Avaya is a biz collaboration & communications company headquartered in Santa Clara, CA.As the regional and sole counsel of Avaya India Private Ltd, my responsibilities traverse the entire spectrum of India and South Asia business and cover commercial deal support, HR advisory, M & As, IP & licensing issues, litigation support and oversight for compliance. I also serve on the India Board and assist the Board with corporate governance and strategic decisions from a legal perspective.
I commenced my career as a litigator back in 1997 & was a practicing advocate for close to 4 years before switching to a career in corporate & commercial law. I had brief stints with Mumbai based law firms, Thakkar & Thakkar and Juris Corp respectively. I
Debuted in-house in 2003 with IBS Software Services Pvt. Ltd., a privately held entity catering primarily to the travel, transportation & logistics sector where my primary responsibility was to manage client deals worldwide. Subsequently, I joined Sapient Corporation, a US marketing & consulting MNC where I was mainly responsible for providing legal & commercial support to India region and certain biz units beyond India i.e. APAC and UK. That included managing client deals, providing HR advisory, supporting real estate transactions, overseeing compliances & managing litigation. Additionally, I managed 2 lawyers including one CS and was also responsible for mentoring other members on the team. My 5 years with Sapient were truly rewarding in that I had the opportunity to play multiple roles ranging from a contract negotiator to compliance and people manager to a general legal counsel. In many ways, my Sapient stint was a perfect launch pad for my current position as Regional Counsel with Avaya India which I assumed in February 2012.
It’s evolving dynamically, in my opinion. The most obvious change is of course the evolution of the GC from the preeminent (in-house) legal advisor to that of a biz partner with client focused delivery as his/her key mantra. Businesses want counsels who are willing to walk with them as they try to make sense out of the ever mutating legal & regulatory landscape in India.
GCs are no longer required to just spot the risks but mitigate them and, in some cases, (increasing BTW) share in the risks as well. C-Suites are increasingly prone to co-opt legal in critical business decisions in as much as any unfavorable outcome is bound to reflect badly on legal as well. This is challenging considering that we GCs aren’t businessmen by default. Learning the biz is an occupational necessity for us. Another key challenge, from my experience, is striking a balance between upholding the interests of your only customer i.e. the company and being a partner to business which can at times be taxing, to say the least. This unfortunately is a common curse with small law departments.
The single most obstacle, in my opinion, to improving law firm-in-house legal synergies isthe former’s reluctance, with exceptions of course, to understand deeply their client’s business. With all due respect, majority of firms still tend to focus largely on the legal and not the business aspects of the transaction. That said, in-house counsels also have to be patient and willing to share the finer aspects of biz to law firms so that they can deliver legally and commercially beneficial outcomes. I believe this gap can be bridged considerably if there is constant interaction between the firm and their in-house counterparts.
Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC), in my experience, is doing a yeoman service for in-house lawyers with their diverse materials and fantastic programs focusing on our CLE. Lexology is also a fabulous CLE tool bringing us up to speed on the latest trends in law & policy worldwide.
To the extent practically possible, spend at least 2-3 years with a law firm before joining in-house. A robust understanding of the law is essential and helpful to your career in-house.
Gadget – Fortunately or unfortunately, I am not a gadget freak. I see a gadget as only a means to an end.
App – As I said, I don’t generally go gaga over apps or gadgets. That said, I particularly like my Uber or Ola apps especially on days I don’t feel like driving. Some of the music apps these days are wonderful.
Automobile Brand – The ever dependable Maruti Suzuki Swift holds a special place in my heart when it comes to Indian roads. Have an affinity for German wheels as well particularly Mercs. Since I can’t afford one, settled for a VW which isn’t a bad drive actually.
Favourite Writing Instrument – These days, my iPad or laptop. However, I do enjoy occasionally the feeling of a pen or pencil caressing white paper.
Favourite Holiday Destination – A toss-up between Sydney and Edinburgh. Both these cities have an engaging vibe for the visitor. An aspiring destination would be New Zealand.
Favourite Cuisine – Anything from Kerala, my home state.
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