This interview has been published by Anshi Mudgal and The SuperLawyer Team
With your academic journey spanning commerce, English literature, and law, how did you navigate your transition into the niche field of sports and media law? What initially drew you to this area of practice?
While my academic background has been interesting, it has not really been intentional. I studied commerce because I initially tried my hand at CA, which I failed at gloriously. I then did my masters in English literature solely for the love of the language while being a full time fellow at the Teach For India Fellowship. Post which I decided to do law. While the journey may not have been intentional, the quest for knowledge always has been. Learning new things has always excited me. In any space at all, even when I have failed. So when I got the opportunity to work in the field of sports and media law, I only saw it as another opportunity to learn. The transition did not feel difficult because I was doing something new everyday so it was, and still is, exciting.
You’ve been involved in high-stakes media rights cases, including securing broadcasting rights for major international football leagues. Could you walk us through one particularly interesting case you’ve handled and share what the experience meant to you?
One memorable experience was supporting a client in securing sub-continental broadcasting rights for three of Europe’s biggest football leagues. It wasn’t just about the licensing, it involved negotiating with multiple stakeholders across jurisdictions, one of which had a structure so complex that it took me 3 whole days to understand what the proposed structure even was! What made it meaningful was knowing myself a little bit better. That I could add value to a transaction in a very unique way and aid a client in closing a deal. That was a good day!
Your work covers a wide spectrum from game development agreements and SaaS contracts to plug-in software agreements. What are the key challenges you face in balancing intellectual property protection with the commercial facets in such fast-evolving digital spaces?
The pace of innovation often outstrips regulation, and that’s where the challenge (and opportunity) lies. Balancing IP protection with commercial viability often means designing agreements that are forward-thinking but also flexible. Whether it’s ensuring IP ownership in a co-development model or negotiating licensing structures for evolving SaaS platforms, the ultimate agenda of drafting agreements and structuring deals is to future-proof them while keeping them commercially sensible. The key is clear listing of rights, scope and exit mechanisms, especially when the tech itself may evolve the life span of the transactions.
When drafting white-labelling agreements and enabling tech integrations, especially in light of evolving data privacy regulations, how do you address concerns around data security and brand protection?
For me, it begins with clarity of thought and then it’s just a matter of expressing that thought on paper. I believe every privacy/data centric agreement should clearly lay out who’s responsible for what, who gets access to what, and who’s accountable when things go wrong. We always include strong confidentiality, indemnity, and data protection clauses that align with relevant laws like the GDPR or India’s DPDP Act. But beyond the legal terms, we also build in practical guardrails like audit rights or protocols for keeping data separated. When it comes to brand protection, it’s important to have quality checks and clear representations, especially when the tech touches end-users or customers directly and includes collection of sensitive data. Ultimately, the goal is to safeguard both the technology and the brand behind it.
Athlete endorsement agreements can be commercially complex and high-profile. What is your typical approach to structuring these agreements, and which clauses do you consider most critical, particularly regarding brand alignment, image rights, and breach scenarios?
It’s all about striking the right balance. We need to make sure the athlete’s image and reputation are protected while ensuring that the agreement gives some wiggle room for the brand’s creative expression. Typically, I would try to understand what the athlete’s expectations are from a deal with respect to the brand’s deliverables and ensure that those aspects are covered. Then, I add clauses which I find essential to protect the athlete’s interests such as ownership of the athlete’s attributes, the term of usage of a deliverable, exclusivity (or lack thereof), how the brand shall take approvals on all materials before they become publicly available, representations by the brand against defamatory statements against the athlete, etc.
Beyond transactional work, you’ve also drafted POSH and POCSO policies. How do you ensure these frameworks are not only legally compliant but also practically implementable and attuned to workplace realities and cultural sensitivities?
Legal compliance and framework are just the starting point. When I work on POSH or POCSO policies, my goal is to make them clear, usable, and rooted in the real dynamics of the workplace or institution. There’s no point in a policy that ticks the legal boxes but doesn’t resonate with the people it’s meant to protect or guide. So we focus on language that’s accessible and workflows that are actually implementable. We also put a lot of thought into the practical aspects of these policies like putting up awareness posters in venues, because a policy is only as strong as how well it’s understood and followed on the ground. The idea is to create safe environments, not just safe documentation.
Your previous role as a communication consultant and brand manager is quite distinctive for a legal professional. How has that background influenced your approach to client engagement, negotiation strategy, or brand-related legal advisory?
It’s been a game-changer, simply because communication is the most important aspect of absolutely any role you play in life, especially in a job where you write in legalese but must explain things to clients in a manner that is easy to understand and comprehensible. My brand communication and management background also allows me to understand the perspective of the brands when they ask for things a certain way which aids my negotiation of the deal, leading to faster closure.
Given your involvement in technology-driven sports products like the ICC Immersive app, how do you see the intersection of sports, law, and emerging tech evolving over the next few years?
In one word, exciting! We’re just getting started. With immersive experiences, gamification and AI-driven fan engagement, the legal landscape is evolving in real time, faster than we can keep up actually! We’ll see more attention on licensing rights for digital experiences, cross-border IP enforcement, data monetization and AI ethics. I see lawyers becoming key enablers of innovation in this space and not just compliance gatekeepers. It’s a thrilling time to be at the intersection of sport, tech, and law, and I look forward to witnessing it.
You’ve worked with a range of international clients and platforms. How do you navigate the legal nuances across jurisdictions, especially when dealing with IP, broadcasting, and digital rights on a global scale?
IP is one of those areas where the core principles of ownership, licensing and protection are fairly universal, which gives you a strong foundation to work from. But the real challenge is in how those rights actually play out on the ground. Every country has its own legal quirks like how they treat moral rights, how collecting societies work, what’s allowed digitally and those details can really shape how a deal gets structured. In sports especially, it gets even more layered. Each sport has its own ecosystem, different governing bodies, event rights, eligibility rules, media frameworks. So what works for a football league in Europe might not work at all for a cricket tournament in India or an e-sports platform in Southeast Asia. So it becomes about figuring out the local landscape quickly, not just the law, but also how the sport or the ecosystem operates commercially and culturally and then building legal and IP structures that actually hold up in practice.
What guidance would you offer to young lawyers who are eager to build a career at the intersection of sports, media, and technology law, especially those coming from interdisciplinary academic backgrounds like yours?
If I had to give one piece of advice, it would be this: perseverance is everything. This field rewards those who keep showing up and stay curious. Ask questions to anyone who’s willing to answer. You’d be surprised how much you can learn from the most unexpected people, a filing clerk, a stenographer, fellow interns, senior lawyers, or even someone from a completely different organization. And at some point, that random piece of knowledge will come in handy (almost like a Slumdog Millionaire moment!). The opportunities to learn are all around you, but you’ve got to be open enough to catch them while willing to work harder than you thought you did!
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