Sitting pretty: Zia enjoys unwinding at her south Mumbai home after a day's work. Photo by Amey Mansabdar
Zia Mody may not be a prophet, but her words are hallowed for her clients, ranging from the Tatas to the Ambanis. “One of my favourite people who is also my client often says, ‘You know, you give me the most expensive scolding',” says Zia, known as the queen of mergers and acquisitions in India. Her law firm AZB is the place India's largest corporate houses turn to for legal advice. The Tatas sought her help during their Corus and Jaguar Land Rover deals, and Reliance did so in its deal with British Petroleum. She also played a major role in the Vedanta-Cairn and the Bharti-Zain deals.
On a typical day, Zia settles legal disputes, advises clients on deals worth billions, coordinates with lawyers across continents and attends meetings after meetings. Her work day stretches from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. The girl who wanted to be just like daddy, former attorney general of India Soli Sorabjee, is today a role model for millions.
A tray of food arrives as we settle down for a chat. I glance at the watch and realise it is 4 p.m. “Busy day?” I ask, and Zia breaks into a full-throated laugh. “The problem with a lawyer's day, or at least mine, is that it does not end at a certain hour, because in the evening [Indian Standard Time] New York gets up, then California gets up, and then in the morning Australia gets up. So, I have sandwiched myself in between. I don't know why I got myself into such an inconvenient time zone,” she says. It may be a long day for her but it is always a happy day. “You meet a whole host of people, you meet a client who wants succession planning, you meet a client who wants mergers and acquisitions, a client who wants subject matter of a hostile take-over target. It is great, there is no dearth of spice,” says Zia.
She returned to India over two decades ago to practise law, a profession her heart was set on since she was a child. Her inspiration is her father with whom she discusses trade even today. Her passion for law took her to Cambridge University and the Harvard Law School, after which she started working in New York. “I had a good five-year stint with a New York law firm called Baker and McKenzie. So I came back all enthusiastic and ready to go.”
Back in India, Zia was a bit nervous at first as she found herself alone in a man's world. She found her footing quickly, thanks to the support of her peers and judges. “Gradually, my confidence grew. Basically, I was busy fighting and enjoying every bit of it.
And then, of course, India opened up, and a huge amount of work came my way in terms of multinationals wanting to enter India,” she says. That was when Zia had to make a choice. The work would be unending if she spent days fighting at court and the evenings negotiating clauses. “I decided to step down from counsel practice, move into M&A and corporate work. Then we started off with just myself and a few other people. Many of them are still committed partners of AZB,” says Zia.
AZB was born with Ajay Behl, Zia Modi and Behram Contractor. Over the past 20 years, many more people have joined and helped the firm grow. The upward curve has been steep as India continued its growth story. “We have been building, climbing, consolidating, everything at the same time. We did not want to lose anything. If there was some legal issue that would hit our clients, we wanted to spot it six weeks before it hit them,” says Zia.
The secret behind her success is the human capital that AZB has created—training young lawyers is an important part of her job—and her forthright attitude. Zia has always known to be direct, and that seems to be her USP. Over the years, she says she has seen the moral awareness growing among corporate India and clients are making themselves more accountable.
AZB had the chance to work for some of the biggest merger and acquisition deals in India.
But ask Zia for an anecdote, and she goes back to her time in New York. A deal was happening, and her client told her and her senior partner to walk away if they did not get the conditions they wanted. “We didn't get the conditions so my partner got up very seriously and said we were walking. We both walked but the client sat. We looked perfectly ridiculous because he had told us to walk. Then we took a break and after about an hour both the principals, including our client, said they had struck a deal. Apparently, they had gone to the men's room and struck their deal,” remembers Zia.
She says she has learnt a lot while doing direct investment for companies like the Tatas and the Birlas. “You come in touch with not only other lawyers but other intermediaries from different cultures and you start getting so much more rounded as a professional. Somehow you start picking up the differences in law and your antennae start getting fine-tuned,” she says.
That she enjoys her work is obvious, but what about life at home? Zia loves to relax at home, a palatial bungalow in south Mumbai, after a long day. One can see a Volkswagen, a Mercedes and a Jaguar among other cars in the garage, and there are six Labradors playing in the garden. The Modys love their animals but Zia admits that having six Labradors is a bit too much, even as she plays with them.
The three-storey house is beautiful, with interiors done in marble and wood. Statues of the Buddha and paintings of Mother Teresa adorn the walls. When we comment on the design, Zia quickly gives the credit to her husband, business tycoon Jaydev Mody. She says she hardly gets a chance to spend long hours at home. She admits it has been tough because of her long hours but she enjoys incredible support from her family. “I had a great mother-in-law who filled in so many emotional gaps that I must have felt in the early years. She was always there telling me not to worry and go out and work,” she says.
“It is a tough work-life balance for me. I don't think there is too much of a balance in my life.
I have a husband who is marvellously supportive and extremely self-confident. He has only been prouder of what I do,” says Zia. Her three daughters who have charted their own career paths have never really let her know if there had been any inadequacies. At 56, she says the years don't get much better in terms of time but they get easier in terms of stress. “Now I know what I want to do, in terms of a matter, in terms of advice and in terms of planning the next day. I am much more in control,” says Zia.
Apart from work and family, Zia's religion has been a great source of strength. A devout Baha'i, she feels her faith has been a guiding force in her life. “What is religion? It is choosing the right way to live, choosing the right path to God, praying for His blessings and not His justice. It pulls you back sometimes when you feel your moral instinct is going wrong. It allows you to take a deep breath. I think it has enabled me to say sorry with meaning when I make mistakes.”
The secret to Zia's success can be summed up in her approach to it. “Everybody has their good days and bad days, it is about how you feel as you enter the office. The typical feeling for me is, it is going to be a fun day,” she says, winding up the conversation. As we leave, we hear her laughter booming out of her cabin, lawyers discussing strategies, and see the uneaten tray of food being taken to her cabin. It is going to be another long day for Zia.
the week/manorama
Zia Mody may not be a prophet, but her words are hallowed for her clients, ranging from the Tatas to the Ambanis. “One of my favourite people who is also my client often says, ‘You know, you give me the most expensive scolding',” says Zia, known as the queen of mergers and acquisitions in India. Her law firm AZB is the place India's largest corporate houses turn to for legal advice. The Tatas sought her help during their Corus and Jaguar Land Rover deals, and Reliance did so in its deal with British Petroleum. She also played a major role in the Vedanta-Cairn and the Bharti-Zain deals.
On a typical day, Zia settles legal disputes, advises clients on deals worth billions, coordinates with lawyers across continents and attends meetings after meetings. Her work day stretches from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. The girl who wanted to be just like daddy, former attorney general of India Soli Sorabjee, is today a role model for millions.
A tray of food arrives as we settle down for a chat. I glance at the watch and realise it is 4 p.m. “Busy day?” I ask, and Zia breaks into a full-throated laugh. “The problem with a lawyer's day, or at least mine, is that it does not end at a certain hour, because in the evening [Indian Standard Time] New York gets up, then California gets up, and then in the morning Australia gets up. So, I have sandwiched myself in between. I don't know why I got myself into such an inconvenient time zone,” she says. It may be a long day for her but it is always a happy day. “You meet a whole host of people, you meet a client who wants succession planning, you meet a client who wants mergers and acquisitions, a client who wants subject matter of a hostile take-over target. It is great, there is no dearth of spice,” says Zia.
She returned to India over two decades ago to practise law, a profession her heart was set on since she was a child. Her inspiration is her father with whom she discusses trade even today. Her passion for law took her to Cambridge University and the Harvard Law School, after which she started working in New York. “I had a good five-year stint with a New York law firm called Baker and McKenzie. So I came back all enthusiastic and ready to go.”
Back in India, Zia was a bit nervous at first as she found herself alone in a man's world. She found her footing quickly, thanks to the support of her peers and judges. “Gradually, my confidence grew. Basically, I was busy fighting and enjoying every bit of it.
And then, of course, India opened up, and a huge amount of work came my way in terms of multinationals wanting to enter India,” she says. That was when Zia had to make a choice. The work would be unending if she spent days fighting at court and the evenings negotiating clauses. “I decided to step down from counsel practice, move into M&A and corporate work. Then we started off with just myself and a few other people. Many of them are still committed partners of AZB,” says Zia.
AZB was born with Ajay Behl, Zia Modi and Behram Contractor. Over the past 20 years, many more people have joined and helped the firm grow. The upward curve has been steep as India continued its growth story. “We have been building, climbing, consolidating, everything at the same time. We did not want to lose anything. If there was some legal issue that would hit our clients, we wanted to spot it six weeks before it hit them,” says Zia.
The secret behind her success is the human capital that AZB has created—training young lawyers is an important part of her job—and her forthright attitude. Zia has always known to be direct, and that seems to be her USP. Over the years, she says she has seen the moral awareness growing among corporate India and clients are making themselves more accountable.
AZB had the chance to work for some of the biggest merger and acquisition deals in India.
But ask Zia for an anecdote, and she goes back to her time in New York. A deal was happening, and her client told her and her senior partner to walk away if they did not get the conditions they wanted. “We didn't get the conditions so my partner got up very seriously and said we were walking. We both walked but the client sat. We looked perfectly ridiculous because he had told us to walk. Then we took a break and after about an hour both the principals, including our client, said they had struck a deal. Apparently, they had gone to the men's room and struck their deal,” remembers Zia.
She says she has learnt a lot while doing direct investment for companies like the Tatas and the Birlas. “You come in touch with not only other lawyers but other intermediaries from different cultures and you start getting so much more rounded as a professional. Somehow you start picking up the differences in law and your antennae start getting fine-tuned,” she says.
That she enjoys her work is obvious, but what about life at home? Zia loves to relax at home, a palatial bungalow in south Mumbai, after a long day. One can see a Volkswagen, a Mercedes and a Jaguar among other cars in the garage, and there are six Labradors playing in the garden. The Modys love their animals but Zia admits that having six Labradors is a bit too much, even as she plays with them.
The three-storey house is beautiful, with interiors done in marble and wood. Statues of the Buddha and paintings of Mother Teresa adorn the walls. When we comment on the design, Zia quickly gives the credit to her husband, business tycoon Jaydev Mody. She says she hardly gets a chance to spend long hours at home. She admits it has been tough because of her long hours but she enjoys incredible support from her family. “I had a great mother-in-law who filled in so many emotional gaps that I must have felt in the early years. She was always there telling me not to worry and go out and work,” she says.
“It is a tough work-life balance for me. I don't think there is too much of a balance in my life.
I have a husband who is marvellously supportive and extremely self-confident. He has only been prouder of what I do,” says Zia. Her three daughters who have charted their own career paths have never really let her know if there had been any inadequacies. At 56, she says the years don't get much better in terms of time but they get easier in terms of stress. “Now I know what I want to do, in terms of a matter, in terms of advice and in terms of planning the next day. I am much more in control,” says Zia.
Apart from work and family, Zia's religion has been a great source of strength. A devout Baha'i, she feels her faith has been a guiding force in her life. “What is religion? It is choosing the right way to live, choosing the right path to God, praying for His blessings and not His justice. It pulls you back sometimes when you feel your moral instinct is going wrong. It allows you to take a deep breath. I think it has enabled me to say sorry with meaning when I make mistakes.”
The secret to Zia's success can be summed up in her approach to it. “Everybody has their good days and bad days, it is about how you feel as you enter the office. The typical feeling for me is, it is going to be a fun day,” she says, winding up the conversation. As we leave, we hear her laughter booming out of her cabin, lawyers discussing strategies, and see the uneaten tray of food being taken to her cabin. It is going to be another long day for Zia.
the week/manorama