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By the time Mona Thakkar was in her teens, she was already providing the best legal counsel a high schooler could offer. The deputy general counsel at Volkswagen Group of America grew up helping her parents, Indian immigrants who worked to provide a better life for their children. Her dad immigrated to the US as an engineer but aspired to become a business owner. Eventually, her parents acquired a laundromat and, later, a Baskin-Robbins franchise in Knoxville, Tennessee. She carries that perspective as a franchisee and small business owner to her current role at Volkswagen Group of America.
When she wasn’t studying, counting quarters, or dishing up ice cream, Thakkar was helping her father with understanding business contracts and franchise rules, as he was not a native English speaker. “My dad would ask me to read contracts with him and to help him understand them better and then ask me for my advice,” Thakkar remembers. “It put me in the shoes of being an advisor to my parents early on.”
Distilling complex legal concepts and knowing your audience are skills Thakkar believes are absolutely necessary to succeed as an in-house attorney. She is grateful to have been exposed to them early in her life.
Before coming to Volkswagen Group of America in 2012, Thakkar’s first in-house stint was with membership buying service DirectBuy, a franchising company. There, Thakkar joined a legal department of one and got a fast-tracked education in consumer litigation and franchise law.
Thakkar’s supervisor and mentor, Joe Yast, general counsel of DirectBuy, was consumed with handling the company’s extensive litigation portfolio, which included defending multiple false advertising class actions at the time. These cases had the potential to significantly impact the company’s franchise operations. Thakkar had to quickly adapt from being a commercial litigator to counselor-in-chief, becoming a business and legal partner to the business and an expert in new areas of law.
“On my second day of work, Joe walked into my office, handed me a few treatises, and said I was going to learn all about advertising law and franchise law,” Thakkar remembers, laughing. “I did not have a background in either, but that’s exactly what I did, with the support of some outstanding outside counsel.”
Part of Thakkar’s success in helping get the organization’s house in order, she says, came from her ability to connect with the sales and marketing teams. The lawyer is extremely diplomatic in explaining the chasm that sometimes exists between marketing and legal. Marketers aren’t trained lawyers, and they often push the envelope. Thakkar could speak with the marketing team in a language they understood and concepts that could crystalize changes that needed to be made. “It is critical to understand business dynamics and personalities when conveying legal advice in an in-house environment.”
“My dad would ask me to read contracts with him and to help him understand them better and then ask me for my advice. It put me in the shoes of being an advisor to my parents early on.”
Mona Thakkar
Thakkar’s unique combination of franchise and advertising law came to the attention of Volkswagen Group of America in 2012. She’s been at the automotive group ever since, rising through two promotions. As a key advisor to the sales and marketing teams, she has had to learn all aspects of the business; analyzing automotive advertising requires an understanding of consumer protection, safety, dealer, and IP issues, to name a few.
The fast-paced nature of advertising law means that she has had to develop strong relationships throughout the legal team and the company to help her and the marketing teams consult the right experts on a quick timeline. And she and her team need to be agile and innovative to keep up with the host of “outside-the-box” ideas that come from her clients.
These skills proved to be invaluable when the company was faced with one of the most challenging periods in the German carmaker’s history. As the lead advertising lawyer in the US supporting the marketing and communications teams, she got a crash course in crisis communications.
The 2015 diesel emissions scandal placed a beloved carmaker with a diehard customer base squarely in the crosshairs of both the court of public opinion and real courts all over the world. Thakkar was at Volkswagen Group of America during that tumultuous period, and she’s still there now. Why?
“As a small in-house department and a leanly staffed company, the issues the global automaker was facing in the US seemed unfathomable. Yet the entrepreneurial spirit toward solving problems, the true partnership between the legal and business teams, and the company’s commitment to its customers were very motivating. That kind of experience is career changing and gives you a new perspective,” the deputy general counsel explains.
The blessing, though, was adapting to a new normal and rising to the occasion, a mindset she shares with her colleagues and her team, who she describes as being “top-notch” and “extremely talented and humble.” General Counsel Tony Klapper has set a high bar for client service and creative thinking. As Thakkar continues her career at Volkswagen Group of America, she leverages the relationships she’s built in her advertising law practice to tackle new and emerging issues facing the company and the automotive industry as a whole.
The Right Thing at the Right Time
As a mother of two and spouse to another in-house attorney, Mona Thakkar knows how to keep a lot of plates spinning. Reflecting on an early career experience, she recalls hearing Cummins CAO Sharon Barner answering a question about work-life balance.
“I’ll never forget what she said,” Thakkar says. “She said there is no balance. Some days you’re consumed with your job, and other times your family has to take precedence over absolutely everything.” Success is prioritizing the right thing at the right time.
“Having a supportive partner and a community around you is so important. We all need help, and it’s OK to ask for it.”
