Her Forum Podcast: Recent Episodes
Her Forum
'Her Forum’ is a platform and community for women in the legal profession, focused on building a strong community to foster networking, meaningful conversations and peer-to-peer learning. Our podcasts help us take you beyond the books to explore the journeys of and learnings gathered from a plethora of women in law.
In our next Podcast, we have Kriti Trehan who runs us through the emerging trends in technology law, giving us a public policy perspective. Kriti Trehan is a tech law & policy advisor. She has worked with global tech giants as well as Indian startups. During what she calls her “rebooting” time off, Kriti talks to us about the relevance of, and challenges in, tech law and policy in India today.
In the series of the next #HerMasterClass, we have Kritika Padode who runs us through building a career in legal academia.
Kritika Padode is an alumnus of National Law University, Delhi. She has been instrumental in establishing IFIM Law School in Bangalore and is currently also a member of the Founding Team of Vijaybhoomi University- India’s first Liberal Professional University.
In the series of HerMasterclass, we have Devika Kewalramani who runs us through building a career in legal ethics. Devika Kewalramani is a partner and chair of Moses & Singer LLP's Legal Ethics & Law Firm Practice. She advises law firms, lawyers, and corporate legal departments on ethical and legal aspects of law practice, including legal ethics, professional responsibility, law firm risk management, attorney licensing, and admissions matters.
Our episode this week recounts a spirited conversation on start-up law with Roma Priya. A powerhouse in the start-up law field, Roma Priya is the Founder of Burgeon Law, a law firm for investors and start-ups. Burgeon Law also was ranked the #1 law firm for private equity and venture capital in 2020. Roma advises and mentors early-stage & high-growth start-ups and is an inspiration to many young entrepreneurs and lawyers.
Roma tells us how she navigated law to build a career in a niche and upcoming sector, her learnings and challenges as a young founder of a firm. She lets us in on her ‘USP’, the skillset or mindset required to succeed and her thoughts on the evolving legal environment today.
Our conversation with Roma is deeply insightful – both for lawyers and start-up founders! Share this with your peers in this space and let us know what questions you might have or concerns you think are still relevant in India today.
For our next podcast, we have insights from Julie Sculli, who walks us through various principles of Career Transitions. Julie is the Director of the Executive LL.M Program at Columbia Law School (while also juggling being an unruffled mother of two)!
Julie tells us about studying law in a smaller town in America and moving to an urban environment, why working in a traditional law firm wasn’t for her and paints a word picture of her transition into legal education. Julie tells us how to navigate our interests and comforts with our professional clarity, highlights the importance of networking, and concludes with very relevant advice for young and budding lawyers.
Our episode is lively, brief and extremely pertinent – give it a quick listen or save for later! Let us know if you have any questions or comments for Julie or if you know any other legal professional that made a similar career transition we can feature!
This week’s podcast features none other than Adv. Mrunalini Deshmukh – India’s favorite celebrity divorce lawyer!
A renowned senior lawyer at the Bombay High Court, with professional experience in family law for over 2 decades, Mrunalini and her associates have handled some of the most high-profile family law cases in the country. Interestingly, before this limelight, Mrunalini took a 14-year break from law and returned with great verve and determination.
Mrunalini tells us about the importance of family and taking a long break from law, what prompted a career in matrimonial and family law, and the uphill climb to making a comeback. We explore legal concepts such as pre-nuptial (and post-nuptial) agreements and the uniform civil code, the sieving emotional impact of how personal work in family law can be, prevalent challenges in India today, and insulating herself and her clients from media attention and media trials.
We savored many takeaways and a lot of advice from our conversation with Mrunalini! Tell us your thoughts on the Indian matrimonial and family system and save and share this insightful conversation with your peers for a peek into the world of family law!
Our first ever international feature was Chikondi Mandala from Malawi! Our episode this week walks us through Chikondi’s journey being the youngest judicial officer in Malawi history. Chikondi holds an LLB from the University of Malawi and an LL.M from Harvard Law School, which she attended as a Fulbright scholar. Chikondi is the youngest magistrate in the history of Malawi, , focusing on access of justice for women with the Women Judges Association of Malawi. Chikondi is also currently working for the advancement of rights of incarcerated persons with the Centre of Human Rights, as the Legal Research Lead at The Gender and Justice Unit.
Chikondi gives us a glimpse into the life of a judicial officer in Malawi, battling (and overcoming) the generalisation of equating youth with a lack of experience or achievement, the drive to pursue a judicial career, global female representation in judiciaries, and exploring how education plays a major role in gender sensitivity and eventually equality. Chikondi also shed light on cases she’s worked on and the collateral pressure in her line of work. We learn about women that inspire her, her favourite way to unwind and her best memories from Harvard.
We hope you enjoyed hearing about the journey of a lawyer from a different jurisdiction. Let us know which other countries you’d like us to feature lawyers from, in the comments below! Link in bio.
Have you ever wondered how to set criminal law in motion? Anandini Fernandes tells us how this works for a victim, but also for the accused! On our podcast this week, a very zestful Anandini Fernandes (@anandinifernandes) walks us through the dynamic role and working of criminal law in India. Hailing from Government Law College, Mumbai and the chambers of Adv. Satish Maneshinde, Anandini clears up misconceptions that many movies have created about the workings of the court and criminal law. Looking at two sides of the coin, Anandini’s masterclass is engrossing and super engaging! Save this episode for a brief understanding on when and how police can arrest someone, what anticipatory bail is and the difference between police and judicial custody. Let us know what other questions you have about criminal law and what you’d like to hear next!
This week’s podcast brings Yogmaya Pradeep back to our platform. Yogmaya studied law at University College Bangalore and then went on to work in IPR and real estate, and was also India’s first legal trivia host. At the fresh (and very young) age of 25, Yogmaya co-founded her own law firm and now runs A&Y Partners. Nehan talks to Yogmaya about skipping the safer route of working at a law firm, things that went (or could’ve gone) askew, earning client trust at a young age, lessons she wishes she knew starting out, hosting legal trivia, being a mother amidst all this chaos and what it takes to prove your worth. Save this inspiring and heartwarming conversation to listen to later and let us know what you think when you do!
Our conversation with Karishma Vora (@kvora28) was one of our most exciting and dynamic interviews! Karishma is a barrister at 39 Essex Chambers in London. As an alumnus of the London School of Economics, Karishma is now triple qualified, with rights of audience in India, England and the DIFC Court (Dubai). Karishma spent the first few years of her practice as a litigator in the Bombay High Court before relocating to England in 2009.
Karishma recounts her whirlwind of experience from pupillage and early days, to time at the Bombay High Court, then re-qualifying as a barrister on London and today, on the path of a senior junior at the English commercial bar. We discussed how her experiences helped her evolve as the lawyer she is today and how Indian practice compares to global parameters - and of course, navigating the (seemingly) daunting struggle of working through a male-dominated Bar.
Concluding with a light-hearted rapid fire, our episode with Karishma this week is rivetting and worth a listen! Save and listen to our podcast later and let us know if you have any questions or comments about being triple qualified, the Indian vs. Global legal industry or just your thoughts!
Our episode this week features none other than Zia Mody, one of India’s most renowned corporate lawyers. With the University of Cambridge and Harvard Law School as her alma maters, today Zia Mody is the managing partner at AZB & Partners. Listed by Forbes as India’s 10 Most Powerful Women, Zia Mody talks to our founder, Nehan on leadership and pursuing excellence. She tells us about corporate governance, skills to succeed as a lawyer, overcoming challenges, leadership principles to abide by and what it takes to stay on top.
Listen to this episode to tune in to a casual chat with Zia Mody, that explores milestones in her career and what drives her.
This week, we're bringing back an exciting masterclass series with Meenal Maheshwari Shah, who broke down the evolving privacy laws in India for us. Meenal is a transactions and privacy lawyer and is currently Lead Legal Counsel (Global Transactions, Contracts, and Privacy) with Essar. We've concised our three-part masterclass with Meenal into one podcast - Meenal takes us through the meaning of data privacy, existing privacy laws, the status of privacy across the globe and the proposed Data Protection Bill. Meenal also gives us some practical insight on the challenges of implementing the right privacy culture and being compliant across jurisdictions.
Data privacy is increasingly a discussed topic - this masterclass will give you an easy and well-rounded understanding of laws and challenges in India. Let us know if you have any questions for Meenal or let us know your thoughts.
Our episode this week brings back our chat with Ankita Singhania, counsel at the Bombay High Court. Having completed her BCL at Oxford University, Ankita started her career from the chambers of Sr. Counsel Janak Dwarkadas and currently has her own chambers. Ankita talks to us about navigating a male-dominated Bar through her career and the difference in this disparity today, sexism, her decision to go independent, and the value of an Oxford education (with a super fun rapid-fire round to conclude!) Tune in to listen to a casual and informative chat we recall with Ankita! Save this episode for a good listen and let us know what you think!
This week on the Her Forum Podcast, we recall our conversation with Smita Rajmohan on being a lawyer in Silicon Valley.
Primarily as Product Counsel at Apple, Smita is also on the board of the UN Committee for Women (SF Chapter), Berkeley Law Alumni Association,, and South Asian Bar Association. She tells us what motivated her to practice tech law in the US, automation in the legal field, the future of data privacy given increased government intervention, and challenges to be faced in a post-covid world!
Given the climate around data privacy, we think this might be an interesting listen. Save this episode and share it with your friends. Also let us know what you’d like to hear about next!
Our podcast this week features Rez Gardi - an international lawyer and human rights activist. Currently a Harvard Satter Human Rights Fellow, Rez is working in Kurdistan, where she is prosecuting war crimes against ISIS. Rez has an LL.M from Harvard Law School and is the founder of Empower - an NGO addressing the under-representation of refugees in higher education. She was awarded the Young New Zealander of the Year in 2017 and the Outstanding Youth Delegate at the UN Youth Assembly in 2019.
Rez tells us about her journey from being born in a refugee camp to graduating from Harvard, what prosecution of ISIS for war crimes involves, separating her work and personal life and emotions, what her NGO does for refugees, and her decision to take up war crime litigation.
Rez’s journey is riveting and so real - save for a good listen, and share this with your friends or fraternity! Please let us know whether you’re enjoying our podcasts and if there’s anything else you’d like to see us do!
This week’s podcast episode combines our first ever three-part masterclass with Sandhya Surendran. Sandhya is a copyright lawyer and the founder of Lexic and the Senior Legal Counsel at Vice Media. She explains what copyright is and where it stands in the music industry today.
In conversation with Sandhya, we learn about performers’ rights, when you can or can’t use copyrighted works, and how streaming and online distribution works.
It’s so strange how most of us know what copyrights are and yet we wonder how an artist benefits from it. Let us know what you think and subscribe to the Her Forum Podcast for more.
For this week’s podcast episode, Ambika Hiranandani talks to us about being an environmental and animal rights lawyer and also activism for non-lawyers. Ambika is a legal and government affairs adviser to the Tata Trusts and Strategic Partnerships Head with the Good Food Institute. Ambika has been part of various PILs for animal rights, most significantly to ban Victorias or horse-drawn carriages in Mumbai.
In conversation with Ambika, we explore her passion for environmental and animal rights, implementation (or lack thereof) of animal rights laws, banning Victorias in Mumbai, climate change, and more!
Given the visible effects of climate change, tell us your thoughts on the status of environmental and animal rights laws in India, and subscribe to the Her Forum Podcast for more.
This week we’re bringing back fun but an enriching conversation with Nandini Khaitan. Currently based in Calcutta, Nandini Khaitan is a practicing Disputes Resolution partner at Khaitan & Co. She completed her LL.M at Columbia Law School and has represented clients in various High Courts and the Supreme Court. Nandini tells us about making her decision to be a lawyer, what it means to be a woman in a male-dominated industry (and how to react to being told how to dress), career milestones, not taking oneself too seriously, and a rapid-fire finisher!
Share your thoughts with us and don’t forget to subscribe to the Her Forum Podcast to listen to more conversations like these.
For our first podcast episode, we’re bringing back a riveting conversation we had with Sr. Adv. Geeta Luthra, a designated senior advocate of the Supreme Court of India. She completed her LL.M and M. Phil. from the University of Cambridge, UK, and her accolades include being awarded the Inlaks Scholarship.
Listen to our podcast episode with Geeta Luthra telling us about her journey and inspiration, the importance of collaboration over competition, media trials, the decline in dissenting opinions of the courts, compartmentalizing work and family - and so much more! Please follow the Her Forum podcast for weekly updates.