Introduction

In a business environment where decisions are increasingly shaped by speed, regulation, technology and risk, the role of an in-house legal team is undergoing a fundamental transformation. Legal professionals are no longer expected to simply interpret regulations, review contracts or step in when disputes arise. Increasingly, they are being called upon to understand the business, anticipate risks and help organisations make confident decisions.

For Rajani Prakash, Head of Legal – Retail at Prestige Group, this evolution lies at the heart of effective legal leadership.

With professional experience spanning organisations such as Levi’s, PUMA and Prestige Group, Rajani has worked across different business environments and industries. Her journey has reinforced a clear belief: law and business cannot operate in isolation. A strong legal function must understand the organisation’s objectives and find ways to help the business achieve them while staying within the appropriate legal and regulatory framework.

Her approach is rooted in three principles: curiosity, leadership and the belief that law plays a fundamental role in business success. For Rajani, the legal profession is particularly rewarding because it sits at the intersection of business, strategy, people and risk.

“Legal should not be seen as a hurdle to business,” is the philosophy that runs through her approach. Instead, the question should be how a business objective can be achieved responsibly and effectively within the legal framework.

Understanding the Business Behind the Law

One of the most important lessons Rajani has carried across her experience in retail and real estate is the importance of detail.

In complex business environments, a seemingly minor provision, a single word in a contract or a subtle interpretation of law can have significant commercial consequences. For a legal professional, therefore, understanding the fine print is only one part of the responsibility. Equally important is understanding the intent behind a provision and interpreting it within the context of the business.

But the legal profession, in her view, cannot rely solely on established knowledge. Continuous learning is essential as laws, regulations, judicial interpretations and business practices evolve.

That learning also extends to understanding how the business itself functions.

Rajani believes legal professionals must move beyond their traditional role and understand the organisation’s commercial priorities. The objective should not simply be to identify what cannot be done, but to explore how a particular business objective can be achieved while managing the associated legal risks.

This shift in mindset, she believes, is what turns a legal professional into a genuine business partner.

Why Legal Must Enter the Conversation Early

For Rajani, one of the clearest markers of a mature legal function is when it becomes involved in a business initiative.

Rather than approaching legal teams only after a problem has emerged, businesses should bring them into the conversation from the beginning. Whether the initiative involves an investment, collaboration, joint venture, construction project or commercial transaction, early legal involvement can help identify risks, structure transactions appropriately and establish the necessary contractual and compliance framework.

This proactive approach can prevent complications that may otherwise emerge later in the form of disputes, delays, additional costs or regulatory challenges.

More importantly, early involvement changes the perception of legal itself.

Instead of being the function that tells the business what it cannot do, legal becomes the function that helps the organisation understand its boundaries and navigate them effectively.

Rajani believes this is critical to sustainable growth. When legal professionals combine sound legal expertise with an understanding of business, they can help organisations take informed risks and make better decisions.

Negotiating the Balance Between Protection and Partnership

Contracts are often where business relationships, commercial interests and legal protections meet. For Rajani, successful contract negotiation is therefore not simply about protecting one side at all costs.

It begins with trust, transparency and understanding the business requirement.

A legal professional must protect the organisation’s interests while also understanding the expectations of the other party. The ability to recognise where flexibility is possible, and where protection is non-negotiable, is central to effective negotiation.

This requires a balance between business needs, legal protection and long-term relationships.

The underlying principle is straightforward: protecting the organisation should not mean becoming a barrier to the organisation.

For Rajani, the strongest legal professionals are those who can protect the business while still helping it move forward.

Compliance Without Slowing the Business Down

The challenge becomes even more pronounced in sectors such as retail and real estate, where business environments can move quickly while regulatory expectations continue to evolve.

Rajani believes the answer lies in being proactive rather than reactive.

That means understanding business plans early, tracking changes in law, identifying key risks and providing practical advice on how those risks can be managed. Compliance, in this framework, is not something that should be treated as an afterthought.

At the same time, she does not believe every risk needs to be eliminated.

Instead, risks need to be understood, evaluated and managed. When business teams have a clear understanding of their legal boundaries, they are better positioned to make decisions quickly and confidently.

This is where she sees the legal function’s role as a business enabler, protecting the organisation without unnecessarily restricting its ability to operate at speed.

Staying Ahead of Technology and Change

The legal profession is also being reshaped by a rapidly changing business landscape.

Reflecting on situations where business teams have needed to move quickly while legal and regulatory considerations remained critical, Rajani highlights adaptability and continuous learning as essential leadership qualities.

Digitalisation, technology, artificial intelligence and new business models are changing how organisations operate. Legal teams, therefore, cannot remain focused only on traditional approaches.

For Rajani, the challenge is not simply to understand emerging technologies, but to remain open to new ways of working while ensuring that legal, ethical and regulatory considerations continue to be protected.

Her approach to leadership is consequently forward-looking: stay ahead of change, help teams adapt and find practical solutions that enable the organisation to grow with confidence.

Making Legal Visible, Approachable and Proactive

A legal team’s value, Rajani believes, is not measured only by the quality of its legal advice. It is also determined by how effectively it integrates with the wider organisation.

One challenge she identifies is that employees may not always understand what the legal function does or when they should involve it. That makes awareness and accessibility important parts of legal leadership.

Regular training and awareness programmes, open communication, frequent interaction and collaboration with different teams can help establish legal as an approachable function.

Rajani also emphasises the importance of understanding the business from the inside. Legal teams should interact with HR, finance, procurement, sales, operations, projects and other functions to understand how the organisation actually operates and identify potential issues early.

For her, a truly valuable in-house legal team is therefore not one that appears only when there is a dispute or a contract requiring review. It is one that is visible, approachable, proactive and involved in the business.

That is ultimately the transition from legal support function to trusted business partner.

A Message to the Next Generation of In-House Lawyers

For young lawyers aspiring to build careers in-house, Rajani’s advice begins with patience.

She recommends giving professionals enough time to genuinely understand an organisation, its people, processes, culture, decision-making and practical challenges. In her view, spending at least three years within an organisation can provide the depth of understanding required to appreciate how an in-house legal function operates.

But understanding the business is only one part of the equation.

Young legal professionals must also develop a habit of continuous learning. With laws and regulations constantly evolving, staying updated needs to become part of everyday professional practice.

At the same time, technology cannot be ignored. Rajani encourages young lawyers to remain open to digitalisation and AI and learn how these technologies can support the work of legal teams rather than resisting them.

She also urges young lawyers to look beyond the boundaries of their own department. Understanding finance, HR, procurement, sales, operations and the commercial side of the organisation can fundamentally change the quality of legal advice they provide.

Her broader message is one of curiosity, adaptability and patience: build strong fundamentals, understand the business deeply, continue learning and focus on becoming a solution provider rather than simply identifying problems.

The Future of Legal Leadership Is Business-Led

Rajani’s perspective reflects a broader evolution taking place within modern organisations. The strongest in-house legal teams are increasingly expected to operate not at the edge of the business, but within it.

Their value lies in anticipating risks before they become problems, understanding commercial objectives, navigating regulatory complexity and helping teams make informed decisions.

For Rajani, this does not diminish the importance of legal expertise. Instead, it expands its impact.

The future-ready legal professional must be both legally rigorous and commercially aware,  someone who can protect the organisation without preventing it from moving forward.

And perhaps that is the most important shift in modern legal leadership: the move from asking “Can we do this?” to understanding “How can we do this responsibly, sustainably and within the law?”

For businesses navigating increasingly complex markets, that distinction can make legal not merely a safeguard, but a genuine engine of confident and sustainable growth. 

– Interview Conducted By Shivani Solanki