In my current role I head the legal team for HPE India and a core member of the leadership team. My role involves advising the senior management on critical and complex commercial transactions, regulatory and compliance issues and managing the legal function. In this role my team and I support all the functions of the company so that not only gives us insights into how each of these functions operate but it also helps us identify and address process gaps and understand business ramifications from the perspective of each of these departments. It also serves as an opportunity to partner with professionals from different work streams and backgrounds.
When you take on a new portfolio there are aspects that you are familiar with in the role but there are aspects that no one will tell you about and you have to discover it on your own. Some of those discoveries help you understand the role better and they also help you transform as a professional and as a person. This role requires intuitiveness and far sightedness so it is important to have a routine which includes meditation and introspection. For this role there are skills required which are beyond understanding the law. One of the key skills required to execute this role well is people’s skills and law school does not teach you that. In my journey so far, I have realised that in order to grow in this role one needs to keep an open mind, keep learning and unlearning, be receptive to all kinds of feedback from senior management, peers, juniors and colleagues from other functions, find ways to make learning more innovative (lawyers are known to be vapid and uninteresting) for my team and most of important of all, ‘stick to your mission’. In order to build a powerful team, it is important to appreciate and value diverse opinions and I endeavour to create a culture of inclusiveness and diversity within my team. One point I would like to specifically expand on is ‘learning’. It is necessary to expand one’s learning and that learning need not be confined to law; it can be another subject which is complementary to law or even something that is not connected to law. I am a firm believer of giving back to the community so I partake in a lot of pro bono projects and workshops. I have used my position as Country Counsel to promote pro bono work within my team as there is a lot that we learn and take back when we work with not-for-profit groups.
Apart from being a key advisor to the head of the business or CEO and limiting the Company’s legal risks, the Country Counsel is seen as a leader who can help transform businesses and processes by setting up a strong culture of compliance. The Legal department is seen as a game changer as it has a strong culture of compliance, excellence and high performance. As a conscience keeper of the organisation a Country Counsel plays a part in influencing other functions to emulate a similar culture. This goes a long way in transforming how an organisation works.
The role of the Country Counsel is constantly broadening in scope. There are constant changes in the regulatory landscape and changes within the business that a Country Counsel has to address. Retention of talent and attrition, knowledge management and navigating internal relationships (with senior management, board of directors, et. al.) are some of the challenges that a Country Counsel encounters on a regular basis. The Legal department is seen as a problem-solving function so a lot of times my team and I are approached by the Business or other internal functions to counsel on non-legal issues. This demonstrates how integrated we are with our internal teams but this also means that we have expanded responsibilities. These challenges make the Country Counsel’s role exciting, dynamic and fulfilling. There is always so much happening in different pockets of the organisation so there is never a dull moment.
Law firms have a wide network of clients and have a sweeping first -hand view of what is happening across industries. Newsletters and workshops capturing legal trends across industries is one definite way of improving synergies between law firms and in-house legal teams. Law firms and in-house legal teams can partner on pro bono projects and on projects which involve drafting of recommendations to amend ambiguous or arbitrary laws.
There are no bespoke learning tools for a Country Counsel so he/she can chalk out a learning and developmental program based on his/her areas of interest and development. This could include certifications courses or flexible learning programs which allow a Country Counsel to learn online or through remote means though admittedly online courses or remote learning is not popular among Country Counsels. There is an opportunity for Country Counsels/general counsels to come together and create a knowledge management tool/app with specialised learning content that can be leveraged by everyone in this fraternity.
For those aspiring to take on the role of an in-house counsel I would encourage them to do as many internships as possible with in-house legal departments so they understand the role of a legal counsel. Students who are interested in in-house roles and in pro bono work there are several opportunities available for in-house counsels to do meaningful assignments outside of their organisations on a volunteering basis. The law is an instrument that can be used to create a huge social impact if utilised for the broader good of the community. We need more lawyers from rural areas who can take on in-house roles and then take back their reservoir of knowledge and skills to transform and alleviate their communities.
Favourite Gadget – Kindle
Favourite App – Headspace
Favourite Automobile Brand – Jaguar
Favourite Writing Instrument – a pencil or crayon
Favourite Holiday Destination – Queenstown, New Zealand
Favourite Cuisine – Indian and Mediterranean cuisine
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