From a 21-Year-Old Signing His First Contract to Global GC at DNEG — Zamir Nakani shares his journey through law, media, IP, and high-stakes dealmaking.

In this episode of The Daily Lawyer Podcast, Zamir talks about:

• building a legal career with intention
• working across gaming, content, e-commerce, and entertainment
• handling IP and trademark issues in media
• lessons from landmark disputes like The Dirty Picture
• the biggest contract red flags lawyers should never ignore
• what young lawyers need to know about becoming trusted business advisors

A deeply insightful conversation for anyone interested in in-house law, intellectual property, contracts, and the future of legal careers.

This episode is part of our General Counsel Series, presented in proud collaboration with Zoho Sign.

About Zoho Sign

Zoho Sign is a comprehensive digital e-signature solution tailored for Indian businesses. It helps organisations sign, send, manage documents, automate signature workflows, authenticate signers, and enable e-stamping — all while staying compliant with Indian law. If your business deals with a high volume of contracts and legal documentation, Zoho Sign is built to simplify and accelerate the process.

Subscribe to The Daily Lawyer If you enjoy conversations with top legal leaders, in-house counsel, law firm partners, and legal entrepreneurs, subscribe to The Daily Lawyer for more such episodes.Drop your thoughts, questions, and takeaways in the comments.

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In this episode of The Daily Lawyer Podcast, we sit down with Ashok Kumar, Chief Legal Officer at UltraTech Cement, for a deeply insightful conversation on building a long-term in-house legal career, leading litigation strategy, and growing into a business-first legal leader. From being a small-town boy from Tamil Nadu and an “accidental lawyer” to leading legal functions at some of India’s biggest corporates, Ashok shares his remarkable professional journey across companies such as ABB, JSW, ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel, and UltraTech Cement.

• Ashok Kumar’s journey from Salem to the top of India’s corporate legal world

• What it really takes to build a successful in-house legal career

• Why in-house counsel must stay in the driver’s seat in litigation

• How to choose the right external counsel and build trusted legal networks

• The importance of business understanding for modern general counsel

• Leadership, team-building, and hiring for attitude over skill

• Legal tech, AI, and why law leaders must be thoughtful before adopting new tools

• The qualities every great GC must possess

• Advice for young lawyers looking to grow in-house

Litigation is not something an in-house lawyer simply hands over to a law firm. As Ashok explains, the strategy, objective, team selection, and business alignment must all be driven by in-house counsel.

This is an important and refreshing conversation for anyone who wants to understand how legal leaders think beyond law and operate as true business partners.

This episode is part of our General Counsel Series, presented in proud collaboration with Zoho Sign.

About Zoho Sign

Zoho Sign is a comprehensive digital e-signature solution tailored for Indian businesses. It helps organisations sign, send, manage documents, automate signature workflows, authenticate signers, and enable e-stamping — all while staying compliant with Indian law. If your business deals with a high volume of contracts and legal documentation, Zoho Sign is built to simplify and accelerate the process.

Subscribe to The Daily Lawyer If you enjoy conversations with top legal leaders, in-house counsel, law firm partners, and legal entrepreneurs, subscribe to The Daily Lawyer for more such episodes.

What does it take to build one of India’s most influential law firms? How has Indian corporate law transformed over the last three decades? And what is the future of lawyers in the age of AI and global competition?

In this episode of The Daily Lawyer – Legacy Series (in collaboration with M/s Solomon & Co.), we sit down with Mr. Cyril Shroff, Managing Partner of Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in Indian corporate law and M&A. Known as India's M&A King, Mr. Shroff discusses the evolution of Indian corporate law and why "emotional intelligence" is more critical than intellect when scaling a firm to almost 1500+ lawyers.

From his early decision to pursue law to leading one of India’s largest full-service law firms, Mr. Shroff reflects on:

• The evolution of Indian corporate governance and capital markets
• Why M&A does not end when the deal is signed
• The entry of foreign law firms into India
• Building institutions through emotional intelligence
• The “Amarchand University” model of law firm growth
• AI, automation, and the irreplaceable skills of future lawyers

… and so much more!

This conversation is part of our Legacy Series, created to preserve the life stories and insights of legal professionals who have shaped India’s legal and business landscape.

Presented in collaboration with M/s Solomon & Co., a boutique, full-service law firm based in Mumbai, India, whose ‘legacy’ stretches across four generations and over 115 years of legal practice.

Connect with M/s Solomon and co. - https://solomonco.in/

LinkedIn - https://in.linkedin.com/company/solomon-co-advocates-solicitors

📌 Subscribe to The Daily Lawyer for conversations with India’s leading legal minds.

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