McDermott Will & Emery partner Ranajoy Basu, recently named Environmental/Sustainability: Private Practice Champion of the Year at the Legal 500 ESG Awards, discusses how he learned to leverage his structured finance expertise to support ESG causes in emerging economies
I am the seventh-generation lawyer in my family. From my father, I learnt a tremendous work ethic, yet he always remained fully committed to his family and friends. Likewise, my grandfather, no matter how busy, never failed to spend time with family. They both taught me to give 100% effort in my work and take pride in it, but also to make time for others and always keep the door open.
I had a watershed moment in 2006 where I realised that my expertise in securitisation and debt capital markets could be used towards development finance. The development finance sectors have historically been bank led, but very early on I was fortunate to work on a couple of transactions which demonstrated that you could tap the broader capital markets into development finance.
I was very fortunate that I worked on the first development impact bond called ‘Educate Girls’. This was for the education of children in a very remote part of Rajasthan in India, which was fascinating because the financing work was all cross-border. In many ways, that’s where some of my thinking started, but stemming from that, there came many opportunities.
I worked on the International Finance Facility for Education (IFED) transaction which remains one of the largest cross-border education financings for children around the world. I realised that this area of law was not only incredibly rewarding but also allowed me to apply my transactional structuring legal skills towards mobilising finance from all around the world to target critical issues like education and clean water. This is especially relevant now, as the ESG market has grown rapidly over the last decade, along with the need for interventions requiring financing, all against the backdrop of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
It’s very difficult to pick out a single deal but if I had to I would say the Global Islamic Fund for Refugees with the UNHCR. Given the tremendously complex issues around displaced persons around the world, it has a one-of-a-kind financial structure, which has got a number of innovations. That model is not just going to be replicated for other causes like education, sanitation and housing but also to directly impact millions of refugees around the world.
When I was really a junior, I thought I wrote the perfect email, but it had a big mistake. I wrote an email to about 20 people on our transaction but instead of saying ‘If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out,’ I forgot the ‘hesitate’, so it read: ‘if you have any questions, please do not contact me’.
Another time I made a mistake by walking into a meeting room and having a 15-minute conversation about environmental finance with the wrong person. My clients were next door, but it’s funny because the person I was talking to was so interested in what I was discussing that she asked if we could meet up separately. It was hilarious.
If I wasn’t a lawyer, I’d probably choose a path focused on social change. I’ve always been drawn towards the bigger issues in this world, and I always find that if you follow your passion, everything else follows you in a way. I have some friends in the United Nations as well.
My management style is to encourage empowerment. Having worked with some amazing lawyers and leaders in the City, I’ve learnt that you don’t always need to monitor leaders, but you must empower them. As a practice group leader, it’s about creating opportunities for others to be able to have a platform to demonstrate their passions and ability to work hard. It’s very much about being collaborative and when you encourage that environment, there’s no shortage of ideas. Given my experience, of course I can deliberate on certain issues, but my message to everyone in leadership is to always follow a path of empowerment.
My team would describe me as approachable, friendly and extremely passionate about being part of the fabric of change. You don’t need to be a partner at a law firm to effect change. Sometimes I see juniors with drive and an instinct to want to be part of change, and I will always encourage that and work with people to inspire them to get out of their comfort zone. Complacency can very easily set in when you’re doing well at any level. My advice would be to never be complacent and rest back on great achievements but to try and push those boundaries even further. Hopefully for my part I can inspire people to do that.
Outside of work, I’ve got a tremendous passion for LEGO and strategic board games. I construct these huge Star Wars LEGO sets with my son. We don’t have any space in the house because of the size of these things! I’ve got two sons and I spend a lot of time with them. I’ve also got a library of board games in my house. Usually on a Sunday, no matter what we’re doing, there are friends and family at my house playing games. LB