Deepika is an Indian legal-tech expert, dispute resolution specialist, and the Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for Online Resolution of Disputes (CORD). Her professional and research work focuses primarily on online dispute resolution (ODR), legal technology, artificial intelligence in dispute resolution, and systemic judicial reforms in India. She graduated with a Bachelor of Laws degree from the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru, in 2012. Prior to entering policy and entrepreneurial leadership, she practiced commercial and civil litigation, working with Dua Associates and serving as a real estate and capital markets lawyer at Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas.
For over seven years, Kinhal served as a Senior Resident Fellow and team lead for the JALDI (Justice, Access and Lowering Delays in India) initiative at the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, where she directed data-driven research targeting systemic bottlenecks and delays within India’s justice delivery infrastructure. Transitioning from advisory work to practical institutional implementation, she took the helm at CORD as CEO to scale technology-powered mediation and arbitration frameworks. She has also contributed significantly to public policy design at the national level, serving on expert committees constituted by NITI Aayog to draft the country’s ODR policy framework and participating in Supreme Court eCommittee initiatives focused on technology-driven judicial improvements.