Tag: Arbitration

This interview has been published by Namrata Singh and The SuperLawyer Team

You initially pursued a Bachelor’s in Business Management before shifting to law. What motivated you to transition from BBA to LLB,  Can you share how your journey began, including any mentors or specific experiences during your education at College that significantly influenced your career path? 

The transition was not voluntary and Hon’ble Supreme Court had a major role to play in it.

In 2003, between the choice of joining National University of Advanced Legal Studies, in Kerala, and ICFAI LAW School, although I hailed from Kerala, I choose to join ICFAI LAW School for B.B.M LL.B. (Hons) at it Hyderabad Campus. The primary reason for choosing to join ICFAI LAW School was being allured by the course content and teaching methodology, advertised in the brochure then, was very promising. The principle ‘Caveat Emptor’ was taught by life example by ICFAI then. Before completion of the 2^nd year, in 2005, it was informed that the B.B.M and LL. B degree of the College which was affiliated under Chhattisgarh Private Sector University Act, 2002, was struck down as unconstitutional by Hon’ble Supreme Court and that the batch of ours could not be continued. It had come to almost an existential crisis that not only two years of college life is lost, probably a career in law was never going to be there.

It was after a lot of talks with the College Authorities, solutions emerged and it was offered that we complete the last year of Graduation at the Dehradun Campus of ICFAI University and will be conferred with B.B.A degree and thereafter whoever was interested to pursue M.B.A, would be given lateral admission to M.B.A degree to the ICFAI Colleges and whosoever was interested to pursue law could pursue law from Colleges of their Choice. Although distraught, accepting the offered solution, we went to Dehradun. Undeterred to the dream of being a lawyer, pursuant to final exam, I applied to ILS Law College, Pune and Campus Law Centre, Delhi. Until I secured admission, I moved to Delhi and started working with IBM and later at Convergys (BPO Sector). Working in the BPO sector, improved my communication skills and during the training period, befriended and met a lot of interesting individuals. Spending time with people and understanding their nature, especially from different parts of India, the discussions on various topics improved my perspective on how to narrate the facts and impress upon it. These discussions, had later, came to be of use while drafting Plaints and Petitions and while arguing cases.

I was able to secure my admission in ILS Law College, Pune (2006-09) for three-year course. I was staying in an apartment next to ILS Law College where the other roommates were from Symbiosis Law College including my dear friend Advocate Rony John. Most of my dear friends among the legal fraternity were formed here. The apartment used to house at time more than 30 college students. We had a library with the discarded books of the roommates who left for jobs after the final year college. The apartment was first choice among many students for preparing moot court memorials and research. More law was learnt during the discussions in the apartment with friends who were preparing for moot courts.

During my three-year law course, much to various other factors shaping my decision, I was lured to attempt the Civil Service Examination. After my final examinations in 2009, I shifted back to Delhi for preparing Civil Service Examination. Thrice I cleared preliminary examination, but could not clear Mains Examination. After 2012 Mains attempt which I wrote in Kerala, while waiting for the results, I applied with M/s Menon and Pai Advocates in Ernakulam for the post of Associate Lawyer. The aspirant in me knew there was no further aspiration to attempt once more if I don’t clear the Mains. It was time to adorn the black gown.

I had applied with M/s Menon and Pai Advocates around September, 2012 and my confirmation came in December, 2012. For around two months I was attached with Chambers of Advocate K.S Babu at Ernakulam. Adv K.S Babu Sir’s son, Advocate Babu Shankar, was a dear friend and being absolutely new to Court practices, I was introduced to trial court practice. Representing during roll call is an art in itself and I learnt how to submit during roll calls and obtain adjournments and even ensure adjournment requests by opposite side lawyers are not acceded by the presiding Judge stating the urgency in the case. In fact, the office Clerk Mr. Murali encouraged me to take representation chits from other offices too and make as much representations as possible so as to gain experience, acquaint with other fellow lawyers and be a known face in the Court.

Upon joining M/s Menon and Pai Advocates, I started initially with the High Court practice, primarily Writ Courts, then moving on to Labour Law practice. I had the opportunity to appear before Assistant and Regional Provident Fund Commissioners, Authorities under the ESI Act, EPF Appellate Tribunal Camp Sitting in Kozhikode, Labour Courts at Kollam, Ernakulam, Kozhikode and Kannur, Industrial Tribunals at Trivandrum, Kollam, Idukki, Alappuzha, Palakkad, Kozhikode, Statutory Authorities under the Payment of Wages Act, Bonus Act, Minimum Wages Act and also under Industrial Disputes Act. Cross examination of Claimant and Claimant witness and cross examining the statutory officials, was enriching experience to prep myself for the in depth trial court practice on the Civil side in the years to come. Around 2015, at my instance, I shifted internally within the firm into Civil practice. It is during this tenure, I jumped into the deep waters of Civil law practice starting my tryst with Civil Procedure Code, 1908. I was also fortunate to associate myself on drafting Plaints and Written statements in Original suits; Writ Petitions and counter affidavits in Writ matter; First Appeals from Orders against Interlocutory orders in Original suits, Appeals from Final decrees, Second Appeals from First Appeal Orders; Claim petitions and Defence statements in Arbitration matters; Versions on behalf of Opposite party in Consumer matters. The Pleadings and nature and style of drafting each, are not only different and has to be structured differently according to each Court and sometimes according to the presiding judges. I was fortunate to have my drafts corrected by Senior Partners of Menon and Pai – Justice Jaishankar Nambiar Sir (High Court of Kerala), Justice Gopinath Menon Sir (High Court of Kerala), Senior Advocate E K Nandakumar, Advocate Gopikrishnan Nambiar Sir, Senior Advocate Benny P Thomas Sir (now Senior Partner with Thomas and Thomas Associates), Advocate John Mathai Sir, Advocate Joson Manavalan Sir. What has to be said, how it has to be said and where it should be said are the hallmarks in pleading. I learnt the same and even understood the nuances of how different the pleadings are in Original Suit vis- a-vis Writ Petition, between Claim Petition in an Arbitration and Original Suit for Specific Performance, between Appeal suits and Writ Appeals etc. during my practice at M/s Menon and Pai Advocates.

The journey took me from Kerala to Hyderabad to Dehradun to Delhi to Pune and then back to Delhi and later back to Kerala. The journey although was strewn with hardships, existential crisis at times including closing down of the College I had enrolled with; the people I met at the cross roads of the journey, the problems and how the solutions came across in life, looking aback, prepped me for the life ahead. The hardships were definitely rewarding and as its goes, “What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger”, made me stronger to face the hardships the life of a Lawyer would bring upon.

Having represented clients in more than 400 litigations since 2017, can you discuss one particularly challenging case and the insights you gained from it?

Being a first generation lawyer, I could never conjure the courage to start my independent chamber practice. Dear friend of mine, Advocate Krishnamohan Menon, inspired me to take the first step. Even if abject poverty could become the outcome, the hunger to practice law with one’s own clientele, was alluring to start independent chamber practice. Another dear friend of mine, Advocate Unni Kappen, offered to share space in his Chamber and thus was born M/s Navodaya Law Solutions in March, 2017. My first work was to draft a Memorandum of Understanding for a purchase of a property. This drafting was done by me carefully wording the clauses. I was fortunate to have drafted and vetted several agreements on behalf of M/s BPCL and M/s Symega Food Ingredients Ltd among many other clients, that Contract drafting and its nuances was taught during my discussion with the senior officials of the respective companies. Mr. Venugopal (Retired Senior Legal Manager) of BPCL and Mr. Mathews Jacob (Retired -CFO- Symega Food Ingredients Ltd) have been instrumental in helping me understanding the nuances of the Contract drafting. These skills came to help in drafting the MOU, which when later had ended up as a land grabbing case by impersonating my client and executing the Sale Deed, I was fortunate to have the confidence of my Client who in spite of being advised to engage a Senior Counsel, entrusted the brief with me and I was able to get the land grabbing undone, the registered documents declared as forged and the revenue records rectified. An act of registration of sale deed by impersonation amounts to an act of fraud. I was able to advise my client, not to resort to the remedial course of Civil Court declaration and injunction simpliciter, but approach the Inspector General of Registration (IGR) for setting aside the document. The land grabbers had grabbed not only my Clients property but also adjoining properties of the relatives of my Clients. While they were suggested by their respective counsels to move the Civil Court and had instituted Original Suits after remitting hefty Court fees, I moved the IGR for cancellation of the deeds and also moved the High Court to direct the sub registrar to not permit any further conveyancing of the disputed property until IGR decided my application. High Court was pleased to issue the directions and also directed IGR to consider my application at the earliest.  Finally, IGR was able to ascertain that the Sale deed was registered by an act of impersonation and the sale deeds were cancelled. The clauses of the Agreement were also tested by both Civil Court (in Suit for Specific Performance filed by Land grabbers) and High Court for whether the land grabbers had a charge on account of advance payment and were entitled for prayer of specific performance. I was able to convince the Court that charge was not possible as the clause was clearly worded that Advance payment was not refundable if the sale was not completed at the instance of the purchasers. As the purchasers, admittedly committed the act of land grabbing, there is not possibility of the proceeding with the sale, and therefore, the Advance amounts being not refundable, the charge on the property was not possible and the specific performance was not possible.

The challenge in the entire proceedings was that the land grabbers were politically connected and the police authorities were completely hesitant to act. The complaints before police authorities were on the garb of investigation moving at a snail’s pace, I had to think out of box and invoke the High Court’s writ jurisdiction to ensure that the further conveyancing of the property was not undertaken, albeit the same even if registered may have no validity in the eyes of the law, a further transaction would bring in more respondents to the proceedings and therefore further time spend on that. The lessons learnt from my Seniors and practice at M/s Menon and Pai Advocates, helped to me use statutory remedy for cancellation of sale deed than approaching a civil court for declaration and invoking High Court for interim remedy. This act and course of action, adopted, proved to be successful and the entire course of proceedings culminated in less than a year.

I was also fortunate to be the lead Petitioner Counsel in the issue of Director Disqualification wherein I had filed 100 plus writ petitions on behalf of 100 plus directors of various companies challenging the acti of disqualifying the Directors from acting as Directors of their Companies for five years and was also the lead Petitioner Counsel for candidates who failed in the Review Medical Examination in Combined Examination for Assam rifles and CAPFs. At both occasions, without engaging Senior Counsel, clients had entrusted the matters to me to argue before the High Court, in spite of the stakes involved. I have been also glad that I have always been approached by Lawyers to be handed briefs as I had varied experience in handling matters arising from Arbitration, Intellectual property Law, Labour, Electricity, Consumer, White Collar crime, Company and Insolvency, Securitisation etc. and roughly 40 percent of my cases are Lawyers briefs in my practice at Kerala. I will always recommend that if one can burn the midnight oil, and conduct your cases diligently, you will also be engaged by fellow lawyers to conduct their briefs and this will cement your belief, yes one is moving in the right direction. I would also say, do have the courage to refer mattes to fellow Advocates who have better experience in the subject area so that you do justice to your Client and learn in the process too.

Over the years, you’ve handled numerous arbitration cases, including high-stakes ones like the Tamil Nadu PWD appeal, which had a significant impact. Can you elaborate on how your approach to arbitration has evolved throughout your career? What specific strategies or methodologies have you developed, and how do you ensure you remain at the forefront of arbitration practices?    

My tryst with Arbitration Laws started while assisting Advocate Joson Manavalan Sir in Arbitrations. Arbitration resolves disputes, primarily, based on what documented right or obligation has been vitiated and therefore the game is won based on documents. The art of pleading has to more to do with art of pleading the documents. If by documentary evidence, one can substantiate the award can be granted, then the Arbitration is won before it has been awarded. However, if the documents are not a clear winner, then it will all rest on the cross examination and arguments. The art of preparing the Defence Statement in Arbitration is another skill altogether. The difference between Defence statement in Arbitration and written statement in an original suit are two different pleading styles. While at first blush, one would think aint it all a game of denial, however, the art of denial is different in both. While Civil Procedure Code, 1908, clarifies the nature of denial in written statement, denial in defence statement are governed by terms of contract, procedure of the Arbitral Tribunal e.t.c. In arbitration, the Claimant and the Respondent being parties to most of the documents, the defence lawyer has relatively a tougher role to play pleading that the Claimants prayers are to be rejected inspite of admission of documents.

Time and ease of procedure is what attracts the litigants to Arbitration. My approach has been to advise the Client from the time of drafting the Arbitration Clause into the Agreement, including the number of arbitrators, timelines, interest payable, capping of Arbitrator fees etc, the issuance of section 21 notice and the disputes clearly stated in them, filing of Section 9 Application and Section 11 Application. Preferably, prepare the Claim Statement and Section 17 Applications, if any, and file it on the first sitting, thereby cutting timelines for a speedy culmination of proceedings, if appearing on behalf of the Respondent, file section 16 Application, study the documents threadbare, preparing for the cross examinations and be ready for the hearing without taking adjournments. I have not developed any methodologies separately for Arbitration, except the study of documents. Its interesting to see what a documents offers as aid when the documents are examined and re-examined multiple times.

The only way to ensure to remain at the forefront of Arbitration is to update on daily basis the interesting developments in the field of Arbitration law. High Courts are competitively coming out with judgements and interpretations in the field of Arbitration Law and there is never a dull day in the evolving of Arbitration law. Although judicial review has steadfastly attempted to apply the pigeon hole theory and thereby let the sanctity of the Award and the Arbitrators application of facts remain paramount, arbitration is evolving and has unfortunately evolved to absorb all lacunae’s of civil litigation. Throw in the whims and fancies of the Arbitrator, at times, Arbitration stands on the threshold of losing its importance to Mediation. The recent choice of Central Government not to have Arbitration for disputes above 10 crores and above is a clear sign of the weariness of the system of Arbitration has evolved into. If Central Government directs officials to resort to Mediation for disputes above 10 crores, then is time the stakeholders in Arbitration learns how to skim and streamline the present Arbitration process.

Right from appointment of Arbitration under Section 11, the Arbitral Tribunal, if consisting of three Arbitrators, convening and completing the proceedings therein, moving to Section 34 Challenge of Award and Section 37 Appeal results in years of time spend in Arbitration and Court proceedings. A contractor who has not been paid, invoked Arbitration and even after obtaining the Arbitration Award does not see the awarded amounts, will have no use when the money is ultimately paid after 7 to 8 years.

Arbitration Act ought to have a major overhaul to ensure Arbitration achieves what it promised to achieve i.e., speedy and less expensive dispute resolution process compared to Civil Courts, generally tedious and expensive dispute resolution process. However, with Commercial Courts functioning with strict timelines, summary judgement in commercial suits being pronounced much faster compared to the timeline an Arbitral tribunal culminates its proceedings by issuing the Award, it is time for stakeholders and Advocates ‘of’ Arbitration and ‘in’ Arbitration to introspect.

White-collar crime cases often involve intricate financial transactions, regulatory compliance issues, and complex legal frameworks. Could you elaborate on the unique challenges these cases present, and how your approach navigates these complexities to ensure effective representation for your clients?  

White Collar crimes stands elusive as a niche area of practice as it involves intricate financial transactions, regulatory compliance issues, and complex legal frameworks. However, as its nothing complex compares to Rocket science, one will need ardent interest to learn the subject, patience to review the document multiple times, threadbare understanding of the technicalities with the help of the subject expert and ability to understand the loopholes. Every Criminal proceedings needs the Advocate to obtain first if possible anticipatory bail, otherwise, custodial bail, interim reliefs during the time at the jail, quash of the complaint or proceedings or FIR or chargesheet, conduct of trial and final hearing. A thorough understanding of the criminal procedure code and the statutory provisions relating to the offence, is key to undertaking the brief. There are certain provisions that without being aware if one undertakes a brief, and not taking recourse to the non compliance of the provision which necessitates grant of bail, are unpardonable mistakes being committed at the cost of the liberty and life of the Accused.

As I said, this field of Law only needs us to be thorough on facts and law in relation to the brief. It wouldn’t take aeons to achieve this optimality to undertake the brief, but anything less would ensure the Accused would spend donkey years in prison.

I have been fortunate to have been guided in defending my Clients under the tutelage of Senior Advocate Raman Pillai, from whom I learnt how to traverse the complex technicalities. I was initially not well versed with the complexity in white collar crime. It took dedicated reading and was able to defend and also presently defending my clients alleged scams over several hundred crores. The proceedings being sub-judice, it will be best I leave the facts arising out of it from my answer herein.

What I have learnt is again threadbare reading of the documents filed by the Police. The eye has to be trained to see the chinks in the FIR, Charge sheet, mahazaar, arrest memo etc. There are mistakes committed by Magistrate Courts too while issuing directions to register FIR. Once these are identified, then ‘go for the kill’ is the best expression I could say. But knowing what it is, is the key. Its need several years of practice and attending Court proceedings on a regular basis.

How do you manage to balance your extensive litigation work across various courts and tribunals in both Kerala and Tamil Nadu?  

Over the period of years, I was concentrating my practice around commercial law. Due to various factors including geo-political handicaps, the nature, complexity and variety of Commercial litigations that I could undertake were limited in Kerala. I felt, the my knowledge and depth in practice was getting stagnated and not feeling challenged about the litigations I was being handedover.  The neighbouring state, Tamil Nadu, in my observation was having the Appellate Tribunals NCLAT and DRAT; National Green Tribunal for South India. The Principal Bench of High Court at Madras had Original side jurisdiction and that attracted me further to watch the proceedings online during Covid lockdown.

While I did not want to go back to Delhi to further enhance my practice areas, I thought it is best to take a risk to move to Chennai and see if I can make it work. Strong personal reasons too conspired the decision, and I was fortunate to connect with Advocate Thomas T Jacob of M/s Thomas And Associates, Anna Nagar, Chennai through my dear friend Advocate Krishmohan Menon, and was offered to be the Partner, Practice Head-Litigation. It was interesting to learn Letters Patent Act, 1970 and Original Side Rules, 1994 among others to learn about Madras High Court. Although the risk was high in losing out practice in Kerala by moving to Chennai, I was sure of myself that I will be able to make it. I was given several examples of people who attempted this and had to go back. It gave me all the more reasons to go all guns ablaze. In the very first year, I was able to appear before NCLT Chennai, NCLAT, DRT Chennai and DRAT, NGT, High Court, Subordinate Courts initially through matters of M/s Thomas And Associates and slowly briefs were entrusted to me from the brother lawyers. I had quit M/s Thomas And Associates in the month December, 2023 and was Independently practicing.

I was fortunate to meet Advocate Jacob Kurian, Senior Partner, KRIA Law, through a business platform, and an expression of interest to join KRIA LAW was offered to me. After discussions with Advocate M.S. Bharath, Founder and Senior Partner, KRIA Law, and Advocate Jacob Kurian, in the month of April, 2024, I joined M/s KRIA LAW as its Partner (Litigation) and merged my practice with KRIA Law.

I manage both the works at Kerala and Tamil Nadu through KRIA Law. KRIA Law has a very structured litigation handling process put in by Advocate M.S. Bharath and the young lot at the firm are very enthusiastic and its through them I now handle the litigations and Clients of Kerala. The video conferencing and option to reach Kerala by air travel within hours makes it easy to handle the work and Clientele.

As a lawyer, my experiences till date, since moving to Chennai in 2022 has been enriching, daunting and was naturally filled with struggles. I believe, struggles are a constant part of life. Either you create struggles in your life or life will create struggles for you. When you choose your struggles, you have an option to traverse it at your wish and will. Growth follows struggle. Hence, Iam of the opinion, choose your struggles, before life chooses one for you.

Outside of your legal practice, do you have any hobbies or interests that help you maintain a work-life balance?

I have a very rewarding sedentary life which gives me ample time to do more work. I am made to understand that will not fly for long. Hence, apart from my only interest of reading books, I have started on certain other interests. But it’s too early to say, where that road leads.

It’s necessary to have work-life balance. The latest trend being work life integration. I am working towards it. I try to engage myself and spend more time at home on Saturdays and Sundays, and I would not want to be preaching when I have not practiced it, but can definitely say, if the balance/integration is not stable, the repercussions arising out of it makes the heavy work life not worth it. Hence, I would offer as my suggestion, work optimally but live fuller.

What advice would you give to young lawyers who aspire to have a diverse and impactful career like yours?  

Diverse Yes, but ‘Impactful career like mine’ is far-fetched, I have just scratched the surface. Dedication and loyalty to the brief, if not to your office; determination and mind set to Grit to traverse through office politics, complaining seniors and irritated judges and sly opposite side lawyers. One of the best quote to know is “your client is your first enemy”. A wrong order will make the Client to go bonkers on you. Hence loyalty to the Client, I would advise is not the right option, loyalty to the brief is what I suggest. Even if the Client irritates you, ignore it, concentrate on the brief. The brief has found its way into your hands, therefore treat it and take care of it with all your wits and determination. Think out of the box and don’t rely on judgements. Have original thoughts and read statutes on the issue of law than trying to find answers to issues of law through judgements. Calm your nerves when Judges are not ready to hear you, understand that they might be having a reason to react. Find that out and resolve it rather than simmering over why you were treated that way.

Invest in Books, invest in yourself. Travel destinations, expensive wines and watches will always be there. Work hard and it will find its way to you than you finding your ways to it.

You’ve represented high-profile clients like SONY and Makemytrip in consumer forums. What strategies did you employ to ensure the best outcome for your client, and what lessons did you learn from the experience that have influenced your approach in subsequent consumer protection cases?

SONY was not a direct client and I was handed the work by Advocate Rajat from Delhi. Consumer cases are mostly skewed in favour of Complainant. Opposite party should be ready to take the beating. Its by raising technical issues, you win consumer litigations in favour of opposite party. Makemytrip matter was also engaged by a counsel Advocate Afif. In that matter, I had cross examined the Complaint on the issue of maintainability as the Complaint was filed in Ernakulam CDRF and the territorial jurisdiction, according to me ought to be in Thrissur CRDF. It was admitted by the Complaint that the booking was made by the Complainant while he was in Thrissur and therefore no cause of action arose in Ernkualam to institute the Complaint. I had to cross examine and bring out the fact that by making the witness affirm the time he took for driving from Ernakulam to Wayanad and the booking time shown in the map would place him further from Ernakulam and more in or around Thrissur, calculating the time he reached the hotel where the deficiency of service was alleged. The questions on time forced the answer.

While at M/s Menon and Pai Advocates, I was representing Corporate Entities mostly Builders, FMCG companies etc. The cases are defended mostly on technical grounds and if the deficiencies are quite evident, reliance on the documents was paramount. It was after starting Independent practice, I was filing complaints for consumers. The learning curve was good as after having defended Corporate entities, I was mostly aware of the grounds that will be taken and while drafting the Complaint I didnt leave any chance for that to be taken as a ground to reject the Complaint.

In Consumer matters and even in any other matter, the search for details among the documents and the relief prayed are important to assess the course of the litigation. If the documents do not clear the path to favourable judgement, then cross examination of the witness is the key. Understanding the witness and knowing when to crack the witness are key traits one picks by diligently assisting Seniors and watching cross examination of good lawyers.

Strategies always depends from case to case. I try not to leave the outcome of the litigation to luck. If I lose a matter, I should be able to say I did my best and no other lawyer could have done any better. Otherwise, the Client would have been wrong in choosing you. That fear drives me to work diligently on the file. There are certain approaches I do employ on being presented with a brief. But its mostly case to case. One should know whether being offensive or defensive and when to be evasive. These nuances, form as though process by working on briefs under guidance of seniors and later on ones on briefs not for the financial benefits but for the value the profession wishes to render to the society. As lawyer, especially trial lawyers, we forge history in the courtrooms and the black gown gives us that power. When you have a stake in creating history, better be prepared to adorn that black gown with dignity.

What skills does your firm look for when selecting interns, and how did your own internship experience shape your professional development?  

I had done a two month’s internship in the year 2005, with the Chambers of Advocate Challa Kodanda Ram (who was later designated as Senior Advocate and then elevated as High Court Justice). I was sole intern to nearly twelve plus lawyers, where I was assigned research works, drafting work, make notes of cases in which Challa Kodanda Ram Sir had appeared and was reported in the Law journals. The notes of the cases were completely handwritten and went in two volumes. The arduous task multi-tasking between the research and drafting for all the lawyers single handedly, not having a laptop then, and not being in a position to carry office files to hostel, leading to me taking permission and staying late in the office, resulting me in sleeping in the office and waking early to go to hostel and reach office to brief Advocates of the research done and the drafts corrected. I ended up also drafting a Writ Petition in its entirety under the guidance of Challa Kodanda Ram Sir. Presently Senior Advocate, Mr Vikram Posserla, who was then attached to the office then, was the main Advocate I was reporting to. I learnt a lot of Vikram Sir, who had openly told me that he will make the internship hard enough for me and told me to be ready to go through it. True to his words, Vikram Sir used to ensure that Iam given work load of two days to be completed in a day and ensured that before leaving, ask me the status. It was then when after struggling and coping with the pressure, Vikram Sir had ensured that I was ready to be a Litigating Lawyer. The Chambers of Challa Kodanda Ram Sir was practicing in almost every area of law possible and therefore I was introduced to almost every area of law including the Subordinate Courts functioning and High Court. I stand heavily indebted to Challa Kodanda Ram Sir, Vikram Sir and the lawyers present there then in introducing me to the world of Litigation and giving first-hand experience.

The only skill I look for an intern is the mindset to take the tasks head on and work on it. Figure things out and reach out when they hit the wall. Interns should realise that whatever work given will always be beyond them, but as per the lawyer what they should be ready to explore. Attempt it with full heart and the intern will see how enriching and rewarding will be their efforts. There are time Interns stumble upon certain judgements for a hearing and it becomes useful for the Lawyer. Sometime a third perspective comes from the intern in the issue of law being researched upon. Enjoy and value your Internship time is what I would advise Interns. Keep your statues closely, read them and acquaint yourself with law. You will see its benefits later.

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