"In-house lawyers need to be adept at managing stakeholders." Satyajit Gupta, Head- Legal, EXL, 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, your most memorable experiences, and your thoughts on receiving this Award. 

Thank you for the recognition – it is a matter of great honor to be recognized by BW Legal World, especially keeping in mind the illustrious jury! As a first-generation lawyer, I came to the profession from an idealistic, social justice/ empowerment perspective. I was lucky to be accepted to study law at the National Law School Bangalore, and that gave me a lot of exposure to various law firms, chambers and the like. The formative years of my professional life were spent partially at a Big Four firm (with their tax and legal practice) and a top Indian law firm; I had the privilege of training under the very best in the profession! If I look back at the 2 decades of my professional career, I think the biggest highlight was getting an opportunity to work in London with a top international law firm; it taught me a lot, starting from professional conduct, drafting, and writing skills and presentation. Over the last 4 years, as I moved in-house, I have found this to be my calling; I think the wide variety of work that I took up across sectors and practice areas contributes to my success as a corporate counsel.

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

To quote Justice Story, ‘the law is a jealous mistress and requires a long and constant courtship’ - it is apparent that success is easy to achieve but difficult to sustain, especially in the legal profession. It is when you enjoy the practice of law and the quest for excellence/ perfection that the ‘drudgery’ no longer remains so! Luckily for me, I have never been boxed into one practice area – I started as a tax lawyer, then moved on to corporate/ commercial advisory, took up banking & finance, transitioned into a hard-core M&A lawyer and finally moved in-house. The variety of laws, the broad spectrum of work and sectors has always kept me interested in the practice. I believe that I was always unwittingly preparing myself for an in-house role; whether it was by practicing different streams of law, or by taking up secondments in-house. I also believe that an in-house role gives one a business/ commercial perspective that is sometimes lacking in private practice, which tends to be more transactional in nature; an in-house lawyer has to truly ‘walk the talk’ and implement the legal strategy/ advice.

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

I would advise youngsters aspiring to move in-house to ideally spend 4-5 years working in a law firm/ private practice; this gives one a look at a wide variety of legal issues and allows one to pick up drafting and problem-solving skills. In-house lawyers need to be adept at managing stakeholders, internal and external; and making sense of complicated legal advice.

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 have a team of over 10 legal professionals reporting to me. Our focus areas are broad, including M&A; FDI considerations; banking & finance; privacy; anti-bribery and corruption; and employment issues, to mention a few. A typical day at work starts with briefing the management on key legal issues and risks (along with mitigation steps), continues with strategic and tactical meetings with key stakeholders. I take some time every day to connect with my team members to take stock of projects and also motivate and encourage them in these tough times. As the sun sets, I start reviewing and negotiating high-value contracts with team members and counterparties globally. I end my day with catch-up calls with colleagues in other geographies, usually covering 3 time zones daily.

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?

The IT/ ITES industry, including EXL India, dealt with the Covid-19 crisis with great agility and adapted well to the situation. We moved scores of employees from office to work from home, basis the situation in the relevant geography. EXL set up a management task force to take strategic decisions and worked on many policies/ processes to deal with the crisis. Some of the issues we faced included: (a) rationalizing vendor and other fixed costs; (b) dealing with contractual issues, such as force majeure; and (c) employee health and safety issues, etc. Where we have all suffered is in the employee health arena, as a number of our employees and their loved ones have lost their lives to this deadly virus; the company and the industry has tried to support in different ways, whether it was by trying to secure hospital beds, help with medicines, oxygen concentrators, setting up vaccination camps, providing education to deceased employee's children and so on. 

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?

Covid times have taught us various essentials for an in-house legal department, e.g. importance of drafting appropriate contractual clauses, including force majeure clauses; need for a seamless contract processing and lifecycle automation platform; etc.  

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

There are a number of laws in different stages of their lifespan which have had to remain in a state of suspended animation as the pandemic rages on. These include the Labour Codes, the Personal Data Protection Bil at the Central level, and even State laws, e.g. the Haryana local candidates reservation bill. I am happy that the various Governments have decided to keep these in abeyance to allow them to be properly considered and debated before implementation.

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

I strongly believe that what little I have achieved has been thanks to the guidance of my teachers/ professors as well as my supervisors/ mentors at work. I have also had many inspirational colleagues and even juniors, who have set a great example for me. Whether it is by demonstrating their commitment to work, to clients and to the practice of law, each of them have inspired and mentored me. They are too many to be named, yet, each of them have left an indelible mark on my career and helped me progress. While I thank them each day, I believe the best way to thank them is by paying it forward – inspiring/ mentoring young law students and legal professionals. I try and do this whenever I can – I hope some of my career guidance and advice comes in handy!

Company Law Departments of the future: LegalTech tools that are transforming the traditional methods of in-house legal work in India. 

As mentioned by me earlier, the importance of reliable and seamless contract execution and processing platform cannot be over-emphasized. We are using Oracle-based contract negotiation and approval tools, which are integrated with our ERP. We have also transitioned our internal legal research needs completely online using Manupatra ® and Thomson Reuters Practical Law ™.  

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

I spend some of my time supporting issues facing the legal profession, e.g. mental wellbeing. Legal professionals in independent practice or working with law firms face significant challenges than in-house lawyers vis-à-vis this issue. There is much more we can all do, whether it is by demonstrating greater empathy and compassion with our colleagues and juniors, being mindful in our communications, and of course, being flexible and sensitive to their needs. I encourage readers to take this issue up in their own work and within their social circles. My friend, Mani and I have set up a non-profit initiative, Samvedna to do just that – bring the topic of mental health and wellness into our day-to-day conversations. I am also working with the International Bar Association’s Mental Wellbeing Taskforce; we are currently conducting a survey on mental wellness amongst lawyers worldwide and we are working on a report on the same, to be issued later this year.

I am an introvert by nature, and enjoy reading, listening to music, and watching movies; I also love traveling and trying out new cuisines. I used to be an avid painter, in my youth and still pick up the pencil to sketch something, or doodle to de-stress. I am currently reading ‘Less’ by Andrew Sean Greer; it’s an excellent satirical comedy; highly recommended for your readers!