This episode of Soulful Conversations with Bithika Anand features Sameer Chugh, General Counsel & Chief Legal Officer of Games 24x7 Pvt Ltd, where he leads the Legal, Risk, Compliance, Secretarial and Risk functions.
With a distinguished career spanning over a decade, Sameer has expertise in complex business transactions (M&A and financing), legal compliance, litigation, governance and cross-border M&A. He has done transactions worth more than $ 38 Billion and has also been involved/ led the two largest litigations (together worth $ 44 billion) in the history of India – the AGR dispute and the GST dispute for the Gaming Industry.
Sameer's journey into law, however, was far from preordained. Raised in a family with five generations of military service, he had long envisioned a future in uniform. "I always say I'm a lawyer by accident," he remarks with characteristic humility. Yet what began as an unforeseen detour gradually evolved into a vocation of remarkable purpose, culminating in his appointment as General Counsel at the age of twenty-nine—a milestone that laid the foundation for an exceptional in-house career.
Throughout the conversation, Sameer returns to the values that have anchored his personal and professional journey. Influenced profoundly by his military upbringing, he regards integrity, discipline and leading from the front as indispensable virtues of both leadership and the legal profession. Equally significant, he believes, is intellectual humility. "I know what I don't know," he reflects, underscoring that true wisdom lies not in possessing every answer, but in knowing where to seek it. He also speaks of the enduring value of preparation, recalling a quote attributed to Napoleon that has remained a guiding principle throughout his career: "The person who wins the battle is the one who has prepared well, not the one who has fought well." For Sameer, preparation is far more than professional diligence—it is a way of thinking that cultivates confidence, resilience and sound judgement.
He speaks with equal warmth about the mentors who shaped his outlook, from legal luminaries such as Ram Jethmalani and Fali S. Nariman to distinguished leaders who influenced his approach to leadership and decision-making. Their guidance, coupled with the enduring lessons imparted by his father, reinforced his conviction that excellence is achieved through preparation, consistency and an unwavering pursuit of one's best.
Leadership, in Sameer's view, is defined not by authority but by responsibility. He believes in fostering an environment rooted in trust, openness and mutual respect, where diverse perspectives are welcomed and meaningful dialogue is encouraged. A leader, he observes, must stand alongside the team in moments of adversity as readily as in moments of achievement, recognising that enduring success is always a shared endeavour.
Beyond the demands of the profession, Sameer finds equilibrium in pursuits that nourish both mind and spirit. A passionate automobile enthusiast and avid badminton player, he remarks with a smile that, had life unfolded differently, he might well have become a car mechanic. Equally integral to his life is a deeply personal spiritual practice. Daily prayer and quiet reflection provide him with a sense of grounding, gratitude and inner balance, enabling him to navigate the demands of a high-pressure profession with clarity and composure.
Offering advice to young lawyers, Sameer encourages them to cultivate patience, intellectual curiosity and unwavering integrity. While he acknowledges the transformative role of technology and artificial intelligence, he believes they are most valuable when complemented by independent thought, discernment and a commitment to lifelong learning. Looking back, he reflects that although his earliest aspiration was to serve in the armed forces, the path he ultimately embraced has proved deeply meaningful and profoundly fulfilling. It is a journey shaped not merely by circumstance, but by preparation, character and an enduring pursuit of excellence.
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The Soulful Conversations series looks into lawyers' lives beyond the law - their experiences, personal journeys, values and beliefs that have made them true achievers.
The series is presently in its second season. The last episode featured Hiroo Advani, Senior Partner at Bharucha & Partners
The episodes before that featured Nish Shetty, Partner in the Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice at Clifford Chance, Singapore; Dr. Manoj Kumar, Additional Secretary, Union Ministry of Law & Justice and Tejal Patil, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Wipro Limited.
The seventh episode featured Vineet Vij, Global General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer of Tech Mahindra and its group companies.
The sixth episode featured Rajendra Misra, Executive Vice President & General Counsel of the Indian Hotels Company Limited, South Asia’s largest Hospitality group
The fifth episode featured Mayur Vasani, Head of Legal – India and affiliates, Indonesia, and the Philippines at Kenvue (formerly Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health Division).
The fourth episode of the second season featured Dr. Akhil Prasad, the Country Counsel-India and Company Secretary with Boeing India.
The third episode featured Group GC at HDFC Bank, Sudhir Kumar Jha.
The second episode featured Deepak Acharya, Chief Legal Officer of Aditya Birla Group, while the first episode of the second season featured Dr Sanjeev Gemawat, Managing Director and Group General Counsel at Essar Group. The third episode featured Dr. Vivek Mittal, the Executive Director of Legal and Corporate Affairs at Hindustan Unilever Limited.