Abhinandan Mishra graduated in law from NLIU, Bhopal, in 2006. After working as a PO in SBI and as an officer in the Indian Navy, he moved to journalism in 2011. He has worked as the state correspondent for New Indian Express in MP and CG. His expertise is investigation, internal security and political parties.
In this interview we speak to him about:
His time at NLIU
His passion for journalism
His diverse experience
How would you like to introduce yourself to our readers?
I am a journalist with the Sunday Guardian, who did law from NLIU Bhopal.
What makes the NLIU experience different from other institutions?
It will be unfair to compare one law school with the others but what I fondly remember about NLIU, Bhopal is the natural surrounding that surrounds the campus. It is perhaps the only law university that has three dams and one reserved forest area within a radius of three km of the college campus.
In your opinion, what are the law school centric activities that you would recommend as necessary experiences for every law student?
I never participated in moot. The one thing that a student should try to focus after entering any law university is developing his or her social skills, read a lot of books, fiction, non-fiction whatever interests the individual. Also try to write articles, opeds and get them published. If you are not able to publish it in a newspaper or a journal, publish it on your own blog. This exercise will help you immensely in countless ways during your college and also when you graduate.
Growing up, did you have a mentor?
There were many people who have motivated me to do things at various points of the life including my parents, some of my batchmates, a couple of my seniors and one professor.
Your career started at SBI, where you were a PO. How did the drastic shift happen from there to the Indian Navy?
When I graduated in 2006, the first job that I got was in Doha, Qatar with the Qatar Tribune where I was selected on the basis 150 plus articles that I had written and published in national dailies. After I came back, I started preparing for UPSC. However, I could not clear it and during that period I got into SBI as a PO and from there I moved to the Indian Navy in the JAG branch. However, ultimately I got back into journalism. It was in 2011, when I was 28, had worked in six different roles and places, that I finally decided that it is journalism, where I will retire from, hopefully.
What motivated you towards journalism?
The fact that the words that you write can bring in a change , in the society and in the life of individuals.
Did you have to undertake any additional educational training in order to pursue journalism?
No, I did not. Like every job in journalism too, if you have the heart in it, you will be able to do okay provided you are flexible in your approach and do not shy away from learning and reading about everything under the sun as a journalist is expected to know something about everything.
Give us a brief capsule of the life of a journalist and your average working day experience.
I cover internal security and political parties and my average working day consists of talking to ‘sources’, who are nothing but normal people and meeting these sources to dig out a story or to develop information that I already have. During this average working day destiny will present you the opportunity to speak to union ministers and also to most wanted terrorists.
What is your message to our readers?
College is the time when one should explore everything and do a bit of everything. It is the time when responsibilities are few and you are allowed to do things which may look illogical or may go against the herd mentality. Develop your passion, however, small it may look to others. Do not worry about a job, eventually you will land up with a reasonable job if you are street smart and have common sense and it is these two things that no college teaches you but you have to learn it yourself.
Jai Dehadrai graduated from ILS Pune in 2011, worked as an associate in Karanjawala & Co., got a joint masters from University of Pennsylvania Law School and Wharton University, worked at Kline & Specter Law Firm in the US, came back to India and joined the chamber of Justice S.A. Bobde as a judicial Clerk. Currently he is working as a legal consultant for the Times Group.
Most amazingly he also published a book “Aequabilis” and writes under the name “The Irreverent Lawyer” in the Times of India.
In this interview he talks about
Law school experience from ILS, Pune
Post Graduation from UPenn Law and Wharton University
Work at Karanjawala & Co., Kline & Specter Law Firm and Chambers of Justice Bobde
Current work as a legal consultant in the Times Group
Writing columns under the name of The Irreverent Lawyer
How would you introduce yourself? What motivated you to pursue a career in law?
My family is from a small town near Nagpur, called Dehad. My parents shifted to Delhi in the early 80’s, where my elder sister and I were born. We were both admitted to Delhi Public School – where my sister was hailed as a model student, and I was declared a serial offender.
I was a very naughty student in school and loved playing pranks. Although I was academically bright, my gang of friends and I would invariably get into trouble with our headmistress, Mrs. Raghavan – in whose office we practiced the fine art of talking our way out of trouble! This was probably my first brush with a tough but fair judge. My teachers encouraged me to pursue competitive debating and in the process I fell in love with the challenge of combining words with reason to change someone’s mind.
But it didn’t always work, and I learnt the hard way. We once organised a charity football match and raised a lot of money for the victims of the Tsunami, but without seeking permission from our principal. When she found out about our little ‘match’, she threatened to suspend us for a week. We tried desperately to reason and argue, which soon turned to begging and pleading!
Very similar to a Monday and Friday in the Supreme Court. Nothing worked and eventually our parents were called to school. I was nominated to speak on behalf of my friends, and I successfully bargained for a lenient punishment.
However, our vice principal, Dr. Saini, realized that the best way to deal with us was to give us the opportunity to debate competitively in a courtroom environment. Taking the cue, my partner in crime and classmate Vikrant Pachnanda and I got together to create the first ever moot court society in an Indian school. We organised several moots and had a whale of a time.
It was then that I knew, the law was going to be my calling in life and have never looked back ever since.
How was your experience at I.L.S Law College, Pune? What were your hobbies during your tenure in law school?
Studying at ILS Pune, or ‘Law College’ as it is fondly called was a fabulous experience. The campus is easily one of the most idyllic places to study law– thus aptly called the Oxford of the East. Students at ILS are from different parts of India. It has a cosmopolitan crowd. There is healthy competition – no one will try and jeopardize your work to gain an edge. Some of the sharpest minds at ILS were also the most humble. The student body was very nurturing in that sense.
The college is also blessed with some very committed professors. Right from the doyen of Contract and Civil Law, Mrs. Neelima Bhadbhade to the renowned scholar in Feminist Jurisprudence, Ms. Jaya Sagade. Mr. Ajit Kulkarni had has a roaring practice but yet chose to teach part-time. I can never forget how his lectures on drafting were even attended by practicing lawyers!
In the evenings, my friends and I would play football occasionally (they were far more talented than I could ever hope to be!) or we would go for a swim to beat the heat (ILS has its own pool, which is also built in the midst of a forest). The ILS Canteen was another favourite spot to catch up on the latest campus gossip.
Share with our readers a few actionable tips on managing high grades.
(Jai was one of the most exceptional students at ILS Law College. He had graduated with a first division and achieved highest marks in Interpretation of Statutes, Arbitration and Constitutional Law.)
I think it is really important to be intensely passionate about one’s field – excellence follows automatically. This is a really clichéd phrase but also the truth. My approach in college was to pursue as many moot courts, debates and research articles as possible, especially in the subjects that interested me. I found that it was easier and certainly a lot more fun, to learn about a subject by preparing for a competitive ‘argument’, rather than robotically mugging answers for a predictable university-pattern examination. There’s not much of a challenge in the latter.
Besides, ILS is not an autonomous institution. Thus, the marking is not internal and neither does one receive credit for papers/projects – as is the case in National Law Schools. Making notes, a list of cases and managing time is essential if you want to avoid the stress of deadlines while performing brilliantly.
You have been a mooter through your law school life, what is your take on mooting?
Mooting, was without a doubt my favourite activity at law school. It was the closest thing we had to a courtroom! Unfortunately, some students avoid mooting – for a variety of reasons. Some have stage fright, some consider it a waste of their time and while others believe it is of no utility to their intended line of corporate work. Sadly, they ignore the immense intellectual benefits that a challenging mooting experience can provide. The intellectual gymnastics involved in simultaneously dealing with a tough set of judges and a cut-throat competitor who is waiting to grill you, can get the adrenaline rushing like nothing else. Mooting also forces you to think ‘legally,’ as opposed to studying a statute or case in isolation, as one normally does in a classroom. In a moot, you must apply the law to a given set of facts, build a crisp argument which can stand up against criticism. It also forces you to think on your feet – which rarely happens in our non-Socratic classrooms.
My approach was to treat every opportunity to argue in a moot as ‘consequence-free practice.’ Besides, mooting is so much more than the mere act of submitting a coherent argument before judges. The discipline involved in preparing for a moot court competition tests your commitment for work, to your teammates and most importantly it gives you a glimpse of how gruelling and unforgiving adversarial litigation can really be.
My advice to budding mooters is to grab every opportunity to prepare a well-constructed argument. Never worry about the consequences – if you win, it’s a bonus. Else, it’s just practice for the next case.
Besides, when else are you going to argue a case without a client!
What skills did you get to hone as the President of Debating Society?
Our faculty in charge for the DebSoc, was a very encouraging professor, Mrs. Shobhana Patil. She appointed me the coordinator of the debating society quite by accident. I would meet her often to complain that ILS did not have its own debating competition to hone talent internally. She asked me to stop complaining and to do something about it. Perhaps she also felt it was time that I moved on from debating to organizing debates!
With a phenomenal team of friends, we conceptualised and established, the 1st ever Justice V.M. Tarkunde Memorial Debating Championship in 2010-11. I had interned a few times with Karanjawala and Co. in Delhi, and thus requested Mr. Raian Karanjawala to sponsor the tournament – which he very generously agreed to do. Thanks to his generosity, ILS proudly hosts a very successful parliamentary debating championship every year now.
Hosting any event teaches you many things – like working in a team, building consensus and ultimately surmounting institutional challenges. Most importantly, we had a blast interacting with all the different participants and training the freshers. At one point we even considered inviting a very controversial Maharashtra politician to judge our debate – a request which was politely denied by our principal!
What kind of internships have you done in your five years of law school?
I worked with different firms – to get a flavour of different kinds of work and also to see firm culture first hand. In my first year I worked with Dua Associates in their corporate team. Thereafter, I did a stint with Hemant Sahai and then Karanjawala & Co. I enjoyed the litigation work at Karanjawala& Co. the best, since they had the largest volume of high quality work. In my 4th year, I did a semester long internship with a subsidiary company of Tata Motors – which was also a very rewarding experience.
You managed to make a presentation to Mr. Ratan Tata personally in 2010 while interning for Tata Motors legal department. Tell us about your experience.
As part of my internship with the Tata Motors Subsidiary Company, I was required to conduct a legal audit of that particular unit. I discovered some regulatory anomalies, which I felt were not properly addressed by the management. Dissatisfied with their response, I wrote to Mr. Tata bringing this information to his attention. To my utter surprise, I heard back from his office a few weeks later informing me that he wanted to see me and hear about my findings first hand. The Tata’s flew me into Mumbai and I had an hour-long interaction with Mr. Tata in his corner office at Bombay House. I was enamoured by his humility and his insistence on the highest ethical standards for all his group companies – big or small. He assured me that he would address all of my concerns.
Before going for LL.M , you worked as an Associate at Karanjawala & Co in their criminal law team . How did your appointment at Karanjawala & Co. take place?
My appointment at Karanjawala & Co. was sheer luck. I had interned with the firm twice before, and upon graduating I requested Mr. Karanjawala to give me a job, which he very generously did. He is known to have a big heart! I worked for the first six months in the corporate team and then in the criminal team – I had the good fortune of exploring different aspects of the law, right from mining and electricity matters to the more sensational BMW and Arushi Talwar cases.
I was a part of the team that briefed Mr. Ram Jethmalani for Mr. Nanda’s appeal in the Supreme Court. Although I was the junior most member of the team at the time, my seniors Mr. Sandeep Kapur and Mr. Ravi Sharma gave me ample opportunities to participate in the conferences with Mr. Jethmalani. It is certainly an overwhelming experience to be in the same room as Mr. Jethmalani – his command over the law and his piercing wit are great fun for any young lawyer to observe. I remember distinctly how meticulous and thorough he was during our conferences – with meetings at his Akbar Road chamber often stretching into the wee hours of the morning prior to the hearing. But no one complained.
When the arguments commenced in Mr. Nanda’s case in the Supreme Court, I watched in awe Mr. Jethmalani pieced together all of the material he had absorbed in the preceding days, masterfully connecting the pieces of the puzzle to form a simple yet lethal argument. His ability to interpret the criminal code while unravelling the safeguards inherent in constitutional provisions is simply unsurpassed.
Mr. Karanjawala had very generously agreed to represent the parents of the slain teenager Arushi Talwar without any cost – pro bono. I was lucky in that I was able to assist my senior, Shivek, during various stages of the case in the Supreme Court. It is well known now that the Hon’ble Court did not see any merit in the applications filed before them seeking relief for the parents. But I learnt that responsible advocacy requires vigorous representation to protect your client’s interests. I certainly still believe in the parent’s innocence and perhaps in time their names will get cleared.
Working with a large litigation firm has many advantages. If the firm enjoys a good reputation, it attracts many high profile clients who expect the best quality of work. Mr. Karanjawala runs a meticulous office, and yet the environment of the firm is not stifling or overbearing. Juniors are given many opportunities to get involved in matters and interact directly with clients and Senior Advocates. Since the stakes are high, the pressure to perform tends to be higher.
When did you decide to pursue higher studies? What was your motivation?
I think lawyers must never cease to study – rather, it would be anathema to their professional success if they did so. While ILS was an excellent place to develop a fundamental understanding of the law, I craved a more challenging intellectual environment.
Abroad, the methodology of teaching is very different. Students are expected to be very well prepared before they show up for class. Professors challenge students by employing the Socratic method of teaching, which involves intense class participation. These were novelties for me, since I had only been exposed to a traditional lecture based system of education – as most of us have. My prime motivation for studying abroad was the exposure to a world-class legal education, which I was very fortunate to receive at UPenn.
Besides, I think effective lawyers must keep honing their critical thinking skills. Learning a statute and reproducing answers during a predictable exam might not be the best way of training lawyers. My advice to students contemplating an LL.M. would be to go for it, undoubtedly.
Tell us more about this Joint Master’s Degree from UPenn Law school and Wharton University.
UPenn, like some of the other Ivy League universities in the US, encourages inter-disciplinary course selection. Thus the advantage of being at Penn Law is its proximity and association with Wharton – which is a premier business school. As part of the LL.M., one is permitted to take regular courses at the business school as well – with MBA students. It is truly the best of both worlds – with course credit on one’s transcript from both schools – law and business.
I took a very interesting course on corporate diplomacy, with a Harvard trained Professor, Dr. Sanjay Patnaik. The course covered corporate strategy employed by leading multi-national firms during times of crisis. We interacted with top industry leaders and even leading politicians from the European Union who explained the intricacies of doing business in a complex regulatory environment. Besides this course, Wharton offers a gamut of options ranging from traditional corporate finance to more complex courses on business management. In addition to this, both the law school and Wharton conduct numerous talks and presentations by business and political leaders from across the world.
The exposure is simply mind-boggling – and the result is that one’s worldview is significantly impacted.
What was your topic of dissertation for Masters? Why did you choose that subject for research?
Most graduate programmes in US law schools offer a general LL.M., with a wide array of courses to specialise within the Masters programme. My areas of focus were advanced Corporate Law with M&A and US Anti Trust in the first semester. In the second semester I took litigation and drafting courses – such as Appellate Advocacy and Trial Advocacy.
The great thing about this approach is that it allows the student to customise their learning experience. I wanted a blend of corporate law and US style litigation – which is exactly what I got.
Tell us about your experience working with an eminent personality like Professor Raymond Ripple.
(Jai was the only LL.M student to have been accepted in Professor Raymond Ripple’s class on Appellate Advocacy, where he also received the highest grade.)
Yes! His were one of the best classes I took at Penn Law. Professor Raymond Ripple is actually a full-time senior counsel for a major US Conglomerate, DuPont. He taught as the adjunct professor for appellate advocacy and took only about 9-12 students for his class. I was very fortunate to have been accepted by him.
Professor Ripple taught an intense course about how to draft a high-quality federal court brief. He was very particular about the style, structure and content of the final product. One component of the final examination required us to argue before judges, exactly the same it would happen in a real federal court system. The argument was then recorded and Professor Ripple gave systematic feedback to each student about how to improve his or her presentation and strategy. As someone who is passionate about litigation, it was an enriching experience.
Which events led to your induction into Kline &Specter Law Firm? Were there any interviews or selection processes?
Upon graduating from Penn Law, I applied like everyone else to different law firms. I was very pleasantly surprised when I heard back from Kline &Specter, since it was my first choice. The email came when I was celebrating my graduation with my classmates in Miami – so we had two reasons to celebrate. They called me in for an interview with a Senior Partner, who later became my boss. We spoke about my past experience and also my interest for the specialised nature of work at K&S – pharmaceutical mass torts. Yes, incidentally, I was also the first foreign trained lawyer to have been accepted at the firm – but I owe that to the magnanimity of the founding partners who decided to take a chance with me.
How was it like working in a foreign law firm? How different was the work environment in the USA, from that in India?
American firms – much like top-tier Indian law offices, are very professional and manage their time well. There is a clear expectation for high quality work – which is recognised and duly rewarded. The routine at Kline &Specter was very comfortable and hours stretched only when there was a deadline or a key deposition coming up. The work environment was friendly and supportive. Watching Mr. Specter argue before a full bench of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court (9 judges) was an excellent experience. Top trial lawyers in the US prepare meticulously for their cases – a trait I saw in Mr. Jethmalani in India too.
Our readers would like to know about the whole case which you were involved with your partner. Please share few words about your experience.
(Jai has worked in the pharmaceutical mass torts division with the firm’s partner, Mr. Lee Balefsky, on a multi district litigation (MDL) involving a billion dollar law suit against Johnson & Johnson and American Medical Systems for manufacturing faulty pelvic implants.)
Kline &Specter is one of the top litigation firms on the US East Coast for complex pharmaceutical mass tort cases. They have built a reputation for pursuing meritorious cases in a fair manner – they are not after easy wins. I learnt from Mr. Specter that a good lawyer must keep his client’s interest at the core of his advocacy. This was especially true for those clients who had suffered horrific injuries for no fault of theirs. They deserve the highest level of commitment from those entrusted to represent them – which is what the lawyers at K&S strove to do everyday.
My work in the Mass Torts division with Mr. Balefsky was very exciting. I was involved in a complex multi-district litigation involving a medical implant manufactured by the top names in the industry. We represented a fairly large group of plaintiffs who had suffered terrible injuries as a result of these devices. Before actually taking the cases to trial, there is immense pre-trial preparatory work that goes into it. The discovery of documents can into lakhs of documents – medical papers, contracts and regulatory filings. Junior lawyers must filter through these papers with a fine toothcomb to create an arsenal of questions with which to conduct depositions of the corporate players.
Thereafter, you returned to India and joined the chamber of Justice S.A. Bobde as his judicial law clerk. What prompted you to make this choice and what made this shift possible?
The founding partner at K&S – Mr. Shanin Specter, apart from being a brilliant lawyer, is also a very supportive attorney mentor. He encouraged my work at the firm and told me that my work was very well regarded.
However, when I got the opportunity to assist Justice Bobde in India – I went to Mr. Specter with the honest question, as to what I should do next. He told me to follow my heart and to do what I felt was best for my career. He also told me that the doors to his office would be open after my clerkship concluded. The next step was obvious – I booked myself on the next plane to New Delhi and dove straight into working with his lordship. I have always dreamt of litigating in the Indian Supreme Court – and this shift made it possible.
What was your work profile while working as a judicial clerk under Justice S.A. Bobde? What do you think are the most essential things required to excel in judicial clerkship?
Justice S. A. Bobde is a very meticulous and hard working individual – he expects the same level of commitment from his law clerk. Despite many of my friends questioning my decision to pursue a clerkship at this stage of my career – I felt it was the best decision of my professional life thus far. Working at the apex gives you a top down view of how the matter has progressed through the courts – you get to see which arguments worked and which didn’t. One begins to appreciate the judge’s thought process too – which is trained like a hawk to filter out irrelevant arguments.
To be successful in a clerkship, I feel it is essential to fully understand what is expected from one’s role. The clerk must play a solid supporting role to his or her judge – by carefully following the judge’s instructions, and also by taking the initiative to make the inflow of matters as efficient as possible. Sadly, judges in India are swamped with matters through the week – the workload is truly difficult to fathom until you actually see the volume of matters that come into the office.
I had the opportunity to assist lordship on several criminal and civil matters. The most interesting of the lot was an arbitration decision that centred around the computation of interest on an arbitral award. There is much to be learnt simply by observing a judge.
Ms. Sunita Narain and Mr. Lakhan Mehrotra
How did you think of writing a book?
(All India Reporter published Jai’s book, “Aequabilis”, which is a detailed legal study of former Chief Justice of India R.S. Pathak’s landmark judgments. It also discusses the Bhopal Gas tragedy decision in great depth and the development of mass-tort jurisprudence in India.)
This book happened by sheer accident. I’ve always looked up to Justice R.S. Pathak, as a child would admire his hero. Justice Pathak had a very gentle demeanour and an impressive command over the English language. He was an unassuming man and I was greatly inspired by him. His manner was extremely polished – a result of his fine lineage no doubt (his father was the Vice President and a famous advocate – G.S. Pathak), and he had this knack of being able to connect effortlessly with those several decades younger than him.
When he passed away, rather suddenly in 2007, I wanted to pay a tribute to his memory. When my efforts to organise a memorial lecture for him in my college did not materialise, I felt dejected and demoralised. Instead, I decided to immerse myself in his judgments and other writings – to reacquaint myself with my role model. Over time, I had read through nearly all of his judgments from his days as a high court judge and then his landmark decisions in the Supreme Court. I sensed a pattern in his writings, which was clearly distinguishable from the other cases I had read. Soon, I began critically analysing his judgments – and before I knew it, I had a collection of case comments and essays that aligned with Pathak’s core juridical philosophy.
The main chapter of the book, however, deals with the Union Carbide decision of the SC which awarded nearly half a billion dollars as compensation to the victims of the gas leak in Bhopal. I spent several hundred hours analysing this judgment and all the criticism that had been written against the decision. I realised that a lot of the hate came from journalistic reportage that had little understanding of the inherent delays in the Indian legal system – a fact that was acknowledged even by the Supreme Court. My book attempts to set the record straight in this regard – and counters the unfounded journalistic and academic criticism that this decision has faced over the decades. The fact that the Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld the original judgment is testament to the integrity and foresight of the Pathak Bench.
Share with us your experience in getting your book published and what was the reception to your book?
The editors at AIR Nagpur were extremely supportive and encouraged me to publish my writings in the form of a book. Interestingly, Mr. Ratan Tata has penned the foreword to the book and has praised the chapter on Union Carbide. Ambassador L.L. Mehrotra released the book last September at the India International Centre. The release was followed by a panel discussion with Ms. Sunita Narain – a noted environmentalist who debated the merits of the Bhopal Judgment. All in all – it was a very rewarding experience.
Currently, you are working as a Legal Consultant to the Vice Chairman and Managing Director of the Times of India Group, Mr. Samir Jain. How did you go about bagging this job?
Yes, I am presently attached with the Vice Chairman’s office at the Times Group. I wanted to understand the intricacies of the media landscape in India and also learn about corporate strategy – from a lawyer’s perspective.
I consider myself extremely fortunate to have been picked by the company to assist the CEO Group. I applied and was interviewed by their HR department, before being confirmed for the position.
Please give our readers some tips to nail an interview.
I think it’s really important to be honest and clear in any interview. Most HR professionals want candidates who can think and articulate clearly. It doesn’t help either if one has a negative attitude during the interaction – that would be a big red flag for any organisation.
How do you balance and make out time for writing blogs and other newspapers with your profession?
(Jai is one of the youngest columnists by the Times of India in 2012 and he regularly writes under the name “The Irreverent Lawyer” on legal and political issues as your hobby. Healso writes occasionally for the Hindustan Times, Niti Central, Indian Exponent, Power Politics and the Daily Pennsylvanian.)
Writing helps me to de-stress! With all the views and counterviews flying around on the 24X7 media, I find it very soothing to amplify my own voice of reason to cut through the chatter. I usually write only about issues that I’m passionate about. I dislike hypocrisy and you’ll notice that some of my writings attempt to expose the rampant doublespeak that certain groups indulge in.
I honestly do believe that lawyers can play a productive role in a democratic polity –by speaking up for the weakest sections of society. We’re also bound by our profession’s code of ethics – which demands that we strive for justice, inside and outside the courtroom.
Early mornings work best for me when I want to get some writing done. This way there’s nothing to disturb my thought process – since everyone’s either asleep, or they think that I’m still asleep!
Has writing been a passion ever since childhood? Do you have any future plans of taking up writing as a career?
Litigation is definitely my first love and I am committed to it professionally. Besides, I would make a terrible ‘fiction’ writer – I know that for a fact! Writing is a relaxing hobby for me, and I enjoy indulging in it occasionally. Unfortunately, I feel that I lack the self-restraint and neutrality that a career-journalist should possess. I feel too passionately about certain issues, and I make no effort to hide my biases. Hence writing as a journalist is ruled out for me. Besides, I enjoy the thrill of litigation far too much to do anything else!
What message do you want to give to the Government for not paying attention to this issue?
Judges in India are terribly underpaid – and it is a very serious issue that no one talks about. To compound the issue, our judges tend to be very traditional, and thus choose to suffer in silence to preserve the judiciary’s dignity. Despite their ever expanding workload and long hours, and the astronomical rise of lawyers’ fees, judicial salaries have largely stagnated at unrealistic levels. Good lawyers may one day refuse elevation on the ground of inadequate (in fact insultingly low) pay.
My article highlights this issue and warns the government of an impending constitutional disaster if this disparity is not addressed.
Lastly what would be your message for law students?
The only recipe for success in our profession is perseverance and hard work. Unfortunately, there are far too many young lawyers in Delhi and Mumbai, who are desperate to make a quick buck by adopting unethical means. Please don’t become like them. They latch on to established lawyers to become middlemen between clients and their own seniors. In the process, they swindle the client by over quoting the fee. Sadly, these so-called ‘lawyers’ never realise that their reputation at the Bar suffers immensely – and they are labelled for life.
Justice Pathak gave me excellent advice, which might be relevant to your readers too – “Work honestly for what you want. If it comes too easily, it’ll probably leave just as easily too.”
Nishad Pai Vaidya graduated from NLU, Jodhpur in 2013. But he then decided to forgo a career in law to pursue his passion, sports journalism. He has been a freelance writer for the Mumbai Indians IPL team, studio lecturer for Banquet Sports, and a cricket correspondent for CricketCountry.com.
In this interview we speak to him about:
Studying in NLUJ
Making the transition from law to cricket
His experience as a sports journalist
How would you like to introduce yourself to our readers?
At present, I am a cricket correspondent at CricketCountry.com. I cover the matches, follow the events etc. I am a graduate of, NLU Jodhpur. I spent five of my years there, and got a degree in B.A. LL.B Hons. And currently I am a full time sports journalist.
What motivated you to choose law as a career?
I was originally a science student. I took up science just like my friends.. We all tend to get brainwashed at that age and are convinced that it is best to take that path and become a doctor or an engineer. Ultimately, once I took up science, I realized that it wasn’t my cup of tea. I had to do something where I really, perhaps, could have the chance to shine. So, in my mind even when I was just 16 or 17, I always wanted to do something related to cricket in the media. I could have gone for media science, but then my parents impressed upon me the need to have a solid degree that would add value. I went through a lot of literature about law, and what lawyers do. I was attracted by it all.
In retrospect, how would you compare NLUJ with other premier law institutions of the country?
I wouldn’t exactly compare NLUJ to other law schools, but I feel that it was different in terms of the infrastructure we had, and the number of courses we had. At that time, NLUJ was the only college offering BBA.L.L.B. The campus was nice and quiet, with a lot of space for sports. That was what allowed us to host an All India Law School Sports Meet called Yuvardha, which is now a biennial event. We had our own individual rooms, which gave us the space we needed in a typical day. That is why we felt that we had an edge over other law schools. There was a person in our batch who had obtained a really high rank, and could have gone to NALSAR or any other popular law college, but he chose to be at NLU Jodhpur because of the whole package. People talk about academics, but that is just one part of life. There are so many things which can’t be taught in class. You have to go out there and figure it out, all by yourself. When you come to law school you are just a kid, and you start learning how to manage yourself; you learn from your bad days; you realize how to manage time and studies. Over the years you learn a wide range of things, apart from academics, which contribute in shaping you into a complete individual. One thing which is very important at this stage is writing projects and making presentations. In law school, I always started writing a project from scratch. The learning curve which you achieve during such research works is unparalleled. This is also something you would be required to do as a lawyer.
What internships did you pursue when at law school and what influenced your decisions to do so?
I did two internships at law firms; these were experiences that I enjoyed, but when I saw lawyers drafting case memos, arguing for their clients, etc. I knew that my heart was not in it. So after my third year, I just stopped doing law internships. And then I completely switched over to journalism. As far as law internships are concerned, they do help you in dealing with reality. For example, even in my second year, I used to feel that courts worked the way they were depicted in movies and TV shows. They were supposed to be glamorous places. But the first court I went to left me shocked. I came to know what goes into becoming a lawyer. I didn’t want to be one of those conventional lawyers. And in my 3rd year, I went to intern at CricketCountry.com and have been there ever since.
How did you approach CricketCountry.com for an internship?
It was quite interesting. Today, we are in a world that is connected through internet where nothing can be hidden. In a way it’s good because we have so much exposure, as compared to our parents’ generation. I knew that I was not going to end up as a routine lawyer after my last law internship. I decided that I would never step into a law firm for an internship again. I felt that even if I would work in the best law firm of India, I would be a miserable guy. It would also not be fair to someone who deserved the internship more than me. Thereafter I started writing a blog during the 2011 World cup. One of my friends introduced me to a veteran journalist, Mr. H Natarajan. He is one of the biggest names in the field in the country, and used to be the Sports Editor of IndianExpress at one time. I connected with him on Facebook, and sent him my blog link. I also messaged him, telling him that I needed someone for guidance. He replied the next day, saying that I could write, and that CricketCountry was a platform that was there for me. He became my mentor and guide since then. This was during my 6th Semester- that’s when I started writing for them. Soon after, there was this one particular match during IPL 2011, where Sachin Tendulkar was declared to be out based on a wrong replay. I was the only one who spotted the error and I wrote an article about it and sent it to CricketCountry. When the article was put up, it went viral! news channels, online media – basically everyone was talking about it.They were also putting across the fact that a twenty year old law student picked up this mistake. A lot of things changed after that. Later, Mr. Natarajan congratulated me. At that time CricketCountry was just starting up, thus it benefited me, and it benefited everyone else. I requested Mr. Natarajan for an opportunity to learn along with him in the upcoming summer vacation, and he gladly accepted my internship request. I learnt how to frame, compile and edit news reports; how to cover a typical cricket match. That is how I applied for an internship at CricketCountry and I have been a part of it ever since.
How did you make up your mind to pursue sports journalism?
Life is not just about following what others do, and what path others have taken. So many beautiful things have happened when people have dared to go and chase what they want. On the one hand people tell me even today that if I were in a law firm, I could have seen huge financial success, but then I have to ask myself :would I have been happy in terms of my work? Even now, I work for most of my day, but while doing that work I am happy. I enjoy what I do, and there’s always something exciting in store. With my colleagues, I am always discussing Sachin Tendulkar, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Sourav Ganguly and others during work hours, which other people get to talk about only during their tea time. For me, it is this fresh excitement at work I feel every day that motivates me. Initially, it was tough. People used to constantly ask me why I had chosen this path. However, then the years at college passed by and in my fifth year, I was penning down articles every day. With the guidance of Mr. Natarajan, I improved in whatever way I could. One and a half years later, I started getting noticed. We created a YouTube channel and I was anchoring videos. Soon after that I was called for a programme on national television, where I was involved in a cricket talk-show for an hour. This is what I had dreamed of since long back, and ultimately I realized it. Also, fortunately, I have featured in a few more since then. And if I could do it once, I realized that I could do it again. To try new things is not easy; it tests you mentally, physically and emotionally, pushes you to your limits. I have been blessed to get good exposure early in my career, and it is up to me now to work hard and persist with it. This is just the start.
How did CricketCountry work out?
As lawyers you tend to do mainly procedural jobs. But in the larger frame of life, there is no such procedure. So what works for me might not work for somebody else. The least one can do is to exercise the right to write a blog, you have the power of YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. You should reach out to people with what you are doing, promote yourself. And ultimately something or the other will work out. I have been very fortunate to meet Natarajan Sir. There isn’t any set procedure; you can do it your own way using the power of the internet. You have to build contacts, you have to reach out to people, that’s how you can head on to any field today.
Do you think there is a scope for lawyers in the sports journalism arena?
There is scope of law in sports journalism, but in a very general sense. You have to be very sensitive while writing stories. Your words have to be perfect. If you miss one word here or there, the meaning of a sentence can change, and you may come under some legal fire. Things like defamation, copyright, match fixing, are being dealt with everyday. In a way there is scope, but of course you are a journalist first, being a lawyer can be an added value.
Do you feel like your training as a lawyer has helped you in any way?
Yes, truly. Whatever I learnt in those five years at Law School – it does help me. You read something and you how it can be expressed in exact words. For example, being a lawyer, you know how important the word ‘alleged’ is. Also I would say that I wasn’t a good writer when I joined college, but writing all those projects helped me grow.
Tell us about your workplace and what a typical workday in your life looks like?
When it comes to workplace, it depends. I have played different roles. As far as our YouTube channel is concerned, when I have to make videos for that, then a workday would include getting the footage in place, getting the shots ready, getting yourself ready for the shoot, and then once the shot is done, sitting for another day getting the shots edited. When it comes to the news desk, you edit the copy, you see what the flow of news is like, and then you write down an article describing whatever happened. And legal side of sports controversy – yes I do get to work on that. For example, when the controversy broke out last year during the IPL, I did a few articles on why spot fixing is not an offence under Indian Law, and what exactly is an offence, among other things. It also includes opportunities to interview experienced lawyers. I feel great to do that as far as sports controversies are concerned. It’s not only the law of the place, but even the laws of cricket that I work on. The educational background I had makes it easier to interpret those laws.
How do you deal with rough patches?
So far I have not faced any controversies, as such. However, what happens usually is that when you have a story, you have to be absolutely sure about it. It also depends on whether your interviewees are conversing with you on the record or off the record. Suppose that during your interviews, an important person says something a bit controversial. If this was said on the record, then it is brilliant, if not then you can still check with such persons, showing them what they said, and asking them if that is what they truly meant. If they assent to what has been quoted, then you can move ahead with publishing the same. If someone had commented on something then it’s your responsibility to make sure that it is on the record and it is clear. Partly, I am lucky that I didn’t have to experience such rough patches and partly because I have been guided very well. It is important to be honest with the job.
Where do you see yourself five years down the line?
It’s very difficult to say. I just look back at my five years, and catch sight of where I was when I was eighteen, and I realize that at that point of time, I was still very serious about my law career. I couldn’t imagine that at 23 I would be doing what I am, currently. Five years down the line, I would certainly like to still be connected with sports journalism. But how I do that, and where I reach is not something under my control. At most, I can give my 100% – I can give my best shot, and leave the rest to God. I haven’t even taken my bar exam, in fact. So, I won’t return to law career.
What would be your suggestion for law students keen on taking up a job in the world of sports journalism?
The best suggestion I can give all students is that if you are, say, a football fan, or a basketball fan, or a formula one fan, then you should probably start writing about it. Promote those articles; maybe reach out to people who matter. Start contacting those websites which allow you the opportunity to showcase those articles. It’s very important to be on the web, what with the kind of influence you can have on the web. If you are interested in video journalism or something similar, then you could possibly start your own YouTube channel. The possibilities are endless. You can create your own niche; create your own way to reach your destination. My advice would be start writing if you are really into it and follow it diligently.
