Patience and Genuine Empathy for Business Concerns – Key In-House Counsel Virtues – Maitrayee Sanyal, General Counsel, OnePlus India

In-House Counsel

Patience and Genuine Empathy for Business Concerns – Key In-House Counsel Virtues – Maitrayee Sanyal, General Counsel, OnePlus India

Lex Witness Bureau | May 2019

THE PROFESSIONAL YOU

Briefly, tell us about your role in the organization and the mandates you handle?

I play a very humble role in the organization where my prime responsibility is to make sure that we are compliant with statutory laws and regulations in India and also advise various departments within the organization on matters relating to employment law, media law, intellectual property, and general corporate governance.

Tell us something about your journey so far as a General Counsel in India?

I am very, very young in my career graph right now to be able to comment on the same. All I know and understand is that I have been bestowed upon with great responsibility and I am but a humble legal advisor a the service of this organization that has immense faith in me and do not wish to disappoint.

Do you feel that the role of General Counsels is evolving in today’s business scenario? And if so, how?

Again, do not go by the title, ‘head, lead, officer’ though are extremely rewarding terms to have, you are essentially an advisor counted upon by the various departments within your organization to arrive at a decision. As long as your advice is well-thought, pragmatic and conducive to the nature of business you are involved in, your role would always be relevant irrespective of the designation.

What are the key challenges that General Counsels have to deal with on a regular basis, irrespective of the industry sector?

Negotiations. I suppose that one word sums it up.

What are your thoughts on improving synergies between law firms and corporate in-house legal teams?

Law firms need to regard and understand in-house legal teams as lawyers as well, just fielding for a different team; and, inhouse legal teams need to have slightly more realistic expectations from their law firm counterparts.

Any advice for someone exploring a legal career as an in-house counsel?

It is more rewarding than you would like to believe. You would be pleasantly surprised by the plethora of work and the various branches and aspects of law you would be exploring through it. There is so much to learn while being on the job but you have got to be a very keen observer. Being an in-house counsel requires a lot of patience and genuine empathy for the business concerns so ensure that you are not devoid of those virtues.

THE CASUAL YOU

Favourite Gadget – My humble JBL headphones
Favourite App – Instagram
Favourite Automobile Brand – Piaggio considering I own a very beautiful Vespa and am absolutely in love with it.
Favourite Writing Instrument – Nothing beats the humility and utility of a smooth gliding ball-point pen.
Favourite Holiday Destination – Himachal Pradesh & Sri Lanka
Favourite Cuisine – Bengali, Konkani, Thai.

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