Her Forum Podcast

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!