In Conversation with Anupam Alok, Senior Legal Counsel, Sberbank

Mr Anupam, would you please tell us where did this illustrious journey begin and at what age did you decide to study law. Please walk us through your early years of education and the decision of becoming a lawyer. 

The decision to become a lawyer was made on the day of my tenth board results. Upon being asked about my future plans by my parents, I made a very focussed and responsible face and told them I would like to study humanities as I want to become a Lawyer. One reason for this rehearsed response was to escape undergoing the nightmare of having to take up science (which I barely understood) in my eleventh and twelfth grade. Another reason was that back then I loved reading John Grisham novels and was quite fascinated with the image of lawyers which he painted. Though reluctantly, my parents agreed to it and that’s when it all started.  

Who have been your guiding North Stars and the biggest inspiration in this journey? 

I have been fortunate to have had several people who took the time to guide me in my journey till here. My first such guide was my Political Science teacher in DAV Shyamli, Mrs Shyamali Bhattacharya. She was the first teacher to have any hope in me, so I always tried to ensure that I don’t disappoint her; be it in studies or in my co-curricular activities.  She always motivated me to do well, and somehow I did perform well every time.  

In my professional life, Mr VSV Rao, DMD SIDBI, who was the then ED Law & HR at IFCI Ltd. is the one I really look up to. He taught me the basics of being a good in-house Counsel and has always reposed his utmost faith in me. In fact, it is because of his faith and confidence in me that I was given the responsibility to represent IFCI in one of the biggest cases concerning the SARFAESI Act (The ITC vs. Blue Coast Hotel case)  

While moving out of IFCI, I went to Mr Rao for his feedback on whether I will be able to handle the entire legal portfolio of a Foreign Bank, and he told me every opportunity is a challenge and he is sure that I will do well in this one. I believe a good mentor is the one who challenges you, advises you, motivates you and ensures you learn while you work. He has been that mentor to me.   

Would you please tell us more about the array of work you handle at Sberbank? 

 At Sberbank, I handle all the legal work of the Bank’s India operations. This includes advising the Bank on the legal framework concerning Banks, recovery and other litigation matters, legal opinions on day to day queries, legal risk management, contracts negotiation drafting and vetting of Contracts, regulatory legal work, trade finance deals, HR-related legal work, etc.  

What in your opinion has been the biggest change or challenge looming over the in-house legal landscape amid COVID-19?  

Generally speaking, I believe employment issues are the biggest challenges being faced by in-house teams at present. I have seen various Linkedin posts of people who lost jobs during this pandemic and a lot of them have culminated into lawsuits against the respective organizations. Another problem which all in-house teams faced was assisting their offices in business continuity. Keeping the management up to date with the constantly changing rules and policies of the Government concerning the Lockdown, co-ordinating with the authorities for arranging passes for the employees, staying updated on unlocking guidelines which kept changing on a bi-monthly basis.   

Looking at the brighter side, I believe this pandemic has been a great opportunity for in-house teams. The pandemic has led to a situation where companies are facing shortage of funds, major losses in business and reduction of internal department budgets. Tasks (like legal opinions on complex matters, structuring of transactions, etc.) which corporates generally refer to external law firms are now being dealt by their in-house teams. Robust in house legal teams have helped the corporates to reduce their legal expenses and this has also provided the in-house lawyers with exposure to quality work and helped them in gaining core work experience in their respective fields. 

Companies have become exceedingly cost-conscious. With that in mind, is automation the way forward? Which in-house functions do you think are best left to AI and LegalTech. Would you please name some of these tools or software that have simplified the in-house legal operations? 

We do use LegalTech which assists us in legal research and legal case management and I find them to be really helpful. Working in a Fintech giant like Sber, I have to say that the future of AI and technology based solutions is bright and I won’t be surprised if AI like machine learning become part of our work and start acting as our assistants at work in the days to come. 

Many Congratulations on joining the BW Legal World Elite 40 Under 40 Club of Achievers 2020. What to your mind has helped you get to where you are and what advice would you have for others who want to set off in a similar direction? 

Being a first-generation lawyer, my course was not pre-chartered and I had to try several aspects of legal practice before deciding on In house Banking role. I have worked in a Private Company, a Law Firm, a Government Company and a Foreign Company over the past eight and a half years. During this time, I have worked on Media Laws, IP Laws, General Corporate Practice and Banking Laws, which I finally chose to be my area of work and expertise. To all budding lawyers, especially first-generation lawyers, I would say- keep your options open, try different aspects of the legal practice and choose the one you enjoy the most. There is no fixed route to achieve success in this profession. You will have to remain focussed, and struggle is inevitable. You will have to work very hard to make a name in the industry but remember that hard work and struggle are the foundation stones of success.  

What other than work keeps you busy? Would you please share your interests and hobbies with our readers?  

My hobbies include travelling, binging on history, animation and tech related shows, virtual gaming and reading. I just finished watching ‘World War-II in Colour’ which I would recommend to every history buff. I also enjoy watching travel vlogs which help me chart my travel plans. I like playing open-world games, and GTA-Online is amongst my favourites. Reading legal articles and legal news also forms part of my everyday post-work activities. 

As a final note, would you please recommend to our readers your favourite book or movie/series that left a lasting impression on you? 

A book which has had a lasting impression on me is ‘Outliers’ by Malcolm Gladwell. In this book, the author explains how success is a matter of practising anything (skill, work, art) in a correct manner for a total of around 10,000 hours. The key takeaway for me from this book has been that in order to be successful and to gather expertise in any branch of life, constant effort and practice is a MUST.  

*The interview was published in November 2020.

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