(April 30, 2025) The earliest memory lawyer, entrepreneur and author, Manasi Chaudhari has of a court was when she visited the Mumbai high court as a child where her grandfather was a judge. “I remember going to court with him once when I was very small. I just have this vivid flash of a lot of red carpet, because the floors were carpeted,” she reminisces, speaking to Global Indian.
While the family later moved to Hyderabad, that early visit influenced Manasi to pursue a career in law. Now a Partner at Numen Law Offices in Hyderabad, the Oxford-educated 32-year-old is an avid champion of women’s legal rights and a budding author. Her first book, which aims to make the law simpler and more accessible, reflects her commitment to demystifying complex legal concepts, particularly with a focus on empowering women through legal education.
Manasi Chaudhari
Carrying forward a legacy
While her grandfather was a judge, many family members are also lawyers or judges. Yet growing up in Hyderabad with an architect father (Shantanu) and doctor mother (Madhura), the focus was just on doing well in school. Despite the distance from her legal roots, she decided at 16 that she wanted to become a lawyer. As she notes, “it just probably came in the blood.”
The values she absorbed became the foundation of her journey. Her parents taught her to dream big, and never once made her feel limited by gender. As a child, Manasi was a curious rebel. “I did well academically but was always questioning the system, bunking classes, stirring up debates,” she smiles. A love for debating, creative writing, and public speaking defined her school years — early signs of a future advocate.
During her time at Jindal Global Law School (JGLS) from 2011 to 2016, she topped the university and was awarded the Bronze medal for achieving the highest grades in her batch.
The birth of Pink Legal
In March 2020, Manasi launched Pink Legal, an initiative to empower women through legal awareness. The idea had been percolating since her law school days when she visited NGOs and witnessed women suffering abuse despite the existence of strong protective laws.
Still, it took a terrifying real-life encounter to catalyze action. In 2017, while returning from work in Hyderabad, she faced an aggressive road incident on a rainy evening. She recounts, “Men got out of a car, banged on my windows, tried to open the doors, broke my side-view mirrors. Even though I was a lawyer, walking into a police station was intimidating.”
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The experience solidified her resolve. “If I, as a lawyer, felt so shaken, imagine women who have no idea what their rights are,” she says. This moment became a turning point in Manasi’s career. It opened her eyes to how vulnerable women without legal knowledge feel when facing similar situations.
“We would come across cases where women are going through so much abuse, and as law students, we were aware of all the laws that actually protect these women,” she explains and adds. “I would always come back thinking that we have so many laws on paper which are very strong and which are for women, but women don’t even know about these laws, and they are not able to recognize abuse or even fight for it.”
Through Pink Legal, Manasi helps women understand their legal rights, answers their queries, and connects them with verified lawyers across India. The platform offers assistance in various legal matters, but domestic violence cases dominate their work.
“Within a week, our inbox was flooded with domestic violence cases,” she says, recalling Pink Legal’s early days. “It really opened my eyes to the reality of India. Pink Legal is in English, and the women reaching out to us are those who can read English and have access to email. So if even these women are facing so much domestic abuse, just imagine what women from other sections of society must be experiencing.”
Expanding impact legally
Recognizing that many women need both legal and emotional support, Manasi partnered with Navya Nanda to create the Nyari helpline in 2021. This free service offers legal and mental health counseling to women facing difficult situations.
She adds, “We realized that sometimes women just want to talk to a lawyer and understand their options, even if they don’t want to file a case. Knowing their rights gives them a lot of solace and confidence that they are not alone or helpless, and that if push comes to shove, they know what they can do and what their rights are.”
Manasi Chaudhari with Navya Naveli Nanda
The mental health component addresses the trauma many women experience. “For them to reach a place where they feel empowered to take action, they first need to process all that trauma,” Manasi notes. The experience of working with women in crisis shaped her worldview and served as lessons she would carry with her to Oxford and beyond.
A global perspective
When Manasi arrived at the University of Oxford in 2022 to pursue her Master’s in Law and Finance, she knew it would be a year of growth but she didn’t anticipate just how transformative it would be. Immersed in centuries-old academic culture, she found herself surrounded by brilliant minds from across the globe, debating fiercely at the Oxford Union, navigating the tutorial-based learning system, and attending lectures that stretched her understanding of law and business.
“The environment pushes you,” she recalls. “You’re learning not just from professors but from your peers, each bringing perspectives from different countries and fields.”
Oxford offered not just academic rigor but extraordinary access to global thought leaders. Manasi describes attending debates where figures like A.R. Rahman, Shashi Tharoor, and Javed Akhtar spoke, and even meeting her idol Amal Clooney.
The traditions, the formal dinners, balls, and the intense culture of self-learning left a deep impression. More than anything, Oxford reinforced her belief that ambition and impact could coexist with empathy and accessibility. “It wasn’t only about building a career; it was about expanding your worldview,” she speaks fondly of those years.
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Gaining insights
Through her work with Pink Legal, Manasi has gained important insights into the barriers women face when seeking justice. She identifies financial independence as perhaps the most crucial factor.
“One of the biggest factors that makes a difference between whether a woman can take action or she will continue to suffer in silence is financial independence,” she asserts. “Financially independent women have that confidence that they can walk out of that situation and not worry about a roof over their head, or their child.”
This realization has shaped her message to young women. “When I speak to students or young girls, I always tell them that this is something you must focus on,” she says.
Learning from the best
Before founding Pink Legal, the lawyer worked with Justice Chandrachud at the Supreme Court, an experience she describes as ‘extremely memorable.’ During her time there, she witnessed landmark judgments on Section 377, Sabarimala, and the decriminalization of adultery.
What impressed her most was Justice Chandrachud’s humility and mentorship. She recalls, “Being at that level, he’s so humble, so down to earth and genuine, always smiling. He would give us opportunities to learn and grow.”
This experience taught her valuable leadership lessons. She states, “If somebody at his stage can be like this, there’s no excuse for someone like me to ever say I’m too busy or too high-handed.”
Manasi Chaudhari
Simplifying legal rights for women
Manasi’s debut book Legally Yours (published earlier this year) captures the essence of her mission, simplifying complex laws for everyday women. The writing of the book started in the storied libraries at Oxford, and it covers everything from filing police complaints to understanding property rights, maternity benefits, workplace harassment laws, and navigating divorces.
The author explains, “I wanted it to read like a friend explaining things to you, not a lawyer talking down. It’s filled with real-life stories, references from movies and TV shows, and practical advice.”
She worked painstakingly to ensure the ideas in her book were clear and accessible.She would send chapters to friends outside the legal field and ask, ‘Tell me where you zone out.’ If someone didn’t understand a paragraph, she rewrote it. The result is a handbook every woman should have, not just for emergencies, but as a quiet armour of confidence.
Looking forward
Today, Manasi has joined Numan Law Offices as a partner and head of their Hyderabad branch. She aims to expand her corporate law practice nationally and internationally, all while continuing her advocacy work through Pink Legal and Nyayri.
“I believe life happens for you, not to you,” she reflects. “I don’t plan rigidly. I just stay open and keep moving forward.” Outside her bustling career, she enjoys reading, dancing, coffee dates, and fitness, all passions she shares with her husband, entrepreneur Abhishek Maharaju.
Through her pioneering work, Manasi Chaudhari continues to bridge the gap between women and justice, proving that sometimes, just knowing your rights can make all the difference.
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