"One should not consider oneself as working for the company rather one should consider oneself as an entrepreneur in the given function."Navodit Mehra, SVP Legal, Sterllite Power

Mr Mehra, would you please tell us where did this illustrious journey begin and what was your motivation behind choosing law as a career. Take us through your initial years in the profession. What struggles did you face and how did you overcome them? 

My journey towards law stemmed from my interest in Political Science as a subject that I was first introduced to at the Scindia School and further pursued at Kirori Mal College Delhi University. Political Science teaches state craft wherein Law functions as the instrument to lay down the rules of governance as well as conduct of everyday life. As I matured to the realization that Law has a deep impact on our business and social life, I was motivated to adopt it as a career. 

Initial years are tough especially for those like me who are first-generation lawyers. Hard work and perseverance are the only two ways make your presence felt in the hitherto unknown world.  

During my time, I felt that there was a gap in the study and practice of law. On my very first day at the law firm that I had joined immediately after completing my degree, I was given the task of drafting a ‘Replication’. I had no idea what that meant – sounded like a monster! I read through the entire night, diving into piles of files but could not write even two pages. We faced these challenges because our education system did not keep pace with business requirements. Today some of the National Law Schools are successful in bridging the gap between legal education and the way it is practised. 

Who have been the people that have inspired you in your journey and how? 

I do not have big names to tell you as my inspiration, truly it was an inner sense of justice which was and remains a pull factor. Some of the Judgements by Justice V R Krishna Iyer and Justice P N Bhagwati still inspire me. At work I am in constant search for legal issues which can help the growth of business, for instance at Air Deccan we did many firsts in aviation history by introducing e-tickets (which is the norm today), used exterior of aircrafts as flying hoardings among several of such initiatives, positive legal interpretation of rules which commercially added to the bottom line and the benefits could ultimately be transferred to the consumers. 

You have had a thriving career of over 2 decades in the legal industry and have worked across multiple industries with some of the biggest names. What does it take to be a legal professional of your stature? What has helped you sustain success over a long period of time? 

I have always believed in the legal department being a facilitator of business. Negotiating the best of the terms in contracts, creating a compliant ecology, reducing risks and litigation have been my strengths.  An In-house Counsel should convert the legal department from a cost centre to a profit centre and I have a sense of pride in saying that I have reasonably achieved this in every corporate where I have worked. 

What are your views on pre-litigation strategies for in-house legal departments?  Do we see more thrust on ADR mechanisms post the pandemic? 

As a Corporate house, our business is not litigation.  One cannot but agree that any litigation big or small, has the potential to damage relationships, impact reputation, take huge time for resolution at enormous costs to the organization. A good Legal Manager should strive to reduce possibilities of litigation and minimize existing litigation by adopting ADR where cost and time can be reasonably budgeted and controlled. More so, ADR provides us a forum to resolve a dispute where commercial bonds do not get destroyed as they are less formal than court proceedings. 

Post pandemic, ADR activities would witness upward momentum as Force Majeure (FM) and its consequences matters would rise and corporates would like to have time-bound resolutions. ADR provides a predictable timeline and expenses for resolution which helps maintain clarity. 

Work from home brings unique challenges. What steps have in-house legal departments taken for addressing mental health issues amongst employees? Do you see leaders becoming more flexible and sensitive towards their teams after the Covid crisis? 

During the new norm of ‘work from home,’ our legal team is adhering to timelines and managing work-life balance quite well. HR has been quite active in organizing a couple of webinars on yoga and meditation which has been useful. Given the fact that we are privy to each other’s homes, even as the background to work, as a team we have developed a protocol of talking to each other for about ten minutes each day on matters other than work, which instils feeling of ease to the team.  

No doubt during the hours of crises, leaders across the industry have become more compassionate and flexible. During these times, the truth of the spirit of the team has emerged not only within the legal department but in the company at large. 

Tell us about your experience of working in the aviation sector and now with Sterlite.  

Both these sectors have their own uniqueness Aviation is all about heavy machinery flying in the sky, it has complex maintenance activity and deals with the consumer directly whereas Sterlite Power is a leading integrated power transmission developer and solution provider. Both these sectors contribute hugely to the economy and have immense social impact. Both these sectors are regulated by respective  Regulator which can be challenging in its own way. Negotiating the way in, through and with the regulations/regulators has itself been a great teacher. 

The aviation sector has been reasonably established for quite some time now and has seen its up and downs whereas power transmission business under the private sector is still developing. This sector has immense potential growth, especially in view of the Prime Minister’s vision to electrify each village with an affordable and uninterrupted power supply. He has ambitious plans of ‘One Grid One Nation” and has also announced for “One Sun One World One Grid”.    

I have been fortunate to have been associated with two such industries where the potential outreach lies in every person being a consumer. During my instance in aviation we had a mission of ‘Simplifly’, to make every Indian fly with our low-cost model and now at Sterlite, we are empowering humanity by the transmission of power hoping to light up every life. 

What unique challenges have you come across from a governance, risk and compliance perspective during Covid? 

Even though the O&M function falls in the category of essential services, and as such was exempt from the lockdown, initially it was difficult to convince the local authorities of the same before the work could resume. Like others, we were also impacted by the migrant labour crisis. 

How crucial is it to gain an understanding of multiple legal systems for an in-house lawyer today? 

It entirely depends on the nature and requirement of the industry one is in, but it certainly provides an advantage if one is aware of multiple legal systems that provide a comparative approach to resolve the complexities of legal issues. 

At the BW legal conference, you shared your thoughts on the importance of being intrinsically motivated to work in teams during the current times and the future as well. Twisting the question, a little bit, I want to ask you, do you think it has become a challenge to train freshers in a virtual environment? Do you think the emergence of newer technologies (AI, automation) has downsides for fresh law graduates in terms of employment opportunities? 

Presently, we need to adapt to the virtual environment, given the need of the hour. However, this experience could very well extend into becoming the new normal in which case we would have to not only adapt but also adopt this way of working. While emerging technology is certainly helping in bridging the gap of physical distance, I feel that it will also help reduce the gap between the trainers and trainees (who are way more easy with technology) by making training of freshers a two-way street. We can train and familiarize them into the field with our experience with law and they can help us reach them better with their exposure to technology.    

I do not think emerging technologies would create any insurmountable impediments for any person in job opportunities including law graduates. One just needs to find one’s way around it. This evolution would create new talent opportunities for freshers in the digital world.  

How did your team respond to Covid19? What are some of the operational issues in-house company law departments are facing today because of the pandemic? What do in-house legal departments of the future look like? From LMS to document management systems. Is there a tech toolkit every company can adopt? 

In my opinion, the legal team adopted digital technology relatively faster as compared to some others. Cloud technology helped us in retrieving relevant documents and working on them immediately. Various platforms of virtual meetings were quite useful to discuss and deliberate on issues face to face and it helped to be able to share the documents we were discussing. Initially, we had some teething problems, but the entire team is now well settled with the technology. Legal departments would continue to use these emerging technologies. Today, every company has adopted compliance tools and DMS and I am sure new tools would further ease our work. Technology enables us to resolve our current problems and empowers us for future challenges. 

Tell us about your hobbies and interests. What are your sources of creative outlet other than work? Any movies, work of art or books that have had a profound impact in shaping your personality?   

I do paint occasionally, putting whatever comes to my mind on canvas in oil/acrylic mostly in surrealistic impressions. This is a good stress reliever. In November 2019 three of my paintings were exhibited in a group exhibition in a premier Gallery at Delhi. Recently I have painted a canvas depicting a storyteller with Quranic calligraphy on the body of the figure. I have also written about fourteen poetries in Hindi. During this time, I have also invested my energies into creating a cement sculpture.  

I find Yanni, especially the opening part of his live performance at Acropolis, quite inspiring and invigorating. It sounds like a clarion call which motivates me. 

What will be your one message to aspiring and young lawyers? 

One should not consider oneself as working for the company. Rather one should consider oneself as an entrepreneur in the given function.  

Do your duty and a little more. You will achieve what you want and a little more.