CEO Insights India

“People with clear, written goals, accomplish far more in a shorter period of time than people without them could ever imagine”, Brian Tracy. Amit Kumar, Head of Legal, Tejas Networks Limited has grown up in Bhagalpur and was subsequently concerned by the extent of ignorance of legal rights and consequent sufferings of the people of the rural areas. Hence, ever since his childhood, the young leader had a clear aspiration of venturing into the legal domain to be able to serve society and provide the best legal solutions to its people. Throughout his educational journey, he has been fascinated by corporate law, which further inspired him to join law firms and take up inhouse roles. He has more than a decade of experience in working with various laws firms and companies including, King & Partridge, AMSS, Essel Finance, Ola, and Amarchand Mangaldas. Such exposures have helped him in growing as a versatile and seasoned lawyer with hands on experience in GCC Laws, M&A, Cross Border M&A, Private Equity & Debt, and gave him multiple opportunities to work on international assignments. The diverse legal issues cropping up every day clubbed with demanding work profiles in achieving the solution for such problems drive him and motivate him to enjoy the profession. Let’s hear it from him.

How would you define Tejas Networks as an organization and its position in the market?
Tejas Networks is a global broadband, optical and wireless networking company, with a focus on technology, innovation, and R&D. Our carrier class products are used by telecom service providers, utilities, government and defense networks in 75+ countries which

includes over 25 Tier-1 telecom carrier networks across Africa, Asia, and the US. We build end-to-end telecom networks for our clients based on the latest technologies and global standards. Our company is widely known in the industry for our pioneering software defined hardware architecture that enables our products to seamlessly transcend multiple technology generations and can scale from a few megabits to multi terabits of switching capacity on the same shelf.

Tell us about the initial challenge encountered by you while establishing yourself in the legal domain? How did you overcome it to emerge as a successful professional?
The initial challenge was to provide an apt and full-proof solution to clients that not only resolves an extant legal challenge, but also ensures that business requirements are taken care of with the least possibility of adverse challenges in long run. As a legal professional, to resolve such challenges, I have learned to analyze all aspects of issues in hand including legal, financial, and taxation before providing a conclusive opinion. Further, one additional effort that has helped me a lot in my legal career is to look for a settled position on any issue in other jurisdictions. This approach ensures a comprehensive legal solution with the least possibility of any friction.

Tell us about the milestones that bestowed you with utmost satisfaction as an established legal professional?
My professional journey has been

extremely enriching. During the second year of my legal career, while working with King & Partridge, I was handed over the responsibility of handling some critical international transactions in very niche domains. The experience acquired while dealing directly with clients at an initial stage of my career, research on legal issues, and taking a lead in providing legal opinions was very satisfying and gave me immense exposure and boosted my confidence.

How do you keep yourself up-to-date with ongoing trends in the legal sector to steer your organization towards the future? Share a piece of advice to young professionals of the legal domain?
I have subscribed to certain legal magazines for keeping myself updated on legal issues. To ensure I do not miss any legal updates relevant to my organization, I have subscribed to various domain specific newsletters and have also set Google alerts for company-specific legal developments. Further, I also receive legal updates from various law firms which helps me stay abreast with the day-to-day legal developments. I believe the law cannot be learned and practiced in isolation. It is an interdisciplinary domain and hence needs lots of patience and hard work. I would advice young lawyers to have patience and perseverance both during the law school stage and at the career stage to be able to be a good lawyer. Law is all about passion, if you have the passion to learn you will grow.

Amit Kumar, Head- Legal, Tejas Networks
Having a BA LLB from Gujarat National Law University, Amit has 10+ years of extensive professional experience in the legal domain working with multinational companies. Currently, he is heading the legal function for Tejas Networks Limited and implementing the best legal solutions within the organization.

Hobbies:Football, Swimming, Badminton and Cooking
Favorite Cuisine:Thai and Indian
Favorite Book:The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
Favourite Travel Destination: Europe, Australia, and New Zealand