Partner Perspectives: Gunita Pahwa

Key Arbitration Trends
Efficiency-driven practices are reshaping arbitration globally, including greater use of technology, expedited procedures, and tighter case and time management, driven by client demand for faster dispute resolution.

Technology and AI
The firm uses AI and digital tools to improve research, workflow management, and time efficiency, while emphasising the need for strong checks and balances in legal decision-making.

Complex Disputes and Enforcement
The practice focuses on infrastructure disputes across sectors such as transport and waste management. Recent experience reinforces the Indian judiciary’s limited interference in arbitral awards and the importance of enforceability.

Effective Arbitration Practice
Successful arbitration requires legal, commercial, and industry expertise, strong preparation, and the ability to simplify complex issues for tribunals.

Leadership and Talent Development
Sustainable growth depends on knowledge sharing, multi-generational collaboration, and mentorship, supported by a diverse and inclusive workforce.

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As a leading arbitration expert, could you share your professional journey – whether this specialization evolved by choice, and the key milestones that shaped your path?

I started my journey with a family partner 21 years ago. It was my first job straight out of college, and I’ve been here since then. So it’s been a very long journey for me, but at the same time, it feels very short as well, because when I joined we were seven, eight of us in 2004/5, and now there are 300 of us. So that’s been a fantastic journey of growth. But at the same time, I believe that we have still a long way to go and a lot to achieve. I personally was a litigation lawyer at the start of my career and thereafter have been practicing in arbitration, and it is my belief that having litigated was a very big advantage in arbitration as well.

From your perspective, what global trends are currently shaping the field of arbitration, and why do you consider them pivotal?

There are a lot of global trends, but the most important ones to me are related to technology, the use of technology and arbitration, the better use of expedited arbitrations, efficiency and time management, case management. These are pivotal trends that I see that are being used in arbitration much more today. And one of the important reasons for that is because of the desire for having more efficient dispute resolution procedures and trials.

With the rise of technology, including virtual hearings and AI research tools, how is your firm using innovation to enhance efficiency and client service?

As a firm, we have always believed that technology is a very important part of our practice. Technology is, I believe, something which has helped us become more efficient. Now, why I say that is because with the use of AI and other technological tools, we are able to better manage our processes and the time of our colleagues. That allows us to use our time for more legal strategy, legal analysis, and in future as well. I feel that technology is going to have a very important role in the practice of law. As far as AI is concerned, it’s very important that AI be utilized with appropriate checks and balances, especially in our field as lawyers. So we as a firm also use AI for the purposes of research and other processes that we adopt in the firm that helps us and our colleagues to do better time management.

Please describe a complex arbitration case you managed, and what was the outcome?

So I practice in infrastructure law that involves a lot of complexities. Now, whether it is in the roads or the ports, airports, railways, dedicated freight corridors, all of these matters are complex. I can’t really say one is less complex than the other. However, since you are asking me to talk about one complex matter, what comes to my mind is a very recent matter for which we just received the judgment yesterday. It involved the complexities relating to waste management and the issues the client faced in undertaking the protest. Now, from the stage of the arbitration, which we were successful in winning in our favour to enforcement action, to the challenge of that arbitration award, and finally the High Court decision, it has been an experience which has reinforced the fact that the Indian judicial system is not interfering in arbitral awards. And the enforceability of arbitration awards is a very, very important aspect of the entire regime.

How do you handle parties with vastly different resources or legal expertise?

For example, in one matter there’s a client, then there are the client’s teams, which involve the commercial teams, the transaction teams, the project teams, and then of course their legal officers. In addition to that, for the whole matter to come together, there is also, like I just mentioned, the requirement of experts of that field or quantum experts or sometimes damages experts. So as a lead counsel in an arbitration matter, it is not just important to be focused on the strategy, which is purely legal, but you also have to keep the commercial angles, the technical angles, in mind. And while leading in arbitration case, it’s important that all of that comes together to as a comprehensive strategy, which can help your client in achieving their desired goals.

Can you share an example of a difficult negotiation of a successful dispute resolution?

So the dispute resolution starts when the parties have exhausted the negotiations and have exhausted their amicable conciliation and then are unable to settle mutually. Therefore, they choose either arbitration or mediation or conciliation as a method for dispute resolution. I have come across conciliations and mediations as well, where despite everything being crystal clear, the rights, the entitlement, the cause, but yet the opposite party are not in a mindset or not willing to accept settlement as an option. They’d rather go through the entire arbitration process or the legal process in a place of settling that dispute. So those have been the tough ones. Even when you know that the result in the arbitration is going to be the same and still yet not being open to the idea, those have been the tough ones. But at the same time, I also have to say that I have also experienced that in one particular matter, we were at the stage of cross-examination where we successfully demolished the fact witness of the expert witness and the parties settled the next day. So that also happens.

How would you prepare for an arbitration hearing?

Well an arbitration hearing is not an easy thing. In order to prepare for an arbitration hearing, you just don’t have to have control of your facts and the law, but you also have to have control of the technical, the commercial, the financial aspects involved, especially in the kind of matters that we do. So in order to prepare for that, it takes extensive, extensive, hard work and time to be able to simplify the issue. I think the best arguments are those where the lawyer can simplify the issue for the tribunal.

How do you handle a dispute resolution that does not go to plan?

The only option in a dispute resolution, which didn’t go as planned is to challenge and to appeal. So that happens to everybody. But it’s very important to keep in mind while exploring the option of challenging an arbitral award that whether or not it comes within the four corners of the act, which provides very, very limited scope of a challenge to an arbitral award. As counsel, it’s our first duty that to advise the client, and this is what we do. And when the clients want to challenge an award, the first option and the first advice by us is to see whether it’s tenable or not. If it is not tenable, that is what we inform them. Because I have come across so many challenges to an arbitral award, which on the face of it are not tenable, but yet our exercise by the parties just to put a roadblock for the enforcement.

What are the critical qualities for an effective arbitration lawyer?

I feel the critical qualities for an effective arbitration lawyer is not only being a legal expert, but also having a commercial understanding. Also being an industry expert. For example, if you are doing an arbitration in the roads or the port sector, it’s very important to know that sector to understand it because an effective arbitration council should understand the business of the client, the legality of course, as well as the commercial transaction. At the end of the day, all of these combined make a very big difference in how an arbitration outcome is.

As a Joint Managing Partner, what major challenges do you face in sustaining the firm’s growth, and how do you address them?

In our firm we have different generations in the office, so we have freshers every year who join us straight out of law schools, experienced lawyers, and senior people in the firm who’ve been here for many, many years.

So in my view, one of the most important aspects is having such kind of processes and systems that cater to all. While the younger generation is very tech savvy, no doubt, and as well as the seniors have their own advantage and the expertise that they bring on the table. So having a system which answers to all and addresses everybody’s concerns, those are things which are very important to keep in mind because we as a firm believe in people, in our people in the processes, and also in the growth. So knowledge sharing and interactions between different departments are also very important for the firm’s growth.

How do you ensure your team stays ahead of legal and regulatory developments both domestically and internationally?

I feel staying ahead of the legal developments for both domestic or international arbitrations, or for that matter, for lawyers and even all different departments, is very important in the practice of law. We do that a lot of ways. We were one of the first few firms who adopted Harvey across all our offices for the purposes of giving that tool to our colleagues, which will help them in their research and analysis. Like I mentioned earlier, AI is to be used with a lot of check and balances. But in addition to that, we also have an intranet system where our teams and all the departments post the most recent developments in their respective sectors. That also leads to knowledge sharing between the departments. So all of these combined are very sound practices that we adopt for our teams to stay ahead.

As a Joint Managing Partner at a leading law firm with a strong male–female ratio among its lawyers, what advice would you offer to those beginning their professional journey?

I would say the grunt work is very important. Young lawyers should put in the hard work for all the grunt work because that prepares you, that readies you for all that is to come. It’s very, very important to be legally summed as well. So the young lawyers joining the profession should not shy away from any challenges, from any difficult work or opportunities that are provided to them. Rather, they should take it up as a stepping stone to learn and to evolve. Mentorship, to me, is also very, very important for young lawyers, and it equally implies that the young lawyers should not be shy to ask their mentors for help when they require. With a combination of all that and hard work and commitment, I feel the sky’s the limit. We as a firm are very, very proud of the fact that we have, if not 50 50 in the least, more than that as a female male ratio. That to me, translates as a very efficient and a cohesive working environment, which I believe is a necessity of our time.

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