A General Counsel's Role Is To Meet The Expectations Of The Organisation: Dr Sanjeev Gemawat, Group General Counsel, Vedanta Group

Mr Gemawat, would you please take us down memory lane and share with our readers about your early life? 

My early childhood was in Rajasthan because I originally belong to Rajasthan and so it was a mix of living in different villages and towns of Rajasthan because my father was in the government service and we were used to his transferable posting. 

So, I had that flavour of rural Rajasthan as well as urban Rajasthan. Interestingly, I come from a family of highly educated government officials on the paternal side and at the same time, my family on the maternal side were in business and were conservative in terms of culture and traditions.

Growing up in this mixed kind of system has certainly helped me a lot In terms of adaptability as you rightly pointed out Rajasthan is a backward state. I have studied in villages and towns in government and municipal schools where we used to sit under a tree

So I have experienced all those social cultures and traditional traditions as well. And it gave me a lot in terms of understanding the diversity of India. And also, at the same time, adaptability, in terms of various locations wherever I went and then subsequently in my professional life as well. 

What kind of friends did you have during your school and your early college days? And how many of those friends do you still cherish being with? 

Those were different days. You were not having all these kinds of gadgets today’s generation have. And those days were mainly on the ground. Being on the ground meant that, there were exercises and activities like running and playing outdoors. The games were different and the new generation of people might not be aware of those games. We grew up playing games like Kho Kho, and Gilli Danda and enjoyed that phase of life a lot. Being on the ground and playing games together helped me bond and connect with people.

Are you still in touch with a few of your friends from that time? 

Yes, And some of them are placed in high government jobs in civil services and come from the same background. I am still connected with most of those people. 

People see Dr Gemawat as one of the greatest General Counsels India has but people don't see the 25 years of work. What was it like to ace all professional exams? Tell us about your initial years in the profession. When did you start working? And what was your first job like?

Its been an interesting journey Sudhir and I did not plan all this. It happened naturally. In the back of mind, the thought which comes is that I come from a feudalistic state and from a family of government officials. So the thought process in the family revolved around taking up government service. They do not consider the private sector as a sector which can give employment and those days were different also. But fortunately, I qualified around the time when liberalization of the Indian economy started and lots of multinationals were coming so the air was different. And if you remember 91-92 was the boom period as far as capital markets were concerned. I was very lucky to have qualified as a chartered accountant at that point of time. 

At the age of 21, I was the finance controller and company secretly with a Rajasthan-based company which was coming out with a public issue of shares.

And believe me at that point in time also, the compensation level was higher than the government pay structure.

Then you know, I worked there but then that was my experimentation because I was also busy in academics, I was doing my law and doctorate and interestingly, I was a visiting faculty with those colleges. I used to teach the management too.

I have seen lawyers doing a PhD in literature, Buddhist Studies, constitutional law and human rights but you have done a PhD in insider trading. which is a very technical subject. You would also teach. How did you invent time? How did a PhD in insider trading happen? 

Sudhir if you remember, In 1992, SEBI came out with insider trading regulations and that was a trigger point. It was the Harshad Mehta period. The stock market was at its peak. Everybody was involved in one or the other malpractice but then they were not knowing that what the term insider trading is all about.  So I thought that it was the right time in terms of getting my research on this particular subject. So I made it my topic of dissertation for my post-graduation and doctorate. 

That period was a period of experimentation for me. I practised as a Chartered Accountant for some time. I practised as a lawyer also. Then I shifted to corporates because the days were different and I was getting good offers also. 

You constantly kept on changing the narrative. What was the restlessness that defined your working style?

The period was of change. The industry was changing. Although the internet was not there but the information flow was very strong. We would read articles about the industry and the corporates coming out with the best plans. That was giving a thought to professionals like me to accumulate multifaceted experience through diverse jobs.

The perception of a GC in the industry is changing. So much so, that some of the law firm partners are now taking up roles as GCs. You have been working to lend credibility to the role of a General Counsel. How did this journey begin?

We have all experienced the evolution of the role of a General Counsel. As you rightly pointed out some of the law firm partners are now joining as General Counsel. I believe this is the natural progression of a profession. A profession is determined by multiple factors. The multiple factors are based upon the complexities of the industry and the regulatory framework. And I see the same kind of pattern which happened in the United States. If you remember, in the early 20th century, till the 1980s, we saw a cravath system where law firms used to hire the brightest students from top law schools and they were providing good legal services in return. Now, gradually, the law firm-based system shifted to a client-based system. The clients started engaging with General Counsel and the General Counsel was dealing with most of the areas. The General Counsel's office was also having the same talent pool from top law schools. The same pattern is happening right now in India. 

A simple example is that most of the GC offices of large corporates are nothing but mini law firms. 

The perspective about GCs needs to change. Lawyers and law firms think that a GC is the administrative head of the legal department of a business. A GC has a completely different role. He has multiple dimensions. He is an advisor to the business, He is a strategizer to the business. He is also the board advisor. And ultimately he needs to deliver. I believe recognising a GC as a lawyer is important.

Sir, in your entire work tenure, what was your most challenging assignment in the last 10 years?

There have been multiple challenges and that's the role of the GC. A GC’s role is to meet the expectations of the organisation. Businesses are not run on one-sided views and GCs will have to deliver viable business solutions amidst the views and counter views. So I have experienced Mr Mishra, multiple litigations and transactions and all were challenging.

Young law graduates have this notion that life in a corporate in-house legal department is easy. Is it true

It is not. The kind of experience and exposure that young professionals get is absolutely amazing. For example, in my current organisation, there is a large pool of professionals who are coming from big law schools and it is absolutely amazing to see the kind of responsibilities they perform at a very young age, with one or two years in the profession. They are handling multiple things ranging from negotiating a contract to handling litigation with independence and autonomy. This kind of opportunity one may not get in a law firm because they are tied up with one discipline.

Your current assignment will require you to travel across continents. So, how do you maintain a work-life balance? What is your mantra for a peaceful and successful life?. 

Travelling is an essential part of any business and the work-life balance becomes critical, particularly in a profession like ours where Saturday-Sundays are always working because you will have to prepare for Monday. 

So in a situation like this, it is always a challenge. But then this is where we will have to find a solution. And I think the solution lies somewhere in terms of our time management, I don't say that we are perfect people in terms of managing our time but it is a process we can always get better at., It's a mindset issue sometimes too. We don't do justice to ourselves. So it's a mindset issue and I think that there we need to correct ourselves in terms of giving time to family members. But then yes, having said that, so It's a challenge. 

What is your message to the youngsters for their careers and life?

As a young professional, please entertain all those wild ideas which come to your mind.  Don't ignore them because in those wild ideas, somewhere there is a solution. So this is one mantra which I would get in particularly then a profession like ours which is basically a profession of views and counter views and there can be multiple views and all views might be correct.  And those views need to be applied in terms of the fitment of your situation. So I think this is one thought, which I would certainly like to give. 

Secondly, if you can change a person's thoughts and add positivity to someone's life then you have achieved your purpose.

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Note: The automatic transcription has been lightly edited for a better reading experience. Some names and parts of the transcription may carry inadvertent errors that we are in the process of editing. Thank you for your understanding.