Soulful Conversations with Bithika Anand: Economic Laws Practice Managing Partner Suhail Nathani

In a new episode of Soulful Conversations with Bithika Anand, the host speaks to Economic Laws Practice Managing Partner Suhail Nathani.

[Watch the video interview]

The new show hosted by Bithika Anand features stalwarts of the legal profession and makes an attempt to explore the person behind the lawyer.

In the show's newest episode, Nathani speaks of challenging moments in life and career, what keeps him up at night, his inspirations and more.

Discussing moments in his life that were challenging, Nathani recalled his move from the United States back to India.

“It was a tough decision to uproot from the US, but we uprooted – came back to India. I started working in Delhi..”, he shared.

He added that he always wanted to be a lawyer since he came from a family of lawyers, but his experience at his Mumbai law school was not a happy one.

“I found that there was no teaching, there was no learning in many ways.. and I was deeply disappointed. At that point, I even contemplated going for an MBA.”

However, he eventually got an opportunity to study at Cambridge which was life-changing for him.

Further, Nathani said that he was always looking to learn from students as much as he hopes to impart knowledge.

“There’s a lot to learn from students because we become so cynical in our practice-become so straight and narrow. Kids ask you some amazing questions! It’s a two-way street.”

Responding to a question about what keeps him up at night as ELP’s managing partner, Nathani shared that it was the aim of cultivating a good culture at the firm.

“There’s a huge incoming batch into many law firms – ELP is no exception. Having said that, burn out rate is high. Kids decide they don’t want to do this.”

He continued to note that after a certain point, money is not the motivation. While it remains an important aspect, it begins to have diminishing marginal utility.

“It’s very important for us at ELP to be the best in the business. Second more important thing is culture.. if there is a cultural mismatch, you can end up parting ways. Its not only that you evolve the culture. You practice and live that culture. You share that culture with your peers. And you translate into the firm."

Nathani also disclosed that no one in his life had influenced him more than his father who is also a lawyer.

Sharing his hobbies, he said that he loved to cook and if he weren’t a lawyer, he would have been a chef.

The new show hosted by Bithika Anand will see eminent lawyers talking about transformative moments in their lives, their spiritual journey and insights that became clear only later on.

In a series of candid conversations, Anand will attempt to bring out the true selves of the guests in terms of depth of thought, and will explore their lighter sides, including their choices in entertainment, lifestyle, hobbies and interests.

Season One of the show has been shot virtually and will air exclusively on Bar & Bench's YouTube channel. Fresh episodes of Soulful Conversations with Bithika Anand will be aired every Friday.

Hosted By: Bithika Anand, Founder & CEO, Legal League Consulting and Human Elevation

Exclusive Telecast Partners: Bar & Bench

Conceptualised By: Legal League Consulting

Core Team: Nipun K Bhatiaa, Tejas Khurana and Kashish Grover from Legal League Consulting.