In the 10th episode of the SpicyIP Podcast Summer School Edition, it was a pleasure talking to Ms. Sheja Ehtesham, Managing Partner at ALG India Law Offices LLP and a leading expert in Intellectual Property. During her time with us at the Summer School, she not only introduced a fascinating regime of IP in Outer Space, but also inspired the class with refreshing perspectives on leadership and building a meaningful career.
In this episode, the discussion covers a number of topics that law students would find very interesting – from knowledge sharing initiatives such as the ones ALG hold, to the importance of networking as a way to build genuine relationships rooted in goodwill. She also touched upon how the quality of leadership can be demonstrated even by small things like being a supportive batchmate or being conscious of the impact one creates around them, as well as the importance of “self awareness” and “authenticity” as major components of one’s personality that they enter their professional lives with. The discussion on “being self aware” and “having a plan” as two major things valued in the professional world rather than mechanical CV’s serves as a reminder to students on where to focus energy. It was inspiring to see her approach of empowering students to participate in decision making while applications are being considered for jobs or at higher education institutions.
We are also glad to have had ALG India as our Knowledge Partner for the SpicyIP Summer School 2025 and appreciate their valuable support.
Scroll down and and listen to the full podcast for more interesting nuggets from her! (Earlier episodes from this series include: 01 with Mr. Murali Neelakantan, 02 with Mr. Sandeep Rathod, 03 with Mr. Adarsh Ramanujan, 04 with Ms. Chetali Rao, 05 with Mr. KM Gopakumar ,06 with Ms. Zara Kaushik, 07 with Ms. Kruttika Vijay, 08 with Mr. Nikhil Narendran, and 09 withDr. Kailash Nadh. You can also watch Let’s IPsa Loquitur: 01 an immersive discussion on personality rights, 02 discussion on Copyright, AI, tech sovereignty and open access, and Live sessions on the authority of CCI to hear anti-competitive patent complaints, and on higher education in IP)
SpicyIP TV: The Summer School Edition – Episode 10 Sheja Ehtesham on Networking, Leadership and Building a meaningful Professional journey
In this episode (10), Sonisha Srinivasan speaks to Ms. Sheja Ehtesham(full bio below) about ALG India’s Knowledge sharing initiatives, importance of Networking as well as other skills outside of law schools for students to develop, her thoughts on Leadership, and approaches to building a meaningful professional journey rather than mechanical CV building.
About Sheja Ehtesham: Sheja Ehtesham is the Managing Partner at ALG India Law Offices LLP and a leading expert in intellectual property. Sheja advises a global clientele on portfolio management, enforcement, oppositions, domain name disputes, and transactional matters such as brand licensing and franchising.Recognized consistently among the world’s top trademark professionals (WTR1000, 2021–2025), she is highly regarded for her strategic counsel and leadership. In 2023, she also received INTA’s Advancement of Association Objectives Award for her leadership in driving the association’s goals and shaping the dialogue on emerging areas of IP, particularly for her work on IP in Space. Under her leadership, her firm ALG boasts a remarkably diverse team—around 60 members, over 50% of whom are women at all levels, and collectively speaking more than 15 languages—reflecting her long‐standing commitment to inclusion.
SS: The law firm set up in today’s setting, there’s hardly any place where we see where there’s educational or knowledge sharing inputs.. that are there for students getting in from law colleges into firms. But ALG has this new initiative, where there are knowledge sharing sessions, where you conduct sessions by experts, for students and professionals, where they get to learn about a lot of things that happen in practice, which bridges the gap between what is learnt in law school, what is needed during practice. So could you explain about how this initiative came up and how this has helped you with the working of the firm and how it’s helping the students in getting becoming better professionals.
SE: That’s a great question, and actually something that in some senses encapsulates why it is that we immediately resonated with the idea of the summer school and signed up to be knowledge partners. There were very few endeavors I should share that we resonate with so quickly. And so to answer your question, one of the conversations that I was having with one of the students is that the firm has a slightly different approach I understand than perhaps other firms typically have. Our outlook is that as a lawyer, out of law school, even on day one, there is no reason why one’s ability to interpret a statute, to read that text, is inferior to that of somebody with 15, 20, 30 years of experience, the greats in the industry. There is experience that they have on their side, but the craft of reading a text thinking critically is something that on day one, even a fresher is, and should be empowered with. And so that’s basically the thought process of why we think it’s important, not only for experts, to be giving knowledge sharing sessions, but even for our own, sometimes six months into practice attorneys to look at how they have interpreted a certain statute, venture different possibilities, look at how courts have looked at that, and our view is that the quality of that can be as informed as the quality of bringing in an expert, and that’s, it’s that thinking that we think is really important. And it seems that’s what SpicyIP is setting out to do also as part of its summer school, inculcating the approach of thinking critically. So in that sense, I suppose the inception is not very different.
SS: And that’s such a different way of thinking about it, because we don’t see firms doing that, and I think a lot of students get stuck in the process of moving from law school to firms, and finding themselves being stuck in that process, because they find it very different. So something like this is such a great way of thinking, and it’s also such an inclusive environment that you’re putting out as a firm.
SE: It’s also challenging though, I should say. And it’s sometimes harder to be on in month one of the profession, putting out a knowledge sharing session for sometimes people who’ve been in practice for many, many years. It can be challenging, it can be daunting, but it shouldn’t be.
SS: Right. That’s such a different way of thinking about it. When it comes to skills like networking, do you have any guidance for students on how they can network better from law school, or just out of law school, or in general on how they can use networking to their advantage and how do you think that would help them in career development?
SE: Okay. So all of us, when we were in law school, had the opportunity to do multiple internships. Some of the five-year programs typically mandate two per year. So that’s ten internships that one would have done in that span of five years. Now the way that I see it, and actually this is an early professional mentor to me, who shared this outlook. They said that each person that one interacts with professionally is somebody who has a lot of opportunity and goodwill that they could open up for you. And if you’re able to win that, the more such opportunities you’re able to win. The more successful, one will end up potentially being success in the mainstream way, of course. There are various definitions of what success is. And it means different things to different people. But networking is also probably something that can be looked at from the same lens. This is somebody that you’re interacting with, who has the possibility, maybe today, maybe tomorrow, maybe ten years from now, of facilitating something for you, something for your growth process. And so it’s about doing whatever it is that you can to make sure that if and when you do reach out to that person, requesting for their help, facilitation, they say, “Oh, we’re happy to.” So to me, networking is basically that, how do you create an impression that the people that you meet, wish to be, wish to back you, wish to be allies for you, wish to generally do what they can for you. Okay. And if you’re able to do that, not just in the conferences or the typically networking events, but if you’re able to do that with your professors in law school, with your, the people that work with you during internships, with your fellow interns. So my professor in law school got me my first job.
SS:Oh nice. So that was the power of networking.
SE: That’s the power of networking.
SS: Right. Apart from networking, what do you think there are other skills outside of law, which students could acquire on their own, or through law schools, or in any way, which would help them professionally and fill the gap between what they learn in law schools and practice. And also help them guide themselves better and make better choices on what they want.
SE: That is a set of multiple questions that I’m going to try to answer. Okay. Now, I’m a firm believer of the outlook that leadership is not about externalities, designations, matters, fluffy crowns that people wear, but leadership is about how one conducts oneself. Even as a law student, potentially. And there are many things that one can do as a law student. And I don’t mean in the realm of law, as you asked, but outside it, that sets them onto the path of leadership. Right. Sometimes these are small things. Sometimes they’re things like, in one’s batch, when a peer is struggling with something. To position yourself as the go-to person who’s available to brainstorm. If you’re struggling with this, happy to help. Okay. You know, it’s something as small as that, just making yourself available. And being a supportive batchmate, that person who’s always the supportive batchmate, that to me, is also leadership. And the thing is that it’s things like that, that, in trench you as a leader, in the minds of the people that you interact with, and not a leader in the conventional formal title oriented term, but just as a person, somebody who is likely to be doing good and big and thoughtful. Like that sometimes it’s through things like being supportive. Sometimes it’s through humour. If you have the ability to, when you’re, this could be at a law firm, when your team is having a stressful time or pre-exam time during law school, the kind of person who is able to lighten the mood with humour, there is leadership in that, it’s a potent skill. So I think that, however, it is that one is able to show leadership in ways big and small, are really great ways to be putting out yourself, your brand, who you are, what you stand for, what are your skills. I think that’s something that, as law students, we tend to not realize at the time, the power that we wield , we don’t see it, but we do.
So I think that being more conscious about the impact that one has in their environment, the small and the big things that one can do to lift one’s environment to make your university a greener place, to make your university a more conscious place. Whatever it is that you see around you, that you think, “Hey, it’ll be nice if this could be improved, what can I do to improve it?” And if you’re able to apply yourself to that, that actually shows commendable strength of character. And this is what sets one apart. And if you’re able to lean into with a little bit of self-awareness, what are your skills? Now, practically, for something like that, there are some great personality tests. There is a Briggs-Myers, for instance. A lot of these are free, but in one’s law school days, self-awareness is still forming. And so if you take these tools that exist out there to help you lean into that, figure out what are your strengths, play to them, and be more visibly positioned as a leader, minus all of the titles. I think you do great.
SS: Right. So basically, creating a brand value for yourself is important, and this also, yeah, the brand, not in the traditional sense of the word, but in a more porous sense of the word, but absolutely. So another thing that keeps happening in law schools is the importance that’s placed on CVs. So how do you think we can draw that margin, where the focus is not just on the physical CVs, but also on these kind of traits that you spoke about? And do you think it’s good for students to focus on it holistically, rather than just working all five years on one direction on their CVs? Again, I’ve heard a lot of people talk about it that, and it’s a very diverse opinion where on one side, there are people saying that you focus your CVs towards the direction of your choice, or like the direction where you want to focus on. But at the first year and second year, a student is not in a position to decide or make a choice as to which direction he or she would want to go. And on the other hand, there are also people talking about how you keep it diverse, so you have a sense of all the areas, and then you can decide. And I think there’s a lot of confusion amongst students on this aspect, and how do you think this could tie in with all of these things that you spoke about with respect to personality, and what would be the best way out for students?
SE: So, that’s a very fair point that you raise. And I wish there was a mantra that I could share, that would magically make all, magically have all the answers. Now since I’m pretty sure there is no mantra, I’m going to try to answer from different lenses. So what somebody who is looking to assess a candidate, a law student, be it from the lens of higher education or be it from the lens of placement. We typically look for people who are self-aware and who have a plan, sometimes the plan is that I haven’t yet, it’s, in fact, I’ll give you my example. I did the 5-year program from NALSAR, and for the first 3 years, I was fairly certain that I had picked the wrong line, law school wasn’t for me, it was very interesting, but it stretched the mind in fascinating ways, and there were incredibly smart people around me, and that’s always enriching, but I didn’t see myself practicing or being a part of any of those areas as a vocation. And so I wondered that what’s next after law school? I used my internships as almost like a buffet system if you wanted to see it like that. You try to get as diverse experiences on your plate to get a practical sense of what works for you, what doesn’t work for you. So I, because it was clear to me that I hadn’t found something that worked for me, I sampled as much as widely as I could through my internships. Third year is when we did IP, that was my epiphany moment, literally the light bulb, and sometimes it happens for, sometimes somebody enters law school with that epiphany moment already happening, they know exactly what they want to do, sometimes it happens during law school, sometimes by the end of law school you realize that this is not, this is not for you, but it’s helpful to have clarity, even if even if the clarity is that this is not for you, it’s helpful It is helpful to be pursuing whatever it is that one is with some self-awareness and to have some sort of a plan. And what we look for is people who are able to demonstrate that, and what we look for is people who are not trying to fit in through their CV some kind of a mold, they imagine that the world seeks, maybe there are places that do seek that, but these molds are not the answer, building one’s CV, because when imagines that that something that will, you know, I mean you just keep adding internships, you add, you think that the biggest names is value, actually if a candidate has a clear plan and even if the names are lesser known names, but the candidate is self-aware, they know what they’re doing, that’s something that shines through, so we’re looking for people and the world in general, my senses, is looking for people who are happy to, with authenticity, speak about who they are, present to anybody who is assessing them, this is who I am, this is what I bring to the table, let’s talk about whether there is scope of collaboration.
The fundamental mistake that lost students sometimes make, and now with the wisdom of hindsight, I’m happy to share this, this one, golden nugget, if you will, so sometimes I find that law students incorrectly imagine that they are at the receiving end of decision-makers, as far as that be lawful management, people who consider their applications at higher study institutions, but that isn’t quite true, what law students will do well to know is that they’re actually very empowered to participate in that decision making, in fact, the person sitting on the other side looks for somebody who recognizes that they are an equal participant, in this discussion about trying to figure out whether the two sets of people should be, it’s sensible to collaborate with one another, right, so it’s not about taking, taking ALG’s example, when we’re interviewing a candidate, we don’t, we don’t like calling it an interview, it is an interaction, why is it an interaction, because you must know us, we must know you, and together we need to figure out whether it makes sense for both of us to try to spend time together to collaborate, are we the right fit for you and are you the right fit for us, and we need to talk about this openly and transperently.
SS: That’s such a great thinking ma’am, because I think this is something which students should also know, and this is something created that you brought out, because with the right, currently with all the things going on, I’m sure a lot of students are also not aware of what exactly law firm seek for, and this kind of a thinking is just so nice, and it’s something which students also would want, so like like you said putting them at a pedestal where they are also able to participate in decision making, is something which will also have them develop their confidence and know that they are at a position where they can bargain and they can collaborate, so that is such a great thing, ma’am, and thank you so much for being here, I’m sure when students watch this it will be really inspiring, so it and it was really great interacting with you
SE: Thank you for a great set of questions, they really got me to think, and it was a very enjoyable discussion, thanks
SS: Thank you ma’am Thank you.