Team size: 28 

Could you share an example of a time when you came up with an innovation that improved how your legal team works and did not come at a large expense?  

I did three things simultaneously. Firstly, I carved out contract and claims team from the legal team, thus creating a separate contract and claims department. This was headed by a civil engineer who is well versed in contractual drafting. 

Secondly, I implemented an in-house developed tool within the business. This tool directly communicates with our ERP (SAP), and thus created a single repository of all contracts. This helped us to monitor the contractual compliances of all at one click. 

I also utilised an AI tool for seamless usage of the standard terms of contracts, which highlighted any deviations which arose. Most of the deviations were handled by contract and claims management team, and only the more complex legal issues were then transferred to legal department. 

This initiative significantly improved the efficiently of our legal department by streamlining their time, previously spent on tedious drafting tasks. The establishment of a dedicated contract and claims department further enhanced the quality of our outputs. Particularly noteworthy is the seamless integration of the contract and claim management tool with our ERP, consolidating all contract-related correspondences and compliance obligations into a single, monitored repository. As a result, no issues were left unattended.  

This resulted in huge savings due to plugging the leakages and bolstered our claim recovery. 

What are the most significant cases or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in? 

The Supreme Court of India, in the Chloro case and the MTNL case, established that a non-signatory can be made a party to arbitration or have an award enforced against them if the intent is evident (Alter Ego doctrine and Group of Companies doctrine). Despite this well-established legal position, we successfully fought a case in Delhi High Court, establishing that the alter ego doctrine cannot be applied to a former shareholder who, on receipt of consideration, has divested its shares. It was clarified that the Group of Companies doctrine cannot be invoked when there is a clear intention to sever ties with the entity in question.  

Further, my team handled an M&A acquisition worth $1.5bn in past period along with successful listing of InvIT (Infrastructure Investment Trust). 

If you had to give advice to an aspiring in-house lawyer or general counsel, what would it be and why?  

Always know the business you are in; law cannot be applied properly unless you have full mastery of facts. 

Think of solutions as to how to facilitate the business within the regulatory and legal framework 

Embrace new technologies, whether AI, machine learning, or legal technology. The more tech savvy that you are, the greater your chances are to adapt and flourish in this competitive world.