Super Lawyer

Category: Associates, In-House Counsels and Advocates

  • In Conversation with: Katia Zigoulianou, Attorney at Law | LLM | MSc in Banking, Fintech & Risk Management

    In Conversation with: Katia Zigoulianou, Attorney at Law | LLM | MSc in Banking, Fintech & Risk Management

    This interview has been published by Prabhjot Singh, Priyanka Karwa and The SuperLawyer Team

    What was the main reason you chose law as a career?

    Law was always an inspiring and challenging field for me. Given that I’m not coming from a family with legal background, hence I had no perception of the legal world and profession, my desire to study law derived from my pure curiosity to comprehend the world I belong to.

    From a very early age, I was enchanted by the fact that societies and modern civilization are an artefact of law. Dictums that give concrete form to the greatest achievement of the mankind, civilization. A higher power that dictates, yet connects the word, rooted on common consensus.

    What intrigued me more was that law is interwoven in our daily lives, molds our characters, perspectives, mentality and ultimately our being in a very subtle manner, without us even realizing it.

    With two of my favourite books being “The Social Contract” (Rousseau) and “The Prince” (Machiavelli), I decided that I wanted to dive in what was the “connective tissue” of our social fabric, law. To explore how this dynamic arrangement moves, interacts and shapes.

    Which are the forces affecting it, on which forces has an impact, its pulse during times of crisis. To my eye, law was a living, man-made algorithm, catching social needs, movements, shifts and being formed accordingly, to serve society. Sometimes successfully, sometimes not.

    How has been the journey so far for you, what are the challenges and also that one breakthrough you’ll always remember?

    Being a lawyer nowadays is a challenging yet intriguing task. From the very competitive and demanding legal environment that requires continuous efforts to the crisis that humanity goes through during the last years, be it the healthcare crisis, energy crisis, political and cross-border turmoil, lawyering feels like juggling.

    Juggling among demanding clients, competitive colleagues, ongoing legislative reforms and amendments, of which you have to keep abreast, tight work schedules, long hours and a work-life balance that is difficult to maintain.  

    Nonetheless, in my opinion the major challenge is that the lawyer must act as a pivotal node. The pivotal node between the client’s needs and the legislative framework, assigned with the difficult task of harmonizing and bringing client’s demands in alignment with the law.

    The crucial pitfall lurking in this venture is that a lawyer may be swept along by his/her plain legal background and come with rigid, obsolete positions, that don’t serve neither the client nor the scope of the law.

    A lawyer shall implement a holistic, multidisciplinary approach. We all hear about the importance of expertise as a key-element to the provision of top-notch legal services, but what we don’t hear, is the “mutilating” effect that expertise may have to a lawyer’s mind and methods.

    Apart from the in-depth knowledge of the relevant practice area, a lawyer shall have a strong business acumen and a genuine understanding of the other aspects of the case, with the economic one being the most prominent.

    This is the most challenging part of our job. To study and be aware of every single molecule of the tree, without losing sight of the forest.

    The truth is that I don’t have a cliché breakthrough to provide, like a victorious win on a very thorny court case or a client’s moving words that thrilled me and made me reconsider an issue. The breakthrough for me that marks a turning point in my career was a resounding realization I had, some years after joining the industry.

    As a matter of fact, many lawyers are struggling with “imposter syndrome”, feeling inadequate and being overwhelmed by the hallucination that their colleagues/partners/clients know more and know better. Obviously, this is a very restraining belief.

    Changing my viewpoint on that, made me redefine the way I was practicing law, unlocked me and freed me from limiting behavioral patterns. I like to put it as the Greek philosopher Socrates put it on his trial “I know that I know nothing”.

    I would dare to say that this saying could not describe better the very tenor of the legal profession. Law is an indefinite piece of information, and it is impossible to be acquired. At the same time, practicing law requires a set of various skills, extending from expertise and in-depth knowledge to negotiation and soft skills, which are not feasible to be mastered at once. Lawyering is a perpetual journey towards personal growth.

    By the time I reconciled with this fact, I gained the confidence and assurance that through hard work, study and perseverance, everything could be achieved. I started experiencing, once stressful situations with joy, vivid curiosity, and a feeling of certainty that I could successfully deliver the tasks assigned. I began facing adversities with chutzpah!

    This new mentality was reflected in the quality of services I provided and helped me evolve and improve as a professional. By incorporating Socrates’ motto into my daily life, I took the extra leap and performed relieved by such burdens. It was liberating.

    Katia, how do you see this E-Lawyering the legal industry, what particular steps you’ll suggest to people?

    Covid-19 pandemic and its dire repercussions on a global scale revealed the need for modernization and digitalization on the legal sector. Markedly, law firms are obsolete entities, still stuck on outdated procedures and not being equipped with the appropriate mechanisms to keep track with the demands of an ever-changing global environment. The pandemic served as a wake-up call to the legal industry and summoned professionals of the sector to adjust to the new reality by adopting new methods and technologies.

    E-Lawyering is futureproof. While the notion is encountered in the global literature for years now, it is the last couple of years during which we notice the word trending in articles and over the internet.

    The greatest challenge – inherent in all pioneering ventures – is that people are not familiarized and they need time to learn and trust the new type of services. And the difficulty is even higher given that we talk about the lawyer – client relationship. A relationship fundamentally rooted in trust and reliability. Distancing from the old-fashioned “brick-and-mortar” law firm and the face-to-face appointments, the lawyer has to intensively work to eliminate the client’s reasonable fear of being scammed.   

    The good news is that information technology, when used wisely, can wipe out distrust, suspicion and distance. Nowadays, a lawyer possesses significant digital means in his/her toolkit. A toolkit that is underpinned by the fact that technological illiteracy has been almost eradicated. The modern clients seeking legal services are familiar with the use of technology, while a big bunch of them are tech-savvy people.

    Moreover, there are advantages inextricably intertwined with e-Lawyering and the virtual legal practice in general. A virtual law firm has low overheads, thus being able to decrease the cost for the end – client, who can enjoy professional legal services at a lower expense. Furthermore, one of the key elements of e-Lawyering is decentralization. By embodying a decentralized business structure, a virtual law firm can cover greater territories, without having to be confined in one city or area.

    The steps that I would suggest to professionals in the legal sector that wish to pursue e-Lawyering are:

    • Build a user-friendly and highly accessible platform / portal to help prospective clients reach you;
    • Showcase your expertise and practice areas with preciseness. Communicate the scope of your services with clarity. The notion of e-Lawyering and virtual law firm is already something fresh and new. You don’t want your prospective clients to be further frustrated;
    • Use a reliable law firm management software that will help your team sync and keep track of the cases’ progress. Communication among team members is pivotal;
    • In case you wish to go the extra mile, incorporate cloud-based legal technologies that will enhance the quality of your legal services;
    • Establish communication methods that can create a closer relationship with the client. You don’t want your client to consider your services impersonal. Human interaction is very important, in particular when we have to do with important legal cases;
    • Remember: It takes time for your work to strike a chord with the clients.

    For the client who wavers whether he/she should proceed with e-Lawyering services or services provided by an old-school law firm, I suggest that he/she should go for the option that better fits his/her legal needs and personality. While virtual legal services do not fall short of the traditional ones, the client shall take all the precautions and implement due diligence to verify the reliability and trustworthiness of his/her e-Lawyers.  

    As someone experienced in Banking laws, what are the improvements that you suggest?

    Well, the scope of banking law is very broad, from capital requirements and buffers as stipulated under the Basel regime to securitization, crypto-assets and fintech companies. There are multiple aspects where improvements may be suggested, but what presents particular interest is FinTech regulatory framework.

    FinTech is, in and of itself, a thorny area, like every subject matter involving tech regulations. The exponential growth of FinTech companies during the last years has been a real challenge for EU regulators, who lag behind the evolutionary technologies. The difficulty increases further due to the multi-pronged legal aspects surrounding FinTech: data protection, cybersecurity, consumer protection, competition and financial requirements are only an indicative example. For the time being, FinTech firms are small. Although, they can rapidly scale up expanding their businesses in riskier clients or niches.

    The fragmentation of the EU regulatory framework makes the landscape even more labyrinthine, while the current legislation lacks special provisions. A single legal framework designed to tackle the perils and hedge the risks entrenched in the FinTech industry would solve the ambiguity and uncertainty prevailing in the area.

    Of course, such work requires the in-depth knowledge and understanding of FinTech entities by the regulators. An EU Regulatory Sandbox, albeit far-fetched, would provide enough wiggle room for controlled regulatory experimentation. The usefulness and benefits of a regulatory sandbox have been already reported by EU member states that have established and operate sandboxes. What’s more, EU regulatory bodies may introduce an ex ante regulatory system, where applicable, in order to prevent the risks embedded in the operation of FinTech firms.

    What are the negative effects of tech-startups that you’ve come across lately, and how far have you been successful in tackling them?

    Tech start-ups are a hot topic during the last years and regularly adorn article’s headlines. Their negative effects have been extensively reported ranging from data leak, hacking, lock-in effects and other vulnerabilities.

    Nonetheless, I would like to focus on the challenges that a start-up lawyer encounters. One of the core problems with start-ups is that, while the idea or the product/service may worth, they lack structure and often present administrative problems.

    A lawyer’s challenge is to sense the very nuances of their work and help the company build from scratch, methodically and step-by-step their identity and strategy, adopt internal policies which conform with the legislation in force, while at the same time, portray the firm’s core beliefs. Tackling these problems requires ongoing legal support, steadfast guidance and bespoke solutions that fit the company’s needs.

    Moreover, tech start-ups demonstrate a higher degree of difficulty entailing from the specific nature of the service or the product they offer. The lawyer has to deeply comprehend the scope and the functionality of the services/product, so as to suggest the appropriate technical and organizational measures that shall be taken by the company to ensure full compliance.

    Furthermore, data breaches and cyberattacks plague tech startups, which are confronted with the possibility to found themselves in the crosshairs of regulatory bodies, due to vulnerable or insufficient technical and organizational measures. The start-up ecosystem is prone to data leak and cyberattacks for several reasons, with the lack of the necessary resources and a constrained budget being one of them. In particular, tech start-ups either have to compromise cyber-security in the shrine of financial budgeting or demonstrate a negligible stance towards security measures, as a corollary of the growth mentality that characterizes them. In any case, it is the lawyer’s job to punctuate and clarify the importance of security measures to thwart data breaches and hacking incidents.

    Do you think smart work takes over people who are engaged in doing only hard work in this industry?

    During the last years, we hear more and more about how smart work outweighs hard work. Markedly, there is a shift from the old-school “hard work mentality” that had been deified throughout the years, being ascribed the role of the quintessence of success, towards a “smart work” one. And to a large extent, this shift may be attributed to the overnight success stories circulating on the media.

    From my point of view, smart work and hard work are the two sides of the same coin. It is only through hard work that a person can identify and adopt a motus operandi incorporating efficiency and effectiveness. Smart work requires in-depth knowledge and a holistic approach that can only be acquired through long hours, devotion and unwavering focus. There is not a shortcut.

    Besides, may the seed of analytical reasoning skills and a strong acumen exist in a person, but it shall be watered in order to bloom and exercised in order for the person to deliver tangible results. Smart work goes hand in hand with hard work. 

    Startups are leading like never before and so as LegalTech, how do you think LegalTech can create opportunities for lawyers?

    We are navigating an era of digitalization and information technology that demands speed, resilience and flexibility. Sectors that cannot pace with this evolution are foredoomed to fail. Legal Tech emerges from the imperative need the legal sector to be revitalized. Admittedly, the vast majority of law firms around the world follow rigid and conservative methods and are usually reluctant or hesitant to adopt a new modus operandi.

    Legal Tech is not just a vehicle or a supplementary tool, that helps lawyers to trace new opportunities. Legal Tech is a necessity. We are going through a shift in the tectonic plates of the legal environment, a shift that dictates the radical modernization of the legal profession. The old certitudes of the legal world will crumble sooner or later, and lawyers will have to adapt to the new conditions.

    Some innovative law firms have already embraced Legal Tech and made it a part of their practice. It’s a matter of time Legal Tech to gain universal momentum and, as the theory of diffusion of the innovation suggests, lawyers will espouse the new practice and integrate it in their professional life.

    Some of the perks that come with Legal Tech are automations. Lawyers will reap the fruits of automating administrative work, that can be proved tiresome and time-consuming, funneling their bandwidth into more productive and creative tasks.

    In addition, data analysis softwares offer to lawyers the opportunity to map out their marketing strategy with precision, target specific group of clients and boost profitability.

    Speaking of profitability, Legal Tech increases economies of scale, letting lawyers provide legal services more efficiently. This way, costs can be decreased, and earnings increased.

    In closing, to make the advantages of Legal Tech more concrete, just picture documents piling on a desk. Now envisage a clean desk, empty of documents, tidy, with a computer or laptop on it. How stress relieving is that?

    Lastly, some few advices for our young lawyers!

    Stop sabotaging yourself and start taking risks!

    You are not perfect, you will never be. Accept that and start working on improving yourself. Improve yourself not only by studying law and performing exquisitely in legal cases. Yes, your profession is a very important part of your life. But it is not the only one. The aspects of our life are like communicating vessels. Practice your skills in one aspect and you’ll see the gains sprawling over the others.

    And by gains, I mean the traits, the mentality, the perceptions, the way of thinking you earn by devoting your time and focus on a particular thing.

    By diversifying the aspects on which you are working, you are growing a more diversified skillset. And a multifaceted skillset means a multidimensional approach on legal matters.

    Do not settle. Believe in something wholeheartedly and focus on accomplishing it. Set goals and look at them with an unwavering gaze. As Nelson Mandela said “It always seems impossible, until it is done”. Believe in you!

    Get in touch with Katia Zigoulianou-

  • In Conversation with: Somdutta Bhattacharyya, Partner at Argus Partners (Solicitors & Advocates)

    In Conversation with: Somdutta Bhattacharyya, Partner at Argus Partners (Solicitors & Advocates)

    This interview has been published by Prabhjot Singh, Priyanka Karwa and The SuperLawyer Team

    Tell us what inclined you to pursue law as a profession?

    Well there is no inspiring story here unfortunately. I did choose science as my study stream for my plus two boards, but that was because my parents initially wanted me to become a doctor. Law happened pretty accidentally actually! It was more like law chose me. My uncle, who is a lawyer at the Calcutta High Court, told me at that time of the emergence of the national law schools across the country and the bright, young graduates these institutions were producing and suggested I should try taking the exams for these law schools.

    I only took the exam for WBNUJS, Kolkata (ours was the last batch who took individual law school exams instead of the CLAT) after preparing for about a month. The results came out about two weeks before the boards and I was very happy to find that I had gotten through. I decided that this was what I was going to pursue and make a career out of. And that is how it happened.  

    Do you have any mentors so far that helped you so far in this journey, and how far do you consider the role of mentors crucial in the industry?

    Yes of course. You cannot grow as a professional in the legal industry (or for that matter any industry) without the help of your mentors. A good mentor will teach you so much especially as a litigating lawyer – the art of a good draft, how much to say and what not to say in Court, how to strategize a matter etc. Whatever little I am today I am because of some excellent mentors I have had in the industry.

    Why does Corporate law attract so much attention? What makes it so unique?

    Well it would be easy to say that it attracts the attention of young graduates because of the money on offer, but that would be a shallow perspective. If you do not like and enjoy what you do on a daily basis, you will not stick around or grow, no matter the money on offer. This is why you see attrition rates are so high in the bigger law firms. However, if you like what you do, then the sky is the limit. Speaking personally, as a Disputes lawyer, I love the challenges of my job day in and day out.

    I have to keep our clients happy and they must feel comfortable to repose their trust in their high stakes, valuable matters in me. I have to advise them correctly, guide them down the right path, put every ounce of research and knowledge into these matters so that their chances of success are enhanced and they know that they are in safe hands – it is a challenge I am up for every day of the week.

    How do you manage your time schedule on a daily basis and what drives you to be consistent?

    I would not lie, law firm life can be pretty demanding – whether you are an A-1 level associate or a partner, every day brings its own challenges which consume most of your time. I have varied interests apart from law – I love reading fiction, watching sports especially football, spending time with my family and my dog. While most of my time is taken up by my work, I ensure that at the end of the day (no matter how late it is) I am taking an hour or two out to do these things I love – read a bit, maybe watch a film or a game of football, take the dog out for a walk, maybe go for a run or a long drive sometimes. It rejuvenates me and helps me face the next day with the same enthusiasm again.

    What differences have you noticed in international arbitration and national arbitration, I mean what’s more challenging amongst both?

    Both bring their own challenges to be honest. In an international arbitration, you are bound by the procedure of the institution under whose aegis the arbitration is happening – SIAC, ICC, LCIA etc. and the procedure is much more streamlined as opposed to domestic ad hoc arbitrations.

    Also, in international arbitration’s you often have to work in close collaboration with foreign lawyers or law firms, and therefore seamless execution of the work can be a challenge as well as a learning experience at the same time. On the other hand, in domestic arbitration, especially ad hoc ones, arbitrators adopt their own procedures and therefore the same may be different from one arbitration to another, and you are constantly adapting as a lawyer to make the best case for your client.

    However, arbitration in India has been developing at a fast rate, and amendments to the statute in 2015 and 2019 have ensured shortening of timelines and streamlining of overall procedure, and I believe the future of arbitration in India is very bright.

    Do you believe that AI will lead to data breach and violation of privacy, if yes, how can it be mitigated?

    I am not a data privacy lawyer and therefore I am ill-equipped to answer this question. My opinions on AI and data breach are based on what I have read in popular media, and I do not want to adopt a conspiratorial tone for your readers without in-depth familiarity with the issue myself.

    Few tips for our readers that helped you as well in this journey?

    First of all, you must decide what you want to do. Law firms are not be all and end all for a law graduate – there are a lot of career choices you can adopt – you can be a corporate lawyer, a litigating lawyer, an independent practitioner, an academic or venture into public policy.

    Do not follow the herd- look into your heart and see what you really want. As I said before, if you are not finding what you are doing everyday exciting or challenging, there is no point doing it. Also, no matter which path you choose, there is only one mantra of success for all of them – read.

    You have to read constantly as a lawyer, you have to keep updating yourself. Law evolves constantly, you can never be a good lawyer if you are not evolving with the law as well. That would be my two pennies for your readers.

    Get in touch with Somdutta Bhattacharyya-

  • In Conversation with: Mugdha Sharma, Senior Legal Counsel at Optum, UnitedHealth Group |DCPP

    In Conversation with: Mugdha Sharma, Senior Legal Counsel at Optum, UnitedHealth Group |DCPP

    This interview has been published by Prabhjot Singh, Priyanka Karwa and The SuperLawyer Team

    ***Disclaimer***

    The opinions and views expressed are that of the author and Optum, United Health Group bears no responsibility whatsoever. The thoughts shared are for general informational purposes and should not be construed as any official advisory.

    Why did you choose law as a career, was it planned or all of a sudden you decided to be a lawyer?

    I was a science student, who was coaching herself to be a doctor honestly, so I didn’t really know if law was something I would want to pursue.

    It was definitely not a planned decision to begin with. It was at the middle of my 12th grade, when my fellow students started discussing about courtroom dramas and how they are being inclined towards pursuing law, I started reading and exploring the opportunities in legal field.

    On a lighter note, it wouldn’t be wrong to even admit that I became attracted to courtroom dramas and the more glamorized view of law.

    I started to then consider more seriously what I wanted the most in my career and think I wanted professional stability and financial security. I was also keen to follow a career path that allows me to leverage my communication skills and offers an avenue for continious learning and keeping myself updated with the latest in a field.

    At the time it felt that the law provides both, so I imagined it would be an ideal career for me.

    Then the more I read about it, I started to understand that being such a fascinating field it would offer nuanced challenges to resolve while demanding a variety of skills and this piqued my interest in the field law.

    What were the challenges that you faced in the beginning of your career?

    Learning about law in classrooms compared to real life application in time bound scenarios was the first challenge that I faced.

    There were many days that I had to go back to refer to my internship days or leverage experience of my batch mates/seniors to draft an appropriate clause or provide the most effective advice. Initial days required a lot more hours being spent making the transition from academics to a law associate all the more challenging.

    Apart from this, settling in a big city like Bombay was also a real challenge. Coming from a small town and then being in law schools’ protected environment, it was only now that I had to “go figure” for everything from renting a house, setting it up, making transport arrangements, at the same time putting the extra work in the first few months of your career. The trouble is, no one teaches you this part!

    Mugdha, do you think that for a first-generation lawyer, the journey becomes a little difficult? Please explain the same wrt to your own experience.

    Stepping into law school was a new world, where people who had families with multiple generations of lawyers talked fluently about topics I was making hard efforts to understand myself and that made me feel I had more catching up to do. I had to assess all opportunities independently with my own lens and learn concepts from scratch that some had been exposed to from childhood.

    Looking back I feel now that the extra effort I had put in also created the appreciation that I hold for the field of law.

    Being able to build an experience in M & A and VC deals, what according to you are the most important skills to have?

    Within my limited experience of M&A and VC deals, I believe one of the most important skill is to see the bigger picture. You need to be able to get your head out of the documents to see that you are working the whole process from scratch to end and therefore must be able to build your opinion on the end goal and the manner in which you’d assist your client to achieve it.

    This requires strong business awareness and equally strong legal and commercial understanding of the transaction.This in no sense should take away from the importance of paying attention to detail as the devil is always in those details!

    Apart from this I believe, building a good relationship with both your client and also opposing counsels, help you navigate the negotiations better and sometimes even builds your own power of persuasion. While this may not be practical all the time, trying never hurts.

    As someone who got a chance to work with big companies, was it a smooth sail for you?

    I don’t think it was all rosy by any means. It did take some time and effort and a lot of of unlearning for ultimately learning some more. I worked towards moving from a law firm mindset and started to imbibe an in-house midset.

    The in-house mindset I speak of is much more closer to business, stakeholder requirements and is also customer driven. In the beginning one of the challenges that I personally faced was balancing expectations as an in-house counsel, keeping the business needs ahead of the legal structures and nuances, yet being within the scope of law.

    I’d say, I am still a work in progress.

    India is witnessing amazing growth because of the startups, according to you Mugdha, what are the roles and responsibilities of a lawyer in dealing with start-ups?

    In my opinion, you need to be more of a generalist in the real sense of the word. As a startup lawyer you must know a bit of everything as you advise startups throughout their lifecycle on a variety of issues, while all along living the risks and uncertainties associated with startups. This begins with setting up of their venture and related legal & regulatory compliance, which then moves to routine advisory for general corporate or commercial transactions undertaken on a regular basis.

    The role of the startup lawyer doesn’t end here as now they will also assist the startups for raising capital from angels and VCs and help the startups sail through legal and business issues arising as it scales and grows its businesses.

    Finally, also taking the full circle and reaching the finishing line is the most toughest, but perhaps also one of the more satisfying tasks of a startup lawyer who has seen the emergence and growth of the startup and is now able to help them sell the business or take the company public in an IPO.

    Creating a work-life balance and focusing on mental health has been a challenge lately in this industry, but you manage it well, please tell our audience how?

    I think I am far from managing it well, but I am now at a place where I constantly aim to strike that balance between work and personal life and try and give time to a lot of my dreams beyond just the law and my professional commitments. I now understand when to pause and enjoy life and when to get back to the rigorous work routine.

    I am comfortable assessing how much work is too much work and to take a step back (including mentally), when needed.

    I enjoy creating content when I get some time while I am travelling or just some happy stuff on Instagram. I unapologetically think that it is okay and so I am active on social media because I enjoy it.

    While I understand, to some social media is trivial or toxic and to an extent it maybe is, but I think it is also a great tool to voice your opinion, teach, learn or for just any form of expression and I believe a part of my ‘work-life balance’ comes from being able to show who I am or where my heads at by simply expressing it. It is a very personal view though and to each their own!

    For this I believe one sincerely has to put in efforts to create this space and the right kind of work place often accelerates that effort.

    Apart from expression on social media platform, I love experimenting with food, both to cook and eat. I travel across continents just to experience the culture and I believe a part of that culture is their food. Once am back, for weeks I try to recreate food that I eat on my escapades and I enjoy reliving my travel stories through this.

    I love to travel as it adds perspective to life and keeps me grounded too knowing that theres a huge World out there with variety of people and culture and we, as an individual, are such a small part of this whole story and there is so much to learn and know.

    They say nowadays a lawyer must have that business acumen, do you believe this as well? If yes, briefly describe our audience about it.

    Yes, definitely. The journey becomes smoother once you are able to amalgamate your legal knowledge with business acumen and are able to communicate effectively and efficiently with your stakeholders.

    A lot of decision making is done by weighing and analyzing differentiated opinions and often conflicting priorities, that may even sometime require you to say “No”. As in-house counsel, one should learn to strike that balance.

    In the rapidly growing and dynamic world, it becomes important to anticipate and understand how various factors such as geopolotical scenarios, changing landscapes of policies and increased focus on risk mitigation will impact both businesses and laws.

    Lastly, few tips for our young law professionals?

    For the young law professionals I have just a few tips from my own experiences and that is ;

    ‘Use this time to understand where you want to be in next 10 and 20 years of your career and start making those career choices early on, if possible’

    These are the days of maximum learning but also maximum hardwork so put in that extra effort and it will take you a long way.

    Having said that, don’t lose the sense of self and try and understand your own boundaries, that can help you create space for self-awareness and mental stability.

    Get in touch with Mugdha Sharma-

  • In Conversation with: Josephina Nshunju, Founding Leader & CEO – Association of Privacy Lawyers in Africa and Data Data Privacy Analyst (CIPP/E) at Kazient Privacy Experts

    In Conversation with: Josephina Nshunju, Founding Leader & CEO – Association of Privacy Lawyers in Africa and Data Data Privacy Analyst (CIPP/E) at Kazient Privacy Experts

    This interview has been published by Prabhjot Singh, Priyanka Karwa and The SuperLawyer Team

    Did you always want to become a Lawyer or was it something that you decided in the later part of your school life? What other career options would you have considered, if not law?

    As a child I was drawn to the elegancy of the legal profession. I didn’t know much back then other than the fact that I loved how they dressed and spoke with so much confidence. When I was in high school I became fascinated with Fashion Designing and decided I was going to be a fashion designer but being an African child, I really didn’t have that much freedom of choice. My father felt there was no future for fashion in my country.

    In that day and age he was right. Since I had studied art subjects togather with Fashion science, it was now a matter of so what’s plan B. First I was thinking maybe Business Administration but since I needed to have at least 3 choices I selected law but I was sceptical about it.

    So, being a lawyer was not my first choice but looking back and analyzing the kind of person I am,  I now believe I was always meant to be a lawyer. So naturally this answers your second part of the question as well. If I wasn’t a lawyer I would have either been a Fashion Designer or a Professional Baker. In fact I owned a home baking business before relocating to Sweden and I still bake for my family and friends when they have special celebrations.

    How smooth is it to be an in-house counsel? Or is it the other way round? 

    Well I would it has it’s challenges but if you are comparing it to being a litigation lawyer working in a law firm, I would say in-house is smooth. One thing I love about being an in-house counsel is that you get exposed to a more practical aspect of the corporate culture and that helps you a lot when advising clients. I noticed when I collaborated with our external panel of lawyer on some of our cases, it was a bit of a challenge explaining to the how the processes work in the organisation vis a vis what the law says.

    There are skills I obtained working in-house that have helped me feel comfortable doing tasks that’s weren’t strickly related to legal.

    Not many young female lawyers reach the height you achieved, what was the story behind your success? Were you the privileged child or had to dig in deep to quench the thirst? 

    I have not done much research in this area so I can’t really say whether there are many or few female lawyers that reach this level, but I one thing i know for sure is, there are more female lawyers working in house than in legal practice.

    It takes boldness to be a litigation lawyer and I applaud all the ladies that chose that path. I wouldn’t consider myself privileged but some people might judge me as such because I did obtain my early education and high school education in Zimbabwe which at the time was considered to be the country with the best education in Africa.

    Returning back home to Tanzania for my university education and even when I started working I did notice I had a bit of an advantage because of that experience. I was also very lucky to get my first job two weeks after my final university exam and it was in banking. That is why I never worked in a law firm.

    What can be the real challenges while establishing a career in the field of law?

    Law is very wide as you know. There are many branches of law and areas of practice. One of the challenges faced by many young lawyers is choosing an area of practice as well as whether to work in-house or in a law firm. It’s very important early on to decide your niche and start investing more in it. Trying to be a master of all is ending up being a master of none. When it comes to deciding where to work, it’s another challenge.

    For most law graduates, the first that comes to mind is work in a Law firm, but they quickly realise how tough it is to make it in a firm. This brings confusion because throughout law school (at least where I come from) the lecturers prepare you for a career in a Law firm. But the world is different so you start struggling because you are not sure of where else you fit. We are rarely told of the option to work in-house. It took me a while to understand that I could have an in house career and still get my practising license.

    What responsibilities do companies have under the GDPR?

    Companies have a lot of responsibilities under the GDPR. I can’t go into details listing everything that a company need to comply with but it all comes down to accountability.

    Accountability to itself, its employees, its customers, the general public and the territories in which they operate their businesses. Companies are held accountable under the law for how they govern personal data. So that means from the moment they collect it to the moment it’s destroyed and forgotten.

    A company is responsible for making sure the data is secure both materially and physically, only those who need to access have access, it’s accessed and used for only the purposes for which it was obtained, It should never be kept for longer than is necessary and if it was be shared with other companies or sent to another country the proper security measure should be applied.

    There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes than what I can describe here, but in a nutshell the above gives you an overview of what the GDPR requires.

    As we know, metaverse, NFT’s all are on the rise, but how does it impact our privacy standards and other regulations?

    Unfortunately I am not well versed on what is going on as far as Metaverse and NFT’s are concerned since that has not been my area of focus as yet, so I will refrain from assumptions. I can comment what I know in general. There is a lot that is going on with technology and it’s moving very and it’s quite unfortunate that laws will always be reactive because unfortunately laws are always enacted to solve a problem that has already occured.

    Legislators will need to relook at our privacy laws and other legal instruments to make sure we uphold people’s right to privacy as these new inventions will have access to even more personal information that has potential to cause more damage than what we see today.

    How has been your experience as a Co-Founder and Interim CEO of he Association of Privacy Lawyers in Africa (APLA)

    APLA is still very young, we officially launched it end of September this year. There is a lot to be done. It’s hard to describe it, but I will try.

    When Igxtelle who had the vision for APLA contacted me and mentioned that she believes that she and I would do great things together, I can tell you for sure APLA was nowhere near what I thought she meant. The vision of APLA is so huge that I am often scared even to try to imagine it, but I feel beyond blessed to be part of it’s inception, and now it’s establishment.

    It’s also a huge challenge because nobody has walked this path before us. There are other associations but we all have our uniqueness so working on the organisational structure, setting up everything and managing a team where all of you are new to the tasks, is quite a challenge.

    The good thing is I am not leading it alone. I am with all the other 6 founders supporting me step by step so I don’t feel that much pressure yet. I am excited about what the future holds for us and maybe on our 1 year anniversary I will have a different story to tell.

    Would you like to give few advices to young legal professionals that worked well for you?

    Believe in yourself and focus on your goal until you achieve it, as I always say consistency over perfection. Choose your niche and invest in it academically, professionaly and even in networking. Find a mentor and you can have more than one mentor actually.

    Someone you know you can respect and you see where they are is where you would like to be. This cuts down your learning curve significantly.

    You can have a mentor to guide your professionally and another to help you with your personal brand/profile. Never underestimate the power of continuous personal development. Whether you are employed, in between jobs or self employed always invest in perfecting your craft, attend networking events and learn from other people’s experiences.

    Get in touch with Josephina Nshunju-

  • In Conversation with: Ibrahim Haroon, Co-Founder at DroitWare, Legal Associate at G.Elias & Co, Team Lead at Harib TechLaw Academy and Researcher at International Law Students Association

    In Conversation with: Ibrahim Haroon, Co-Founder at DroitWare, Legal Associate at G.Elias & Co, Team Lead at Harib TechLaw Academy and Researcher at International Law Students Association

    This interview has been published by Prabhjot Singh, Priyanka Karwa and The SuperLawyer Team

    What was your “slam-book career aim”? How well did it go?

    What  I will call my “slam-book career aim” was a really hopeful one. It was clearly to be a lawyer at a time and later to become the chief justice of Nigeria. As this career aim would suggest, I was an audacious child- thinking  I could be anything with little regard to the humongous amount of efforts that great attainments require.

    It is going well- not easy as thought but even more accomplishing, with supports and relentless efforts. I have now become a lawyer and probably will one day become the chief justice of Nigeria. Although the realities of the Nigerian judiciary reduce its attraction.

    You are a young generation lawyer; you must have enjoyed your graduation. Would you like to share any “funny-legal” memories of student life?

    Indeed, I made beautiful memories and enjoyed school and graduation. I was a frequent participant in moot and mock competitions and professional student activities, so I recall several “funny-legal” memories. To point to an interesting one was my time as the Chief Justice of Students in University of Ilorin during my undergraduate days- we would engage in serious court sessions where student lawyers will present serious arguments in the student court which I presided over- it was a serious business which greatly impacted on students lives on campus- looking back the best description for it is “funny-legal” memory.

    I live to relish the memory, it makes me laugh upon reminiscence and realize my endearment of the legal profession and analytical arguments, presentation and adjudication since early university years. I was participating in these activities for reasons I could not exactly point to, it is interesting, how the reasons and justifications for events become clear after the events.

    How has been your experience thus far working as a technology lawyer and how do you see it evolving further?

    The practice of technology law is immersive. Technology law is by far the fastest-paced aspects of law- given the non-stop innovative advancements in the technology space- which the law continuously strive to keep up with. My experience has been eye-opening. On an high level, through my experiences at G. Elias, I have been able to interact with the laws on different level both as a solicitor and barrister- learning directly from advising and representing mainstream companies across different sectors in highly significant transactions and disputes. The role of a lawyer is delicate and demanding.

    The amount of dedicated hours required for work and amount of caution required to ensure that no stone is left uncovered and nothing is amiss in assisting the client go a long way. Being well abreast of the traditional areas of law, being progressively evolving and familiar with emerging technologies and giving in the required amount of work are the hallmark of an excellent technology law practitioner, especially a young one like myself.

    The ever-evolving nature of technology warrants that laws pace faster in innovation and reach. I imagine that in few years, emerging fields and grey areas will become frequented areas of law- the growth and immersion of the blockchain, metaverse, new economies (such as tokens, cryptocurrency and virtual assets) evince this projection. A major challenge however is how far law can in fact regulate technology- giving the superiority of technology in speed and evasion, for instance, the regulation of Big-Tech companies, the policing of cross-border data transfer, jurisdictional conflicts in the metaverse, among many other unresolved aspects.

    Can you please briefly explain the idea behind both of your startups, and what are the brownie points one must consider before building any sort of startup?

    I have co-founded two fast-growing early-stages start-ups; Droitware (www.droitware.com) and Harib Academy. The co-founding of Droitware was motivated by my first-hand experiences with the several issues that the Nigerian (and Africa) legal justice systems face, especially the problems of (i) justice delay, (ii) incoherent legislations and (iii) database asymmetry. Essentially, Droitware is building technology solutions (including AI-enabled systems) that will sustainably solve the problems in (i), (ii) and (iii).

    As for Harib TechLaw Academy, the knowledge gap in technology law-especially in Africa- needs to be savaged. There a number of enthusiasts in technology law among law students and young lawyers, however very few institutions offer any course on relevant areas of technology law or connect adept practitioners of technology law with enthusiasts among students and young lawyers. Harib Academy is dedicated to connects seasoned practitioners with enthusiasts and students and offer free-of-charge certified courses for enthusiasts and students to learn.

    According to you, what’s standing in the way of a Legal Tech Boom?

    I think LegalTech is booming- not to the extent it should- but there is a boom, an incremental one at that. A comparison of the state of legal practice in the past few years and the present state in most jurisdictions will bear witness. Technological systems are being adapted in law practice and justice deliver in an unprecedented manner, for instance the introduction of electronic evidence, electronic signature, virtual hearings, virtual assistance to judges, legal virtual data bases, among others are clear.

    However, the impediment limiting the boom from having a wider reach and exceeding its potentials, may be the non-acceptance and reduced exposure of lawyers to technological advancements. Most laws and practitioners have not been borne off their traditional natures- another flag is the move of startups and innovators towards aspects of technology like FinTech and HealthTech than LegaTech.

    We get to see this question a lot of time, “Will AI research tools replace lawyers”? We would like to take Ibrahim’s take on this question.

    AI is faster and more accurate, AI research tools will go a long way in assisting lawyers in making lawyering more efficient for lawyers that explore AI tools. However, AI tools cannot exactly replace lawyers- the place of critical thinking, “human lawyering”, traditional wisdom and original human idealization cannot be outrightly outstripped by AI tools in law.

    What, in your opinion, could be a social security safety net for lawyers after experiencing various pandemic waves?

    The pandemic waves clearly evince that there is no alternative to LegalTechnology- that is the security safety net for lawyers. From a dispute resolution perspective, the adaption of legal technology in some jurisdictions more than others was the mark of efficiency in justice systems- courts in jurisdictions that fastly adapt technology- such as virtual hearings, electronic filings, proctoring, cloud databasing and the rest navigated the pandemic more easily and efficiently.

    On the other hand, jurisdictions that have not adapted technology in their justice and dispute resolution systems now battle with backlogs that are straining efficiency in justice delivery.

    How important do you consider for lawyers to be tech-savvy?

    Not all lawyers will practice technology law- albeit, it is critical that lawyers across all practice fields develop their knowledge of technology- to enable them maximize the ease that technological adaptions is affording lawyers. Also giving how technology now cuts across all the other areas of technology on one hand and on the other hand the essential need of technology in the current roles of lawyers and the use/adoption of the several technology tools for lawyers make it imperative for lawyers to adapt and get familiar with technology.

    Lastly, any tips for our readers?

    As lawyers, law students and/or general researchers, my parting message will be setting our values rightly in all we do and letting- consistency and identification stay atop of these values. Consistency in our efforts, progress, learnings, advancement and identification of our strength, weakness, interest and calling.

    To shortly put in Obama’s words “Values are faithfully applied to the facts before us, while ideologies override whatever facts call theory into question”.

    Get in toch with Ibrahim Haroon

  • In Conversation with: Kaainat Pundir, Associate at Shardul Amarchand Managaldas & Co and Co-Founder at Sankalp (The Dispute Resolution Organisation)

    In Conversation with: Kaainat Pundir, Associate at Shardul Amarchand Managaldas & Co and Co-Founder at Sankalp (The Dispute Resolution Organisation)

    This interview has been published by Prabhjot Singh, Priyanka Karwa and The SuperLawyer Team

    It is said that the best moments happen when they are unplanned. How true do you find this axiom? Do you anyhow relate to it considering that you were a Science student and had never intended to take law as a career?

    Absolutely, I think my professional journey stands testimony to it – whether it be competing in my first moot competition (Alfred Deakin International Commercial Arbitration Moot) in my final year or bagging the Herbert Smith Freehills vacation scheme prior to that.

    My journey from Sanskriti School to Jindal Global Law School was similar. Having been brought up in a family, surrounded by professionals from the armed forces, engineering and medical background, law was never on my radar.

    After preparing for engineering entrances for three years, I realized I was not passionate towards the field, although I had secured multiple admissions in the field of engineering, commerce and mathematics.

    The decision to enroll into law school was guided by, first, taking a deep look within, and then being mentored by my educationist and career counsellor mother.

    The legacy of my grandfather, a practicing lawyer (alumni of CLC) prior to joining army under the emergency commission, and great grandfather, a leading criminal lawyer/magistrate turned politician (alumni of Law College, Lahore) were definite motivators. In hindsight, studying science until college helped me imbibe a scientific temperament to which I owe my analytical skills, attention to detail and general problem-solving approach.

    The curiosity of a science student drives my interest in the sociological and jurisprudential study of law and understanding the ‘why’ behind concepts.

    You happen to specialize in Mergers & Acquisitions, Investments, and Private Equity Transactions. Can you tell us a bit as to what prompted you towards this field of law? When did you realise that you wanted to specialize in M&A?

    It might surprise you to know that I undertook 16 internships during law school (which allowed me to understand almost all practice areas and work undertaken by corporate lawyers), apart from 2 TAships, 3 RAships and auditing specialized courses (taught by legal doyens like Prof. MP Singh, Sr Adv Ravi Sikri, Ms. Aparna Mehra). Further, being the editor for an interdisciplinary research blog and journal and being part of the college placement team throughout exposed me to a mix of work experience, course work and undertaking research in the field.

    What definitely interested me was the internship at CAM, where I assisted with due diligence and research for the mergers of public sector banks.

    My interest in corporate law grew while studying the Securities & Regulation elective course wherein we drafted a DRHP and I further found my area of specialization during the course on venture capital transactions, taught by Mr. Siddharth Nair, partner at SAM.

    Apart from this, I have actively participated in international mediation competitions which mostly have commercial and cross-jurisdictional disputes case studies – these have trained me to understand the interests of different parties and prepared me for client-facing work.

    Additionally, connecting and discussing with corporate lawyers from Europe and USA, regarding their work/transactions fueled my interest, and mentally prepared me for the hours which come with the job. 

    You also happen to have dealt with some high-profile transactions as well. Not many lawyers can achieve this feat so early on in their career, let alone women lawyers. What was the story behind your success? Did you have to face any kind of stereotypical struggles and if you did, how did you overcome them? 

    In my opinion true gender equity in the Indian scenario is still a long way off – whether it be the higher judiciary, appointment of senior advocates or partnerships at law firms. Having strong leaders who support women’s careers and provide equal opportunity to them contributes a lot to bringing more women into the profession. I feel I am truly blessed to have been mentored by brilliant lawyers, wherein AOR Manisha Karia offered me my first internship and placed her trust in a first-year law student, while Sr Adv Aishwarya Bhati, ASG of India, took special interest in building a strong conceptual foundation for me during my internship, they have been a huge guiding force in my career.

    As compared to litigation, law firms see a much higher female workforce participation. In most part, this is attributable to the strong leadership at law firms which have nurtured an equitable work environment for women to succeed. At SAM, it is Shardul Shroff Sir and Pallavi Shroff Ma’am. My own team, led by Ms. Puja Sondhi, is female-dominated across the echelons.

    The team provides exceptional exposure in terms of venture capital transactions to its associates, having advised on numerous investments into unicorns in the past years. This has allowed me to learn a great deal through various transactions and through the commitment of my seniors to pay particular attention to their juniors’ growth and learning through continuous training and feedback.

    You have made a name in the international ADR circuit for yourself which is quite a distinguished honor so early on and you are also a founder of a dispute resolution organization, Sankalp. Can you tell us about your journey and your organization?

    I trained as a civil and commercial mediator in my first year itself with ADR ODR International. The next year I took it upon myself to learn and improve my skills further by working with Dr. Claudia Winkler at The Negotiation Academy, Vienna for 2 years. During this time, I also participated in multiple national and international competitions including CDRC Vienna and ICC Paris. Over the years I have continued to mentor and still regularly train Indian and International teams both for national and international competitions. I feel privileged to have been invited to judge at international competitions (even as a young law student among a distinguished panel of judges at INADR Georgia and Transatlantic Negotiation Competition by Syracuse University and as a mentor for the maiden mediation training program in Sri Lanka).

    Through such opportunities and having participated in Global Negotiation Conference, I have built a network of friends and colleagues across borders who work in various capacities as political negotiators, corporate lawyers, mediators, et al. The positive support I received from the international community in my endeavors inspired me to expand this community to include more law students and young professionals from across borders to facilitate mentorship relationships with experienced professionals.

    Hence, Thomas John and I founded Sankalp – The Dispute Resolution Organization, which has already garnered support of many professionals and students alike across continents. We are earnestly working towards its growth and collaborating with businesses, institutions and organizations. Our aim is to make business processes more efficient and cost-effective through increased utilization of negotiation and third-party neutrals.

    You worked in Kailash Satyarthi’s organisation and accompanied in their training and child labour raids as well. What was your experience like during such work? And does pro bono work add value to a professional’s life?

    I interned with Bachpan Bachao Andolan in my second year wherein I closely worked with the team on the month-long training prior to the Bharat Yatra (a 35-day long march across the country to build unprecedented awareness on combating child sexual abuse and trafficking). It was truly enlightening to learn from the activists working on-ground across India and to understand the challenges they faced every day to bring about real change and thus secure a safe childhood for children. I also accompanied the team on a raid on sweatshops employing child labour.

    That experience of observing the actions of BBA’s raid team, the accompanying police officials, magistrate, the employers and the children, exposed me to a lot of life’s harsh realities and re-enforced in me the importance of easy access to education and opportunities for children. On days when I was highly tired after my work commitments taking out time to tutor children from lower-income backgrounds or spent weekends volunteering at the nearby children’s home, felt very much worth it.

    Over the years I have stayed connected with the work of the foundation. During the pandemic, I had the opportunity to volunteer with Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation – working on their campaign against child sexual abuse and subsequently, assisted the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights to conduct research relating to the status of children’s well-being and the access to learning resources and activities during the Covid-19 pandemic in government and municipal schools.

    This was utilized as policy inputs for designing effective interventions once schools reopened post the lockdowns.

    It is absolutely essential to do pro bono work – it keeps you motivated, gives one immense satisfaction of helping a person in need and keeps one engaged in the long run. This is also the advice that I have received from multiple senior lawyers and businesspersons. For me, apart from hobbies, education has been an important cause – may that be tutoring school children or coaching and mentoring college students or training professionals in negotiation skills.

    Was it a tough call for you to choose between LLM and job? What points one needs to consider while taking a call between these two options?

    I had first planned to apply for an LLM after receiving my HSF vacation scheme offer since they hire two years in advance as compared to Indian law firms. However, the HSF offer did not pan out as expected in light of the pandemic. Hence, at the time of my graduation, I was presented with the dilemma of moving to London to pursue my Masters or to start work with one of the best transactional law teams in the country.

    I had received offers from University College London and Queen Mary University, and also had the PPO from SAM. Upon weighing the pros and cons, gaining work experience at a tier-1 law firm with a team dealing with VC and PE transactions with exposure to a very active investment market as valuations skyrocketed, was the obvious answer.

    My work with the team has proven my choice to be correct. In college, I lacked sufficient clarity to choose a Masters specialization, and my main motivations to pursue a Masters were intellectual growth and access to a new jurisdiction. However, while working with the best corporate lawyers across jurisdictions, advising on upcoming yet niche areas of law and being part of numerous high-value deals has helped me streamline my professional interests and goals.  

    Our readers will be very much interested in knowing more about Vacation Schemes, the eligibility criteria and more crucial details about it.

    Vacation Scheme is equivalent to securing an assessment internship at a tier-1 law firm in India. UK based law firms have the vacation scheme route to land training contracts with them (which is required to gain qualifying work experience to qualify as a solicitor, however, that is changing with the new SQE regime). Certain top international law firms like Herbert Smith Freehills, Allen and Overy, Linklaters, etc. have India Internship programs wherein each year they invite applications from penultimate year Indian law students and offer vacation schemes to a handful of them selected through a highly competitive multi-stage shortlisting process.

    The process involves an online application and online test which qualifies candidates for a competency interview followed by an assessment centre. The specifics of the process may differ for each firm but are largely similar. There is no one size fits all approach to securing a vacation scheme offer. However, performing well academically, having a good CV including diverse experiences will certainly enhance your chances to succeed.

    There are also a lot of resources available online to prepare you for the process. Reaching out to candidates who have succeeded in the past is always a good idea (I would be happy to help out anyone who reaches that stage). Research well if you are planning to apply. Apart from that, the graduate recruitment teams at the firms are very responsive and helpful throughout the process, so feel free to contact them.

    What would be your parting message to our readers and the young budding lawyers? How can they mark their presence in the niche of venture capital transactions and cross-border M&A?

    Give yourself the time and space to explore your interests to find the area that truly excites you. The legal career is a long one and you should be pursuing what makes you excited to get out of bed each morning. More importantly, be unafraid to put in the hard work to make a name for yourself. The more you persevere in the initial years, the better your learning will be and you will be a better lawyer for it. One has to learn the art of networking both in India and abroad. It is absolutely essential and if you are doing it right, you will realise that most people in this profession are willing and happy to mentor juniors. A great example of such a person is my role model at Jindal, Professor C Raj Kumar despite his multifarious endeavors always finds time to motivate and mentor students.

    There are very few teams working in the niche area of VC. Speak to people, intern and find a team that does the kind of work you want to do, and also, provides a healthy work environment where your seniors motivate you to learn each day and to gain more exposure.

    It is a blessing to be doing the work you love and with the people who inspire you. Further, build mentorship relationships with your seniors to learn from their expertise and experience. For me having a mentor like Mr. Siddharth Nair and learning from my partners, Ms. Puja Sondhi, Mr. Aayush Kapoor and Ms. Manita Doshi, who have each built a name for themselves in the industry and go out of their way to teach me on a daily basis – has made all the difference.

    Get in touch with Kaainat Pundir-

  • In Conversation with: Ankita Shaw, Associate Solution Advisor at Deloitte

    In Conversation with: Ankita Shaw, Associate Solution Advisor at Deloitte

    This interview has been published by Prabhjot Singh, Priyanka Karwa and The SuperLawyer Team

    What was your motivation behind choosing law as a career?

    Having the knack since the early years to eliminate options I always knew what I never wanted to pursue rather than being crystal clear about what I wanted to pursue.  Law happened to me by chance and for me, it was never the means to achieve my goals. And honestly, I do not remember one specific isolated incident that motivated me to pursue law until I left political science honors after pursuing it for one year.

    In this one year, I participated in MUNs and studied different philosophers which led me to realize my interest in Constitution and International Relations and hence law happened.

    How important is it to get yourself into legal writing in this profession according to you, what other areas should one explore?

    Well, in my opinion, it is indeed very important to get oneself who is involved in the legal profession to indulge in legal writing. In the first place tell me, what is an article all about – is it merely a combination of words or a compilation of the already existing literature? The answer to this would be a big NO. Over time, as I have understood an article is your way to contribute to legal academia by using your own interpretational and analytical thoughts based on the grey area in the existing literature – something beyond what exists on google or for that matter of fact any other legal database.

    As a law student, one is engaged in writing right since the first year – the primary purpose for which is to inculcate the research aptitude and execute it in writing considering that this aptitude is one of the basic requirements even post the undergraduate years.

    Additionally, having publications in your name in esteemed and reputed journals surely makes a remarkable impact on your CV undoubtedly showcasing the extensive knowledge one has in a specific domain. However, at the end of the day, it is one’s sole discretion to either quote what already exists in the databases or make a significant contribution to legal academia by one’s name.

    Furthermore, other areas that one should explore during law school without an iota of doubt are mooting, internships, debates, paper presentations and attending conferences, and actively participating in societies and volunteering for events. I consider all of these activities to inculcate confidence in an individual while also building skills at the same time.

    The more one gets involved in these activities, the more skills and knowledge the person has and no other place is better to give it a shot if not law school. While I believe interest area surely lies in specific domains, without exploring each domain how does one get to conclude respective interest areas?

    Tell us about your journey in this profession in a nutshell!

    The five years that I spent at KIIT Law School, Bhubaneswar has in all been an amazing experience. I knew right from the first day of college that the journey for a first-generation lawyer is not a cakewalk and that to succeed in any area of law would require hard work and patience at the same time.

    Hence, during law school, I kept myself involved in balancing my academics with both extra-curricular and co-curricular activities. I have had the opportunity to represent my college in Moot Court Competitions winning laurels for the college.

    Additionally, I have participated in several conferences and have several decent publications in my name. Apart from academics, I also was quite an active member of different societies in college which led me to become the Convener of the Moot Court Society.

    I also was fortunate to share excellent relations with some of the professors at KIIT Law School who taught me valuable lessons for life beyond the black-and-white letters of the law. In retrospect, I think I made the best decision to join KIIT Law School which gave me ample opportunities to grow into the person I am today.

    On the personal front, I think my personality went through a massive change during the journey. Made a lot of friends, committed endless mistakes both at the professional and personal level – learned from them, failed ten times more than I succeeded – learned to get up again and again.

    Like we always say, hard work does not go to waste, each and everyone gets paid on time! but what were your strategies for achieving the goals you planned?

    I would first like to share a small anecdote before I answer this question. Right from Day 1 of my five-years law school, I started dedicating myself to writing research papers. However, it would not be until my third-year end that my first paper got published. Three years of rejections from endless places and I could not figure out the reasons for it not being accepted for publication. Between the journey of failing time and again and getting up an equal number of times, my first paper after years of hard work got published. To answer the question, I have learned it hard way that a CV of failures is ten times more than the two-page original successful CV.

    Hence, I never had planned any particular thing to achieve a certain goal, instead, I picked up things impromptu and would never give up on the said until it was done and achieved. The only strategy that I followed throughout my law school was to maintain hard work, and consistency and never say die even when the going gets tough! Additionally, I also believe that read, read and read no matter the upward or downward phase of life – because the knowledge and the experience that comes with reading are irreplaceable.

    You’ve written on the role of Artificial Intelligence in the Healthcare Sector, how do you think AI can change the way we deal with different industries, and what necessary dangers it can impose for us as well?

    Artificial Intelligence (AI) has penetrated almost every sphere of an individual’s life. Albeit, AI has the potential to transform every sector in an efficacious manner yet the ramifications it poses cannot be denied. Some of the ramifications in my limited knowledge are ethical issues, regulatory and compliance issues, legal issues, environmental and sustainability issues, and economic and socio-political issues only to mention a few.

    Given that each sub-topic has the potential of being expounded into a research paper or an article I limit myself to merely mentioning the categorical issues. In my opinion, before the implementation of AI at the core of each sector, the artificial literacy of the nation and the economic status of the nation is ought to be considered to prevent any sort of exacerbation of the gap between the two extreme ends of the economic status and hierarchy.

    Please tell us in brief about your current role!

    Usually, we are expected to start by 9.30 – 10 am wherein the first hours of the day generally go into attending meetings, responding to emails, and updating oneself on the task for the day. Primarily, the task involves reviewing documents and contracts for the clients, reading the case, and the judgments related to the task.

    What is your life mantra to work stress-free?

    Some of the mantras that I follow at a personal level to work stress-free is maintaining a balance between work life and personal life. I believe being with your family is equally important as your career. In this context, I more often than not take shelter in some close friends and family to calm down on any aspect of life.

    At the professional level, I tend not to compare myself with either friends or colleagues and not attach myself to the outcome of the work. At the same time, I also believe strongly in my hard work and ability to accomplish the goals I have set my eyes on.

    Any last piece of advice that you would like to give to the upcoming generation of professionals?

    My constant endeavor throughout this interview has been to share my own experiences with extreme frankness. And since I have just started, my limited knowledge and inexperience shall make the pieces of advice narratively limited and premature, nonetheless, some of my learnings that I would like to share are

    In the first place, in this journey that entails endless creativity and options to be explored, do not limit yourself and explore every kind of opportunity that one may have at hand. Secondly, as cliché as it may sound there is no substitute for hard work and I will not be either the last or first person to emphasize this. Along with Hard work, patience, sincerity, and perseverance are the basic requirement of an individual in any profession.

    Thirdly, never hesitate to ‘ask’ either for any sort of help or internships or recommendations, or any other thing that comes up to your mind. I’ve learned that ‘asking’ does not allow you to lose anything because you do not have a thing to lose instead it might as well work in your favor. Fourthly, read, read and read because this will help you eventually in your career.

    Lastly, being an avid follower of Swami Vivekananda, I suggest one have a ‘never say die’ attitude. This essentially helps in recuperating the failures and rising once again considering at times you will inevitably feel like giving up on everything because things failed to work on your chartered timelines but then don’t!

    Get in touch with Ankita Shaw-

  • In Conversation With: Ananth Kini, Advocate practicing at the Supreme Court of India, with over 17 publications to his credit and stellar Academic records.

    In Conversation With: Ananth Kini, Advocate practicing at the Supreme Court of India, with over 17 publications to his credit and stellar Academic records.

    This interview has been published by Sonali Parashar, Ojuswi Sahay, and the SuperLawyer Team

    What motivated you to make a career in law? How would you describe your professional journey up until now?

    I would say that studying law was a natural choice for me, and I find nothing that is more interesting, captivating and easier for me than law. Having studied law for the last 8-9 years of my life, I can confidently say that choosing law as my career has been the best decision of my life to date and I have never found laws to be complicated as such but just pure common sense.

    If you believe in what you are doing, then you will find your work to be interesting; as it has been rightly said by Steve Jobs that ‘…Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking….’

    As far as my professional journey is concerned, I would say that I had to work very hard to understand the nitty-gritty of the laws, court procedures, principles of legal drafting, the art of advocacy, the jurisdiction of courts/tribunals etc. One has to work hard initially to understand the laws but it gets easier with time once you know the basics. 

    You have excelled in your academics throughout your career and also were a rank holder in your LLB and Graduation. What would you say were the factors that helped you excel in academics, especially while pursuing law?

    I had more than 90% attendance in each semester of my college and rarely used to miss classes. I used to pay attention to whatever the professor was teaching and make notes. I never left anything to the last moment, a practice that I follow even today, and I used to study for all the exams well before the exam date. On the day before the exams, I only used to revise and think about how I could somehow improve my answers.

    I focused more on writing as many cases as I could and on correctly writing the provisions of the laws; all this was only possible because I revised multiple times before the exams. I was confident that I had learnt it and focused on keywords while reading anything new. I used to read many different books and xerox the relevant parts to prepare my answers.

    As this required a lot of effort and time, therefore I used to begin my preparation around one month before the first-semester exam and increased my hours of studying as the exams approached. Also, starting early gave me the advantage of clarifying my doubts to the concerned professor and I never left anything to luck; I always gave the exams by reading almost the entire syllabus, so that even if the question paper was difficult, I could answer them.

    I always focused on writing the answers supported by case laws, sections and notes of that teacher and never missed answering any of the questions in my exams during my college days; I used to allocate a specific time frame for answering each question and then used to move on to the next question on completion of the allotted time frame.

    Out of the wide spectrum of internships you did in college (Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas, NCRB, Ministry of law and Justice, Kochhar and Co etc), which one of them was the most enriching experience? What should be the three things one should keep in mind while choosing an Internship?

    My internships at the Chamber of Adv. Murari Tiwari Sir and Chamber of Adv. Rajesh Yadav Sir was the most enriching for me. 

    Murari Tiwari Sir and Tripurari Tiwari Sir are both very polite, helpful and friendly, and they used to make sure that all the interns in their office learned something new each day; I was given case files which I had to read, and after that, Sir used to ask me as to what I understood from the case and after that guide me as to the facts of the case and laws applicable thereof. Despite Murari Tiwari Sir and Tripurari Tiwari Sir being very busy with their work, they always kept some time aside each day for their interns. 

    My internship at the Chamber of Adv. Rajesh Yadav Sir was also very enriching. I learned a lot under his able guidance, and Sir used to teach me about the intricacies of court procedures. I was given some case files to read, which I later used to discuss with him. Sir had an excellent command over the facts of the case, and he used to tell me about the arguments of both sides in that case. During this internship, I visited the Hon’ble Delhi High Court for the very first time. Sir had extensive knowledge of the facts and the laws pleased in the case so much so that even without opening the file, he could remember all the details of the case and even the page number where it was mentioned! 

    On the aspect of what one should keep in mind while choosing an internship is concerned, I would say that it would depend on the career objective of that person. If one has not decided which area they want to join, one may intern at different places to get an idea. Also, I feel that if one has figured out what one wants to join after completing their LL. B then a long-term internship at a single place is more beneficial than multiple short internships at different locations, provided one enjoys their time and is learning at that internship.

    You hold expertise in various areas of practice like Civil Law, Criminal Law, Arbitration, Insolvency Law, Recovery matters etc. How would you describe your journey in the field of litigation so far? Please tell us – the good, bad and the ugly.

    Litigation requires one to read a lot and spend a lot of the time thinking as to what could be the possible arguments in the case and anticipate the arguments that the opposite party might advance and how to tackle them. 

    The good part in litigation is the encouragement and appreciation you get from the judges, seeing your name as a counsel in judgements/order sheets, and the fact that what one might argue may become the law of the land if agreed by the judge.

    The bad part would be the long hours one has to spend each day reading; there are so many documents that one has to read. Then after figuring out what the question of law is involved in the case, one has to read multiple judgments on that specific provision of law to find which cases laws support your case and which decisions are against your case and then think as to how to distinguish these decisions.

    I would say the ugly part is that travelling from one court to another to the office daily can be extremely tiring.

    You have 17 publications in various reputed journals. You also presented a paper on defamation at the Freedom of Speech and Expression Regional Conference organized by the Law Commission of India in 2016. Do ‘ideas pick you’ or do you have an extensive process of picking topics which you want to write about. Please take us through the whole process from finding an idea to publishing it in a reputed journal. How challenging is it?

    Legal writing is my hobby, and I find it a way to express myself on legal issues that have evoked my curiosity. Generally, I write on contemporary legal issues and those issues which would not lose their relevance over time, such as prison reforms and electoral reforms. I had written legal articles on these two topics some 4-5 years ago, and even today, they remain a contemporary topic for discussion.

    Before writing an article, it is first necessary to convince yourself as to why you want to write an article on that legal issue. For that, I used to read a little background about the same to ensure that it is indeed a good topic to write on. If I am sure that it is a good topic then I will read about it in detail. Usually, I choose those topics that are being discussed in the media/news so that the chances of their publication would also increase. I always substantiate whatever I would write through primary and secondary sources such as law commission reports, parliamentary committee reports, judges’ interviews, judgements on those points, legislations etc as it has been rightly said by Edwards Deming that ‘Without data, you’re just another person with an opinion’.

    If one wants the article to be published in a reputed journal. In that case, the article must be well researched and something that is not only a bit different from the existing literature but also, more importantly, it should make the reader ponder and think if what the author intends to say is unique, has credence and is indeed thought-provoking!

    At this young age, you have achieved so much, what do you think is in store for you in the future? How are you planning to use your skills and knowledge accumulated till now?

    I still have a long way to go and plenty of things that I want to achieve in my life. I always believe that life would be meaningless if we don’t achieve difficult things. To achieve anything worthwhile, hard work and planning are necessary. Achievements often come at the cost of sacrifices which do pinch a lot; therefore, one should allocate his/her time accordingly and focus on things that are more important to them and in line with their professional aims. I will focus my future on achieving my ambitions and plan accordingly.

    You were posted as a Young Professional (Legal) in the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Government of India. Please share your experience in the job. How can one scale such an achievement?

    I had a brief stint at the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), which is currently a part of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, GOI. I enjoyed my time over there and cherish those moments. I am extremely grateful to Ms Nidhi Khare Ma’am (Chief Commissioner, CCPA), Mr Anupam Mishra Sir (Commissioner, CCPA), Rout Sir and Jayashree Narayanan Ma’am for giving me this opportunity to work at the CCPA. 

    CCPA is a newly established regulatory body under section 10 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 (CPA) and has been established to protect the rights of consumers. Regulatory bodies are different from courts/tribunals and are equally important institutions in the administration of justice. I wanted to work there so as to learn about regulatory bodies and to get exposure to how the work culture of the government is different from that of the private sector.

    Finally, a word of advice for the lawyers and law graduates who are passionate about litigation & arbitration?

    I don’t think that right now I am at that stage in my life where I can advise lawyers or law graduates. I still have a long way to go. However, those who intend to join the field of litigation & arbitration must be ready to work hard and focus their time on learning the intricacies of the laws. In any given facts of a case, there can be various laws that could be applicable, so you must have a fair idea of the applicable substantive and procedural laws so that you can research if there has been any violation of some legal principles or judicial precedents that would help you to advance your case before the courts.

    For example, if there is a contractual dispute between two parties over goods purchased through an e-commerce site, then depending upon the facts, various laws could be applicable, such as the Contract Act, 1872, Sale of Goods Act, E-commerce rules, IT Act, 2000, CPC, IPC, CRPC, Evidence Act, Commercial Court Act, 2015 etc. Therefore, a holistic understanding of all the major laws is necessary while developing expertise in a few laws that one is most comfortable with.

    I am grateful to the ‘SuperLawyer’ for giving me this opportunity to share my experience and conclude by quoting an extract of a speech by Justice K. M. Joseph, Judge Supreme Court of India, at the convocation of the National University of Advanced Legal Studies, Kochi, which I consider to be very useful and practical advice in life, he said that ‘…Study the Court. When I joined the Bar, a senior counsel gave me advice which I thought was useful. He told me that the Court is like a zoo. There is the elephant, the horse, the deer and also the tiger and the lion. You cannot feed grass to the tiger as much as you would feed them to a deer..’

  • In Conversation With: Sanjay Vashishtha, an Advocate and a prominent Academician, who is also a Bar Council of India Trust – Awardee and a St Cross Scholar

    In Conversation With: Sanjay Vashishtha, an Advocate and a prominent Academician, who is also a Bar Council of India Trust – Awardee and a St Cross Scholar

    This interview has been published by Sonali Parashar, Ojuswi Sahay, and the SuperLawyer Team

    How would you describe your journey as a legal professional so far? What part of it do you enjoy the most- teaching law or practising law?

    To begin with, my journey as a legal professional cannot be described as anything short of a “privilege” – where not only do I get several opportunities to learn from the vicarious experiences of my seniors, friends, and colleagues, but also from the clients we represent. My journey is an amalgamation of academic endeavours and practice as the question aptly puts it. I cannot help but highlight that I was lucky enough to embark and act upon opportunities as and when they came my way with utmost hard work and professionalism.

    In my professional journey, now close to a decade, I have had the privilege to represent global MNCs to individual clients – from Padma Vibhushan to Padma Bhushan Awardees to individuals who I looked up to during my days at law school. I have also had the privilege of representing a conspicuous bar association of Delhi comprising of 12000 lawyers, NLU’s, Municipal Corporation of Delhi, Law enforcement agency (Delhi Police) etc. as a lead counsel and take pride in appearing pro-bono for various bodies/litigants and have been appointed as amicus to assist litigants by the Hon’ble High Court of Delhi.

    It’s a very enriching experience which enabled me to find an extended family within the legal fraternity on both the practice and the academic side. I have had the privilege of teaching / delivering lectures from Delhi Police Academy / Specialised Training Centre to several NLUs including NLUD, RGNUL, RMLNLU etc. to Delhi University, Hindu College, University of Oxford, Indian Police Institute, to several other esteemed private institutions such as Lloyd Law College, Symbiosis etc. 

    In terms of enjoying the academic side over practice or vice versa to separate my passions that overlap. Theory and practice are not only inseparable but essential in pursuing both effectively. Theory/teaching exposes me to the academic side which effectively equips me to deliver better on the practice side of the legal world. I think legal professionals should enrol/undertake teaching assignments at law schools so as to provide law students with a multidisciplinary/ practical insight into the legal world. I would conclude by saying that both teaching and practice are an indispensable part of my legal personality (on a lighter note). I enjoy them both equally! 

    As a Counsel for various commercial matters, representing clients at forums including Supreme Court, High Court and Tribunals, what do you believe has been the reason for your drive towards Litigation?

    As a litigation counsel, I witness an opportunity to grow and learn on a daily basis – the reason for my proclivity towards litigation since inception. Litigation – though equally challenging has been a mentally enriching and soul-satisfying experience. My proclivity towards litigation is mainly because of the work satisfaction that I derive out of every matter – both personal and for those we represent. Every case has its legal and factual quests that make the research and arguments worth its toil. 

    Another incentive is being able to network. Even a lunch table at a court premise is nothing less than a crash course on certain legal topics and current affairs. The ability to meet diverse clients with multi-disciplinary needs and wants makes the work even more interesting.

    Some of your esteemed clientele include the Delhi Police, RGNUL(Patiala), NLU Delhi,  South Delhi Municipal Corporation etc., to name a few. What are a few essential skills one must possess to establish and retain clients in litigation?

    The clients as highlighted by you are mostly government bodies, of course as esteemed they are. Office management is pivotal when it comes to managing multiple government clients alongside our esteemed private clients which include MNCs of various kinds, individuals, foreign nationals and other bodies. It’s imperative that there is a working system in the office to ensure timely drafting/filing of pleadings, follow-ups with clients and timely filings. Needless to highlight, every client deserves time and attention irrespective of the financial stakes. Therefore, time and resource management become equally necessary. 

    Also, building a strong team is more important than ever. A law office is never a one-person show. From peon/clerk, interns to associates everyone has an indispensable role – provided there is an effective oversight at all times. Accountability is yet another fundamental principle I would like to highlight.

    Accountability towards the client and their hardships can be equated to responsibility. Therefore both accountability and responsibility coupled with the right tools for office management are a few of the fundamental essential skills paramount to being a litigation counsel. Research and promptness along with keeping the clients informed is an added incentive in my opinion which goes a long way in client satisfaction. 

    With a Bachelor’s in law from Jamia Millia Islamia, an LLM  in Comparative Law from McGill University Canada and an MSc in Criminology & Criminal Justice from the University of Oxford, you have esteemed degrees to your name. How important do you believe academic excellence is in one’s legal career?

    Academic excellence may not be the correct label. Nor do I claim to be academically excellent. I may rather re-label this as an academic proclivity – which does go a long way in shaping the lens with which I view the legal world. In terms of academic institutions, they really give an insight into global/legal realms and highlight how legal systems/traditions of the world overlap. It also enables us to bring a trans systemic/multi-disciplinary tune to our practice which, in my opinion, enables me to better assist the Court than I could have otherwise without my LLM and MSc in criminology. Of course, besides that, you make great friends and these institutions and their affiliations equip me with several academic and other opportunities which I would have otherwise been deprived of. 

    I always, therefore, encourage my interns/associates to pursue higher studies when possible from an institution that promotes multidisciplinary education at a global level in the area of their interest and not merely a master for the sake of a label at their office.

    You have been a recipient of the National Scholarship by the Bar Council of India Trust. Please tell us more about that and how can law students target achieving the same in their careers?

    I think it’s a combination of luck with some passion for legal studies. Keep up at both! The latter you control, the former only works with the latter!

    You also hold experience in teaching law as a guest faculty at renowned institutions. You have delivered guest lectures to IPS Officers on evidence-based policing. Tell us more about your work in legal academia. What are some of the emerging trends in legal education and what are your views on these changes that you have witnessed in your career?

    I’ve had the privilege as highlighted earlier to be a guest faculty/ lecturer in various academic institutions including RGNUL, Delhi Police, RMLNLU, NLUD, Delhi University, Lloyd Law College, etc. I’ve also delivered seminars at Oxford and other international platforms and have publications in various national and international journals. My blogs are accessible at SCC, Bar and Bench and Livelaw alike on several social-legal topics. This academic interest is towards giving what I learn back to society, the legal community and the upcoming members of the bar at law schools across India. 

    As the question aptly puts it, the trends in legal education are gradually changing. Physical books are being replaced by virtual worlds – and physical lectures by virtual classrooms. Knowledge is ever-flowing. Digital platforms are disseminating knowledge / legal awareness 24 x 7 and the desire to know it all is ever-increasing. But one has to maintain a balance while adopting the emerging trends in the legal educational world. 

    There is a famous saying by Donald Rumsfeld, “There are known knowns, things we know that we know; and there are known unknowns, things that we know we don’t know. But there are also unknown unknowns, things we do not know we don’t know.”

    Therefore, it is important to read and apply our senses in a global context and assess every piece of knowledge as if there has to be a second side to the coin. The times to come are going to revolutionise how we study and interpret law and facts.

    You have publications to your credit as well and have published in reputed journals including the University of Oxford, London Redress, and other reputed journals, and also blogs at Live Law and Bar & Bench. What are 5 major skills a budding lawyer must possess to make them better researchers and writers?

    In no order:-

    1. Academic interest
    2. Endeavour to write – One has to simply write. Good or bad. It gradually improves.
    3. Readability – Make it comprehensive, coherent and easily decipherable. 
    4. Accessibility – Write on accessible platforms which are mostly free to access/read so as to provide access to legal education.
    5. Commitment & Research – Original research, commitment to collection of data and analysis. Originality in ideas is pertinent.

    Finally, a word of advice to our readers who are on their journey to establish themselves as litigation lawyers?

    Don’t give up! There are ups and downs – but thereafter – only ups and ups with fewer downs. Good luck & Thank you for your time.

    Get in touch with Sanjay Vashishtha –

  • In Conversation With: Dr Vidyottma Jha, an Advocate practicing at the Supreme Court of India, who is also an Author and a prominent Public Speaker

    In Conversation With: Dr Vidyottma Jha, an Advocate practicing at the Supreme Court of India, who is also an Author and a prominent Public Speaker

    This interview has been published by Sonali Parashar, Ojuswi Sahay, and the SuperLawyer Team

    How would you like to introduce yourself as a person to our readers?

    Well…it’s simpler and easier to describe oneself professionally but quite tricky to define oneself as a person. We all have certain characteristics, likes, dislikes, skills, etc. I am an individual who goes by instincts and takes everything and every day of life as it comes. I am a simple, optimistic, honest, and emotional person. But at the same time, I am ambitious and driven, assertive, determined, and focused. I am always looking for opportunities to do better and one thing that keeps me going is that I refuse to settle until the goal is accomplished. 

    What made you pursue Law?  Do you have any particular incident which tilted the balance in favour of choosing Law as your career?

    As we know Law is a very vast discipline and inculcates within its ambit a wide dimension of every facet of life that we deal with be it family or property, constitutional issues, environmental issues, commercial or social issues. It touches upon every possible aspect. Hence, for me taking law as a profession means taking up humongous responsibility in terms of time, commitment, and financial investment. Though law school and passing the bar exams can be quite back-breaking and onerous, the motivation can depend largely on the brighter side that this profession offers and the impression of it out there on the horizon; for example; the perks and rewards, reputation and respect that it brings with it as the lawyers are among the highest-paid professionals.

    Also, I believe that a career as a lawyer has been a hallmark of prestige for generations.  It’s perhaps due to a reason that they not only possess impressive degrees but a certain authority over others that places them in an elite circle of professionals.  Lawyers have a unique status professionally as they have an attractive, charismatic and glamorous image eternalized by the media. Besides, it is adhered to as intellectually one of the most rewarding jobs on the planet. Lawyers usually work in various areas which gives them an edge in understanding and dealing with myriad things, whether it is helping to patent a trade secret, devising a trial strategy, or forming a multi-million dollar merger. They are basically problem-solvers, analysts, and innovative thinkers. 

    Therefore, Attorneys have a very prestigious position in society. They are in a distinctive position to affect societal change as lawmakers and leaders. To add to it, they are the ones who frame the laws, rule the courts and hold dominant positions in government. They also influence top policymakers and leaders and affect change across the globe. Thus, I finally conclude by saying that ‘yes I feel powerful’ as being an Attorney gives me immense strength in terms of every aspect one can imagine. It is fulfilling, constructive, worthwhile and valuable. I had a keen interest in studying law and  I looked up to the big famous lawyers as role models from a very tender age. 

    You did your law degree from Campus Law Centre, Faculty of Law, Delhi University. Do you have any “funny but eye-opening” incidents from your college life?

    Yes, I studied in one of the most prestigious Law Colleges and Universities. I take pride in being part of such an esteemed university. I can’t remember any such incident to quote here. But Campus Law Centre, Faculty of Law is a place where students are given umpteen opportunities to hone their skills by way of moot courts, debates and learning. 

    Apart from practising at the Supreme Court, you are also an accomplished speaker on various matters related to Law and International Relations. How did you manage to build a public speaking career along with the practice?  

    I am an attorney in the Supreme Court of India and it fills me with pride. Lawyers are hardworking professionals and they are avid readers. So, when it comes to me that I’ve managed both I would like to say that it’s continuous hard work and perseverance and it has come to me naturally because Public speaking is an amalgamation of various factors like research skills, and stronger deductive skills ability etc.

    Being in the legal profession we have a duty towards influencing decisions and motivating change. The art of public speaking comes in handy at every important event of our lives. It is not separated from the legal practice but rather a fundamental part of it. It aids in conducting a meeting, addressing a team, delivering an important message to the relevant audience, or putting forth your ideas to a discussion simply. 

    What are the three most essential factors that law students should keep in mind to develop their public speaking skills?

    There are various determining factors for a person to be a public speaker be it a lawyer or anybody else from another stream. The first and foremost is reading and researching, followed by body language and confidence and lastly, one should listen to the celebrated speakers. Public speaking is a continuous process and it does not come to somebody in a day. Also, there are no formulas to follow, rather it’s more about practice.

    What were some of the fears that you faced when you appeared at the Supreme Court for the first time? How did you overcome those?

    Nothing compares to the fear of failure which is self-imposed by young lawyers. Initially, when I started as an attorney, I was nervous about the many things undivulged in the not-so-distant future. I felt that even a single mistake could be fatal. In fact, every bump, obstacle or setback would bring a premature end to my legal career.  But that line of thinking is certainly ridiculous. Soon I realised that all lawyers, regardless of the prefix young, seasoned or old, face setbacks, disappointments and failures and it’s part of the profession.

    So, as a lawyer resilience happens to be a necessary character trait to exhibit and it is also a key to overcoming obstacles. Resilience implies the ability to recover from tough experiences, situations, the setbacks, to adapt and move forward. Thus, as a lawyer, resilience means how one handles the given situation which is mostly unknown. Especially while preparing for a hearing wherein a number of challenges are waiting both in and out of the courtroom.

    ‘Being an independent counsel is a tough path to tread for women’ Do you think this is true? What are the challenges for women in litigation especially at the highest level?  What according to you are the three topmost factors that upcoming women legal professionals should keep in mind when establishing their own practice?

    Women are always at crossroads and they have to make distinct choices between their personal life and professional life at one point. She is expected to choose but the circumstances vary in the case of men it is not a matter of concern for a man. Women have to choose between marriage or promotion. There is a very tangible choice a woman has to make, to put it precisely she is expected to make because a lot of social undertones come with being a woman. Thus, we see a glass ceiling wherein the women face an impenetrable barrier which prevents them from moving upward. Women are subjected to unequal treatment across the globe because of this ubiquitous glass ceiling.

    It is more evidently seen in corporations where despite the availability of women’s talent, they are reluctant to invest in it. They view the cost of maternity leave and benefits negatively. So, it’s not a surprise that approximately 84% of women in law firms and companies thought their employers have performed below average on child care assistance programs while 74% believed that they did below average in terms of promoting or mentoring women within the corporation.  Now if we look at litigation, it does not fare any better. The court system is structured in a way where women don’t have 12 weeks of maternity leave.

    The systemic discrimination impedes their upward mobility. The critics have often pointed out that women are given unchallenging work and that there are gender biases present in the fraternity. Also, women are less likely to receive investment from law firms, because they fear that they may leave the profession for other reasons later on. Thus, it’s the mindset that hinders the opportunities that women lawyers could’ve got. Gender plays a huge role in the professional sphere as female lawyers face more challenges in bringing a balance between their career and their family.

    One of the studies has revealed that, unlike any other profession, even in the Indian legal profession, women lawyers are forced to choose between careers and children. The Researchers interviewed about 81 women lawyers. 75% of women in law firms, 43% of women in companies, and 52% of those in litigation said that their careers are adversely affected by maternity leave. In fact, the worst affected seem to be women in law firms, followed by women in litigation. The three top factors that women should have while establishing themselves in their careers are patience, perseverance and belief in themselves. 

    What message/advice would you like to give to the upcoming litigants on how to practice perseverance in this field?

    I have not only known but have myself undergone the struggle. The law students or upcoming generation has to go through this hardship as well. It is perfectly normal at the initial stage. In fact, everything around them is new. But as time passes they gradually adapt to the given situations and also become familiar with the surroundings and things become easier for them. All this struggle and hardship will make them stronger and it will be a part of their experience.

    They need to develop regular hard work and discipline to study daily because for a lawyer it’s the regular habit of reading that plays a big role in their careers, otherwise things would become difficult and messy.  Hence, it will be good if one plans a positive, proactive stance by setting up a schedule, establishing an accountability structure with built-in breaks, understanding personal preferences and habits and finding a place which is conducive to work. So, in the end, the more one keeps these pieces in place, the better off they will be when it comes to keeping up with the workload.

    Get in touch with Dr Vidyottma Jha –