Super Lawyer

Category: Law Firm

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Get in touch with Kaainat Pundir-

  • In conversation with Mira Banga, a Corporate Lawyer and the Founder of Lawssistance, an online legal service provider

    In conversation with Mira Banga, a Corporate Lawyer and the Founder of Lawssistance, an online legal service provider

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

    How did you decide upon choosing law as a career? What adjective would describe your professional journey up until now?

    I was always into public speaking and passage writing in my early school days. I used to score well in subjects like English and computer science in high school. It was my father who pushed me to choose law as a career as he felt I had the knack in me to eventually turn my skills into a profession and become a good lawyer. He always taught me that communication as a skill set is very rare and people spend years polishing it. As per him, I was born with it as he would see me argue and fight by giving logic to my friends or family during any discussion. 

    The adjective which would define my law journey up till now would be ‘Progressive’. My learnings, practice and thinking have been nothing but progressive all these years. I have managed to start my own office only in the 6th year of my practice and I managed to get clients and people to trust me and to go forward with the engagements only through the additional skill sets which I hone on a daily basis. I practice and read about not only law or legal developments but I also continuously work on how I can become a better communicator, a better writer or a better listener. 

    How challenging was establishing yourself first, as an independent practitioner, and then, establishing your own firm- Lawssistance?

    It was very difficult for me to make a decision to start my own practice or to leave my job at that time in 2020. The pandemic had just struck and it was pretty unpredictable as to how the legal ecosystem will be impacted in terms of work and payments. At that time, I was very comfortable working under a boss and doing what I was told but I used to notice that there were clashes when it came to choosing the right method of doing or steering a transaction. I used to face a lot of backlash for having different views and ways of taking up a certain assignment. I used to share these things with my family and they used to ask me to either learn a new way of taking up things or doing the assignments or find a way to do things the way I would want to, as I felt very strongly about what I wanted to do about the work I was given. I slowly started to feel that I must start my own office and practice so that I can further sharpen my skills and my macro-view towards transactions. I could realise that maybe I should try my hand at doing transactions independently and start my own practice. This was my 10-year plan and I eventually wanted to open my own independent law office wherein I would assist clients as per the expertise and skills which I would have gained over the years. This misalignment at work led to the birth of ‘Lawssistance’ in November 2020. 

    In terms of challenges, initially, I did not have an office space and I worked out of my living room because I was still exploring how I would start the practice, how certain policies would be required to be built, and how I would have guidelines for work etc. It was tedious as I was scared and thrilled at the same time. I worked on making a strong LinkedIn page, an Instagram page and a google pin for my office. This way people would recognise me, my office as well as my expertise. I kept posting and continuously adding information on my pages so that I could build a presence. It was a lot of work as I was doing it single-handedly while looking for clients to start working with.

    I will give to my father, who believed in me, guided me through this and supported me through every hurdle on the way. I clearly remember my first client call which I took sitting next to him wondering what to say and how to convince him to trust me with their work or transactions. My father would give me constructive criticism and help me grow into a better communicator and a better lawyer as a whole. I was not a known name in the market or the daughter of a  famous lawyer who would easily get people to trust me. I used to feel like I was being auditioned when the clients would ask me about my team or my office or how much I can handle in terms of the scope of work requested by them. Slowly and gradually I started to become more confident when it came to negotiating commercials with my clients and the rest is just history. We are now turning 2 years in November 2022 and we have built a strong presence in the market as well as in the start-up ecosystem. 

    You know how they say ‘Rome was not built in a day’! I am still working hard and will continue to, until I build my Rome or something even better. 

    Was pursuing Business law always in line with your vision? Tell us about your experience at NLSIU, Bengaluru during your LLM in Business Laws degree?

    You will be surprised to learn that I want to still study more and pursue a philosopher’s degree in law. I have had an interest in books, reading, learning, writing and understanding various concepts and digging deeper into the history of each phenomenon. I certainly enjoy reading and learning about the law. After finishing my Bachelor in Law I wanted to study more and wanted to do a course in LLM from the same college. I then found out that if one has an interest in corporate laws then the same can be studied and explored by pursuing the course, Masters in Business Laws. I tried to find colleges online and applied at various universities and then one day I received an intimation from the NLSIU Bangalore that I could join the course on a distance learning basis as I had already started working with a law firm. 

    Your firm Lawssistance deals with an array of contract management services amongst others. How relevant do you believe this domain of legal service is in the present time and space?

    Every business owner needs to understand the importance of a legal contract. It is pertinent for a growing business to enter into legally binding engagements or partnerships as it can lead to a more consistent and reliable manner of relationship building when it comes to growing at a larger scale as a business. When parties enter into a legal contract they are prepared and sure about what they have to deliver and what would be the repercussions if they breach the obligations stated in a written contract. Without a contract, it becomes very difficult for an entity to control how the other party performs and whether they stick to the terms they have discussed orally. It becomes important after a certain point to always have things written in a legally binding manner and vetted by a lawyer, to protect the interests of each party who is involved. Businesses grow better when there are legally binding contracts signed on the way with each partner or every entity which is playing a crucial role in building a business be it an employee, a co-founder, a manufacturer, a supplier, a distributor or the like. 

    Your firm specialises in dealing with Sports Contracts as well. We would love for you to share with us a few nuances of this domain.

    Yes, we specialise in sports and media contracts as well. It essentially includes agreements like Sponsorship Agreements, Endorsement Agreements, letters of Intent, Artist Agreement etc. These contracts are executed between brands and artists who are obligated to perform as per the terms of the contract. The performance duration and the payment milestones are the two crucial points of negotiation between the parties. I have been doing sports and media contracts for 7 years now and have had a great hold on the drafts in these years. 

    We are seeing that a lot of law students are heading towards Media and Entertainment Law practices recently. What should they be expecting to deal with upon entering this domain?

    As you enter this domain, one needs to understand that they will deal with clients like production houses, producers or artist management companies. Such entities need work to be done fast and sometimes on the same day. The drafts and basic structures of such agreements should be ready and one should be prepared to work at odd hours sometimes because as a practice, the producers, production houses or even artists, all have meetings late in the night after their shoot(s) and mostly require legal assistance in the second half of the day. One should stay prepared and active when it comes to delivering the contracts timely or even on short notice. 

    Tell us about your experience in dealing with clients for wills and succession services? How different is this line of practice from the others for you?

    Due to the pandemic, we have had more clients who have requested will drafting or succession management services, in this domain, one needs to be cautious while drafting the wills. The will must clearly specify the succession decision conveyed by the client and the executant and the beneficiary should be clearly mentioned. We recommend our clients have their wills registered so that there is no issue in executing the instructions stated in the will after their death. It is a very different area of practice as we connect to the client in terms of their savings and hard-earned money distributed amongst their family members. We provide will drafting services for both Hindus and Muslims as per the Indian Succession Act. I started my office solely for the purpose of providing will drafting services, then I gradually included other domains and started to provide all sorts of corporate legal services. 

    Lastly, as a woman in law, what would your advice be for the upcoming female legal practitioners and professionals?

    I treat myself as a lawyer and see all men and women as my colleagues. Just as being a man in law makes no difference to the nature of work, amount of effort or hard work one has to put in their work as a lawyer, similarly being a woman in law is no different. Our country has this practice of bifurcating between entrepreneurs as women entrepreneurs or a lady in business or woman lawyers. One needs to understand that a lawyer is a person who knows the law and practices the law in our country, be it a man or a woman. To all the ladies who are in a similar line of business to mine, please continue to work hard, read a lot, practice communication skills and be confident. I have had the privilege of working with many male entrepreneurs who approach me with full confidence despite me being a woman in law. We are past this classification and we are beyond this categorisation of women and men in any professional service. 

    Get in touch with Mira Banga –

  • Mr Vipul Maheshwari, a prominent and established Advocate and an Author, talking about his latest publications and his love for Law.

    Mr Vipul Maheshwari, a prominent and established Advocate and an Author, talking about his latest publications and his love for Law.

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

    Having both a stellar legal career and being a celebrated author, how would you like to introduce yourself to our readers?

    I am a practising Supreme Court Advocate and have a keen interest in our polity. As an advocate and responsible citizen of society, I always feel that I have a duty towards the society to elaborate the comprehensive survey of our Indian democracy and rule of law. 

    What was your Law School journey like? Was Law School where you first tried a hand at writing?

    I had a wonderful journey in my college as a political science student and thereafter as a student leader in Law College. I had lots of opportunities to raise my voice on different platforms but not as a writer.

    Tell us about the book “Ramayana Revisited – An Epic through a legal prism”. What was the idea behind choosing this subject? 

    The Idea has come up with my uncle who is a co-author of the book. We discussed a unique idea which had never been thought about in the legal world. After discussion with him, I was excited and immediately started preparing the defence and prosecution of the characters of Ramayana and we decided to leave it to the readers to decide the culpability. Supreme Court and High Courts Judges, Parliamentarians, Mythologists, Journalists and Vice-Chancellors have appreciated the book.

    You have also written about elections in India in the book titled, “The Power of Ballot”. Was this idea always in your mind or was it something you and your co-author Anil Maheshwari together came up with?

    I have seen personally the election process very closely and hence was always keen to write about the theoretical law and practical reality. I have read and keenly monitored lots of elections and their processes in the country. The writing of the book was there in my mind for almost a decade. In fact, I had petitioned before the Supreme Court for admissibility of the Internet voting on mobiles but those were the days when the Court did not deem it fit to admit the writ petition. Another writ petition on similar lines has been admitted and is under process in the apex court. We have given details of the admitted case in the book.  

    You seem to be deeply interested in History amongst other disciplines. How do you believe writing on this subject is essential in today’s time and age?

    The idea to write on a subject which is very close to every citizen of India as I have always seen that Indians love elections which have become a sort of national festival across the castes, communities and regions in the country. Secondly, I have seen that elections in India in always been dominated by patronage, money, fake news and prediction which made me think to write about the book. Despite all these weaknesses, elections in India are the symbol of a thriving democracy even after seven decades since its introduction way back in 1952 after we attained independence. Let us discuss its shortcomings and make efforts to remove them. 

    You have been a member of the National Executive Committee of FICCI and PHD Chambers of Commerce and Industry in India and have received many accolades from different sections of the society for your literary achievements side, we would like to know what got you interested in Commercial Laws as practice area?

    This is not a variation as I have done the constitutional, civil and criminal litigation for almost three decades; lately, I started enjoying the commercial litigation of corporates. As a student of political science and law, this has always been my first choice and as an active lawyer and political analyst I always think that it would be good to pen my thoughts on law, the festival of democracy, duties, the exercise of the ballot by more than 910 million electors, management of the largest electoral process by the ECI and lastly the lifeline of democracy will be a good idea to share with the readers in the form of a book.

    You have served as the former Additional Advocate General of Haryana and Senior Central Government Standing Counsel of various state governments in the Supreme Court of India. If you had to choose between litigation and writing, what would you choose and why?

    As a lawyer, my first love is my profession and fortunately, it involves a thought process in drafting, therefore both litigation & writing go hand in hand and I would like to continue my passion for writing. 

    You are a founder of the law firm Maheshwari & Co., Advocates and Legal Consultants, a full-service law firm known in India and internationally dealing with corporate, commercial, transactional, mergers and acquisitions, and intellectual property. Please share about the challenges of your role and the advice you have for the next generation.

    As a founder of a Law firm is a big responsibility on one’s shoulder which involves hard work, integrity, dedication, transparency & accountability and lastly the tender job of nurturing young lawyers and help explore their talents. I feel in any sphere of life one should always aspire and try to do a larger good for society.

    Know more about Vipul Maheshwari –

  • In conversation with Mr Arush Khanna, Co-Founder and Partner at Numen Law Offices, and India’s Former National Representative at the International Bar Association in 2019, currently holds two officer positions in the Young Lawyers Committee.

    In conversation with Mr Arush Khanna, Co-Founder and Partner at Numen Law Offices, and India’s Former National Representative at the International Bar Association in 2019, currently holds two officer positions in the Young Lawyers Committee.

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

    How did choosing law as a career come into the picture for you? What were your law school days like at Symbiosis Law School and NLSIU?

    Truth be told, Law came in as a default option after I cleared my 12th standard. During my school days, I had aspirations of pursuing a career in cricket. I missed an opportunity of getting into the Delhi Under-17 team in the 11th grade and injured myself soon after which made the cricket option too risky for me to pursue. Since I hadn’t nurtured any other ambition by then and coming from a family of lawyers (persuasive ones at that), I was positively influenced into taking up law as a career. 

    I will always cherish the 5 years I spent at the Symbiosis Law School, Pune. Being away from home and living by myself contributed immensely to my growth as a person. I made some amazing friends who I consider as family. Once in a while, we all get together and regale ourselves by reminiscing our time in Pune. 

    The Master’s program offered by NLSIU was predominantly a distance learning program which I pursued after having spent 3 years at the Bar.  I would only have to visit Bangalore once a year for my examinations. Aligned with NLSIU’s unmatched standards, it was a challenging course especially since I was working professionally and had limited time to devote to academia. I look back with great satisfaction for having taken up this challenge. Getting my degree from the Chief Justice of India, who by convention is also the Chancellor of the College was a special feeling. 

    Being a fifth-generation lawyer, you have been fortunate to have your grandfather, Dr Lalit Bhasin, the President of the Society of Indian Law Firms and also the Managing Partner of Bhasin & Co; along with Senior Advocate Mr Sanjeev Anand, as your mentors. How essential do you believe a role model plays in one’s legal journey?

    Darius Khambatta, one of the finest lawyers at the Bombay Bar once told me that in law, you learn most through Osmosis, which means by observation. He couldn’t have put it better! 

    As a young lawyer, one longs for a sense of direction, purpose and the wisdom to know when to speak your mind and also, when to mind your speech. Ours is a heavy profession and every now and then, we need a dose of inspiration. That is why it is quintessential to have a mentor(s) in our line of work. I am indeed fortunate to have mentors like Dr Bhasin, Mr Karanjawala and Mr Anand. They have guided me at every important junction in my professional career and (*touching wood*) continue to do so. I hope I can make them proud one day. 

    You have had great wins in your litigation journey, including TGIF judgement at Hyderabad, title dispute at the Bombay High Court, and your regular appearances before the Supreme Court, amongst others. What motivates you to scale bigger heights in dispute resolution?

    The TGIF case was an inflection point in my career for it gave me the self-confidence to handle big-ticket litigation independently. I was 26 years old at the time and I still remember that I sought a passover, however, the Ld. Bench of the High Court of Judicature at Hyderabad refused to grant me one and directed me to present my submissions. There was a lot of public glare to this matter as the restaurant was alleged to have served liquor to underage persons which resulted in a fatal accident. It was heartening to get a favourable order whereby the HC quashed the liquor licence suspension order inter-alia on the ground that it was passed in violation of the principles of natural justice. 

    Similarly, the title dispute before the Bombay HC was a memorable experience. Interestingly, we preferred a writ petition in this case and not a civil suit as the PSU had rejected our client’s bid for setting up an Ethanol Plant by stating that the land did not belong to the company but to the Director. I remember working tirelessly on this matter alongside my Partner, Chaitanyaa Bhandarkar and we were pleased to be rewarded by a favourable finding given by a bench of Justice Gautam Patel and Justice Madhav Jamdar after hearing us for two consecutive days. 

    Dispute Resolution (Litigation and Arbitration) has always been my primary area of practice. It is a demanding line of work and one has to learn how to burn the midnight oil.  I make sure I consistently keep motivating (and hopefully, inspiring) my team to keep pursuing excellence in what they do. Notwithstanding the result, which is not in our hands, it is about enjoying the journey, finding the strategic nuances, researching for that clincher point and giving it our best before the Court or Tribunal.  

    Let’s talk about your firm, Numen Law Offices, which you have co-founded and are a partner at. We’d love to know about the conception of this idea of establishing your own office and how have you been taking it forward?

    Back in 2018, I would visit Mumbai almost on a fortnightly basis for work. As cliche as it may sound, I remember telling my cousin while we were driving down from Walkeshwar overlooking the Marine Drive that I wish to have an office here one day. I am glad that I connected with like-minded professionals during my adventures at the Bombay High Court. Everyone understood the need to collaborate as then we would be able to provide more services under one roof. Law is a vast profession and clients prefer specialists. We started Numen Law Offices with 4 Partners, all of whom bring different skill sets to the firm’s repertoire. We currently have two offices, one in New Delhi and the other in Mumbai. We have tried our best to incorporate the best practices, be it in our core legal work or in the managerial side of the firm. We have a dedicated HR, Accounting and IT team all of whom contribute immensely to the running of the firm. It has been a challenging yet rewarding journey thus far but as Robert Frost once famously wrote, “the woods are lovely, dark and deep but I have promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep”

    You also hold a strong association with the International Bar Association, where you were appointed as India’s National Representative in 2019 and currently hold two officer positions in the Young Lawyers Committee. Tell us about your experience at the largest bar association in the world, and how it has helped pave your journey forward?

    My appointment as a National Representative could have been a case of being at the right place at the right time. In 2017, I was selected as a scholar to speak at the IBA Annual Conference in Sydney. A day before the main conference, I attended the Young Lawyers Training Program where I was introduced to the then chair of the YLC by my friend Pranav Srivastava, who, after speaking to me for 10 minutes, suggested that I should apply for the NR position.  I did apply and as luck would have it, my candidature was approved by the YLC Board. That’s where my journey with the IBA began. I was soon appointed as an Officer at the YLC and now hold the position of the Asia Pacific Regional Forum Liaison Officer as well as the Scholarship Officer of the Committee. It’s really been a great journey with the IBA. 

    Our profession has transcended national boundaries and as young lawyers, we must look at opportunities to synergise with our global brethren. In addition to one’s core practice areas (litigation/corporate law etc.), it is important to devote time to increase your bandwidth as a professional. This not only forges life-long relationships but embellishes one’s own profile as well. 

    Amongst your various areas of specialisation including, Commercial Disputes in the field of Arbitration, Insolvency, Real Estate, Projects & Infrastructure, which area of practice excites you the most personally?

    I ventured into independent practice at a fairly young age as a result there were many days when I would not have much work to do. So any new matter coming my way got me excited. I am fortunate to be slightly busier now but that sentiment of excitement about getting a new brief or opinion is still the same as it was 6 years back. 

    All types of commercial disputes excite me. I am involved in some construction arbitrations and also doing noteworthy work in the Insolvency sector. Recently, I have also been instructed to give legal opinions on contractual issues arising out of complex infrastructure projects. They require a very nuanced yet pragmatic approach which aligns with the objectives of the company. I have some white-collar cases on my docket which makes for a great interplay between commercial and criminal jurisprudence. I am happy to be doing good work but it is still very much a work in progress. 

    Not only law practice, but legal academia is your strong suit, with over 25 publications in both national and international journals. How essential do you believe research and writing are in a lawyer’s career?

    I have always believed that legal academia and writing embellish your profile as a professional. Especially for us litigators as it allows us to express our thoughts in a non-confrontational and non-adversarial manner. It improves one’s research, analytical and drafting skills, that too on a far wider canvas as opposed to our briefs, which have several strategic restrictions. 

    At Numen Law Offices, we have started a monthly newsletter wherein our members are mandated to write one short article on a topical issue covering their area of practice. I also encourage my juniors to give lectures/talks at law schools and I do so when the opportunity arises. We try to imbibe a culture that encourages us to look and think beyond our respective briefs. 

    Finally, with so many experiences that you have gathered so early on in your career, what would your advice be for the up and coming legal professionals?

    The first advice would be that one should always feel that they are ‘up and coming’. A sense of satisfaction with one’s position at the bar leads to complacency for which there is no room in our profession. Every day there is something new to learn. We are all tenants of success and need to give our dues regularly to stay in the game. 

    However, what is most important in life, and more so in this profession is to love what you do. Some say the law is a jealous mistress, others call it a lifelong marriage. Whatever it may be, it is quintessential that one is passionate about their work. With the advent of the metaverse and the boom in IT, several new regulations and laws are likely to surface giving opportunities to young lawyers to develop new areas of expertise. The legal services sector has transcended national boundaries so young lawyers today have several opportunities to practice anywhere across the world. It is a great time to be a part of this profession so treat every day as an adventure and every conversation as an opportunity. There is a proverbial saying that if the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the second-best time is now!

    Get in touch with Arush Khanna –