General Counsel are expected to move beyond pure legal thinking: Neena Gupta, InterGlobe

General counsel are expected to move beyond legal expertise and act as strategic business advisers, balancing risk while enabling growth, said CEO of Miiro Hotels and Executive Director at InterGlobe Neena Gupta at a panel discussion on the evolving role of general counsel (GC).

Gupta was speaking at a panel on the theme General Counsel – or Global Counsel, organised by Stewarts and Brick Court Chambers.

“The moment you choose to become a general counsel and I'll just say an in-house counsel, as opposed to being in a law firm, I think you're expected to forget everything about law,” she said.

Responding to a question on whether the role is that of a “general counsel” or a “global counsel”, Gupta described the fundamental shift in expectations placed on in-house lawyers.

“It's said in a very subtle way...I think you're expected to cover everybody from liabilities, risks and reputational damage. But you just have to make things happen because everybody wants to move forward and not be derailed by you."

Gupta observed the close alignment between general counsel and business leadership. She noted,

“You become a close aide to the people who want to build empires, people who want to make things happen. And you just cannot be a derailer in that journey. It's a huge balance that you have to navigate. Even if you are the most outstanding lawyer in your sort of previous life, you may or may not succeed if you don't wear that hat.”

The session was moderated by Head of International Arbitration and India Practice at Stewarts, Sherina Petit and barrister at Brick Court Chambers, Chintan Chandrachud.

The panel also featured General Counsel and Head of Compliance at VFS Global Arnaz Kotwal; Deputy General Counsel at Vedanta Limited Preet Sethi; co-founder of Argentum Law Osman Aboubakr; and Editor at Bar & Bench Pallavi Saluja.

Sethi highlighted the pressures of managing disputes and negotiations in large organisations. She described litigation strategy as requiring persistence and tactical endurance.

“It's like a boxing match at times you continue to stand and not give up till the other side gives up even if it's a settlement,” she said.

Kotwal emphasised that the modern GC role extends far beyond legal advice, particularly in global organisations.

“You're not just a lawyer. You are the be-all and end-all of an entire compliance, risk, repertoire of things that happen."

She further explained that managing this complexity requires integrating multiple compliance functions into a single governance framework.

Aboubakr was asked about how clients approach disputes and where the disconnect lies. He said that the real value lawyers bring today is not information, but judgment.

He also pointed to a common misconception in how disputes are perceived.

“The most interesting disconnect is that as soon as a dispute starts or is about to start or a client is dragged into a dispute, they think immediately that it's a legal event. And it's not. It's all business."

PR and media strategy now closely tied to legal oversight

Additonally, the panelists observed that legal teams are no longer peripheral to corporate communications but are increasingly shaping what companies say and how they say it to the press.

The remarks came in response to a question posed by Bar & Bench Editor Pallavi Saluja, who asked whether general counsel are now directly involved in handling the press during crisis situations and routine business operations, or whether that responsibility still largely rests with public relations (PR) teams.

Responding to the question, Gupta emphasised that excluding legal teams from crisis communications can be a serious misstep.

“If any company is doing that (excluding the legal team) and leaving it to the PR, either external or internal, that's a recipe for disaster,” she said.

Kotwal reinforced that while lawyers may not always be the visible spokespersons, they operate in the background to ensure consistency between legal and public narratives.

“The lawyer has to be right there. They may not be at the front, with the PR person being the one who actually answers the questions. But the entire dossier, however it's prepared, what is done, it's all with the lawyer in the back,” she said.

Similarly, Aboubakr highlighted that this involvement begins early, sometimes even at the stage of selecting PR advisors, so that external messaging does not conflict with litigation or regulatory strategy.

“I want to pick the PR firm… or at least be part of the decision. I want to make sure that they're not going to say anything that's going to cut across my strategy,” he said.

Broadening the lens beyond crises, the General Counsel on the panel also explained that legal review is often a standard part of corporate communications workflows.

“PR is not something that can be left only to PR. Everything, whether crisis or non-crisis, has to be vetted once by legal,” the GCs said.