Shruti Krishnan was working on a complex transaction and the deal negotiations had become contentious with opposing counsel. Emails were flying. Things were said that could be misconstrued. The transaction was in danger of falling apart.
“Instead of responding with another email, as everyone else was doing, I picked up the phone and called opposing counsel,” she says. “There was a basic misunderstanding. We talked about it, reached an agreement and got the deal done.”
Lawyers who know and work with Krishnan say that she is one of the most personable dealmakers they know.
Now the associate legal counsel at Dallas-based Table Top Media, Krishnan has a multitude of assignments and tasks: She performs due diligence and negotiates agreements and contracts, advises on data security and privacy, oversees advertising efforts, manages litigation matters and the outside counsel that handle them and helps manage and mitigate risks across the business operations.
The Texas Lawbook and the Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter are pleased to announce that Krishnan is a finalist for the 2018 Outstanding Corporate Counsel’s Senior Counsel of the Year Award for Small Legal Departments.
Carrington Coleman lawyer Debran O’Neil, who specializes in healthcare litigation, nominated Krishnan for the award and points out that she served as president of the Dallas Asian-American Bar Association and the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers.
O’Neil says that Krishnan has demonstrated “her commitment to further diversity in the legal community” and is “a great example of a minority woman who has excelled in her career” while simultaneously being dedicated to her family, faith and culture.
Krishnan was born in the southern part of India. Her parents moved to the U.S. when she was one. Her father is an engineer and worked in telecom. Her mother has a master’s degree in psychology and served as an academic and administrative advisor.
“Law was actually my second choice on a career,” she says. “I’m Indian and – I know this is a stereotype but – we are pushed to toward medicine and to be doctors.”
Krishnan went to college at the Rensselar Polytechnic Institute in New York, where she received a bachelor’s degree in bioinformatics and molecular biology. In 2005, she received a master’s degree in biochemistry from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.
“The problem was, I wasn’t particularly excited about my job opportunities and working in a laboratory all day,” she says. “I wanted a job with more immediate results from my work.”
In 2004, Krishnan attended a lecture that featured a patent lawyer who used his science background in his law practice.
“I thought that would be a good opportunity for me,” she says. “I called some law firms and convinced [Norton Rose Fulbright] to allow me to shadow one of their patent agents.”
Months later, Krishnan was enrolled at SMU Dedman Law School. She graduated in 2010.
For nearly two years, she practiced at Looper Reed in its healthcare section. But she said healthcare was not the right fit.
In 2013, Krishnan was part of a Twitter group and one of the lawyers in the group announced that a friend at a small tech startup was seeking a junior lawyer.
Weeks later, Krishnan was working as corporate counsel at Excentus Corp., which handles the technology part of loyalty and rewards programs for restaurants and gas stations.
“I loved that I was able to develop close relationships with the marketing and business side folks,” she says.
In March 2017, Krishnan moved to Table Top, which makes the Ziosk table ordering tablet for restaurants.
“I like being in emerging technologies, handling intellectual property, negotiating contracts and being a jack of all trades. I love putting a deal together and seeing it from start to completion.
“And I like it that my general counsel empowers me to tackle new projects and get great experience,” she says.