With 16 years in the legal profession, Adv. Ramu S, Head of Legal at Karur Vysya Bank, has transformed his practice from traditional litigation to senior in-house leadership. Hailing from a family with deep legal roots, his journey shaped by mentorship, legacy and early exposure makes his story both inspiring and insightful. This interview explores his formative influences, career defining moments and insights for aspiring in-house lawyers in corporate law and compliance.
This interview has been published by Anshi Mudgal and The SuperLawyer Team
With over 16 years of experience in corporate law, what were the early influences that inspired you to choose law?
My late paternal grandfather was a student of the first LL.B batch of His Highness the Maharaja’s Government Law College, Ernakulam, Kerala. However, he did not actively take up the legal profession. My late father, a banker himself, also studied law but never took it up professionally.
So when my older first cousin, Mr.Manu Govind (who is today an extremely successful lawyer in the High Court of Kerala and was himself inspired by his father who retired as a District Judge) pushed me to give the common entrance exam for law, I took it up thinking I too might study law but never take it up professionally.
However, when I was able to crack the entrance exam with a state level rank of 7, I was given the opportunity of joining the same His Highness the Maharaja’s Government Law College as a 5th generation student from my family.
It is the college itself, the internships I did during my final years (with Mr.Akshay Jaitley at Trilegal Associates, Delhi and Mr.A.K.Jayasankaran Nambiar – then senior partner at M/s.Menon & Pai Advocates, Ernakulam and presently a Senior Judge of the High Court of Kerala) and my experiences at M/s.Menon & Pai Advocates subsequently when I joined the firm as a fresher Associate, that convinced me that law was the life I wished to pursue.
Although I did substitute active litigation with in-house roles later on, I continue to be a fond litigating lawyer at heart, raring to actively get back into the robes when I finally hang up my in-house boots.
How were your early experiences in law school and the initial years of practice and in what ways did those formative stages lay the foundation for the professional journey?
As I mentioned earlier, I was a 5th generation incumbent from my family in the same law college. This meant that not only were there expectations from the family, my classmates who were 1st gen law students looked up to me for guidance in various aspects, which essentially meant that I had the responsibility of taking the study of law seriously. Being a student of Government Law College, I had the fortune of studying with peers from almost all strata of society, which essentially gave me firsthand experience of how empowerment by law positively impacts the lives of people. Being an active mooter, I was also involved in various volunteering activities of the local Legal Services Authority, with the social interactions therein continuing to convince me of the true power of law as well as instilling confidence in myself to pursue and succeed in an active career in law.
While the active litigating lawyers from my family have generally had a proletarian approach to practice, I had been able to get a taste of the same while spending time at their offices when I was studying. However, my joining M/s.Menon & Pai Advocates, Ernakulam was indeed a turning point since M&P was a hardcore corporate facing firm. My learning there under some of the best legal luminaries that the State of Kerala has produced shaped how I approach business and management – a razor sharp no non-sense perspective aimed at efficiency, but with an inherent human touch since I firmly believe that people are the heart of every business.
How have your advanced academic qualifications enhanced your expertise and strengthened your leadership effectiveness in corporate law?
A litigating lawyer essentially needs only his minimal legal qualification to get into practice since his success and subsequent learning lies fully on how he deals with clients, their cases and in managing the judicial system for their benefit, while always upholding the right in law and thereby creating precedence for others to follow. But for an in-house lawyer, the minimal legal qualification is merely an entry ticket.
He/she not only has to learn the law and how it impacts business, but the business itself so as to know how best law can be interpreted and resorted to for ensuring compliance and positively impacting the business.
In this regard, my LLM in Contract Law gave me the jumpstart to handle the commercial world of corporate business with an MBA in Human Resources helping me understand the people, the heart of every business.
This when coupled with banking specialisations like the Certified Associate of Indian Institute of Bankers (CAIIB) from the Indian Institute of Banking & Finance and a Post Graduate Diploma in Banking Law (PGDBL) from the National University of Legal Studies, Cochin made me confident in my skills as an efficient in-house legal resource in a Bank.
But, when one moves up the ladder to be part of the Senior Management of a business in the form of a Head Legal or GC, it requires that you understand not only the business of banking, but the business of successfully running a Corporate in general, which is where my Masters in Business Laws from National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bangalore comes to my aid. At the end of the day, there is no replacement for sheer experience. But what advanced education gives you is an edge to the experience which would set you apart from the rest. I am fortunate to have been able to successfully gain the same.
What has been the key turning point in your professional journey that gave you clarity or transformed your approach to law and management?
Undoubtedly, the turning point has to be joining Karur Vysya Bank as Head of Industrial Relations. The role, though at the entry level of senior management in designation, was a fully independent portfolio with a direct line of reporting to the MD & CEO as well as the Board.
The years I spent there helped me come face to face with various trials and tribulations on an organisational level, which helped me develop from a desk level specialist to a business level leader.
Over the years, you have successfully navigated multiple leadership roles in legal and compliance functions. How has each position contributed to your career growth and shaped your approach to strategic legal management?
Having started life as a litigating lawyer handling corporate service/labour matters as well as Banking matters before various judicial fora with M/s. Menon & Pai Advocates in 2009 in Kerala, it was quite natural for me to transition into an in-house resource in a corporate.
My in-house legal profile started with a short stint of just more than a year with South Indian Bank Ltd. in their Chennai Regional Office as DRT/DRAT/High Court liaison officer.
The turning point for me was cracking IBPS in 2013 and joining the Corporate Office HR Team of Indian Bank as part of the Industrial Relations Legal team.
It was much later in 2018 that I joined Karur Vysya Bank Ltd. as Head IR-HR and continued in the position till 2022 when I was fortunate enough to be elevated to the position of Head Legal for the whole Bank. While it is generally difficult for an IR-HR Legal resource to be able to get a slice of the bigger pie viz. the overall Legal portfolio equivalent to a GC, I am forever grateful to the KVB Top Management who trusted me enough to handle this role. I am confident that I have not let them down and have ensured that the Bank’s legal team has grown with me.
As for the aspect of how these developments shaped my approach to corporate leadership, it is quite simple: in IR-HR Legal, one gets to influence the organisation’s performance through enabling people potential while in pure Legal, one gets to impact the performance through being an active enabler for business potential. Today, when the corporate world is changing its approach to GCs and recognising them as business leaders and not merely as support functions, each of the positions I have held has moulded me in effectively handling changing business scenarios and the corporate managerial leadership approach that is required to ensure the organisation stands strong.
With your extensive experience in RBI inspections, NPA recovery, and regulatory compliance, could you share some of the major challenges you face in managing legal risks?
Well, the customer of today is not someone who is naïve. He is armed to the teeth with all kinds of knowledge to thwart any steps proposed to be taken against him by the Banks. In fact, the options for parallel legal action available to a customer to thwart or delay the legal steps taken or proposed to be taken against him are aplenty, before the Debt Recovery Tribunal, the Civil Courts, the High Court, the Banking Ombudsman etc to name just a few.
One of the major challenges is forum shopping by the customer as already mentioned herein above, which at best is a delay tactic which might turn out to be very effective in thwarting the Bank’s action due to the time factor of money. Another is intentional inclusion of Top Management officials in the respondent party array so as to coerce the Bank into withdrawing any action already initiated. The other is of course fraud and/or wilful default, both of which are malafide in nature.
What advice would you offer to law students aspiring to build careers in in-house legal roles?
When it comes to advice to future lawyers and leaders, I have just one mantra: Invest time in some effective litigation practice before moving in-house. While some of you might actually realise that you absolutely love it and would want to continue, the others would find that the time spent in litigation actually adds priceless practical value to your role as in-house counsels. Also, once in-house, do not forget that upskilling is the name of the game when it comes to being efficient, successful and most importantly, staying relevant.
How do you see the future of corporate law practice and compliance evolving in the next decade?
I feel that the year 2025, while running towards a close, has essentially reshaped whatever the next decade could have hitherto held as the future of corporate legal practice and compliance. 2025 has done that in the last couple of days by being witness to 2 major announcements from the Central Government – operational implementation of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act and the consolidated 4 Labour Codes. Corporate Legal Practice and compliance is essentially going to have its hands full at least for the next few years in understanding and interpreting the above 2 sets of statutes – one that is absolutely new and essentially capable of wiping out a corporate’s entire balance sheet in case of noncompliance, another being a complete overhaul of decades of people centric legislation.
All said and done, the future is indeed bright and dynamic for any in-house lawyer, albeit with the added advantage of Artificial Intelligence aiding them in a largely tech driven scenario. Also, it wouldn’t be surprising to see more General Counsels essentially diversifying into running whole businesses themselves.
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Excellent
A good read rather an autobiography of Mr. Ramu than Advocate Ramu becoming the GC. Congratulations