My mandate at Accenture is to lead the legal function for Accenture’s global delivery network in India, including Compliance, Operations, Regulatory affairs and Ethics (CORE).
The compliance portfolio includes both adherence to local laws and global aspects such as anti¬corruption, data privacy laws and export control. In addition, I am also responsible for driving compliance for laws and regulations related to employment, IT and cyber security, real estate, forex, telecom and operational facets including dispute resolution.
In my role as a senior legal partner to business, I bring together specialized legal verticals such as Corporate Investigations, Intellectual Property, Contract Management and the Global Legal Network under a unified function.
I am also a part of Accenture’s Geographic Leadership Team, which comprises of leads of business entities, country CMDs and select corporate functions leads, and the Corporate Functions Leads Forum where legal is deeply involved with business decision making.
I started my legal career under the tutelage of veteran jurist – Honorable Justice Madan Lokur. I spent a decade as a litigator practicing in court before moving to an in-house legal function. During my tenure as a lawyer, I have represented many corporations on legal matters ranging from advisory to litigation and arbitration, and from project finance to foreign direct investments.
While the transition from being an independent lawyer to an in-house counsel was challenging to begin with, my 15-year-old career as an in-house corporate legal counsel has been exciting, challenging and rewarding. An in-house counsel’s role involves manoeuvring through a lot of complexity and a gamut of issues, and the ability to anticipate these situations and provide effective counsel is the key to success.
The technology industry has gone through an incredible evolution over the past two decades and so has the corresponding legal landscape, and I take pride in having been part of this journey. I also consider myself fortunate to have worked with some very talented people and having forged some enriching friendships along the way.
I believe that there are four key aspects to a General Counsel’s role:
Business models and technology are constantly evolving, and as a result, the laws and regulations governing these are also being amended. This has ushered in a lot of complexity. There hasn’t been a year where we haven’t dealt with a new piece of legislation that could potentially impact us. Hence, legal professionals need to develop learning agility i.e., the ability to unlearn and relearn quickly in this challenging business environment.
Out of the box thinking, a solution-oriented approach and the ability to build bridges are some of the must-have traits to be a successful General Counsel.
Cultivating a comprehensive understanding of the company’s overall business is imperative because that is the only way to identify risk factors across the spectrum of legal, regulatory, ethical, employee, governance and compliance issues. For a General Counsel to be looked upon as a “strategic partner” or a “trusted advisor”, he/she needs to have a real understanding of the business and the regulatory environment.
A General Counsel must wear multiple hats and constantly aim to achieve a balance between business, legal and regulatory considerations. While I believe that a General Counsel needs to be a lawyer first, we usually get deeply involved in business decision-making as well.
In today’s environment, a successful General Counsel must understand the business ramifications of legal actions (or inaction), be a mix between a trusted commercial advisor as well as legal advisor and finally, be a gatekeeper but not a roadblock. He or she needs to be pragmatic, add value by preserving value and help the company understand the value in mitigating and controlling risk – without being too risk averse. The General Counsel must not only be adept at devising creative and yet legal ways to achieve business goals but also hold firm when there is no such way out.
In summary, a General Counsel must have a keen understanding of the business and the environment, and constantly add strategic value to the company.
We are now dealing with the “New” and by far, the heightened complexity and volume of regulatory changes presents the most formidable challenge. Managing legal issues in this ever-evolving regulatory environment tends to raise the cost of doing business. In addition to managing the cost, there are several other aspects that one needs to build skills for such as:
Globalization – Addressing cross-border multi-jurisdictional legal matters, understanding the political and cultural environment of each country and jurisdiction we operate in.
Business and Cultural Nuances – learning different business practices and managing sensitivities and perceptions.
Technology Shifts – General Counsels need to be able to respond to risks posed by the changing technology milieu at speed.
Managing People – Talent retention is a key priority. Understanding generational differences, the aspirations of the millennial workforce, identifying the value that each team member brings to the table, efficient resource allocation and improving relationships are all vital for building a strong and collaborative team. Additionally, high-performing teams at all levels need be motivated and engaged to ensure that they continue to work with same energy and vigor.
Importantly, an agile organization needs to be nimble and adapt easily to both dynamic business requirements and a changing external environment.
A thorough understanding of the client’s business, overall industry landscape and their requirements and expectations, a keen problem-solving approach in addition to an efficient and time-bound model of working will help a law firm become a trusted advisor and partner to corporate legal teams. Law firms and in-house legal teams need to build a long-term, synergistic relationship rather than treat their interactions as a one-time, commercial transaction.
Continuous learning is critical to staying relevant. In addition to workshops, seminars, online training courses, functional trainings, capability development sessions around project management and problem solving, training around professional, functional and behavioral aspects adds significant value.
My advice to those wanting to pursue a career as an in-house counsel is to draw up a set of short term and long-term goals, and constantly benchmark these against the appropriate goal posts to monitor progress. This helps in defining a focused legal strategy and ensures that business gets the best of legal every day.
Secondly, a company may operate in multiple geographies, each of which may have a different set of laws and regulations. However, the common thread running across these is the company’s ethical conduct – a culture of respect, fairness and transparency with respect to our business, clients and our people is imperative.
I would conclude by saying – trust your judgement and lister to your heart. Ultimately, that will fuel your progress.
Favourite Gadget – Mobile phone
Favourite App – Anything that helps with a quick turnaround time
Favourite Writing Instrument – Mont Blanc Fountain Pen
Favourite Holiday Destination – Italy
Favourite Cuisine – Indian
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