Super Lawyer

Tag: CLC

  • Ratan Singh, Director, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, on being an International Arbitrator, expertise in Mining Law and his practice at Delhi HC

    Ratan Singh, Director, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, on being an International Arbitrator, expertise in Mining Law and his practice at Delhi HC

    Mr. Ratan K. Singh graduated from Delhi University, batch of 1996. He is currently the Director of Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (India). His practice mainly consists of International and Domestic Arbitration, International Commercial and Financial Law, Mining Law, Construction and Infrastructure Law, Environmental Law, Constitutional and Administrative Law.

    In this interview we speak to him about:

    • Building up a firm clientele
    • Serving as an arbitrator in various domestic and international arbitrations
    • Being the Director of CIArb India and a career in Arbitration

     

    Please tell us what motivated you to pursue legal studies.

    I somehow felt that my personality, nature and approach towards life would go well with this profession and intuitively decided to pursue legal studies. I strongly believe that it should really come from within and there should be a strong urge for the profession. If you believe in “giving”, this is the most appropriate profession. However these days the importance of “giving” is increasingly being ignored.

     

    What were your plans after graduation?

    I did M.Sc. in Geology before I joined LL.B. As I was university rank holder in Geology, I could have easily become Geologist, however this is not what I wanted to do. I always wanted to be a lawyer. It is another thing that my background in Geology is helping me in my Mining Law practice and I am one of the very few lawyers in country who specialises in mining law and is regularly engaged. Civil Services was never my interest and choice, though in our days every second student used to aspire for Civil Services.

     

    As a fresher just out of college, how did you manage to get a mentor for yourself?

    [sociallocker] After I passed out from my law school, I went to meet many lawyers, including some of them, who at later stage of my career have developed lots of affection and respect for me, but got no chance. I was helped by one of my batch-mates, who was close to one of our law teachers. The said gentlemen took me to my first and only senior (who later became Senior Advocate and Judge in Delhi High Court) with whom I worked for around four and half years.

    This is one profession, one cannot do without a mentor/senior/guide. This is primarily for the reason that lots of procedural and professional aspects are to be learnt. Had this not been so, this practice of pupillage would not have continued for centuries.

    My emphasis however would be that it is of utmost importance to have a mentor who is hard working and honest. One sub – consciously or consciously learns, what he sees in his mentor/senior.

     

    How did you build up on your client base?

    I was a complete outsider in Delhi but I never had any problem in getting work. During my four and half years with my senior, I was completely focused on learning and made no effort at all to find any work for myself.

    When I became independent, all my cases came from and through lawyer friends of my senior, who had seen me working in my senior’s chamber. They were somehow impressed with my hard work and academic interest in the subject. For a lawyer who believes in hard work and honesty, their lawyer colleagues are always a big source of work. There has always been a dearth of hard working lawyers as more and more lawyers who believe in short-cuts etc manage to generate work but they too need lawyers who can really work on the file. Every single law office/chamber and law-firm is always looking for a hard working, honest and trained lawyer.

    What is needed is four and half years to five years of focused learning without thinking about gaining clients and client-base and see the result thereafter. You will always have more work than you can really handle.

     

    What do you look for in your interns when they apply for a position to work with you?

    I look for sincerity and honesty towards work. It is also important that he/she should be reasonably good in their expressions. Anybody who wishes to intern with my office has to send his/her bio-data to the office-in-charge and they get a call, depending on availability of vacancy for interns.

     

    What do you think about the future of legal education in India?

    Lawyers are always needed and will always be needed. People need lawyers in booms and busts alike.

     

    How is the work atmosphere at the Delhi High Court presently?

    I would rate Delhi High Court as the best High Court in the country for more than one reason. It is no doubt true that more and more national law universities and private five year law colleges/universities are producing more and more law graduates. These national law universities have also brought good improvement in the quality of law education (though a lot needs improvement, particularly the quality of law teachers). However it is easy to become a successful lawyer. The only attributes needed are hard-work, honesty and the willingness and urge to give. I see lots of law graduates with good academic background and good potential spoiling themselves because they lack either of these three most fundamental attributes, i.e hard-work, honesty and the willingness and urge to give.

     

    If someone does not go to a top law school, would you say he still has a shot at a great career in law?

    Yes, if one is ready to work hard (around twelve to fourteen hours a day) and is honest towards his office, profession and client, they are bound to be successful lawyers. They are unstoppable. To the contrary, if someone has passed out from a top law school and lacks any of the above mentioned three attributes (i.e hard-work, honesty and the willingness and urge to give), they are likely to fail.

     

    How has your journey been from a fresher to being an expert in arbitration?

    (Mr. Singh has served as an arbitrator and has chaired as a tribunal member or counsel in various domestic and international arbitrations, ad-hoc as well as under the rules of ICC, UNCITRAL, SIAC, ICA, DIAC etc.)

    I followed Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 since its inception. Traditionally in India, there have been two categories of lawyers who have been practicing arbitration. One category is of those lawyers, who have not been in active litigation, though pursued arbitration (mainly from big law firms). Second category comprises of those lawyers, who are only in litigation and off and on doing arbitration, without having basic knowledge of arbitration as a subject. I wanted to bridge this gap. In order to be a good arbitration professional, it is important to have good litigation exposure and experience with substantial experience of cross examination etc. I have been a hard-core litigator with passion for arbitration since the beginning of my career. I have been taking a keen and active interest in the theoretical and philosophical aspects of arbitration, both domestic and international. I have also been attending domestic and international arbitration events as a speaker and delegate.

    Anybody having interest in arbitration should follow the developments in developed arbitration jurisdictions, including UK, USA, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, France, Germany, Austria, Netherlands. It is also important to follow arbitration institutions of repute, like Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, UK (of which I am Director of India Branch), ICC, ICCA, SIAC, PCA, ICSID, SIAC, HKIAC, KLRCA, SCC, IBA. Chartered Institute of Arbitrators has on its web-site has made freely available various resources, guidelines etc, which are used and referred to globally. Equally important is to attend arbitration conferences, seminars etc. I would also strongly recommend to follow Kluwer Arbitration Blog.

     

    Can you tell us how you got the opportunity to be an arbitrator?

    (Mr. Singh has been appearing as a counsel in various Asian and European countries.)

    Once people get to know your interest in arbitration or for that matter in any other field of law, you are followed and eventually engaged. I get nominations to sit as an arbitrator as people find me as someone with interest and experience in arbitration. In order to get nomination as an arbitrator, one must enjoy a good reputation. These days, lawyers are increasingly nominated to act as an arbitrator, as it is believed that they are more and more ready to learn and prove themselves.

     

    What are your major responsibilities as a director of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, London?

    As director, I am primarily involved, with my co-directors, in policy making for the institution. CIArb is the oldest arbitration institution in world. We are celebrating 100th year of the institution this year. CIarb has members in around 120 countries. This is the only institution in world, which gives accreditation to arbitrators. CIArb also gives accreditation to arbitration tutors. No amount of subscription can get you accreditation. One gets accreditation only by qualification and experience. We conduct training programmes, awareness programmes, conferences etc for lawyers, arbitrators, law students etc. Apart from accredited arbitrator, I am also an accredited tutor. Teaching and speaking on arbitration is one of my passions and interests and this makes me participate in almost all events of CIArb.

     

    Are there any Indian or International courses which you would recommend for law students who would like to build a career in arbitration?

    I will recommend students to follow CIArb courses and training programmes. Apart from law schools, groups of students (around 25 students) can approach us and we (CIArb, India Branch) can conduct courses for them. Such courses can lead to accreditation from CIArb.

     

    What should a law graduate do in his first year of graduation to establish a career in arbitration?

    First things first, learn by heart and mind bare act of Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. Also go through bare acts of at least U.K and Singapore. In addition, UNCITRAL MODEL LAW and UNCITRAL Rules should also be necessarily gone into.

    Arbitration act of U.K. is broadly modelled on UNCITRAL Model law, which is a source of the Indian Act as well.The  benefit one gets by reading UK act is that it is more detailed and is a fantastic source for better understanding of the subject. Singapore has different acts for domestic and international arbitration and by consulting these two acts from same jurisdiction, one would understand the aspect of distinctions for domestic and international arbitration. London is called Mecca for international arbitration. Similarly, Singapore can be said to be Mecca for South Asian countries. Substantial (obviously not all) number of arbitrations, having Indian connection, are generally held in London or Singapore. Therefore it would be wise to follow arbitrations and arbitration laws in these two jurisdictions.

    I also recommend every arbitration student to read and consult rules of institutions like, ICC, SIAC, SCC, UNCITRAL, LCIA. One must remember that ICC is the most sought after Institutional rules for international arbitration.

    Website of UNCITRAL is another good treasure for resources. One must read CLOUT, i.e. the digest of case laws from different MODEL Law jurisdictions. These cases help in understanding the manner in which model law or domestic laws based on model law are interpreted in different jurisdictions.

    Last but not the least, one must buy and read Student edition of book authored by Redfren Hunter. In addition, consult any book (which should not be going into more than one volume) on Indian Arbitration Act. One should simultaneously follow Indian and International arbitration.

     

    What would you like to say about the current state of Arbitration Law in India?

    In recent past, we have seen good forward looking judgments written by Supreme Court of India. Very soon, we are likely to have substantially amended Arbitration Act. Law Commission has suggested substantial and progressive amendments. Though India is signatory to good number of BITs and already facing serious threats of lots of Investment claims, India is not a signatory to ICSID. In February, I had long meeting with Secretary General of ICSID at their Headquarters in Washinton DC and I strongly believe that it would be in the interest of India to become a signatory to ICSID. One change, which I think can take care of many odds in India, should be to have Commercial Courts in India.

     

    What would be your advice on setting up a career in arbitration to law students who are still studying?

    Around eight out of ten commercial contracts in India have an arbitration clause as a dispute resolution mechanism. So far as International commercial transactions are concerned, almost all of them have an arbitration clause. This by itself tells us that arbitration is a fantastic career option for law students.
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  • Khagesh Gautam, Masters in Law, Columbia University, on Comparative Constitutional Law, scholarships, and student debt

    Khagesh Gautam, Masters in Law, Columbia University, on Comparative Constitutional Law, scholarships, and student debt

    Khagesh Gautam graduated from Campus Law Center, New Delhi in 2008. Subsequently he has taught at tutorials which train law candidates for the CLAT. After working as associate for Desai & Dewanji, he went on to pracitise at the Punjab and Haryana High Court. He is currently studying at the prestigious Columbia Law School. During his time in Columbia Khagesh has also been documenting his experiences in his photoblog giving viewers a glimpse of life in New York.

    In this interview, he talks about:

    • His passion for Constitutional Law and the reason he chose to pursue an LL.M.
    • Picking the right University for your LL.M.
    • His experience at Columbia University – faculty, environment, accommodation and recruitment.

     

    What was your motivation behind doing LL.M.?

    I decided to do an LL.M. in early 2011. I made up my mind in April, 2011 and then started looking for law schools that I should apply to.

    My motivation to pursue one was strictly intellectual. I wanted to do a serious study of comparative law with particular emphasis on comparative constitutional law. I graduated from Campus Law Centre, Delhi University in 2008 and the seeds of serious study of constitutional law were sown in me in the second year of law school itself. That passion continued with me through the four years I practiced law. I was lucky to get an opportunity to work on some really complex constitutional matters during my practice which helped fuel my passion. Somewhere in between college and work, I also read some books on American history and political science and that got me interested in American Constitutional Law and comparative constitutional law. So I decided to do pursue an LL.M.

     

    How did you choose Columbia University?

    I started my research by first, making a list of law schools that I would like to study in. Then I went to their respective websites and looked at the courses they were offering. Any school that was not offering the subjects that wanted to study was crossed off my list. After this, I looked at the professors teaching those subjects and did some online research to find out what the professional standing of these professors was. Following this method, I was able to zero in on a few law schools that were offering the courses that I wanted to study. Columbia Law School was on the top of my list because they had a special chair on Indian Constitutional Law (Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Chair). The faculty there was brilliant. For example, in this last semester, I took a course on Indian Constitutional law that was taught by Professor Sudhir Krishnaswamy. And previously, the same  course had been taught by Professor Akhil Reed Amar who is a highly respected name in American Constitutional Law.

    I applied to Columbia, Virginia, University of Pennsylvania and Harvard. I wanted to apply to Yale, Michigan and Cambridge but due to professional obligations I wasn’t able to complete the application formalities on time.
    I began the process of choosing a University by first consulting with my friends who had done their masters from foreign law schools. They advised me to first, make up my mind as to what I wanted to study and then look for law schools that offered those courses. The idea to research on the professional standing of the professors teaching the course was my own I also spent some time reading the published works of some of these professors.

     

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    What are you studying at Columbia University?

    I always wanted to study comparative constitutional law. In my first semester at Columbia I took a course in American Constitutional Law and in Indian Constitutional Law. I took a seminar on Regulation of Capital Markets in which I wrote a paper on Credit Rating Agencies and the First Amendment Commercial Speech Defense that they took post the 2008 financial crisis. Even in a Capital Markets course I was doing constitutional law! I took a course in International Investment Treaty Arbitration as well. In the second semester that is about to begin, I am concentrating completely on comparative constitutional law and some more international law. I spend most of my free time reading about competition law (or anti-trust law as it is called in the US).

     

    How has your experience been so far?

    My experience has been good so far. The facilities in Columbia Law School are amazing and I have been able to put the resources in the law library to good use. The only thing that could stop you from pursuing knowledge at Columbia Law School is you, yourself, because every single resource conceivable, both academic and otherwise, is made available to you. There are several societies and groups that one can join. I joined the anti-trust group. There are also always some distinguished personalities visiting the University for a lecture or a talk. I attended Justice Aahron Barak’s (former President of the Israeli Supreme Court) lecture on proportionality. There was also a series of guest lectures on monetary systems last semester. I managed to attend a few of them.

    On a personal front, I enjoy photography and New York City is an amazing place for virtually every kind of photography. I have spent quite some time walking around with my camera. Living in NYC itself is a unique experience. There is always something going on that you would be interested in, on or off campus.

     

    How’s the Indian fraternity over there? Are there many Indian students?

    Apart from the few American JD students of Indian origin that were classmates in the course on Indian Constitutional Law and other courses, and the few family friends that I have here, I can’t really say much about the Indian fraternity. The students that I have met seem to be very hardworking and focused on their studies. I understand that the Indian professionals in USA, most of whom are in the IT field, have done well for themselves.
    There are about twelve or thirteen Indian law students in the LL.M. program in the 2012-13 batch.

     

    How is the recruitment/ placement situation for overseas students?

    There is a placement office here which is very active and helpful. I have several friends and colleagues, Indian and from other countries in the LL.M. program who will soon be sitting for interviews. I think every major British and American law firm is represented in the placement interviews. Most of the jobs seem to be in the transactional corporate practice areas.

    As to how many international LL.M. students will be able to get employment remains to be seen. It also depends on what kind of person the law firms are looking for. For example, if a firm is specifically looking for a Spanish or Mexican speaking lawyer then the potential group of applicants becomes smaller. A few firms seem to be looking for people well versed in public international law for investor-state arbitration and similar disputes but even in these jobs sometimes, there is a language qualification.

     

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    How is the academic schedule?

    The academic schedule is busy and demanding. The standard objection is that the readings prescribed for a course are unjustifiably more than the credits for the course. Though I concede that in some cases this objection is true, on the whole I am satisfied with the quality and quantity of reading required for the courses that I took. I have interacted with students taking courses in corporate laws and in my opinion, they seem to have been prescribed too much to read. The casebooks prescribed are usually expensive but one can manage to rent them or buy used copies online for cheap.
    The academic work depends on what kind of courses you take. For example, if you take a seminar course and have to write a paper for it then things are different. Though the readings for the course might not be much, you would have to do additional research for your paper and then actually write the paper, which is not easy if you are trying to develop or propose a new idea. If you are taking an exam course then things are different because now you may not have to write anything new but you still have to do all the reading prescribed. Even if it is an open book exam, which most of the exams that I know of are, you still have to do your reading thoroughly.

     

    What about accommodation?

    Columbia Law School LL.M. students are not allotted accommodation in campus dorms. Most of the LL.M. students live in Lenfest Hall (in either studios or apartment shares), Lionsgate (studios or apartment shares) or other Columbia University Apartment Housing facilities. I was able to secure housing through the Columbia University Off-Campus housing facilities. Housing in New York can be expensive so one needs to be thorough in one’s efforts to find housing close to campus which is affordable and comfortable.

    One of the first things I did after coming to New York was to start a photoblog. This is the link to the photoblog. This blog has pictures taken at the Columbia campus, outside my apartment building etc. Some of them are citiscapes and nightscapes of New York. I will continue to post on this blog for the duration of my stay in New York.

    Tell us about your classmates – was there a predominantly international crowd? What is the general age group of students?

    In the LL.M. course the crowd is truly international and almost all countries in the world represented. The general age group seems to be between 27 and 29. Though I have not been able to interact with all the students every single one that I know of has had some kind of work experience before or is pursuing a Ph.D. in his or her home country. An overwhelming majority of all LL.M. students have an ambition to clear the New York Bar Exam and start practicing in New York.

    Do you get time for any extra-curricular activities?

    I joined the Legal Outreach program here as a Constitutional Law Debate Coach. In this program they pair high school students with law school students who coach these high school students for their constitutional law debates. I was assigned a high school sophomore student to coach last semester. The problem was based on economic rights. My student won that debate and  I had the opportunity to meet her parents, who were very kind and humble people, after the prize-distribution function. It was a great experience overall. This semester I have been assigned another high school student. The problem is on the constitutional validity of the Defense of Marriage Act which deals with the legality of same-sex marriages which is a big issue in America right now. I am having a great time coaching these high school students. This is the only extracurricular activity I am actively engaged in.

     

    How does one go about scholarships? Does the institute offer any scholarship?

    Every law school has a list of scholarships available on their website. That is usually the starting point. There are other scholarships like Rhodes and Fulbright etc. which are also available to Indian students. Columbia Law School offers scholarships and fee-waivers. There is a fee-waiver form that one must fill and submit. They consider every application for waiver and decide accordingly i.e. whether or not to waive fees and if yes, then how much to waive. All this information is easily accessible on the internet.

     

    What are your future plans? Going forward, how do you expect this experience to influence your career?

    The future is always uncertain. My long term plan is to become an academician in constitutional theory. The immediate plan however, is to find a job that allows me to pay off my student loan as quickly as I can. The way I see it now, I might have to return to practising  law but I have no ambition to do so in New York. If I do return to practice, it will be in India.

    There are two ways in which I see this experience influencing my career. First is an intellectual influence, as I have had access to a wealth of resources and knowledge that I never had in my life before and have had the opportunity to come across some really cutting edge legal research – intellectual and empirical. Thus, the intellectual influence has been immense. Second is a professional influence as I have met like-minded people from across the globe with whom I share common interests. I have been lucky to make friends with some very intelligent people during my stay here.