Team size: Two

What are the most significant cases, projects and/or transactions that you and/or your legal team have recently been involved in?

Most of the specific transactional work is confidential. However, in general terms, as General Counsel of the Narotam Sekhsaria Family Office, I oversee the group’s legal strategy across corporate, private equity, venture capital, strategic investment, regulatory, real estate, and dispute-related matters. Over the past year, I have supported multiple private equity, venture capital, and strategic investment transactions, ranging from equity, preference capital, and debt rounds to partial and full exits. I have structured and documented both Indian and foreign currency lending transactions, reviewed fund commitments, advised our commodities trading team on specific legal issues, and assisted Indian and overseas investee companies with their legal needs and special projects as required. My work also includes real estate acquisitions, one of which was completed very recently, developing litigation strategy when necessary, reviewing and updating internal policies, and overseeing the setup and restructuring of private trusts. I have also had the privilege of supporting NSFO-backed non-profits with their legal matters.

How do you approach managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crisis to ensure the organisation’s resilience?

I would generally follow three mottos.

Keep it simple: Early in my career, a crisis would immediately push me into the minutiae. I would open every document, analyse every clause, and attempt to solve all problems at once. Over time, I have realised that this often generates more noise than clarity. Today, my approach is different. When something destabilising occurs, I step back to view the bigger picture, focusing on the one or two core issues that are truly driving the situation. Once these are clear, the legal strategy usually becomes much simpler, and the smaller issues often resolve themselves. That is not to say that detailed work is avoidable; there is still a need to delve into documents and analyse clauses, but starting with a ‘keep it simple’ mindset provides much-needed focus.

Seek the right support: Another lesson from experience is knowing when to seek appropriate support. Crisis management is not a solo endeavour. Leveraging business teams who understand commercial and operational realities, and bringing in specialist external counsel when necessary, often leads to faster and more effective outcomes. Attempting to handle everything alone, particularly on niche issues, is rarely optimal.

Keep calm and carry on: I have also learned that composure is contagious. If the legal function remains steady, communicates clearly, and frames the problem in a manageable way, the organisation responds with greater confidence. Experience has taught me not to panic, not to be overwhelmed by detail, and to focus on what truly drives impact. That clarity, combined with the right support, is what ultimately strengthens organisational resilience.

Have you had any experiences during your career as a lawyer that stand out as particularly unique or interesting

A particularly memorable experience came early in my transition from private practice into an in-house role at a family office. Within the first few months, I was responsible for overseeing a complex, multi-jurisdictional dispute involving one of our investee companies and proceedings across a couple of cities in India and various states in the United States.

What made the matter stand out was not the subject of the dispute itself, but the challenge of aligning litigation strategy across jurisdictions with very different procedural realities, court cultures and timelines. Coordinating between multiple law firms, managing parallel workstreams, and ensuring consistency in approach while responding to fast-moving developments required a level of strategic oversight I had not previously encountered – particularly in a litigious matter.

The experience was particularly formative given my background as a transactional lawyer. It forced me to quickly develop a practical understanding of how litigation unfolds on the ground, how early interim outcomes can reshape negotiations, and how critical it is for in-house counsel to act as the central point of integration across geographies and advisors.

The intensity of managing teams across time zones and legal systems was demanding, but it was also deeply energising. It fundamentally reshaped how I approach risk, strategy and decision-making, and remains one of the most instructive experiences of my career.

What factors influence your team’s decision to use external legal services versus handling matters in-house, and what criteria are used to evaluate their performance?

Our decision to involve external counsel is primarily driven by the confidence we gain from their involvement, coupled with considerations of efficiency and cost. If a matter can be handled internally quickly, competently, and without consuming disproportionate bandwidth, I prefer to manage it in-house. However, given that our legal team is lean, consisting of only two individuals, matters requiring specialist expertise, deep jurisdictional or technical knowledge, or additional capacity beyond what my team can reasonably absorb make engaging external counsel the more efficient and cost-effective option. Historical working relationships that the principals and business teams within our Family Office have with particular lawyers or firms also influence appointments, especially for sensitive or complex legal matters requiring external support.

When we brief external lawyers, we evaluate their performance against a few essential criteria: did their involvement genuinely add value, were they materially more effective than what we could have achieved internally, and did they help us reach a better, faster, or more strategic outcome? We also consider responsiveness, clarity of advice, commercial practicality, and whether their fees are proportionate to the results delivered.

Ultimately, I view external counsel as an extension of our team. Their role is justified only when they enhance our capabilities rather than merely replicate them.