In Conversation with Prarabdha Jaipuriar, General Counsel, SUEZ, India

Many Congratulations on featuring in BW Legal World’s General Counsel 100 list for the year 2020. We’d love to know about your journey so far, most memorable experiences, and your thoughts on receiving this Award.  

Thank you! It is indeed an honour to be recognized by such an eminent jury for inclusion in the coveted list, along with some of the finest general counsels of the country. Such a recognition undoubtedly brings joy. At the same time, one also feels a sense of responsibility.  

I started my professional journey about 14 years ago. After having worked with three law firms, I joined SUEZ India in 2013. In the last seven and a half years, my role has evolved a lot. Presently, I manage the legal, contract management, ethics and data protection functions for India and the Subcontinent. I am also part of the local COMEX, or the management team of the business area.  

SUEZ India is part of a French group, which is one of the market leaders in the environment industry. It has a glorious history in the water and waste sectors going back to the late 19th century, SUEZ is working on all 5 continents in the service of smart and sustainable management of resources. The environment is perhaps the most pressing challenge of our times and we work to improve it. Our raison d'être is Shaping Sustainable Environment, now. 

SUEZ is a great place to work. And a testimony to that is that we have been able to hire, groom and retain talent. The legal team globally is like one large closely-knit team, always ready to step forward for aiding each other.  

Honestly, when I switched from a law firm to an in-house role, I had my own doubts whether I would stick around for long. But when I look back, the challenges and opportunities in the current role have made every day at work interesting. The recognitions which I received during these years, including the latest one by BW Legal World, have also made this journey quite fulfilling.  

What do you attribute your success to? What would you say has helped you emerge as a top General Counsel in your industry? 

Response: Personally, I believe I still have a long way to go. Still, I can share what I think helped me reach wherever I have. 

I have always tested myself on law of diminishing marginal utility. Let me explain. Before studying law, I studied economics. It is one of the first concepts we study there. Simply put, it states that with every subsequent unit of consumption, the utility of a good or service diminishes. So, the first reading of a book is savoured more than, say, the fifth reading of the same book. It applies to my professional services too. If I keep offering the same service, I will only be able to add lesser and lesser value and will eventually stop adding value. So, I have made it a point to keep upgrading and updating myself so that my services are not always the same. This way, I am able to add at least the same incremental value each time, if not more. You are not reading the same book.  

I have a firm belief that in order to advise on any aspect of a business, I must know the business. So, I have spent my time and energy in understanding the business and try to develop an ability to predict and pre-empt risks as well as prepare and implement mitigation strategy.   

And then, there is always an element of luck. That adage about being in the right place at the right time probably had a role too.  

What advice would you have for others who want to set off in a similar direction?  

I would reiterate what I said during the GC conference. In 2018 Asian Games, Indian women’s team won a gold medal in the 4X400 relay race. The youngest and most inexperienced runner Vismaya VK was running her first international race and was, quite understandably, nervous. The more experienced team member Poovamma MR could see that and she yelled at Vismaya in Malayalam, “Take the baton and run”. Vismaya clocked her best time and outran Bahrain’s Naser, the so-called ‘Asian queen of the single lap’.  

I will tell younger professionals exactly the same. Law practice is all about rigour. Let no one tell you that you cannot make a mark for any reason. All it takes is sheer hard work, conviction and professional integrity. Focus on being your best version. Work on your core skills, every single day. Acquire new skills which are relevant for your profession. It will also help keep self-doubts at bay. Keep an eye out for the right opportunity and, when it comes your way, just take the baton and run. 

Would you please share with our readers the array of work you handle at your organization? What is your in-house team size, and would you please allow us a little peek into your routine at work?  

I lead a team of ten – a mix of lawyers, compliance professionals and contract managers. Our work includes a review of tenders and contracts, managing arbitrations and other disputes, compliance management, contract management, implementing an ethics compliance program, among other things.  

Suez India has also been actively engaged in inorganic growth in the region. Thus, we have also been engaged in several M&A related activities, including due diligence, merger control, negotiations, definitive agreements, deal closure and integration. Of course, for some of our activities, mainly in disputes, compliance management and M&A, we also seek assistance from external counsels, law firms and compliance professionals. 

As a local COMEX member, I am expected to participate in many key meetings and decisions. Similarly, as the ethics officer, I have specific obligations on monitoring, reporting, audits, training, risk mapping, etc. I am also a part of various other committees such as the Health & Safety Crisis Management Group, the ICC under POSH Act, etc. I also conduct training on a wide range of topics such as Ethics, Contract management, prevention of workplace harassment, etc. Of late, my personal favourite is a training that I conducted as an Inclusion and Diversity ambassador - a behavioural training on Unconscious Bias. 

In what ways has your business sector/industry been impacted by the pandemic and the subsequent second wave? How long would it take for the industry to revive? 

Our business inter alia includes building and operating treatment plants for drinking water and sewage, drinking water distribution networks and sewerage networks, mostly in urban areas. Much of it is characterised as essential services. Even during Lockdowns, we continued to operate the plants and networks, thanks to the dedicated frontline workers who ensured uninterrupted delivery of service even at the peak of the crisis. 

For our business, we largely depend on tenders floated by municipal bodies and water & sanitation boards. Over the last one year or so, these agencies have been busy handling the public health emergency. Quite expectedly, the routine tender activities took a back seat. Just when everyone was getting back to business as usual, the devastating second wave struck. Some of the municipal bodies, such as the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai have earned well-deserved praise for their effective handling of the second wave. One hopes that we will soon put this second wave behind us, and business will be back to normal. It is difficult at this stage to predict how long will it take for the industry to fully revive. One hopes that 2022 will be a better year. Personally, I have little hope left for a massive revival in 2021. 

What have been your key learnings as the legal gatekeepers of your company from the year past and what are your predictions for the future?  

The one big learning is that businesses must assume, at all times, that a crisis is lurking. It is unpredictable in terms of its nature, timing, recurrence, and impact. Only the ones who are prepared to weather a storm will survive. Business continuity plans have to be devised and revised on a regular basis.  

Some of the trends that I see emerging and which will impact in-house practice are the following. 

Firstly, we are globally seeing the growing emergence of statutory mandate for corporate ethics compliance programme. For instance, since I work for a French Company, I can refer to Sapin-II law in France which mandates corporates to deploy an effective compliance program with the so-called 8 pillars, which inter alia includes a whistleblower program, due diligence process, sanction policy, risk mapping etc. It is just a matter of time that this kind of a program will be a part of Indian laws too. 

Secondly, in dispute resolution, I see that the role of conciliation is going to increase. For instance, in the Budget 2021 speech, the Finance Minister Ms Nirmala Sitharaman also spoke about making it mandatory for CPSEs. Institutional arbitration is also gaining traction in India and the government has shown a resolve to develop India as a hub. I would not be surprised if institutional arbitrations become the norm in government contracts in future. 

Thirdly, sustainability is now front and centre of business. It is not just about being a corporate citizen anymore. There are economic and reputational costs of not being a sustainable business. The people, planet, profit paradigm is now all pervasive. In-house counsels have a role to play in spearheading the corporate governance efforts towards sustainability. 

Any significant legislation or decision of the top court that has been a welcome change or has been rather mistimed in your opinion. 

We have seen several key changes in the law in last few years, such as IBC, arbitration law reforms, decriminalisation of offences under company law and overhaul of the CSR regime. Now, India Inc is all set for rollout of a comprehensive law on data protection. It is evolving fast globally. GDPR has really led to massive evolution of data protection framework and behavioural changes in Europe and European companies. We know that in India too, a new law is under Parliament’s consideration. It will definitely have an impact on the role of GCs and legal teams. We will be expected to know the law and handhold its implementation in the company.  

An experience, matter or person that left a lasting impression on you. 

I have been fortunate to have had around me some very inspiring persons. During growing up years, my parents instilled values of honour, integrity and resilience in me which have held me in good stead. In Shikha, my wife, I have a friend, advisor, critic and constant motivator. And then, the one person whose faith in me really changed the course of my career is the CEO of SUEZ India, Mr. Shyam Bhan. He is one of the sharpest minds that I have ever come across and one who knows how to get the best out of his team. 

Company Law Departments of the future: LegalTech tools that are transforming the traditional methods of in-house legal work in India. Please list AI-tools you are using or being used in-house for legal research, case management, contract lifecycle management, contract review, document reviews etc. 

At SUEZ, we have long been using legal tech tools for entity management, litigation management, contract management, legal research etc. One area where I see their transformational impact the most is contract management, which is increasingly getting focussed and sophisticated, especially in our business. Due to competitive tendering, margins are highly competitive. The client is sensitive on time and quality. So, risk evaluation, mitigation strategy, CM documentation, claim management, etc. all hold a key. It would be good to have more sophisticated and customised contract management tools which help us derive more value from each contract.

What keeps you busy when you’re not working? Any favourite book or movie/series that you'd like to recommend to our readers. 

When not working, I like to spend my time with my wife and our daughter. Doing activities with the 5-year old and answering her million questions are great stress busters. There is so much to learn from the kids as they live in the moment and have a keen sense of observing and learning. Apart from that, I love reading non-fiction. These days, I am reading 10 Judgements That Changed India, by Zia Mody.