesterday, a SEZ has it all along. While SEZ is about scale, a Start up is about measure. Law remains the bottom line for both, the scale differs. As I mentioned practicing law means gauging the requirement, while start up may just require contracts, IP to be its first choice of legal expertise SEZ calls for enumerable sanctions, due diligence, permissions, contracts, Definitive documents and may more to even begin with.
You’ve played an active role in promoting POSH compliance and workplace inclusion. In your view, how is the legal framework in India evolving to support safer, more equitable work environments?
Yes, as I mentioned I started my POSH practice in the year 2019 and it was a turning point in understanding how an organisation can be ignorant about an employee being mentally harassed (sexually). It has been 2013 since the enactment came in force, but the way things have evolved in view of the present workplace and the diversity of the workforce, calls for a different perception of how we would now interpret the enactment, more gender neutral. But by and large it’s the women who need to be safeguarded against the harassment and we have to focus and emphasize more on gender sensitization and education. The practice in POSH is a challenging area of practice, which calls for proper interpretation of law, policies of an organisation and understanding the human aspect of the practice, too. There still needs to be a lot of work to be done in the domain and I personally feel, the real achievement lies in not requiring any Law to tell people how to behave/act with one another. It’s about being able to strike a chord between a healthy and mutually dependable, respectful and growth oriented work environment for all.
With the Data Protection and Digital Privacy Act (DPDPD) gaining prominence, how ready do you believe Indian businesses are to meet compliance requirements? What specific impact does this have in sectors like real estate?
Absolutely ignorant is how I would view it as, as of now. With we still awaiting the Rules to be framed, I guess it’s still a wait and watch scenario with most. Though there is awareness about something, it’s not clear as to how much detrimental it can be, if non-complied with, and that’s a huge gap that we as Professionals, working in this domain, have to fill. You’ve received several accolades for your work. What key advice would you offer to aspiring legal professionals particularly those looking to build a corporate practice?
Law is the profession for the patient players, you cannot rush to success in this field, it’s about Perseverance and constant Learning, here it is about knowledge first. One important thing is never compare your success with any measuring tape, accolades, awards, included. Success means to each its own and thus does not have any set yardstick of measurement. Focus on your journey, upgrading, learning and do everything with a lot of passion and involvement, nothing is Magic, it takes time to shape up and show results. Patience is the key. There are wide choices in todays times and one can pick and choose that one intends to and stay focussed on building that. But, levelling and upgrading is a must. Law is an ever growing field and a need for all, so learning is absolutely inevitable, I know it all attitude, may not work.
With such a diverse and dynamic legal portfolio, what drives your passion for the law each day? What has sustained this motivation and commitment over the years?
Your question has the answer- PASSION and I would value Discipline more than Motivation, Consistency above Perfection, its ones constant effort and dedication that keeps you going, every day.
What inspired your shift from an engineering background to a career in law? How has your technical foundation influenced your legal practice, particularly in areas like technology contracts or regulatory compliance?
Since my B.tech college days I always believed in learning new things whenever possible. So, I never considered it as a shift but saw it as upskilling myself through the field of law and with time utilizing my learning from both professional degrees to provide good quality services to my clients. Because of my tech foundation I built strong problem-solving skills, learned to look at something from multiple perspectives. Also, it helps me to bridge the legal and tech communication in a better manner. I am able to ask the right questions from clients to understand their requirements. This helps me to incorporate applicable clauses according to their situation.
For example, while working with an Australia based software company on a data privacy policy, I noticed they struggled to explain their backend structure in legal terms. Because of my engineering background, I could quickly grasp what their system actually did—how they stored, transferred, and processed user data. I translated that into GDPR-compliant language for their policy. It made the process smoother, faster, and more accurate.
In the early stages of your legal career, you worked with a range of national and international law firms. What were some formative experiences during this time that helped deepen your understanding of the law and shape your current practice?
Since my internship days, I got to work in so many different areas of law and I always excitedly said yes! On the litigation side I have worked on a range of cases like cheque dishonour, land acquisition, land compensation cases, high stake arbitrations, industrial disputes, commercial suits, easement cases against Highway authorities, criminal matters, etc. on the Indian side. Also, I worked on employment law cases, probate cases, and personal injury cases in the USA.
On the corporate law side I have worked on international M&A projects, due diligence work, real estate compliance in USA and India, SaaS contracts, etc.
The immense experience and learnings that I have received from everyone I have interacted with regarding my work is exceptional. Some taught me how to formulate arguments before district court and how to do it differently before high court, from international clients/firms I understood how legal expectations differ globally, building habit of listening more of what clients want to say to gain clarity and build structure of our thought before we I start working on any legal project. This becomes very important if you have to deliver something that aligns with the client’s purpose.
A good example that I can think of is about my recent project with a Florida based law firm for drafting employment handbooks. One key learning I took from that experience—and now apply in my own legal practice—is the importance of proactive legal layering. I began building handbooks with layered clauses—clearly identifying what applies universally, what’s state-specific, and where updates may be required as laws evolve. Now, whether I am drafting policies, contracts, or compliance documents, I adopt this layered structure. It not only ensures accuracy but helps clients easily understand and comply with their obligations based on where they operate. This approach also makes future updates more efficient and audit-readiness much stronger.
You currently advise businesses across diverse jurisdictions, including the USA, EU, Singapore, and Australia. What are some of the key legal and regulatory differences you encounter, and how do you effectively manage the complexities of cross-border compliance?
Each jurisdiction has unique laws, cultural considerations, and enforcement mechanisms, requiring tailored strategies. Like in the US, employment is largely at-will but takes all kinds of discrimination very seriously and we have to add a detailed clause for it to cover all kinds of discrimination.
In the EU, GDPR is one of the strictest data protection regimes and requires through check in client’s operations to decide whether GDPR applies or not and then draft data protection policy accordingly.
Singapore is known for its business-friendly environment but has strict anti-money laundering regulations.
It’s always something new that comes up so you have to stay updated with the laws of the country your client is operating in. For this, I stay connected with local legal experts so I get timely updates and advice if needed for a case. For cross-border legal compliance work, it is better to perform risk assessments to prioritize high risk areas like data privacy in EU, anti-corruption in USA, anti-money laundering law in Singapore etc.
What are some of the most common pitfalls legal professionals face when negotiating and drafting high-stakes agreements such as SaaS contracts, NDAs, and Master Service Agreements? What strategies do you use to mitigate these risks?
SaaS, NDA, MSA, are critical to business operations governing IP, service delivery, confidentiality, liability, etc. Errors can lead to financial losses, legal disputes, operations disruptions.
Pitfall 1: ambiguous terms. For example, not defining scope of services in MSA or not clarifying termination procedure. This can allow a party to avoid its obligations using the cover of ambiguous terms of contract.
Pitfall 2: neglecting jurisdiction specific regulations such as GDPR in SaaS contracts, minimum wages as per region to be considered before drafting employment contract, which may lead to hefty fines and an invalid contract in some jurisdictions.
Pitfall 3: not clarifying end goals/purpose of client for drafting this agreement. Client’s intention was to have an easy exit strategy but got stuck for years in litigation due to detailed and inflexible termination clauses. It is very important to understand a client’s business goals before you start drafting any legal document be it a petition or a MSA or any other contract.
Pitfall 4: inadequate risk allocation- liability for data breaches in SaaS contract, indemnification clauses in MSA, if not specified can expose parties to unforeseen liabilities and long running litigation cases.
Strategies to mitigate risks:
1. Clarity in drafting- using clear, simple and concise language, define the key terms explicitly. I also use schedules and appendices for technical details for SaaS contracts and MSAs.
2. Due diligence for regulatory compliance- a thorough due diligence before drafting any contract would be helpful in anticipating risks of non-compliance. Go through laws, rules, regulations, standing orders, or whatever is applicable for your scenario to avoid such risks.
3. Draft practical terms: understand the client’s goals and incorporate clauses according to it. For example, in some situations it requires detailed procedure for termination and in some a brief clause would work, you have to use your experience and instincts combined with client’s goals.
4. Balance risk allocation: use scenario planning to reduce probability of default by a party and anticipate risk like service failures and data breaches. Definitely have clear indemnification clauses applicable to the scenario. This can only be achieved when you get clarity on what are business goals and purpose to enter such agreements by client.
Having incorporated over 10 businesses in the U.S., how do you ensure compliance with federal, state, and local regulations throughout the entity formation process?
Incorporating so many businesses in the USA has taught me that compliance with all 3 levels of regulations is critical. After I incorporated my first few companies, I prepared a checklist which I follow regularly.
First and foremost is to understand why the client wants to incorporate in a specific state. Whether it is easy taxation, simple compliance, less fees, quick turnaround, etc.
Second is to figure out which entity would be the best for the client. Whether an LLC or C-Corp or S-Corp. In some situations, clients are fixed on setting up a C-Corp when clearly it would be better for their business to be an LLC. Have a good discussion with the client so that you convey all relevant points and the client can make an informed decision.
Do your due diligence once you have answers to 1 and 2nd question. This is important to figure out all compliance documents you might require before incorporating a company. Sometimes business purposes require additional permits or zoning approvals which become relevant to get before you start operating your business.
Once we have answers to the above 3 questions then I get ready to focus on drafting documents required for the state of incorporation like Articles of incorporation, certificate of incorporation, BOIR (Beneficial ownership information report), EIN SS-4 form, etc.
Once these documents are ready, we file them before the state either online or by sending them physically through mail or fax.
Having dealt with various arbitration matters over the years, what do you believe are the advantages or disadvantages of arbitration to traditional court litigation and could you share one of the most interesting arbitrations matters you’ve dealt with?
In my experience, arbitration offers significant advantages over traditional litigation, especially in commercial disputes. It is faster, more private and allows parties to choose arbitrators with subject matter expertise, this is invaluable in technical or high value matters.
However, it has its own challenges. Cost can escalate with institutional arbitration; limited appeal rights mean poor awards can’t be easily challenged even if flawed. Another issue is cross border disputes, for example enforcement of a foreign award does become a legal battle of its own, which takes years to decide.
One of the interesting cases I have dealt with was an arbitration worth 9 cr between a govt institution and a company. The main issue raised by the company was that the govt contracts having unilateral arbitration clauses are invalid. However, after we submitted our evidence and read the arbitration clause along with
What advice would you give to young professionals aspiring to build a career in international law? Are there specific skills, habits, or resources you believe are crucial for staying current in such a dynamic field?
For someone like me who has been interested in international legal work since college days, I would recommend giving 2-3 hours daily to build a strong foundation of law and legal work for a jurisdiction you are interested to work in by focusing on research, reading civil/criminal codes, legal templates, etc. There are numerous opportunities in this field, once you start researching and reading more about different areas of law, try finding areas which intrigues you the most like employment law, data privacy, patent law, etc. and then figure out what kind of work is to be done there.
A lawyer interested in this field must build legal research skills, negotiation skills, strong hold on your focus law, have an open mind, problem solving nature, commercial awareness, be humble and adaptable to fast changing laws.
If someone is interested to work in this field then certain critical habits are also required like being globally minded i.e., having cultural sensitivity and adaptability to diverse perspective, ready for life long learnings, be comfortable to working odd hours since countries like US, Europe are like 9-12 hours behind so having a quick turnaround time in such odd hours do give you the edge of connecting with right people at right time specially to build trust across geographies, have high ethical standards and respect professional codes of conduct, learn to respect time because it is highly valued in international community. Just an addition though not necessary is to learn French or Spanish if you are interested, it does help if you plan for Europe.
Regarding resources, join international legal associations like IBA, ICC, YIAG, SIAC, etc. attend various virtual webinars for your topic of interest. You can also follow certain organizations WIPO, UNICTRAL, ILO, etc. because they have provided drafts of laws which most countries follow so there is uniformity and helps build your legal foundation which can be used globally.
Understand the role of AI but don’t rely on it completely to spoon feed you everything. It will reduce your credibility in the market. It is a friend if you use it right and might become your biggest competitor in the coming future.
All I can say is persevere and you will reach your goals to work with international clients and law firms.
Working in a high-stakes, fast-paced legal environment can be demanding. How do you maintain your personal well-being, and what practices help you unwind and recharge outside of work?
What I can say is having mental clarity about working long hours regularly on odd times and being prepared for it. Consider it as your one-person company, you are working for yourself so define how many hours you are willing to work in a week for your company and be disciplined with it. Though there are days you feel low, drained or lost. So, it is important to have 1-2 persons with positive vibes around you. I meditate regularly (try Silva Method) and try to do at least 3-4 workouts with 1 day focusing on lower back and upper body posture, because you will be sitting for long hours and it definitely helps. Sit with your family, have at least 1 meal together with everyone. Once a week I go to a temple for my spiritual peace and support.
Other than that I like going on tour to different monuments in Delhi to learn its history and romanticize more with the city I belong to.
You’ve worked extensively across sectors like AI, social media, e-commerce, education, and gaming. What early experiences shaped your decision to specialize in technology and regulatory law?
I think the best way to describe it is that a series of decisions brought me to where I am today. My love of political science as a subject sent me down the path of reading law, and my desire to be the prime minister of India one day (among many other professions – across creative and public interest fields) brought me to public policy. Tech was always fascinating to me – one example that comes to mind is how I’d watch product launches and service upgrades, and visualise the journey from the present moment to a future with Irona-esque devices or Tony Stark’s Jarvis assistant. But I was also acutely cognisant of the need for an inclusive regulatory discourse surrounding technology, one that ensures a seat at the table for a cross-section of diverse perspectives.
My early mentors played a formative role in equipping me with the tools to understand this space and build my own voice. While tech public policy was still in its experimental stages as a profession in India, I worked on complex questions surrounding intermediary liability and safe harbour, net neutrality, and privacy. The perfect storm of innovation, impact, and uncertainty reinforced for me the need for thoughtful, future-facing tech regulations. And I realised that I loved the interpretation of law, but I was even more excited about understanding the answers to the underlying questions – of intent, of timing, of form, and of substance – and within that context ensuring that the perspective and agency of the individual remains front and centre.
How did your LL.M in Public International Law from LSE broaden your legal perspective, especially in navigating global tech policy?
LSE gave me a bird’s-eye view of how legal norms are constructed, contested, and negotiated across jurisdictions. It trained me to think beyond domestic legislation and consider global frameworks, power dynamics, and geopolitical context – skills that are essential in tech policy today. Studying international humanitarian and human rights law also deepened my own appreciation of “harms” and what they might mean in the digital world. It taught me to ask not just “is this legal,” but “is this just,” especially when advising on emerging technologies. That normative framing continues to guide my work across borders today.
What I am most grateful for, however, is how LSE opened up a whole new and vibrant world – of people, experiences, and contexts – that I may have read about in the past but got to actually immerse myself in-person. It impressed upon me just how numerous and diverse perspectives on a single issue can be, and how essential it is to make space for them in building the policy ecosystem of tomorrow.
Having worked with top law firms and major companies, what inspired you to launch Data & Co, and what is your vision for the future?
When I thought of my next steps, the answer was quite straightforward – I wanted to focus on the subject matter that I love – of public policy as it applies to the technology sector. Granted that this is work I’ve done for the past 11 years, but I wanted to now thoughtfully and intentionally design my focus. I’m building Data & Co to be a trusted advisor across the spectrum of regulatory stakeholders – businesses, governments, special interest groups alike – as well be a thought leader on emerging policy challenges particularly for fast moving regulatory topics like in AI, digital payments, privacy, online safety, and consumer interest.
Candidly, Data & Co is my professional passion project. I feel inspired to strengthen evidence-based thoughtful policy research on some of these issues, while also collaborating closely with stakeholders for cross-pollination of ideas and building a more resilient and sustainable policy ecosystem. I launched Data & Co to bridge legal nuance with public policy strategy, and to make the approach to compliance not just a checkbox, but a tool for responsible innovation.
A big part of my vision is to invite young minds to this work – new ideas always spark novel answers to complex problems, and that is invigorating. So at Data & Co we welcome young people to share their thinking, and be involved and productive members of the policy discourse.
Given your experience advising both Indian and international clients, how do you navigate evolving regulatory frameworks particularly in the area of data privacy when legal standards are still emerging and often ambiguous?
I treat ambiguity as an opportunity for proactive strategy rather than passive compliance. Navigating emerging frameworks means staying grounded in first principles – think accountability, data principal rights, and purpose limitation for instance. It also means scenario-planning for multiple outcomes, building privacy-by-design muscle early, and engaging constructively with regulators. My approach is typically layered – assess risk, weigh policy direction, and align with business goals, which includes maintaining the interest of the individual customer. I also find it helpful to reiterate that in navigating privacy, building and maintaining trust with data principals is crucial, and using that as a yardstick when exploring emerging regulations can be quite instructive.
With laws like India’s DPDP Act and the growing global focus on AI governance, what guiding principles should companies follow to ensure ethical innovation and long-term regulatory compliance?
I’d go back to the first principles I just mentioned. Transparency, user agency, privacy-by-design, and fairness should be embedded into product and data practices, not retrofitted after the fact. The global AI and privacy regulatory landscape may differ in specifics, but the overall direction is often informed by similar imperatives – that of protecting consumer interest. This means inculcating practices of explainability in clear and simple language, i.e. how and why personal data is collected, and how decisions on/ from/ for that personal data are made.
I also recommend, as a good hygiene practice, to build internal accountability structures. In doing so, cross-functional collaboration and clear documentation go a long way – in both ensuring compliance and building user trust.
You have helped clients through unexpected regulatory shifts. Can you share a specific example of managing a challenging case in relation to global technology regulations?
As public policy professionals, our goal is to work towards limiting instances of unexpected regulatory changes, and contribute constructively to the dialogue. However, every now and then there are surprises that we help our clients navigate. My goal, as the first step, is to understand what is happening, why, who it is intended for, and how it impacts my client. To do all of this, I work closely with cross-functional partners internally within my client organisation and simultaneously with regulatory stakeholders as well as peers in the industry to gain their perspectives.
In situations like these, I personally find clear prioritisation to be incredibly helpful – what is business-critical versus good-to-have. I think it is also essential to manage expectations with honesty, and partner productively with internal and external stakeholders. And I also use these opportunities to remind myself that agility is as important as knowledge.
As a woman leading at the intersection of law, tech, and policy fields traditionally dominated by men, what key challenges and leadership lessons have shaped you, and what advice would you have for others facing similar paths?
One lesson that’s stayed with me is that while credibility is earned, confidence must often be self-issued. Early on, I had to make my peace with being the only woman, or the youngest voice, in many rooms, and to back myself even when others didn’t because of my gender or age. I advocated for inclusion and diversity in these rooms. I learned to speak up not just when I was certain, but also when I was curious. Leading now, I try to build spaces that are collaborative, inclusive, and intellectually honest. I learn from people with shared and different experiences alike, and acknowledge struggles – of the glass ceiling, of imposter syndrome, of credit-theft – that we’ve all been through.
My advice? Be audacious in your ideas and generous with your platform, especially for others trying to find theirs. The only way we’ll succeed in making the profession more inclusive is we intentionally make space for diverse perspectives.
Balancing a demanding legal practice with personal life can be challenging. How do you manage the pressures of a multifaceted career while maintaining your well-being and finding time for reflection?
I believe that as human beings we are the sum total of all our experiences, which includes work and leisure. I am wildly protective of both my boundaries and my ambition.
I have a mentor who used to tell me that outside of breaks or holidays from work, it is really important for us to find small moments of joy on a daily basis. On some days, that means logging off to cuddle with my dog (Data, my firm’s mascot), and on other days, it’s about saying no to a project that doesn’t align with my purpose. I also recognise that it is not pragmatic to believe that I can achieve mathematical balance on each day, and so I listen closely to my body and mind. I travel, read and keep myself creatively stimulated through writing, dance or art, which then translates into a fresh mind for work. The converse is also true – my creative pursuits are often informed by work imperatives!
And beyond that, just super tactically, I approach my time with structure and planning. I find blocking time on my calendar very helpful to visualise how I am spending my day/ year, and I remain flexible about tweaking it on the go. My goal, ultimately, is less about balance, and more about (upon reflection) my time as having brought me joy.
Looking back at your career and the successful practice you’ve built today, what were the key experiences that initially led you toward pursuing law? What moments or influences made you choose law as a career? Additionally, how did your time at NLU Gujarat shape and deepen your passion for the field?
I was drawn to law after witnessing how legal complexities often overwhelmed individuals and businesses, creating unnecessary barriers to their goals. A defining moment came during my undergraduate years when I saw a family dispute escalate simply due to lack of proper legal guidance. This showed me that law isn’t just about statutes, but about people and relationships.
NLU Gujarat was transformative. The practical learning approach, diverse legal exposure through moot courts and internships, and exceptional faculty mentorship developed the critical thinking skills that guide my practice today. The institution’s emphasis on real-world application deepened my understanding of law’s potential to create positive change.
In the early years of your practice, what experiences helped you build a stronger understanding of the law and laid the foundation for your career? Could you share some key lessons from that period that would benefit our young readers?
Working across different practice areas initially provided invaluable insights into how various legal disciplines intersect. A pivotal experience was advising a struggling startup on restructuring, which required understanding corporate law, employment regulations, and tax implications simultaneously teaching me that modern legal practice demands interdisciplinary expertise.
Key lessons for young practitioners: embrace every learning opportunity regardless of how mundane it seems; develop strong communication skills to translate complex legal concepts into actionable business advice; build relationships based on trust and transparency; and stay curious; the law evolves constantly, and successful practitioners evolve with it.
What inspired you to establish your own practice? What were some of the challenges you faced in the beginning, and how did you navigate those obstacles?
I wanted to create a practice that delivered personalized, innovative legal solutions while maintaining the highest ethical standards combining the expertise of larger firms with the agility and client focus of boutique practices.
Initial challenges included building credibility, establishing a client base, and managing financial constraints while maintaining service quality.
I navigated these through strategic relationship building, delivering exceptional results on smaller matters to build credibility, and focusing on becoming specialists in chosen practice areas rather than trying to be everything to everyone. We never compromised on quality to win business – a principle that ultimately distinguished us in the market.
Cross-border transactions often involve navigating multiple legal frameworks and jurisdictions. How do you manage the complexities of these deals? What are the critical legal considerations businesses must keep in mind when engaging in cross-border transactions, and how do you ensure compliance with international legal standards while advising clients?
We manage complexity through systematic due diligence across all relevant jurisdictions, collaborating with trusted local counsel worldwide. Our framework maps regulatory requirements, tax implications, and compliance obligations for each jurisdiction involved.
Critical considerations include foreign investment regulations, tax treaty implications, currency exchange controls, sector-specific restrictions, dispute resolution mechanisms, and enforcement challenges across different legal systems.
We ensure compliance through jurisdiction-specific checklists, regular regulatory updates, and maintaining relationships with qualified local counsel. Our approach emphasizes early identification of potential conflicts between legal systems and structuring transactions to minimize regulatory friction while ensuring comprehensive documentation that anticipates cross-jurisdictional enforcement challenges.
With the evolving landscape of CSR compliance, what trends do you foresee emerging in the near future? Additionally, could you share how you guide clients in aligning their CSR strategies with both domestic and international laws?
Emerging trends include mandatory climate disclosures, supply chain responsibility requirements, and stakeholder-centric reporting. We’re seeing convergence between ESG standards and domestic CSR requirements, with increased focus on measurable impact assessment and integration with business strategy.
We guide clients by conducting comprehensive assessments of applicable domestic and international obligations, then developing CSR strategies that exceed minimum compliance while creating genuine business value. Our approach emphasizes robust documentation, impact measurement systems, regular compliance audits, and integration of CSR considerations into business decision-making processes.
Start-ups face several challenges when it comes to establishing their legal foundations. What are the most common legal hurdles that start-ups should address early on? How do you assist them with crucial aspects like intellectual property rights, employee agreements, and business structuring?
Common hurdles include inadequate business structuring, insufficient IP protection, poorly drafted founder and employee agreements, and underestimating regulatory compliance requirements.
Our approach begins with comprehensive business structure analysis considering investment plans, tax efficiency, and regulatory requirements. For IP, we conduct thorough audits and establish protection strategies including trademark registrations and robust confidentiality frameworks. Employee agreements require balancing company protection with talent attraction—we draft comprehensive contracts and establish equity participation frameworks.
We emphasize establishing good governance practices early, including board structures, decision-making processes, and compliance systems that become crucial as startups scale.
Given your expertise in handling family estate disputes, what aspects of family law do you feel need more focus or reform? How do you approach succession planning for high-net-worth families, especially when dealing with complex cross-border elements?
Family law needs greater focus on alternative dispute resolution and preventive legal structures. The current system often exacerbates conflicts rather than resolving them constructively.
For high-net-worth succession planning, we begin with comprehensive family and asset mapping, then develop flexible structures adaptable to changing circumstances. Cross-border elements require careful jurisdiction selection, appropriate trust structures, and documentation that anticipates enforcement issues across different legal systems.
Our methodology emphasizes family governance frameworks including family constitutions, communication protocols, and dispute resolution mechanisms, with regular plan updates to reflect changing family circumstances and regulatory environments.
Trust formation is often a delicate issue, especially for business families. Could you elaborate on your approach to setting up trusts and advising clients on succession planning? What are some common misconceptions businesses or individuals might have about trust formation, and how do you address these?
Our approach begins with thorough understanding of family dynamics, business structures, and long-term goals, then designing flexible trust structures that serve multiple purposes while maintaining adaptability.
Common misconceptions include believing trusts provide absolute asset protection, assuming trust formation means loss of control, and underestimating ongoing compliance requirements. Many don’t understand differences between trust types and their specific applications.
We address these through comprehensive education about trust mechanics, clear explanation of rights and obligations, and realistic assessment of benefits and limitations. For business families, we focus on structures facilitating business continuity while providing appropriate family financial security, often involving multiple trust vehicles and governance frameworks for family participation in business decisions.
Your commitment to fostering diversity in the legal profession is commendable. How do you ensure aspiring lawyers have the mentorship and opportunities they need within your firm? What qualities do you look for when mentoring young lawyers, and what advice do you offer them as they navigate the legal profession?
We ensure opportunities through inclusive hiring practices, structured mentorship programs pairing senior and junior lawyers across practice areas, meaningful work assignments, and regular professional development workshops.
In mentoring, I look for intellectual curiosity, ethical grounding, strong communication skills, and resilience. Technical skills can be taught, but these fundamental qualities determine long-term success.
My advice focuses on building strong foundational skills, maintaining ethical standards regardless of pressure, developing business acumen alongside legal expertise, and understanding that successful careers are built on relationships and reputation. Most importantly, find meaning in your work – legal practice provides unique opportunities to make positive differences in people’s lives.
With your demanding career and leadership role, how do you personally manage work-life balance? Additionally, how do you encourage your team to maintain a healthy balance while excelling in their roles?
I maintain balance through disciplined time management, prioritizing high-impact activities, delegating effectively, and protecting family time. Sustainable success comes from managing energy, not just time.
For the team, we’ve implemented realistic project timelines, adequate staffing, flexible work arrangements where possible, and measure success by results and client satisfaction, not hours worked. We encourage time off and maintain open communication about workload concerns.
Most importantly, I model healthy balance myself. Teams take cues from leadership, so demonstrating that it’s possible to excel professionally while maintaining personal well-being encourages others to do the same. We celebrate achievements and recognize that sustainable careers require attention to both professional and personal development.
To start with, why and how did you choose law as your career? And if there was any specific inspiration or anything that you feel made the change in your mindset to choose law, being in India, having those kinds of challenges, we would request you to share those insights with us.
In response to your specific question, I do recognize—having grown up in India, having spent almost the first 28, 29 years of my life in India—that, at least when I was growing up, law and the study of law were not seen as a very attractive career option.
Let me put it very simply: people were more interested, as I recall, in studying the sciences, engineering, medicine, and architecture. Those kinds of professions were seen as more lucrative and more rewarding, from what I recall growing up.
So, law was definitely not an attractive career option. Having said that, I was someone who was always interested in the study of social sciences, in the study of politics. You could say that that’s something that was bestowed upon me by my father, who is a professor of history. He is basically a social sciences academician himself. I was always surrounded by these books that were in the house—about world history, about ancient history, Greek history, Roman history, Indian history obviously. So, I used to be very fascinated by reading those books. Those used to be like coffee table books, from what I remember.
My father used to bring them a lot. There used to be encyclopedias, so I was always interested in politics and history. And although I was a good student in science and maths as well, I always wanted to do something more related to how our society works, how our social systems work, how our political institutions work.
And by the time I entered high school, I realized that studying law was probably the best way to understand it, because the law governs most of our political and social institutions. That was my motivation. I did not have any specific role models growing up, although I knew very well as a student of history that most of our leaders during the freedom movement—not only in India but almost all around the world—were lawyers. I realized that there must be something about the study of law that makes good leaders, that makes these leaders, these very cherished leaders of not just our freedom movement, as I said, but if you take the history of any country.
You will see that most of the people who have risen to the top have studied law in some form or the other. So that was my interest, and that’s why I ended up being a lawyer. I did not have any specific branches or any specific disciplines in law in mind when I entered the legal profession. I just wanted to understand how, as I said, our society and our political institutions were.
And that’s how I ended up being a lawyer.
You were also equally interested in politics and that made the way towards law career because yes, all over the world, most of the politicians and leaders are lawyers also, and really in every country they have brought in a lot of changes. So was that the reason that you started your career from a leading Indian law firm which was specially focused on trade policies and government affairs. And later you also served as legal advisor to the Department of Economic Affairs, government of India.
How did you end up there? First, my curiosity is that, and another thing, how did that form your perspective towards moving ahead and getting into international practice?
That’s obviously a very relevant question that your listeners might be interested in hearing about.
So, as I said, I did not have a specific practice of law in mind—whether it’s international law or arbitration, or litigation or transactions—when I started my life as a law student, because, from what I recall, in those days we did not even have this kind of information about the various disciplines and branches of law and the various types of legal practices or law firms. I started studying law in 2003, and the internet and the information age at that time were very much in its infancy.
I was just fascinated, as I said, by the concept of law and how we make laws, how the Parliament makes laws, how our Council of Ministers works, how the Cabinet works, from what sources they derive their powers—things like that. I did not have anything in mind, but as I started my student journey, there were a couple of events that shaped my career towards a more international practice.
The first was that, you know, at that time—and I think even now—as law students, we do a lot of moot courts. So I was given an opportunity to do a moot court that was an international moot court on WTO Law. And this was organized by the European Students’ Law Association, ELSA, and our team at that time qualified for the world finals that were held in Geneva. I think this was in 2006. So I went to Geneva and argued before a tribunal a case that was related to the WTO, or the World Trade Organization, and the various laws that constitute that organization.
I think that was a very prominent factor in shaping my career because I realized that law doesn’t just govern our national institutions but also governs international institutions—how countries trade with each other. There are defined, specific rules about how you trade, how much subsidies you can grant, what kinds of duties you can impose, what kinds of anti-dumping and countervailing measures a country can undertake against another country. I realized that law as a discipline is far broader than I thought, and I was just fascinated by the international aspect of it.
And then, I think we had a professor at some point in my university career who was a professor from the University of Vienna. He was a professor in international law and a visiting professor for a semester. I developed a very close relationship with that professor who came to our university and taught us public international law, and he basically served as a mentor at that time in shaping, again, my career and my understanding of public international law.
Again, public international law governs how states interact with each other on the international sphere. So that was again a very big motivating factor. So I think those two factors shaped my understanding of this international practice that I developed. And then we had specializations at that time.
In our university, they used to have honors courses, so I chose an honors course in international law and trade. And that is how I specialized in what I do right now. And that is also how I ended up joining Amarchand in 2009. Amarchand had a very small practice of trade policy and government affairs, which was focused towards, again, working with the Government of India—obviously in Delhi—but also with other governments around the world on how they negotiate trade agreements, how they negotiate bilateral investment treaties.
I joined that practice, and I can answer more, but that’s how I ended up at Amarchand. And one thing led to the other, and I’ve been doing this for almost 15, 16 years.
Wow, that’s an amazing journey. You later pursued your LLM at the prestigious NYU School of Law and received notable scholarships like Vanderbilt and Inlaks. What do you think helped you secure these, was it your work, your clarity of purpose, or your passion for international law? How did these recognitions shape your professional path? And how have they contributed to establishing you as a prominent international law practitioner today?
Again, a very relevant question. I did my stint with Amarchand & Mangaldas in New Delhi. Then, as I said, I moved on to the Government of India, where I worked as an in-house lawyer in the Ministry of Finance, Department of Economic Affairs, helping the government again negotiate bilateral investment treaties, free trade agreements, as well as manage disputes with foreign investors.
So I had that kind of experience, and when you’re in the government, the government works with all kinds of people—whether they’re lawyers, policymakers, or people in international institutions. So I interacted with people from all around the world when I was working as an in-house legal counsel in the Ministry of Finance. And that shaped my thinking in terms of taking up advanced study of international law, because I realized that international law is a very academic discipline—perhaps more academic than other disciplines—because you need to write a lot.
There’s a lot of critical research and critical thinking. I’m not saying it doesn’t happen in other branches of law, but in international law, perhaps it happens a lot more. So I realized that I needed an advanced degree because it was a very academic discipline, based on my interactions with the people that I met at that time.
So yeah, I applied to a lot of universities. I was accepted into many universities—Harvard, Columbia, and Berkeley. But I ended up choosing NYU because I think New York is the hub, the center, probably the global center of international arbitration as a practice. And that is what I was interested in.
And I also received this very prestigious scholarship, which you just mentioned—the Vanderbilt Scholarship at NYU—which covered a lot of my tuition and expenses. And I received that scholarship because I think I had a very clear sense of purpose about what I wanted to do. I think these kinds of scholarships are awarded by universities to people who are keen to learn, who absolutely show in their applications that they’re going to be at the university—it’s a very short time, the LLM is only for a year—so in that one year, they’re there to actually learn something new, and then utilize the instruction that they received or the education they received to do something more meaningful. So I think I was able to very clearly explain in my application what I wanted to do—not just with my time at NYU for a year, but beyond that.
I was also awarded another scholarship in India, which is called the Inlaks Scholarship, I think, which is also very prominent. And from what I recall, I was able to bring forth to the selection committee for that scholarship as well how my career in law had been up until that point, what were the kinds of things that I hadn’t done, and what it was that I wanted to do beyond my LLM at NYU. And I think they were also very, very impressed by the fact that I had worked in the government for about two and a half, three years, because that’s not something very common—especially if you are working in a big Indian law firm.
Most people generally move to another law firm or do something else—they don’t generally go to work for the government or take a pay cut. So I think I was able to explain that I went to the government because I think in international arbitration, if you see, one of the biggest defendants—one of the entities that is sued the most—I mean, it’s obviously common in domestic litigation as well, but in the international sphere too, governments are sued and also sue very often. The government is a huge, huge stakeholder in the international arbitration system—not just the Government of India, but governments around the world. I again wanted to understand from the institutional perspective: what are the priorities, what are the policy interests that governments have in these kinds of disputes?
And I also knew that there are lots of law practices, especially in the West—in the United States and in Europe—that are focused on the defense of sovereign governments in these kinds of disputes. I knew that if I worked in-house as a government lawyer, that experience could help me find a career at an international law firm or an international institution which values that kind of experience. Again, all of this was brought forth, probably in my application, which is why I was lucky enough to be selected for these scholarships.
And then I had a great time at NYU, and after that I joined Foley Hoag, which—as I think was explained in the introduction—is an international law firm which specializes in the defense of sovereign states and state-owned entities in international arbitration and international litigation. So that is the kind of work I do. When I was in India, I obviously did a lot of work for the Government of India, but now I’ve done work for governments all around the world.
I can name a few—I’ve defended Croatia, Ecuador, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, Nepal, Mauritius. There are so many countries around the world that I’ve been fortunate enough to work for and defend.
So I think I am still very much a student and a learner, but what I’ve been able to do is utilize my experience that I obtained while I was in India—working in a law firm and in the government—and now I’m applying and using that experience to further and broaden my legal career and legal perspectives beyond just India.
After listening to you, I cannot stop myself, but ask, as I understand learners will also be very much interested, that how did you make move from one of the top law firm private practice to the government of India work because it’s not easy transition and you do not get such kind of work or as a legal counsel, you do not get appointed without having certain amount of experience, the kind of portrayal of your practice, what was the process that you followed maybe that will help our learners?
And next, like you explained that I wanted to get into international arbitration and international law, by then you had already decided. How helpful was being with the government of India? Not only to get the scholarships, but also get the right kind of subjects being chosen?
Because as far as I understand, LLMs, you choose as many subjects as possible in the US, and you are allowed to have a lot of interactive subjects also. So how did you do that? How helpful was your stint with the government of India in doing all of this?
It was very, very helpful to put it mildly.
I don’t think I’d be where I am today if not for my experience with the Government of India. Now, as I said, it’s not a common transition from private law firm practice to the government, and it’s not an easy transition. But as I explained a while ago, at Amarchand we were already working with the government and various government institutions on things like negotiation of free trade agreements, negotiation of bilateral investment treaties.
We were also working on various law reform initiatives. I remember, at that time, we were working, for example, with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs on the redrafting of the legislation called the Societies Registration Act 1860. From what I remember—I don’t know if that’s been done—but those are the kinds of things we were working on.
I was already very familiar with government institutions in my work as a private lawyer with Amarchand. And that also was not a very common practice. But we had set this up in Amarchand with a very small team, just three people, and we were doing this kind of government public policy work.
I was already very familiar with government institutions, and what happened was that the government at that time was facing a lot of these international disputes. It was receiving notices from a lot of multinational companies, which had grievances and disputes with regard to various measures that the government—not just the Government of India, but also various state governments and local governments—had undertaken.
The people, the relevant powers that be in the government, were very familiar with our firm and very familiar with me and my work. They liked what they saw, and they felt that they needed someone not as an external—I mean, of course they would hire external lawyers—but they also needed someone in-house to manage these disputes and manage these treaty negotiations for them.
And they really liked my profile because at that time I was quite new, relatively new. And they needed someone who was a doer, who was a worker, who could actually sit and draft things. And they probably liked my passion for international law and international arbitration.
It’s not something that I actively sought, but it was something that I was offered—a chance. And this was, again, not very common even for the government, because as you know, in the government they don’t generally hire people from outside. I know there are some initiatives that have been taken in the last four or five years where they have hired people, but in 2013, there were virtually no people from outside being hired.
There were a few people hired as consultants. But I think those were people who were retired or had a very significant amount of experience—which in my case, there was not, because I had barely three or four years of experience. It was a very significant and groundbreaking initiative undertaken by the ministry at that time to hire an external, young professional, which was me at that time.
And they offered me the opportunity. I did not actively seek it. And that’s how I ended up there—because they were very familiar with my work, and I think they saw me as the right person who was going to be managing these cases for the government. And I managed all kinds of disputes with foreign investors generally, because the Ministry of Finance at that time—there was a body which has been abolished by now—but it was called the Foreign Investment Promotion Board.
And the Foreign Investment Promotion Board was responsible at that time for the entry and admission of all foreign investors in India. So I used to work with that cell, managing disputes with foreign investors—whether it was before domestic courts or whether it was an international dispute. And so that’s how I ended up there.
And again, I think that was a very relevant experience because, as I already said, in international arbitration—especially when you’re talking about investor-state arbitration—it’s literally called “investor-state.” One party is the investor; the other party is the state. Working for the state is a very, very relevant experience that any young professional can have, and I would encourage people to get that experience, especially if you’re keen in this field, because 50% of the dispute is about the state, and 50% is about the investor. You get a wide perspective about how state institutions work, what the policy priorities are—things like that. I gained that relevant experience and then used it to advance my career in the ways that I could at that time.
You have represented, as you said, many, many sovereign and private clients across the globe within arbitral work. In your view, what kind of procedures do you look forward to, or what kind of strategic restrictions have you seen while working with these kinds of forums in different jurisdictions? How do you see those differences and how your study in India and your study as an LLM student in the US has shaped your understanding and has helped you build such procedures, such strategic points to develop those drafts?
Because they are the only ones which we are privy to and we learn from those. So how have you worked towards these concepts and aspects to make sure that it is understandable by the layman I would say? Also how do you make sure that governments make it easier for the society, in any jurisdiction whatsoever you have worked with?
Each case, each country, as you said, it’s very different. I mean, obviously there are certain common international law rules and standards which all states have to abide by.
There are certain normative standards in any international treaty—whether it’s a bilateral treaty or a multilateral treaty—there are common standards that have to be followed, whether it’s by the state or by a foreign investor, whether it’s by an international institution or individuals.
That is there. But I think what I’ve learned is that each case and each dispute, in your capacity as a practitioner—probably if you practice dispute resolution in any form—you would’ve realized and understood that each case is different.
I think it’s about understanding and applying the specific facts of each case, because these are complex disputes. The moment a state is involved in a dispute, it gets more complicated than any other private dispute, because when you’re talking about a state—and let’s take the example of India, or we could take the example of any state, honestly, in my view—even a small state, like a small country, relatively small like Mauritius, because I’ve done a lot of cases for the Government of Mauritius, it’s an island. But the government in any country is a very large machinery. It’s probably one of the largest employers. It has many organs, it has many departments, ministries, and the government under international law is not just the central government, the federal government. Under international law, state responsibility arises not just for the actions of the government at the central level, but also at the state level, also at the municipal level. Any actor, any person who’s acting on behalf of the state or exercising governmental authority—the actions of such a person or entity—can give rise to state responsibility under international law.
So what you’re dealing with is a very large and complicated institutional mechanism. You have to understand how it works, and it works in different ways in each system, each country. Now, there are certain common threads. For example, one common thread that I’ve learned in all of these cases is that each government has an interest in protecting its policy space, protecting its regulatory space.
So, for example, one of the earliest cases that I did while I was here in Foley Hoag was a case for the government of— I mean, I was not directly involved in that case, but I know of that case. We did a case for the Government of Uruguay. And this case was a challenge by a very big international tobacco company called Philip Morris against the laws that were passed by the Government of Uruguay mandating that all cigarette packets should only have plain packaging—like you cannot have any advertisements or logos or any form of branding on a cigarette package that is out for sale in a supermarket or in a shop. And I think, for example, India also has some kind of similar laws, because you need to display on a very wide and big scale on any cigarette pack that it’s injurious for health. And you have all these kinds of gross photos and everything that show what cigarette smoking can lead to.
So foreign investors—not just in Uruguay, but I’m aware that in other countries around the world—also challenge those kinds of actions because they said that it is an attack on their intellectual property, because as manufacturers, they have a right to advertise and to display their brand on cigarette packets.
But the government’s position was that no, this is something that is undertaken in public interest. This is something that is undertaken to protect public health, because the government has an interest in protecting the health and environment of a wider degree of population. So the argument is that the public interest of the state in promoting health and promoting the non-use of cigarettes takes precedence over the intellectual property rights of a foreign investor. So that’s the tension. That was the tension in that dispute.
So, as I said, all governments have some sort of policy interest and regulatory interest that they want to protect. And whenever that clashes with the interest of the commercial—mostly commercial—interest of the foreign investor, that gives rise to disputes.
And that is the challenge that you have to understand in each case. Each case has different facts, and you have to first understand the facts—what are you dealing with? And then obviously, there are certain common standards and norms that you have to apply to those facts.I think that’s the challenge that I faced in every case or every dispute that I handled.
You are also admitted to the bar of Washington DC, New York, and New Delhi as well, which is in itself an achievement. How has this multi-jurisdictional licensing for yourself helped your legal practice? And how do you see that managing all of these demanding practices across different legal systems has helped you not only understand as a person how much you can influence public policy making, especially keeping in mind your strength in India and the way you are working internationally as well. We would request you to share some nuggets about those so that we can understand how one can plan their future the way you have done?
Firstly, let me take a step back. If you want to practice as a lawyer in the United States, you have to be admitted to the bar. So I don’t think it’s something very revolutionary. I mean, you have to pass an exam, which I think is a very tricky exam. I’m not gonna say that it’s a tough or a difficult exam—it’s quite tricky because it’s quite unlike what students of India must be used to taking in the form of exams.
It’s a very practically oriented exam, and it’s an exam that is focused more on your legal writing and your practical skills—bringing out your practical skills as a lawyer. So you have to pass that exam to be able to practice as a lawyer in the United States, like it is the case in India.
I passed that exam, which, as I said, was a very tricky and different kind of exam. And then, when you practice as an international arbitration lawyer, you practice in various jurisdictions—because it’s literally international. The dispute or the parties or the elements of the case could be from anywhere around the world, which is why I am also admitted in DC, because Washington, DC is a very relevant jurisdiction. We have the World Bank here, we have the DC Circuit Court and the DC District Court where a lot of these lawsuits by foreign investors are filed—whether it’s for the enforcement of awards or whether it’s for set-aside.
I think, as an international arbitration lawyer, you have to have a very international profile, and it always makes sense to be admitted and recognized in these various jurisdictions so that people know about your profile. That also helps with attracting more work, and people again know about you.
And so that’s why I’m not just admitted in DC, but for example, I’m also—I think it was mentioned in the introduction I’m a fellow of the Malaysian Institute of Arbitrators. So again, what I try to do is cast a very wide net, because in terms of building my international profile, it’s very important that I am visible and present in various jurisdictions—and which is why I’m admitted.
Thank you so much. I know it’s very important to be admitted to the bar just to practice, but as you’ve said, it’s very tricky in the US unlike to what we are accustomed in India, there is a huge difference between the way we take this here and how it is there, so definitely it’s a super achievement. I want to say. Although it’s mandatory, it’s still a big achievement.
But I just wanted to add one more thing for people who may listen to this interview. I don’t know how many people would, but if you want to practice and come here in the US, one very, very important thing—as lawyers in India, at least from the time that I was studying—is that there’s a significant amount of difference in legal writing. I mean, the US is also a very common law-based system. Although it’s developed in a very unique way, India is still very rooted and very similar to how the English legal system has traditionally been. But the US is also a common law system.
So, understanding the laws here and understanding how institutions work is not an issue, but the practice of law—the practical aspect of practicing law—is very, very different. I do not think, and I do not recall from my time in India, whether it was as a student or a practitioner, devoting enough attention to and developing my skills as a writer.
But as opposed to that, in the US, writing is probably the most important skillset you will have as a lawyer. Of course, oral advocacy is important, and in India, I think we are very good oral advocates. We are brilliant orators, and we are good debaters. That is something that comes naturally.
But I don’t think there’s enough attention paid to legal writing. I think even the bar exam is a test of your legal writing skills, because I think there’s one day—from what I recall now, this is 10 years ago—but one day is devoted specifically to writing essays. And in India, I remember when I used to write essays in exams, it was all about filling the number of pages. You just write as many pages as you can in the shortest time possible and cite as many cases as you can. If you do that in the US, you’re most certainly going to fail. There is absolutely no doubt. The professor or the evaluator is not even going to read your paper.
They’re going to throw it away in the bin. So it’s not about filling the pages—it’s really about being succinct. Being precise and being concise is very, very important. There’s a famous quote that “brevity is the soul of writing.” I don’t know who this quote is attributed to, but this is very, very important.
Brevity is very important. In the US, you have to be able to write and convey things in a very simple, in a very layman sort of way. Unlike India, where we sometimes use these heavy proses, complex words, and very long paragraphs. That doesn’t sell. Even if you look at the judgments of the courts in India—sometimes we have Supreme Court judgments—I remember reading some of these constitutional law judgments of 500, 600 pages. I remember there was a case, a famous case called Indira Sawhney versus Union of India. This was a case on reservation. This was like some thousand pages. It was a very landmark case. But if you take a landmark case here in the US, written by the Supreme Court, it would no longer be more than 30, 40, 50 pages.
So, if you want to come here and practice as a lawyer, think about developing your writing skills. Think about being concise. Think about being precise. And do not think about just filling in the number of pages, because then you’re going to not just do poorly in your master’s or whatever other legal studies you pursue, but also not do well on your bar exam.
I think that’s a very important lesson that I learned—and I’m still learning—because it takes time to adapt between different legal systems.
Thank you for honestly highlighting the need to unlearn and relearn, especially around precision in legal writing. As we near the end of this conversation, I’d like to ask, how have you managed your work-life balance while engaging in high-intensity arbitration, academic writing, and speaking at global forums? What practices have helped you maintain your mental, physical, and professional well-being? Could you share your checklist with our learners?
That’s again a very relevant question. I think, especially in this age where there’s so much intense competition and there are obviously work pressures everywhere.
I think that’s something I don’t think I’ve mastered, but I’m happy to share what I do. I’m still a learner, and I think most of us are learners. So, one thing that I certainly have is the capacity—the mental capacity—I’ve developed to be able to switch off and on. When I’m working, I’m fully focused on working, but I do know that at some point during the day or during the week, I’m not going to be working. So I have the capacity to switch off and focus on my personal life. I have a family, I have kids—I have two young boys—which I think helps. I’m not saying it’s going to be the same for everyone, but people could have different motivations and things to do in their personal lives.
It could be a hobby, it could be anything, but I think it’s important to recognize that your life extends not just to your profession or your practice—it extends beyond that. There are important things beyond that. So I have the mental capacity to switch on and off, and it doesn’t take me a long time to do that.
I’m very, very flexible, and fortunately, I mean, work is very intense, but my colleagues and my employers are very flexible in the sense that I can switch off at any time. For example, on a day when I do not have a lot of work and I have sufficient downtime, I can completely switch off and focus on my family—take my kids out to play soccer or football, as you call it in India—or do something with them, or just read a book or watch a movie.
So I think I do that. The second thing I’ve very much learned—and I think this comes with age; for very young people, this may be difficult because you’re still trying to develop and establish yourself—but I think it’s very important to focus on your physical health, because we ignore that.
I certainly have learned in the last, I would say, three, four, five years to focus on my physical health. I at least take out like 30 to 40 minutes in the day—not much, because you don’t get more than that—to just focus on my physical health. I get up early in the morning, do some sort of physical activity, eat the right kind of food. I think it’s very important, because sometimes as lawyers—I remember, especially when I started my career—we used to eat all kinds of junk food. I have realized, I think these are very small things, may sound insignificant, but again, all of it is connected and affects your mental health and your physical health.
I think eating the right kind of food, getting enough sleep is very important. You will have days and you will have zones where you will not be able to do these kinds of things. For example, when I’m in a hearing—in arbitration, especially in international arbitration—hearings are held in a block.
It’s not like in India where you have a court date, and then you get another date two months later, and then you come back. Our hearings are like 5- or 10-day hearings, and they’re held in a block, in a consecutive period. So, for example, when I’m in a hearing or preparing for a hearing, there would be two or three weeks when I’m not able to do any of this.
When I’m not able to do any exercise, when I’m not focusing on eating the right kind of food, when I do not have any personal downtime. But that’s something that you have to accept, because it’s a very intense and demanding practice. And at the end of it, there is a reward.
When you finish your hearing, when you finish these intense periods, then you know that you will get a downtime. So, you focus on that downtime, you work hard during that period, and then you switch off once that is over. I think switching on and off, eating the right kind of food, physical activity, and recognizing that there is a life and there are important things to do beyond the law and beyond your practice—
I think these are the three or four things that I have recognized as important. That said, again, as I said, I’m still learning, and it’s not like I’m in peak physical health or anything, but mentally—I think also mentally—it’s very important. Sometimes mental health is ignored—I would say more in India than in the US.
It’s very important that if you have an issue or if you have a challenge, you speak to your peers, you speak to your colleagues. You don’t hesitate to speak out. If you’re facing a particular issue in your workplace, you speak to your family. Don’t keep it within yourself.
Don’t be lonely. I think go out and make friends, make acquaintances, and recognize that law is just—ultimately—it’s just a career, right? You know it’s going to get over at some point, and then you’re going to do something different. So find something different.
Becoming an Advocate-on-Record is a notable milestone. How has this role influenced your practice, and what added responsibilities and opportunities has it brought with it?
At the felicitation event for the Advocate-on-Record (AoR) cohort I was part of, one of the office bearers remarked on how many current Supreme Court judges and successful senior advocates once held the AoR designation. I fully agree, it is indeed a significant milestone. From the very beginning of my legal career, I have been involved in matters before the Hon’ble Supreme Court. Even as a law student, while interning with a Senior Advocate who was then the Additional Solicitor General of India, and another renowned Advocate-on-Record, my interest in practicing at the Supreme Court grew substantially. The allure of working at the apex court and daydreams of arguing before a Constitution Bench inspired my aspiration to become an AoR. Professionally, becoming an AoR has had a profound impact on my practice. A significant portion of my clientele comprises corporates, PSUs, and government bodies, many of whose matters ultimately reach the Supreme Court. Knowing that I am an AoR provides them the assurance that I can seamlessly handle their cases from initiation to conclusion. Furthermore, the AoR designation has opened new avenues, particularly access to appeals originating from courts outside Delhi, which make up a large portion of the Supreme Court’s docket. This has allowed me to engage with unfamiliar legal terrains, such as matters relating to mining or religious endowments, that are not commonly litigated in Delhi, thereby broadening both my exposure and expertise.
You began your career with some of the top law firms in the country. What were some of the most impactful experiences during that time that significantly shaped your professional trajectory?
Looking back, I feel quite lucky to have started out at some of the leading law firms in India. Making the shift from law school to a Tier-1 firm was a bit of a shock to the system at first. One day you’re attending lectures and the next you’re handling serious matters for big companies, many of them multinationals with huge stakes involved. There was a real sense that everything had to be perfect from the get-go, especially when it came to drafting and research. As a junior associate, that kind of pressure can either rattle you or sharpen you.
In my case, I think it did the latter. The fast-paced, high-stakes environment taught me to be meticulous and put in the work, right from day one. That habit stuck, and it’s something I still carry with me, no matter what kind of matter I’m dealing with.
One memory that stands out from those early days was when I was asked within my first week to brief Mr. P. Chidambaram, Senior Advocate, on a writ petition related to service tax. I won’t lie, I was nervous. I stayed up most of the night going over every detail of the case so I’d be ready. It was a trial by fire, but somehow, it went well and gave me a real boost of confidence.
Beyond individual moments, what really shaped me was the overall work culture particularly during my time at AZB & Partners and Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas. I got to work with international clients and interact with foreign lawyers, which gave me a fresh perspective. One thing that really stood out was how structured and transparent their approach was; frequent updates, clear timelines, and detailed billing were the norm. I’ve tried to bring some of that structure into my own work now, and it’s definitely helped in building better client relationships.
Having worked with both reputed law firms and Senior Advocates, what key differences have you observed in terms of work environment, nature of responsibilities, and overall approach to legal practice?
The common aspect of both law firms as well as senior advocates is that as associates/juniors there is an expectation of high level of professionalism. Working in a dispute resolution team at a law firm entails a lot of team work and coordination. Law firms also have a hierarchical structure and within a few years an associate upon getting promoted is expected to lead, guide and train junior members of the team as well. It is also noteworthy that in full service law firms we often worked with lawyers from corporate, transaction and tax teams where their clients got into matters of litigation. This is an advantage of working at full service law firms where even though you may be in a litigation team, there are instances where you get to experience and work along with peers from different practice areas which broadens your horizon. In contrast, when you are working with a senior advocate, there is no hierarchy as such and juniors are expected to directly assist the senior. In turn, however, you get to learn directly from the senior who has decades of experience in the field. There is also no expectation or requirement to lead or supervise other chamber members as each of them would assist the senior in their individual capacities. As far as the responsibilities are concerned, there is a clear distinction in role one plays as a lawyer at a law firm in contrast to a junior in the chamber of a designated Senior Advocate. Most of your readers would already know that Senior Advocates do not engage with litigants directly and the solicitors are their clients essentially. Further, Senior Advocates chambers do not draft pleadings and do not file matters. The aforesaid tasks are to be executed with great sincerity and precision in a law firm. I was lucky to have incredible mentors like Ms. Roopali Singh, Former Senior Partner AZB and Partners and currently the head of dispute resolution at Vritti Legal. I learnt the basics and nuances of drafting under her tutelage. In the initial years of practice at law firms, all filing related tasks are handled by the junior members of the team in collaboration with the court clerks. It is an art to file a petition with minimal or no defects and in cases which are time sensitive and urgent in nature, it can be a make or break thing. I think my experience in law firms also helped me gain proficiency in filing procedures dealing with the registry which is often overlooked as a rudimentary task.
In contrast, working with a senior advocate is totally focussed on mastering the facts and the law of the case and working with the Senior to bring out the most impactful and precise arguments for addressing the court. My Senior, Mr. Prashanto Chandra Sen, Senior Advocate is a product of Dr. AM Singhvi’s chamber and the first thing I learnt from him was a particular style of preparing a note for arguments which he had learnt from his senior, Dr. Singhvi. This consists of a list of relevant dates, submissions and response to contra points. I still follow this format for matters that I argue on my own and even for briefing other Senior Advocates in my matters. Working in a senior’s chamber also means more number of cases to deal with on a daily basis for hearings as compared to a big law firm where the number of hearings per day would be significantly lesser.
With a background in Computer Science (BTech), what inspired your transition to a career in law? How did your experience in law school shape your journey, and in what ways has your engineering education contributed to your legal practice?
A career in law was never on my list. I had started preparing for MBA exams like CAT in my final year of engineering and scored well in my first attempt. I decided to improve my score to get into a top IIM and dropped a year after completing Btech to reappear in CAT. In the meanwhile, on a friend’s suggestion, I gave the Delhi University, Faculty of Law entrance and cleared that. I enrolled and started attending classes out of curiosity. As fate would have it, I liked what was being taught in law college and jettisoned the plan of doing the MBA, leading to a switch in a career to law.
The Delhi University 3 year course experience is quite different from 5 year BA LLB residential programs. Even though we had excellent professors, there was a lack of guidance regarding career options post law school. So I decided it was best to intern as much as possible and get a taste of different practice areas and offices. Being in Delhi helped because there were several options from law firms to reputed chambers where one could look to land an internship. After interning extensively in various offices, I felt that being a first generation lawyer, the best option for me was to join a law firm preferably a tier one firm which pays well ;). I was lucky to intern a couple of times at the AZB and Partners Delhi Office and had offers to join the capital markets team and dispute resolution team. Given my interest in litigation I chose the latter. That was the formal start of my journey in litigation which I thoroughly cherish.
My science and engineering background has helped me immensely in practice. This was felt particularly while working on matters of interstate river water disputes where I was on the legal team from the State of Andhra Pradesh, led by Mr. R Venkatramani, Sr Adv and presently Attorney General of India. Water disputes require advocates to understand highly technical concepts related to hydrology, cropping etc. which in my humble opinion can be grasped better, faster and deeper by a student of science and technology as compared to someone who hasn’t received training and education in sciences. Even in my construction arbitration practice I have reaped the benefit of my science background, particularly on disputes arising out of issues relating to design and specifications in a construction contract.
You’ve advised and represented construction and project management firms in high-stakes arbitration involving contractor and subcontractor disputes. What are some of the recurring challenges in such matters, and how do you approach them to secure effective outcomes?
A lot of claims in construction and infrastructure disputes arise out of delays. Delays can be on many accounts, Invariably, when there is a dispute between a private party and government entity, it is the latter who is blamed to cause delay. Delays could arise on various counts such as lack of statutory approvals, late handover of site, change in scope of work and delay in delivery in drawings and designs, which are out of the contractor’s control. On the other hand, if a contractor defaults in its obligations and causes a delay, claims for liquidated damages (if already specified in the contract) or damages for breach can be made against the contractor by the principal. These are situations which should be handled tactically at an early stage before an aggrieved party precipitates the issue to become a legal dispute. A lot of these disputes can even be avoided by careful drafting of contracts which eliminates ambiguity. Proper contract management and risk mitigation is another aspect that parties must consider to avoid and reduce potential liabilities in the event a dispute arises. Once a dispute has been referred to arbitration, the first thing I would try to achieve, in case I am representing a claimant, is to identify if there are special equities in its favour which might result in getting interim relief in the form of stay on bank guarantees and forfeiture of security deposits. This is extremely difficult, albeit, not impossible and can go a long way in securing some level of financial relief for a party at the very inception of a dispute. I also believe that bringing on board experts can prove critical for the outcome in complex arbitration matters. The impact that experts make is greater in cases where there is a sole arbitrator who is trained judicially as a judge or an advocate. Expert reports along with oral testimonies can often bring the desired clarity to an arbitrator’s mind which can tip the scales in such disputes.
Another great challenge that counsels may face is the ‘Arbitrator’. Today we have a lot of talks, conferences and events centred on the arbitration practice. Every month something would be organized where lawyers, judges, in-house counsel, people from the law ministry come and give speeches about making India a hub for international arbitration, how challenge to awards and court interference should be limited etc. However, a topic which is often overlooked is the quality of arbitrators we have in our country, particularly with respect to their integrity. Unfortunately, if a party is pitted against an arbitrator who is deciding the matter for extraneous reasons, an effective immediate solution may not always be on the cards. In such cases it may be wise to come to a reasonable settlement.
Representing the Union of India and UPSC before various judicial forums, including the Supreme Court, involves complex litigation. How do you manage the legal and strategic dimensions of handling high-stakes public and service law matters on behalf of the government?
In my humble opinion, the most important part about litigating on behalf of the government is to get proper instructions from the concerned officers. I have been lucky to have worked with incredibly competent and energetic officers during my tenure as a panel counsel with various government entities which has helped me in effectively representing them before Courts. In the Supreme Court, the critical cases involving the Union of India are led by the Additional Solicitor Generals, the Solicitor General and the Attorney General. Briefing such stalwarts on matters which involve questions of interpretation of the constitution, issues related to national security, legality of policy decisions which has implications of thousands of crores is like doing a masters of law on these subjects with real life implications. Working closely with these Seniors on 300 + matters in the Supreme Court, often handling 5 fresh cases a day has helped me develop an instinct to identify what is most important in a petition to highlight and show to the Court. This experience has helped me with the skill to manage client expectations and offer better advice regarding the reliefs that are likely to be granted in their favor, rather than what is initially requested and prayed for. This is an essential part of advocacy whether you are representing the government or a private party. Sometimes our instincts may not be accurate enough, and the client may benefit from providence and get the relief they expected rather than the conservative outcome predicted by their advocate, however, such victories also taste sweet.
Looking back, what has been one of the most challenging cases in your career so far, and how did you approach and resolve the complexities involved?
Well, every case is challenging and has a certain degree of complexity involved, we wouldn’t be in Court otherwise ! I will, however, talk about a couple which came first to my mind when I read this question. This is a recent one where I was appointed as an amicus by the Supreme Court for an accused to whom notice could not be served and accordingly, he didn’t appear before the court. As we know, criminal matters cannot proceed ex parte, so I was appointed to assist the court on behalf of the accused. The allegations in this case were very grave which attracted provisions of POCSO. The challenge here was that I was representing a client who I never interacted with, which was a first for me. Upon thorough and meticulous examination of the trial court record, I successfully presented a defence that was accepted by the Court, resulting in the confirmation of his acquittal against the prosecution’s case.
A second very challenging case was one where I appeared on behalf of the revenue authorities before the Supreme Court and the question of interpretation of a customs and excise circular was involved. The other side was represented by Mr. Arvind Datar Sr Adv. After Mr. Datar’s arguments were concluded, the bench was convinced that I had no case, in fact the question put to me was – “what is left to argue now ?”. It is only because I had extensively prepared the matter, made a comprehensive note for arguments which had all the relevant page numbers cross referenced and had a compilation of judgments which was again numbered with an index which indicated the relevant paragraphs, that I could persuade the court to consider my submissions which lasted for around 45 minutes. It involved rigorous grilling from the bench as well. The judgment was reserved and the opposite party got the relief sought, but the experience I gained was something remarkable and gave me the confidence to have faith in myself irrespective of the stature and calibre of the counsel on the opposite side.
Given your diverse expertise across litigation and arbitration, what guidance would you offer to young lawyers who are just starting out, especially those aspiring to build a robust career in litigation?
Today a fresh graduate who wishes to pursue litigation has 3-4 different kinds of workplaces to start out. It could be the chamber of an advocate or senior advocate, a law firm, an in-house role where substantial litigation work exists or as a research associate/law clerk with a High Court or Supreme Court Judge. Out of these, 3 roles are transitory and one cannot continue in that position or establishment for their entire career. Law firms are one such place where you can start as an associate and rise up the ranks in a fairly structured and predictable manner. I would suggest someone who is a first generation lawyer without significant financial support from their family who does not have a great appetite for risk and uncertainty (which is certain in private practice), should try and join a law firm. It will give them financial stability, reasonable exposure to courts along with other advantages of working in law firms which I have already touched upon in some earlier questions. People who are passionate about law and want to build their own practice in the future should join a busy chamber and then look for a good senior’s chamber to polish and sharpen their skills further. Another thing worth noting in litigation is that one should be ready and available to work everyday of the week for long hours on a consistent basis under mentors and bosses who are strict and demand the highest standards. Going through such rigours is the best thing that a budding litigator can do for themselves. A quote attributable to a great figure- Abraham Lincoln may give my suggestion more context, which goes – “You can’t sharpen your razor on velvet”
Is there a core philosophy or guiding principle that you’ve followed throughout your legal career? Looking ahead, how do you envision the growth of your practice in the evolving legal landscape in India?
I have been a lawyer for a decade now. A core philosophy or guiding principle which has been there through and through is absent as far as I am concerned. But along the way I have learnt a few things which guide me now and I view them as beneficial generally.
There is one quote that I picked up from a book called “The 38 Letters from JD Rockefeller to his Son”. In one of the letters JD Rockefeller tells his son that – “To eat an elephant, you need to eat one bite at a time. The same goes to when you are doing something. If you want to accomplish everything in one go, you will only let the opportunity slip away.”
So, this field is a big elephant, you have to eat it one at a time. We cannot be an expert in every field of law or build a great network or have a great team or accomplish several other things which are essential for a successful practice, all at once. If we attempt that, there will be chaos which would lead to anxiety and nothing will be accomplished. Therefore, my 2 cents on an approach to a career in law would be to gradually advance, be patient, and take actions which are planned, structured and precise. This will slowly build into something very impressive and worth cherishing.
The second would be to be bold and ready to get outside your comfort zone. When I observe, read and hear about the great individuals who have been in this profession, the thought which comes to my mind is that if they could do it, why not me. This thought keeps me going when the chips seem to be down and doubt arises.
Third and last one is – to prioritise learning and upskilling. Look out for the latest trends and take the first mover advantage in this highly competitive market.
We are a rapidly growing firm led by two partners and one tax consultant. Apart from the conventional practice areas we are also looking at the future and emerging fields such as law and regulations surrounding AI, its impact on intellectual property, cybersecurity, energy law and data privacy. These fields are interesting from an academic as well as practice stand point. Jurisprudence on these subjects will rapidly develop in the future. As I have said before, there are opportunities for the early entrants which is golden for new firms like ours as the entry barriers are less. It goes without saying that we will build upon our strengths and continue serving our existing clients with top notch tier one level service in a cost effective manner, while we strive to grow by expanding our teams and clientele.
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