Leaders
Owing to the huge rise in technological innovations and creativity in ideas, names, business branding & more, there’s been a high demand for more protection of Intellectual property (IP) Copyright and Trademark. Significantly, the IP landscape is swamped with an extensive pool of intellectual IP doyens, and out of the totality women also hold a recognizable share, acting as active patent agents & IP facilitators across established organizations & start-ups.
Making an indelible mark among the many young & proficient women lawyers and IP professionals, one of the IP doyens is Gladys Daniel, Partner at Daniel & Gladys - a full-service Intellectual Property Right Law Firm. She has been practicing law for nearly 25 years now handling a wide range of legal issues. Let’s get to know her closely.
What are some important facets of your life, education, and professional journey?
I was born in Sri Lanka to an Indian father and a Sri Lankan mother. However, I came to India when I was a three-month-old baby as my birth was registered at the Indian Embassy in Sri Lanka, and I was an Indian citizen since birth.
Education-wise, I am a BA, BL from Madras Law College (1994-99). For the highlights of my collegiate journey, it has been quite interesting as well. While I did a lot of mooting during my college days (1998-99) and represented India in the Willem C. Vis Moot competition at Vienna in Austria securing the third rank internationally, we received the Martin Domke Award for the team orals. Feeling excited, it was in 2000 that I started enrolled as an Advocate and started my practice joining Nalini Chidambaram's firm. I was there with her for five years and it helped broaden my horizons apart from IPR, as I got to practice a lot of constitutional law, including company, criminal, and arbitration. It was an exciting time, then and I enjoyed doing a wide variety of work. My next stint following since then has been with my father’s firm, Daniel & Gladys.
I like to encourage women in the legal practice especially because I find it extra challenging for women to survive in the legal profession
Could you tell us what led you to venture into the field of law?
Well, I was fascinated with ‘law’ from the time I was two years old. It started with a childhood fancy of seeing my father’s court robe when he would bring it home for a wash. I would wear it and walk around the house, stand in front of the mirror, and pretend to argue.
I’ve always wanted to do something extraordinary, and I think there were only two options that weighed on me when I was choosing my career; first Journalism and second Law. I went with choosing Law and that’s how it all started and it's been quite the journey now.
Tell us about the legal expertise that you bring to the table.
I'm in the field of law (Intellectual Property Rights law) which is crucial for the growth and development of the world, the human race, and the country I belong to. Hence, I take my work seriously and strive to provide the best legal service at the best price possible regarding acquiring intellectual property, licensing it, protecting it, & growing it, and this includes all five limbs of intellectual property. We help clients in IPR such that it is best exploited and is most remunerative. Our expertise lies in advising what IPR to choose and how to protect it, expand it, or renew & restore it, but how to effectively stop piracy and illegal competition. We also provide effective services in court. I'm the primary arguing counsel in my firm.
Introduce us to Daniel & Gladys.
Established on 1st August 1973, Daniel & Gladys is an IPR firm where clients from across the globe can seek end-to-end intellectual property rights services. The firm is majorly comprised of female workforce strength, except for four males is in its 50th year now. Having tie-ups with law firms across Europe, the UK, Australia, Canada, the US, the Middle East, and Africa, we work on the Madrid protocol registrations and protect them. Over the years, we've represented numerous top corporates including clients who cannot afford the litigation fee offering them a lot of pro-bono services. While I have personally been recognized for my outstanding contribution to legal services by the ICC (Indian Chamber of Commerce), the company has also bagged several awards & recognitions from the Ministry of Law and Justice, the British Parliament House of Commons, and others.
Delineate your roles and responsibilities at Daniel & Gladys.
We have a great team at Daniel & Gladys, including the two Partners, expert paralegals, and lawyers. I don't believe in the superior-subordinate and hierarchy system, thus here, everybody works together toward the common good. I believe that it has been a significant role of mine to build this team, keeping it intact, inclusive of the oldest members and new staff members. We have a good employee retention rate too. However, it would not be wrong to say that I have a bias toward women employees. I like to encourage women in the legal practice especially because I find it extra challenging for women to survive in the legal profession. So, to summarize, my responsibility encompasses team building, encouraging growth, and leadership for the firm’s success.
Any challenges you encountered in your current role? If any, how did you overcome them?
Chennai is a great place to practice law. Also, as it’s the land of Jayalalitha, it willingly accepts women's leadership. I haven't encountered what I would call a ‘problem’ yet just because I happen to be a woman. The only roadblock I've faced has been delays in the court. But technology is greatly helping in it now.
What has been your success mantra?
I think I've had God's grace first and most importantly a lot of support from my family and my father who trained me, followed by my senior Nalini Chidambaram who shaped me in many ways. Rest, I've been passionate about the profession and delved deeper going hook, line, and sinker, and giving it my very best.
Any piece of advice you want to give to the aspiring women entrepreneurs or business leaders?
I think whatever you do, you should do it with all your heart and passionately. However, never take the crooked paths, there's no shortcut to success. And if you will keep trying to achieve your goals, working for it over and over again, you will surely win. And there's no two way about it.
And of course, as you go along, just be focused envisioning your success paths. Don't get distracted by where other people stand in this journey. Don't compare yourself with others, and you'll be unstoppable.
Gladys Daniel, Partner, Daniel & Gladys
Daniel is a dedicated and passionate legal professional holding nearly 25 years of experience in the industry handling a wide range of IPR and other legal services. Her expertise lies in advising clients on which IPR to choose and how to protect it, expand it, or renew & restore it. Apart from being the primary arguing counsel for her firm, Daniel is also focused on how to effectively stop piracy and illegal competition.
