“Law, when aligned with vision, becomes a silent accelerator of growth.” – Khush Brahmbhatt, Founder of Aadharshila Law.

This interview has been published by Anshi Mudgal and The SuperLawyer Team

What first motivated you to pursue a career in law, and how did your early legal education shape your approach to both advisory work and litigation?

I belong to the Humble family and they invested more in my education and due to which I have been able to gain a lot of experiences and those that created an impact on me. From the outset, I recognised that law is far more than statutes and court-rooms it is a tool to shape outcomes, protect rights, and empower people and enterprises. My training combined courtroom exposure with campus engagement at Faculty of Law, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, which instilled two enduring habits: (1) translating legal complexity into ease of understanding by the professors; and (2) approaching things from grassroots considering not just what the law says, but what the client needs. That dual lens continues to drive my advisory and litigation practice. Also my Senior Colleagues have been fantastic mentors who have given me open sources to learn and opportunities to analyse and act.

What inspired you to establish your own practice, and how did your initial professional experiences guide your vision of combining legal expertise with strategic business advisory?

I worked with multiple domain experts and due to multidisciplinary education starting from Commerce to HR to Social Work to  Legal and internships helped me understand people and experiences of dealing with them. After which I founded the practice because I saw a gap: many advisors either focus purely on litigation or purely on corporate compliance, but today’s clients (start-ups, growing companies, investors) need both and need them aligned. My early roles working with community organisations and think-tanks sharpened my understanding of business dynamics, policy frameworks and operating realities. That helped me build a practice that offers full-stack legal counsel: from corporate formation and funding to dispute resolution always with a strategic-business mindset, not just a legal one. I always say that I am a one stop solution.

Today we are into several verticals such as FMCG, Renewable Energy, Motorsports, Chemical, Media, Logistics, Aviation, EV, Automobiles, Medical, Family Offices, Electricals, Production Engineering, Cosmetics and Dermatology Products, Franchise Businesses etc the list goes on. We advise many of these companies from starting or conceptualizing till today’s market standing. 

Your practice spans corporate advisory, start-up guidance, litigation, and fundraising. How do you manage such diverse roles and what are the key legal compliance challenges that startups face?

Balancing these roles is about connecting the dots, not dividing them. Every startup needs legal clarity but when they are in a journey to challenge the status quo they also see compliance checklist as status quo challenge, hence that matches its speed of growth from structuring the company to protecting IP, managing investors, and resolving conflicts. My approach has always been integrated: advisory builds the foundation, litigation protects it, and fundraising fuels it. The real challenge for startups isn’t law itself but the lack of systems informal agreements, delayed filings, and unclear ownership often create friction later. We focus on building discipline early so that compliance becomes part of the company’s DNA, not an afterthought. Law, when aligned with vision, becomes a silent accelerator of growth. 

Handling complex corporate matters, M&A transactions or fundraising deals requires precision and strategic depth. Could you share a particularly challenging transaction and how you approached it?

A memorable matter involved a renewable energy company that was facing termination of its government contract due to alleged non-compliance in project timelines. The penalties were enormous, and the project was just 80% complete when notices began arriving from multiple departments. Instead of reacting defensively, I advised the management to move from apology to evidence. Within days, we compiled a technical and legal dossier mapping every delay to documentary proof of supply-chain disruptions, force majeure clauses, and department-level approvals that had stalled.

I then coordinated parallel representations before the tendering authority, invoked the contractual dispute resolution clause, and initiated a structured negotiation rather than a direct legal confrontation. By controlling the narrative with precision not aggression we secured a complete withdrawal of penalties and an extension of 90 days to complete the project.

That case reminded me that law isn’t only about citing provisions; it’s about crafting credibility under pressure. When strategy and timing align, even a near-loss can become a reinstated victory.

As an experienced practitioner in ADR, MSME disputes and arbitration, how do you view the evolution of Alternative Dispute Resolution in India, and what changes have you observed over your career?

Over the years, I’ve seen ADR in India evolve from being an “alternative” to becoming the preferred mode of resolution especially for startups, MSMEs, and cross-border businesses that value time over theatrics. Technology and awareness have played a big role in this shift. Platforms like Sorted, founded by Arsh Soni, are redefining how structured, tech-enabled mediation and settlement can save businesses both money and relationships.

When I started, arbitration was still procedural and paper-heavy. Today, virtual hearings, institutional frameworks, and enforceable mediation settlements have changed the landscape completely. What excites me most is the mindset shift entrepreneurs now see dispute resolution as part of business continuity, not as an interruption to it. My focus has been to bring that same practicality into every case: resolve early, document clearly, and protect goodwill while protecting rights. ADR in India isn’t just maturing it’s becoming a backbone of modern commercial confidence.

Your office handles sensitive family disputes as well as investor-startup negotiations. How do you manage client expectations while ensuring ethical and strategic guidance in emotionally charged or high-stakes matters?

In emotionally charged or high-stakes matters whether it’s a family dispute or an investor–startup standoff — I try to focus not on the noise, but on the pain points. Behind every argument lies a fear, an expectation, or a misunderstanding. My role is to uncover that root cause before crafting any legal strategy. As Dr. Carol Dweck writes in Mindset, “The view you adopt for yourself profoundly affects the way you lead your life.” I’ve seen that same principle in law — when clients shift from a fixed mindset of blame to a growth mindset of resolution, solutions emerge faster and with less collateral damage.

I also quote from Prakash Iyer’s The Secret of Leadership, which reminds us that leadership is about staying calm when everyone else is losing balance. In my practice, that means guiding clients away from emotional reactions and towards structured, ethical decisions. Whether I’m mediating between founders or within families, I focus on clarity over chaos separating what’s personal from what’s strategic.

At the end of the day, law isn’t about defeating the other side; it’s about restoring direction. When handled with empathy, insight, and discipline, even conflict becomes an instrument of growth.

You play an active role in legal education, public forums and podcasts. How important is thought leadership for practising lawyers, and how do you integrate this with your daily client work?

Thought leadership, for me, is rooted in the very genesis of law. Every act, every code, and every judgment begins as a thought. It is thought that gives birth to law because before any action is taken, it is first reasoned, questioned, and aligned with intent. Thought is the seed; law is its disciplined expression.

I often recall the Mahabharata, which I see not as a war of weapons, but as a war for thought, a battle to uphold dharma, which, to me, is the truest essence of law. Dharma was not about victory; it was about alignment with what is just, balanced, and right, even when the path was difficult. That same philosophy guides my practice and my approach to thought leadership.

Engaging in legal education, public forums, and podcasts is my way of continuing that dialogue of dharma to question, interpret, and refine the frameworks that govern society. Thought leadership isn’t about influence; it’s about responsibility to think deeply, act ethically, and inspire others to do the same. Law, after all, is the living embodiment of thought in pursuit of justice.

What advice do you have for law students and young lawyers aspiring to build careers in corporate law, startup advisory or dispute resolution and what resources or practices would you recommend?

My advice to young lawyers is simple treat law as a discipline, not a degree. Whether you’re building a career in corporate law, startup advisory, or dispute resolution, begin by understanding how businesses and people actually function. The best lawyers I know are not just good at drafting, they’re good at listening to what’s said, and what’s unsaid.

Start with the fundamentals: company law, contracts, and evidence. Once you master the base, learn how numbers, governance, and human behavior intersect. Corporate and startup law aren’t about jargon they’re about clarity, timing, and foresight. Read judgments, not summaries. Write short, clear notes after every case you study. And most importantly, observe how strategy changes with context.

Resources are plenty from SEBI and MCA updates to startup policy blogs and arbitration case digests, but your real growth comes from consistency. Read one new thing every day and write one page of reflection every week. Over time, that habit becomes your personal library of wisdom.

Law rewards those who think, not those who rush. So stay curious, stay disciplined, and remember your clarity will always be your greatest currency.

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