“Building Legacies: G.V. Anand Bhushan’s Entrepreneurial Journey and Vision for Technology Law”
G.V. Anand Bhushan is the Founder Partner of Bhushan Rajaram, a distinguished law firm specialising in corporate, intellectual property, technology, litigation and real estate laws. A Fulbright Scholar with over two decades of legal experience, Mr Anand has advised on a wide range of complex legal issues including cross-border mergers and acquisition (M&A), data privacy, commercial contracts, employment law and dispute resolution. Previously, he served as the General Counsel and Board Member at Cognizant Technology Solutions Asia Pacific, where he managed multi-jurisdictional portfolios and played a critical role in negotiating and closing high-value technology deals. His in-house leadership at a Fortune 500 company has made him a trusted advisor known for blending legal precision with business strategy.
From 2016 to 2021, Mr Anand was the Founder Partner and Head of the Chennai office of Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co., where he led and significantly expanded the firm’s presence in South India. His contributions earned him the title of Technology Lawyer of the Year in 2017 by the Indian National Bar Association. He has been consistently recognised as a leading practitioner by Chambers & Partners, Legal 500 and Asian Legal Business. Clients and peers alike commend him for his sharp insight into cross-border transactions, regulatory compliance and emerging areas like data protection, attributes that continue to define his dynamic and forward-thinking legal practice.
Questionnaire
1. Can you describe the turning points in your career that made you move from an in-house Counsel at Cognizant to founding your firm, Bhushan Rajaram? What key lessons did these transitions teach you?
It was not so much a turning point as it was a continuation of the path I had already chosen. I started my career immediately after graduation under the name Bhushan Rajaram. During the day, I worked with a Senior Advocate for apprenticing under a Senior Advocate, primarily to gain experience and insight into courtroom craft. In the evenings, from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., I engaged in private consulting. I had even taken an office on rent, about 2000 sq ft in size, fully staffed and I was among the first to offer advice in the tech space. One of my first clients during that time was BharatMatrimony.com, marking the beginning of my involvement with the tech sector.
As for key moments in my career, I have always been drawn to an entrepreneurial journey. Whether it was starting my own practice, or later being hired as General Counsel at Cognizant to build their entire legal team from scratch, the spirit of building something new has always been the driving force. By the time I left Cognizant after eight years, we had built a legal team of approximately 80 to 82 lawyers.
A similar journey unfolded at the Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co. I was brought on as a partner to set up a new office, which I led for about half a decade. We built a robust four-partner practice spanning corporate, mergers and acquisitions, technology, intellectual property, real estate and litigation.
If you ask me what the key theme has been, it is this: the entrepreneurial journey. The opportunity to start and build something new whether in-house, law firm, or my own practice, it has always been both the trigger and the focus for me.
2. At Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co., you played a pivotal role in establishing a robust presence in Chennai. What strategies did you employ in building a team and culture that thrived under high-stakes corporate and technology matters?
This is, in fact, more of a business answer rather than purely a professional practice of law answer. When you are operating within a law firm environment especially in my case, where I was hired as the Partner and Office Head, there was clear profit and loss (P&L) responsibility. You had to know how to run a business, how to recognise revenue, manage work-in-progress, and maintain a strong client pipeline.
The first and foremost requirement for success is having a solid commercial understanding of the marketplace. You must know what types of clients you can attract under the Amarchand brand, recognising both the firm’s capabilities and market positioning. However, this is just one side of the coin, understanding the market and acquiring clients is only the beginning.
The second, equally important part is building a team of excellence, a team capable of not just servicing these clients but retaining them over the long term. The real challenge lies in creating a culture that values client relationships and consistently delivers outstanding service.
When you talk about commercial realities, especially in a region like Tamil Nadu, you need to understand the traditional sectors such as manufacturing and real estate, while also appreciating the emerging sectors like technology and services. Success requires the ability to tap into these opportunities by attracting the right clients and, crucially, by developing a team of attorneys who understand the business, are committed to delivering excellence and contribute to long-term client retention. If you can crack that formula combining commercial insight with team-building excellence you will have a winning practice.
3. How do you envision the evolving landscape of technology law, particularly in areas such as data privacy, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence, impacting both corporate strategy and legal practice?
We are witnessing a significant blurring of boundaries across industry sectors today. Take Tesla, for instance, is it an automotive company, a tech company, or an energy company? The truth is, it is all three. The same applies across the board, banks, financial institutions, fintech companies, every sector is being transformed by digitisation.
Whether it is banking, education, automotive, or e-commerce, each now has a strong technological backbone. This tech arm may involve data, privacy concerns, or implications related to artificial intelligence. All industries are being impacted, and that demands continuous adaptation and evolution. Even traditional manufacturing is being reshaped through artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics. The disruption is uniform across sectors.
In terms of corporate strategy and legal practice, the objective is clear: adapt and flourish. Technology is advancing at such a rapid pace that only those who evolve with it will thrive. This also presents a unique and exciting opportunity for younger professionals especially in light of developments like the Digital India and the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023.
These new laws and technologies are creating a level playing field. Whether you are a lawyer with 20 years of experience or a first-year associate, everyone is starting fresh. We are all conducting original research in these emerging areas. This opens up tremendous potential for the next generation of legal professionals to contribute meaningfully right from the beginning of their careers.
4. As geopolitical tensions rise and trade rules change, what role should law play in helping countries work together on technology and innovation?
Geopolitical tensions are the driving force shaping the legal environment, not the other way around, as is sometimes assumed. It is not law that dictates geopolitical direction; rather, law is often crafted to support a country’s national policy objectives. For instance, consider tariffs. If a government decides to impose tariffs of 100 or 200 per cent, laws will be formulated to enable and enforce that policy decision. In that sense, law becomes procedural and reactive.
We are currently living in a particularly unique moment. The global landscape is shifting away from globalisation towards a more fragmented reality. We are seeing a move toward national markets, data sovereignty and protectionist strategies. The world is in a state of cautious recalibration. The question is whether the next year will merely serve as a bluff, a strategic pause to negotiate better trade deals or whether it truly signals a lasting turn towards deglobalisation. Only time will tell.
In this environment, legal innovation will largely be procedural. As long as national governments continue to adopt protectionist stances, their legislatures and treaty frameworks will naturally reflect that. In such a setting, the law will likely serve to limit integration rather than promote it.
5. Given your extensive cross-border experience, what are the most significant challenges and opportunities you see for companies navigating global regulatory frameworks in today’s increasingly digital and interconnected world?
In today’s interconnected world, the opportunity and paradox is that we are also heading towards increased disconnection in many ways. Certain parts of the world are becoming more integrated, while others are progressively isolating themselves. For instance, many of the recent US tariffs have been specifically targeted at China. In response, countries like Vietnam have capitalised on the resulting shifts in global trade, attracting significant investment and manufacturing activity. Several studies have shown that if India successfully implements key reforms, it too could emerge as a major beneficiary of this evolving landscape.
From a legal perspective, this presents a mixed scenario. On one hand, there is growing interconnection; on the other, strategic disconnection. So how should lawyers prepare to navigate this new environment?
First, cross-jurisdictional capability is becoming increasingly vital. Lawyers who are qualified to practice in multiple regions, for example, those who can handle US-India inbound investments or outbound investments from India to the UK, will be in high demand. The ability to advice across jurisdictions adds significant value to international transactions.
Second, multi-specialisation is equally critical. It is no longer enough to know just corporate law. Lawyers must also understand the tax implications, regulatory aspects, and the most efficient ways to structure cross-border transactions, remittances and exits. Those with knowledge spanning corporate, tax, regulatory and regional legal frameworks, and who can communicate in local languages will be uniquely positioned to guide clients through complex, cross-border matters. These are the professionals who will help clients thrive in a world that is simultaneously connecting and fragmenting.
6. In your role advising on strategic alliances and complex transactions, how do you balance innovative business practices with sound legal risk management? Could you share an example where creative negotiation made all the difference?
There is no glamorous answer to this, and honestly, there is not much creativity involved in high-stakes negotiations. From my experience, it boils down to two fundamental elements: skill and leverage.
Let me break that down.
Skill is your most valuable asset as a lawyer. It is about how well you know the contract, how deeply you understand the law, and just as importantly how effectively you can articulate your client’s position. This is not about using polished English or sounding impressive; it is about clear, precise and persuasive communication, especially in cross-border deals where cultural nuances and language barriers can be significant. Your legal expertise forms the backbone, but your ability to communicate that legal position in a compelling way is what truly sets you apart.
Then comes leverage, the often overlooked yet equally critical half. This comes from knowing your client’s business, their goals, and where their non-negotiables lie. But more than that, it is about understanding the pressure points on the other side. What is their make-or-break? What do they need more than your client does? That is where your real leverage lies.
In high-stakes negotiations, success is not just about who knows the law better. It is about who can combine legal acumen with strategic insight, understand both parties’ positions thoroughly, and push the needle just far enough to secure the best possible outcome.
7. You have been recognised as a trusted advisor and leading practitioner by several reputed legal rankings. What principles or core values do you believe have been most instrumental in earning such recognition, and how do you instil these values within your team?
The number one hallmark of a great lawyer, especially for external counsel is delivering excellence.
Now, this requirement exists for in-house counsel as well, but the ecosystem is quite different. When you are in-house, there are checks and balances. Your work is part of a larger system: finance teams, human resources (HR) teams, internal business units, all of which contribute to reviewing and refining the final output before it leaves the organisation. There is a collective accountability.
But when you are an external advisor, whether as a law firm partner or a solo practitioner, the standards are even higher. Your word is your brand. Clients are coming to you for your signature, your letterhead, and your legal judgment. Your advice must not only be impeccably researched and drafted, but it also has to stand the test of scrutiny, from regulators, counterparties, Judges, and sometimes even the public.
And let us be clear: clients rarely approach you with straightforward issues. They come to you in the grey zones, areas of law where there are multiple interpretations and conflicting precedents. Your ability to identify the legal risks, take a principled position, and defend it with clarity and confidence is what earns long-term trust. But excellence does not stops at you, it must permeate your entire team. And the key to making that happen is contextual empowerment.
Do not just delegate tasks like, “research this section”, or “review that clause”. Even your most junior team member should know why they are doing what they are doing. What is the deal? What is the client trying to achieve? Where does this task fit in the bigger picture? When juniors understand the stakes and the strategic objectives, their sense of ownership increases, and so does the quality of their work.
Excellence, then, is not just about technical mastery. It is about ownership, clarity and accountability at every level.
8. In today’s multifaceted legal challenges, collaboration across disciplines is key. What unconventional partnerships or collaborations have you pursued that brought fresh perspectives to complex legal matters?
I would not necessarily call them unconventional partnerships, but they are certainly integrated and essential. In today’s legal ecosystem, especially in fields like private equity, venture capital, or capital markets, your partnerships are determined by what the client’s deliverable is.
If you are advising funds, you are naturally collaborating with accountants, investment bankers and fund administrators. If you are in capital markets, you are working closely with merchant banks, underwriters and auditors. If you are a tech lawyer handling privacy policy implementation, you are not just drafting clauses, you are engaging with tech specialists, performing privacy impact assessments and managing data segregation exercises.
So, the nature of these partnerships is not about novelty, it is about functionality and client-centricity. The question is not, “who are you working with”? The question is, “what is the client trying to achieve commercially, and who do you need to collaborate with to get them there”?
Clients today do not come to lawyers for isolated legal advice. They come because they have a commercial goal: entering the Indian market, protecting intellectual property across borders, or executing a cross-border acquisition. To deliver on that goal, the lawyer must be part of a broader team, working alongside bankers, accountants, cyber security professionals, and others.
That is not unconventional that is modern lawyering. It is about offering a consolidated, one-stop solution so the client’s strategic goal is achieved holistically.
9. With increasing automation and digital transformation in legal services, what do you predict will be the next significant shift in the legal industry, and how is Bhushan Rajaram positioning itself to lead or adapt to these changes?
I work extensively with big tech, particularly in areas like artificial intelligence, large language models (LLMs) and data privacy, much of which is understandably under confidentiality. But let me speak directly and practically from the perspective of a legal practitioner.
The technology is already here. The day LLMs whether it is Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer (ChatGPT), Gemini, or others are integrated with major legal databases like Westlaw, LexisNexis, SCC OnLine, or Manupatra via robust application programming interfaces (APIs), we will witness a revolutionary shift in legal practice. From legal research, to contract drafting, to initial opinions, this will not just enhance speed, it will completely transform the legal workflow.
Will it make lawyers obsolete? Absolutely not. But it will reshape what legal teams look like. What once required six or seven lawyers to research, draft and polish an agreement might soon be done by a single, skilled practitioner equipped with the right AI tools. The licensing frameworks are still evolving, but this shift could be fully realised within the next two years, if not sooner.
For the younger generation entering the legal workforce, this is both a crisis and an opportunity. A disruption is coming not just to job structures but to efficiency, productivity and even legal reasoning workflows. Those who adapt fast and learn to work alongside these tools will thrive. Those who resist will find it hard to stay relevant.
This is not science fiction, it is imminent. The tsunami is coming. The question is, will you surf it, or be swept away?
10. Reflecting on your experiences in dispute resolution, could you share an anecdote from a particularly challenging case where your pre-emptive risk management strategy was instrumental in averting a major crisis? What did that experience teach you about the evolving role of litigation in corporate strategy?
So I will answer the last part first, there is no evolving role of litigation. Litigation is an ever-present risk in corporate strategy. Whether you are launching a new movie or a new car, there is always a risk of litigation.
Take the example of Mahindra B6E, the “6E” nomenclature was found to be similar to IndiGo’s flight naming convention. As a result, Mahindra had to rebrand the car. So it is not about an evolving role of litigation; rather, it is about understanding that legal risk is a constant, especially in India, whether the issue arises in property disputes, creditor risk, or regulatory matters.
Litigation is part of every sector, real estate, media, tech, automotive, it is always around. Let me give you two specific examples from different sectors to illustrate this:
During my time at Cognizant, we dealt with significant issues around provident fund (PF). The regulators were wrongly calculating PF deductions, they even proposed deductions for employees who were on overseas deputation but officially part of the Indian entity. The entire framework of how PF and wages were calculated became a legal flashpoint.
This was not just a payroll issue with thousands of employees, many based abroad, and the liability could have run into hundreds of millions of dollars. We took a strong legal position, interpreted the law thoroughly, advocated effectively, and ultimately resolved the issue with zero liability to the company. Many of the large tech companies I advise are under intense regulatory scrutiny. Multiple regulators conducted perpetual annual audits from the Competition Commission of India to the National Payments Corporation of India. We responded proactively: fully cooperating with regulators, being transparent, and pre-emptively addressing legal risks.
Our strategy was not just about defending a case, it was about preventing litigation before it could arise, and that was a major success. So overall, litigation is not evolving, it is always there. The focus is on how well you anticipate, mitigate and manage it before it escalates into something bigger.
11. How do you envision the convergence of law, technology, and policy evolving over the next few years? Which emerging legal domains or challenges do you see as having the greatest potential for breakthrough innovation?
Again, I will answer the second part first, and it is a bit of a cynical answer. Even Mr Piyush Goyal, the Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Textiles, has said this publicly that India has missed the product space in innovation. While we have a lot of technology giants, they are mostly service-sector companies. We do not have our own social media platforms, email providers, or global product companies, all of these spaces are dominated by foreign giants like Meta, Google and others.
We have also missed the AI buzz. The Chinese have their LLMs like DeepSeek, and the US has its own powerful LLMs. Yes, we have Indian founders who have built LLMs, but there is no Indian company leading in that space. A few companies have attempted, but they are far behind the curve in terms of quality of outputs.
We have also missed the semiconductor manufacturing race, things like 6nm, 9nm chipsets, we are not present there in any meaningful way. With AI becoming a central force, I really hope we pull up our socks and see better facilities and start up ecosystems that seriously address these gaps. Because if we miss this wave, the disruptions that follow will be too significant, and it may be too late to catch up.
Now, to the first part of your question on how I envision the convergence of law, technology and policy. I believe this has always been convergent. Even 20 years ago, Indian policymakers were very proactive in enabling the tech sector whether through the creation of special economic zones, favourable tax exemptions, land allocations, or reduced licensing requirements.
So I would not call this a new development. If you go back and look, the Indian Government, even two to three decades ago, had the vision to support the information technology (IT) industry through specific policy frameworks.
With the current Make in India initiative, I hope this synergy continues and strengthens between technology, law and policy. And not just at a policy level, but also through collaboration between the Government and the private sector especially the startup founders. If that happens, there is a real possibility that India can leap ahead in the years to come.
12. Looking back on your diverse career, what personal philosophy or guiding principle have you found most effective in mentoring young lawyers, and how do you ensure this legacy of creativity and resilience is passed along to the next generation?
I will mention key points, most specifically, how a young lawyer can survive and thrive in this profession.
Number one is your ability to combine hard work and smart work.
There are no shortcuts in this profession. Yes, the ability to do research has become much easier with digitalisation and the availability of legal databases, but this is still a very demanding profession, especially in your early years. Your ability to put in that hard work, to research it thoroughly and put it out clearly that is the foundation.
And more than viewing it as a deliverable, more than viewing it as a timesheet, more than viewing it as burning the midnight oil, view it as sharpening your sword. It is making you a better lawyer for when you start your private practice or move into leadership roles later. So again, there are no shortcuts here.
It is a necessary evil to do enough research so you truly understand the position you are adopting. You need to draft enough contracts to understand the skill of redlining. By nature, this is high-volume work. And it is also a learning-on-the-job profession, because let us be honest, the five years of college do not really teach you much of what is relevant for work. You will spend the first three to five years just picking up the requisite skill set.
Number two is integrity.
Again, no shortcuts here either. Even if your client comes to you, do not advise them to take shortcuts. Not in today’s India. Everything is digital, everything gets found out, sooner or later. So just like there are no shortcuts with the work, do not encourage shortcuts with the law.
It is not a glamorous answer, and maybe not what some people want to hear, but it is the truth, everything eventually comes out. So maintain integrity in the way you serve your clients.
Number three, and this is for those who reach 30 to 35 is: take risks.
Do not be afraid of the entrepreneurship journey. Take risks in your own practice, take risks in diversifying into new practice areas. Yes, it is stressful. Yes, you are taking new positions of law, and you will need to understand them, apply your mind and maybe even fail once or twice.
But take that risk. It makes the journey far more enriching. These risks might make you change roles, change countries, shift from in-house to general counsel, or move to a law firm partnership. Or even start something with your own name on the door.
That is the joint flexibility this profession offers. Do not shut the door on risk just because we, as lawyers, are often the most risk-averse people in the room. But the more risk you take, the higher the reward, and honestly, it makes for a much more joyful journey.