Super Lawyer

Tag: Featured Insights

  • Dr. Panayotis Protopsaltis on expertise in International Investment Law, the legal profession, experience in teaching and interaction with students

    Dr. Panayotis Protopsaltis on expertise in International Investment Law, the legal profession, experience in teaching and interaction with students

    Dr. Panayotis Protopsaltis is a Greek national and he is presently a visiting faculty at the GNLU, Gandhinagar. He is a reputed international scholar having expertise in International Investment, Cross Border Transaction and Dispute Resolution. It has been a great experience meeting him and talking with him at length about the pedagogy of different institutions and universities he has attended.

    Conversing with him has been a great experience and almost a tour through many European Institutes, therefore I took this opportunity to share his insights and experience with our readers.

     

    First of all, please tell us a bit about yourself. What is your current work profile?

    I studied law at the National and Kapodistirian University of Athens, Greece, at the University of Paris II (Panthéon-Assas) and at the University of Paris I (Panthéon-Sorbonne) from where I hold a doctoral degree in public international law. I have conducted research in the framework of various research centres and delivered lectures at universities in France and in Greece on international investment law. I am also a practicing lawyer, member of the Athens Bar Association. Since the beginning of my career, I was involved in transborder transactions, originally in the introduction of mobile telephony in Greece and subsequently in some major investment projects in Europe and in the Middle East. In the recent years, I have been retained to advise various public and private institutions on international investment law related matters.

     

    How did you decide to pursue law? In India a lawyer is still looked at with caution and doubt, how is the scenario in Greece?

    [sociallocker] As is the case with many people studying law, when I graduated from school, I did not know exactly what I wanted to do. I graduated in 1987 and information one could obtain at the time was much more limited than information available today. I decided to study law because a law degree offers tremendous opportunities for work in a number of sectors. Civil service or administrative work in international organisations is one solution, career in legal professions, law professor, judge or attorney, is another. I was perhaps also influenced by a number of family friends that had also studied law. When I began my studies I was fascinated by law and tried to improve my knowledge and skills, nothing else mattered.

    I have heard many times and in many countries that lawyers are looked at with caution and doubt. I am also familiar with the various jokes about lawyers. However, so far in my career in Europe I have never experienced caution and doubt. I am therefore not convinced that this assumption is correct.

     

    From where did you study your undergraduate degree in law? Please tell us about the academic structure of your undergraduate degree.

    I graduated from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, the major law school in Greece. Curricula in Greek law schools in the late 1980’s included four years of study and no specialisation. Lectures were delivered to all students, often 250 persons in an amphitheatre, by professors themselves or by their assistants and presence was not compulsory. Professors delivering lectures were rarely asking questions to their audience and vice versa. A free of charge manual was given to every student –usually written by the professor. Of course, there were no moot contests and student exchange programs, some students participated in small working groups and could present their work but this was the exception rather than the rule. Some exams were particularly difficult to pass and students had to sit twice or even more.

    Lectures were delivered in Greek and focused on Greek law but law school libraries have impressive collections of German, French and English books. This is because most professors had studied in Germany (private law), France (public law) and in the UK and the U.S.A. and a number of professors of Greek law schools hold permanent posts also in other European Universities. Greek students were therefore in close contact with European and U.S. bibliography.

     

    You earned a Masters and Doctorate from University of Paris. How was your experience there?

    I had already completed my vocational training at the Athens Bar Association and I was a full time lawyer in Athens but I was always interested in international law and in research. I therefore decided to enrol at the LLM of international economic law at the University of Paris I, recommended to me by one of my professors. Depending on the subject Germany, France and the UK were the normal destinations for young degree holders wishing to pursue further study.

    I did not know what to expect but found instead the good old continental model but students were now expected to do research on their own and actively participate at lectures. I was admitted for a research degree and so completing a doctoral thesis was ultimate aim. Doctoral research was long and slow, in France students rarely completed their thesis in less the five years and were working as assistants at various universities or managed to obtain posts in international organisations. A limited number of students gained scholarships and I was one of them. Doctoral research was therefore undertaken only by a limited number of passionate students.

    Interestingly enough, the French government at the time gave incentives to students to pursue further studies. This was because France had high unemployment and young people could not be absorbed by the market. Many unemployed chose to pursue further studies. This created a market for academic services, the need for more university professors and a generation of very well educated people.

    I benefited a lot from my stay in France. Along with my work on my doctoral thesis I had the opportunity to meet with some of the most important authorities in international law, participate in research groups and conferences, gain experience in teaching, to be involved in the work of international organisations and to some major international projects. I also benefited from the cultural events, museums and lectures on history and art, so abundant in Paris.

     

    You speak German, French and Turkish apart from Greek and English. How do languages help in your work and what are the difficulties in learning in a foreign language?

    I learned English and French from a very young age, it was very common -and still is- in Greece to learn two or three foreign languages and master them by the age of 18. I learned German and Turkish later on, as a university student. I made the effort to learn because languages are one of the most useful tools in everyday life and in academic research in Europe. Monolingual academics are usually at a great disadvantage.

    Students should not be afraid of studying abroad in a foreign language. First of all, their presence in the foreign country will allow them to acquire easily the necessary linguistic skills for communication. Then, post-graduate studies will learn all necessary legal terminology but as they have already read law, it will be easy for them to understand the corresponding meaning. Then, they may also seek help from native speakers. Foreigners at the beginning are of course at a disadvantage compared to native speakers but rarely post-graduate students fail solely because of poor linguistic skills.

     

    Would you recommend your students to pursue Masters and doctorate in continental Europe?

    I think Europe hosts some of the best universities of the world and students have a lot to learn from their presence there. Not only they will benefit from interaction with some of the most renowned academics of the world but they will also see a different way of work and approach to scientific problems.

    Continental universities follow a different system based on students’ responsibility. In that, the university differs from high school, students are given limited guidance, they are required to work on their own. Continental universities still favour theoretical analysis over practice and studies are not job-oriented, this is the essence of European academia. A drawback is perhaps that inter-disciplinary studies are not so common.

     

    What attracted you to research in international investment law?

    Originally, I took special interest in the problems of regulation of the Multinational Enterprises but I soon moved to examine the problems of international investment law. This shift in interest war normal since the two problems are inter-related. I was also lucky to have two mentors, Prof. Patrick Juillard and the late Prof. ArgyriosFatouros, both authorities in international investment law, who encouraged me to explore international investment law questions.

     

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    How has your experience in India and GNLU been so far?

    I came to India for a short visit two years ago, liked the country and wished to learn more about its institutions and its people. The invitation at the GNLU was a formidable opportunity for me to see Indian academia and meet with Indian academics and students. I delivered two courses, on the law of multinational enterprises and on international investment law and I am very happy with the interest that my audience takes on the topics.

     

    Students may be indifferent or disinterested in the subject being taught. How do you deal with these and revive interaction among students?

    Your question assumes that professor has to do something for indifferent or disinterested students. Well, I am afraid this is not the case. First, because there are always indifferent or disinterested students at class. Second, because, assuming that students have chosen to study law, they should be interested in the subjects being taught. Third, because students’ duty to learn does not depend on professors’ performance. Students cannot use professor’s poor performance as an excuse for not learning. There are other procedures to sanction professor’s poor performance, if there is one.

    I think that the professor should prepare himself to deliver a lecture and that the lecture is in some respects like a theatre play, the professor being the actor, the students being the audience. Some jokes and stories may help to attract students’ attention, participation of students at the lectures also but the professor must never turn lectures into a discussion forum. Academic conferences and research groups offer many opportunities to students to interact and express their opinion. I also believe that some professors are more inspiring than others but, alas, there is no objective criterion for that. I finally think that we all have to suffer from boring speeches or speakers if we are to learn how to make our lectures interesting.

    As I have already said, students have a duty to themselves, to their parents and to the academic community to learn. Students who are disinterested have again a duty to themselves, to their parents and to the academic community to explain why and in case they realise are generally disinterested in the topic of their study or in studies in general, to have the courage to change the topic or quit studies altogether, immediately. Otherwise, they will spend many unhappy years and will perform poorly at the university. In addition, they will spend valuable resources, their personal time, the money of their parents, the facilities of the university, the time of their professors that could be used more productively elsewhere.

     

    What would be your advice to students on performing well in academics?

    Performing well at university requires understanding the system of academic study. Method of reading, exercise in legal writing and interaction with other students and professors in the academic community are very important. Now some students obtain better marks than others. This may be due to a number of factors, insufficient preparation, failure to understand, failure to express themselves, to name just a few. Students have to learn from their errors and correct them. Yet, the key to success is, I think, genuine interest. Genuinely interested students are always very successful at university because they do a further effort for the sake of learning and adopt this inquisitive approach to problems which is a prerequisite for academic excellence.

     [/sociallocker]

  • Shweta Bansal on work at AMSS, leaving firm job for Civil Services and acing it

    Shweta Bansal on work at AMSS, leaving firm job for Civil Services and acing it

    shweta-bansal-2Shweta Bansal a graduate from NUJS, Kolkata, After a successful career with AMSS, she went for the Civil Services. With utmost diligence and determination, she successfully cleared the Civil Services exam. She gives an insight into her childhood, the hurdles in life which she overcame and how she has been able to mould her life into a real success story.

    In this interview she talks about:

    • Her life and journey as a law student
    • Preparing for the Civil Services
    • Books and other knowledge sources helpful in preparation
    • An insight into the interview process

     

    Please introduce yourself to the readers? Please tell us a little bit about your childhood and your background?

    I was born and raised in Lucknow and pursued my schooling from the prestigious La Martiniere Girls College Lucknow. My life took a drastic turn at the age of 6 due to a major spinal injury, after which for many years I had to push myself immensely to grapple with a disability. Gradually, with the support of family, friends, and teachers, I continued with my studies. My grandmother has been thoroughly instrumental in my life and is the reason behind my little success story. At the Intermediate level, I studied humanities with Economics and secured a top spot in my class 12th boards. My good performance at school and at extra-curricular activities can be attributed to my teachers, more specifically to Mrs. Bhavna Kalra who taught me the importance of standing up on my own two feet. Thereafter I pursued my law from NUJS and spent few of my most crucial and definitive years there, shaping and building my career in Law.

     

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

    [sociallocker]
    I look back at my experience at NUJS as a great learning experience and despite the struggles I encountered, it provided a strong base to my career in Law. I am a person with a keen interest in a variety of non academic activities and NUJS gave me a brilliant platform to explore various such opportunities to help groom me as a well rounded personality. I fared well academically despite several health challenges and had an opportunity to perform with my college band, participate in fine arts and sketching competitions both at NUJS and at other Fests and Cultural events. I was even fortunate to present my paper at Hong Kong on legal valuation of patents as a solution to farmer suicide due to crop failure.

     

    You secured a job with AMSS. What worked for you in securing the placement?

    My journey with AMSS has been the best experience of my life. In 2006 after completing a two and a half month internship with AMSS, New Delhi and I was offered a pre placement at the Firm by Ms. Anuradha RV who has been a constant guide and support throughout my career at AMSS and even after. The work experience and firm culture at AMSS is unmatched and goes a long way in understanding and dealing with different areas of law. My experience at AMSS was exceptionally good and Mr. Shardul Shroff has been like a father figure in my life, Ms. Gunjan Shah and Ms. Purva Chadha played an instrumental role in shaping my legal skills and mentoring me.

     

    When and what inspired you to appear for Civil Services after having a career at AMSS?

    Truly speaking I was always keen to take the civil services exam but wanted to establish myself professionally before taking the plunge. I personally feel having an option to fall back upon provides you with the required security to give your best at the preparation level and if one has law as a career, civil services would tremendously compliment it as a career.

     

    How did you manage preparing for the Civil Service exam with your law firm job and other commitments?

    I was fortunate to be granted a sabbatical by Mr. Shardul Shroff to help me prepare for the exam.

     

    When did you start preparing for the exams? When should a person ideally start preparation for the Civil Services exam?

    Civil Service preparation requires absolute dedication and thus in November, 2010, I took a two year sabbatical leave from my work at AMSS and pursued my preparation. I gave my prelims with 5 months of preparation and cleared it however I couldn’t clear the mains due to my Hindi language paper. In my second attempt I cleared all three legs paving my way for the services.

     

    How many hours did you put in for your preparations every day? Is having a fixed schedule or weekly targets important according to you?

    The key to Civil Service preparation is consistency and diligence. I would plan my preparation targets on a daily basis and made it a point to achieve them so that there is no backlog created as the material to be read and study is extremely vast. My targeted study period was nothing less than 8 hours daily. Reading of The Hindu daily is a must for any civil services aspirant.

     

    Which were the easiest and the toughest part of your preparation?

    The easiest part for me during the Civil Service preparation was to tackle and remember the material provided by the coaching institutes, which hardly constitutes 30% of the entire bulk of study material one has to go through. Moreover I was extremely fortunate to get great guidance and support from Cyril Darlong Diengdoh and Ashutosh Salil who constantly mentored me. The tough part is primarily to figure out the remaining 70% of the study material and syllabus and this makes all the difference. I also faced the mammoth ‘Maths’ dilemma in CSAT since I had primarily been a student with a humanities background. I consider prelims and General studies papers for the Mains the toughest leg of the entire exercise. Prelims requires a thorough reading of  the fundamental concepts of different subjects and mains requires more focus on the current affairs.Prelims is the first scanning ground so the competition is really tough and negative marking only adds to the competition. Mains in contrast gives you an opportunity to get creative with your answers of course without derailing from the subject. GS paper I and II of Mains require very thorough reading of the editorials and various reports published by the government.

     

    What are the aspects that a Civil Service aspirant must focus on and start preparing for in advance?

    I would begin by stressing on the basics, they are the cardinal point of the entire preparation for Civil Services and if one is well prepared with the basics, one can tackle most of the questions. It is also important not to get lost in the sea of knowledge. Instead, focus on a few basic books so that revisions are possible. Since Prelims focuses more on the basic concepts, NCERTS can be quite handy, the Main examination is a combination of basic and current affairs, so your focus should be on newspapers, government reports and government websites.

     

    What were the attributes of your legal education and background which helped you in succeeding in the Civil Service Exams?

    A legal education and background definitely helps in the civil service preparation especially in Polity and General Studies Paper I and II of the Mains. Certain topics are common between the Law paper and Public Administration so that makes life easier. Also having studied law equips you with analysis and digging of most concepts and thereby providing an added advantage in writing answers. My background as a lawyer went a long way especially in my interview as most of my interview questions were based on law.

     

    What is the importance of CGPA for law students especially for Civil Service exam aspirant? Does it make any difference during the interview?

    CGPA is important and it is a reflection on the attitude and seriousness of a student but it does not per se reflect upon the merit of the person. Thus it makes a good impression to have a good CGPA but it is not the only factor that determines the merit of a student.

     

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

    My interview was conducted by a 5 member panel headed by Mr. P.K. Mishra. The panel is always well read and grills you on the basis of your mains form. The major thrust of the questions was about my take on various socio-legal issues like Khap Panchayat, live-in relationship, decriminalization of S. 309 of the Indian Penal Code which criminalises attempt to commit suicide, the Aruna Shanbaug case. My legal background and extensive work experience also helped me tackle questions about good governance and withdrawal of subsidies. The panel also intended to assess my perspective on various problems and my ability to provide a solution for the same, for instance, crimes against women and measures to curb and tackle it. During the interview the objective of the panel is multifaceted since they assess your overall personality and knowledge. In fact the panel asked me to sketch one of the panel members within 30 seconds, since they read about my interest in sketching. The interview is both grueling and unpredictable.  It is very important to maintain your calm and be absolutely honest with the panel. Mr. P.K. Mishra was a great help in my interview once he realized I knew my stuff. He discouraged excessive grueling by other members.

     

    For the meantime, before your training period starts, you are holding the position of a Consultant with AMSS. What is the nature of your consultancy with AMSS and has your role in the firm changed?

    I came back to AMSS after my mains in 2012 to work with my mentor, Mr. Shardul Shroff on a unique role which has absolute administrative bearings and nothing to do with the transactional work of the firm. At the moment, I aid the firm with regards to firm development and handle the administrative concerns and issues.

     

    What would be your message for law students who are preparing or planning to prepare to appear for the Civil Service exams?

    The thumb rule should be firstly to focus on your education as a law student, studying and working towards making one’s basics strong. It is exceptionally useful in Civil Service to hold a law degree but before plunging into Civil Service preparation one should secure themselves a career to fall back upon as civil services can be a gamble. Education, work and then Civil Service has been my strategy as I believe that one should never put all their eggs in one basket.

     

    Lastly, what would be your message for the readers who want to pursue career in Civil Services?

    There is no substitute for hard work and diligence. Consistency and dedication goes a long way in achieving the desired result. One should regard coaching institutions as a very small part of the Civil Service preparation and should rather focus more on self preparation and self study. Be honest in your preparation and give your best. The outcome is never in your hands but the effort is. Civil services requires focused study so its important to isolate yourself socially till you are done with the Mains.[/sociallocker]

  • Prof. Faizan Mustafa, VC, NALSAR, on his experience in academia, and being a prolific author

    Prof. Faizan Mustafa, VC, NALSAR, on his experience in academia, and being a prolific author

    Prof. Faizan Mustafa graduated from Aligarh Muslim University in History and Law. Thereafter, he pursued his doctoral research in Intellectual Property Law. He is currently the Vice Chancellor of NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad, he was also the Founding Director of KIIT School of Law and National Law University Odisha, Cuttack.

    He was also consulted in the drafting of Eritrean Constitution and Asian Human Rights Charter of Asian Human Rights Commission, Hong Kong. As a keen researcher and avid academician, Dr. Mustafa has authored several books and has about hundred national and International papers to his credit. Supreme Court of India has also quoted his article in its decision on the right to die. He has worked in unexplored areas like Copyright Law, HIV Law, Art.356, Strict Liability Law, Freedom of Information Law, Religious Conversion Laws, etc.

    We requested him to share his views on:

    • His illustrious experience
    • Life in academia
    • Being a prolific author

     

    How did you decide to opt for the field of law?

    I was admitted in Allahabad University in 1982. My elder sister was doing her M.A. (History) and I used to read her History books and developed interest in History. Aligarh Muslim University’s academic session was delayed and therefore I got enrolled at Allahabad University. When I came for Durga Puja holidays, I received a call letter from AMU and since it was my desire to study History under Prof. Irfan Habib, I left Allahabad University and joined Aligarh Muslim University. I enjoyed my graduation in History at AMU and was taught by some of the best historians such as Prof. Athar Ali, Prof. Shireen Moosvi, Prof. M.A. Alvi, Prof. A.J. Qaiser, Prof. I.A.Khan, among others. Due to my interest in debating and having studied History quite well, I opted for Law and I thoroughly enjoyed my legal education at AMU Law Faculty. This University was the best place after Campus Law Centre, Delhi to study law at that point of time. The departmental politics in History Department was another contributing factor for me to leave the discipline which was my first love.

     

    Do you feel that the legal profession has significantly changed from the time when you decided to study law?

    I agree that legal profession has significantly changed from the time when I studied law. At that point of time most people did not do law out of choice as engineering and medicine were the prized courses. But the kind of diversity I had in my class was great as I had some B.Tech graduates and Post-Graduates of various subjects in sciences and humanities in my class. We had one M.B.B.S. graduate as well. The establishment of National Law School, Bangalore and other National Law Schools brought in a paradigm shift and law is today a very prestigious course. We attract very bright youngsters and they have proved their worth. The demography of Law Schools and colleges has completely changed in last 25 years.

     

    Which areas of the law fascinated you the most as a law student?

    Law Department of AMU was established in 1891 and this department has given maximum number of Vice-Chancellors to National Law Universities. Prof. Madhava Menon, Founder Vice-Chancellor National Law School, Bangalore and West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata himself studied and taught at AMU. Prior to my joining law, some leading teachers of the University had already moved out of Aligarh or had gone abroad such as Prof. S.Dayal, went to Panjab University, Prof. S.C. Agarwal and Mrs. Agarwal went to Pune University. Prof.Tahir Mahmood went to Delhi University. Prof. Mohd. Ghouse had gone to Ananthapur University and several other Professors including Prof. M.R.Zafar and Prof.Syed Khalid Rasheed had gone to Nigeria but we still had Prof. S. Misbha-ul-Hasan who had studied at Yale, Prof. V.S.Rekhi who subsequently became founder Vice-Chancellor of National Law Institute University, Bhopal, Prof. M.Z.Siddiqui, Prof. Ahmed Siddique, Prof. Mustafa Ali Khan and Dr. Musheer Alam, Prof. G.A.Khan etc. on the faculty.  All of them were great teachers and they have influenced me in a big way. Prof. M.Z.Siddiqui taught me for five years for LL.B., LL.M. and then guided my Ph.D. and proved to be a teacher, philosopher and friend in the true sense of the term. Prof. V.S.Rekhi was a great constitutional law teacher. Because of him I developed interest in this subject. Due to these teachers of great eminence, I developed interest in law particularly in criminal law and evidence. If you have a good teacher then learning becomes a fun activity and the teacher would help you in developing quest for clarity which would lead to good understanding of complicated legal problems. Law quickly became my second love.

     

    What are the 3 most important tips that you would like to share with law students for consistently excelling in academics?

    My three tips to students to consistently excel in academics are:

    • Develop interest in the subject you are doing
    • Read good text books and articles from the journals and finally
    • Never miss classes.

     

    Why did you choose copyright law in particular as the subject for your Ph.D thesis?

    Copyright was the 5th topic which I selected for my Ph.D. In 1980’s IPR was not there as a subject in most law colleges and faculties including Aligarh. Even today as per Bar Council of India regulations on legal education, IPR is only an optional subject. India was blacklisted by U.S. under Super 301 and this controversy about our IPR regime was responsible for choosing copyright law as a subject of my research. Moreover the country has just initiated a debate on the reforms which are to be brought in the Copyright Act of 1957. I believe that in addition to personal interest in choosing a Ph.D. topic, we should also think of its current relevance for the country.

     

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    What role do legal researchers and academics play in the Indian legal system?

    Legal researchers and academics are not considered important stakeholders in our legal system. We have not yet appointed any professor of law as the Judge of the Supreme Court even though Art.124 of the Constitution explicitly talks about the appointment of an eminent jurist as Judge of the Supreme Court. The establishment of Law Schools and the involvement of Chief Justice of India as their Visitor and Chief Justices of High Court as their Chancellors has opened up avenues of dialogue between academics and judges and I am sure that this would help them to learn from each other.

     

    Tell us about your Diploma in International and Comparative Human Rights from International Institute of Human Rights, Strasbourg, France.

    The Strasbourg Course in International and Comparative Human Rights was an intensive course and had several processes of evaluation including a Moot Court in which you are given a problem to argue before European Court of Human Rights at Strasbourg. The course had good input of practical issues and helped me in understanding human rights problems. Human Rights was also not there as a subject in most law colleges including Aligarh. I introduced this subject at AMU Law Faculty.

     

    How did you decide to go into academics?

    I was persuaded to join teaching by my Dean Prof. M.Z.Siddiqui as per the tradition of the University to recruit Gold Medallists. I had qualified IAS Prelims but he asked me not to write Mains exam. I was appointed within one month of my completing LL.M. and since I had seen some of the best law teachers, I tried to emulate them and started enjoying teaching. My advice to law students who want to join academia is that the amount of autonomy which you get as a teacher you cannot get in any other field.  Nobody is your boss and nobody writes your confidential appraisal reports.

     

    When would you say that an academician is successful?

    A teacher is successful if he is able to ignite fire in the minds of students. A law teacher would be considered successful if he has taught his students how to find law. He is not supposed to tell them what is Law. The goal of a legal academician should be to produce competent and socially relevant lawyers. Today anyone who is appointed as an Assistant Professor in Law and he is good would surely end up as Vice-chancellor of some National Law University. Thus in appointing Assistant Professors I also consider how would they shape up as Vice-Chancellor.

     

    You were involved in the drafting of the Eritrean Constitution and the Asian Human Rights Charter. What were the most intellectually stimulating aspects of this experience?

    Eritrea came out as a country out of partition from Ethiopia. Ethiopia was never colonized except Italian occupation of some parts of Eritrea for about five years. They had uninterrupted monarchy for about 3,000 years. They also had the experience of socialism prior to the drafting of the constitution.  I gave number of suggestions on the fundamental rights and the government-people relationship. Similarly, Asian Human Rights Charter was drafted in 1995 and legal luminaries like Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer were involved in its drafting. As a young law teacher I learned great deal during the consultation on the drafting of this Charter. Justice Iyer’s presence and conversation with me are still fresh in my mind. I specifically recall sessions on Rights of Elderly and HIV patients which were indeed intellectually enriching.

     

    How did you find time to produce so many scholarly articles?

    (Dr. Mustafa has authored several books and have written approximately 100 national and international research papers on a large array of subjects pertaining to Information Law, Religious Conversion, HIV, the Right to Die, mandatory death sentence, etc. His article was also quoted by the Supreme Court in its decision on the Right to Die.)

    I do not think I have written anything substantial. In fact I feel bad when I read my own writings. The only consolation which I get is that I tried to study areas of contemporary relevance. I took up Right to Information Law in 1995 and wrote another book on this subject in 2003. Parliament enacted a law on RTI in 2005. Similarly I had written on HIV Law some two decades ago but the country is yet to have a law on this subject. I had written on mandatory death sentence many years ago but we continue to have laws which still provide for mandatory death sentence in spite of it being held unconstitutional by the Supreme Court way back in 1983.

    I had also written something on recognizing domestic work as work two years ago. Supreme Court of India was shocked to note that the work performed by the housewives is not considered as productive work and house-wives are clubbed together with prostitutes and beggars. Ministry of Welfare tried to salvage the situation and came up with a proposal whereby housewife would be paid 15% of the salary of their husband. I again opposed this proposal because it reduces wife to the status of an employee. Fortunately nothing happened thereafter.

    I have also been writing on the inconsistency in the decision of the Supreme Court on the commutation of death sentence. ‘Right to Die’ has been another area of my interest and continues to be relevant because new BJP government proposes to delete Sec.309 from IPC. If you have an idea which you want to communicate with others or initiate debate on an important issue you will feel compelled to write. I think teaching schedule has no relationship with one’s writings as the maximum number of classes a Professor takes in a week is not more than twelve. Moreover, we have long winter and summer breaks. One can also take sabbatical to write books, etc.

     

    Any time management tip for budding legal academics?

    Time management is an individualistic trait. If a teacher writes even one paper a year, I think it is good enough. A good academic should spend lot of time in reading.

     

    When would you say a legal academician is ready to start writing books?

    One should write when one feels he must write.  From one’s teaching one gets ideas for research and writing and therefore teaching and research go hand in hand. It is painful that good teaching is not given any importance in the selection committee of teachers. The focus is only on the number of publications. UGC should do something about it.

     

    What, in your view, are the few most important skills that law students should strive to acquire in order to write research papers effectively?

    I do not believe in teaching research methodology. I never taught this course. Research is like swimming and no amount of teaching can help you in learning it. You need to go in water and learn. Similarly you need to start writing, over the years you would improve your writing skills.

     

    What have been the biggest challenges and impediments in building institutions?

    (Dr. Mustafa is the founder Vice-Chancellor of National Law University, Orissa as well as the founder Director of KIIT Law School.)

    I had a great time in Orissa and believe me I enjoyed every minute of my stay in Orissa. KIIT Law School is like second home to me and I feel more at ease in Bhubaneshwar than in Aligarh. Dr. Achyuta Samanta, Founder of KIIT University is a human being par excellence who believes in “art of giving”. He has too much of positive energy. He is a living legend of our time. He has set up Asia’s biggest tribal school with 25,000 students who are given education free of cost and the school takes care of their food and clothing. He gave me full freedom to set up a law school and I am sure in the years to come KIIT Law School would become a leading institution of legal education.

    My challenge as founder Director was to create a space for KIIT Law School and I feel that KIIT Law School can be easily compared today with several National Law Schools. Establishing National Law University at Cuttack was my other significant assignment in Orissa and I got full support from the dynamic Chief Minister of Orissa. I continue to believe that NLUO was a unique experiment in terms of innovation in the curricula. My most effective strategy was to create ownership of NLUO amongst judges and lawyers of Orissa. We conducted first 3 admission tests and each year NLUO’s admission test was rated as the best law admission test of the year.

     

    Do you think the reputation that precedes NLU’s far supersedes their actual quality?

    There is some truth in it that with the establishment of National Law Schools the quality of law students has gone up but the quality of law teachers has gone down. But then it is the problem of all professional courses. We are not able to attract our brightest students to teaching. I feel the solution is to make B.A.LL.B. as the qualification for appointment as Assistant Professor. At NALSAR, I have succeeded in persuading some of our young graduates to join academia. Moreover I believe readymade teachers are not available anywhere. It is the duty of the Vice-Chancellor and other senior Professors to train youngsters. In the recruitment of Assistant Professors I always look at their potential and my ability to train the selected candidates in becoming a good teacher.

     

    Does law school prepare its students adequately to face real life scenarios?

    The Law School curricula may not be completely outdated. But it is certainly stressful. I am a firm believer of reducing academic stress. I also believe that the number of projects should be drastically reduced and the students should not be asked to do more than one project in a semester. Our curricula has not been made after receiving inputs from the industry. We need good Law School – Industry interface in preparing curricula. We should also accept the fact that classroom is not the only place of learning.

     

    What do you have to say about top notch law schools being inaccessible to many owing to their fee structure?

    Law schools are islands of excellence and should therefore just like IITs be directly funded by Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India. Due to the small number of students, the fee collection is very small and government has to give generous grants to these institutions to keep them functional.  If government agrees to liberally fund then the fees would be automatically reduced.

     

    What steps should be taken to usher in greater uniformity in the quality of legal education in the country?

    1085 odd law colleges are in pathetic state and there is an urgent need to bring them at par with National Law Universities. Admission to all law colleges should be based on CLAT. If this is not possible, CLAT would collapse. Vacant teaching positions should immediately be filled and National Law Schools as part of their CRC should be asked to adopt at least one law college every year and give training to their teachers and help them in building libraries.

     

    Any thoughts on the current system in place to train the Indian judiciary and continuous legal education of lawyers?

    I think we should quickly have Indian Judicial Service in place to attract bright youngsters. National Judicial Academy and State Judicial Academies are doing well to train our judges. Judicial training is different from judicial education. National Law School and Judicial Academy, Assam is a novel experiment where law school and judicial academy have been integrated. A closer relationship between Judicial Academies and Law Schools may help us in the long run. A programme for training lawyers was also initiated by Government of India and I think it was a welcome step.

     

    NUJS and GNLU have introduced online courses that are receiving much attention and attracting professionals from various backgrounds. What are your thoughts on these?

    Online education is the in-thing today and a country of our size badly needs it. We run number of courses in the proximate and online onsite mode (P.G. Diploma in Cyber Law, Media Law, Patent Law, International Humanitarian Law, Two-Year Master’s Degree in Aviation Law and Air Transport Management (MALATM); Two-Year Master’s Degree in Space and Telecommunication Laws (MSTL); One-Year Post-Graduate Diploma in Aviation Law and Air Transport Management (PGDALATM) and One-Year Post – Graduate Diploma in GIS & Remote Sensing Laws). We need to further strengthen these courses. We are going to launch some new courses as well.

     

    As the current Vice Chancellor of NALSAR, how do you feel NALSAR can take a greater role in social engineering in India?

    In my opinion in terms of academics, NALSAR is doing exceedingly well and is the best destination for legal education in the country. I had introduced number of academic reforms such as flexible choice-based credit policy, huge number of electives, diversified project scheme etc. We are indeed producing highly competent law graduates. If we can produce some socially relevant lawyers it would be good for the country. We are offering number of unique courses which help our students in appreciating social issues.

     

    Do you feel that there should be an independent CLAT body?

    There is an urgent need to bring structured reforms in CLAT and compel all Law colleges of the country to admit students only on the basis of CLAT scores.

     

    What would be your message to those hard working law students who did not make it to a top NLU but want to excel in the profession?

    None of the leading lawyers of the country went to top National Law Schools. In the long run it does not matter from which institution you got your degree; if one is hard working one would surely succeed in life. There is no short-cut to success. Those who are not admitted to top National Law Universities should not feel frustrated, they are no less than anybody as CLAT or for that matter any competitive examination is not a perfect measurement of one’s merit and talent.

  • Prof. Ranbir Singh, Vice Chancellor, NLUD, on legal education in India, and his experience

    Prof. Ranbir Singh, Vice Chancellor, NLUD, on legal education in India, and his experience

    Prof. (Dr.) Ranbir Singh is the current Vice Chancellor of NLU, Delhi. Before taking charge at NLUD he had been at NALSAR, Hyderabad’s helm of affairs since its inception. Prof. Ranbir Singh had a long association with Kurukshetra University, as a student, as a PhD Scholar and then as a faculty member. Thereafter he moved onto Maharshi Dayanand University at Rohtak and continued there till he joined NALSAR. He has played a critical role in reviving legal education in the country and recasting it so as to make it more relevant to contemporary concerns.

    In this interview we ask him about:

    • Difference between traditional universities and the NLUs
    • The legal education regime in India
    • Challenges faced by researchers & academics

     

    Tell us a bit about your childhood.

    I started my education in a village school and continued to study in a village till my higher secondary education. I belong to an educated family who knew the value of education and there was lot of emphasis on education. During this education I learnt to respect my teachers, my elders and I strongly believe without their blessings it is very difficult to achieve anything in life.

     

    Why did you decide to opt for the field of law?

    Initially, I never thought to join Law neither had I any idea about the legal profession. There was nobody in my family pursuing this profession. I was in fact trying to do an M.Sc. after my B.Sc. education, but family circumstances and destiny forced me to join Law and then I decided to pursue LL.M. and did Ph.D. I started my teaching career in 1974 at Kurukshetra University itself where I was a student for my B.Sc., LL.B., LL.M. and also Ph.D.

    Teaching law is very stimulating and came as natural flair to me and as they say, “There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it”, best describes it.

     

    What were the highlights of your journey as a law student?

    [sociallocker] At Kurukshetra University, it was a tough journey initially, but this was a time when in the Law faculty we had best of teachers who were very dedicated and learned. The teaching staff was very good but there was a complete disconnect between the teachers and students in those days in the class rooms as there was no interaction and so teaching and learning did not happen simultaneously.

    My favourite subject was Jurisprudence.
    prof-ranbir-singh-1

    What, in your view, are the qualities that a law student should strive to possess in order to rise a notch above the rest?

    The following are the basic qualities one should keep in mind to succeed as law student. Follow these Commandments for Success:

    • Attend classes regularly
    • Maintain proper discipline in campus and inside hostel.
    • ‘NO’ to ragging
    • Proper dress code
    • No misuse of mobile and internet facility
    • Proper use of library and legal software
    • Taking part in Moot Court Competitions and other events like seminars/conferences/workshops and debates etc.
    • Participating in legal aid activities
    • Taking research seriously
    • Adopt gender sensitive anti-discriminatory behavior
    • Positive leadership
    • Jealously guarding the reputation of the Institution

     

    Starting out, where did you envision your career would take you?

    I chose Academics as I did not like the Court environment. When I was doing Law I visited courts and realised that this is not the place for me and so I pursued higher studies & came into academics.

     

    Did you ever question — or did others question — your decision to focus on what some consider a less lucrative field than other fields in the legal profession?

    In fact nobody questioned my decision to join Law and academics. I for one believe that, if you are seriously committed to achieve what you want to do and achieve it successfully, nobody questions you. Ultimately success silences your critics.

     

    How different, would you say, are NLUs from traditional law institutions?

    (Professor Singh has taught at traditional law faculties at Kurukshetra University and Maharshi Dayanand University as well as at National Law Universities such as NLSIU and NALSAR.)

    My journey from a traditional university to Law School, Bangalore made me learn new ways of teaching and research in Law. My time at National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bangalore was a turning point for my life, which helped me to acquire new teaching techniques and importance of research in legal education. In the era before 1980’s not many students came to law by choice, they came by chance and somehow succeeded. After the introduction of 5 year’s Law Degree Course in the year of 1983 and then with the establishment of first law school at Bangalore (NLSIU) in 1988. The students of this institution were admitted by the entrance exam and started to join Law by choice not by chance. The reforms in legal education started being taken up seriously.

    My decision to accept the challenge and move from a traditional law faculty to NLSIU, Bangalore in 1996-97 made me realize the importance of challenges in life. I realised life is a big challenge, accept it if you aspire to achieve something higher in life.

     

    How difficult has it been for you to find time to write research papers?

    (Professor Singh has written on a diverse array of subjects including jurisprudence, human rights, legal education, personal laws, etc and have more than 50 publications to your credit.)

    I always believe that if you have passion to do something you can always find time for it. I personally never felt that one is short of time for teaching and research. It is only a matter of setting your time table and academic priorities. Once one starts enjoying teaching and research and additionally prioritizes academic activities like seminar, conference etc, research work will automatically be carried on. There is so much research to do in almost all fields of Law that one can contribute to research in the big way which can be of great use to society.

     

    How should law students go about selecting topics for research publications?

    One should look for areas of interest in research and also for topics, where research is meaningful and useful to the society. The Editorial Board should additionally look at the hypothesis, the methodology, the advantage of research, critical component and conclusions etc matching with the overall concept of research undertaken.

     

    What, in your view, are the biggest challenges that a young law student wanting to go into academia has to face in India?

    The biggest challenge that a student has to face is getting into a good institute for legal education. All Law related activities whether in courts, corporate law firms etc. need a very strong research based approach to resolve their legal disputes effectively. With the Himalayan heaps of legislation passed by the Parliament and the state legislation in the last 2 decades, legal research has become more complex in the present circumstances. There are more challenges faced by legal researchers. Research in India was not taken seriously before the advent of the law schools with very few exceptions of some law faculties. But for the last 20 years or so legal research has picked up and there is an ever increasing upward trend in legal research and scholarship in India.

     

    What are the biggest challenges that you had to face while building NALSAR?

    (Professor Singh was the founder Vice Chancellor of NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad.)

    The biggest challenge of creating a law school in a State is to seek liberal financial support for the creation of the University and the infrastructure and then the having best of faculty. For me the biggest challenge was to create my own space for NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad as NLSIU, Bangalore had already earned reputation of a prestigious institution in Law. I had a mandate not only to compete with NLSIU but also to work hard to overtake it as soon as possible. NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad started in 1998 and 2008 it was rated as the best law school among the other law schools in India.

     

    What are the factors that played the biggest role in NALSAR’s success?

    It is easy and it is also difficult. It is easy if we have enough resources to motivate faculty for teaching, research and for organising and attending conferences. One has to motivate students to acquire technical and professional skills through moot court competitions and other activities and also have a dedicated non-teaching staff. If you don’t have any of these it will be difficult to create a good law school. Above all more important is a leadership factor in the institution, somebody who will have a vision and the capacity to take everybody along for achieving overall excellence and lead by example from the front.

     

    You are also the founder vice chancellor of National Law University, Delhi. Tell us about the experience.

    Compared to NALSAR I did not face much challenge at National Law University, Delhi because of the initiative of the Delhi High Court and also very liberal financial support from the Govt. NCT of Delhi. NLU, Delhi was fortunate to attract the best of senior and young faculty to teach and train the students in research.

    At NLU, Delhi the faculty acquired a place of reputation in a very short span of time for itself by engaging in research and opening research centres and helping various Ministries, Commissions etc. in providing research inputs. The University is actively participating in preparation of reports i.e. Justice Verma Committee Report for amendments in Criminal Law and continues engagement with the Ministry of Law & Justice and Law Commission of India and also providing inputs to the Standing Committees of Parliament on Law.

     

    What are the biggest challenges that you have had to grapple with as the Vice Chancellor of NLUD?

    Initially, the biggest challenge was to create good infrastructure especially IT enabled classrooms and seminars, conference halls, etc. A good library with the most advanced legal data base in Law is essential for creating a good library along with the books, reports along with reference books. Library being the nerve centre of a Law schools for legal learning and research has to be given top priority.

    The second challenge was to attract the best of students through our separate All India Law Entrance Test (AILET) and also the best of faculty. It should be possible by motivating faculty through liberal financial assistance for attending conferences, giving them academic space to grow, separate rooms for research and enough funding for research projects.

     

    What is your vision for NLUD?

    Within a short span of six years NLU, Delhi has already made a place for itself and it is reputed as one of the best Law Universities in the country. In a span of 10 years we are already on way to compete with the best of Law schools outside India.

     

    As someone who played an instrumental role in the introduction of CLAT, how successful has the entrance test been in your opinion?

    In fact, I should not comment on CLAT and the strategy which they have adopted as I am not a part of the CLAT. At the same time, since I was one of the main initiators of CLAT I deem it my duty to share it with you that CLAT would be a successful test format only when it has a centralised and permanent body responsible for maintaining the standards of CLAT and effectively conducting the tests. Main cause of criticism for CLAT has come because of the fact that the rotational policy conducting tests hasnot paid dividends because every school may not have the perfect expertise and vision as to what is the standard aptitude and skills to be examined in a legal test.

     

    What are the pros and cons of having different entrance tests for different universities?

    (NLU Delhi has a separate entrance test called AILET.)

    CLAT was introduced only for the reason that it would be able to avoid multiplicity of tests which makes it difficult for students to focus fully on one entrance test. NLU, Delhi decided to go for a separate test mainly because we were not sure about the quality of the test and whether it would be conducted effectively, as CLAT was only in its second year of operation in 2008 when NLU, Delhi was established.

     

    Do you think that standardized testing is the best way going forward?

    In a country like India the foreign standards of testing may not be very successful. Because that requires higher degree of integrity. Emphasis should be on standards of the aptitude and skill tests related to Law.

     

     

    Can you tell us about your association with institutions that seek to effect social and legal change?

    (Professor Singh has been associated with several renowned institutions like the National Legal Services Authority, Indian Law Institute, National Police Academy, National Commission for Women, etc in an advisory role.)

    Law is a great tool for social transformation and change. Effective Laws for social justice if effectively implemented can go a long way in solving problems of millions and millions of people in this country. Those who are have nots and down trodden, dalits, harijans and all those who belong to disadvantaged groups including Women and Children.

     

    Do you think that the curriculum prescribed by the BCI equips law students with the skills necessary for solving real life problems?

    I have been associated with Bar Council of India (BCI) for a long time and I think the course curriculum designed by BCI is perfectly fine as it leaves lot of scope for changes allowing changes according to local needs. Participative institutions can give importance to priority areas, but the problem lies somewhere else. Earlier the country was faced with the problem of mushrooming of 3 years law colleges with no infrastructure, library or the faculty. The same has started happening to 5 years law colleges which are almost more than 1000 in numbers, out of which not even 10% adhere to best standards and norms for good legal education. Unfortunately, for the last 20 years after the introduction of the ‘Rotational Headship Schemes’ in the law faculties and also because of ‘Automatic Promotion Schemes’ in the Universities, the standards of academic research and teaching have miserably come down.

     

    What steps can be taken to turn law schools into justice schools?

    Law schools have adopted the model of five years teaching in Law for acquiring Law Degree and all law schools have to compulsorily teach social science subjects i.e. Sociology, Economics, Political Science, History and Law Language and Literature. This criticism is more true and should be addressed to three years course in Law.

     

    Do you think NLUs, owing to their fee structure, remain inaccessible to a large section of people?

    Most of the NLUs and I have personal experiences of NALSAR Hyderabad and NLU, Delhi provide liberal financial assistance to all the category of students after they join law schools. I had a policy in this direction at both the Universities which we still follow. I have no instance to quote where any student has to leave the law school/university because he or she could not afford the education. The fee structure in the Law Universities is far less than a prestigious primary school in Delhi.

     

    What is your view on the opinion that students pursue law only to get high paying jobs?

    It is highly misplaced criticism because the law schools have this kind of criticism which has been faced by IITs and IIMs. But I shall like to answer this question by asking a counter question – as to why the products of law schools should not have the freedom to choose career of their own choice. The majority of the students admitted to these law schools are from middle class families and most of them are first generation students aspiring to have the Law degree. One can ask, is there any system in place in this country created by the BCI, the Bar Association of Supreme Court of India or the respective High Courts and by the Senior Advocates of the Supreme Court and High Courts including efforts if any by the Government to attract the young talent which is highly competent to join litigation. Since they fund their own education in their law schools joining the corporate law firms may be necessary for them. But at the same time in the present times not many students are going to corporate firms rather they are joining diverse fields including civil services. Let me share this with you that in the coming 10 years maximum candidates qualifying civil services will be from the law universities and they will overtake IITs.

     

    Does law school put too much pressure on its students?

    This kind of criticism applies to the best of professions and institutions like IITs, IIMs etc and Law Universities are not any exceptions. I for one don’t mind that if the students in the Law Universities have to work hard, wherein most of law colleges in the country are producing not even half baked lawyers.

     

    What advice would you like to share with those hardworking students who were unable to get into the top NLUs?

    Most of the Law Schools are a lot better than what they used to be during our time, still as a matter of fact a lot of us graduated started work and many are currently known internationally for their achievements. One should have the sense of pride where anybody joins; one should work hard to be professionally competent, technically sound and socially relevant to succeed in law education. Since, Law Universities have become a brand and known for good education, standards certainly vary from one institution to another. But, those students who work hard come out successful from all institutions.
    [/sociallocker]

  • Animesh Sinha, Partner, Animesh Sinha and Partners, on independent practice, mooting, and his experience

    Animesh Sinha, Partner, Animesh Sinha and Partners, on independent practice, mooting, and his experience

    Animesh Sinha graduated from Amity Law School, Delhi, in 2008. He started practicing right after graduating from law school. Currently he has his own team at Animesh Sinha and Partners for the last two and a half years. In this interview, we asked him about:

    • His mooting experiences in his law school days
    • His experiences as a founder of a law firm
    • Internship experiences and their value in a law student’s career.

     

    Tell us a little bit about your childhood and your background.

    I have been practising law since 2008 after graduating from Amity Law School, Delhi. I started my career with Karanjawala & Co.. After that I went independent and founded Accendo Law Partners. In 2011 I joined Advani & Co as an equity partner. Presently I have my own team at Animesh Sinha & Partners for the last two and a half years.

    My father is in a transferable job and I finished my schooling over many schools. I was a good student throughout. Thanks to the efforts of my family consistent good grades allowed me to jump a batch ahead of my batchmates. I was heavily inclined towards extracurricular activities and actively participated in several international and national level debate competitions, science fests and sports events. I was also the president of many clubs and my house contingent in school. I am also very proudly a Rashtrapati Scout. I come from a normal middle-class family and my childhood included the ordinary activities of cricket, vacations, parental push for excellence and other such activities.

     

    What prompted you to take up law as a career?

    I am a first-generation lawyer. It is difficult to identify what prompted me to choose law as a career. I was headed towards engineering but was not too excited about it. I believe my father gauged that and considering my background in debating he decided that I write for some law schools. By the time this decision was taken it was too late and I could only apply for GGSIPU (to which Amity Law School is affiliated) and NLS, Bangalore. Even then my primary attention and preparation was for the engineering entrance exams. When the results were out my father suggested I take up law instead. I guess it was my destiny.

     

    As a student were you only focused on academics?

    I was good at academics. But academics did not constitute more than a quarter of my time at law school. While I continued to get good scores I grew disillusioned with the system of evaluation at the University. I would like to thank my classmates Ankit Khushu and Bikram Chaudhury for ensuring that I did not let my grades slip.

    I spent a lot of time at law school mooting and debating. But what I enjoyed the most was the opportunity to read law without any deadlines and purpose. I spent a lot of time in law school reading law without any immediate objective. This allowed me to read more and develop a good grasp of first principles. I did not realise the benefit then but I deeply cherish it today.

     

    What extra-curricular activities did you take part in that helped you shape up your career?

    My grounding in extracurricular activities from school automatically prompted me to continue with extracurricular activities in law school as well. I was an active debater and participated in debates through most of law school. A major chunk of my time at law school was consumed with moot court related activities. I participated in several moot court competitions including Philip C. Jessup, Manfred Lachs, Commonwealth and Heanry Dunant. The experiences and the recognition that moots brought played an important role in developing the lawyer that I am today. These experiences are not limited to legal skills alone but it taught me life lessons on teamwork and human behaviour. Even today I stay in touch with moot courts judging competitions across the country, drafting moot court problems and generally interacting with moot court teams.

    I do not believe excellent CGPA is the key to ALL success but I believe it is important to respect any evaluation system as it ensures you do not slacken.

     

    What is your mantra for success in academics?

    (Animesh has received the best student award at Amity Law School, Delhi for two consecutive years.)

    I do not think it is possible to cast any mantra in a mould. It may sound cliched but then the key components for success in academics according to me are passion for the subject, hard work, diligence and particularly in these times of digital distractions good time management skills.

     

    What were your areas of interest during your graduation?

    In law school I just fell in love with some subjects. Contract law was the first legal paper I studied. I was so excited that I coaxed my father to purchase the practitioner’s commentary by Mulla. Till today it is one of the most prized possessions in my library. Almost all the moot courts that I participated in were on public international law. Naturally it became my favourite subject. I even chose international law on outer space as the topic for my dissertation. I still crave to study public international law. However it has become difficult with court practise. Now I look forward to invitations to judge moot court competitions on public international law. It is a great stress buster.

    To develop expertise and knowledge in any area one must read voraciously and take some time out to analyse the law and visualise how it applies to practical situations. It is important to provide a context to what you read.

     

    How did you manage to excel in both studies and mooting which seem to eat into each other’s time?

    (Animesh has received several prizes and accolades in international moot court competitions including Manfred Lachs, Commonwealth and Philip C. Jessup.)

    I do not think they eat into each other’s time. If you plan well there is enough time for both and other activities. I think what helped me most was prior preparation. The memorial submissions for the Commonwealth Moot Court Competition coincided with examinations. We could foresee this and we studied for the examinations in advance. I would also have to credit my friends in law school for helping us out in such times of conflict. But what is most important is that there must be a push to excel. I believe if you have the will to do it you will make things work.

     

    What do you look for in a good mooter?

    (Animesh recently drafted as well as judged a recently held National Moot Court Competition.)

    Lots of things. It will be difficult to exhaustively enlist all of them here. What I like most are well prepared mooters. I believe the difference between a good mooter and a mooter who wins is prior preparation. A winning mooter will always imagine and rehearse for different situations from beforehand. This prior preparation alone can help a mooter present accurate answers, maintain calm, be aware of material at hand and be better equipped to deal with different kind of judges; amongst dealing with other trials and tribulations faced by mooters.

    I have recently written a chapter for a book on moot court which is due to be published by end of this year. It may be helpful if mooters are looking for an exhaustive answer to this question.

     

    How did you muster the courage of starting independent practice at 24?

    I confronted myself and reconciled with the fact that it is good to have jitters. I do not think they completely go away. And I believe the jitters keep lawyers on their toes. So it is a good thing and does not require to be fought.

    I must concede that my background in mooting and debating helped me a great deal. Mooting taught me the importance of prior and in-depth preparation. It is also important for me to acknowledge what I learnt at Karanjawala & Co. While at Karanjawala & Co I got invaluable experience of observing some of the finest senior advocates at the bar. There was just so much to learn.

     

    Tell us about your experiences of starting your own firm.

    My first endeavour to start a law firm was at Accendo Law Partners. We eventually merged Accendo Law Partners with Advani & Co. I started Animesh Sinha and Partners in 2012.

    It is an exhilarating experience setting up your own firm. It brings with it several challenges. Infrastructure of the office needs to be developed; you need to be able to hire, retain and pay for lawyers and staff; manage the administration; build and maintain clientele; and above all deliver good quality work. For those wanting to set up their own firm I would like to share some key points. First of all, be sure why you have decided to set up your own firm. The commitment of having your own firm has to survive through tough times and temptations. Secondly, be patient for things to develop. Infrastructure, resources, lawyers, clientele and ability to run your own firm comes over time and with experience. Thirdly, be sure of what kind of services your firm would deliver. This is particularly difficult for young lawyers who are still finding their grounding. For law firms with young teams the burden to work hard is very high and it is very important to have preset goals and a vision for the firm. I would like to encourage students to think ambitiously and develop and sustain the energy and ability to realise their ambitions.

     

    What does a day at work look like for you?

    ASP (Animesh Sinha & Partners) is a multidisciplinary law firm. We have considerable experience in dispute resolution, contract preparation and corporate advisory. We particularly specialise in insurance and construction. Our network of clients includes several public sector undertakings, corporate houses, small and medium enterprises and individual litigants. We are a young team of lawyers who are enjoying the process of finding a place in the profession.

    A day at work entails attending court and arbitration proceedings and working on different assignments once in office. Running an office demands time for business development and administrative work – sometimes it is drudgery, sometimes exciting.  We are very passionate about law and often engage ourselves in academic activities at conferences, law school events and executive training programs.

    I would say being a founding partner of a law firm is quite interesting. It can be challenging and stressful at times and different factors may contribute towards it. To identify some- its challenging to sustain work quality; take care of the aspirations of your team; and maintain probity and clear communication with clients. It provides immense opportunity for learning varied things. There is so much more to law than the law itself.

    I would like to believe I am maintaining a good work-life balance. Having said that I often have family and friends complain that I am stuck at work. Law as a profession consumes a lot of time. It is important to enjoy it. It is also crucially important to periodically reward oneself with family time, hobbies and fun. I always advise lawyers younger than me to maintain timesheets. It is a good tool to assess work input and it also helps maintain a good work-life balance.

     

    How is the work culture at ASP?

    It is natural to commit mistakes. We all do. Fresh graduates often find themselves at the wrong end of the stick for mistakes which seem downright silly and obvious. A lot of this happens because of poor instructions from seniors or because it is the first time a fresh graduate works on a particular kind of assignment. We believe in careful review and revision before we send out any work to the client. It becomes particularly challenging when the time deadlines are stiff. It is important to be patient and mutually complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses. It certainly does not help to browbeat or yell at anyone.

     

    How is internship helpful for a law student?

    Internships do help tremendously. My belief is more in favour of interns seeking long-term assignments with fewer offices rather than seeking many short-term assignments with different law offices. This is because long-term assignments allow an intern to learn more, leave a deeper impact and increase one’s chances of being absorbed.

    Internships provide invaluable experience regarding several aspects of working in an office including working on real legal assignments, office mannerisms, time discipline et cetera. With every year of added legal knowledge internships provide a scale to judge oneself on one’s ability to analyse and apply the learnt legal knowledge on real-life assignments.

     

    Does ASP take interns?

    At the moment we are not taking interns. However we strongly believe in internship programs. I have personally been in charge of internship programs at all the offices I have worked previously. We hope to continue our engagement with interns by resuming the internship program shortly.

     

    What would be your message to law students who dream of having their own law firm one day?

    It is very important to continue to dream. Meet your dreams with hard work and dedication. This may sound clichéd but then there are no shortcuts. What is important is to deliver credible and qualitative legal services and not just start an office. Today not every graduate is getting absorbed at law offices of their choice. Consequently, a lot of them claim to be independent. I believe to be able to have a firm of your own it is important to first learn how to work on assignments and deliver credible and qualitative output. Building an office of your own is not about independence of time and independence from command – on the contrary you may find yourself crunched for time trying to bring in work as well as delivering it. It is therefore very important to have a good grounding in the profession first. My message would be to work hard, follow your dreams and continue to work hard and learn for the sake of your dreams.

  • Arshad (Paku) Khan, Exec. Director, Competition Law, Khaitan&Co., on his expertise and building a global practice

    Arshad (Paku) Khan, Exec. Director, Competition Law, Khaitan&Co., on his expertise and building a global practice

    Arshad (Paku) Khan graduated from the Vanderbilt Law School in Nashville, Tennessee, USA in 1991. He is currently the executive director of the competition/antitrust law team of Khaitan & Co, one of the largest and most experienced practices in India. Paku is a highly experienced competition lawyer with nearly 25 years of real-world experience with key roles in all aspects of Indian, EU, Irish and US competition/antitrust law.

    We requested him to share his insights on:

    • Starting out a legal career in the U.S
    • Work at the Irish Competition Authority and other European firms
    • Establishing a new practice area for an Indian law firm

     

    Please tell us a bit about your pre-law life.

    My parents – both of whom have, sadly, passed away – moved to the US in the 1960’s, and that was where I was born, raised, and educated, living there for the first 35 years of my life.

    Nobody in my family was a lawyer – only doctors or scientists. This meant that I had to learn law all by myself, with no one in the family to guide the way. However, my parents supported me by putting an extraordinary premium on education and reading, and that has been tremendously helpful in my career. Since I had no prior knowledge of the law, my mom suggested that I serve as a law firm runner/courier, to gain experience in whatever way possible.  I did that in the US in the late 1980’s. That was loads of fun, and was my first taste of the law.  I was also extremely fortunate to have some mentors early in my career who were fantastic lawyers, fantastic people, and fantastic teachers. This was vital in my early days of being a lawyer in the US, when I graduated in 1991.

     

    What made you gravitate towards a legal career after a degree in Sociology?

    At first, like almost everyone else in my family, I was going to be a doctor. However, in my third year of university, after taking, frankly, a horrible semester of organic chemistry, invertebrate biology, biochemistry, genetics, and neurobiology, I realized that I wasn’t really cut out to be a doctor because I never enjoyed science. On the other hand, subjects like language, history, literature, and other “arts” came naturally to me. My mom always – and very correctly – told me that I was better suited to be a lawyer than a doctor. Changing my career choice, even if it was at the last minute, has been one of my best decisions.

    I guess I can also say that heroes of mine like Mahatma Gandhi and Abraham Lincoln, who were both excellent lawyers, made me think that a career in the law, rather than in medicine, was much more up my alley.

    In terms of competition law (which is referred to as antitrust in the US), I  sort of was selected by it rather than my selecting it.  But when I got involved in the area in a substantive way, I realized that that was something I really loved. After my first year of law school, I clerked/interned at the antitrust law department of a law firm in Nashville, Tennessee.  My boss there was a former senior in the Antitrust Division of the United States Department of Justice, and he was enormously helpful in teaching me the art of being a competition lawyer.  I didn’t know anything about competition law at the time, but really enjoyed reading cases about predatory pricing.  I never knew that companies did such things, me being quite naive!

    After several years of private practice in antitrust, I become an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Tennessee and had a five-year stint as the in-house counsel at a large US bank holding company where I did a great deal of hands-on M&A work. This experience of working in private practice, in-house, and as a regulator, was tremendously beneficial to me. It gave me the ability to see the law from various perspectives (and often these are exceedingly different perspectives). It also gave me an opportunity to learn about how to think on “both sides of the table.”  It’s very important to understand the other side’s thoughts and motivations.

     

    What was your scope of responsibility during the tenure of your work at the Irish Competition Authority?

    It is because of India that I came to Ireland, and it was ultimately because of Ireland that I came to India. Let me explain.

    I had actually wanted to move to India in 1997 after having been a lawyer for six years in the US. I wanted to do what my parents did, when they left India in 1964 to come to the United States. I had basically lived my entire life in the United States, except for visits to my grandparents in Bihar and Kerala, and a few trips to Europe. So, I wanted to see what living overseas was like. In the autumn of 1997, I came to New Delhi and met lawyers from many law firms, went to hear some Supreme Court hearings, talked to legal institutes in New Delhi, and was very close to moving here. However, because my dad got sick, I put those plans on hold.

    A few years later in 2002, one of my friends became a senior member of the Irish Competition Authority in Dublin, Ireland and mentioned to me that they had positions available for lawyers. I had to go to Dublin for a competitive interview, and was lucky enough to finish first in the panel.  So I got an offer from the Irish Competition Authority. I thought I would give it a try for one year and that this would cure the wanderlust that I had.  India frankly dropped off the radar screen for me when I moved to Ireland because I thought I would have a short one year stint in Dublin and then head back to the US.

    That one year became seven years in Ireland. I spent three of those years at the Irish Competition Authority, never having done EU competition law before. However, my experience in US antitrust law helped me make the adjustment reasonably quickly.

    The time at the Irish regulator was a tremendous experience for me. For example, I got front-line experience in dealing with cases on cartels and abuse of dominant positions as well as merger control matters. One of the great highlights of my time at the Irish competition authority was that I served as the Rapporteur for the EU Member States in the European Commission’s 2004 abuse of dominance decision against Microsoft, which was a case that the entire antitrust world (as well as non-lawyers) paid attention to. It was a real career highlight for me. Another really interesting thing I got to do at the Irish Competition Authority was dawn raids. Dawn raids are basically surprise investigations by the regulator. In the context of those investigations (I think I did about 20 or so), I gained experience regarding forensic technology and was appointed as the Irish representative to the EU/national competition authority forensic technology task force.  In today’s day and age, that is an invaluable skill that I was lucky enough to obtain back then.

     

    How different was it to work as a solicitor after working with a government authority?

    (Mr. Khan worked as a senior solicitor at A&L Goodbody.)

    I must say that working in a European law firm in the competition law practice was exceedingly busy.  You had to juggle a lot of matters simultaneously to produce effectively flawless results, both substantially and linguistically, with little time on several cases. It was also a lot of responsibility.  For example, I had one filing before the European Commission on a very well-known merger control matter, namely, Ryanair’s hostile takeover of the Irish flag carrier Aer Lingus.  My colleagues and I worked from 8 AM to 4 AM, Monday to Sunday, for an entire month.  I had to repeat the exercise several times in the case. That clearly taught me the value of time management and of thinking carefully about your case in order to anticipate roadblocks.

     

    Any time management or work-life balance tips for our readers?

    The number one technique that I have for case management is planning ahead as much as possible.  The moment you receive a case or matter, think ahead about every issue that you will confront, from the beginning to the end.  Of course, in many cases, there will be unexpected issues to deal with, that will always arise. There is nothing you can do about those, except deal with them as they come up.  However, if you have visualized in your mind’s eye the case from start to finish, I guarantee that you will always have much better results than merely being bounced around from issue to issue and making things up as you go along.

    In terms of time management, I have never been a believer in putting in “face time” to impress people, either when I was being supervised or when I was supervising.  I’m happy to pull an all-nighter if it’s necessary, and sometimes it is indeed necessary.  However, what I found in my professional career of nearly 25 years is that planning ahead, including planning each day in the morning, is a great way to manage your time.  Many of those all-nighters or even late nighters are really not necessary if you have effective planning and real teamwork and communications with your colleagues.  Some people think the phrase “work smarter, not harder” is silly. I think there is a profound philosophy encapsulated in those words.

    Above all, put your family first.  They are simply irreplaceable.  It is very, very easy to get immersed in work, and forget about your loved ones. But, if your work causes your personal life to suffer, that’s going to have a negative influence on your work.  The work will always be there.

    I am very lucky to be in a firm like Khaitan & Co that values this work-life balance greatly.  Because it is a great place to work, you feel a deep sense of pride in what you do.

     

    What circumstances lead to your move to India?

    I was recruited to come to India in April 2009 by another law firm (Amarchand Mangaldas, where I served as Director of the competition law practice) because portions of the Competition Act were going live in May 2009.  I was living in Dublin, Ireland, when I first got the query about coming to India. When I started realizing the immense potential in India, which was a country where I had always wanted to live, it became obvious that moving to New Delhi was the right move.  I am a big believer in the concept of ‘one world’, and India is an integral part of this global economy.  The chance to be a part of that was an offer I couldn’t refuse.

    I must say that the fun and adventure in moving to India was even more special given that I had to move our family of four (including a newborn).  That was a challenge in its own right!

    In terms of the working environment in India, I have really relished the opportunity of working with some outstanding young lawyers whom I’ve had the privilege of knowing.

     

    What does your role as Executive Director of Competition/Antitrust law at Khaitan & Co. entail?

    As Executive Director of Khaitan & Co’s competition/antitrust practice, my role is to consider how competition law matters in India would be treated under EU and US competition/antitrust laws.  Competition law is very much an international law, and the experience in the US and in Europe has been invaluable to understanding how the Indian competition regime will, can and should work.

     

    How does the Indian Competition Law Regime fare against that of the UK or the USA?

    It’s very important to understand that India is one of the last of the major countries to implement a competition law regime.  Accordingly, India is fortunate to have the “last mover advantage”, as it can look to the mistakes and successes of other jurisdictions to improve its own regime.  Simply stated, there is a large amount of synergy between Indian competition law and the comparable laws in other jurisdictions like the US and EU.  The laws are not identical, but they are more similar than they are different.  There’s a lot of exceedingly useful guidance that can be found that is often very relevant to the Indian regime.

    For example, the United States had its antitrust law in 1890, and the EU has had its competition laws for decades. In contrast, with respect to the Competition Act, 2002 (as amended), the prohibitions in Section 3, dealing with anti-competitive agreements (including cartels) and Section 4, dealing with abuse of a dominant position, have only been in effect for a little more than five years.  Indian merger control has an even shorter lifespan of only three years.  In my view, by any definition, India is still in its infancy with respect to competition law.  However, that’s not a bad thing, because India can take that vast amount of experience in the rest of the world and use that to help fashion the people of India, from the richest to the poorest and from the strongest to the weakest.

    That’s emphatically not to say that what happens in the US or the EU is merely going to be “rubberstamped” in India.  Competition law is much more sophisticated than that.  For example, market conditions in Mumbai are very different than they are in Manhattan or Montevideo.  A good competition lawyer has to consider those market dynamics, apply the law to those facts, and use international precedents in the correct fashion to understand how other jurisdictions have looked at the issue.

     

    What advice would you like to give to a law student who wishes to make a career in competition law?

    There’s absolutely no reason why a new lawyer shouldn’t go right into competition law.  But I think it’s very important to understand that even though the substantive provisions of the Competition Act are very short, the law is incredibly complicated, involving a mix of law, economics, and market conditions.  There is a tremendous amount of artistry that is involved in being a great competition lawyer, as the same set of facts in one industry can result in a totally different outcome in another industry. The key to being a great competition lawyer is understanding what that mix is.

     

    What would be your advice to a law student or young lawyer who is indecisive about their area of specialisation?

    Law students or newly-inducted lawyers should try to immerse themselves in as many areas of law as they can. It first starts in law school, where you have the luxury of learning many different aspects of law.  The reality of the situation, however, is that if you don’t use that knowledge, you lose that knowledge.

    As I stated earlier, I have been lucky enough to have been a private practitioner, in-house counsel, and a regulator in multiple jurisdictions. I’ve had the opportunity to also do complex litigation and M&A work. All of those experiences have been important to my career.

    To be a great lawyer, you need to be a great peacemaker and find a way to bring resolution and closure.  The experience you get from being knocked down by mistakes, and facing defeat but learning from them and rising to fight yet again, is essential and is something you only get over time.  These, to me, are the hallmarks of a lawyer who will indeed go far.

     

    Finally, what would be your parting message to our readers?

    You must love what you are doing.  It is as simple as that. Money and fame are things that may or may not follow you in this life; however, none of those things are worth anything if you don’t love what you do. The fact of the matter is that I love being a lawyer. I sort of fell into the profession by happenstance, and it was one of the very best things that could’ve ever happened to me.

    I like to fix things that are broken, and I like to see injustices cured.  I like to be deeply involved in my matters and try to treat each matter as if it were my own. Taking ownership of a matter and treating as if it were your own, and being sensitive to a client’s needs, will take you a very long way.

     

  • 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.
    [/sociallocker]

  • Suveer Bajaj, Co-founder, FoxyMoron, on Digital Marketing, law, and plans for the future

    Suveer Bajaj, Co-founder, FoxyMoron, on Digital Marketing, law, and plans for the future

    suveer-bajaj-3Suveer Bajaj pursued LL.B. from the University of Mumbai, batch of 2012. Prior to that, he had pursued his BMS in Marketing. He is the founding partner of FoxyMoron, a Digital Marketing Company, which is mainly functioning from New Delhi and Mumbai. The company has eminent clients like The L’Oreal Group, Bacardi India, Castrol, Fosters, The Cadbury Group, Asian Paints, The World Wide Media Group, AXN India, VIP Industries, Rajasthan Royals, Quikr and has nine offices between New Delhi and Mumbai.

    In this interview we speak to him about:

    • The switch from law to marketing
    • Essentials for being a successful marketeer.
    • The mechanism behind the rapid growth of FoxyMoron.

     

    What motivated you to pursue law?

    Law was always the first option for me from an academic perspective right from the time I was old enough to decide what I wanted to study. It definitely wasn’t a virtue of chance. It was a well-educated decision; one I had actually been looking forward to for quite a while before I actually even started studying law.

     

    How would you describe the chronicles of your college life?

    I always kept myself active and busy through my college days. I started working literally one week after I got out of school. I actively participated in a number of college activities including the Rotaract club, represented my college in almost every inter-collegiate festival and went on to creating a Model UN session for my college which at the time, was the largest college level MUN in Mumbai. I interned actively through my summers and eventually started FoxyMoron in the summer of 2008 after I completed my second year of degree college. This required me to pull odd hours and double up on both my academic and social life, but I was more than happy to make the sacrifice while in college.

     

    Tell us about your experience as a Space Intern of the renowned newspaper Indian Express.

    I interned with the Indian Express Group in the summer of 2007, which was my first summer in degree college. I worked under the direct mentorship under the (then) General Manager of Space Marketing, also known as ad sales. I learned the ropes of how ad sales were done and actively worked with all teams to understand how the dynamic of print advertising works with various departments. It was my first formal interaction with sales targets, corporate discounts and the IRS. We whiled away our lunch breaks at the art room watching how tediously the art directors created the lovely print ads we see in newspapers today.

     

    What are the essential ingredients to become a successful marketer?

    There is an age old saying: Sales and Marketing go hand in hand. Neither comes first and neither comes second. In order to understand the ethos of marketing, I think it is important for a good marketer to step out of the grid and start understanding a client’s business objectives as opposed to restricting his horizon to merely a client’s advertising or communication objectives. A good marketer must know how to ad value to his client to extent that he becomes an integral part of the client’s business and thereby becomes indispensable to the business life cycle. Good marketing is always object oriented and resolution led.

     

    suveer-bajaj-2

    How do you think knowing law benefits an entrepreneur?

    Sound legal knowledge can help any person in any walk of life. Especially whilst doing business. For instance, in the case of FoxyMoron, my legal knowledge assisted me in drafting my initial partnership agreement and leave and license agreement. At a very young age, we were in a position to understand business risk and could therefore account for its protection. An understanding of company law ensured that as an organization, we were compliant with the various different aspects of “business.” By virtue of the industry that we function in, an introduction to Intellectual Property Law helped in ensuring that our creatives were royalty-managed. All in all, from a business structuring and risk assessment perspective, understanding the law has really assist in the speedy growth of our organization. It has ensured that our growth has been rapid and we haven’t been slowed down by heavy law firms. It has ensured that we create an environment in which we are well aware of our rights and responsibilities and can function independently as empowered entrepreneurs.

     

    How did you choose your co-founder?

    The birth of FoxyMoron was a joint decision that we all made collectively. We were all friends well before we started working together.The best advice I can offer people who are looking forward to collaboration with friends is to learn how to keep your personal and professional lives apart. Remember, that by day, you are colleagues, but by night, you are still friends and will still socialize together. Work must never compromise a friendship and neither must a friendship compromise work.

     

    What are the prime hurdles that a non-lawyer entrepreneur has to come across?

    One of the prime hurdles that a non-lawyer entrepreneur may have to overcome is insolence due to naivety. It is common with most people that do not know the law to be intimidated by it. It is even more common for people who do not know the law to be taken advantage of, whether commercially or in spirit. Business houses have large legal departments and are often represented by big firms across the company. This by itself can be intimidating. Legal understanding helps put entrepreneurs at par with larger organizations in terms of negotiation. It enables entrepreneurs to understand the extents of their rights and therefore enables them (us) to empower themselves.

     

    Tell us about your journey with FoxyMoron so far.

    Our journey has been fabulous. We started with just the four of us, with four laptops, with no seed capital, in my bed room. It’s been six long and fun years and we have grown to a family of over 200 with nine offices between Bombay and Delhi. We represent some of the country’s biggest consumer brands and are powered by a young, talented, enthusiastic bunch of twenty-something year olds that are determined to change the digital landscape in India. Our work has gotten us recognition across the world and has received several awards and accolades. Business has grown organically; both in size and scale. It has been a joyous journey, salt and peppered with a lot of ups and downs, a lot of hurdles, sacrifices and compromised.

     

    What kind of internships would be beneficial for law students who want to pursue entrepreneurship?

    For any students who want to pursue entrepreneurship, the best kind of internships are in start-ups. In a start-up, one is made to do literally everything. The exposure that one gains from working in a startup is unmatched. The experience of watching and contributing to the growth, structure and sustainability of a business is what shapes many vocational choices in life. The fact that you will interact personally with top management, the fact that you will do work that isn’t only limited to data entry, the fact that you might have the opportunity to walk into a meeting with a CEO of your client’s company. The journey of a start-up is un-paralleled.

     

    How did you get to work with such big brands in just five years of presence?

    (FoxyMoron has served imminent clients like The L’Oreal Group, Bacardi India, Castrol, Fosters, The Cadbury Group, Asian Paints, The World Wide Media Group, AXN India, VIP Industries, Rajasthan Royals, Quikr.)

    In India, most businesses are relationship based. Two things that we have really managed to do right over the last five years is:
    (1) To retain business that we work with year on year. Most of the clients that we work with are happy to have us back renew contracts annually.
    (2) Penetrate large business houses. You may start working with one brand from an organization, but it is important to be able to expand horizontally and vertically inside organization. Working with multiple brands from the same group often assists in sound understanding of the industry and hence helps offer an acute domain specialty.

    And of course, at the end of the day, your work speaks for itself! Good work manages to get around, get noticed and pick up a few awards along the way.

     

    Do you think Delhi is a better place to start-up in comparison to other metropolitans?

    At present, my work base is still very much Bombay. We have set up shop in Delhi last year and are, in fact, inaugurating our second office in Delhi today, but we are very much head quartered out of Bombay and I very much still operate of Bombay. The capital, however, presents currently, a wonderful diaspora of opportunity. A lot of brands have now shifted head quarters to Gurgoan and hence from a client opportunity stand point, Delhi (Gurgoan) is gold mine from a business perspective.

     

    What are your thoughts about raising capital for FoxyMoron from investors?

    FoxyMoron has always been a business that has grown organically year on year. Our limited business understanding has ensured that our business has been in the green since year one itself. Services businesses are usually not capital heavy and hence do not require sizable capital to scale. It has never been our intention to raise capital from investors or therefore, offer equity in exchange for the same. One of the best decisions we made while scaling the business was to retain the independence of running the business as flexibly as we wanted. Allow it to naturally take the shape that it has and come through its journey to reach a point of stability.

     

    When you hire people under you, what kind of skills and profile do you look for?

    When we hire people, we look for people that have a flair for communication and have a zest to learn. In our line of work, we understand that it is hard to come by people that have relevant work experience and are happy to take on freshers and train them. We have a robust training, learning & development program and have recently appointed a Chief Learning Office (CLO) to help up skill our teams and keep them up to speed. Students can help develop skills by consistently reading good literature, following international advertising and interacting with Digital Media themselves.

     

    Does the knowledge of law help to have any edge in marketing?

    With digital and content marketing, the understanding of Intellectual Property Law is a necessity. The internet is a cess-pool for infringement of IP. The bridge in terms of Law and Digital Marketing definitely lies in understanding IP law and it’s bearings.

     

    Is there scope of legal internships in FoxyMoron?

    Yes, we do take on legal interns through the year. Applicants can write to us at careers@foxymoron.org

     

    What is your message for law students who want to pursue entrepreneurship?

    Don’t over think things! As lawyers, we are taught to over think everything five times – often, that is the biggest mistake an entrepreneur can make or can get slowed down by. Entrepreneurship is a virtue of gut and instinct. While it is important to be a little thoughtful and conservative in our approach, they only way the ball rolls is when we stop thinking and start doing. Entrepreneurship is about checking things off the to-do list. Not adding more things on.