Ancestral history is an important component to all of our stories. Can you tell us about your heritage and how it has influenced who you are today?
I am truly blessed to be standing on the shoulders of giants. My mother and father are doctors who came to the US in the 1950’s (Dad) and 1960’s (Mother) from India. Our family has a history of being a global family with many Westerners who have married into us and as a result we are the blend of multiple cultures and stronger for it. My grandparents on both sides were very successful and highly regarded. I am everything I am in the world because of God and my family. Their hard work and honor along with God’s grace have given me the opportunities I have been fortunate to receive. My mother used to tell us: “We have given you enough to be hungry but not enough to be full” and “You don’t need everything today.” The upshot of all this is that first and foremost they sought to make my sister and I become honorable people and to understand the importance of hard work (i) in school, (ii) in sports and (iii) in relationships. We are born and brought up hillbillies from “Almost Heaven” West Virginia. Growing up there was fantastic because we had “down home” values, but were still able to see and experience the larger world. We learned to work hard, to accept gifts and setbacks with grace and to walk purposefully. I still talk to them every day and seek their counsel and approval frankly.
Are there any unique customs that have been passed down through your family that are still important to you?
One custom that has passed down through our family and we have done with our son and my niece and nephew is a ceremony called Anaprasana. We do it at six months of age (so after Christening) for the boys and at seven months for girls and it’s the first time the child eats solid food. At this ceremony, you place a tray in front of the child with a lump of earth (symbolizing property, also signifies fertility and prosperity for girls), a book (symbolizing learning), a pen (symbolizing wisdom) and a silver coin or a tiny silver box (symbolizing wealth). Family members cheer (read scare) the little one while he or she makes their choice. The traditional belief is that the object picked up by the baby represents his or her area of interest in the future. In our case, Taylor (our son) grabbed both the book and the coin at the same time. We are hoping that this is true for him in life! There we also recite the names of five generations of family who precede the child. In our case, our family tree is documented over 11 generations. It is important to know where you come from to understand where you can go in the future. It shows respect for the sacrifices of prior generations and acknowledges that we are here because of them. Funny thing is that my wife Binky, who is as blonde and blue-eyed a Texas gal as you might imagine, was one of the biggest proponents for doing the Anaprasana ceremony for our son. So the tradition carries on.
What drew you to the practice of law and inspired you to become an attorney?
Honestly as the child of two doctors, like a lot of “Homelander” (same ancestral homeland, India) kids of my generation, I thought we would be doctors. In fact, I did finish pre-med in undergrad. But what led me elsewhere was the fact that during the spring of my sophomore year when all my fraternity brothers were drinking at the house having a good time, I was stuck inside in Organic Chemistry lab. So I said enough. One of my mother’s good friends was a partner at Steptoe & Johnson and she and my mother had me go to work there that summer as an intern. These were the days of LA Law if y’all remember that show. Mrs. Brewer (my mother’s friend who is actually now the managing partner for the Steptoe & Johnson law firm) did medical malpractice defense and represented hospitals. What I realized that summer was I really enjoyed watching the lawyers (particularly the corporate lawyers) do oil and gas and coal deals. I decided then that I wanted to be a lawyer. My dad didn’t care and he said: “As long as you do something professional and get the hell off our payroll, I will be happy.” My mother sat me down and said, “You don’t sue doctors, you don’t chase ambulances, you don’t defend criminals, and you don’t divorce people. As long as you don’t do any of those things, we will let you sit at our dinner table.” She meant it. Boom, I am a corporate lawyer.
You were recently named among the top 100 India-focused lawyers outside the country by India Business Law Journal. Can you tell us about your practice and how are you using your connections in India to contribute to the firm?
I am the co-head of the India Practice Group here at RS, and the India portion of my practice involves capital markets (IPOs and other public offerings), M&A, and private-equity investments both for companies and banks from the US and EU investing in India as well as acting for companies from India doing deals in the US and EU. Most of my family is settled outside of India. Fifteen years ago if you had told me I would be doing a significant amount of work in India and traveling there four times a year at a minimum typically, I would have told you that you were crazy. I have one cousin who is still over there who knew some folks fortunately. He made some introductions and I set out to build an ecosystem there. It has taken a lot of years and air miles, late night conference calls and a lot of patience and humility to get here. I learned to speak Hindi and Bengali fluently as a result of traveling over there, and my son and I are now learning to read and write Hindi here! English is widely spoken and written over there as result of the days the English spent over there, but it is still neat to be able to participate in the slang and gossip as well as the formal communications. One thing I have come to understand is that in India they don’t do business culturally the way we are accustomed to in the US in the sense that here at home we do a deal first and build a relationship from that deal. In India, the norm is to first build a relationship and then once that relationship is well formed only then will business happen. It can be frustrating from a business development standpoint because oftentimes you don’t see immediate results. I had some missteps in that regard early. But you have to keep going back and building. It does reinforce one maxim that one of my mentor partners told me years ago. People hire lawyers, not law firms. You just can’t go around chucking your weight about and handing out your business card and expect to get hired. People need to know you, understand you and like you before they trust you with their critical transactions. That’s true here at home and in India as well.
You are co-OMP for Dallas, and May marks the one year anniversary of its opening. The Dallas market is ripe with potential, and the office has already experienced tremendous success and growth in this short amount of time. When you think about this past year, what is something you are most proud of as OMP?
May 8 marked our first anniversary with RS. Everyone who works with me on my team that joined RS started with me as a clerk. We now have partners who were clerks for me years ago. Everyone on our team played sports in school and was in a fraternity or sorority. We are extroverts and seek first to be a blessing to others. We have a tremendous sense of responsibility to each other and for each other. I am very proud to have met other folks who share that sense of respect and duty here at RS. I think our collective spirit of accomplishment and assistance is infectious and contributes to attracting other like-minded individuals who see that together the impossible becomes possible. The density of connective tissue that has been built between everyone here at RS Dallas (administrative staff and lawyers) is truly wonderful and means our best days are ahead of us! As OMP, my job is to make the sure that no one gets left behind and that we all vibrate at high levels of professionalism, competence and enthusiasm. Onward and upward!
