In an era when business decisions are increasingly influenced by technology, global supply chains and rapidly evolving regulations, the role of legal leadership is expanding well beyond traditional compliance. General Counsel and in-house legal teams are becoming integral to strategic decision-making, helping organisations navigate uncertainty while enabling innovation and sustainable growth.

This shift is particularly evident in the electric vehicle (EV) industry, where emerging technologies, battery innovation, charging infrastructure and evolving regulatory frameworks are reshaping the mobility landscape. For legal leaders, the challenge lies not only in understanding the law as it stands today but also in preparing businesses for the legal and ethical questions that tomorrow may bring.

At Mahindra Group, Attreyi Mukherjee, Vice President & Head Legal (EV Business), works at the intersection of law, technology and business strategy. With experience spanning leading law firms and corporate groups, including Tata and Mahindra, she has advised businesses across automotive, aviation, e-commerce, fintech, healthcare, life sciences and other sectors. Her experience encompasses complex domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and technology licensing transactions.

Qualified to practice in India and England & Wales, Mukherjee also serves as Chairperson of the Legal Affairs and IPR Committee of the Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry. She regularly speaks on technology laws, data privacy, corporate governance, artificial intelligence, ethics, anti-bribery and anti-corruption, and diversity, equity and inclusion. She has also co-authored successive editions of Handbook on the Law on Sexual Harassment at Workplace, published by Thomson Reuters in 2015 and 2019.

In this conversation with Indian Startup Times, Mukherjee reflects on her transition from private practice to in-house legal leadership, the lessons of working across diverse industries, the changing responsibilities of General Counsel and the emerging legal considerations surrounding electric mobility and artificial intelligence. She also discusses the importance of ethical judgment and the mindsets that aspiring legal professionals need to become trusted business partners.

From Private Practice to the Business Side of Law

Mukherjee’s transition into corporate legal leadership was driven by a desire to explore a different dimension of the profession. After spending approximately seven years with law firms, handling a range of corporate transactions, she moved in-house in 2011, joining Tata Group Legal.

The move brought her closer to the commercial realities behind legal decisions. Rather than approaching transactions solely from the perspective of legal advice, she gained greater exposure to corporate decision-making, business priorities and the strategic considerations that shape complex deals.

“As an in-house counsel, you are much closer to business,” Mukherjee explains, describing how the experience deepened her understanding of corporate decision-making and the strategic role of legal teams in transactions.

The transition also expanded her professional capabilities. Working within a business environment required her to understand not only the legal dimensions of a transaction but also the objectives it was intended to achieve. This broader perspective became an important part of her professional development.

Her journey illustrates how in-house legal leadership requires a combination of legal expertise and commercial awareness. The ability to understand business objectives, anticipate challenges and contribute to practical solutions is increasingly important for legal professionals who want to participate meaningfully in organisational strategy.

Cross-Sector Experience as a Strategic Advantage

Working within a diversified corporate group gave Mukherjee the opportunity to engage with businesses operating in different regulatory and commercial environments. From aviation to e-commerce, each sector presented its own legal requirements, operational considerations and business models.

She cites her experience with the Vistara joint venture as an opportunity to understand civil aviation regulations and the specific contracting requirements of the airline industry. Her work associated with CliQ, meanwhile, offered insights into e-commerce, including software platforms, foreign investment policies and last-mile delivery.

For Mukherjee, the value of this experience extends beyond developing sector-specific knowledge. The lessons gained in one industry can inform decision-making in another, provided they are adapted to the relevant business context.

“While each sector is unique in its requirements and legal landscape, the learnings can be cross-pollinated to other sectors,” she notes.

This ability to connect insights across industries is particularly relevant for conglomerates and technology-driven businesses, where legal teams may encounter overlapping issues involving digital platforms, investments, intellectual property, supply chains and regulatory compliance.

A lawyer who understands different business ecosystems can bring a wider perspective to transactions and strategic discussions. At the same time, cross-sector experience reinforces the importance of continuous learning, as familiarity with one regulatory environment cannot substitute for a detailed understanding of another.

Why General Counsel Are Becoming Strategic Business Partners

The responsibilities of General Counsel are evolving alongside business transformation. Increasing regulatory complexity, technology adoption and geopolitical uncertainty have made legal considerations central to a wider range of corporate decisions.

Mukherjee believes the role is moving beyond its traditional association with risk management. Legal leaders are increasingly expected to help businesses navigate interconnected requirements involving data, sanctions, export controls, antitrust regulations, foreign exchange laws and corporate governance.

“The General Counsel is expected to help corporates navigate an intricate maze of regulations,” she says, highlighting the growing breadth of issues that legal teams must address.

This expanded responsibility requires legal professionals to understand how regulatory developments affect business operations, investments and strategic plans. Their contribution involves more than identifying what an organisation can or cannot do under existing laws. It also involves helping decision-makers understand the implications of different choices and develop workable approaches to complex challenges.

Mukherjee anticipates that this growing influence could translate into greater representation of legal leaders at the highest levels of corporate governance. In her view, the future may see more General Counsel serving as executive directors on company boards.

Such a development would reflect the increasing relevance of legal judgment to decisions involving growth, technology, international expansion and organisational accountability.

Electric Mobility: Navigating an Evolving Legal Landscape

The electric vehicle industry presents a distinctive set of challenges for in-house legal teams. It brings together manufacturing, mobility, emerging technologies, sustainability and global supply chains, often within regulatory frameworks that are still developing.

Mukherjee describes EVs as a nascent industry in which technology continues to evolve, with significant attention directed towards research and development in core areas such as battery technology. As the industry matures, legal and safety standards must adapt to new products, business models and expectations around sustainability. Battery Passports, enabling the traceability of batteries and record information across their lifecycle and commercial models, including battery-as-a-service, are also changing how businesses approach the ownership, use and management of EV batteries.

These developments require legal teams to understand new contractual arrangements and assess the implications of evolving technology and supply-chain relationships.

For Mukherjee, adaptability is essential.

“EV technology and its global supply chain is rapidly evolving, requiring businesses and their in-house counsels to be agile and adaptive,” she says.

Charging infrastructure is another critical consideration. As India advances its electric mobility ambitions, the development of charging networks must keep pace with the transition. Infrastructure planning, supporting regulations and policy decisions will therefore remain important areas of attention for the sector.

The broader challenge is to ensure that legal frameworks, business models and infrastructure development evolve alongside the technology they are intended to support.

Artificial Intelligence, Data Privacy and Responsible Innovation

As organisations increasingly adopt artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies, legal teams are taking on a more active role in determining how these tools should be introduced and used.

Mukherjee distinguishes between two important dimensions of this responsibility: the adoption of technology within organisations and the deployment of technology through the products and services offered to customers.

Both require legal teams to work closely with business stakeholders, identify potential risks and establish appropriate safeguards.

In the context of AI, this includes helping organisations develop policies for safe and responsible adoption. It also involves mapping risks associated with emerging technologies and identifying possible mitigation measures before those risks become operational, regulatory or reputational concerns.

For businesses, this approach can help establish a framework within which innovation can progress without overlooking accountability. Rather than treating legal review as a final checkpoint, organisations can involve in-house counsel earlier in the process of evaluating technology and designing its use.

Mukherjee’s observations underscore the importance of integrating legal expertise into technology-related decisions from the outset. As businesses introduce new tools and services, questions around privacy, governance, responsible use and risk management become part of the broader innovation process.

The objective is not simply to avoid regulatory difficulties but to help organisations make informed decisions about how technology should be adopted, deployed and governed.

When Legal Permission Is Not Enough

Some of the most difficult decisions in corporate leadership arise when an action may be legally permissible but still raises ethical or reputational concerns. For Mukherjee, this challenge becomes particularly significant when businesses operate in areas where regulation is incomplete or has yet to catch up with technological developments.

She points to emerging technologies, data protection, discrimination and environmental concerns as areas where businesses may encounter regulatory gaps or fragmented legal frameworks.

In such circumstances, legal teams cannot always rely on a straightforward interpretation of existing legislation to resolve every business question. They must also help organisations consider governance expectations and ethical implications.

“This is where the business looks to the General Counsel to provide solutions which balance business requirements with governance and ethical concerns,” she explains.

The distinction is important. Compliance establishes whether a decision meets applicable legal requirements, but responsible corporate decision-making may also require consideration of wider consequences. Where regulations leave room for interpretation, organisations need internal policies, clear accountability and a considered approach to potential risks.

For General Counsel, this means helping business leaders assess not only immediate commercial outcomes but also the implications of their decisions for stakeholders and the organisation’s reputation.

As technology continues to develop, this responsibility is likely to become more prominent. Legal leadership will increasingly involve helping businesses navigate uncertainty while maintaining a consistent approach to governance and ethical conduct.

Building a Career in In-House Legal Leadership

For young lawyers aspiring to move into in-house roles, Mukherjee emphasises the importance of combining legal knowledge with a practical, solutions-oriented mindset.

“A positive, solutions-oriented approach, supported by domain knowledge and hard work form the foundation of a successful career in law,” she says.

She also highlights continuous learning as essential, particularly in a professional environment where regulatory frameworks and technological capabilities are changing rapidly. Legal professionals must keep pace with developments that may affect their organisations, while building a strong understanding of the industries in which they work.

Equally important is resilience. In-house counsel regularly encounter challenging and unpredictable situations, often involving competing priorities and differing stakeholder expectations. The ability to navigate these circumstances requires sound judgment, adaptability and effective communication.

Mukherjee’s advice reflects the broader transformation of the in-house legal profession. Technical expertise remains fundamental, but the ability to understand business needs, respond constructively to challenges and build trust across an organisation is equally significant.

For aspiring legal leaders, developing these capabilities early can help establish the foundation for a career that extends beyond legal advisory into business partnership and strategic decision-making.

The Road Ahead for Legal Leadership

The changing responsibilities of in-house counsel reflect a wider shift in how businesses approach law, technology and governance. As industries evolve, legal leaders are increasingly required to interpret emerging regulations, assess unfamiliar risks and help organisations make decisions in uncertain environments.

Mukherjee’s experience across corporate transactions, diverse industries and the EV sector offers a perspective on this transition. Her insights highlight the importance of combining legal rigour with commercial understanding, remaining adaptable as technology changes and recognising that responsible decision-making extends beyond the narrow question of legal compliance.

For the electric mobility industry, these considerations are particularly relevant as battery technologies, charging infrastructure, supply chains and business models continue to develop. For businesses adopting AI, they reinforce the need to integrate legal and governance considerations into the innovation process.

Ultimately, the evolving role of General Counsel is about enabling businesses to move forward with greater clarity. By connecting legal expertise with business strategy, technological awareness and ethical judgment, in-house legal leaders can help organisations navigate complexity while building a more responsible foundation for growth.

– Interview Conducted By Shivani Solanki