<b>Somasekhar Sundaresan:</b> Near-term change, long-term effects

How a few legal and regulatory areas fare in 2017 could hold key for larger reform beyond this year

It is that time of the year. A new year is born. Somehow, magically everything seems possible. Yet, the day’s sentiment makes it easy to get despondent about what can indeed be achieved. To quote Bill Gates, “We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the next 10.” Through that prism, what does the new year have in store? This piece will pick a few legal and regulatory areas that would be at the core of change this year.

First, the year may kick off with the