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?

There have been some changes that I have implemented since joining UBL last year, and these changes have greatly enhanced the legal business partnering and improved the knowledge and efficiency of the legal team. The first change was to address team structure. The earlier team was organised based on legal work pillars such as Contracts, Litigation, IP, among others. I changed this to align legal team members with business verticals like supply chain, sales, and marketing, so that certain team members are dedicated to a specific function end-to-end. This change has driven greater engagement and accountability. 

Secondly, I implemented knowledge enhancement sessions. I believe that a lawyer remains a student of the law for life. Through these sessions, which we call ‘Inspire & Learn,’ each team member takes turns presenting on an emerging area or changes in the law, challenging scenarios, actions taken, and best practices adopted. These sessions help improve legal knowledge and business acumen and provide practical guidance to junior team members. 

Furthermore, I conduct a separate cadence to drive legal team priorities for the year. These priorities are collectively owned by the team. Examples include the standardisation of documents and contracts, incorporation of best corporate governance practices, the use of legal tech tools, and simplification initiatives. The team brainstorms and sets these priorities at the beginning of the year, and we follow through with them. Finally, I have adopted a format for rotating junior team members and freshers so that they can get a flavour of different business verticals. This enables them to identify areas of interest and specialisation.

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

Some of the key achievements of the legal team include successfully obtaining a stay from the Supreme Court on a multi-billion INR penalty order by a regulator, enforcement of this order would otherwise have had a significant adverse business impact. We also successfully obtained a stay on lease cancellation by a state industrial area development authority. UBL had a brewery on said premises, which is currently non-operational due to a change in policy in the state. 

We have also assisted in upgrading our governance and compliance policies to global standards. The team has reviewed existing policies, benchmarked them against global best practices, adopted, and successfully implemented Heineken Policies for UBL. This activity has significantly enhanced the policies beyond the mandate of Indian applicable laws, upgrading them to global standards and reinforcing monitoring and reporting standards. Furthermore, in alignment with Heineken’s Ever-Green policy on Sustainability, the team has enabled the voluntary publication of the ESG Report in the Annual Report for 2021-2022.

The team has strengthened and implemented a robust compliance and governance program translating code of conduct policies into seven regional languages to make it accessible for all employees. We have also implemented an online portal for easy access to policies and updates. We have provided e-learning modules, self-assessment tests, and training on Code of Business Conduct policies for all employees. Strengthened the Integrity Committee’s role in monitoring and resolving whistle-blower cases, and we implemented a structured Digital Database for Insider Trading monitoring.

The implementation of the compliance management system and notice tracker portal has been initiated by UBL. This system and portal aim to provide real-time and effective monitoring of compliance status across its operations.

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

Have an ownership mindset! Understand the business as if it were your own and be ready for action when the business needs help. Focus on and encourage transparency and autonomy in decision-making. When things go south, which they sometimes will, do not blame anyone; take initiative to fix the issues and move forward. Own your losses as much as your wins. Overall, do not just be a legal technician but also a business partner with a growth agenda!