For Priyanka Ananth, Corporate Lawyer at Krishnamurthy & Co. (K Law), being a modern lawyer means going beyond knowing what the law says. Her professional journey across in-house legal roles, legal management and law-firm practice has given her multiple perspectives on how law interacts with business, people, technology and risk. Today, she approaches legal issues by asking not only what the law requires, but also what the client is trying to achieve and how legal advice can help achieve that objective while managing risk.

Her experience spans corporate law, data privacy, labour and employment, and legal advisory. That breadth has reinforced her belief that legal advice should ultimately make the law useful to the business while ensuring that clients understand the risks and can make informed decisions. In privacy, for example, she sees risk as extending far beyond data collection—to retention, access, third-party sharing, vendors, deletion and the gap between written policies and actual organisational practices. For her, privacy therefore requires collaboration between legal, technology, cybersecurity, HR and business teams, with privacy by design becoming part of business processes from the outset.

Technology is another important dimension of Priyanka’s modern-lawyer philosophy. Her involvement with cybersecurity communities has strengthened her understanding of concepts such as access controls, encryption, data storage, anonymisation, DPIAs and third-party risks. She believes lawyers advising businesses need sufficient technological and commercial understanding to appreciate the consequences of their advice. As AI increasingly assists with research, drafting, summarisation and knowledge management, she emphasises that human judgment, commercial understanding, negotiation and relationship management remain central to legal practice.

Beyond technical expertise, Priyanka’s story is also about leadership, mentorship and continuous learning. Her leadership specialisation at IIM Ahmedabad helped her reflect on emotional intelligence, decision-making, trust and the idea that leadership is less about authority and more about influence, relationships and leading by example. Her advice to young lawyers is equally practical: develop curiosity, take ownership, learn to write clearly, understand the matter beyond the task assigned and become the best-prepared person in the room. Away from the legal world, she finds balance through yoga, meditation and Tai Chi, enjoys leadership and business books, values family time and describes herself in one word as curious.

Key Highlights of the Koffee Conversation with Priyanka Ananth

• Priyanka’s career across in-house legal roles, legal management and law-firm practice has shaped her ability to view law through multiple perspectives.
• She believes good legal advice should make the law useful to business while enabling clients to understand risk and make informed decisions.
• Privacy risk extends beyond data collection to retention, access, sharing, vendors, deletion and actual implementation of privacy policies.
• She emphasises the gap between having a well-drafted privacy policy and ensuring that people, processes and technology actually follow it.
• Privacy cannot operate as a purely legal documentation exercise; it requires coordination across legal, technology, cybersecurity, HR and business teams.
• Lawyers working in privacy increasingly need to understand the technology behind data handling, including encryption, access controls, anonymisation and data-storage practices.
• Commercial understanding helps lawyers appreciate how contracts can affect revenue, technology, employees, customers, IP and regulatory exposure.
• Priyanka sees emotional intelligence as an important complement to legal expertise because lawyers must communicate advice, manage conflict and build relationships.
• Her experience in employment law reinforced the importance of proper documentation and recordkeeping throughout the employment relationship.
• In employment disputes, she believes empathy should inform how legal advice is communicated and implemented without replacing objective legal analysis.
• Her leadership specialisation at IIM Ahmedabad helped deepen her thinking around leadership, emotional intelligence, decision-making and trust.
• She believes young lawyers should develop curiosity, ownership and the ability to write clearly.
• Her advice from her father is simple: you do not need to be the smartest person in the room, but you can be the best-prepared person.
• Priyanka encourages young lawyers to understand AI and its limitations rather than be intimidated by it, while developing judgment and commercial awareness that technology cannot replace.
• Outside work, Priyanka enjoys yoga, meditation and Tai Chi, reads leadership and business books, loves travelling and spending quality time with her family.

▶️ Watch the full episode on YouTube on The Koffee Conversation Show – The Emerging Lawyer and discover Priyanka Ananth’s perspective on corporate law, data privacy, technology, leadership and the future of legal practice.

🎧 Listen to the complete podcast on Spotify: The Koffee Conversation Show – The Emerging Lawyer and hear Priyanka Ananth share her professional journey, leadership lessons and perspective on becoming a modern lawyer.