Super Lawyer

Category: Interviews

  • Rajesh Singh, Legal Advisor, on pursuing a career as a Managing Partner of R&S Associates

    Rajesh Singh, Legal Advisor, on pursuing a career as a Managing Partner of R&S Associates

    Rajesh has more than 19 years of versatile and enriching international experience advising corporate clients, CEOs, management members, boards, and business heads. He has worked in the role of General Counsel (South Asia) at 3i Infotech, Associate General Counsel at Capgemini. He has been legal adviser at senior levels in various MNCs, SMEs, and SSIs. He has been instrumental and trusted adviser in various assignments dealing with M&As, NeGP(PPP), international arbitration, dispute resolutions, Private Equity, M&A integrations issues, Labour unrest and unions matters, various matters at Ministry/EOW/Custom/DRI/ Authority, Company formation and registration (Singapore, ME & other Asian countries), data protection/privacy laws, Antitrust/Competition laws, litigations and advisory services for his organization in association with Amarchand&Mangaldas, DLA Piper, DH Law, JayeshAshar, Somandy and Associates,  Little and Company and so on.

    In this interview he talks to us about:

    • His decision to pursue law.
    • His views on career choices.
    • His experience as a corporate lawyer.
    • His advice to go for higher studies.

    How would you introduce yourself, given that most of our readers are law students, law aspirants or professionals in the legal arena?

    For my fraternity, I am one of their fellowship members consistently learning to strike a differentiator when had to compete with each of you at any stage of my life. When it comes to consolidating my energy, effort, and experience, I would like to be called as an astute corporate lawyer with 2 decades of exposure to fortunate opportunities of some international experience. My consolidation of knowledge primarily came from legal-advisory exposures on various corporate and legal activities that governed various businesses, industry, and geography, for the sake of brevity coined as “LexAdvisory”. Today, individually gaining core expertise in all aspects of LexAdvisory is practically not possible for an individual, so it is important to have a team of experts to stand behind an individual under the umbrella of an international advisory firm, like mine RSAA GLocalLexAdvisory Group….remember this is just a beginning.

    You are a B.Com graduate from the University of Mumbai. How did you decide to pursue LL.B.?

    To be frank, in those days of my initial career, my intention was to be part of management hence had immediately done Diploma in Business Management from Indian Merchant Chambers. I had no path to have a career in law. My work, assignments, and some personal and organizational challenge compelled me to do law, further to add, my attitude to have control over the assignment. I found, major snag was legal issues and challenges surrounding the assignment, so completed my law with my employment…

    How well did your experience in Mumbai prepare you for a life of academic prestige and professional success?

    Now, at this stage, after meeting law aspirants from various parts of globe, including the rural, remote and less fluent English speaking areas, I believe being in Mumbai or any similar city will always be to your advantage as the exposure to real-life incidents, ready infra, and occasions of deliberations always going to be a rich experience. Major change in me happened when I started working for global MNCs, because the perspective of life, changes when you enter into a multi-cultural environment. It grooms you differently, by influencing your thoughts, communication, stature, and appearance. It gives a different outlook to yourself and imbibes things to see the world through glass of multi-cultural professional approach, knowledge composition, and personal attitude towards clients (including internal clients) and also “Altitude”, I coined a new personal feature because I felt a point of difference in opinion of astute lawyers of different country not due to legal knowledge but the point of reference from where they see the applicability and feasibility, due to our respective knowledge-peak heights achieved in our respective legal jurisdiction or cultural and environmental sphere each of us belong to; or society that we belong that either regarded smaller issues in one country as high while another country discarded it low, e.g., Data protection laws are different from different countries and seriousness varies accordingly.

    What were the influences on your decision to pursue MBA in Human Resources? Why didn’t you opt for MBA after graduation?

    I was holding all portfolios jointly in a corporate support function and to pursue  highest qualification in Human Resource would help me count as qualified all round. During those days, I was dealing with massive industrial and personnel issues which were unnecessarily chewing away my time. I felt I lacked in understanding issues of management and personnel and at many times could not authoritatively provide solutions to blue-coloured and white-coloured differences. My intention was to stand as an adviser to the management board to tackle all corporate and legal issues; personnel issues were bothering me. I could not stand differentiator in my personal view while convincing management with a workaround was not making me happy.

    What are your views on career choices other than mainstream corporate or litigation streams such as teaching, etc.?

    Today, the corporates have started eying on lawyers to move in the business stream and contribute to business growth and expansion due to their legal analysis, meticulous practice, and advisory skills, taking risk stands minimized at the decision level itself far away to reach this stage but the world is progressing towards the same. Alternately, every individual should get involved in other streams of a career like teaching, etc., may be after gathering some work experience at corporate, law firms and independent practice because that will help relating knowledge with reality and make teaching more attractive and attentive for law students. The legal field itself is so broad that there is no need to move outside the legal stream.

    You have been a corporate lawyer for most of your career. What prompted you to take up corporate law? Share with us any experience which helped you to shape your career choices.

    In my view, corporate lawyer enjoys the power to advise business heads and largely is in a position to influence a decision of management wherever legal and compliance issues are a concern. Surprisingly, amateur corporate counsel also gets an opportunity to advise business heads in most of the corporate structure due to our ability to understand the law better than them and also professional independence is given in our day to day activity. It is your personal inquests and quests that helps you to choose the legal area that you would like to specialize in. The majority of corporate work largely deals with contract drafting and managing litigation in most of the organizations. Few organizations do have an opportunity to go into IPR, M&A, IPO, Financial Arrangements, etc. I have been fortunate to get all of these opportunities at strategic and compliance level, making my knowledge-base versatile, penetrative and probing.

    What falls within the scope of your responsibility? Tell us about a typical work day.

    In addition to above, as managing partner of international law firm, typical work day goes on strategic and management decision to structure the organization, improve the quality of service, monitor the vision and mission, inculcate good practices, motivate the team to support clients and give spontaneous advice to management or CEOs or Managing Directors of the organizations identified as a core clients. In personal observation supervise crucial and critical litigation to get appropriate knowledge and experience to tackle proceedings legally and administratively.

    What is the most challenging or stressful part of being a Partner at one of the most successful law firms in the country? Is it easy to have a work-life balance?

    Obviously, stress is part of your life be as an associate or as a partner because success of a law firm depends on how your conduct is with your client?; what knowledge and experience that you can bring to the pleadings, drafting and arguments? Besides, the challenge of face value in the court, unheard urgencies, few seconds to decide your interim success or failure may discourage your client to count on you even if you have the best army to succeed in a long run. All set and done, if you love your work, you can enjoy the challenges and heal your frustration through your internal mingling and by a sip of tea/coffee or by breathing out the failure and breath in the next moment to move towards your next achievement. Many times, time does not permit you to enjoy your success or cry on your failure as the clock of cyclic success and failure is so much inconsistent that you cannot carry one emotion for long.  Work-life balance is not a myth; you can achieve if you can start your day early and follow a disciplined method to retrieve your information and knowledge.

    What kind of effort should a young associate put into work to get it appreciated? What distinguishes an associate from a partner when it comes to work?

    There is no limit or difference in the effort; your contribution decides your fate and success as an associate. More the partner relies on your work and effort; the less the partner will supervise the associate work. Almost everything is expected to be done by the Associate under guidance and supervision of Sr. Associates, Partner or Sr. Partner. Largely, the scope is drafting, analyzing facts, and research the relevance to withstand weakness and strengthen merits of your matter.

    How important would you say are business development skills at such higher roles in a corporate law firm?

    Knowing the business is very advantageous at any stage of your career, because as a corporate lawyer, the more you know your business higher is the chance of bringing an appropriate solutions or advice. The business heads or management appreciates such corporate lawyer who can bridge law and business on a platter in such a way that both corporate lawyers and business can understand their perceptions and perspective. Besides business skills, the corporate lawyer should also work towards improving its Interpersonal skills, simplified and crisp communication skills. Team Spirit plays a vital role in large. And complex assignments as a collaboration of work is crucial to complete the larger picture as expected by the management within an expected timelines and quality.

    When you hire lawyers under you, what specific skills and profile do you look for?

    Already covered above, to broadly mention, drafting, knowledge seeker, independent in thoughts, out of box thinker, ready to work with right attitude, have excellent and simplified method of communications, ability to demonstrate and express his thoughts in clean and clear way, negotiation skills, etc

    If I want to be a legal advisor how would I go?

    Every aspirant should identify and understand legal and statutory compliance of the industry that you are focussing on. Gather relevant knowledge, team of business and legal experts working on challenges of the Industry, and form part of a forum that can either influence industry legislation or influence legislators by your thoughts, suggestions, recommendation, and actions. Once you have initiated in the above manner, invest your time to peruse legislation affecting such industry and observe live court proceedings in this regard. Peruse case laws and FAQs available on the websites of court and authority (you can refer various other means to get case research materials), to understand regular challenges faced and dealt by that Industry. This kind of development will help you to mature your understanding in respect of business nuances, court’s perspective (Ratio decidendi of the decision taken by various courts or counter arguments placed by other pleaders to understand the strength of your pleadings) and market dynamics. Focus one industry at a time. Target another similar industry, which is logically a business extension of the industry you focused on e.g. ITeS to IT, BPO to LPO, IT to Software Technology then Mobile Technology. Similarly, the logical expansion, in the process of knowledge gathering, is to experience litigation through Business Contracts by way of handling disputes under Alternate Dispute Resolution (eg Arbitration or mediation forming part of Contract; you can further deep dive in this area covering domestic and international arena of every country your organization operates its business); further to add, Contracts, generally, branches out to various legislation or points out to foreign legislation by way of its terms and conditions, hence, review of such clauses should be analysed in the light of such legislation to assess the risk and recommend mitigation plan or compliances there under.

    What would be your advice to students who wish to go for higher studies?

    Industry or legal area focussed diplomas or courses will help recruiter acknowledge your intent to practice in particular industry and legal areas. In India, degree in law, master degree in business administration (if you intend to practice as an in-house corporate lawyer) or master degree in law for practice in court; and any other diploma or courses will always be an added advantage. The student should work during their studies to ensure that business and practical sense is developed while studying and most of the reading will settle in your mind as your wisdom or knowledge.

    What would be your message to our readers who are budding lawyers and law students?

    Budding Lawyers and Law Students should be sincere, hardworking, knowledge seeker, opportunist, aggressive in work and humble in approach and communication; ethical and professional in conduct and approach, good listener, preach what you practice, and finally should have ability to convey your thoughts. Never believe that what you lost after your sincere attempts are the last opportunity for your life.

     

  • Roumita Dey, Associate, Agama Law Associates, on how to represent clients on behalf of the firm

    Roumita Dey, Associate, Agama Law Associates, on how to represent clients on behalf of the firm

    Roumita Dey graduated from Jogesh Chandra Chodhuri Law College (under the aegis of Calcutta University), Kolkata in 2015. At present, she is practicing corporate law at Agama Law Associates and represents clients on behalf of the firm on a daily basis.

    She drafts legal notices, legal responses, the case for opinion, Service Provider Agreement, Leave and License Agreement, IT contracts, Response/Counter-claim, etc. and is doing research work in all areas of law using Manupatra, SCC Online, Think Legal, Indian Kanoon, etc. research engines.

    She also writes articles on various areas of corporate law on a monthly basis for the firm’s blog and contributes legal updates/day-to-day legal developments in the industry in the update session

    In this interview she talks to us about:

    • Her experiences during the internships.
    • Primary essentials of a good corporate lawyer.
    • The kind of interest one needs to pursue law.
    • Current scenario of studying corporate law as a career option in India.

    What brought you into studying law as your profession?   

    I am a first generation lawyer in my family. I have chosen Humanities in my Class XII board exams and successfully passed with higher grades. Law was never in my mind that time. I was more inclined to do a simple graduation course and decided to pursue MBA later in my future. My father is a business person, and we have a family lawyer cum family friend who advises my father with regards to property related matters and also his business. My parents visited the district court in Kolkata for the purpose of property registration a couple of times and gradually influenced by seeing the lawyers advising their clients and arguing inside the courtroom. As a result, they encouraged me to take up law seriously, and I believe that my parents have seen that spark in my eyes that I was born to become a lawyer. However, I sat for the LL. B joint entrance examination of Calcutta University and have secured good rank and enrolled at Jogesh Chandra Choudhuri Law College, under the aegis of Calcutta University. To be very frank, I chose law pretty accidentally. It was more like law have chosen me and brought me into this profession. However, after enrolling myself in the B.A.LL.B course, I have started achieving good marks in the subjects and interned in big firms one after another and today I am a qualified lawyer practicing corporate law.

    Any remarkable experiences during your internships that shaped your career choices later?

    Yes, indeed the experience of working with different law firms helped me to take the proper decision of which law to specialize to flourish in my profession or I may say internship experiences shaped my career choices later on. I have done two litigation internships, where I was mostly allotted work relating to assisting senior advocate to draft affidavits, rejoinder, legal notices and to accompany senior associates to the court. Apart from these two litigation internships, I have also interned under a senior advocate of the district and sessions court (Kolkata) to gain knowledge of how the district court works, or I may say to witness the life of a litigant. However, frankly, I have not explored much during my internship days. However, after doing litigation internships, I have applied for internships in Tier – I firms in India like Trilegal, Amarchand & Mangaldas, a mid-sized law firm like Argus Partners, where I may get the flavor of corporate law. In light thereof, I have successfully interned in the aforementioned law firms and was mostly allotted research work relating to company law, securities and banking law, property law, electricity law and basic drafting work. I was also involved in the due diligence of QIP (‘’Qualified Institutional Placement’’)/due diligence of the private placement of a public company being undertaken under the supervision of the capital markets team of Amarchand & Mangaldas (Delhi Office). It was an excellent opportunity to learn and to get the chance to work with the seniors of one of the elite law firm in India. Trilegal also was another enriching experience to learn how to take the advantage of research engines and how to conduct research on case laws. These internships made me realize that corporate law is the field to explore, and there is a lot for me to learn in this field. Hence, I wanted to join a corporate law firm after graduation to be able to realize my potentiality in this field.

    What do you think is the kind of interest or aptitude one needs to pursue law?

    I am giving a quick snapshot of the abilities and skills/values; one should possess to become a lawyer or those who needs to pursue law in future. I believe the following list of core skills and values would suffice for every budding lawyer:

    1. Inquisitive: A good law student or an aspiring lawyer shall possess an inquisitive nature. Curiosity drives a person to probe and ask revealing questions. The inquisitive attorney will peel back the layers of a case, going deeper, asking for more information. This skill is necessary because it is often the small, unnoticed details that can make or break a case.  A good lawyer asks questions because they are not satisfied with accepting surface information. They know there may be more facts underneath the evidence presented.  Their inquisitive nature will push them to uncover that information.                                                                        
    2. Problem Solving Abilities: Being a problem solver is one of the root skills of any attorney. People hire lawyers because they either have a problem or are trying to avoid one. Possessing excellent problem-solving skills allow the lawyer to find solutions even when none are immediately apparent.
    3. Symptomatic Reading: Attorneys will have to read a great deal of material when they take on a client. It may be court documents, witness testimony, contracts, case law, or a myriad of other text. It is easy for anyone to skim over the information and take it at face value. Unfortunately, this can prove detrimental to a client. Moreover, law students or whoever would like to pursue law have to make a habit of reading much stuff.                                                                                                   
    4. Writing Skill: Having the ability to write well lays a solid foundation for all the documents a lawyer must write such as arguments, contracts, and legal letters.                                                                                             Written communication is a primary way that information is distributed and recorded.
    5. Conversation/ Articulation Abilities– Just as writing skills are essential, so too are verbal skills. An attorney will find it necessary to shift gears in their verbal communication style. One day they may need to speak in an authoritative manner with persuasive speech during an important trial. The next day a lawyer may need to meet with a grieving widow requiring sympathetic conversation in reassuring tones. Conversation skills are more than just the ability to say the right words. The words also need to be expressed in a proper manner.                              
    6. General Investigation/Research Skills: Law students and attorneys have to spend hours investigating and researching information for clients. Attorneys must be able to know how to perform research with speed and accuracy, and confidence in the authority of the source. If they do not know where to look for the right kind of information; their research may be flawed and inaccurate. If an attorney cannot investigate quickly, they may get bogged down and unnecessarily waste much time.    
    7. Organization / Management Skills: The attorney will also need to possess excellent time management skills. They will need to stay aware of deadlines, meeting schedules, court dates, and travel itinerary. Even simple cases will require some level of calendared items. Most attorneys will have to balance several of cases at once. This requires a high degree of time management and organizational skills

    What are the primary essentials of a good corporate lawyer? How do you say a fresh graduate can work on building these skills?

    In a nutshell, the primary essentials of a good corporate lawyer are as follows:

    1. Collaboration skills
    2.    Emotional intelligence
    3.    Financial literacy
    4.    Project management
    5.    Self-driven
    6.    Technological affinity
    7.    Time management, and,
    8. Hard working.

    A fresh law graduate should work rough day to earn these skills mentioned above along with lots of patience and effort.

    How can one learn to draft a legal notice?

    To draft a legal notice one should be aware of the relevant provisions of the Companies Act, 2013. If the notice is regarding asking information from the Company as a shareholder, i.e., ‘’Requisition Notice’’, then one should refer the provisions of Companies Act concerning inspection of books of accounts, register of members, financial statements, etc. If the notice is regarding mismanagement of the company, one should refer the relevant provisions of the Companies Act concerning oppression and mismanagement and should be aware of the Term Sheet of such company. If the notice is regarding employee dispute, one should be aware of the clauses of the employment agreement. Additionally, to draft a legal notice related to company disputes one should refer AOA & MOA of the Company along with the correspondences shared between the persons concerned.

    How can one legally update himself?

    One should spend time every day at least for half an hour to go through the websites like PRS Legislative, SEBI, RBI, MCA, CCI, IIPRD, etc. to update himself legally.

    Corporate Law sometimes comes with a humongous workload. What made you gravitate towards this field? How do you manage the workload and your personal life?

    To be very frank, for a fresher like me, personal life became a secondary or the least thing to bother at the moment. My priority is work and to learn stuff as much as I can to grow in this field. I work beyond my job hours and even in weekdays to finish my stuff. I never regret not attending my cousin’s wedding or other family events because of my engagement with my work. Corporate law is indeed very stressful for a fresher to pick up the work and learn from the senior associate or a partner in any organization. Frankly, I do not know how to balance work life and personal life together. I am not the perfect person to give advice on how to manage the workload and your personal life. However, one should take a break and refresh himself/herself whenever he/she can.

    What should a student do so that he gets placed in a reputed firm?

    1. A law student should have good CV with a handful of good internships, paper publications, and other extra-curricular activities to get selected for the interview at any reputed law firm.
    2. After getting selected for an interview, a law student, whoever apply to reputed law firms, should crack the interview at first go.
    3. I think, after cracking the interview in one go, half of the battle is won by him/her to get placed in a prominent law firm.

    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?

    To be very frank and honest, I have studied in a traditional law school and hence, it did not prepare me for the tasks which I am required to do in the course of my employment with a law firm. Internships have given me the overview of how the law firm works and what kind of work an associate should do while working with a law firm after the graduation. I have simply learned from the scratch with respect to drafting and how to do an exhaustive research, from my partner of the law firm, where I presently work as an Associate. My partner teaches me every day from writing an email to the client to draft any document and what the exact format should be for drafting. She also taught me how to keep track of the clients’ mandates and how to keep myself legally updated to survive in this rat race of lawyers, and that is how I grow as a lawyer.  I think most of the fresher like me, whoever studied in any traditional law school learn everything from the scratch in the workplace where they join after their graduation.

     

  • Ankur Mishra, Associate Attorney, on how to draft patent specifications for Indian, Malaysian and Canadian Patent Office

    Ankur Mishra, Associate Attorney, on how to draft patent specifications for Indian, Malaysian and Canadian Patent Office

    Ankur Mishra graduated from KIIT University, Bhubaneshwar in 2013. At present, he is an Associate Attorney at KAnalysis Legal, New Delhi.

     

    He has an experience in drafting patent specifications for Indian, Malaysian and Canadian Patent Office. He drafts responses to objections in patent applications and conducts patent prior art search and trademark search. He also prepares Patent application, Trademark application, Copyright and Design registration applications.

     

    In this interview he talks to us about:

    • The importance of Science background for patent drafting and prosecution.
    • The importance of choosing honors in IP during LL.B. course.
    • The strategy before drafting and filing a patent application to avoid potential infringement.
    • Obtaining patent protection in foreign countries.

     

    Most of our readers are young lawyers and law students. How will you introduce yourself to them?

     

    Current Association: Associate Attorney at KAnalysis Legal, New Delhi. I graduated in B.Sc. LL.B (Hons. in IP) from Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) University, Bhubaneswar in 2013. It is very important for a law student to decide the interested area of law in which they feel interested and comfortable to pursue their career. Since I opted for B.Sc.LL.B with biotech as a major subject in B.Sc., interest for Patents and general I.P developed in me. During the second year of the course, the students should focus on the interested area of law which they decide for their career. I decided to honors in Intellectual Property Law after the second year during my LL.B course. I interned at several I.P Law firms in their patents and trademark department which provided me the opportunity to learn the practical aspects of the I.P Law and then I was able to appreciate the theoretical knowledge with practical skills required for patent drafting and strategy for I.P rights. After completion of my LL.B course, I have been associated with I.P law firm in New Delhi and working in the areas of Patents, Design, and Trademarks law since 2013.

     

    Why is Science background necessary for patent drafting and prosecution?

     

    Science background is important for the drafting of a patent application and prosecution because generally the patent applications comprise of scientific terms. The drafter should have a sound knowledge of the scientific terms in order to draft an excellent patent application and provide the best disclosure without any confusion in the minds of the examiner examining the application. If the drafter understands the scientific terms, then he/she is able to appreciate the invention much better throughout the specification. Science background helps you appreciate the different compositions, parts, components or methods of the inventions. An invention may comprise of various scientific knowledge, methods or components which the inventor has disclosed to you along with the invention, but they all cannot be claimed, having a science background here will help you to highlight the portions of the inventions to be claimed. Science background helps you in preparing your submissions before the examiner during prosecution of the patent application. It helps you differentiate your invention from the other already existing prior arts.

     

    What is the importance of choosing honors in IP during LL.B. course?

     

    IP is an emerging field; IP plays an important role in today’s competitive world. A company with strong IP rights can flourish with a tremendous speed in the market. Companies, industries, and commercial organizations are becoming more diligent about protecting their IP rights and hence there is, and there will be demand for IP professionals in the legal field too. Choosing for honors in IP will provide students gain much deeper knowledge than the general IP course because in IP honors almost all the areas of IP are taught elaborately which will help during practical implementation. Since IP law is an emerging area in the market, those who are opting for IP honors will always be preferred in the IP industry.

     

    What is the importance of internships at IP Law firms?

     

    Internships in IP law firms provide the students to learn the practical aspects of IP Law. Internships provide the basic practical knowledge and skills required for starting a career in IP Law. Internships in IP law firms provide the student to learn the rules and regulations to draft and prosecute the IP applications. There are several forms which need to be filled and filed along with the IP applications in compliance with various Rules; internships provide exposure to those Rules and forms.

     

    What should be the strategy for drafting and filing a patent application to avoid potential infringement?

     

    The attorney should run extensive prior art search in order to determine the novelty of the invention. Sometimes it happens that the invention thought to be a novel by the inventor is available in the prior arts. If the invention is similar to already patented inventions, then it will result in infringement of the already existing patent. Analyzing the prior arts prevents the applicant from the huge loss of money and time if the invention is not novel because litigation and attorney fee may cause a huge expenditure to the applicant in case of infringement. So it is advisable that the applicant must always ask the attorney to do a detailed prior art search and provide an analysis of the similarities and differences between their invention and the prior arts. The applicant must analyze the Prior Art Report provided by the attorney and accordingly decide the future course of action.

     

    When should I begin investigating the patentability of my idea?

     

    The moment the inventor develops the idea for invention he\ she should immediately start searching for the relevant prior arts and determine the novelty of their invention. Delay in investigating the patentability may result in losing time and money to the inventor.

     

    What is the first step to obtaining a patent?

     

    The first step to obtaining a patent is to file a provisional patent application as soon as possible and then work on the invention thoroughly to file a complete specification within 12 months from the date of filing the provisional application.

     

    How long does it take to get a patent?

     

    It takes around three to four years in India and US to obtain a patent.

     

    Someone else is making or selling my patented device. What should I do?

     

    There are few steps required to be taken before determining the actual infringement by another party. First, you should compare your patent with that of the infringer’s products. It sometimes happens that the infringing product or method might seem to be the same as the patented one but they might very well different in the technical aspects. Secondly, the patentee should compare his/ her claims with infringing products or methods; then the patentee has options to proceed legally against the infringer. The patentee can send a ‘cease and desist notice’ to the infringer demanding immediate withdrawal from manufacturing and selling the products. The patentee may then offer the infringer to enter into patent licensing agreement. If the infringer agrees to enter into a licensing agreement, then it will benefit the patentee regarding royalty. If the infringer does not comply with the cease and desist notice then, in that case, the patentee has the right to file in an infringement suit against the infringer and claim monetary damages as well as an injunction.

     

    I would like to obtain patent protection in foreign countries. How should I proceed?

     

    For obtaining patent protection in foreign countries, the inventor should file foreign application within 12 months from filing the initial patent application which the applicant wants to take as a priority. The inventor can also file a single patent application under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT Application) and take it as priority application to file a patent in signatory countries. The applicant after filing PCT application should file a national application in signatory countries within 30 months from the date of PCT application (31 months in a case of European Patent Office). The inventor can also directly file a foreign application with the respective Patent Office of any country where he/ she desires to obtain patent protection.

     

    What is the proper way to use a trademark?

     

    Before adopting any mark as a trademark for any product or services the applicant should first determine the availability of the mark to be used as a trademark. The applicant should request the attorney to conduct a search for the similar trademarks already applied, registered or is already being used by another party. If the mark is not being used, applied or registered by anyone then in that case the applicant should immediately file the trademark application. The applicant should use the applied mark extensively and if possible, should show the prior use of minimum three years before filing the trademark application. However, the applicant can also file a trademark application comprising any mark, logo or device which is proposed to be used by the applicant in future.

     

    Who can register a trademark?

     

    Any person including organization, associations or company who has been using the mark or intent to use the mark in future may apply for trademark registration.

     

    What are the steps to trademark registration?

     

    Steps to trademark registration are:

    (1)  Filing of a trademark application with a prescribed fee of Rs.4000.

    (2)  Issuance of an application number by the registry.

    (3)  Examination of the application.

    (4)  Issuance of an examination report comprising objections of the registry.

    (5)  Filing written response to the objections raised by the registry.

    (6)  Appearing in hearing. The applicant may also file an affidavit of use with supporting documents during the hearing.

    (7)   If the application is accepted, the registry will issue Letter of Acceptance and publish the mark in official trademark journal. The trademark application is open for the opposition after publication; the opposition should be filed within four months from the publication date. If there is no opposition, then the registry will issue the registration certificate.

     

    What guarantee is there that an application won’t be rejected?

     

    There is no such guarantee. There are several grounds prescribed under the Trademarks Act for refusal and removal of a trademark. If the trademark application abides by all the conditions and rules required for registration then, in that case, there are 100% chances of registration.

     

    What should be your advice to our readers?

     

    Intellectual Property Law is an emerging area as a career for law students. One who wishes to pursue IP as a career must be focused and shall study specialized course in IP. If a student possesses science background, then it becomes a bit easy for him/ her to draft and prosecute patent applications. Trademarks, Designs, and Copyrights are other IP areas which do not require much technical background, knowledge of general IP laws will help. Students should pursue internships in IP law firms to get practical knowledge about IP applications and their prosecutions.

    Individuals and corporates should be very diligent about their IP rights and should take all the measures to protect them because in today’s world ‘everything is IP and IP is everything’.

     

  • Pallavi Sharma, Judicial Magistrate, Rewa, Madhya Pradesh on preparing for the Judiciary and work at National Insurance

    Pallavi Sharma, Judicial Magistrate, Rewa, Madhya Pradesh on preparing for the Judiciary and work at National Insurance

    Pallavi Sharma graduated from National Law University, Jodhpur in 2012. Soon thereafter, she started studying and working hard for the Judicial Services exam for various Hindi speaking states. Even while preparing, she decided to utilise the most of her time and worked as a legal officer in a PSU for a brief period. Currently posted as a Judicial Magistrate at Rewa, MP, Pallavi shares the following in this interview with SuperLawyer:

    • Reasons for joining the judiciary and her ever strong desire to make a difference in the society
    • Rational behind attempting PSU exams and experience as a legal officer in a PSU
    • Strategy followed and material used for the judicial exams
    • Experience of giving the interview for the judiciary
    • Advice to budding lawyers looking at attempting the judiciary exams

     

    Tell us a bit about yourself.

    I am Pallavi, a 2012 graduate from National Law University, Jodhpur. I worked as a legal officer with National Insurance Company Limited for around six months and have just left the organisation to join Madhya Pradesh Judicial Services. Currently, I’m posted as a Civil Judge/Judicial Magistrate at Rewa, Madhya Pradesh. I’m a sports fanatic. I love every sport and I would do almost anything to meet Rahul Dravid.

     

    Are you a first generation lawyer in your family? What were your ambitions before joining law? What led to your inclination towards law?

    Yes I’m a first generation lawyer in my family. To be honest, law was never my first choice. I had taken up science in XI and XII standard and was actually preparing for engineering. In fact, I wasn’t even very sure about engineering so I took both Mathematics and Biology in XI, XII hoping to soon figure out which way to go. In a few months I realized these subjects don’t interest me at all. Hence, I decided to pursue law. By fortune I got into NLU, Jodhpur and now I’m very glad I pursued law.

     

    How was your time at NLU Jodhpur?

    It was a lifetime experience. It took me a while to settle down but I soon got used to the place and loved every moment thereafter. NLU, Jodhpur provides a variety of opportunities to its students. I wasn’t much into mooting or debates but I found cultural and sports activities there really interesting. The cultural and sports week were my favourite two weeks of college every year.

     

    Prior to entering law school, did you ever wish to be a Judge? What motivated you to apply for judicial exams?

    No, judicial exams were not something I decided to write before entering law school. It was only during law school I decided to appear for this exam. Initially I only planned to appear for Delhi Judicial Services Exam but I soon realized the high level of uncertainty with these exams and hence decided to appear for a couple of other states as well. I wanted to make a difference and I thought judiciary will not only give me a perfect opportunity for that but would also allow me to remain associated with the field of law.

     

    How did you decide to take a plunge and prepare for judicial exams straight after graduation? Was it a difficult decision?

    It wasn’t a difficult decision for me. By the end of college I was quite sure that I wanted to prepare for judicial exams and I thought it’s always better to start right after college when one is in the habit of studying. Soon after college I joined a coaching institute in Delhi and started my preparation.

     

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    You also worked at National Insurance Company Limited as a Legal Officer for a while, please tell us about your time there.

    While preparing for judicial exams I also appeared for a few PSU exams. I got selected for the post of Administrative Officer (legal) in National Insurance Company Limited and joined its Divisional Office in Allahabad. Though I worked there only for around six months, I enjoyed every bit of it. There is not much variety in work and it is mostly related to motor accident claims and consumer cases but it’s nonetheless interesting work. And as a young officer in the company I got immense support from higher authorities which made it easier for me to work there.

     

    You also appeared for a few of the PSU exams, please tell us about your experience preparing for them.

    Most of the PSU exams have the same pattern. To be honest, I did not especially prepare for any of the PSU exams. I decided to appear for these exams while preparing for judicial exams. As I was good at mathematics and reasoning since school, mathematics, aptitude and reasoning parts of the written paper were not very difficult for me. I used to brush up general knowledge and current affairs a couple of days before the exam. But what is most important in these PSU exams is time management. One should make sure they attempt enough questions in every section to secure sectional cut-off marks for every section. Also I would recommend people preparing for judiciary to give such exams even if PSU is not where they want to work because by giving such exams you learn how to manage your time, handle the pressure, etc.

     

    What all do you think is required to be able to crack a PSU exam and get hired by them?

    PSU exams are not very difficult and most of the exams have the same pattern so one doesn’t need to separately prepare for each. Time management, good understanding of basic concepts and practising a few past year papers is all you need to crack a PSU exam.

     

    What motivated you the most to be part of MP State judiciary?

    For me the biggest motivation was to become a judge. The State was always a secondary consideration. I gave exams for almost all Hindi speaking states because in the end all you want to do is help the people irrespective of the State you are in. But having said that, I am very glad I got through MP Judiciary. I have been here multiple times and I find that the people are honest, welcoming and sweet.

     

    When did you start preparing for the exams? When should a person ideally start preparing for the judicial services exam?

    I started preparing for judicial exams right after college and I feel if one is very serious about it then they should start preparing around the same time, if not during college.

     

    How did you prepare for the exam? Which books/materials did you use for preparation?

    My main focus was to first be very clear with the basics of every law paper in the syllabus. I got immense help from the coaching classes that I took. Apart from the class notes that I took during the classes, the case materials, general knowledge and current affairs notes and regular mock tests helped me in my preparation. I did not refer to any book as such for these exams apart from bare acts and class notes but I did refer to a few books in case of a doubt in any topic. And of course reading the newspaper regularly is a must.

     

    How did you remember the sections of the Acts in your syllabus and leading case laws on varied areas of law?

    One should know the important sections and landmark cases of every subject but at the same time it is not necessary to mug up each and every section and case law. What is important is a sound understanding of the concept and the purpose of the law. For the case laws also it is more important to know the ratio of the case instead of remembering the name of the case. It is also important to go through the latest case laws of not only the Supreme Court but also the High Court of the respective State for which one is writing the judicial exam. What also helped me was talking about the law with my friends. I think discussing random sections with your friends will make you remember them for a longer period of time.

     

    Tell us about your interview. How did you prepare yourself for it and what qualities do you think helped you crack the judicial exam? What kind of questions were asked by the panel?

    The interview was conducted by a panel of two High Court judges. For the interview I made sure I properly revise the local laws of MP. Apart from that my main focus was the procedural law. I hardly got around 15 days to prepare for my interview so I could only manage to go through the important sections of all the subjects. The questions asked to me were very basic ones, mostly from CPC and CrPC like summary procedure under CPC and trial procedure under CrPC. One needs to be very calm and confident during the interview and I feel even if you don’t know any answer it’s perfectly fine to just tell the panel that you don’t know the answer instead of making up an answer.

     

    How valuable do you think coaching institutions can be for preparation for judicial exams?

    I took coaching classes at Rahul’s IAS and it helped me a lot in my preparation. It helps in properly focusing on the important parts of the syllabus. It also helps in preparing notes and the regular tests conducted there help in preparing for these exams.

     

    What advice would you give to judicial aspirants? Any message you would like to be passed on to the law students reading this?

    Study hard. Stay focused and don’t stop trying because perseverance pays. Don’t get distracted or feel bad about yourself when you see your friends working, earning and having fun. Your true friends will understand that you are focused and busy. Once you succeed, all the time that you studied while others were having fun will seem worth it. And even if you don’t succeed it’s okay because it’s better to have tried and failed than never to have tried at all.

     

     

  • Shweta Luthra, An independent Legal Consultant, on switching from Corporate Law to Criminal Law

    Shweta Luthra, An independent Legal Consultant, on switching from Corporate Law to Criminal Law

    Shweta Luthra graduated from National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata in 2007. Her research, which started in 2011 and is still ongoing, is focused on the socio-legal aspects of fitness to plead and stand trial in English and Indian Courts. It involves a comparative analysis of the trial procedures for defendants who are charged with criminal offences, but are unable to plead or participate in their trial, as a result of mental disabilities.

    She currently acts as the external member on fifteen ICCs and as a legal consultant to many other organisations. She has worked with IISc (Indian Institute of Science), KEONICS, Orange County Hotels and Resorts, Skyway International Tours and Travels, CMCA (Children’s Movement for Civic Awareness), the Nature Conservation Foundation and Quikr. She also provides consulting services to a global technology support company with over 5000 employees in India alone, a global MNC providing customer engagement software and services, and a leading Life Science and High Tech company.

    In this interview she talks to us about:

    • Her areas of interest and developing expertise and knowledge in these fields.
    • Biggest hurdles faced in her career.
    • Her experience at Amarchand & Mangaldas.
    • Her experience as a trainer, legal consultant and external member to ICCs on sexual harassment matters.

     

    How would you like to introduce yourself to our readers?

    I am a legal professional interested in aspects related to human rights, especially those of persons with mental illnesses and victims of sexual harassment, since their issues have not received as much attention (until quite recently) as other issues.
    An Alumni of NUJS, Kolkata (2007 batch), I worked with AMSS Bangalore for two years before deciding to follow my true interests and joined the University of Oxford in 2009 to read for the MSc in Criminology and Criminal Justice (Research Methods).After completing my MSc, I started my Ph.D. at the School of Law, the University of Leicester on a part-time basis, which I am still pursuing.
    Since 2013, I have taught Principles of Criminal Law at Christ Law School, Bangalore as guest faculty and now work with an NGO, SASHA (Support Against Sexual Harassment), where I provide legal consultancy on matters relating to sexual harassment at the workplace.

     

    What inclined you towards legal education?

    As a child, I really enjoyed puzzles and mysteries. As I grew older, this interest moved towards brain teasers, and then towards logical reasoning and analysis. While I would have preferred to become a detective, that did not seem to be a very stable career option! I was also excellent at arguing (not just debating) and seriously considered becoming a criminal lawyer. When I got accepted at NUJS, studying law seemed like an excellent career prospect.

     

    What were your areas of interest while you were in law school? How did you go about developing expertise and knowledge in these areas?

    What I found most interesting at law school, was criminal law. What I did not realise then, was that my interest lay more towards the psychological aspects of crime and the socio-legal aspects of criminal law, rather than substantive or procedural law – why certain acts are considered to be criminal; why the same acts and behaviours that are punishable offences in some countries, are not criminalised in others? Most importantly, why, despite knowing that an act would result in punishment, people still continue to commit crimes?

    I was not at all sure where I would go with these interests. When you think of criminal law, you immediately think “litigation”, as did I. To that end a majority of my internships were with litigating lawyers – at all courts (trial to Supreme Court), and while I enjoyed trial court litigation most, I was not convinced enough to make a career out of it.

    By 3rd year, my interest took me towards criminology (which I chose as an elective), and during my summer vacation, I decided to conduct some research on the treatment of mentally disordered offenders. For this, I interviewed nearly 30 mentally ill persons who were either under trial or convicted and serving time at the Bangalore Central Prison. I spoke to mental health professionals and prison psychiatrists about the treatment received by such prisoners and realised what an abominable state they were in. It was this project that ultimately defined my career. My M.Sc dissertation and Ph.D. thesis, both are related to mentally disordered offenders and how law and society, both need to change to improve their situation.

     

    What do you think were the biggest hurdles and challenges in the early days of your career? How did you deal with them?

    Despite wanting to work in the specific area of criminal law relating to the mentally ill, I had no idea where to start, and with the pressure of placements, I applied for a job in corporate law, just like everyone else. My only corporate law internship had been with Amarchand Bangalore (in my 4th year), and when they offered me a PPO, I accepted it. It’s hard to refuse such an offer, especially against peer pressure as well as family pressure. Most families do not want their daughters running around prisons to speak to convicts suffering from Psychosis.

    While I adjusted to the job at Amarchand, I never really felt excited by it.A big challenge for me was the long hours required of a capital markets lawyer. Markets were booming at the time that I joined, and there was more work than we could comfortably manage. It’s easy to burn out quickly when you do not see yourself making a career out of that job. But, the biggest hurdle for me was to convince my family that I wanted to leave a coveted high paying job in order to enter into completely unknown territory, with no clear career prospects.

     

    How was the job interview? Do you remember any of the questions asked to you? Please give our readers some tips to nail a law firm interview.

    A lot of the questions asked during these interviews are about your personal opinions and aspirations. They want to know about the sort of person you are and whether you would fit into that particular law firm culture. They want to know where you see yourself in 5 or 10 years. What could you bring to that law firm, that is unique? Sometimes, they also ask you for your opinions on current legal affairs.
    While many applicants are quite scared to answer these questions because they want to sound impressive, the thing to remember is that there is no right or wrong answer. Rather than expecting a perfect answer, I believe that recruiters want to know if you have the ability to self-introspect and whether you have any future goals or not. Whether your aspirations are limited to getting the highest paying job at a huge law firm, or if you have actually thought of a long term plan. They also want to know if your knowledge is limited to what you have been taught in the classroom, or are up to date with and can critically discuss what is happening in the world.

     

    Describe your experience at Amarchand & Mangaldas. Why did you shift from Corporate Law to Criminal law and research?

    I was assigned to the capital markets team along with a majority of the new recruits. That is something that I was clueless about, never having worked in the area. But, considering the IPO boom at that time, they needed all hands on deck. I learned quite a lot during my two years there, but I missed my prison research and finally decided to study further, but not law – I wanted to study criminology and criminal justice. When I got accepted at Oxford, there was no looking back.

     

    What can help a student get through the application process at the  University of Oxford? How different was the work environment at that University?

    Unlike many high ranking global universities, Oxford does not put as much weight on your previous academic record, as it does to your potential.

    To gauge this, in addition to the statement of purpose, which is the most important part of your application, you are also required to submit two essays on subjects of your choice (not necessarily related to the course you are applying for), through which they analyse your ability to write, research and think critically. The latter is essential – Oxford looks for uniqueness rather than the ability to score high marks in exams. They would like to know that their students are interested in long term achievements rather than just a degree.
    I had an average GPA and was ranked in the middle of my class, but they took me anyway. I believe what they found interesting, was my research and ideas on the law related to Mentally Disordered Offenders.
    They also ask for three references, instead of the usual two – one of which needs to be non-academic.

     

    Please share a bit about your Ph.D. research experience with medical and legal professionals in India.

    My Ph.D. relates to the socio-legal aspects of fitness to stand trial for persons with mental disorders. I am looking at trial procedures followed in India and England if the accused is suffering from a mental disorder that prevents him from participating in his defence or from instructing his lawyers.

    During my research, I realised that legal professionals in India know very little about this area of law, and many steers clear of it. There are cases of mentally disordered offenders being imprisoned as under-trial prisoners for decades!A factor that further intensifies the implementation of this law is the stigma attached to mental illness, which prevents many from admitting that they are unwell, and therefore not fit to undergo a normal trial.

    On the flip side, until quite recently, this law could be misused very easily – there have been many cases where families who wanted to rid themselves of the responsibility of a mentally ill relative, accused them of criminal offences like rape or sexual harassment and then let them stay in jail until a proper trial, indefinitely. When India ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, many changes were brought into the Indian legal system. More than sixty Indian legislations that related to disabled persons (including persons with mental disabilities) are currently being reviewed and amended in order to harmonize them with this convention. That is currently the main focus of my research.

    When I started my research and conducted pilot interviews with legal and medical professionals, I realised that a major issue in India was not lacuna in the law, but more as a result of our legal culture and society. Besides the lack of awareness of these legal provisions, there are also contradictions between the medical and legal definitions of concepts like insanity and disability, in addition to how such persons should be treated. My Ph.D. may not be able to resolve these issues, but I aim to bring those issues to light, that have previously been ignored or disregarded.
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    How did you become a legal consultant? What are the skills one must acquire to become a legal consultant?

    SASHA actually happened quite unexpectedly. In 2014, I was approached by Kanti Joshi, an old family friend who convened SASHA, as she was looking for lawyers to join her.Since the notification of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act in December 2013, she had suddenly seen an upsurge in her work as there was an immediate requirement of experts in this field. I attended a few of her sessions, read about the requirements under the law and realised that very few lawyers had this expertise.

    I was instantly drawn to this issue because in, addition to its relation to human rights and criminal law, it is another issue that has been ignored for too long.I initially started conducting awareness and training sessions on sexual harassment, and as I gained experience, I started analysing the law and became an external member of Internal Complaints Committees and also started providing legal consultation on this subject to other companies, who already had external members, but required expert knowledge of how to handle certain complicated cases.

    As such, there is no specific skill set required to become a legal consultant. In fact, lawyers working at law firms are legal consultants. Providing consultation is simply a practice, where instead of providing litigation services, the lawyer provides legal advice to individuals or businesses. However, most legal consultants have expertise in particular subjects. A big advantage for me has been the fact that as an independent legal consultant, I can keep my own work timings, and usually work out of my home office. I am very family oriented. I have a four-year-old son, with whom I get to spend a good amount of time, despite having a successful career. Also, as a result of this flexibility, I am able to dedicate a fair amount of time towards my Ph.D. research.

     

    Share your work experience as a trainer, legal consultant and an external member to ICCs on sexual harassment matters.

    The Sexual Harassment Act requires every organisation with more than 10 employees to have an Internal Complaints Committee to deal with cases of Sexual Harassment.For this, they need training on the provisions of the law as well as an external member who is either a legal professional or has expertise on this subject. The law also requires these organisations to conduct awareness sessions for the prevention of sexual harassment in the workplace.

    At SASHA, we provide all these services. Presently, I am an external member on the ICCs of 17 companies, where I assist them in resolving sexual harassment complaints. I also conduct training and awareness sessions for various organisations including hospitals, educational institutions, BPOs, IT companies, companies in the manufacturing, travel and tourism sectors, as well as various government departments and corporations.

    Despite our efforts, and efforts of other similar organisations, there is still some resistance to comply with this law. Many organisations are hesitant to sensitise their employees towards sexual harassment law, as they are worried that the provisions of this law will be misused. Their negative opinions towards this law include the fact that this legislation is just a political gimmick and that creating this law has resulted in giving power to women employees to retaliate against their superiors when unhappy with their professional progress. While not unfounded, these fears are a result of a lack of knowledge of the new law.

    Sexual harassment is a universal problem, unrestricted by financial or social status or the type of organisation one works for. No employer can be blamed for the behaviour indulged in by their employees, but closing their eyes to it is also not feasible. Many victims do not come forward with their grievances as they are unsure of what acts and behaviours amount to sexual harassment, and are unaware of what to do if faced with them. Many also do not have enough faith in their employer to deal with a complaint in a sensitive and supportive manner.

    It is my aim to spread as much awareness as possible, as I believe that to be the most effective way to bring about the desired impact.

     

    What would be your message to our readers?

    Don’t concentrate only on the subjects that are taught in law school. Learning about procedural and substantive laws is important, but what is more important, is how you practically apply that knowledge in the real world. I think internships are the best way to gather this knowledge. An internship can help you to understand the realities of the legal profession. You may learn Contract law and Company law at school, but you do not learn how to draft a contract or negotiate it.
    Also, you may not realise that you enjoy a specific field of law unless you have worked in it, so you should try your hand at internships in a variety of fields. In addition to learning the practice of law, internships are a great forum to learn from the experiences of professionals working in that field.
    Most importantly, keep an open mind. Litigation and Corporate Law are not the only options for legal professionals.

  • Abhishek Sinha, Associate Partner at Khaitan & Co., on how to gain expertise in Corporate Law

    Abhishek Sinha, Associate Partner at Khaitan & Co., on how to gain expertise in Corporate Law

    Abhishek Sinha is a dual qualified (England & Wales and India) corporate lawyer with a post-qualification experience of more than ten years. Prior to joining Khaitan, he was working as a ‘Partner’ at Shardul Amarchand, Mumbai. He started his career at a leading law firm in Mumbai (DSK Legal) and later joined the Mumbai office of AZB & Partners. In the year 2012, he was seconded to Morrison & Foerster, Tokyo as an ‘International Visiting Attorney’.    

    Abhishek has been leading transactions involving corporate and commercial laws. Abhishek has wide-ranging experience in advising on private equity matters, as well as structures requiring India entry strategies. He has been involved in various acquisition matters (both domestic and cross-border), contract negotiations, and has regularly advised his clients on investment strategies, joint ventures, strategic alliances, regulatory compliances, exit options and general corporate matters.

    To satisfy his academic inclination, in addition to his legal practice, Abhishek has been a visiting lecturer at ILS Law College (Pune), KC Law College (Mumbai) and Government Law College (Mumbai). He has also handled various academic assignments at several law colleges, including HR College (Mumbai) and the National University of Advanced Legal Studies (Cochin). He has on numerous occasions spoken at several seminars and conferences, including the Institute of Company Secretaries of India and the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, Pune on issues pertaining to foreign direct investments, due diligence, companies act, the law relating to contracts and related subjects.

    In this interview he talks to us about:

    • Life, law and the choices he made while pursuing it.
    • The work entailed in his position, and the field of corporate law dealt with.
    • The importance of grades at the law school.
    • Importance of socializing in career progression.

    Tell us something about yourself. Where did you grow up and attend school?

     

    Hi! This is the much-dreaded classic question: “Tell me about yourself”! It reminds me of a quote from ‘The Office’ (I think season 5): “Sometimes I’ll start a sentence, and I don’t even know where it’s going. I just hope I find it along the way.”

    I’m a dual qualified (England & Wales and India) corporate lawyer with a post-qualification experience of more than ten years. I graduated from ILS Law College, Pune in 2006 with dual bachelor degrees. Presently, I am working in the Mumbai office of Khaitan & Co, as an associate partner, primarily focusing on private equity transactions. Prior to re-joining Khaitan, last year, I was a corporate partner at Shardul Amarchand, Mumbai. For me, my first office will always remain special, and it must find a mention in this “know me” segment. I started my career at a leading law firm in Mumbai (DSK Legal) and later joined the Mumbai office of AZB & Partners. After a stint of approximately two and a half years at AZB, I joined Khaitan. I have also spent a fair amount of time at the Tokyo office of Morrison & Foerster as an ‘International Visiting Attorney’.

    I grew up in a small town, Ranchi (yes, the same place as Dhoni!) and completed my schooling from DAV Shyamli (yes, the same place as Dhoni!!). Just for my SoBo friends, Ranchi is the capital of Jharkhand (and yes you can google for Jharkhand).

    What brought you into studying law as your profession?

     

    Law, happened to me, just by chance and not the choice. I was a science student and didn’t score well in the entrance test to grab an MBBS seat. My rank in the CBSE PMT was just enough to get me through BDS, and I never wanted to spend my entire life looking inside someone’s mouth. My dad wanted me to join the BDS, and I was just looking for a way out. India Today magazine came to my rescue; ILS was ranked 2nd in the law colleges ranking that year, and I applied because that was the only college where the admission was based on class 12th marks. Mine was the last name in the 1st merit list. But the real motivation to pursue my law degree seriously happened in the 3rd year of my college. The only good thing about myself (I am just being modest, there are a lot of good things about me), is that once I take things seriously, I take it seriously. I worked hard and topped the Pune University in my 3rd and 4th year of college (that’s a different thing that both the years, after re-evaluation results, I was ranked 2nd). Haha!

    After joining the profession, I had the benefit of having some amazing mentors, and I think my ‘student mode’ will continue for a long time as there’s a lot to learn and I have just started.

    What were the activities you were a part of?

     

    I was a very active student in college. Name the ‘cell’ or the ‘committee’, and I was there in it. Apart from all the college activities, I was associated with several NGOs and experimental leadership training groups. I used to enroll for every other diploma/certificate course, thinking it may help me in getting a job. Today, the students have a lot of avenues to get information and then decide what is right for them. For me, it has always been the harder way of “hit and trial method”, but I am not complaining at all.

    Apart from the above, I used to teach in a school in Pune over the weekends and go for my long mountaineering trips by cutting down on my internship period by 10 days (well every internship), sell newspaper subscriptions and insurance products (yes I was an insurance agent from 2nd year to 5th year of college and surrendered my license, right after getting placed).

    If today, I am asked to give a list of top 3 things which is essential apart from attending regular classes, the list will look like this: (i) participating in moot courts, (ii) self-reading and writing articles or research papers; and (iii) internships.

    Tell us about the nature of work you are entrusted with and what’s a typical day like?

     

    Apart from merely leading transactions, involving corporate and commercial laws, I advise on private equity matters, as well as structures requiring India entry strategies. Just to give a quick flavor, my work profile includes advising on various acquisition matters (both domestic and cross-border), contract negotiations, financial investment strategies, joint ventures, strategic alliances, exit options and general corporate matters.

    A typical day at work is the same as any corporate lawyer- attending to client meetings and conference calls; internal meetings, reviewing the documents, responding to emails, etc. However, I make sure that I take out the “me time” for reading the legal updates, chatting with seniors and taking my coffee (and stamina-sticks) breaks.

    To satisfy my academic inclination, I teach at ILS Law College, KC Law College and Government Law College, Securities Law Course, the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (seminars) on issues pertaining to foreign direct investments, due diligence; companies act, the law relating to contracts and related subjects.

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

     

    There’s no strategy or science behind becoming an expert in any area. If you like the subject, half the work is already done.

    I will digress a little bit, but it’s important. Most of the interviews, students are able to answer (to perfection), the questions, which are out of their regular curriculum (like questions on FDI Policy, FEMA). However, a simple question on contract act, sale of goods act, companies act, will make them scratch their ear.

    The short point is, the basics of law need to be absolutely clear. This cannot be compromised if you want to excel (I am not talking about being an average corporate lawyer). All the other fancy laws can be learnt while working. Always remember, Indian Contract Act 1872 is the “mother of all laws”, and you must know it and know it all.

    Having said all this, please make a note that just by knowing the law (or so called being an expert) will not make you a good corporate lawyer. You need to be a team player, learn to logically articulate your point/ position and never be disrespectful in an argument (unless the other person is a bully). Everything else will fall in place.

    How do you maintain a work-life balance? Are there any specific time management tips you would like to share?

     

    Though this is tricky, it’s critical for me. Life of a corporate lawyer is very demanding, so one has to make a conscious effort to maintain this balance. For last several years, this has worked for me (not saying that it has worked all the time):

    • maintaining an effective to-do list (and prioritize matters)
    • effectively delegating and keeping the working team on the same page, up-to-date with the matter so the person next in line can take charge whenever required
    • Learning the art of saying “no.” Sometimes this is the key (Caution: use with care).  

    Most of my friends wake up, shower, and go straight to work. They all complain about having no time to do anything. I make sure that I get at least 3 hours for myself in the morning.This makes me more productive and helps in having a peaceful workday.

    Tell us about your journey from being a student to a partner. Whether life changes after being a partner?

     

    For me, this journey was a natural process. I kept my focus on doing good work and left all other things to my mentors (who never disappointed me). My agenda was to complain only when I wasn’t getting challenging work

    (but that never happened).

    Life doesn’t change if you like your work and have the same vision as the firm. Just be prepared for the responsibility.

    Tell us about your international secondments. How important are these secondments?

     

    The six months I spent in Tokyo with Morrison & Foerster, provided me with a very different kind of exposure. Japan as a jurisdiction is a unique, distinct and process oriented. I sincerely believe that such secondments are very important for everyone who is on track for a leadership role.

    How to excel in what you do? How to become the star of the firm?

     

    There’s no rocket science in excelling in anything you do. You:

     

      • have to be passionate about what you do. If you aren’t, change
      • should keep your focus on quality work
      • shouldn’t get bothered about what people say behind your back (just remember, they are either jealous or simply jealous and that means you are doing good)  
      • Interact with your seniors. You will get to learn a lot, even in a mere 2 min conversation
      • teach a subject at some law school. You will be amazed to see how this will change things in your work life

    select a stream/ segment and be the champion in that enjoy your life.

    • If you keep taking the stress and working all days, weeks and months- what’s the fun in being a star.   

    What is the difference between a hard worker and a smart worker?

     

    A hard worker is a like a horse with blinkers, just running in one direction without a long-term goal. A smart worker will have a 360-degree vision, will prioritize things and effectively manage his time. No one wants to be in office over the weekends!

    Please note that there’s a difference between ‘shirking away responsibility’ and the ‘art of delegation’. As you go up the ladder, you have to be a smart worker, taking the team together towards the collective vision through effective delegation, prioritizing things and being responsible for team’s action.

    How important are the grades at a law school?

     

    If a survey is done, this question will top the list of every law student. We should remember one simple point, anything that reflects on ‘what all and how’ have you done things in your five years (or 3 years) of college life- is relevant, very relevant. I am not in any way looking away from the known concerns on curriculum, a pattern of examination and marking strategy. I am just trying to say things are relative, isn’t it the same for every student taking the exam? So you have to be relatively the best! Period.

    Having said this, I don’t believe that just a good grade is an indication of strong fundamental knowledge of the law, but it’s enough to bring you to the other side of the table for an interview. Isn’t that the first hurdle, which you want to cross anyway.

    Is it important to be people’s person for career progression?

     

    Well, this is a very tricky question. Let me answer this little differently.

    You cannot give importance to a bi-product. However, sometimes, certain bi-products are equally valuable, just like the final product itself. Therefore, the entire process force has to be directed towards the final product, and all other things will fall into place.

    I won’t say that being a people’s person is a critical criterion. But everyone likes to work in a team, which is aligned towards one goal.

    What is the importance of socializing on career progression?

     

    We need to understand that ‘socialization’ as a construct is not a skill-set, which needs to be developed. We are born with it. The entire premise of civilization and society is based on socialization. Ross (well…not Mike Ross!) defined socialization as “the development of the we feeling in associates and their growth in capacity and will to act together.” Gone are those days where a star corporate lawyer used to steal the show! It’s the era of “we & all” and only collective effort of the team makes an individual and the firm successful.

    Please note that socialization in this context doesn’t mean eating, drinking, smoking, partying and/or gossiping together. It means more than this! Having a meaningful conversation with everyone, greeting them, and being there when they need you (work or otherwise) is the construct, which helps you attain that maturity and stability in the system. Having said this, you shouldn’t confuse this with ‘acting in a manner to please others’.

    I feel that today, a firm may be ready to lose a star lawyer who is not a team player rather than a perfect team player. Productivity and effectiveness are directly proportionate to the collective efforts. The standards these days are so high that every other lawyer has same or similar skill-sets as far as the technical/legal skills are concerned. What will differentiate a good lawyer from the rest are the leadership skill and the ability to make team members a part of transaction/ matter they are working on. In my experience, productivity and learning agility of an associate increases exponentially when he/ she gets a feeling of “my matter” rather than “partners’ matter”.

    What message would you like to leave to our readers?

     

    Especially for the young corporate lawyers, it’s important that they:

    • learn to write/ draft in simple English;
    • understand and appreciate the commercial construct of transactions, and
    • understand, the client wants a solution-oriented approach.  

    I am not highlighting the obvious that they need to know the law and keeping abreast with the latest developments/transactions.

    I genuinely believe that I am a risk taker. I know that if I don’t take any chances in this short life, I will have a dull and boring life.Who wants a boring life anyway? Having said that, it doesn’t mean you will succeed every time. In fact, you will fail most of the times, but the good part is the experience you get and the fact that you will never regret “not doing it”. Regretting about things ‘that you never tried’ is worst than trying and failing.

    The short point is that you should do whatever you want to do in life if you feel it’s the right thing for you. Period. Whatever you do in life (good or bad), people around you will speak about you. It’s fine, because, at the end of the day, you are here for the experience and not to just please people around you.

    Also, if you’re good at what you do, there’s no reason you can’t brag about it.

    Always remember, we all ‘work to live’ and not ‘live to work’. Being dedicated is one thing and being in office 24/7 is another. Go out, meet with friends, travel, do something for yourself, and patiently hear everyone but listen to just yourself.

    Fitness is not just an important aspect; it’s essential if you want to enjoy your work as well as your personal life. You just can’t ignore it. I don’t need to explain what needs to be done. Everyone knows it, so don’t be lazy, go out and sweat.

  • Mini Gautam, Independent Legal Consultant, on being in-house counsel, and writing a book

    Mini Gautam, Independent Legal Consultant, on being in-house counsel, and writing a book

    Mini Gautam graduated from ILS Law College, Pune University, in 2010. Presently, she is a Senior Manager in the strategy and planning department of one of the leading infrastructure finance companies in India. She plays a key role in legal strategy and transactions crossing a certain level of criticality and threshold.

    In this interview we speak to her about:

    • Challenges associated with being an in-house counsel
    • The recruitment process in her company
    • Writing her book and the publication process

    You are working in the strategy and planning office of your company. How different is that from a regular legal function?

    I am working in the strategy office of Srei Infrastructure Finance Limited, one of the leading infrastructure finance companies in India with operations of affiliated entities extending into the oil, power, construction equipment leasing, and telecom sectors. The quality of work here is superlative. We are expected to not just pick up and read laws, but to structure and provide practical and workable solutions. The motto is to try and furnish the solution; not just identify the problem. That has helped me to look at everything from a commercial and systematic point of view.

    I don’t want to delve into the philosophy or art of law anymore as a commercial lawyer. I want to know what is it that affects my organization and to what extent. That’s it. Once I have that base knowledge, everything becomes easier.

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    What are the essential requirements that a law student must fulfill in order to pursue a career in financial services? 

    CA, CS, MBA are really helpful for working in corporate law. I don’t have any of these degrees and some of the people who I have had a chance to work with and who have a good grasp of the law and a clear understanding of concepts, do not either. So I will be compelled to say that degrees don’t add the kind of value that practical experience does. In my experience, I have found that the harder and harder you work, the more the number of hours you put in and as a lawyer, that’s pretty much all you need to be successful.

    How would you describe the roles and responsibilities associated with being a senior member of your organization?

    Thankfully, I have been given a good role in my organization. I would think corporate in-house wise, this is probably the best exposure a person can get. The scope of the work is diverse and spread across multiple sectors; so there is never a boring day or repetition of any kind. The learning curve is really good.

    Why did you shift from a mid-sized law firm to a company?

    Moving in-house from a mid – sized law firm was one of the best decisions of my life. Working in-house has made me appreciate and soak in one thing, the beauty of business. The kind of challenges involved in running a company, whether they be on a day to day and operational perspective or whether they are from a structuring and transactional viewpoint. While being in a law firm may help you understand the academic and doctrinaire aspects of law, in-house heaps a whole lot of responsibilities on you that are fundamental to the functioning and sustenance of a corporate house.

    What are the challenges associated with being an in-house counsel?

    The biggest challenge of working in-house is balancing legal and business needs and aspirations. You have to learn to pick your battles wisely; some things you fight tooth and nail for, some things you let go and live to fight on another day.

    As in-house counsel, you have to be thorough with the business requirements; every decision you make is crucial and may have spill – over effects over a long duration.

    You don’t have that much scope to go wrong or make a mistake. Your business teams rely on your judgment entirely. Once you have taken a call, that’s that.

    Would you hire a hard working student or a street smart one? 

    We are always looking for hard-working students to come on board. The willingness to work hard and yes, to some extent, the ability to work smart is the key differentiator between students who get selected as opposed to those who don’t. We don’t want to know how much you already know as a fresher; because trust me, you know nothing. We just want to know how willing you are to be remolded and recast; everyone starts at zero.

    What do you see in candidates when you go for recruitment? 

    While conducting an interview, the one thing that matters the most is the sincerity of the candidate. It is the single most important and deciding factor and is much more relevant than grades or moot courts or paper publications or internships. The practice of the law in any setup is a hard and challenging job. It requires patience, commitment and a dedicated number of long hours. The process we follow for recruitment is giving out assessment internships. We believe that gives both us a chance to review the candidate’s work and also the candidate an opportunity to understand the way we function and most importantly, our thought process. Training of resources necessarily involves having colleagues who can understand the “why” of what you are talking. Once that happens, you don’t need to micromanage or recheck work.

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    What is the role of a mentor in any job?

    A mentor is probably the single most important influence on a job. The majority of people quit their jobs because of the kind of boss they had.

    A good mentor can change your entire perspective regarding your job. The idea is not to micromanage your resources but impose faith in them; so that they take on responsibilities themselves and feel like they are adding worth to the larger scheme of things. One of the biggest mistakes I find is employers who keep repeating phrases like“one will leave ten will come”, “nobody is indispensable,” etc. especially in Indian law firms where the general assumption is that law students are being manufactured by the dozen. A good mentor will make you feel valued so that you put in that extra effort.

    An excellent resource is not easy to find and tougher to retain. Do we really want automatons who will pop out drafts and agreements without application of mind and more importantly, without an iota of genuine interest in what they are doing or do we want genuinely interested, inspired and initiated individuals who are strategically important cogs in the wheel.

    As a mentor at some point in time you will need to realize what is it you are looking for; a false sense of power at keeping track of what time your employees entered and when they left office even if they are playing candy crush under their desks? Or can you let your employee manage his own schedule, deliver good quality of work to you and if required is ready to put in 200% of what his or her capabilities are.

    You can only be a good mentor to someone if you are free from insecurities yourself, and most importantly when your focus is on getting the job done rather than just purely wanting to harass another individual. Your mentee’s growth is also a part of your own.

    What are the challenges associated with being a woman?

    Generally, I don’t feel biased against in any manner being a woman working in a corporate set-up. It is only when I attend meetings and find that in probably eight out of ten I am the only woman in the room that I realize that something is wrong with not just our country but the world over.

    Women generally start with great careers on the same footing as men. But as they move ahead, they fall behind. Marriage, children, the excuses are plenty. Yes, I understand women who are staying back at home to raise kids and look after their families are probably doing something much more worthwhile than what working women can achieve in their lifetimes. But I really hope that these are genuine cases of a voluntary choice made by a woman and not a manipulation or a societal unsaid and yet undeniable obligation.

    What are your long term goals?

    The journey may have been hard and stressful at times but if given a chance I wouldn’t want to change a thing and would retrace my steps to exactly the same destinations. While good experiences are comforting and encouraging in life, it is the bad ones that teach you in ways nothing else can.

    Honestly speaking, I fail ten times a day. I make mistakes, take wrong decisions, don’t understand certain things, may not be able to articulate myself properly, stand up for things that may not be so important while ignoring the ones that really matter, the list is sadly endless. If two years ago somebody had asked me what your weaknesses are; I would have given some smart alec answer and said my only weakness is that I don’t have any. Today, I have matured and understood myself and the world enough to know that I am far, really far behind where I want to reach and that it’s not such a bad thing. I have understood that making mistakes means learning. I have realized that perfection is a notion, not a reality; and you should never aspire to perfection. You should only aspire to growth.

    It’s hard to say what I am seeking or where I am trying to reach with certainty. As of today, I love my work and my job. It is fulfilling and satisfying. But yes, a job cannot be a long-term goal.

    There has to be some ideology or philosophy you subscribe to; something that you are so passionate about that it wakes you up every day with a cheerful buzz in your heart. I am in pursuance of that passion; hope to reach there at some point.

    What would be your advice to our readers?

    My advice to readers especially law students is please don’t take life too seriously. Nothing is life and death issue; definitely not jobs and placements. A job is a means to an end, not an end in itself. Keep your priorities in life clearly demarcated.

    Loved ones always come first, and in that list, you should put your own name on top. If anything makes you feel depressed or unhappy or dissatisfied; there is just no need to do it. There is no rush. Life is not a race. Don’t be in a hurry to get somewhere. Enjoy the journey; the journey is what life is.

    Congratulations on the release of your new book, The Gutter Princess ­ Diary of an (Un)Willing Prostitute. Where did you draw your inspiration from for this book?

    I have always been inspired to write on subject matters which are more relevant to women, how a sex worker came to be the protagonist of my first published novel, is a question I cannot answer definitively. I believe the fact that we do not feel any empathy for women who are prostitutes by choice made me feel really pained from within, because I knew that the word choice was being misinterpreted. A society which cannot provide education or means of sustenance to so many of its members, does not get the moral high ground to judge a woman who chooses to earn a living through an honest means of employment. We cannot accept such women in our fold, whereas we do not give a thought to the men who are availing their services. The fact that our society, or probably any society, carries double standards and prejudices against women is known, the question is, what we are going to do about it. This book is a simple attempt to do something about it.

    What inspired you to consider writing as a serious endeavour? 

    I have been writing since I could hold a pen, it is an outlet for me to express my emotions, happiness and frustrations. I don’t know how I would classify it, as a serious endeavour or as a hobby, one sounds too professional and one too amateur. Writing is a form of art, and it’s hard to classify or compartmentalise art. The only thing that matters is the joy it brings to the artist. I write because it makes me feel happy; the entire process of starting with a word and ending with a tale, a story revolving around characters. The more real and convincing your characters are, the more successful you are as a story teller. Fiction is a bad word; it feels “made up” and “fake,” while it doesn’t have to be so. A story of made up characters can also be as real as anyone’s life story, it all depends on where it takes the reader. I find it sad that people are losing the habit of reading due to time constraints; it is so much easier to curl up on your sofa with Netflix than to do so with a good book. But studies have shown that watching the television can add to depression while reading actually helps in developing cognitive abilities and gives you experiences the telly cannot. There is increasing awareness towards physical fitness; I wish we could also lay stress on mental well – being.

     

     

    What authors or writing would you say has influenced your style of writing? 

    I keep my writing original, and for this reason, I never give my work for feedback or reviews to other people (only exception being my husband) while I am writing, I don’t want my work to be reminiscent of someone else. I read a lot, and have read extensively from classics to contemporary literature, but when it comes to my own writing, I like to keep it as simple as possible, almost as if I am in conversation with my reader. I feel the current market is ripe for such writing, and readers are also in favour of titles which they can resonate with. However, this is no reason for the market to be flooded with only coming of age romance novels, and it is high time it opens up to other subject matters as well. A light, breezy novel is always welcome, but sometimes you need something more, something which makes you think and shakes you from within.    

     

    What are the challenges and learning opportunities that you were faced with in writing this book?

    The biggest challenge for me was that I didn’t want to base the novel on research; I wanted it to come out as a story and not as a documentary. I was writing about the life of a sex worker, but as a form of fiction, and that made it hard. I wanted to write about sexual abuse freely, but you know how it is in our closed society. I received some reactions from readers saying the language was too raw or harsh for them to accept, especially for people from older generations, but that they otherwise loved the content. I accept that with grace, and do not find it upsetting that some people did not like the language as long as the overall message hit them, and they could empathise with the protagonist.  

     

    Being a lawyer involves a lot of drafting and writing; would you say that your background and experience has helped you shape the novel that you have authored?

    Yes, there are fields which may be mutually repellent and there might be ones which don’t really attack each other, but which can go hand in hand. The legal profession is largely one which can accommodate a lot of things, you find many lawyers pursuing their other interests as well. I don’t perceive it is because the profession is less demanding, but because it follows simple common sense and analytical thinking, and therefore a good lawyer can be a good CEO or a good sports analyst or anything else he wants to be. I believe we are blessed, being lawyers, the field is vast and encompassing, and if you really apply yourself, there is a lot which can be achieved while continuing with the practice of the profession.  

     

    Would you consider moving into writing as a full-time occupation?

    I think the moment we make something our full time occupation or profession, we stop enjoying it, and I don’t want to do that with something as pure as writing. I also enjoy being a lawyer, and I don’t feel the need to give up one to pursue the other, not as yet, at least. I write in an erratic and eccentric manner. There are times when I have written five thousand words in a day, and then there are months when I haven’t written a word. I don’t like to force myself to write, but generally, I do keep writing for my own happiness and satisfaction. To honestly answer the question, yes, I am writing another book, whether I will publish it or not, is something I will decide based on how the book shapes up, if it shapes up at all. I started with writing on simpler and sweeter things, but after writing one book on prostitution, I found that a pen is a good weapon to hit masses with, and when you have that kind of an instrument at your disposal, you should wield it wisely. My current book is also on a social issue and has flavours of human bondage in it, but again, I am not sure, when I will complete it, I don’t like to put a deadline on something I am enjoying so thoroughly.

      

    How do you manage your time between your professional commitments as a lawyer and your passion for writing?

    The answer to this question is in the question itself, as you rightly say, it’s a passion, and we can always take out time for something we feel passionate about. The problem generally is not with lack of time, but with, lack of time management. I write because I need to write, it’s almost an involuntary emotion like hunger. As long as I don’t need to complete books based on deadlines, I don’t think the two would have a problem in co-existing. I don’t want to dilute the quality of my writing, and so I’d rather stick to fewer book releases but more meaningful ones. Meanwhile, it’s super being a lawyer.

  • Priyan Garg, Associate- Business Development & Knowledge Management, Karanjawala & Co., shares his insight on moving beyond barriers and alternative career opportunities

    Priyan Garg, Associate- Business Development & Knowledge Management, Karanjawala & Co., shares his insight on moving beyond barriers and alternative career opportunities

    Priyan Garg graduated from Amity Law School, Noida in 2015. Having a versatile law school experience has helped Priyan build a wholesome view of the legal world. He has, during his law school years, edited the Amity Journal, coordinated seminars, participated and brought laurels in moot court competitions and helped the society by drafting wills for senior citizens. Right after graduating from law school, he joined as a Marketing Executive at LexisNexis India.

    Currently, he is Associate in Charge – Knowledge Resource handling Business Development and Knowledge Management at Karanjawala & Co.

    In this interview, he talks to SuperLawyer about:

    • His choice of law school and the benefits of going to a law school in Delhi NCR.
    • His life at law school and experience with editing for a journal.
    • His take on opting the unconventional path for law graduates.
    • His unique work profile as  Associate in Charge- Knowledge Resource at Karanjawala & Co.
    • His revelation of the importance of making yourself a brand.

    Please tell our readers a bit about yourself. Why did you choose to do law? Did you have any other interests before deciding to pursue law?

    I’m a lawyer by qualification, currently working as Associate in Charge – Knowledge Resource handling Business Development and Knowledge Management at Karanjawala & Co. While in college, I have interned at a number of places such as PSHRC (Punjab State Human Rights Commission), ASG Pinky Anand, Geeta Luthra, JSA, Luthra & Luthra, Karanjawala & Co., LexisNexis etc. But, right after graduating it was the marketing side of legal world which grabbed my attention. While a lot of fresh law graduates aim to join legal practice as a litigator or in corporate practice, it was the marketing side of legal world which has not received much importance and has a lot of potential.

    I started my career with LexisNexis handling Marketing, Business Development & Strategy portfolios and I am presently with Karanjawala & Co.

    I chose law over sciences because I found one massive advantage in the field. Science in India is a domain that is extremely hard to enter, with difficult competitive examinations and few seats at State-run institutions. After one graduates with a degree in engineering or medicine, however, the task of building a career is less daunting. Law on the other hand, is quite the opposite. It is comparatively easy to study law and become an advocate, and far harder to establish oneself once enrolled. Aged seventeen, I felt it would be easier for me to challenge myself at a later stage, when I was more mature and had the backing of increased knowledge and a professional degree.

     

    Which law schools did you apply to? How did you zero in on Amity Law School, Noida and why B.B.A. LL.B.?

    To be honest, Amity was not my first choice as a law school. While I had heard good things about the institution, I was fearful of joining a privately run school. After CLAT, I had the option of joining a lesser-known National Law School. Nonetheless, I chose to undertake a program in law at Amity. There were three reasons behind this decision. First, being in Delhi allowed me to be closer to home (Chandigarh was only a few hours’ drive away). Second, in the NCR, I found myself at the heart of the Indian Legal System. Not only did this ensure that many successful personalities would be available in college for guest lectures and seminars, but also it increased my chances of gaining adequate work experience. With the best counsel, law firms and all levels of Courts present in the city, the opportunities for a keen intern were many. Third, I was fascinated by the courses Amity had on offer. The B.B.A., LL.B (Hons.) programme offered the unique opportunity of studying economics and management with law. I find now that this combination has given both, a rounded character to my personality (having now studied science, commerce and arts), as well as prepared me to better understand the needs of corporate clients I may have in the future.

     

    How would you describe five years of your college life? Please share your experience as an Editor of the Amity Law School Journal. Any tips for law students who aspire to get published?

    I would like to believe that I made the most of my five years at law school. I studied when I was required to, and ensured I had time for my friends and myself too. Law does require lots of studying, yes, but a law school experience is incomplete without participation in volunteer programmes, co-curricular activities and sports. Looking back, I am glad I made the most of the resources I had available.

    As far as Amity’s journal is concerned, I was fortunate to be involved in the publication’s nascent stage. This encompassed work that ranged from receiving an ISBN number to creating an editorial board and calling for academic writing. Needless to say, it was an exhilarating experience.

    My experience in academics is limited to the years I have spent as a student. I do, however, hold very strong views when it comes to the state of academic writing in India today. There is a great void in the legal space when it comes to original academic writing. It is the Indian education system that is largely at fault for this; students are taught to learn another’s views, not taught to think for themselves or to form their own opinions. The legal space is full of unoriginal work. To illustrate, an article titled “The Law of Arbitration in India” is not an original academic work. Such an article, like most one reads nowadays, merely summarizes the law on a subject. At best, a paragraph is saved at the end for the author’s own opinion. It is incredibly rare to find new approaches to law, new solutions to legal problems, or strong criticisms of existing legislation and precedent. My advice to anyone wanting to be published – be original and show something new through your writing.

     

    You have received a number of Corporate Awards at your college such as “Best Business Acumen and Awareness” citation and Shri Raian Karanjawala Trophy at ALS, please tell our readers about them.

    Apart from classroom studies, internships and mooting activities I always made it a point to be involved in various committees managing events happening in the University which gave me an overall exposure to what goes behind organising and hosting an event. During the five years of my law college I actively organized the Amity International Moot Court Competition, Amity Quiz on Competition Law, Amity Competition on Law Reforms, Debates etc. According to me, there is no substitute for accuracy in knowledge. Know yourself, know your business, know your men, is the mantra of today’s success. Successful business persons understand the thin line of difference between obstacle and opportunity and are able to turn both to their benefits.

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    I received the citation of “Best in Business Acumen and Awareness” for displaying a charismatic persona, administrative acumen and managerial skills of a high order and the ability to combine compassion with steely resolve.

    I received the Shri Raian Karanjawala Trophy on my convocation which has been constituted in the name of “Shri Raian Karanjawala”, an iconic legal luminary and a distinguished senior lawyer of India. His untiring efforts & contribution towards the development and maturing of legal systems have enhanced the image of India globally. Shri Raian Karanjawala Trophy is bestowed upon the student who has displayed extraordinary zeal and dedication towards learning and imbibing the tenets and spirit of law. Also, the student who has shown praiseworthy performance in corporate courses, interned in law offices/firms and attended conferences and seminars based on corporate laws.

     

    How important is mooting for a law student? Which moot did you enjoy the most, in terms of the organisation and the subject matter? Was there any “dream moot” which you wanted to participate in?

    Aside from academics, mooting is perhaps the most essential activity in a law student’s career. I participated in six moot court competitions focussing primarily on Constitutional Law. One may contest that the arguing system in a moot differs greatly from what one may experience in Court; however, I am of the firm belief that mooting gives one the right level of confidence in arguing etiquette and manner to be able to present cases before a real judge. Further, research being an essential component of any lawyer’s job, mooters will always find themselves at a significant advantage when faced with challenging research propositions at work.

    My favourite moot was the Justice Bodh Raj Sawhny Memorial Moot Court Competition held at NALSAR University. While the moot itself may not compare to others on offer in India, the subject matter – constitutional law – gave participants the opportunity to present unique arguments and step in the shoes of some of our nation’s most eminent senior counsels.

    The Philip C. Jessup moot is perhaps the only competition that comes to mind when I think of a “dream moot”. What is most attractive about this competition is the enormity of the challenge that is qualifying for the international round, the experience of participating alongside the best law schools in the world, and the exceptionally high calibre of judges and mooters alike.

     

    You have done a variety of internships, while focussing on litigation. Were you always inclined towards litigation? What according to you was instrumental towards gaining so many internships?

    I often compare law to medicine. To a layman, the job of a pathologist, while indispensable, doesn’t seem as exciting as that of a surgeon. To someone not yet initiated into the legal fraternity, the distinction between transactional law and litigation can appear similar. There is an indubitable excitement about litigation, about forming strategies and arguing before judges, that makes litigation attractive. It is for this reason that I found myself lured by the field.

    Having said that, interest in a field is not essential to get an internship in that field. Unfortunately, most internships in India are awarded through the applicant’s contacts or network. Where firms or practitioners accept applications, emphasis is usually laid on the candidate’s academic record and university, with secondary regard being given to non-academic achievements. I was very fortunate to have a good academic record, thereby ensuring that many applications were accepted. I also made a conscious effort to apply early and to continue to follow up with the organisation until they sent me a response. I’ve found that applications are not always replied to; “getting after” a firm to view your application is essential.

    Coming from a non-legal background, there was always a hunger in me to learn and explore different fields of law, owing to which I made it a point to intern and apply at a variety of organisations. I was fortunate to intern at a number of premier institutions such as Punjab State Human Rights Commission (PSHRC), Additional Solicitor General of India (ASG) Pinky Anand, Geeta Luthra, Hon’ble Justice Ravindra Bhat, Luthra & Luthra Law Offices, Jyoti Sagar Associates, PepsiCo India Holdings Pvt. Ltd., Karanjawala & Co., LexisNexis India etc.

     

    You were the Convenor of Legal Entrepreneurship Clinic at ALS. Please share with us in detail, about the activities of the LEC.

    The Legal Entrepreneurship Clinic is a cell run by the students of Amity Law School, Noida. It is the first ever entrepreneurship cell to be formed in any law school across India. The E-Clinic caters to the intellectual and innovative minds that aspire to become legal entrepreneurs and it aims to foster and promote entrepreneurial spirit amongst such students.

    We at LEC organised workshops, panel discussions, seminars and competitions for aspiring entrepreneurs as an initiative to train and encourage their diverse and dormant talents. The Clinic endeavours to act as an incubator to the thoughts and ideas of aspiring lawyers, so as to make them prepared to be able to develop their ideas and concepts into practical business dimensions thereby helping them set up their own start-up. The Clinic works on the same objective as Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship, IIM Ahmedabad, whose main aim is to foster innovation-driven entrepreneurship.

    As a Convenor of LEC, I organised various Wills Camps for the elderly residing in the jurisdiction of Noida, U.P.; panel discussions on the new Company Law Act, 2013 and the latest being a seminar on financial literacy called FLAP – Financial Literacy Awareness Program.

     

    One of your last internships as a student was at LexisNexis India as a Marketing Trainee.  What made you shift from law to management?

    Post my stint as a Campus Ambassador at Lawctopus, I applied to be a Student Ambassador at LexisNexis India in my fourth year of law school. Having been associated with LexisNexis India for an entire year, which is a leading legal, taxation and academic publisher, my inclination towards the organisation increased and I was interested in understanding how a publishing house really operates. During the final semester internship I applied for an internship with the LexisNexis India and joined the Marketing Team as a trainee.

    The primary reason for this shift was my desire to explore the second half of my degree, “Business Administration”. LexisNexis India gave me the opportunity to work in the management domain, though within the legal sphere. Legal and managerial knowledge was essential to the job, and I was lucky to have a degree in both. As the final year was almost ending, I realized that I really did not have much enthusiasm in me for a litigation practice. I found litigation to be very procedural and mundane. Pursuing Corporate Law was another option for me, but I felt that it would restrict me to a very niche field. So I gradually drifted towards going for the Management field and challenge myself beyond my comfort zone.

    Secondly, I have never supported the conventional view of necessarily practicing law after studying law. There are a plethora of avenues out there, waiting to be exploited. I always wanted to use my acquired legal skills in a business environment, my long term aim being to become an entrepreneur. I think law gives you the edge of knowing the regulatory framework well enough, understanding the compliances and understanding the statutory and other measures required and applying them to run a business. I believe people working in organizations in the top positions ought to have a decent understanding of the law, in order to manage business in their top capacities. Discovering a new avenue was my primary motivation in this journey.

     

    As unique as it sounds, tell us about your work as Associate in Charge- Knowledge Resource at Karanjawala & Co., New Delhi. What is your job profile?

    As an Associate in Charge – Knowledge Resource, I look after Business Development & Knowledge Management of the firm. I’m involved in the indirect marketing of the firm by looking after the visibility of the firm. 

    Having worked for 3 years now in the legal marketing profession, I have a sharp view on the marketing of the law firms whilst taking the legal view into account. At Karanjawala & Co. I work with Senior Management and Partners at all levels looking after their Knowledge Management and Business Development – converting potential clients into permanent clients and engaging with even the most sceptical of clients.

    The Job Profile includes:-

    1. Working very closely with The Managing Partner and the Partners on the Marketing Strategies and Business Development of the different practice areas of the firm.
    2. Brand Development
    3. Publications on Legal Media Platforms & Research involved.
    4. Visibility of Firm over different platforms both domestic & international.
    5. Strategic Consulting – Including Business Plans & Marketing Strategy Development.
    6. Preparing Whitepapers for Conferences.
    7. Liaising Strategic Collaborations with Legal Events in the Country and representing the firm in them.
    8. Preparing submissions for legal awards in Indian market & International.
    9. Preparing Write ups and submissions for firm rankings in prominent legal directories such as Asialaw, Chamber & Partners, Indian Business Law Journal, Legal 500 etc.

    What according to you are the skills required to handle Business Development at tier one firms? How does one develop this prowess?

    I have been asked this question a number of times during Guest Lectures and Webinars. According to me for any kind of marketing you need basic understanding of the market, networking with the key people, common sense and passion to take risks and go beyond your comfort zone.

    No Law School or MBA school can really teach you marketing until and unless you practically take it up and convince the people in front why they should listen to you. The most important thing in any role is the willingness to learn and willingness to take a risk of doing something different beyond your set KRA (Key Responsibility Areas). With so much competition in the market and a number of eligible candidates in the pipeline you can only sustain and grow in an organisation if you go beyond what the organisation is expecting out of you. I was lucky to realise this during my final year itself and mould myself accordingly – I studied the Bar Council of India Act extensively and laid down a plan of how legal industry can involve indirect marketing whilst not violating the Act.

    Be it LexisNexis or Karanjawala & Co., for Business Development/ Marketing activities one needs to carry out extensive research to understand the market segment your organisation is serving to and ways in which your law firm can impart knowledge whilst not violating the Bar Council of India Act.

    One of the most important thing for carrying out Business Development is that you need to be a people’s person and have good networking skills, along with a good hold on the language and convincing skills.

     

    Not following the conventional path, lately a lot of graduates are going for the uncharted waters. You being one; tell us the alternative career options for a law graduate.

     One of the most common mistake which the law graduates make these days is by not finding out their true calling and doing something which their peers are doing. Not only does it leave them demotivated after a period of time, it also hampers their CV.

    It is very important for all the law graduates to go beyond the conventional path of litigation and corporate and look for other untapped areas in the legal field. With foreign law firms entering the Indian market in coming years, a number of new career avenues have come up, such as:-

    1. Legal Journalism- A number of legal media websites such as Bar & Bench, Live Law and Legally India recruit law graduates as Publishing Editors, Editors and Reporters. In addition, all the leading newspapers and news channels of the country have a dedicated legal journalism team to cover all the major legal developments in the country.
    2. Legal Editors- All the newspapers and news agencies hire law graduates to work on their legal stories. In addition, legal editors can also work for blogs or write legal content for publishing houses such as LexisNexis & SCC Online.
    3. Business Development- It’s a very desirable combination if an individual knows both law and marketing. Such law graduates are hired by law firms or engaged by litigants to carry out their marketing activities and increase the visibility of firm on different platforms.
    4. Knowledge Management- Knowledge Management at law firms is all about creating, sharing, using and managing the knowledge and information. A number of law firms regularly submit articles for publishing and it is the duty of Knowledge Management Associates to vet these submissions or prepare Whitepapers for conferences.
    5. Head Hunting for Legal Industry- In the present times the process of legal recruitment and transactional shift has become more systematic due to organisations like Vahura and other independent Consultants. Such organisations engage law graduates who have an idea about the market and can find right talent for an organisation.
    6. Corporate Communication- The role of a Corporate Communication Executive is to act like a bridge between the lawyers and clients. It has been a seen a number of times that there’s a gap in communication between the lawyers and clients due to heavy work load. Corporate Communication Team not only keeps the clients updated about their matter but also roll out important developments taking place in the firm to media. Certain law firms also have a process of periodical Newsletters highlighting their monthly achievements and updates which is again taken care by Corporate Communication Team.

     

    Even after getting the most sought after opportunity, why did you choose Knowledge Management & Business Development over Litigation at Karanjawala?

    Firstly, I have never supported the conventional view of necessarily practicing law after studying law. There are a plethora of avenues out there, waiting to be exploited. I always wanted to use my acquired legal skills in a business environment, my long term aim being to become an entrepreneur. I think law gives you the edge of knowing the regulatory framework well enough, understanding compliances and understanding the statutory and other measures required to run a business. I believe people working in organizations in the top positions ought to have a decent understanding of the law, in order to manage business in their top capacities. Discovering a new avenue was my primary motivation in this journey.

    Secondly, the reason for my shift was my desire to explore the second half of my degree, “Business Administration”. First LexisNexis gave me the opportunity to work in the management domain, though within the legal sphere and Second, Knowledge Management and Business Development at Karanjawala & Co. not only challenged me to acquire new skill sets but provided an excellent exposure to work with Senior Management, Partners and GCs of leading Corporates.

    Also, I have come to the realization you can make a name for yourself at a very young age if you can undertake responsibilities not being performed by other.

    Is marketing as equally important for lawyers? 

    With the number of CLAT aspirants increasing every year exponentially, the competition in the legal industry has become top notch and the only way to excel is by doing something what others are not doing. Other than good knowledge of law, it’s very important for lawyers to look after their marketing and networking.

    The marketing activities for lawyers can be as basic as managing an active LinkedIn account to writing blog posts on contemporary issues. LinkedIn in present times, not only helps one to showcase their expertise but also helps you to get in touch with professionals 

    from legal field PAN India. Next, I have seen a number of aggrieved individuals reaching out to Lawyers if they are publishing articles on contemporary issues or issues which are most common in the legal field such as Family Law, Criminal Law or CPC.

    Finally, it all comes down to personal connections and networking. Today, all major cities have organisations & establishments organizing Book Launches and other Panel Discussions. Attending such events not only helps the Lawyers to get updated with law but also enables them to meet and network with a number of people at one place.

    If a lawyer is active on social media and networking events. It’s not surprising if they get an offer to author a book by leading publishing houses or also receive invitations from Institutions either as a judge for Moot Court Competitions or as a Guest Speaker.

    It’s all about showcasing you expertise and being omnipresent in the Legal Industry!!

     

     As a visionary and opportunist, what are your future plans? Where do you see/want to see yourself in the next 5-6 years?

    As a visionary and opportunist I have always followed a motto in life,

    “There is no fun in living a life that you don’t feel proud of. A life where you have just passed your time. Build a list of accomplishments behind you. The learning you will get in the process will transform you and your thinking process completely. That’s what will make you a leader ultimately. There are no short cuts to success. The more grind you undergo- the stronger you become.”

    My future plans involve making my name in Business Development domain and strengthening it with a MBA degree. Also, with the present government being in favour of foreign law firms establishing in India, the domain of Business Development & Knowledge Management has a lot of potential to grow manifolds. With a number of consultation organisations coming up in Indian legal market, this area is going to expand only.

     

     

  • Chitranjali Negi, A Lawyer, On working as an ODR Research Scholar and dedicating her career to Human Rights

    Chitranjali Negi, A Lawyer, On working as an ODR Research Scholar and dedicating her career to Human Rights

     

    Chitranjali Negi graduated from Rohilkhand University in 2009. She is a Master degree holder in Law (LLM) [Administrative & Constitutional Law (Comparative)] & Ph.D. Law Research Scholar (Online Dispute Resolution).  

    At present, she works as a Lawyer at the Supreme Court of India, Permanent Member of Supreme Court Bar Association. She is also a partner at Santaniello International Law firm based in Italy Rome (2011- Present), Writing Legal Research Papers for Social Science Law Network, New York USA.

    In this interview she talks about:

    • Choosing Law as a career and her experience at Rohilkhand University.
    • Her experience at Santaniello International Law firm
    • Her keen interest in Human Rights and their protection.
    • About Online Dispute Resolution.

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    Most of our readers are law students and young lawyers. How will you introduce yourself to them?

    I am proud village girl who started with the rights of people through Amnesty International. Presently I am Lawyer at Supreme Court of India (2010- Present), Partners at Santaniello International Law Firm based in Italy Rome (2011- Present), Writer of a legal research paper at Social Science Research Law Network, New York USA & Ph.D. Research Scholar (Law).

    Why did you decide to study law? Tell us about your college life.

    My active interest in human rights and their protection was one of the major reasons why I decided to study Law. It gave me a profound insight how people are deprived of their rights because of ignorance and lack of care from government officials. This situation created my keen interest in Law. My college life was just like any other student

    Describe your experience as a partner at Santaniello International Law firm.

    I was invited by Luca Santaniello to be a Partner at Santaniello International Law Firm in the year 2011. I have been given several task, including Legal Research, Legal article writing, Drafting, Mediation, Arbitration, etc. This Firm respects my knowledge of Competitive Constitution, Human Rights & International Law, etc. My experience with them has been of mutual respect & in good faith.

    It is a common belief that working in the areas of human rights and policy research doesn’t pay well. How much of a hindrance is it for people joining this area of work?

    Human Rights & Policy Research in itself is a very satisfying experience. It would be not right to say money is everything. This experience is going to help me in my further career which is greater than money consideration.  

    Your work shows a great enthusiasm and interest in the field of Human Rights Law. What brought you into Human Rights? Were there any incidents which inspired you into it?

    It touched my heart on the occasion of World Indigenous day(9th August)  to be with indigenous (Boksha Tribes of Uttrakhand). I realized all top wealthy people are making a show of celebration of World Indigenous Day without involving the indigenous in reality. This touched my heart that how hypocritical the world is. This was my beginning in the path of human rights and supports a man on the street whose rights & dignity I must protect.

    What was your motivation for pursuing LL.M.? Why you opted for Administrative and Constitutional Law?

    It is my desire to get the pinnacle of my professional education, which is Ph.D. Thus to get Ph.D. in Law LLM is mandatory. To bring a change in any given society both Constitutional Law & Administrative Law have to be developed to a very high degree of efficiency.

    Is it better to work for a couple of years and then go for an LL.M or do one immediately after graduating?

    I too waited for some time to do LLM. This is necessary to get the ground reality before jumping into LLM studies.FB_IMG_1457166770068

    Where do you suggest one can intern or apply for an opportunity if he is interested in working on Human Rights issues?

    First of all, a lawyer should take up cases of Human Rights and understand the obstacle which comes in the way, the insufficiency of law in the protection of Human Rights. Then do some research & alongside join one of the International Organization of United Nations, Amnesty International, etc.

    What are the courses you have taken up as a law student? And which are the ones that may have a long-lasting impact on your career as a Human Rights Researcher?

    I am passionate with gaining knowledge & I take up an opportunity to enhance my level of understanding in Legal matters concerning Human Rights. Thus, I have studied Law, Human Rights Course, Amnesty International’s Workshops & Human Rights Campaigns.

    What are the top three things you keep in mind while compiling a research work? How do you suggest we become efficient at it?

    First of all, one should be in real love with the subject; Secondly, one should have an inquest mind to take a look at the frontier of that knowledge and take it beyond that frontier with research. Lastly, the research itself is a product of profit to look for money is a negative approach. Obsession! Obsession! The obsession to find the truth or unknown.  

    Please tell us about your current occupation. What do your primary duties and assignments include?

    My current profession is a practicing Lawyer at Supreme Court & Ph.D. Scholar ODR. I am handling cases which are at the final hearing stage & preparing my Ph.D. thesis which is at the point of editing to be submitting in next 3 months. I am invited by The Hague Institute of International Law at Peace Palace, The Hague, Netherlands to attend Online Dispute Resolution Conference 2016 on May. I am hoping to deliver a fine presentation on ODR’s future which I am working on now.

    What are the pros and cons of Online Dispute Resolution?

    ODR is a new animal in the arena of law; it has promises and faults. It promises democratization and humanization for the majority of citizen in an efficient and painless manner while cost efficient. It challenges the present system and threatens the people in power to share with ODR their authority.

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

    My foremost aim is to be a scholar in law. To contribute at international level in making it possible for every human being on this planet the right to seek justice without any hindrance.

    Lastly, what would be your message to people who want to have a career in human rights?

    Human Rights are the centre point which spells harmony and peace to our human family. It would be the greatest gift to human by judiciary. As a passing remark the President of USA, why Mr. Jimmy Carter, who declares, US will not have any relations with any State that abuse human rights.

  • Aounkar Anand, A Lawyer, on his startup RostrumLegal.com and current scenario of startup in India

    Aounkar Anand, A Lawyer, on his startup RostrumLegal.com and current scenario of startup in India

     

    Aounkar Anand is a Co-Founder and COO of RostrumLegal.Com, an online legal education platform. He graduated from School of Law, MATS University, Raipur in 2014. He is currently pursuing LL.M in International Business/Trade/Commerce from National University of Study and Research in Law (NUSRL). Aounkar holds a Diploma in Cyber Law from Asian School of Cyber Law & GLC, Mumbai. Aounkar has interned with Wadia Gandhy & Co., Singhania & Co. LLP, FoxMandal Little, A.O.R Manoj Swarup in Supreme Court of India. Aounkar has Also worked as a Judical Clerk under Hon’ble Justice Satish Sharma, Office of Public Prosecutor District & Session Court Dhanbad, Citizen Consumer and Civic Action Group (CAG).

    In this interview, Aounkar talks about:

    • His experience at the Law School
    • Rostrum Legal and his team
    • How he is managing the finances of his business
    • Current scenario of startup in India

    How would you introduce yourself? Please share a bit of what motivated you to pursue law as a career.

    Born and brought up in the Coal Capital of India, Dhanbad. I have seen the diverse lifestyle starting from the downtrodden people to higher class executives and realised that there do not lies a much difference in a way they are brought up. It is the mind and intellect of each that helps him building his lifestyle. In this scenario, I was a very friendly, helpful and happy to go, person. I enjoyed my schooling in many ways. I even got the opportunity to serve the nation by joining NCC and went up to Sergeant Rank. This gave me a disciplined life and taught me the perfection and management of any work entrusted to me.

    Like many others, I did my higher secondary schooling with the science background and took coaching for engineering entrance examinations for two years. There are numerous reasons for choosing to study law. I was fascinated towards working in the legal system since my childhood. One instance that I remember “Once I became a judge in a role-play in my school” and I think that particular incident was responsible for making me interested in studying law. Entering the law school opened a vast array of career options for me, and I have never regretted choosing to study law.

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    Kindly acquaint us with your college life. What activities were you involved in apart from the regular academic curriculum?

    Life, at law school, was not so comfortable but full of adventures and learning. Being the first batch of the fresh, we were always the part of management’s experiment, but thankfully everything went well. The five years in law school were the best part of my life, and there are numerous stories which I can share.

    I was actively involved in managing and organising various events in the law school. I was the convener of Legal Aid Cell, Library Committee and Moot Court Committee. I utilized these forums, organizing various legal awareness programmes and campaign at various countryside places of Chhattisgarh. These committees helped me a lot in honing my organizational skills, improved my legal understandings and also made me acquainted with real legal perplexity in the society.

    As a sophomore, in a “Management Subject Assignment” I along with my classmates started a t-shirt designing company named “INSANETEES”. We made more than 50 t-shirts and sold it on campus. This exercise was the foundation of my journey as an entrepreneur. Henceforth, The time in law school was overall a fun experience.

    You’re the Co-Founder of RostrumLegal.com. Please tell us about Rostrum Legal.

    RostrumLegal.Com is a brainchild of my Co-Founder Anurag Parihar. Before coming on black and white in December 2012, the embryo was conceived in 2009 itself. It was the hardships that we felt and the law schools having a faculty crunch gave us the idea to start with Rostrum. We started our journey with a course on Consumer Protection Act and amazingly we got 1012 registration in just 8 days. This was a great motivation for us, and we decided to move further and today we have more than 20,000/- learners from across 86 countries worldwide.

    Please explain to our readers how RostrumLegal.com functions.

    Rostrum has a unique team of legal professionals from working people in PSU’s and Private entities along with some of the Professors, Associate Professors and Assistant Professors from different private and National Law Schools. It is accredited with International Accreditation Organisation.

    At Rostrum, we try to provide lectures and study materials from many other faculties of different law schools on a single platform. The idea is to make the same learning platform for a student ranging from a remote law school to an elite one. A learner needs to make a profile on the website and has to access the course of his choice. There lies a discussion forum along with certain badges to bring the enthusiasm to study further. Also, we provide course completion certificate which can be verified either from the website or by writing to the office.

    Could you also introduce us to your team?

    I should not forget to mention the hard effort of the faculties of our law school along with the cooperation of our batch mates and juniors who helped us to form Rostrum and are included as a team. It has been co-founded by Mr. Anurag Parihar, currently pursuing his LL.M. at Melbourne Law School and myself. Also, the team compromises Campus Ambassadors and the legal professionals from different organizations.

    How do you plan to expand Rostrumlegal.com regarding operations, infrastructure, as well as attracting more investments?

    We started our journey from a college hostel and within 3 months of the incorporation, we shifted to a space of 144 sq.ft. in the area in the heart of Raipur. After that in another 10 months, we moved into our second fully customised 1000 sq.ft office having all the unique and modern technology of imparting online education. Subsequently in April 2015, we moved our office to Bengaluru to give a moulding to the on-going process. In near future, we are planning to have professional tie-ups with some of the organizations, and our aim is to make Rostrum a platform for everyone to come and teach or to come and learn and help the society to have a digital world of education.

    What motivated you to start RostrumLegal.com?

    During my journey, I realised that, in India, there is a lack of uniformity in the teaching profession. Though we have more than 1000 law schools, it is only a matter of record. My inner subconscious has an omnipresence saying that “Teaching is a mission, not a profession” and I wanted to justify the same.

    With so much of competition existing in the online legal service field, what makes Rostrum Legal different from its peers?

    It cannot be said that Rostrum is altogether very different from its peers, but the thin line difference is the learner’s satisfaction. We take care of any complaint or suggestion made. We are also very happy to share the certificate verification from not only employers but also for many prestigious universities around the world. The pricing of the courses is pocket-friendly and does not put a burden; the learners are free to take any course at any point of time with a lifetime membership of the course.

    How would you compare the Indian startup scenario with the rest of the world?

    If we talk about the ground zero in India, the reality is very harsh and pathetic. The government is coming with many new policies and laws to regulate the startup community but the officials at the lower level are not manageable. The next big problem is the society not accepting the start-up culture. Parents still want a secured government job and a peaceful life of 10 to 5. Whereas in rest of the world the situation is entirely opposite and there is no role of corruption at the grassroots level.

    How are you financing the business? How do you plan to finance future expansion?

    Initially, we had started with on Rs. 2700/- and after that we are managing with the earnings from the different courses along with the annual classes for CLAT. Rostrum is looking for potential investors to invest in the future expansion and believes to get an investment by early 2017.

    Share the biggest challenges that you faced in the initial days of your career. How did you address them?

    As officially we started in the 3rd year of our law school the biggest challenge was to manage the classes along with the meeting with officials for necessary approvals and associations. Our Campus was 45 kms away from the city and had a difficult time with the internet connectivity. Hence, we used to go to some of the malls to use the internet connectivity. Also, to go hand in hand with classes and certain meeting dates coinciding with examinations were a significant challenge. In our early days, we managed it by working for more than 18 hours a day.

    What skills and qualities do you think have helped you achieve your current position?

    The fresh and calm attitude of both Anurag and me is the key mantra for the success. We did have differences but were able to sort them out due to our ethical mindset. Being a good manager along with the ability to work with perfection has helped me a lot in achieving the current position.

    Aounkar Anand

    Where do you see yourself five years down the line?

    It is very much difficult to predict, but I want to see myself as a person helping millions of people regarding education and wish to build a society which is not divided at least regarding education.

    However, being the Chief Operating Officer of RostrumLegal.Com my dream is to setup a law school with all the ultramodern technologies and unexcelled facilities regarding other resources.

    What would be your message to our readers, particularly young lawyers and law students, who wish to foray into entrepreneurship?

    Well, be it a law student or a person from any background, he should not forget to fight for his rights and should never forget that no work is small or big. Being a law student if we cannot fight for our rights how will we stand for others? To start with entrepreneurship, risk-taking and decision-making capability should be inculcated. This helps you out in any scenario and gives you the way to your success.