Veena Gopalakrishnan

Practice Areas

Labour and Employment

Employment Law | Cross-border M&A Transactions | Employee Transfers | Post-merger Integrations | Workplace Inclusion

Career

Veena is a Partner in Trilegal’s market-leading Employment Law practice. She has a wealth of experience in advising domestic and multinational organisations on complex issues relating to workforce structuring, employee benefits (including stock-linked benefits), contentious senior managerial exits, reductions in force, and closures. Veena also routinely advises on employment law matters stemming from domestic and cross-border M&A transactions, including with respect to acquihires, employee transfers, and post-merger integrations.

Veena has counselled on laws pertaining to workplace sexual harassment and discrimination and regularly advises and guides clients on reacting and responding to discrimination and harassment issues at the workplace. She has also led investigations on sensitive matters involving employees across designations, including C-suite employees, expats, and trade union leaders.

Being a passionate advocate of workplace inclusion, Veena has worked closely with organisations and industry bodies in their initiatives towards creating respectful workplaces, policy building, workplace sexual harassment, LGBTIQ inclusion, and diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

Veena takes a keen interest in the socio-political and economic aspects of workplace dynamics and workforce engagement structures and is often part of panels and conversations on the future of work, integration of artificial intelligence, technology and employee mobility led by industry bodies and bar associations such as the International Bar Association, Inter-Pacific Bar Association, and the Bangalore Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Veena is a Vice-Chair of the Employment and Immigration Law Committee of the IPBA.

Prior to joining Trilegal, she was an Employment Law Partner at a leading M&A firm in India.

Professional Memberships

Bar Council of Maharashtra & Goa

Vice-Chair of the Employment and Immigration Law Committee of the Inter-Pacific Bar Association

Personal

‘Up and Coming’ Employment lawyer by Chambers and Partners (2022-2023)

‘Recommended Lawyer’ for Labour and Employment by Legal 500 Asia-Pacific (2021-2022)

Named among India’s Future Legal Leaders by the India Business Law Journal (2022)

Recognised as one of India’s Rising Stars by Asian Legal Business (2021)

Exclusive winner of the Client Choice Award for Employment and Benefits for India, presented by the International Law Office, in partnership with Lexology (2019, 2020)