Following competition partner Amitabh Kumar’s retirement, which we had reported less than two weeks ago, Gurgaon-based partner Upendra Nath Sharma has been elected into the firm’s executive committee (excom), as one of five partners.
This is his second stint on the firm’s excom, having also been part of it before the previous rotation, when Jyoti Sagar and Berjis Desai were still running the firm.
The excom had a minimum of quarterly meetings, though it was likely to meet and correspond much more frequently, as and when any issues arose, Sharma said about the input required from partner members. “It requires a lot of time and commitment, which we all have principally agreed,” he said. “You have to take out time to do justice to what you have undertaken to do.”
The term of this excom will run until 31 March 2022, and also includes the two joint managing partners Amit Kapur and Vivek Chandy, as well as former co-managing partner Dina Wadia and partner Amar Gupta.
“We are evolving and I’m looking forward to it,” Sharma added about the excom. “It’s becoming more decisive, more independent and it’s a very cohesive thing we have in the whole firm.”
His appointment was first reported in the Business Standard.
Comments
If you aren’t doing that, then you really are missing out in the real deal of corporate firm work. Advisory work, howsoever remunerative, is boring and doesn’t really make you a great lawyer.
See any of the star lawyers in firms - all of them are excellent negotiators and hence great deal makers.
Your client benefits from all sorts of things. Your reputation is based on a bunch of this. This focus on deals being a holy grail is unhealthy and unproductive.
What's best is to have a mix, which he has in abundance. Otherwise, you will just end up ur professional career doing the same set of reps and warranties, covenants of only SHA and SPA ( which BTW in most cases is just a laundry list, requiring Ctrl C and V).
Advisory can also be challenging, as you get to deal with real set of problems and issues that corporate world faces on regular bases and it definitely gives a holistic perspective.
Also, am sure you would agree that there are several practice areas where real active negotiation doesn't take place, the way it happens in a live transaction. But, that doesn't mean, they are not good lawyers. What's imp is that you should add value. So pls get some fresh air and clean ur lenses so that you can clear ur short term vision.