Career Biography

Anil Lale brings over two decades of expertise as a media and technology lawyer navigating intricate intersections of law, media and technology. His journey started as a litigation lawyer before he transitioned into the corporate media landscape. With rich experience at organisations like Sony, Zee and Viacom18, Lale has been in leadership roles overseeing contracts, litigation, regulatory, Intellectual property protection and compliance for various facets of media businesses encompassing broadcasting, OTT, Music, News, Sports, Live Events and consumer products. As the general counsel of Viacom18, Lale leads a dynamic legal team, which acts as an enabler for all businesses verticals of Viacom18 which includes distribution of television channels throughout the world, sports broadcasting, Jio Cinema, movie production (Viacom18 Studios), live events and consumer product licensing. Prior to his tenure at Viacom18, Lale also served as the Group General Counsel for Zee Entertainment and Zee News where he spearheaded legal function for the group. Lale enjoys exploring technology’s frontiers, probing its seams for legal nuances.

Interview

What innovations have you made to the way your legal team works in the past year?

Innovation has become an integral part of how our legal team operates. We have fully transitioned to a paperless environment, adopting a comprehensive digital workflow. This includes implementing a Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) system that facilitates contract initiation, proofreading, and digital signing. Over the past year, we took this a step further by developing an in-house digital contract storage and retrieval system in collaboration with our business process engineering team. This solution offers secure storage and seamless sharing of contracts across the organization.

Additionally, we have developed and deployed an internally-built Contract Obligations Tracking system for high-value sports contracts. This ensures that all teams handling various aspects of a contract, such as business, marketing, technology, and ad sales are fully aware of their contractual obligations. It also allows us to efficiently track and monitor compliance by these teams with their respective obligations.

Furthermore, we manage a robust Rights Management System, developed in partnership with WIPRO, with the legal team retaining ownership of the intellectual property. These innovations have significantly enhanced efficiency, security, and collaboration across all our legal operations.

Based on your experience, what is the key to collaborating successfully with business partners?

Successful collaboration between an in-house counsel and business partners hinges on three fundamental qualities. The extent to which these qualities are embraced will directly influence the depth and effectiveness of the collaboration. As a lawyer, the primary role is often to provide precise legal advice, focusing on technicalities. However, as an in-house counsel, this mindset must shift. Business leaders are looking for enablers of decision-making, not just someone who quotes the law. The most critical trait for fostering collaboration is adopting an attitude of an enabler. When addressing business issues, the counsel’s role is to facilitate decisions within the legal framework. This doesn’t mean agreeing to everything indiscriminately; instead, it involves working creatively to meet business needs while adhering to legal boundaries. Any potential risks must be highlighted upfront, so the business is prepared, avoiding surprises down the road.

A second essential factor for true collaboration is the in-house counsel’s knowledge of the business and its operational realities. Simply knowing the law is not enough; you must also understand the intricacies of the business and its strategic goals. Without this, legal advice can become disconnected from business needs. To be a valuable strategic advisor, an in-house counsel must marry legal expertise with business understanding. This dual knowledge enables the counsel to offer pragmatic solutions that align with the company’s overall objectives.

The ability to navigate the nuances of business facets is another vital skill for in-house counsel. Traditional legal education often focuses on binary black-and-white thinking, but real-life business decisions are often more complex and layered. In advising business partners, it is crucial to weigh risks against potential benefits, assessing whether the cost of risk is outweighed by the business gain. Only when counsel can make this judgment, thanks to both their legal knowledge and their understanding of business realities, will they be truly valued by business partners. This approach not only strengthens collaboration but also elevates the counsel’s role to a strategic level, securing them a seat at the decision-making table.

The ability to navigate the “grey areas” is another vital skill for in-house counsel. Traditional legal education often focuses on binary black-and-white thinking, but real-life business decisions are often more complex and layered. operate in shades of grey. In advising business partners, it is crucial to weigh risks against potential benefits, assessing whether the cost of risk is outweighed by the business gain. Only when counsel can make this judgment, thanks to both their legal knowledge and their understanding of business realities, will they be truly valued by business partners. This approach not only strengthens collaboration but also elevates the counsel’s role to a strategic level, securing them a seat at the decision-making table

How do you motivate and manage the other members of your legal team well?

I strongly believe that motivating and managing a team is not about isolated efforts, but rather about fostering a positive and engaging environment in the day-to-day work experience. Given that we spend eight to nine hours a day together, often the majority of our waking hours, the most crucial factor in motivation is building a strong team culture. The workplace should be a place people look forward to, not because of perks like a fancy office or free meals, but because it fosters mutual respect, trust, and a sense of belonging.

As a leader, I rely heavily on the individuals who work closely with me. I see them as the pillars of my success, and I treat them with the respect and trust they deserve. I trust them to make sound decisions, and if mistakes occur, we address them collectively and learn from them together. I expect each of my direct reports to extend the same approach to the people they work with.

One of our core principles is grooming leaders from within. Each of my immediate team members has grown into their current roles, and we continually focus on identifying growth opportunities for everyone. No role is considered permanent; instead, we adapt based on the capabilities of the individual and the evolving needs of the business.

We also maintain a transparent and fair policy of recognizing and rewarding merit—specifically, merit based on results, not just potential. This merit-based approach is at the core of our team’s progress. Additionally, when we hire, we prioritize attitude over pure capability. While capabilities can be developed, the wrong attitude can disrupt the entire team dynamic. In short, the key to motivating and managing my team is to “zealously guard the fabric of our team culture,” ensuring it remains rooted in respect, trust, and a shared commitment to excellence.