Why ‘ruthless efficiency’ is key for Khurana & Khurana founder

Welcome to the latest instalment of Managing IP’s ‘Five minutes with’ series, where we learn more about IP practitioners on a personal and professional level.

This time, we meet Tarun Khurana, founding partner at Khurana & Khurana in India.

I help protect, enforce, and monetise ideas. I help clients turn their ideas into protectable assets and ensure they are not casually copied. I also handle a wide variety of technology disputes, competition law matters, and associated commercial disputes, often translating between engineers, entrepreneurs, and the law so innovation doesn’t get lost in the fine print.

After an early-morning game of pickleball or badminton, I am usually at the office around 9 or 9:30, unless an early court hearing or client commitment puts me on a 6 am flight. The day starts with my inbox– triaging overnight correspondence from international clients, responding to counsel, and clearing anything time-sensitive. Mornings and afternoons are a mix of client calls, hearings before High Courts and Tribunals, reviewing documents, strategy discussions, IP portfolio reviews, and aligning priorities with my team. A meaningful portion of my time goes to mentoring, quality control, and planning the next phase of the firm– whether building on new practice areas, AI, or people.

By evening, I try to step away to spend time with my wife and daughters, though the phone never fully goes off.

The firm handles a wide range of contentious and non-contentious IP and commercial law matters. I am closely involved in complex patent disputes and cross-border enforcement strategies.

Beyond client work, I am focused on how IP law in India must evolve. Too few Indian patents translate into real-world products, and I am determined to shift the mindset so that filing is seen as the start of the journey, with commercialisation the true objective.

Juggling, without question. A managing partner who can only do one thing at a time will not last very long. On any given day, I am switching between time-critical mandates, hearing preparation, team oversight, and firm administration – sometimes within the same hour. When something genuinely urgent lands, I give it focused attention, resolve it within an hour or two, and move on. Every hour has a value, and I have trained myself to be ruthlessly efficient with how I allocate time.

The most exciting part is the sheer variety. No two days look the same, and the intersection of law, technology, and commerce keeps the work intellectually stimulating. Building a firm from the ground up into a nationally recognised practice, and seeing it shape outcomes for clients and careers for your team, is deeply rewarding.

The most stressful part is the weight of responsibility. When you are managing a firm, every decision ultimately sits with you. There is no passing the buck, and while you learn to manage that pressure, it never fully disappears.

First, technical curiosity – you cannot advise on inventions if you are not genuinely interested in how things work.

Second, commercial awareness – IP serves business objectives, and the best IP lawyers understand their clients’ industries.

Third, precision – a missed deadline or a poorly drafted claim can be catastrophic.

Fourth, resilience – litigation is long, prosecution can be grinding, and clients expect results under pressure. You need the temperament to deliver consistently in that environment.

Finally, humility – you will occasionally lose good cases, and the lawyers who succeed are those who prepare meticulously, listen carefully, and adapt with time.

That it is a niche, back-office function. Many businesses treat IP as an afterthought, something to sort out once the product is built. An IP strategy should be embedded in business planning from day one.

The other misconception is that registration alone equals protection. A patent grant or trademark certificate is only the beginning; enforcement, portfolio management, and commercial exploitation are where the real value lies. A short conversation with an IP lawyer at the right time can save a great deal of cost and heartburn later.

My two daughters. They are ten, full of energy, and completely unimpressed by anything I do at work, which is wonderfully grounding. Watching them take on challenges without overthinking and approach every day with genuine curiosity reminds me why I started this journey.

Beyond that, I draw inspiration from founders – people who had the conviction to create something from nothing and the discipline to see it through. That ethos resonates with me, having built this firm from scratch.

Running a technology company or managing a venture fund. I am fascinated by how capital and innovation intersect, and the skills you develop as a managing partner of a law firm – risk assessment, deal structuring, people management – translate well into the investment world.

Start earlier and trust the process. I have always taken on new challenges, sometimes too many at once, and that restlessness has served me well, but also cost me efficiency in the early years. I would tell my younger self to be more deliberate about where to direct that energy.

I have also learned that composure is a competitive advantage; the ability to respond rather than react under pressure is something I have worked on consciously over the years, and I wish I had understood its importance sooner. Introspection is not a luxury; it is a professional tool.

Deliver exceptional results, ahead of time. It applies to everything – client work, personal commitments, and building the firm. If you consistently exceed expectations and do it faster than anticipated, the rest tends to take care of itself.