In Conversation With Nipun Vaid, Partner, Saraf And Partners

How and when did you know becoming a lawyer was your life’s true calling? 

I think I will know this for sure when I probably reach 80 under 80! At under 40, I am still at a nascent stage of my career as a lawyer. I have really enjoyed the journey so far and look forward to my work on a daily basis. I hope that it continues to be as engaging and fulfilling a career for me in the future as well. 

Would you please tell us about your specialisation and the array of work you handle at your firm? 

I have primarily worked in the M&A and PE/VC investment/exit space across several sectors including BFSI, infrastructure, QSR, telecom etc. In addition to this, I have also handled debt restructuring under both IBC as well as SARFAESI Act and often work with clients on a long-term basis by providing general corporate advisory/ strategic inputs on the daily business as well as future business plans. Within the law-firm space, I greatly enjoy taking part in the training and knowledge building of my younger colleagues so that we can share our experiences and help shorten their learning time on some of the topics. 

What are your predictions for 2022 in the area of specialisation mentioned above? What are some of the upcoming trends of the industry? 

In general there has been an uptick in investments over the last few months and this trend is expected to continue. Following the distress that some of the players have faced in the period during which businesses were affected on account of COVID-19 pandemic, several clients have started evaluating alternate debt resolution methods (outside of IBC) in order to speedily and efficiently expand/protect their investment portfolio. I believe this trend is here to continue. 

One recent landmark judgement or the best judgment of 2021 that you’d like to share a word about.

I believe the Supreme Court’s judgement in Amazon.Com NV Investment Holdings LLC vs. Future Retail Limited and Others (6 Aug 2021) has been a big confidence booster for investors and has come at the right time. By recognising an order of an emergency arbitrator under the SIAC Arbitration Rules, the Supreme Court has reiterated the importance of party autonomy in commercial contracts and has acted to provide clarity on a critical topic that was unaddressed by the legislation as it stands today. 

As a new age lawyer, what to your mind is the one thing in the current legal ecosystem at the Bar, Bench, or in the Law Firms that needs our attention.

An active and immersive adoption of technology in the legal practice is the need of the hour. As evidenced during the remote working undertaken during the COVID-19 pandemic, technology can free up a large number of hours that are otherwise expended on non-core legal work. Even the rudimentary system of paperless filing that was introduced as a stop-gap measure for court filings eliminated several hours in the filing process. Technology such as AI to draft standard form contracts, identify the more typical diligence concerns are definitely something that we should adopt on an expedited basis. Additionally, making remote working a de-facto option that’s available on tap will allow lawyers to reduce on unnecessary travel, face-time, etc. so that the focus can be on effective and quality work while freeing up some more time for personal commitments and goals. 

Many Congratulations on joining the BW Legal World Elite 40 Under 40 Club of Achievers 2021. 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?

The platform provided to me by the law firms I worked at as well as the support of my team have had a huge role to play in me reaching this milestone. Saraf and Partners actively encourages its counsels to explore and expand on their individual service offerings by giving us exposure to variety of deals across different sectors, stage of completion, format of implementation which has resulted in me being able to gather wide experience in a very short period of time. I also started taking lead on client interactions as well overall deal management very early on with the support of the seniors in my team. Additionally, I have maintained a strict schedule of reading and learning about the developments in law. The legal sector in India is constantly evolving and continuous engagement with latest news, judgements, articles, circulars and notifications are critical for any lawyer wishing to remain ahead of the curve. 

I advise younger lawyers to be more vocal about the deal exposure they would like as well the role they would like to play on a transaction with the intent of soaking in as much information and experience as they can. This builds confidence as well as a knowledge arsenal that you can tap into to advice your clients accurately, speedily and on both generalist and specialist subject matters.

As a final note, would you please recommend to our readers your favourite book that left a lasting impression on you. 

I am an avid reader and it is hard for me to identify any one book as my favourite. Over the years I have found several books to have meaningful ideas including books by Sir Terry Pratchett, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, John Irving and Douglas Adams. 

While it is encouraging to see the increase in statistics of women in law and in leadership roles, would you say things have become easier, or does the way to the top continue to be a journey through labyrinths and mazes for women?

I personally have had the privilege of working in places where the opportunities being provided to the counsels were not being distinguished on the basis of gender. But I know not all women lawyers have had the same support and the legal sector can definitely consider the challenges that women face both on account of stereotyping as well as balancing their professional and personal obligations, and provide for more customised support networks.