Many Congratulations on winning the BW Legal World 40 under 40. How was your experience interacting with the Jury and of the event?  

VS:I had a good experience interacting with the jury. After the elevator pitch, the jury asked pointed questions. The jury members were very affable while interacting considering that they had been through numerous such interactions prior.  

Please walk us through your journey in the field of law? When did you first realize that law was your life’s calling?  

VS:I actually can’t pin point, when I decided to be a lawyer. The interest I believe gradually developed through watching legal dramas, reading John Grisham’s and studying civics. What drew me was the various intricacies of law, facts and the wit the lawyers were portrayed to have, when dealing with tricky cases. When I joined Government Law College, Mumbai, I was trying to go with the flow. In my third year of college, I was researching on an issue of art and art law for my mother, is the time I came across ‘Sports Law’. It immediately caught my attention, as I loved playing and watch various sports. I spent quite a few nights understanding what its remit was, then I was sold. I knew this is the field of law I wanted to pursue. At the time, IPL had not started in India and there were no known experts or courses for sports law in India.  

I had to make a project proposal and convince my parents and grandfather to fund my sojourn to explore a certificate course in sports law from University of Pretoria. This led to me an internship at TMC Asser Sports Law Centre at the Hague, thus my journey began. Post graduation, I was unable to secure a job in sports law. I started practice with a very understanding senior counsel, Senior Advocate Mr. Dushyant Dave, who after having heard a newbie rattle about sports law, was kind enough to offer a place in his chambers with gracious words ‘if you get an opportunity in sports law, please pursue it. Until then put yourself to work’. I extremely grateful to him for giving me the confidence to pursue my passion. Subsequently an opportunity to work with Justice Mukul Mudgal on a book on Indian sports law came about. With Justice Mudgal, besides the book, I ended up working on a number of interesting sport law issues from working on drafting the sport governance norms for India, doping investigations, governance reforms by the International Cricket Council and governance reforms in Asian Football Confederation and FIFA, to name a few. Justice Mudgal was also kind enough to introduce me to another visionary lawyer, Mr. V Lakshmikumaran. He gave me time to understand the remit of sports and gaming laws was, then gave me a chance to hone by skills at the firm “Lakshmikumaran and Sridharan’. I feel blessed to have had excellent mentors/gurus in the profession, which gave me the confidence to then venture out to start a boutique law firm for sports, gaming and entertainment laws ‘Krida Legal’, where I continue everyday to learn and pursue my passion.  

What would you say has helped you emerge as a leader in your industry and what advice would you have for others who want to set off in a similar direction?    

VS:Please don’t go after money and pursue your passion. 

We have seen a spate of legislative changes in recent years that have been monumental in reforming India's legal framework across all sectors. Would you please highlight a recent development concerning your practice area that has positively impacted the industry?   

VS:There have been substantial changes in 2 of the practice areas I deal in. On the sports front, there had been an ongoing turmoil on governance issues in our National Olympic Committee and the National Sport Federations. Whenever good governance norms were sought to be imposed, objections varied from government interference, breach of fundamental rights to threat of international ban from a sport. I have been working on this issue for the past 12 years and reform process has been slow. However this got a fillip by the appointment of Justice Nageswara Rao by the Hon’ble Supreme Court to redraft the Indian Olympic Association’s constitution and conduct of its elections. Based on the amended constitution election took place and for the first time in India, Women constitute 50% of the electoral college of the Indian Olympic Association and we have a lady President of the Indian Olympic Association, besides number of other governance reforms. I am very grateful that Justice Nageswara Rao gave me an opportunity to assist him with this task. 

On the gaming front, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) was appointed as a nodal department for the purpose of regulating online gaming, an industry which was without a nodal department for a long time. MEITY went on to expeditiously draft and notify the IT Rules of 2023, where they have sought, through a light touch to regulate the online gaming industry. This has paved for remove several ambiguities and has increased the interest of investors towards the online gaming industry of India. 

What are the top three trends that are going to rule the legal sector for the next five years? 

VS:There is going to be more efficiency in research through the assistance of AI. The Courts have already started moving towards a paperless set-up with the ability to have online hearings, I believe this will slowly trickle down to even district levels. Last but not the least, the law school education is set to go through a transformation, with the streaming of certain court proceedings. This will enable young lawyers to hear and understand how senior advocates and judges deal with complex legal issues.  

Who according to you has been your guide and mentor in this illustrious journey as a lawyer?

VS:I give all the credit to my mentors and gurus Justice Mukul Mudgal, Mr. Dushyant Dave and Mr. V Lakshmikumaran, for guiding, advising and helping me in my journey, as a lawyer. 

As a parting note, would you please recommend a favorite book that left a lasting impression on you? What has been your most recent read? 

VS:My last read has been a good friend and a lawyer Mr. Tarun Mehrishi’s  book, ‘ The Portrait of a Secret’. One of the books which left a deep impression on me was ‘To kill a mockingbird’.