Being a lawyer requires a strong hold over communication, judgment, intellect, and most importantly courage to fight for your standpoint. The legal market has been a male driven one for a longtime. It has now shifted focus and more and more women are opting for a career in law. Being a women and a lawyer is no easy task, it requires mettle and steadfastness, the qualities that are very well evident in Ms. Sundari R. Pisupati, who is the Founder Partner of Tempus Law Associates.
She is a licensed attorney in New York and India with over twenty five years of experience as a lawyer both in India and the U.S. Sundari has completed her B.A., L.L.B. (Hons.), from the National Law School of India University, in1993; and her L.L.M., from Columbia Law School, New York, in1998. She has handled a variety of large corporate and commercial transactions involving domestic and International clients representing companies of all sizes in various industry verticals such as information technology, financial services, domestic and international funds, infrastructure, bio-technology, outsourcing and pharmaceutical companies, among others.
Journey since the Beginning of Her Career
The decision to pursue a career in law was well thought out. During her schooling days, she was very good in debates, elocutions, public speaking, and extracurricular activities. “My grandfather was a lawyer and so my father thought law will be a good career option for me.” says Sundari. So, becoming a lawyer came naturally. Establishing a good practice and taking the legacy forward has helped her keep the excellent practice and focus towards her goals.
After graduating as the University topper from the National Law School of India University, Bangalore in 1993, she started practicing in the High Court of Andhra Pradesh with a Senior Lawyer, where she practiced and argued cases from 1993-97. Then, after completing her Masters in law at Columbia University New York in 1998, Sundari worked at Sidley Austin Brown & Wood in New York for several years in the corporate and securities group. At Sidley, her experience included corporate transactions; cross-border M&A and public offerings. Speaking of her time in the U.S., she says, “My experience of practicing law in the US in a top-notch law firm truly changed my career. It taught me global best practices which we have been able to adopt in our work in India and offer excellent services to our clients based in Hyderabad.”
Having practiced law for a couple of decades, she has colossal experience, and is regularly invited to national and international events to speak on various topics of current legal interest.
Post her stint in New York, she decided to return to India in 2003 and resume practice. Here, she, together with her life partner Mr. Raviprasad, set up Tempus Law Associates in 2008. Started as a two lawyer firm, it has now grown to a full-fledged 25 resources office in Hyderabad. With her dedication laying on the corporate and commercial matters, she has built the firm’s expertise around the same.
Unique Solution Tempus Law Offers
The firm is well recognized and has earned a name for specialization in cross-border matters. Focus areas of the firm are corporate, commercial, M&A, venture capital, private equity, IP, real estate, litigation, and arbitration matters. Tempus Law has grown from strength to strength and has become one of the well-established law firms in Hyderabad. Ms. Sundari specializes in corporate, commercial, M&A, and corporate litigation matters. Speaking of the exceptional work the firm is doing and her motivation to work hard she asserts, “Good work keeps me motivated. Good quality work and good quality clients and striving towards excellence keeps me motivated.”
The Major Challenges
“There are challenges as a professional and as a woman professional.” she quotes. “As a lawyer there are several challenges one faces. It takes time to make a name and earn a reputation, which is important to build good clients.” As a woman, the challenges are to balance family and career, and in spite of having two children, Ms. Sundari has been managing her professional and family life seamlessly. She says, “I try to spend quality time with my family, guiding my children in their education and career pursuits and mentor them on many aspects and we do many things together and regularly travel. Those moments are truly cherished and remarkable in many ways.” She has successfully built an excellent practice and a top-notch firm, while balancing her personal life. Bringing clients, retaining clients, networking, and hiring and retaining talent are all the challenges she has faced and overcome in building a good and strong firm. “I am quite passionate about law and remain so even after 25 years. We aim to build a top law firm which is known for quality and integrity in its services and expand to International markets.” asserts Sundari.
A Passionate Lawyer’s Advice
“Legal profession has been historically and continues to be a male dominated profession. Women are written off or not taken seriously in the profession. It requires extraordinary dedication, commitment, passion and integrity for success in this profession for women.” states Sundari. “This is not a business, but a profession. Students should not look at this profession for money making alone; learning is very important at the early stages of the career; learn and make the foundation strong and earn a good reputation and money will automatically follow.”
Source :-The 10 Powerful Women Lawyers in 2018
