Super Lawyer

Category: Associates, In-House Counsels and Advocates

  • Vipin Puran Singh, Circle Legal Head of Tata Teleservices on appointment and work

    Vipin Puran Singh, Circle Legal Head of Tata Teleservices on appointment and work

    Vipin Puran Singh graduated from National Law Institute University in 2010. He has recently joined Tata Teleservices Ltd. as Circle Legal Head (MP-CG region). This in itself is a huge achievement at his age, given that his counterparts are having at least 16 to 17 years more experience than him. Prior to Tata, he has worked with different organizations including Mahindra & Mahindra and Viom Network Ltd.(Tata Group). Apart from this, he has also been associated with many educational institutes.

    In this interview, he talks about:

    • Importance of academics and internships
    • His journey from Legal Consultant to Circle Legal Head at Tata Teleservices Ltd.
    • Recruitment process at Tata Teleservices Ltd. for Circle Legal Head

     

    Given that most of our readers belong to legal fraternity, how would you introduce yourself to them?

    Dear Readers and the Super Lawyer team thank you so much for providing me with this opportunity to share my thoughts & experience. My journey as a Lawyer started from 2010 when I graduated from National Law Institute University –Bhopal. Presently I hold position of Circle Legal Head at Tata Teleservices Ltd (Docomo). My previous work associations were with Mahindra & Mahindra, Viom Networks Ltd (Tata Group) & office of Asst. Solicitor General of India.

    Apart from being professional works, I take time out for community/ social work with Utho-Jago (NGO). My leisure time is dedicated to my family and friends who I consider my life’s strongest pillars. It had been a great journey so far and I feel there is a lot to come to make it far more interesting, meaningful and worth as individual & professional.

     

    How did you gravitate towards law? Why law and not engineering or medical studies?

    I am answering this question from my entrance exam days. Well this is most probable question indeed an interesting one to answer. Decision to pursue law, was one of the most difficult decision of that time. During my last few days of school, I had decided to do engineering like every maths-science student plan to do.  To be modest, pursuing  law was my dad’s advice, he always used to discuss about Law Universities  like NLS, NALSAR and NLIU but then, I could not imagine anything else but boring lawyers, Court’s Buildings and life time obligation of reading and studying. So, I did not take any interest in it until the day I read an article in newspaper regarding 100% placement and beautiful Library of NLIU!!! It struck my eyes! I did R&D on these universities and asked few of my seniors and the response was overwhelming. So here I am giving an interview as a Lawyer.

     

    As a law student which activities did you participate in?  Tell us about your law school journey from the 1st year till your final year. Did you have any guidance on how to go about your academics, co-curricular activities and internships?

    Five years at law school are the most valuable years of life for every law student for the purpose of personal and professional development; it makes you a mature professional from a immature teenager. Like every law student, my journey of five years at law school was very topsy-turvy and consist of highs and lows, friendship, love, drama, emotion everything you call feeling   If I start from my first year, it was the most difficult year of my law school life, I have studied from M.P Board where seldom you find English speaking friends even teachers never interacts in English and then I reached to law school where everyone was so fluent with their language and speaking skills. To be honest I used to be very scared of public speaking and I did not like giving  presentations before the class but this is what Law School teaches you by putting you in to the situation where either you will drown or you will learn to swim an survive. And I had no choice but to improve myself and overcome the weakness. It took me two years to come to the so called main stream!

    Where I can consider myself confident enough to handle the law school pressure. I was the students who have gone through every kind of excitement of law school from Repeats, Re-repeats and debarring from exams due to short of attendance. I have enjoyed my law school life at uttermost and have no regrets because today I am doing well in my own way. My advice to every law student that there is no harm in bunking the classes or may be exams because these would be the moments you would be cherishing for lifetime not your class room lectures. I was also involved in many co-curricular activities, I was the General Secretary of Environmental Research centre at NLIU, which has conducted National and International Environmental meets, Also made a documentary on global warming, I used to be amongst the few dancers of college. So my suggestion to aspiring lawyers is make the most of your law school days to groom themselves  and never give up to your past and do everything at your best from legal studies to loving your girlfriend. Face the current standing being head strong and don’t miss the fun of being a law student, that life never comes back live it every moment.

     

    What kind of internships did you do while you were a student? Any remarkable experiences during your internships that shaped your career choices later?

    Internships are the most important part of our curriculum,  I was always focused on my internships; I had got an opportunity to work with good organisations, law firms and corporate like Industrial Finance Corporation of India (IFCI), Minerals and Metals Trade Corporation(MMTC), Bharti –Airtel , M.V. Kini and Co.and few NGOs. My advice to every law student is that last two and half  years of internship works for you in placements because recruiter is always interested in your last 2 years of intern/work and first two and half years interns/trainings should be at places where you wish to visit (trust me!).  My most remarkable internship was with IFCI Ltd. I had worked with them for almost 3 months, where I had really learned the meaning of responsibility you possess being a legal advisor of the company, which relies on your opinions and decision, which would be of rupees more than thousands of Corers and Yes!! That is the reason you draw hefty salaries.

    All my internships had taught me something or the other but one thing I suppose I have learnt is to be honest and professional with your organisation and clients. It is the most important thing in this profession. My advice to every law student that do anything you wish to do in college life but be diligent and fair while going through internships because your work and appearance reflects your college reputation and your casual approach towards work may close the doors for your other batch-mates, juniors and for your university. Be passionate to work while going through internships which will open the doors for you in future and remember it’s a small world whose reference may take you to heights or land you in trouble.

     

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    Did you find that your law school education had prepared you sufficiently for the many tasks you were required to execute during your internships and later at your job?

    Absolutely yes! Law school taught me many things from my intellectual skills to appearance. Researching and drafting was the most imperative skills which made my internships successful. When I say successful, that means I had come up with desired result which was expected from me during all the internships, secondly law school developed and polished my presentation skills, a prerequisite for any internship because at the end you are always required to justify internship and there your presentation skills works for you, I have always managed to present more than I worked because that’s the lesson I learned from law school studies, present anything at its best!!  One of the most important skill which, later on became a key for my success was drafting skills, from any mail communication to any legal notice reply or any litigation document, all you need, is perfect drafting of matter/issues. I think, its one area, where you always have a scope of improving and I am still working on it!

     

    You practiced for one year before joining Tata Tele Services Ltd., Bhopal. What made you to choose litigation and what prompted you to leave it?

    Well a bit painful question Corporate was never my dream though I am proud to be associated with Tata Group, I have started my from the office of Asst. Solicitor General of India, who was father of my senior and gave me this opportunity to work in his office. I have practiced almost one year, learned many finest arts of being an advocate and started practicing alone with two offices at Bhopal and Indore. But my experience as private practitioner had very mixed feedback it appeared to me – that weightage in our profession is not given to learning and knowledge alone but more to the number of years of practice. So I thought its wise enough to move on something which can justify my learning, experience and intellect hence I quit litigation. And I am happy very happy with my decision of making my career in corporate as the learning here has no limits.

     

    After that, you left TTSL and had worked with VIOM Network Ltd (Tata group) & Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services Ltd. What prompted you to keep changing your job very frequently?

    I have worked with TTSL as a legal Consultant and started my first in-house corporate job with VIOM Networks, which is an Passive Telecom infra company of Tata Group as a circle legal executive which was comparatively a very small position but everyone was impressed with my work and got appreciation from everyone, all credit for appreciation goes to my boss Mr. Prashant Chauhan who happened to be my immediate senior at NLIU, I have learned many tactics on how to manage work, people and pressures in Corporate where you are suppose to deliver the work within a blink of eye.  At same time I have started getting call from other corporate houses and one fine day I got a call from Mahindra, though there was no specific reason to choose Mahindra over any other company except change in monotonous work. Best part of private corporate sector is that you can explore many opportunities, if you have guts to prove yourself to other company that if they don’t choose you it would be their mistake.

     

    vipin-singh-2You’ve recently joined TTSL as Circle Legal Head (MP-CG region). How did the switch from Mahindra take place?

    From Mahindra to Tata as legal Head was the most dramatic switch! Mahindra never wanted to leave me and I feel proud that my superiors were so much happy with my work, but I could not bear to leave the opportunity which was knocking my door and I grabbed it, In the age of 27 years, it was really a gigantic opportunity for any law graduate, my every counterpart -legal heads of other states in Tata are approximately 16 to 17 years more experienced than me , though it is very challenging because when you work on higher position you have very few people whom you can seek help and you are suppose to be ready with instant legal opinion in any critical situation. Before joining TATA as legal Head, I had gone through many rounds and interviewed very comprehensively, I had been asked and interviewed on various parameters which were mainly including of H.R rounds then legal rounds and finally intense Business rounds.

    Oh my god! That business round digged me to extreme. Sharing few questions with you like, How your presence can improve the business of company? (My thought was, am I supposed to be your marketing head?). When law expressly barred to carry out business at any place how would provide way to do business without breaking laws? (Now what is that?), well well! but after all I am a lawyer! How can I fail to impress you with my prompt answers! and yes today I am Circle Legal Head !

     

    Many young lawyers at corporate firms complain about the work being too exhausting, and that maintaining a work-life balance is just not possible. Could you share any advice on this?

    Generally every corporate sector’s official working hours are 8-Hrs 8.5- Hrs, and there could be no work which cannot be finished in specified timing, if we work diligently (may not apply to law firms) and every work is not meant to be finished in one day. I follow very unique strategy; I always streamline my work in different parameters like a work which can be completed on next working day. We should not sit back in office to finish that task, because remember one thing, work in corporate sector is never ending process and that is what you are being paid for. I never stretch my team to work after official hours, if something can be done on next working day it should be done accordingly.  Always keep one thing in mind, we work to make our life prosperous and if we fail to take out time for family and friends, our exhaustive working is of no use. Always try to prioritize work according to its timeline and work accordingly, once in a week if you are sitting late in office, it is justifiable but if you are sitting back in office every day after working hours than it is not work pressure it is a failure of your managerial skills.

     

    If you could re-live your 5 years in Law school, is there something you would do differently?

    Well, there could be hundreds of things which I would want to do! But I think whatever I did in those five years was my conscious decisions or decisions I made for myself after knowing the aftermaths of that situations. As I said earlier also, I have no regrets!

     

    Where do you see yourself five years from now?

    That’s a tough one, though everyone has aspiration so do I. Down the line five years I see myself more experienced and professional law personnel. I am confident that where ever I would be working I will grow with my Organization and would try to set new benchmark for aspiring lawyers.

     

    Lastly, what would be your message for our readers?

    My Message to aspiring law graduate is to live law school life fullest Learn! Learn! Learn. Learn to the extent that it becomes your habit, your routine and then your necessity. If we can do so world is all yours nothing can stop you from growing. I try my best to support aspiring graduates and I would say – If you think I can add some value in your learning I am just a call away.

     

    The views expressed on this site/article/interview are my own and not those of Tata Teleservices – Vipin Singh

  • Niyati Jigyasi on bagging a job from Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan

    Niyati Jigyasi on bagging a job from Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan

    Niyati Jigyasi is a graduate from National Law Institute University, Bhopal (Batch of 2014). Her diligence paid off when she received a job offer from Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan (LKS) in her 5th year of law school. Currently, she is working as an Associate there. We asked her to share her experiences and strategies she used over the years.

    In this interview, Niyati talks about:

    • Trimester system at NLIU
    • Importance of Internships and other co-curricular activities
    • Preparing for job interviews and securing a job at LKS

     

    Tell us about your pre-college life as well as educational background. Why did you decide to study law?

    My decision to pursue law is a result of my conversations with my Grandfather who himself was a law graduate. He is one of the main reasons I choose law.

    Being a commerce student, law appeared to me as the best career option. I started preparing for CLAT since 12th itself but was able to clear it only in my 2nd attempt and  was proud to be a part of India’s premier law institute National Law Institute University, Bhopal.

     

    niyati-j-1How was your first year of law school?

    It definitely has an impact on your coming years but according to me it definitely does not determine your coming four years. Every year in law school has its own importance and each year teaches you how can you improve your performance in the next year.

    I’ll say 1st year of college not just in law school but in every field can be a bit challenging for every student. Adjusting in new city, hostel, eating mess food, completely new subjects etc seems to be a bit challenging but eventually you get adjusted in the environment.

    For me, first year was one of the best years of my college life. Probably, because that was the only year when I was a hosteller. I had full on hostel masti in my 1st year and it set the tone for the fun filled rest of 4 years.

     

    One can find it difficult to manage continuous evaluation through trimester exams, projects, submissions, etc. in a law school. How did you manage your studies?

    In trimester system managing studies along with other co-curricular activities seems a bit a difficult in starting but within 2-3 trimesters you get used to the routine and its no more difficult. Every student comes out with his/her own way to manage the studies in the trimester system.

    I tried to make the maximum use of the first month of the trimester which used to be comparatively free. I also tried by best to complete my submissions and presentations on time so that I don’t have to rush during the time of exams to make by presentations.

     

    How much time does it take to manage academics properly in a law school like NLIU, especially in light of the trimester system?

    First year is a pretty good time to get a fair idea about the trimester system & decide the way one wants to approach the studies in the trimester system. In a law school there are a lot of co curricular activities going on round the year so one needs to plan in a manner that he/she can manage academics along with other activities. This can be a bit hectic at times, but taking part in co curricular activities is also equally important. I remember the trimesters when I took some moots, I was either working for moots or was studying for exams or submissions. But that was also a good experience. Managing studies along with other activities in a trimester system teaches you a lot.

     

    How would you describe your time at NLIU-Bhopal? What are the co-curricular activities you took part at NLIU?

    Being from Bhopal & getting NLIU, Bhopal through CLAT was one the best thing that could have happened. I had a great time at NLIU, Bhopal. These 5 years have transformed me from a law aspirant to a law student and now an Advocate finally. NLIU has helped me to fulfil my dream of being an Advocate. These 5 years have taught me a lot and if I start discussing each of those things it will be a long list. NLIU, Bhopal gave me friends for life, I’ll cherish each and every moment spent at this place.

    I took part as a Researcher in three moots, was a member of Managerial Board of NLIU Law Review since its inception and worked a lot to get the Law Review issues published. I was also a part of CARES-the environment cell of our college for a short span of time. As a member of CARES I edited the 1st NLIU Environment Newsletter which was released eve of Inter College Environment Meet organized by CARES.I was also the co-ordinator for getting this Newsletter published. I also participated in 2-3 essay writing competitions, paper presentation and got a paper published in one of the e-journals.

     

    Which internships that you have pursued will you consider to be right at the top and why? Tell us about some interesting internship experiences.

    My internship experience at Phoenix Legal, Delhi and at FICCI, Delhi are the best. The internship at Phoenix Legal was the best law firm internship experience I had. The variety of work which was given to me, the way the seniors treated me in that organization and the way my work was appreciated made my internship at Phoenix Legal right at the top. The internship at FICCI was altogether a different experience. The work at FICCI was more of comparative analysis of Indian laws and foreign laws based on which FICCI had to take a stand as to whether the Indian law is correct or not and what amendment is required to made to make it the more beneficial or how beneficial the amendment proposed is. The kind of work I did at FICCI made it one of the best internships.

    At one of my internships I was given a chance to interact with the client directly in a client meeting regarding the case I was working on with the senior. Obviously the questions which I am going to ask to the client were discussed thoroughly before the meeting, but the experience to question the client about the case and a senior sitting next to you quietly, speaking only when client is not able to understand your question or when you are going wrong is an amazing experience that too being just an intern.

    Also once when I was researching on an issue and internet and books were not able to solve that issue completely I was asked my senior to go and meet the officers in the Ministry to solve the issue. The interaction with the officers in ministry and the trust that the seniors at the firm showed on me by sending me alone to talk to the officers was also a great experience.

     

    What are the skills you learned from internships? How did you ensure that you get noticed during internships for the work you do?

    Internships helped me to enhance my research skills and gave me a fair idea as to the work life after law school. It helps you to decide the place where you want to see yourself in future. Internships taught me that its ok if you don’t know a particular law, but having an ability to learn & apply that law to the given case in the limited time you have is what is required.

    According to me, only good work can make you get noticed during internships and nothing else. If you work hard and do your work on time, you will definitely get noticed at internships. I always made sure to complete the work given to me on time without compromising on the quality. Giving quality work on time is the mantra to get notice at the internships according to me.

     

    You have participated in various moot court competitions. Do you think mooting is beneficial for Law students or is it just to make your CV look fancy?

    According to me Mooting is very beneficial for Law Students. Mooting gives you a chance to do in depth research on a specific issue. It enhances your research skills, your speaking abilities, it teaches you to think from your opponents’ side also, it teaches you to work & coordinate with others as a team. I’ll say a law student should atleast once do Mooting in the law school, its a really a good experience. No doubt it looks good in CV and adds value to your CV, but it is definitely not just a line item to add to your CV, it is very beneficial for a law student.

     

    What brought you towards Tax Law?

    When we came to know that L&S is going to come to our campus I started studying indirect tax and I realised that tax is also not a bad option, I can give it a try. L&S also organized Lecture series at our campus before the recruitment, these lecture series cleared all my doubts about choosing tax law as a career option. Before this I never thought about going into tax law. And I can say today that I took a right decision.

     

    You secured a job at Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan (LKS) in your 5th year of law school. How did you go about achieving this?

    We were told that for any interview you need to know each and every word which you have written in your CV. So I made sure that I knew everything written in my CV. Apart from CV I studied the basics of the important subjects like contracts, sale of goods, companies, property law etc. And I studied the basics of tax laws specifically for L&S interview. For L&S interview I also studied all that was discussed in the lecture series properly.

     

    How many times did you intern at LKS before you bagged the job offer? Please tell us about the recruitment application process at LKS?

    I have never interned at L&S before. I was recruited through campus recruitments. The recruitment process at our college involved sending our CV to Placement Committee.  Students were shortlisted on the basis of CV and after that shortlisted candidates had to go through the interview round.

     

    What kind of questions were you asked during the interview with LKS?

    In my interview fortunately I was not asked a single question on tax. Maximum part of my interview was based on my CV.  I was asked about my experience at the various firms I have interned earlier and based on my experience they asked about the work which I did in that internship. I was also asked certain questions on contract law apart from my CV. Other than that questions like why you are choosing tax, do you have any problem in relocating, will you be able to work in this organization for a long time etc were also asked. I was also asked about my experience at lecture series, was it beneficial or not and why was it beneficial.

     

    How do you think one should go about writing a CV when one is applying for a job?

    There is a saying first impression is the last impression and in case of applying for jobs, your CV is the thing that will create your first impression on the recruiters. Therefore, one should take utmost care while writing the CV. You can’t take a chance to mess up your CV. At the time of writing the CV you should keep in your mind that you have to answer the questions based on your CV so you should write only what you can answer. You should be aware of all the possible questions based on the things you have written in your CV. And if at the time of writing the CV you don’t know something properly then write that only if you are confident that you will be able to study that. Never write anything in your CV which you don’t know. You are bound to know everything written in the CV. So the most important thing for writing CV is write only those things which you know properly. Apart from this CV should not have any formatting or grammatical mistakes.

     

    Many law school students aspire to secure a job. What do you think most are doing wrong, from your observations?

    Every person has his/her own point of view and priorities in life. By God’s grace I have never faced such a situation. So sitting here and saying what wrong they are doing will not be appropriate. Everyone who is struggling is trying their best to secure a good job. What I can probably say is that may be going behind only a big shot corporate firm job and a good salary can be a problem. According to me, starting with even a new or small firm is no harm, may be if I would not have been lucky enough to get a job at L&S, I might also have taken a small law firm job. But as I said, I am no one to say that those law school students are doing something wrong. I firmly believe that each one of them will be trying their best to secure a job to suit their requirements.

     

    Lastly, what would be your message to our readers?

    To all the law school students I’ll say just enjoy your five years of law school as much as you can. You’ll never get that experience ever again in your life. Having said that, I’ll also say that take your studies, projects, internships, co-curricular activities seriously. You’ll realise its important when you start working. So party hard, work hard & just enjoy your law school life. You’ll miss it when you’ll start working.

  • Robin Quadros on handling corporate M&A, work at a litigation firm and a typical corporate workday

    Robin Quadros on handling corporate M&A, work at a litigation firm and a typical corporate workday

    Robin Quadros graduated from National Law Institute University, Bhopal in 2012.. He has thereafter worked at Rohit Das & Associates and MLS Vani & Associates. He is currently working as an Associate at Desai and Diwanji, Mumbai.

    We asked him to share his journey from being a law student to being a corporate lawyer.

     

    Given that most of our readers belong to the legal fraternity, how would you introduce yourself to them?

    Hello everyone. I am Robin Quadros. I was born and brought up in Mumbai and I have graduated from National Law Institute University, Bhopal in 2012. I am an Associate at Desai & Diwanji, Mumbai.

     

    How did you gravitate towards law? Why law and not engineering or medical studies?

    The thought in relation to a career in the legal industry was always fascinating. I believe that the work as an engineer or a doctor is a bit mechanical. The same kind of work is required to be performed almost every day. The degree of the problem may vary, but not the solution.

    I believe that everything or every action to be carried out from below the earth such as mining, oil exploration, etc. and everything above the earth including space is covered by laws. The work of a lawyer has more scope than working as an engineer or doctor, because an engineers and doctors are more or less restricted to their specialisation. I have always been keen on corporate law, which in itself is vast, yet I am not prevented or precluded from practicing in media law, space law, international law, taxation or any other field of law. Life as a lawyer is different every day. In case of litigation matters, all cases differ from each other. In case of corporate matters or transactions, the requirements of different clients vary. The fun part for the lawyer is that her/ his mind is always at work. This is the reason I had considered being a lawyer and had no other second thoughts. It is the most exciting career option for anyone.

     

    How would you describe your legal education? Did your legal education prepare you for the real world practice of law?

    Being a student in any National Law University is always difficult. There is always constant pressure due to the hectic schedule. The trimester system at NLIU, Bhopal made life a bit trickier. Every student has her/ his own way of working/ studying and so did I. I believe if a student’s mind is clear in terms of career options for the future, they can work/ study in a particular manner in order to achieve that goal. I was not a topper in my law school though I always believed that knowledge is power. I tried to keep abreast with current affairs as law is ever changing and hence along with regular college studies as a student, it is quintessential for a student to be updated with new laws or new interpretations of the existing laws.

    Life as a law student has surely helped me prepare for the “real world practice of law”. Every experience, whether good or bad, is a good “learning” experience and will always help me in my career. I would suggest that every law student should be ready to face as many difficult situations and challenges as possible. If you face a difficult or tricky challenge in future, the confidence to face it will flow from your past.

     

    As a law student which activities did you participate in?

    As a law student I was quite keen on mooting. I believe that mooting is the best manner to prepare a law student for the real life practice. Mooting hones the skills of the law student in research, drafting the memorial, arguing in front of the judges as well as being street smart and being quick on the feet. I have also presented few papers at conferences which assisted me in my drafting, research as well as presentation skills.

     

    robin-q-2Tell us about your law school journey from the 1st year till your final year. Did you have any guidance on how to go about your academics, co-curricular activities and internships?

    I did not take any guidance in terms of academics. Every student is different and so is their way and manner of working. A student must always follow the path which helps them the most. I decided to balance my academics with other interests such as extracurricular activities and internships. I always focussed on learning, be it academics or other activities. I would like to credit my seniors at NLIU for their guidance in terms of internships and co-curricular activities. I also had some close friends from other National Law Schools who would help, advice and guide me as and when required.

     

    What kind of internships did you do while you were a student? Any remarkable experiences during your internships that shaped your career choices later?

    I had interned at NGO’s, an LPO and various law firms. I decided to intern at NGO’s and an LPO solely with an intention to understand the kind of work carried out by such organisations. I had already decided on my career choices before joining NLIU, so the internships only assisted me in achieving my immediate career objectives.

    As I had already decided to work in a corporate law firm, I decided to have diverse work experience through my internships. Through my internship experiences I gained knowledge in banking, real estate, general corporate and project finance matters amongst others, which till date is helpful in some manner or the other. As I was a law student during the recession period in 2009, through my internship experiences I realised that I must gain experience in as many areas of practice as possible. For example, if the markets and economic situation of the country is weak, the amount of work received by the law firms in capital markets and securities and possibly the number of acquisitions in the country may be lower.

    The work at a law firm is largely dependent on the political and economic situation of the country. In a country like India, I believe that the focus of a lawyer may be on a particular practice area, but the lawyer must not shy away from other practice areas. In case of a bad economic situation in the country, the knowledge gained by the lawyer in other practice areas will help them survive till the markets are stable. This was something that I identified through my internships which according me was important.

     

    Did you find that your law school education had prepared you sufficiently for the many tasks you were required to execute during your internships and later at your job?

    Education always prepares you for the challenges in future. However, that is just the first step. Good education from a good law school is a stepping stone. One must never forget that law is ever evolving. The process of learning never stops. Law school education helped me prepare the basics. There are many new laws that are enacted. The courts also keep interpreting the existing laws which a lawyer is required to be aware of. My law school education played a major role in executing my work during internships.

    However, the work that I received at law firms during my job and the queries from clients were more complex and required much more research and analysis. It is always a different situation when you have to read a question and answer during exams as compared to advising a client in a litigation matter or a transaction. The advice given by the lawyer to the client should be good because one wrong piece of advice could affect the client in an adverse manner. The pressure faced by the lawyer in advising the client is much more than answering a question paper.

     

    How has your mooting experience been?

    To be honest, I will not term my mooting experience as “successful”, but personally, the experience has been “satisfying”. I believe that no one will have faith in you, if you do not have faith in yourself. I always liked to challenge myself where it has been possible and compete against others. I do feel sad and regret that I have not won a national moot and a best speaker award where it has been possible. I won the second best speaker in my first ever intra batch moot in my law school, which I will not consider as success, as there could have been more that I could have achieved in my mooting career.

    But mooting has instilled a lot of confidence within me and has helped me till date, including personal appearances in the Hon’ble Bombay High Court and especially in a particular case that was decided in my clients favour. Mooting has also helped me improve upon my research abilities in corporate and litigation matters. I would encourage every law student to moot at least once in their life.

    Everyone who participates in moots and takes up that challenge up front as a law student in their first year is always a winner. I have seen at least hundreds from various law schools who prepare for moots till the last moment and then back out. So everyone who participates is a winner in their own way, compared to those who back out due to low self-confidence.

     

    After graduating from NLIU you directly joined Rohit Das & Associates. How did the appointment take place?

    I had two internships at Rohit Das & Associates (“RDA Legal”). As RDA Legal at that time did not have an office in Mumbai, I had interned at RDA Legal, Bangalore in my 3rd year and RDA Legal, Kolkata in my 4th year. RDA Legal (then PXV & Partners) had visited the NLIU campus on “Day Zero” for recruitment but I could not sit for the placement due to personal problems. I had received an offer from a reputed litigation firm in Mumbai after graduation. As I was keen on corporate law, I spoke to Mr. Rohit Das over a call expressing my interest and intent to join RDA Legal. He decided to meet me and after a fruitful conversation during the meeting, I was offered a job by Mr. Rohit Das. Another good law firm in Mumbai had expressed their interest in recruiting me after I was offered a job at RDA Legal, which I declined due to strategic reasons.

     

    You left RDA and had joined MLS Vani & Associates. What prompted this switchover? Would you say that the work environment at MLS Vani was significantly different from RDA?

    This is a tricky question to answer. I had joined RDA legal as it was a start up and wished to be a part of RDA Legal’s growth as well as contribute towards the growth of the firm. However, there were certain administrative problems in the firm, which I do not wish to state now, due to which I could not continue in the firm any longer. The switchover was smooth and I am sure Mr. Rohit Das understood my actual reasons for resigning.

    The work environment at MLS Vani & Associates was way different from RDA Legal. I had joined a litigation firm from a corporate firm. I had to regularly appear in courts, had regular meetings with clients in office. I was responsible for whatever happened in the courts, so my personal responsibility and accountability in drafting as well as appearances was much more. MLS Vani & Associates was a much smaller firm in comparison to RDA Legal but was as professional as any other good law firm irrespective of the size. I was a part of some good matters in the banking and real estate area. The appearances in the courts was hectic but  fun, especially being part of the team against a few top tier law firms and working with a good litigation firm such as Dutt Menon & Dunmorrsett.

     

    You’ve recently joined Desai & Diwanji. What prompted this move?

    Though I had joined a litigation firm like MLS Vani & Associates, my interest was always to be a part of corporate transactional matters, especially Mergers & Acquisitions. After leaving RDA Legal and joining MLS Vani, I did miss being a part of M&A transactions and working on corporate matters. As Desai & Diwanji is one of the best law firms in terms of M&A and General Corporate it was not that difficult a decision to switch.

     

    How did you approach Desai & Diwanji for this job?

    Well, I did not have any contacts, so it was the normal procedure. The HR of Desai & Diwanji had always been honest in terms of requirements of the firm. I had called the HR a year back (in 2013) and she specifically informed me that the firm is looking out for a lawyer with litigation experience of at least 7 years. As I had an experience of only one year in general corporate, I obviously did not fit in to the requirements. I tried the same procedure in 2014. I called the HR and expressed my intention and interest to join Desai & Diwanji.

    The HR inquired about my work experience and informed me that a particular team was looking out for a lawyer with experience in litigation and corporate. The interview was scheduled with the concerned partner and after clearing the interview I was a part of this team at Desai & Diwanji. I currently handle 3-4 litigation matters and assist my team in corporate matters including legal opinions, due diligence and transactions such as M&A.

     

    How does your typical workday look like?

    I generally work from 9:30 am till around 9-10 pm average. The work atmosphere is really good. Being a part of a law firm with so many lawyers is always an advantage. Even if I work for 12 or 15 or 18 hours a day, I do not feel any physical or psychological exhaustion as the other associates in the firm always provide constant strength and support to each other. My suggestion to law students is that the work in a law firm is always hectic and you must choose it if you prefer that kind of work and feel you are made for it, but not just on the basis of money you will receive at the end of the month.

     

    Many young lawyers at corporate firms complain about the work being too exhausting, and that maintaining a work-life balance is just not possible. Could you share any advice on this?

    As you sow, so shall you reap. The efforts which I put in today will bear fruits tomorrow. Well, I have worked for even 15-18 hours a day, for quite a few continuous days in my short stint at Desai & Diwanji till date and even had a similar schedule at a previous job. This situation in relation to work hours is not only limited to Desai & Diwanji, as lawyers in other top law firms also work long hours continuously which at times extends to two or three days. I would love to learn, make mistakes (and learn), work hectic hours, as long as I achieve what I desire in life. Many young lawyers do complain.

    Working in a good law firm is not everyone’s piece of cake. I have been working crazy hours for a while, but I remove time for family, friends and loved ones. It may be a weekend or a late night. I always like to surprise my close ones and they do appreciate my efforts. Where there is a will, there is a way. If you enjoy your work and your close ones support you, life will always be easier. The lawyers who complain are probably in the wrong field or job. Work is about enjoying, not complaining. If a client requires a particular task to be completed within a particular time, it has to be completed. This is the situation existing at all top law firms. If you are having sleepless nights, so is your client! My simple advice is that, if you feel something is not right for you or not working out for you, you are probably at the wrong place!

     

    If you could re-live your 5 years in Law school, is there something you would do differently?

    I do miss my 5 years at NLIU, Bhopal dearly. It was never fast moving and hectic like my life in Mumbai. But life is all about how you live it. Bhopal was not as fast moving as Mumbai was, but I ensured that I made my 5 years at NLIU, Bhopal as fruitful as possible in my own way. I enjoyed and studied in my 5 years at NLIU, Bhopal, and I doubt I would do anything differently now. Life is all about balancing work and living.

     

    Where do you see yourself five years from now?

    Probably in a corporate law firm. Hopefully handling M&A and other corporate transactions and in a more responsible position.

     

    Lastly, what would be your message for our readers?

    I have noticed a lot of law students fear the efforts which go into the preparations for a moot. I would like to remind law students of the saying “Survival of the fittest”. Your loss is some other students gain. If you wish to be a lawyer, you should be prepared to take on all challenges that you come across. Mooting is the easiest of all those challenges you may face as a lawyer and in your life. It is not always about winning. As I stated above, every experience will help, whether good or bad.

    Another message, for law students or young lawyers, irrespective, is that many try to seek jobs in “top tier law firms”, whether for status or money but being blank or unaware about their area of interest. Identify your area of interest. I have asked many final year law students on their future plans, with the answer being “Let’s see. I am trying at all top tier law firms.” When I ask them their area of interest and their reason to apply at that “top tier law firm”, I get a blank reply. I have also come across many law students and lawyers depressed that they did not make it to a top tier law firm. If you do not get your desired job today, prepare yourself in such a manner that you might get it tomorrow. Some lawyers who make it to a top tier law firm complain about work-life balance and how difficult life is! There are many boutique firms practicing in specific practice areas, some paying as high as or higher than top tier law firms, considering that the lawyer is worth the price. Experimentation is fine during internships, but experimenting jobs is not cool! You may lie to the whole world, but you can never lie to yourself. Choose your career wisely at the appropriate time. Making it to a top tier law firm is not bad, but only if you feel you can handle it and if that is what you desire.

    I think I will end with an appropriate dialogue from the movie 3-Idiots for current law students. As many seem to have forgotten it, I quote, “Do not run behind success, but try to achieve excellence. Success will be achieved through excellence”.

  • Manish Raj on work at Coal India Ltd., being AIR 4 in the UPSC Company Prosecutor exam

    Manish Raj on work at Coal India Ltd., being AIR 4 in the UPSC Company Prosecutor exam

    Manish Raj, graduated from NLIU, Bhopal in 2009. Thereafter, he worked at Coal India Ltd. in various capacities. Recently, he secured AIR 4 in the exam conducted by UPSC for the posts of Company Prosecutors in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

    In this interview he talks about:

    • Working at a PSU: Coal India Ltd.
    • Clearing the UPSC exam for Company Prosecutors

     

    Tell us a bit about yourself as an introduction. Do you come from a family of lawyers?

    Firstly, your team is doing a fantastic job of gathering such imperative information of experiences in the field of law that could play a great role in budding grads life. Congratulations!!

    I am a 2009 batch graduate from National Law Institute University; thereafter I worked with Coal India Ltd. (A Govt. Undertaking) at various capacities starting from Management Trainee to Assistant Manager (Legal). Recently cleared the exam conducted by the Union Public Service Commission, so just waiting to resume my services with Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Govt. of India.

    No, miles away, I am a first person in my family who did this intentional gaffe of taking up law as a profession rest all and relatives remained associated with Railway Services, entrepreneurs (Construction firms) and Administrative Services.

     

    What got you into legal studies? Was it all planned or something that just happened by chance?

    Lived a very independent life in this regard, abhorrent to many my parents always said to justify your life as per your age and as a son. Getting into law was my independent decision for the reason that I had this bend towards humanities, writing and others. Being a Mathematics student in 12th grade really helped me a lot to think about what I definitely not want to be…

    No, I knew about the National law schools in those days and seriously took the entrance exam of NLIU along with other exams for different law schools.

     

    How was your experience at NLIU? What activities were you involved in apart from the regular academic curriculum?

    Being the hosteller at NLIU, the very first thing it taught me was to always fill the mug before you use the washroom, hilarious for many but embarrassing to some and still at times it makes me think about the balancing act of all those creatures(from other clusters) whose pug marks left imprinted on the lid.

    Well, when I have joined the NLIU it was at the apex of its transition phase, everything was yet to take a shape, so be it roads, library, gol chakkar, new teachers replacing old teachers and Canteen(though temporarily built of jute but I think it was better than the new one in the campus).

    Not an exception, it was a roller-coaster ride for me at NLIU that made me to meet the good, bad and hilarious hundred shades of grey, black and white at one place. I totally agree that time flies at NLIU, 5 years seems a moment.

    Extricating in nature, late night hobnobs at boy’s hostel, bakar at gol chakkar, road roller (doubt if some still remember about it), kallu/hemraj ki tapri, mindora, library(outside it or serene view from roof top) and others primarily remained the sites where I remained actively involved in all those highly brainstorming sessions and other societal activities. Apart from it the remaining time was being utilized for paper publications, moot courts, gym, seminars/conferences and sports too.

     

    Manish Raj

    What were your major interests as a student of law? Any suggestions for the law students on how to deal with Pandora box of laws?

    Our course curriculum is such that one remains student of both law and humanities and I remained no exception to it. My interest as a law student lied somewhere in mid of both i.e. if constitutional law than political science and administrative law too and later the contemporary socio-legal issues, henceforth the fragments from all the subjects has helped me a lot to knit something of my interest. It may seem to be an agrestic approach but with time it takes a shape to help you in profession as well as a social being.

    Reading those law books fills one with the fake sense of power and thinking oneself to be intellectually superior to others, alas the execution part of it is way different by methods and means. Consequently I think being a law student think logically, keep prime focus on your concepts of law while reading and keep yourself at bay from those great great intellectual bakar.

     

    How should one go about the internships? How important it is for a law student to plan out the course of his internships to successfully gain from the internship experience?

    Internships are the best time to explore not about the place where you intern but about yourself in a manner that what you really not want to be. Therefore trepidations or learning from others experience is not a wise act, be your experience, explore all possible job sites; law firms, FMCGs, various Adjudicating bodies, commissions and others only then decide what you really want to be in the future.

    Internships should not become the process of collecting tags/brands to make your resume look marvellous; therefore I think from 3rd year (9th trimester) onwards start fixing your steps in one direction (internship at one place) based on self hand experience of the past internships. I hope one could achieve so much than only the experience certificate.

     

    You have published a lot of papers in various prestigious journals. How should one go about writing papers and getting the same published? Can you give us a few tips to ace the art of paper writing?

    Indeed yes, from Company law journal to Harvard Law journal and still continuing with last one in The Hindu (Newspaper). I should not suggest anyone to jump in without interest or just for the sake of writing; it’s an engaging process that seeks patience and persistence to write and get it published.

    I think desirous among many may start with contemporary issues, read a lot from various sources, search for some legal clue in it to effectively justify your profession too, start writing, fit it in various pigeon hole of formats by the publishers, send it and wash your hands of with it. The most quintessential is to read and analyze the already published work of others.

     

    Tell us how has paper publishing and other co-curricular activities helped you in acquiring skills that are important for a successful legal career?

    I am not hubris a person if I say that good paper publishing is followed by appreciation and eulogized by many. Not much co-curricular activities I remained active in, the one I found myself around were writing, paper presentations at conferences/seminars, member of different cells, moot courts and others, indeed all these activities helped in evolving drafting, presenting, and fabricating(is a skill) skills in me.

     

    After graduating from NLIU you had worked at Coal India Ltd. (A Govt. Undertaking) for a considerably long time. How was your experience being part of a PSU?

    Yes, I have started working as an Executive officer (legal) and worked last on Asst. Manager (legal) position. Interestingly, during my later half I was posted at Dhanbad office and at the same time Anurag Kashyap was working on Gangs of Wasseypur project at Katras mines (Area office of BCCL, Dhanbad) and National Geographic India on some energy project at Jharia mines(Area office of BCCL, Dhanbad) so enjoyed resolving some legal query qua sites.

    Abhorrently, it remained challenging to work with a Public Sector for the reason that the laws qua Energy sector are very different and takes time to get accustomed. Apart from the legal skills, managerial, administrative skills and quick decision taking skills are tested time and again. The biggest challenge is not to manage your top slots but to get your work done by the subordinates (especially of your father’s age) and breaking the speed of file moment that remarks of Colonial era legacy.

    Major area of work remained of compliance of law at various legal forums, personnel and administrative tasks, international contracts (JVs and others) for various purposes, Land Acquisition, Arbitration, FSA ongoing Coal Blocks issue and others.

     

    How helpful do you think CGPA is when it comes to getting recruited?

    CGPA helps in getting shortlisted at least during the Campus placements, so I think it’s important to maintain a decent B+ (65% or more) score/grade. As we know even in Govt. job and private jobs they have percentage fixed as minimum eligibility.

    Let me tell all those students (mediocre) who study hard and fetch no good marks that keep your basics (concepts of law) brushed and don’t worry about the job, it will follow you. I repeat-only those who study hard and not score well in the exams.

     

    What is the importance of CGPA for law students especially for UPSC exams? Does it make any difference during the interview?

    Just fulfil the minimum criteria of percentage as reiterated in the notification for vacancies that’s it. No, Union Public Service Commission as we know is a constitutional body wherein during interviews College name, medium of education, social background and other things have been given no heed(I think) and remains neutral for all to bring out perfect equality and harmony. Quintessentially a law degree from National Law School remains at par with a law degree from any other regional college.

     

    You have recently secured AIR 4 in the exam conducted by UPSC for the post of Company Prosecutor, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India. How did go about achieving this?

    At present there are only 30 posts of Company Prosecutors with MCA in India, out of which for the vacant 13 post this recruitment drive was initiated by the UPSC. It was little shocking at first for me to get selected for the said post apparently that much more qualified candidates and senior in age had left me cold feet during the interviews at the UPSC Bhawan.

     

    Tell us about the application procedure. What all qualities did you think helped you to crack this exam?

    The exam was conducted by the UPSC, New Delhi wherein they had floated the notification containing the relevant information qua post. I think the basic understanding of law, past job experience, and my grounded approach to the issues/questions have helped me to crack it.

     

    Tell us about your interview? What kinds of questions were asked by the interview board?

    Interview was held at UPSC, Bhawan, it was Prof. David R. Syiemlieh’s (member of UPSC) board along with four members, it was started with discussing about BRICS Bank and its effect on India and World trade and ended with asking about the days at NLIU. It took 30-35 minutes (approx) wherein except one all four members remained active in asking/raising questions. I kept myself at distance from wild guesses wherever I had no answers and justified whatever was mentioned in the form, at the end perhaps favored me.

    It was different from the conventional interviews of checking your data storage capacity; it was more or less based on discussing practical problems related to social issues, legal concern, corporate laws and solutions to it/them.

     

    What are the prospects of being Company Prosecutor with Ministry of Corporate Affairs and how law students at NLIU may get benefitted from your experience?

    Even I am waiting to resume my services with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, so I don’t know much about the prospects except that it’s a Ministerial and Gazetted post with Govt. of India. Being Ministerial in nature it seems that primarily the work will inter-alia deals with National and International Corporate Laws, Policy and important trans-boundary papers drafting, preparing answers to the questions raised at Loksabha/Rajyasabha, representing ministry at various legal forums, legal opinions and working with Secretaries, officers and Group of Ministers appointed for special tasks.

    Let me join first, I can just assure at this juncture about the appropriate commitments from my side in the near future to the law students.

     

    What would be your message for law students who are preparing or planning to prepare to appear for the Company Prosecutor?

    Well, I shouldn’t suggest anyone to prepare for this post separately for the reason that posts are so less in number and since post qualification experience is one of the essential qualification for the job.

    However, keep yourself updated with the latest changes in Corporate Laws. For detailed information qua subjects one can collect the same from Ministry of Corporate Affairs, GOI website.

     

    Lastly, some dos and donts for the law students based on your past experiences in the legal field and at NLIU?

    Being a student at law school one gets to meet people from all walks of life, I too remained fortunate when it comes to batch-mates, seniors and juniors. Five years is a moment, therefore I would only suggest utilizing maximum out of the moment. Always try to utilize first 15 days of the trimesters be it for trips, hanging around, extra-curricular activities but don’t sit idle at hostel/home. Before turning pages from those bulky Volumes in library go through some general book (may be of CLA Publication) to clear your concepts first. And lastly, never throw those empty bottles from the roof top of the hostel on the road thinking that it will hit targeted lamp post at gol-chakkar.

     

  • Rakhi Mohanty on Masters in Commercial Law from LSE, litigation at Supreme Court and academic research

    Rakhi Mohanty on Masters in Commercial Law from LSE, litigation at Supreme Court and academic research

    Rakhi Mohanty graduated with a B.A.LLB (Hons) degree from NLIU, Bhopal in 2010.She then went on to litigate in the Supreme Court and later worked with a law firm based in Delhi. She is currently pursuing her Masters in Commercial Law from the London School of Economics.

    In this interview, Rakhi talks about:

    • How to choose internships while in law school
    • Litigation in India and its future
    • Pursuing LLM’s in avant-garde institutions and gruelling academic schedules
    • Academic research in foreign universities

     

    Please introduce yourself to the readers. Tell us a little about your childhood and your background.

    My name is Rakhi Mohanty and I recently completed my Masters at the London School of Economics and Political Science in Commercial Laws. I am an alumni of National Law Institute University. I come from Bhubaneswar where my father is a succesful enterpreneur and my mother has taken the daunting task of looking after the family and holding us all together. Given the lack of all-round facilities in schools at Bhubaneswar,  in terms of extra-curricular activities, sports etc which are essential for a healthy childhood thanks to my parents,  took the decision to give my sister and me an opportunity to study at one of the best boarding  schools of the country, the Lawrence School, Lovedale, which was our first step to leading independent lives as individuals. My younger sister who has recently completed her Masters at Oxford University.

     

    When did you decide to take up law as a career? Tell us something about your college life. Being a law student, were you only focused on academics? How was the academic pressure?

    I once had an ex-student visit my school and give a talk on the career attributes of the legal profession and that is very time since when my fixation with the area begun. I was completely taken in by the eloquent manner and by the comprehensive and persuasive power of the speech. As I grew up and kept myself more updated with the day-to-day news from over the world over, I noticed a common pattern of most of the prominent leaders and personalities over the world sharing a common factor of law between them. I would be lying if I say that the John Grisham novels, in their glamorous projection of lawyers, did not play a major role in my decision-making. Luckily for me, I had the privilege of committing to the career at a time of National Law Schools and law firms, which were offering some of the most promising remunerations making it one of the most rewarding professions. By the time I set my foot into the professional arena,  career in law had begun to being considered as one of the most promising careers for a young individual looking for a dynamic and successful life. NLIU provided me with the much needed break in terms of a rigorous five year program which helps a student get a taste of the various subjects that law as a discpline has to offer. We had a trimester system which kept us on our toes as we had exams and project presentations every few months. Having said that, NLIU provided a student with a wide arena of extra curriculars as well which would help one in an all round development as a professional.

     

    You’ve interned at think-tanks like the Citizen Consumer and Civic Action Group. How instrumental were these internships in helping you decide what field of law you wished to specialize in?

    I think the think tanks that I did intern for, provided me with an opportunity to see aspects of life, not necessarily as a lawyer but as a a citizen, working for the betterment and efficency of the society that we live in. To be entirely honest, I enjoyed my work thoroughly and saw a side to law which requires an amount of sheer grid and determination to go on working effortlessly for the cause of others and for social well-being. They provided me with a wide area of subjects to work under such as environmental law, constitutional law etc. Having said that, as a lawyer, I feel, that one needs to find their specific area of interest to which they are willing to dedicate the next 40-50 years of their lives, working 13-14 hours each day. I found my calling in commercial laws and I am glad that before I branched out to this specific area, I got an opportunity to work and get a gist of the different branches of law, which I may never again get an opportunity to work in from here on.

     

    After your graduation, you worked in the Supreme Court. What is the reality of litigation in India? Do you think that the effort that is put into litigation does see fruition in all cases or the field of litigation is an overrated career option?

    To be honest, working in the Supreme Court first as a law clerk and then as a lawyer was one of the most defining moments of my career. I got to see the law being exercised from both sides, from the bench and from the other end, the bar. At one point of time I got to work on various judgments and be a part of the evolution of the law and later on, as a lawyer, I was working on the arguments for a case to be presented before the court. Having been asked about litigation, I would be able to explain litigation if I draw an analogy by saying that lttigation is more like running a long distance marathon. It happens at a slower pace, one needs to build up a momentum and gather the stamina, the more one practises the better they get at it and it takes a while to reach the finishing line but there is nothing quite like it. If somebody wants to litigate and feel passionately for it, they should be ready to put in the required dedication for a certain period of time and avoid feeling let down by minor setbacks. However, I think the legal profession demands one’s full time and undeterred time and attention to succeed and to be right at the top. The reality of litigation in India can be very disappointing at times, but to be honest, there is quite a high when you get argue before a bench or are applauded by the bench for presenting a case well or finishing a matter by yourself. However, I personally feel that it could only happen if one pursues something which they feel passionately for and do not feel the heat of long hours and that of a strenuous work life. I tend to be quite impatient as a person and get easily hassled by long bureaucratic processes and felt that I would not be good at litigation. I needed to find something which I could take forward and feel passionately about and that happened for me in the form of competition law.

     

    You completed your Masters from the London School of Economics. At what point did you decide to pursue your Masters? What was your motivation?

    I had decided from the very beginning that I would pursue my Masters after putting in a couple of years of work so as to be able decide as to what I want to specialise in. I stuck to my plan and after having worked for one year in the Supreme Court and then for another two years as a litigating lawyer, I decided to apply for my Masters and pursue a degree in Commercial Laws. The motivation was excellence. I did not want to slip into mediocricy and that could have only happened if I had the clarity and knowledge, which could be acquired with a Masters program.

     

    How different is the style of teaching at LSE? Do they focus more on the practical aspects of the law as compared to the NLUs?

    The teaching at LSE was extremely different from that what I had experienced at NLIU. At LSE, the students are expected to finish their readings, research and be well-prepared before a class. During the class, one is expected to voice your opinion and it is more of a discussion and sharing of opinions between the professors and the students instead of a scenario where professors are expected to spoon feed the students. In my opinion, the teaching methodolgy in the universities abroad is far superior to what we have in India as one is compelled to think out of the box, start training their mind as a professional and most importantly, it teaches you to be responsible towards your degree. The whole point of such a methodolgy of teaching is to make sure that students not only study the law as a subject but in the process learn its applications and be able to clear their notions on its implications. Having said that, one cannot forget that the degree that I attained at NLIU was an undergraduate one, which introduced me to the profession, whereas, I entered LSE as a professional, attaining a Masters degree and in the process had to a certain stature and sophistication to my work. It is only fair as to at which point, which university expected what level of work from me.

     

    How did you choose LSE over other colleges? What was the decisive factor?

    I liked the LL.M program that LSE had to offer and the wide array of subjects to choose from. What not a lot of people are aware of is that the LL.M program at the LSE is one of the intensive and prestigious programs that the University has to offer. Further, LSE offers you that one opportunity to experience life in London, the epicentre of world economy and commercial laws. I think what a lot of people do not understand is that Masters is not just about the course you study but should have the ability to  motivate, make you push your limits and not only change your perception of your life but also be a game-changer for your career. LSE and London did just that for me.

     

    What is your view on the latest trend among law students to pursue Masters abroad? How much of a brain drain do you think this is?

    In my opinion, pursuing one’s Maters abroad is not a brain drain at all. Pursuing Masters abroad gives a student a much wider perspective of the world at large and provides the much needed incites to bring in a certain level of sophistication to their work and thought process which could be put to much better use even if one decides to head back home and pursue their career in India. I feel Masters abroad is only as much a brain drain as it would be in various scenarios where lawyers working in India decide to settle abroad at some point of time in their lives for various miscellaneous reasons.

     

    In your opinion, do you think the NLU’s are conducive to academic research on a level that law schools abroad are? What is the future of NLUs?

    I feel that the compulsory requirement for academic research, which is in form of projects etc, that is being conducted by the NLUs is more of a technicality on paper rather than it being something which is actually effective and productive. I think we need to contemplate the level/standard of academic research that is being produced in the NLUs . In my experience abroad, the research work is taken extremely seriously whereby each student is appointed a supervisor who guides and provides incites into the research over the span of time so as to be able to produce something substantial and at the same time mentors the student for better research and drafting skills in terms of academic writing which leads to more international publications and referencing. In my opinion, NLUs need to put in more thought when it comes to academic research when it comes to competing with the world class universities abroad.

     

    What are your plans after completing your Masters?

    I intend to work in a reputed Competition Law/Antitrust team. I am currently exploring job opportunities in Europe as well India and given the global nature of the subject, I intend to appear for the QLTS or NY Bar exams in the due course of time so as to be able to have a multi-jurisdictional advantage to be able to make my mark as a Competition Law expert across the globe.

     

    For the benefit of the law students, kindly share some experiences of starting up with a law firm. Students are trying to gather various internship experiences at different places. Do you think internships help a law student?

    I think internships are extremely important when one is pursuing their LL.B. However, what I have learnt from my experience is that, it isn’t important to intern in various number of places but to pick one place which one feels is the best choice for them and to intern there a number of times so as to be able to exhibit their skills in that particular organization. When the time comes for recruitment, a firm or organization tends to prioritise a former intern or recalls that person’s good work over a completely fresh face. I would advice that handpick a couple of places and try to put in your best work there so that the organization either offers you a PPO or prioritises your joining in campus placements. The students should be aware of the reality that working in a law firm is not the easiest ways of life. One would be required to put in their complete time and dedication so as to be able to make a mark in a workplace.

     

    What would be your parting message to the law students?

    I would urge all budding law students to think out of the box and have the conviction to stand by their career choices, be it being that of a corporate lawyer or that of an environmentalist. We are living in a time and age when doing anything can bring you success, provided you excel in it. It is important the future talent prioritises excellence over being a part of mediocrity.

  • Anshuman Nayak on building a fresh career in litigation at Delhi High Court

    Anshuman Nayak on building a fresh career in litigation at Delhi High Court

    Anshuman Nayak graduated from NLIU, Bhopal in 2013. He had always planned to pursue a career in litigation since his days in law school and therefore, started litigation practice before Delhi High Court right after graduation. We asked him to share his experiences and strategies he used over the years.

     

    Please introduce yourself to our readers. Tell us a little bit about your childhood and your background?

    I am Anshuman Nayak, one of you, till the year 2013. I will be as sincere and earnest as possible.  As a child I have always been into reading even though I never neglected outdoor activities.

     

    How did law happen? Were you sure about pursuing a career in the legal field from the beginning? Did you ever think of alternate career options?

    I don’t know where my inclination towards the law began. It probably started when I first lay my hands on a newspaper. You get to know so many things and some things do catch your eye. I learnt so many things about the system of governance and polity. And somewhere deep down I knew I could contribute. So here I am.

    Pursuing law for me was not a very conscious decision then. And no, it wasn’t peer or parental pressure. I can tell you that it was one of my best decisions in life to do this.

    I won’t say that “I’m here to get justice delivered” and “that it pains me to see how people can be so deceitful”. No. I am not to give here lofty and impractical ideas to the readers. However, whenever I do see justice being done (the instances of which, are few and far between), it does feel good.

     

    Tell us about your years in law school. What made your journey with NLIU worth it? What are the co-curricular activities you took part at NLIU?

    There aren’t any single instances which make the NLIU journey worthwhile. Bhopal as a city is so full of greenery that anyone will fall in love with it and by extension, the University. I guess everyone has their own outlook about the place and everyone has their own versions of their University life. Personally, I don’t know if I could have a better experience. It was enriching and enlightening. I dabbled in everything mostly, particularly mooting and quizzing.

     

    What are the tips and strategies you would like to share with our readers who are currently law students?

    I would ask them to learn the law, particularly the Constitution, Jurisprudence and a little bit of Procedural laws and not neglect the daunting task of reading judgments that have shaped law in our country.

     

    Tell us about the trimester system at NLIU. Do you feel it is a model that gives students enough freedom to develop themselves in a manner desired by them? Any improvements you feel it could do with?

    See, I’m not an expert in administrating things. But, I feel that the current system has served the University well from its very inception till now. Unless, there is a glaring error, I don’t feel they should discontinue it or even tamper it. If they come up with an alternative that truly addresses the problems, if there are any, with the trimester system, then I’m sure the concerned authorities would take a note of it and do the needful.

     

    What kind of internships did you do while you were a student? Any remarkable experiences during your internships that shaped your career choices later?

    I mostly interned in the High Courts of Orissa and Delhi and of course, the Supreme Court of India. I have had the opportunity of witnessing great counsels in action in the Courtroom. And those experiences have been very inspiring in the sense that they have reaffirmed my faith to be a part of the entire system.

     

    You currently practice at Delhi High Court. Did you ever consider a career in the corporate sector? What influenced your decision to work in the litigation sector?

    Law school life doesn’t exactly teach you the nitty-gritties of the real world. It is much different. For example, you wouldn’t grasp procedural law especially Civil Procedure unless you start working.

    But, to an extent, the people you come across in your time as a law student are a microcosm to the kind of people you’ll meet in your professional life.

     

    A lot of law students prefer corporate jobs over a career in litigation. What is your take on this? Is it better to work in the corporate sector for a few years before starting litigation?

    The point of the entire system of National Law Schools was to improve the standard of the Bar and consequently the Bench. An attempt was made through the first National Law School in Bangalore in 1986. However, it is lamentable that young, brilliant minds are lost in ‘lucrative’ jobs in the Corporate sector. It is largely attributed to the fact that in the Indian Society, a lawyer is not paid or revered as they should be. Even though, a large chunk of our statesmen were professionally lawyers.

     

    Do you think top notch grades have given you an advantage over others in your arena of litigation? How useful would you say would be being a topper for people who want to practice?

    I don’t think grades have anything to do with success in litigation, although many will disagree. The fact remains that there are so many laws that aren’t taught in the usual law school curriculum and you come across the very same legislations for the first time. Again, you being a top ranker is contingent upon you being studying or showing interest in a particular area of law.

    I don’t know about any mantra for success but the little I’ve seen, perseverance and a teeny tiny bit of common sense do go a long way in this field. And of course, patience, which is a mandatory and rare trait. But I guess, that is true for most of the professions.

     

    anshuman-nayak-1How has your mooting experience been? How helpful has been mooting in litigation?

    Mooting, in isolation and not comparing it with litigation, is a very enriching experience. It’s the closest that you can ever come to a real courtroom in law school. Personally, my mooting experience was what can be termed as average. However, litigation is easier than mooting because it is not always that the Judge isn’t willing to listen to you if you’ve the requisite law in your way and are stating the facts in a very cogent manner. Statistically speaking, mooting or not mooting doesn’t make a difference.

     

    What is your workday like? Are there new challenges every day or did work fall into a predictable pattern?

    Morning hours are for Court and later on after your cases are over, you come back to the office and prepare for the next day. Research and Drafting take up most of your time. And the work is predictable to the extent that you apply the same techniques to address a specific area of law.

     

    How necessary is it to have a mentor/guide to handhold a young lawyer while still in the formative years of the profession?

    The practical experience that is required in the beginning can only be given by a seasoned and competent lawyer. Plus, you’ve to understand that it isn’t easy and quick to get clients. You need a certain bit of maturity to be able to handle clients and advise them about the nuances of the law. Say, someone comes to you about registration of a Company. Now, you need to be well-versed with the law as well as any changes that have come through amendments or interpretations, by say, a constitutional bench judgment.

     

    What were the difficulties you faced in the early days of your practice? How difficult would you say it is to build a reputed practice? How many years of hard work does it require to build a firm clientele?

    The hardships that anyone will first feel after graduating is getting acclimatized with the place that you practice in. Read up necessary laws such as High Court Rules, Supreme Court Rules etc.

     

    What would be your parting message to law students who want to litigate just after graduation?

    It’s no rocket science. Just keep your eyes and ears open.

  • Anirudh Hariani on environment law litigations, LL.M. from Cornell and research skills

    Anirudh Hariani on environment law litigations, LL.M. from Cornell and research skills

    Anirudh Hariani graduated from GLC, Mumbai in 2011, with a BLS.LL.B degree. He later went on to pursue his LL.M from Cornell Law School. During his law schools he had the opportunity to intern with many legal luminaries, and in the midst of all these he had managed to score highly on research work and publications.

    We have asked him to share:

    • How research and publications helped him gain admission to Cornell Law School.
    • His experience interning with major Independent counsels.
    • Experience in environment law litigations and working on pro bono.
    • Law school experience at GLC, Mumbai.

     

    Please tell our readers, what is it that motivated you to take up law right after school?

    I’ve always been interested in two facets of law: argument and problem-solving. This stems from my school days when I participated in Model United Nations conferences. I also enjoy intellectually stimulating challenges, which one is faced with on a daily basis in our profession. My family background in law was also a strong influence on me.

     

    How was your law school experience at GLC, Mumbai?

    The big advantage of GLC is the fact that you can work while studying. Classes usually get over before noon, so most students take up full time or short-term internships during the year, which I found particularly useful. But this advantage may be diluted due to the recent Bar Council circular barring law students from doing internships during the academic year. The impact, if any, the notice will have on articled clerks intending to appear for the solicitors’ exam is also unclear.

    There’s no doubt that GLC has several deficiencies. Attendance at lectures is very low and the lectures themselves are conducted in a haphazard fashion. There are hardly any full time professors. But during my time there were a handful of highly regarded lecturers, including part-timers, whose lectures were always full. We had a professor who is now a Bombay High Court Judge, and other members of the legal fraternity used to lecture frequently. Their practical insights were invaluable.

    The proximity of GLC to the Bombay High Court, which is literally a stone’s throw away, does provide a conducive environment for students to take up litigation. But at the same time, Mumbai is the commercial hub of the country so you will find graduates taking up all kinds of law careers based on their interests.

     

    In GLC, guest lectures are organized on a fairly regular basis and extremely prominent luminaries are invited for the same. What role does that have to play when it comes to a student making his career choice?

    GLC has had a strong tradition of co curriculars, which are all student-run. During my time in college we organized an annual lecture series and had some fantastic speakers come to speak to us, including Mr. Soli Sorabjee, Mr. T. N. Andhyarujina, Mr. Anil Divan, Mr. Harish Salve and non-lawyers such as Dr. Shashi Tharoor etc. GLC, being the oldest law school in Asia, has produced many of the top lawyers in the country, over the years, so many of the speakers who would come to speak were alumni. The debating society would organize an annual debate on the steps of the Asiatic Library, which was a panel discussion with academics and policy makers, moderated by Mr. Aspi Chinoy, a senior advocate. During the D.M. Harish moot, GLC’s flagship moot, a Constitution (5-judge) bench of the Bombay High Court would preside the final rounds.

    These experiences of interacting with luminaries, and hearing them speak about their areas of expertise, or hearing their anecdotes while practicing, certainly develops passion in students’ minds. It’s not only theory that you learn, but also context and history, which motivates students greatly.

     

    anirudh-hariani-2You have done substantial amount of work and research in environmental law. What do you say about it as a field of study? You have also taken up pro bono litigations. What motivated you to take up these not so lucrative tasks?

    In India, despite having been practiced for many years environmental law has not developed into a viable means of full time employment for lawyers. The primary reason for this is that courts do not award exemplary damages, unlike in some countries, and in any case the Bar Council prohibits sharing of the proceeds of a case with the lawyer, so there is little or no incentive for lawyers to take up environmental law full time. Lawyers can’t, as a result, afford to work pro bono all the time.

    I have been involved in a few environmental matters during my time at Hariani & Co., including a major mining case, which was exciting and at the same time humbling experience, though not pro bono. On a smaller scale, I have worked pro bono with environment and animal rights activists, on matters which involve the animal welfare, in the Bombay High Court. The experience of doing such work is extremely rewarding as you can see the direct results of your work.

    I also helped update a book on environmental law, written by a leading senior advocate based in the Supreme Court. While researching for the same, it was remarkable to see the same handful of names being repeated in the cause title of Public Interest Litigations. It appears that there are a small but growing number of litigants taking up environmental causes such as deforestation, irregular development, etc. While environmental law is in its nascent stage in terms of litigation, there is no dearth of laws protecting the environment in India. The main problem is implementation.

    I eventually took up an environmental law course during my LL.M at Cornell. Despite environmental laws in the US being so radically different from Indian law, it was interesting to study the same from a purely academic perspective.

     

    Most of your litigation internships include ones under Advocate and Attorney General and includes late Mr. Vahanvati. Is there any special reason why you chose to work with independent counsels? Please tell us a bit about your internships.

    I chose to work with independent counsel to get a more holistic view of the law. Litigation is probably the purest form of law. With litigation one can come across all kinds of commercial and civil matters without being restricted to a particular area or niche (not that niche practice is uncommon). Working with counsel I vicariously experienced the thrill of appearing in court, which definitely increased my interest level in law per se.

    I was lucky to have worked with some very senior lawyers during my days at GLC. At different times, I interned with both the former, and present (prior to his appointment) Advocate General of Maharastra. Their preparation and thoroughness for matters taught me that there is no room for complacency in the profession, at the very top.

    I also worked with the late Mr. G. E. Vahanvati, former Attorney General for India, who was a very interesting person. He was a hands-on senior with interns. I was permitted to sit in his chamber and he would chat to me about his practice and his experiences at the bar – he too started his career in Mumbai. His general advice was that a student or young lawyer should make sure they learn something new each day. His advice, along with the high profile nature of his briefs, was extremely exhilarating for me, a fourth year intern. His untimely death was truly a loss for the profession.

    Through GLC students were sent to New Delhi, for judicial clerkships with Judges of the Supreme Court. Every lawyer / student must have dreamt at some point of time in their lives of working in the Supreme Court. For me it was no different. Having worked with the Attorney General, it was interesting to see the perspective from the other side of the bar. After court, I would go to the Judge’s house (a beautiful Lutyen’s bungalow) and do research work. It was exciting and somewhat intimidating knowing that your work may eventually appear as part of a judgment of the highest court of the land.

    I also interned with a Judge of the Bombay High Court in my final year, for a six month period. This was truly the icing on the cake, as I had grown accustomed to working in the Bombay High Court and was relatively comfortable in the environment.

     

    You have done an internship at Kanga & Co, which is one of the oldest law firms in India. How was your experience there?

    Kanga & Co. was my first internship as a law student at the end of my first year. Initially I was pretty clueless. But with the help of some good seniors and co-interns I learned quite a lot, even though we had not begun our proper law subjects at GLC.

    I remember that at one time, a partner required a co-intern and I to urgently draft a petition as he was travelling. Being completely fresh, we did our best with the information at hand. We didn’t know at the time that our first draft would eventually be converted into a full SLP which would be admitted in the Supreme Court!

     

    You have also interned in corporate law departments. How different was it?

    I interned with J Sagar Associates, Mumbai for one year, as a permanent intern/ paralegal. As I mentioned, apart from during exams, GLC permitted students to work through the year and many students took up long-term internships. As part of a mixed corporate and real estate team, I worked on several transactions, including performing due diligences etc. It was a proper corporate law experience. The environment was friendly and motivated, and I enjoyed working with the people there. The major take-away from my year at JSA was the large law firm culture, and the professionalism and efficiency of associates and partners which I tried to emulate. It was a good experience overall.

    Later on, I had a short stint with a medium-sized law firm in London, and my experience at JSA certainly helped prepare me for working with them. The work culture in the UK was more casual than Indian law firms. Partners would interact with interns and ‘trainee solicitors’ more casually, and would occasionally join them at the end of the week, for a drink at the pub.

    Prior to this, as a second year law student, I had also interned in the legal/ secretarial department of a large pharma company. Most of the people in the department were qualified company secretaries. It was my first brush with corporate law, prior to my JSA experience, although from the angle of the client and not the lawyer. It was a mixture of corporate compliances and reading up on company law from the CS angle, which I found quite interesting.

     

    You have been an avid writer and you have had many publications. How important do you now find your research skills?

    As a law student, I thoroughly enjoyed legal writing. Putting your thoughts down on paper not only cements your understanding of the topic, but allows you to go in-depth and to formulate your own analysis. I especially enjoyed researching on developing areas of law, such as copyright law. I always looked up to the GLC law review as a fresher, as I had heard seniors talking about it with reverence. That’s where I submitted my first legal paper, and luckily I was selected to be published.

    In my opinion, both legal writing and advocacy are equally important. But while mooting is given its due, legal writing is often overlooked. The emphasis should be equally on both.

    Even as a qualified lawyer, one is constantly preparing opinions or notes on one topic or the other. So legal research and writing skills are very important and are put to practical use. Also, academic writing establishes an in-depth understanding of that particular area of the law, which may not be the case when studying for exams or doing compulsory projects. Also, the satisfaction of seeing your name in print as a student is tremendous.

     

    After your graduation, you pursued LL.M from Myron Taylor Hall, Cornell University Law School. How helpful did your publications prove to be in gaining an admission there?

    I think my publications definitely helped me gain admission to Cornell Law School. Other things that the admissions officers look at are your statement of purpose, grades, work experience, etc.

    Having pre-existing research skills definitely helps when doing an LLM. In the first week of the LLM, we were given a tour on how to use Westlaw and LexisNexis. Having used Westlaw for an international moot and for articles, my integration was easier. Legal drafting on the other hand was completely different in the US. They have a very informal approach to drafting. While Indian contracts will run into several pages, a contract there would be more concise, informal and to the point. In fact, there was even a whole introductory course offered to LLM students on American legal writing.

     

    Along with research work, you were pretty active in other co curricular activities like being in OCs, debating, MUN etc. How did that part of law school affect your overall personality?

    Co curricular activities such as mooting, debating, MUN, being part of OCs, etc. are important to any law student’s overall experience, and to get to know people in college. I was very active in such activities in my first few years at GLC. My co curricular activities reduced as I got busier with internships.

    GLC has traditionally been a very good mooting school, but in recent years the emphasis is on national law schools. During my time we had some seniors who were fantastic mooters. Watching them moot and trying to emulate their successes was always what we aspired to do. With mooting I also had the chance to meet law students around the country, some of whom I kept in touch with. So, involving myself in mooting and other co curricular activities definitely impacted me positively.

     

    Finally, is there any tip you would like to give to our budding lawyers?

    Experiment as much as you can during your five years at law school. Try to develop your ancillary skills and soft skills while in law school, because you will need them during practice.

     

  • Khushboo Priyadarshini on work as a Lecturer, job as an in-house counsel at SBI General Insurance and LL.M from NLIU

    Khushboo Priyadarshini on work as a Lecturer, job as an in-house counsel at SBI General Insurance and LL.M from NLIU

    Khushboo Priyadarshini graduated from Pune University in 2010. Thereafter she pursued an LL.M from National Law Institute University, Bhopal. After pursuing Masters, she joined Marathwada Mitramandal’s Shankarrao Chavan Law College, Pune afiliated to Pune University as a Lecturer. Later , she switched over to SBI General Insurance Co.Ltd.

    We asked her to share her experience while pursuing an LL.M from NLIU, work experience as a Lecturer and appointment at SBI General Insurance Co.Ltd.

     

    How would you like to introduce yourself to our readers?

    I am a law student. No, it’s not that I am still pursuing a degree… I completed my graduation from University of Pune and obtained Masters Degree from National Law Institute University, Bhopal. As of now, I am working as a legal executive with State Bank of India General Insurance Company. Yet, I still consider myself as a student because legal education for me is not just limited to obtaining a degree to use it for some end but the real essence of legal education comprises of the opportunity to update one’s knowledge and skills during continuation of one’s profession.

     

    Why and when did you decide to do law? What interested you most about the subject at the time?

    The period, when I had to make this choice, was one which although offered multiple career options but everyone’s mindset was limited to only two fields – engineering and medicals. And I did not want to be a part of the crowd. Also, I firmly believed that whichever field I would want to make a career in, should be one which provides me the learning space, where application of mind and not just fixed formula or theorem, is crucial. I perceived law as one such subject, as with every case, every situation, there is opportunity to learn something new and today, I can say that I am glad what I perceived then to be true, actually is true in the real world.

     

    khushboo-priyadarshini-1You have done your graduation from Pune University. How would you describe your time there?

    I will be pretty honest here. Unfortunately, I could not get through any of the NLUs and hence, I decided to pursue my bachelors from Pune University. During my 5-year course, while I got the chance to be under the guidance of some good professors, I also had the experience of studying a few subjects all alone because there were no teachers or lectures for those subjects. I managed to clear every semester with good grades. And when I held my degree on the day of convocation, I felt grateful to everything that happened to me during my course – the good as well as the not-so-good aspects because that’s what made me capable of completing one important stage of my life.

     

    What do you have to say about the supposed ‘elite’ tag attached to certain law schools? Do you believe branding is something that’s very relevant/ important at any stage in a law student’s career?

    The sad truth of our society is that yes, the ‘elite’ tag attached to schools plays an important role at least at the establishment stage. The perception of the real world about a student’s knowledge and skills is reflected by the brand which the student is associated with. I personally do not believe in this coz ultimately it’s your knowledge that will help you survive and not the brand.

     

    When and how did you decide to pursue Masters? Was it a professional requirement or a personal endeavour?

    I would say, it was a personal endeavour as well as a professional requirement. As I mentioned earlier, during my graduation period, the kind of experience I had in terms of availability and non-availability of good faculty, which created the interest within me to get into academics, which calls for a Master degree. So, the personal endeavour led me to take it up in order to meet the professional requirements.

     

    How did you prepare for CLAT?Did you join any coaching?

    No, I had not joined any coaching class. The notes I made during my graduation course really helped me in the preparation.

     

    You have done your LL.M. from NLIU, Bhopal. What was your specialization? Why did you choose that particular subject?

    I specialized in Business law. I chose this subject because of the scope it offers in terms of career options. It doesn’t limit me to one field. I took up teaching and now I am working in the legal team of SBI General Insurance. So the point I wish to emphasize here is that one has to liberty of choice, to get into academics, practice or corporate sector.

     

    Can you please share your experience at NLIU?

    In one word – fabulous! I got the opportunity to be under the guidance of learned professors who gave us insight about the real world apart from imparting the theoretical knowledge. And this blend got its magical touch from the heart and soul of the university that is the library – “Gyan Mandir.” Every day was an enriching experience for me and I shall always be grateful to NLIU and the teachers for that.

     

    Have you considered Doctoral Studies?Any university you have shortlisted for it?

    Yes, it’s certainly in my list. But as of now, I have not shortlisted any university but I plan to do it from one of the nationals.

     

    How would you describe your legal education? Did you dream of changing the society or working on a revolutionary legal principle while as a law student? Did your legal education prepare you for the real world practice of law?

    I would like to quote Christine Gregoire who said that Education is the foundation upon which we build our future. And to add to it, it also enables us to play a role at times in shaping others’ future.

    I may not have dreamt of bringing about a revolutionary change. But yes, I believe in the power of this foundation. I have and will always try to work towards the benefit of the people I work with.

     

    What are the main essential qualities of an Academician? What do you think differentiates between lawyers who chose academics from those of other professions?

    Sharing your knowledge is what differentiates academicians from other professionals. While others use their skills and knowledge for their own and the beneficiary’s good, academicians share their skills and knowledge to make others capable of achieving their goals and they also try to keep this cycle moving.

    The job demands one to understand the needs of every student and ensure that not a single student leaves the class without learning. Patience, diligence and continuous learning are the qualities which an academician must possess in order to impart knowledge to the students.

     

    You worked as a Lecturer for one year. What subjects did you teach there? How was the experience? What kind of skillsets proved to be useful for you during this period?

    I worked with Marathwada Mitramandal’s Shankarrao Chavan Law College, Pune afiliated to Pune University. In a short span of one year I got an opportunity to teach Arbitration, Administrative Law, Criminology, Family law and Jurisprudence. “The one exclusive sign of thorough knowledge is the power of teaching…” I can’t agree more with this statement because as I have mentioned in the previous questions also, teaching is a job which provides the learning space. Also, I think the best job for one is that which leaves a smile on one’s face every day. It has been almost a year and a half that I left working there, yet the students still remember me, call me to share their doubts, their achievements and it is a great feeling. It makes me feel that I was able to do something good.

    In terms of skill set, I updated myself with information; new examples related to subjects and imparted it to the students as required.

     

    You are currently working at SBI General Insurance Co. Ltd. How did this switch over take place?

    God always has a different plan for you. I still want to be in academics but somehow after my marriage, the things weren’t favourable for me to take up teaching. But the offer from SBI General happened and I made a choice to experience this phase of life also with the belief that one can connect the dots only looking backwards.

     

    Why SBI General Insurance Co. Ltd? How did you go about achieving this? Please tell us about the recruitment process at SBI General Insurance Co. Ltd?

    There was no plan in my mind to achieve this. I just kept going with the flow and things happened.

    About the recruitment process at SBI general insurance, whenever there is a vacancy, the HR consultants and recruitment agencies shortlist candidates from various portals and the process is taken ahead. My selection consisted of 3 rounds – interview with the Head of Department, Group discussion with fellow candidates and interview with the HR.

     

    What do Insurance Companies look for in prospective employees? Is the induction process any different from Law Firms?

    The companies look for the candidate’s knowledge about insurance and related laws. I haven’t had any experience of the induction process of law firms so will not be able to comment on the difference. But the induction here includes briefing about the insurance sector, working methodology and certain guidelines which are to be followed for all the tasks.

     

    What amount of legal work is there? What kind of work you are supposed to do there? How is the experience so far?

    The job profile is strictly related to legal stuff – handling the agreements the company enters into with various service providers, consultants, etc. It also includes negotiating, drafting, vetting of the agreements. I handle the litigation part also which includes cases before various courts, ombudsman matter, arbitration matter to which SBI general is a party.

    The experience so far has been enriching. It helps me grow professionally. I am able to witness implication and application of law in this sector.

     

    There is a phenomenal obsession amongst law students with maintaining a very high CGPA. How important according to you is this in securing a job?

    It’s a tricky question. I mean it is kind of obvious that sound knowledge and practical experience are important and not just securing good grades. But in our society, good grades are proportional to one’s knowledge. So you have to work accordingly. I hope the scenario changes in the future though.

     

    What are your long term objectives? Where do you see yourself by the end of five years?

    Pursuing PhD is a priority for me. I just want to keep going with the flow as when there is a set plan, the surprise element gets lost and I want life to constantly bring in surprises for me. I will keep connecting the dots with the hope that the end result is positive.

     

    Lastly, what would be your message to our readers who are mainly young lawyers and law students?

    Keep reading; keep comprehending because it is the only thing which will take u ahead.

     

  • Aviral Sahai on winning moots (NLS Arbitration), receiving Naveen Jindal scholarship, appointment, work at AMSS

    Aviral Sahai on winning moots (NLS Arbitration), receiving Naveen Jindal scholarship, appointment, work at AMSS

    Aviral Sahai is a graduate from Jindal Global Law School (Batch of 2014). He has an enviable academic record and an excellent series of internships at top law firms. He has been the Recipient of the Naveen Jindal Young Scholarship. He underwent an academic exchange program with Maurer School of Law, Indiana University, Bloomingtion, Indiana, USA during his law school days. His diligence paid off when he received a job offer from AMSS in 5th year of law school.

    In this interview, he talks about:

    • Winning moot court competitions including NLS International Arbitration Moot
    • Experience as a part of an International Student Exchange Program
    • Appointment at AMSS

     

    Our readers consist of law aspirants, law students and young lawyers. How will you introduce yourself to them?

    I’m a corporate lawyer, who aspired to become a litigator, got into law school wanting to pursue international law and took up science in plus two. On hindsight I might seem like a confused soul, but I tend to take the best out of what is on offer. So, as an introduction, today, I am a corporate lawyer who is trying not to plan too ahead and enjoying his tryst with a side of law he never thought he would practice.

     

    Tell us about your pre-college life? When did you decide to take up law as a career? Did you have lawyers in family?

    No. There have been no lawyers in even my extended family for 3 generations. I think that was the prime reason for doing law, “even if I’m a bad lawyer, I’ll be the best in the family”.

    I am an alumnus of La Martiniere for Boys, Kolkata, and, as whoever is familiar with the vibe of the city will understand, I was quite laidback in life. I was a science student and did considerably less than my fair bit of tuitions. Plain and simple, I did not want to be an engineer or doctor and just wanted to do something different.

    On a serious note however, I am a lawyer because of my father. He is an ex-army officer who runs his own business now and has always had an aptitude for lateral thinking. Sometime during my class 11 he asked me what I wanted to do in life, which, quite honestly I had not considered up until that point in time. Even while I was a good student, I think I always hoped that life would turn out to be 6 hours of school and doing whatever I want the rest of the day.

    I think my father already knew that I hadn’t given much thought to the question so he himself suggested the idea of law. It had always been his passion to pursue the subject, and he just wanted me to explore the idea. After that, I was hooked. I read up a little, recalled a few episodes of Boston Legal and made up my mind.

    Also, Lawyers are really smart.

     

    In India there is quite a lot of resistance towards legal education even now. What motivated you to choose law as a career? How did you get through to JGLS?

    The resistance, I think, has dramatically lessened. A mix of factors are involved in this,  liberalisation of the economy, institution of national law schools and the base realisation that law permeates every single activity an individual carries out (and perhaps people have come to realise the absurdity of the amount one can get paid in this profession). I think the outlook towards a child becoming a lawyer in future is changing radically. Becoming a lawyer is, at least where I come from, no longer a fall back option for someone who failed to make the cut-off for IITs. It takes an immense amount of dedication and focus to have even the slightest chance of doing well as a lawyer.

    I understand however, that my views may be restricted by my background, but I always got a lot of support at home and from friends with respect to my career choice. Also, it was fun to befuddle people when they ask why I would take up science in school and pursue law thereafter.

    JGLS was a big gamble for me. Just before sitting for my Class 12 boards, I took a one month crash course with LST, just to familiarize myself with the entrance examinations I was supposed to take. The vice-chancellor of JGU, Mr. C. Raj Kumar, had come to one of the sessions at LST and given us brochures JGU. His vision of the university pushed me to apply for the LSAT. I sat for the exam and got a 91 percentile which was good enough I suppose. I got through a few national law schools as well, including GNLU and NLU, Delhi.

    While the fees discrepancy was a major concern, I finally made my decision based purely on the academic infrastructure that could have been given. At that point, JGLS seemed like the best bet academically, and it sure didn’t disappoint. Academically speaking, I firmly believe that we have the best professors and curriculum. It’s available for those who want to make something out of it.

     

    You have been the Recipient of the Naveen Jindal Young Scholarship. How did it happen? What is the criterion to apply? How did you go about your application process?

    The Naveen Jindal Young Global Scholarship is awarded to one student per batch and is based entirely on merit. The application process consists of writing an essay on why you think you deserve the award, obtaining a recommendation from a teacher and an interview follows thereafter.

    JGLS offers a fair number of scholarships and this was one of the few you could apply for beforehand. I filled out the application not knowing anything about such processes. I checked a few samples online and just wrote out an essay which, in retrospect, wouldn’t be one of the best exhibits to take credit of. Nevertheless, I was shortlisted and had a telephonic interview which was just a discussion on what I want to do in life with the then Vice-Dean of the law school.

    One thing I would add to anyone attempting to write a Statement of Purpose or one of these obscure “why do you think you deserve …” essays, please try and be honest. There is no harm in paying your cards straight. These essays are not looking for someone who underplays their achievements. If you have achieved something, state it with the utmost pride, and even if you haven’t, tell them why. It’s just supposed to be simple. The same goes for any interview or application you make. Simple and straightforward. Regrettably, not many people have the time and patience to go through the flourish of one’s language or self-doubt.

     

    You have worked for AMSS, Khaitan and Co. and Karanjawala & Co. as an intern. What kind of work did you have to do there? Our readers would be quite curious to know how you went about securing these internships.

    My college has quite a vibrant career development cell (CDPD). I must confess, I have never applied for any internship by myself. We had a set process whereby a peer review system had been created to draft and review CVs. Once this was done, the CDPD would forwards our CVs to institutions/individuals based on our preferences. I understand that most students go about securing internships by themselves but it is quite difficult for those of us who do not come from a legal background and have to start making contacts at an early stage. Having an institutionalized process really helps traverse this gap of not knowing people in the legal community beforehand.

    My work varied a lot at all the places I interned. The main factor for determining the nature of work that I did was not my educational progress but actually my willingness to work. I have worked late nights as a 3rd year student at Khaitan assisting in a Due Diligence. Seeing that I was willing to work, I was given drafting work as well. Obviously, as one progresses as a student, the nature of work given becomes more challenging and expectation rise. The difference, however, that I noticed as an intern in a corporate law firm and a litigation law firm was the hands on involvement. At Khaitan or AMSS I was involved more in documentation, research and diligence; whereas, at Karanjawala, I was expected to sit and help formulate arguments for a writ petition. There is no hierarchy of quality of work between fields of law, either as an intern or as an associate. My effort always has been to ensure that whatever work I am given, I can satisfactorily say that I put in my best efforts.

     

    How relevant did you find your law school education with the kind of work you were required to do at law firms?

    Frankly, while many of my peers from national law schools attribute most of their progress as a lawyer primarily to the internships that they had, I think the education I received at JGLS gave me an immense edge at my internships. We have been well trained in legal writing, drafting and researching added to which, we have, in my five years of education, been offered over 100 electives in varying fields. Every student in my batch has ended up taking at least 15-16 electives in subjects we liked.

    For instance, in my third year I was conversant with the repercussions of having a put option in a loan document which not many of peers had the chance to explore. Law school education, while pedantic at times and obsessed with completing the syllabus, at JGLS has honestly helped a great deal in preparing me for practical experiences as a lawyer.

     

    You were a part of the team which won the 4th edition of the NLS International Arbitration Moot Court Competition. You have been awarded the Best Counsel award at 1st CDR-NLUD Pakistan India Moot Competition. Tell us about your experience.

    Winning the NLS moot is perhaps one of the most exhilarating and proud moments of my tenure at law school. It was the first national moot competition that JGLS had won. We did not have any seniors to guide us or any experienced peers to help us out. The three of us worked on the moot from scratch and built ourselves tremendously through the competition itself. We actually sat and learnt on the spot while participating in the moot. Also, our professors did invest a lot in helping us create a grasp over our basics, not legally, but simple things such as how to sit, maintaining voice modulation and even when to nod and make eye contact with the judges.

    The same was the case for CDR, after a point of time, the mood of the court did not depend on what authorities I had to back my arguments, but how I made them and whether I understood what the court demanded at the time. Any moot is a two stage process. First, is your research which gives you the confidence to say whatever you want to say; then, comes the part when you actually display this confidence in the right manner. I can say, with utmost pride, that we had read every single page of every single authority that we had cited in our memorial for NLS (nearly 150 cases, articles and commentaries).

    There is honestly no difference in the skill set required to excel at moot courts. It just takes sheer commitment. The knowledge that you are not perfect and that you will mould yourself to deliver the best possible form of your argument in the simplest and most comprehensible manner possible is what is required. I was quite surely not the best mooter in my college at any point, but it takes an immensely balanced team, which I had the fortune of being part of, and clarity on the fact that jargon and/or spewing research will only take you that far. The additional push comes from the connection that you are willing to forge with both, the judges and your opponents. Make them see the sanity and logic in your argument and follow it up with undeniable facts. That, I think, is what it takes to excel at moot court competitions.

    It is no different for oral rounds. Understandably, some are nervous or not confident in their speaking abilities and others have a natural flair, but the confidence comes from preparation and practice. You have to be sure of what you know and that there is no more to know about it. Also, this will stand true for any career path that is followed after law school, be it while briefing your seniors for court or in a law firm or speaking to a client. Everyone understands and admires smart and concise delivery of opinions, even if you are sometimes wrong in the formulation of that opinion.

    There is one thing that I have told every junior that I have helped with respect to mooting, it is something that what one of the judges told us in the first round at NLS, “a judge is like a child, you have to hold his finger and walk him through everything.”

     

    A lot of students tend to ignore their academics while preparing for a moot. How did you manage the academic pressure?

    I simply coped with it.

    I have prepared for big moots and made the same commitment to my academics. If it is difficult for one to balance the two, then you need to take a call on what is more important. For me, I stayed up nights working on my memo and went to class with a few hours of sleep. While the same is not healthy if subsisting for a long while, it is just something that I made a call on and decided to stick to.

     

    You have been a member of multiple committees while in law school. Do you think these enhanced your skill-sets? Please share a few of your memorable experience.

    Being part of a new law school without the umbrella protection of being a national law school is quite tough. There is a lot of trial and error and a number of new experiences for both the students as well as the college administration. A few batch mates and made a decision to become part of the policy framing process. Being part of committees such as the placement committee and the student academic committee has really enhanced the manner in which I work.

    I have learnt to be part of a functioning team and have learnt to manage and lead projects and efforts, which includes taking the responsibility of getting the job done, taking the blame for any drawbacks and even facing the backlash from my peers as well as the administration. But, I have definitely come out of it for the better. I am much more comfortable being a part of a team which requires me to fulfil my role efficiently as well as managing myself at the helm of responsibility.

    Apart from learning how to function within a team, being a part of all these committees taught me a number of human relations skills that just can’t be taught. I learnt how to talk to strangers and make a conversation, ask for something, promise performance in return, communicate issues and manage crisis situations. Even while at a very small scale, these experiences really aid in one’s development in a professional working environment.

     

    You underwent an academic exchange programme with Maurer School of Law, Indiana University, Bloomingtion, Indiana, USA. What did you benefit from the student exchange programme? In terms of academics how will you distinguish Maurer School of Law with JGLS?

    My SoP for Indiana University was based on a simple request, that I be exposed to a system of education that is different from the one I have been bred in. I wanted to get out of our traditional education system in India where we grab a book, mug it up, give the exam and forget about it in a few months’ time.

    Indiana University, in that regard, was a welcome change. The academic process was very student centric. Classes are small and the emphasis on knowledge building was higher. The exposure that I received was my biggest take away from the exchange program. I was exposed to students who took the law very seriously and analysed it not just from the perspective of practice, but of academia.

    JGLS has incorporated a number of the values of the American legal education system. The concept of weekly tutorials, reading intensive seminar format of classes and extensive professor-student communication is highly promoted at JGLS and I saw the same being mirrored at Indiana University. However, JGLS, just as any other university in India, is, at the end, marred by the professors teaching in it and the students receiving the education. It is quite difficult to get students, who are used to a textbook based approach to education, to embrace a more liberal form of understanding a subject as immensely immersive as the law.

     

    What was your experience while interacting with law students from different universities? What is the difference in their approach, as compared to Indian law students?

    There is one major difference between Indian law students and American law students, as I saw them in Indiana University, that being they are graduate students. In India, the 5 year integrated program is much more popular and students fresh from school enter law school without an iota of the effort it takes. I was one of them.

    As a graduate student, law students are much more adept at handling the pressures of a college education, they can cope with the mental and physical stress and not much time is wasted in acclimatisation. More often than not, if a system is alien to us, we shut it out and the acceptance comes too late to learn more. Many of us, today, feel that a few subjects that we did in our first few years at law school would have been so much more interesting had we been accustomed to the work culture such subjects demanded. Students in law schools abroad are already trained in such aspects and consequently can adjust faster.

     

    Currently, you are working at AMSS. How did your appointment take place? What worked for you in securing the job?

    I was offered a placement in my fourth year with Amarchand & Mangaldas at our day zero placements. The process was pretty standard, we had a group discussion round after which students were shortlisted for personal interviews. I think what worked most in my favour was, as I said before, keeping it simple and straightforward.

    Technical strength is a given of course. I was asked about the nature of the work that I had completed in my past internships and my favourite subjects in law school, on which I was even asked hypothetical questions. The group discussion as well as the interview demands just one thing, certainty. I realised that I had to be certain and clear on what I said in both these rounds. That is one of the things that works at interviews, I guess.

     

    Many law students strongly believe that getting a job at one of the top 3 law firms is mostly about securing a high GPA. Would you agree?

    Not entirely. A good GPA, in my opinion, serves just purpose in securing a job at one of the top law firms. The only function of a good CGPA is that it gives you time. At an interview, the first thing that the employer looks at is your CGPA, not to gauge whether you know anything about the law, but to know whether you have the commitment towards your academics to make sure you excel. As it fortunately happened with me, if the employer sees that you have a good CGPA, he/she will not waste time in asking you about why your CGPA is low/why you faltered in certain subjects and will automatically assume your commitment towards getting the job done.

    This frees up so much time for everyone involved to have a much more direct conversation about the job itself and they spend more time gauging whether you know your law and whether you can work in a law firm, they already know you are focussed and committed. All said and done, however, CGPAs would rarely improve or negate your chances if you are certain about yourself.

     

    If you could re-live your five years in Law school, is there something you would do differently?

    Nothing at all. I cherish each and every moment. Perhaps I could have done a little bit more theatre, but then again, it wouldn’t be law school if I had the time to do it.

     

    Lastly, what would be your parting message for our readers?

    Please don’t take anything I say too seriously. At the end of the day, I am still just another corporate lawyer who aspires to be a litigator. I’m still planning things out myself.

    Do try and enjoy the law though, it is quite possibly the most stimulating academic experience you might go through. I still love it.

  • Sandeep Chilana on a career in taxation law and being Principal Associate at Amarchand

    Sandeep Chilana on a career in taxation law and being Principal Associate at Amarchand

    Sandeep Chilana graduated from Campus Law Centre, Delhi University in 2005. Thereafter, he practiced litigation at his hometown, in Rudrapur, and later joined AMSS in their tax team. He continues to work at AMSS, and with his expertise in tax law, he is presently a Principal Associate.

    We have invited him to share his experience and insights with us in building a career in tax law.

     

    How would you like to introduce yourself to our readers who are mainly law students and lawyers?

    Hi! to all the readers of SuperLawyer. I am Sandeep Chilana and I am currently working as a Principal Associate at Amarchand & Mangaldas. At Amarchand, I work with the Tax Team and specialize in indirect tax litigation and advisory services. It is pleasure to reach you all through this forum and share my thoughts and experiences.

    I was born and brought up in a small town in Uttaranchal, Rudrapur and I came to Delhi for my graduation in 1999. After graduating in commerce from Kirori Mal College, Delhi University in 2002, I went on to obtain my bachelor’s degree in Law from Campus law Centre, Delhi University in 2005.

    I started my career as a litigator in the chambers of Mr. Rajiv Bansal and worked with him for almost 2 years. Thereafter, I joined my father in Rudrapur who specialises in Income Tax & Sales Tax advisory and compliance services, more than a year. I joined Amarchand in 2008 and have been working in the tax team since then.

    I am passionate about my work and truly enjoy arguing before the courts and handling complex indirect tax issues. Devising an out of box solution or innovating structuring for clients within the realms of law gives me immense satisfaction.

     

    When and how did you decide to study law? Which universities did you consider for your legal studies? How did you settle for CLC, DU?

    [sociallocker] I would not say that law was a natural choice or I always wanted to be a lawyer. While in KMC, I was really interested in pursuing dramatic arts and theatre professionally. After graduation, I realised it was difficult to make a living out of theatre and wanted to have a Plan B to fall back on. Since my father is a practicing lawyer, law was a natural back up plan.

    At that time all my theatre rehearsals took place in Delhi. Therefore, I decided to settle for CLC Delhi University for pursuing law. It was during my days at law school that I developed a keen interest in the subject of law.

     

    Do you think being from a non-NLU has ever proved to be a hindrance for you? Many non-NLU students complain that they feel being discriminated against during career opportunities. What has been your experience?

    Not really. I strongly believe that our industry only respects technical expertise and everything else is secondary. It is possible that non-NLU students may feel discriminated at campus placement stage. However, from my experience, I want to tell them that in the long run what matters is their understanding of law, analytical abilities and professional integrity.

     

    Many lawyers say that the first year after graduation is the most difficult year for young lawyers. How was your first year after graduation? How did you learn the ropes and what were the biggest challenges you faced?

    First year after graduation is indeed most difficult year for us young lawyers. However, it is also the most important year of our profession. It is the year which decides whether we have the endurance to make a successful law professional.

    I started my career as a litigator in the chambers of Mr. Rajiv Bansal and worked with him for almost 2 years. That was undoubtedly the most defining period of my career.

    The first year was indeed difficult. I quickly realized that practicing law was very different from studying law. There was enormous work pressure and compensations were also nominal to keep us motivated. To top that, life in the courts was very unpredictable.

    Mr. Bansal reposed great confidence in me and unlike other 1st year associates I was getting lot of opportunities in the first year itself to independently appear before trial courts and handle miscellaneous hearing before High Court independently.

    My biggest challenge in the first year was time management and dealing with stage fright. Arguing before the courts was very different from moot courts and debate competitions in school and college and I needed to adjust quickly. Also, most of the new matters would come in evening with clients or circumstances insisting that the filings be made the very next day. Such short timelines required us to work through the nights to ensure filing the very next day and taught us the art of time management at a very early stage.

     

    You had started working at Bansal & Co. right after graduation, and thereafter you joined Chilana & Chilana Associates. How did you decide to shift from civil and commercial laws to tax laws? Please tell us about your work experience in both these places

    The work at Bansal & Co. was varied. In my short span of time spent there, I handled a variety of matters involving labour laws, family laws, intellectual property laws, land acquisition laws and tax laws etc.

    By end of 2006, I had decided to specialize in tax laws. There was no better place to learn the basics of tax laws than my father’s chambers in Rudrapur.

    Work at Chilana & Chilana Associates was highly focused and involved only tax work. My work at Chilana & Chilana Associates primarily involved preparing tax opinions on income tax and sales tax/VAT issues and drafting appeals or replies to notices.

    Working with my father taught me the importance of having an eye for detail in our profession. It was under him that I also understood the necessity of understanding the business of client. Whenever I got too technical, he reminded me that client needs a commercial solution and not a technical paper of legal provisions. I think this is the best advice a lawyer aspiring to specialize in tax laws can get.

     

    You left C&C to join AMSS in their indirect taxes wing. What motivated this shift? What does it take to get job at AMSS at that stage?

    When I left Mr. Bansal to join Chilana & Chilana Associates, I was hopeful that I would get opportunities to return to Delhi and work with main stream law firms or accounting firms, once I understood the basics of tax laws.

    AMSS happened by sheer chance as if it was destined. I was not aware that AMSS had recently started tax practice.  I was given an offer by one of the big four accounting firms to work in the indirect tax team. On the day I went to collect my offer letter, I bumped into an old college friend who had got a call from AMSS for an interview for a position in the tax team. She was very kind to forward my resume to AMSS HR and get me an interview as well, for the same position.

    Mr. Aseem Chawla, who was the tax partner at AMSS during the relevant time, interviewed me. The interview was primarily focused on work ethics, my litigation experience and the nature of tax assignments I have handled besides the obvious question, why I wanted to leave family practice.

    My father being a tax lawyer appeared to be the biggest challenge for me to crack that interview with AMSS. There was a presumption that sooner or later I would go back to join my father’s practice.

    However, Mr. Chawla identified with my point of view and the career path I had chalked out for myself. To my delight, I got a call from AMSS HR in the same week informing me about my selection. I was to join as a fresher associate in the Tax Team of AMSS.

    I guess my initial litigation experience coupled with my exposure to basics of tax laws worked in my favour. Also, my willingness to discount all my past experience to join as a fresher gave me an edge over the other candidates.

     

    Would you say your undergraduate B.Com degree has been helpful in your career? When did you actually experience the learning curve in tax law?

    Undoubtedly yes. It is almost impossible to specialise in tax laws without having the ability to decode financial statements and juggle with numbers. The B.Com degree gave me exposure to the accounting principles and made me affable to balance sheets and financials.

    I developed interest in tax laws while pursuing LL.B itself. I chose the optional paper of tax in my second year of law school and our professor Ms. Neeru Nakra ensured that everyone in the class enjoyed studying the seemingly boring tax laws. However, the actual learning curve in tax laws happened only after I joined Chilana & Chilana Associates.

     

    How do you say one can gain expertise in tax law? What does it take to be a good tax lawyer?

    The only way to gain experience in tax laws is to work with a tax lawyer or an accounting firm. We may not get an opportunity to work with a big firm directly but we must not lose hope. Hone your tax skills with independent practitioners or mid-level firms and wait for the right opportunity.

    Tax is a very dynamic subject. Hundreds of notifications and circulars are issued by the tax department every week. Tax laws get amended almost every year and the courts across India have different points of view on the same question of law. The only way one can be a good tax lawyer is by ensuring that you are constantly evolving and investing atleast 2 hours every week on knowledge management.

     

    Is the work significantly different from other transactional lawyers?

    Yes, practicing tax laws is very niche and significantly different from any other practice. Every litigation and advisory assignment is significantly different from the other. There are hardly any templates to start with. What differentiates a tax practice from regular transactional advisory work is that it never gets monotonous for a lawyer practicing tax laws.

     

    How much of your work does involve litigation, if at all?

    My work involves a good mix of litigation and advisory work. I have been appearing before various High Courts, Tribunals and Commissioners across the country on various indirect tax issues.

    Recently, I independently argued a very technical and high stake matter pertaining to taxability of domain name registration before the Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal, Mumbai, and got a favourable order for client.

     

    Tell us a bit about work culture at AMSS tax team.

    Work culture at the AMSS Tax Team is highly competitive which induces a positive and productive environment. Most of the work handled by Tax Team at AMSS is very niche and high end, which continues to aspire and drive us towards professional excellence.

     

    People often complain about the highly skewed work-life balance at the top law firms. What is your workday like? How do you maintain your work-life balance?

    Being a lawyer is undoubtedly a high-stress career that demands far more than fair share of our time. Most of our assignments are urgent and require time bound delivery. Quite often than not, we end up spending more than 12 hours a day in our offices.  However, it is a conscious choice for most of us.

    One of the most important tools to manage work-life balance is time management, the ability to manage and keep a tab on the time and efficiencies, not only of your own but that of your team as well. I do try my best to regulate my time in the most efficient manner possible and spend quality time with my family. However, I must admit that my family understands the kind of pressures I work in and is really supportive of my professional commitments. Without their support, it would have been impossible for me to give my best to my profession.

     

    What would be your message to our young readers who want to pursue a career in tax laws?

    I would want to tell the young readers and budding lawyers that while their seniors would provide them sufficient exposure and training on the subject matter of their interest, the ultimate responsibility for their professional development rests on them only.

    It is not uncommon to feel disoriented in the first year of being a tax lawyer. Unlike other laws, tax laws are highly complex and require sound understanding of basic principles before you can start understanding and enjoying the complexity of the issues involved. Be patient till the time you are sure that you have mastered the basic principles.

    If time permits, a budding tax lawyer must consider attending training sessions and coaching classes organized by Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) on tax laws for aspiring Chartered Accountants. These are really helpful in understanding the basic concepts of tax laws and make a great foundation for any tax professional.

    Once the basic understanding of tax laws is in place, it is important to remain focused and constantly invest time on self-development and knowledge management. It is also important to master the art of understanding the commercial reasons for any transaction to be able to provide a better solution to client.

    Besides legal expertise, it is important to develop the work ethics which are paramount for any professional to be successful, most importantly being, determination, patience and integrity.[/sociallocker]