In Conversation with Ms Roop Loomba, General Counsel, Head of Ethics, India and South Asia, Rolls-Royce

Ms Loomba, You started your career as a junior lawyer in criminal law chambers. What prompted you to switch to an in house role? Would you please tell our readers what motivated you to pursue law and what were the formative years of your professional career like?  

When I passed out of law college, I wanted to set up a career in Litigation. I am a trained litigation lawyer and my results in arguing matters in courts were good. After a brief stint of training myself as a litigation lawyer, I set up a Litigation Practice and continued it for six years, I wanted to gain some good in-house experience which prompted me to switch to an in house counsel role. 

I find law to be the most liberating profession where you contribute to the society by ensuring their rights are safeguarded. In addition, you are never dependent upon a job to earn a living, as a Law degree enables you to set your own independent consultancy and there is huge scope and market for that. 

Early in my career, I would read recent Case Laws, watch court proceedings, and practice drafting Petitions. I understood early on that to be a successful lawyer one needs to work very hard and there is no short cut to success. This profession demands hard work, grit and resilience.  

When I joined the corporate sector from a Legal practice, I had to adapt and work very hard to understand the nuances of the business. I had to be very agile in balancing my professional/ functional learning coupled with business learning. 

What does a day as General Counsel look like? What is your take on the evolving roles and responsibilities of a GC?

These days the role of a General Counsel (GC) is very diverse. Not only is a GC expected to give legal advice but also expected to know the strategy. One has to be an enabler of business, and above all, one has to consistently ensure that business objectives are enabled in an ethical and legally compliant manner. From providing counsel for partnerships and business contracts to being part of change management meetings, one has to wear several hats and at the same time, be bold, agile and forthright in putting forward his/ her opinions to ensure companies do the right thing and operate within the boundaries of the law. 

Your legal career has been nothing short of an inspiration for many aspiring and young legal professionals. Who are the mentors you have looked up to and admired? 

To be honest, I had no mentors. If you have a hunger to learn and work you will succeed. I learnt on the job, fell, got up and learnt more. At the same time, I was also lucky to have worked with colleagues and seniors who empowered and enabled me by boosting my morale when I was in a lean phase. You need to build a positive eco-system of colleagues, friends, peers around you; people who genuinely care about you. Almost everyone has faced similar challenges or failures, and they are your best guiding angels. My suggestion would be to build good relations with people, act with compassion towards others and that compassion comes back to you in leaps and bounds. 

How do you see compliance frameworks changing with the emergence of AI? What do in house legal departments of the future look like? 

I see compliance departments becoming more agile with the availability of more AI tools. I also see more accuracy in compliance assessment and assurance coming in with efficiency in risk mitigation increasing manifolds. Legal departments of the future shall be paperless, smart and agile and will have to learn to adopt digital/virtual ways of working as the new normal. 

What are your views on risk mitigation and pre-litigation strategies for in-house legal departments? Do we see more thrust on ADR mechanisms in the near future? 

The business requirement is reviewed with the existing impacting law and proactively the risk is mitigated. There are some common laws which impact all industries and some industry-specific laws. It is the endeavour of a good General Counsel to create adequate sensitization on the law as well as ‘Ethics and Compliances’ through engaging and training people to lead to more awareness and less risks. As far as pre-litigation strategies are concerned, I think all efforts should be made to reduce litigation. The in-house legal team should be trained to foresee the obvious risks which could lead to litigations while reviewing documents and should make all efforts to mitigate them. While drafting agreements business should be engaged constantly to see what practical challenges the face and how the same can be mitigated in an agreement which could also lessen disputes. 

If the ADR mechanism is used efficiently I see a lot of thrust in future on the same. We need to look at Institutionalized ADR mechanism for resolving disputes which ensure speed and accuracy in the disposal of disputes. I foresee a lot of smaller business disputes getting resolved more efficiently through ADR. In the future, I also foresee companies having their own Mediation centres or mechanisms in resolving disputes with an independent mediator. 

Besides your prolific corporate career, you have also served the Bureau of Police Research and Development under Ministry of Home Affairs in the capacity of a guest faculty. Would you please shed some light on your work there? 

I was fresh out of Law College when I became a guest faculty with this prestigious institute where Police officers are trained both from India and other developing nations. I thoroughly enjoyed teaching Police officers as the practical and very intelligent questions they asked were a learning for me as a professional. I taught Information Technology Laws (IT Act) and Cyber Laws to them, IP Laws and at times anti-hijacking Laws. It was a huge learning experience for me and also helped build my confidence as a beginner. 

Would you agree there continues to be an inherent social pressure on women to manage it all—home and work? What are your thoughts on issues of diversity in the legal profession? 

Without generalizing, there are instances where some women do face social pressures and are expected to give less priority to their careers which is unfair. If we need to bring in more prosperity, we need to empower women with independence and careers. There is a fair amount of diversity in the legal profession in-house though times are changing and I see more diversity in Legal Practice too. I would urge all women in the legal profession to persevere with courage and confidence wherever they are, whether in-house or in the Legal practice. 

What is your take on the notion of Work-Life Balance? What keeps you busy other than work? Tell us about your hobbies. Any movies, work of art or books that have had a profound impact in shaping your personality?  

I like to spend time with my family and friends, reading, writing, watching movies, playing table tennis. It may sound unusual but I spend a lot of time dreaming and recounting how many dreams I have redeemed. I read ‘I dare’ by Kiran Bedi when I was in college and learnt the value of grit and courage.  

You have 20+ years of professional experience. It is said that success is easy to achieve but difficult to sustain. What has helped you achieve and sustain success over a long period of time? What advice would you have for others who want to achieve success in the legal profession?  

Hard work, determination and honesty helps you develop as a sound professional. Always believe in yourself, you need to conquer your mind, rest follows. Last but not the least, be kind and compassionate, which will win you trust and relationships. Relationships are the true wealth and success you have and they never let you down. Exude compassion, warmth, humility and success will never elude you. 

Note:  Views expressed here are personal and do not represent those of the employer.

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