Super Lawyer

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  • Sunila Awasthi, Partner at AZB & Partners In a Discussion With SuperLawyer Giving Insights On Practice Areas Such As Corporate Advisory, Employment Laws, And Information Technology

    Sunila Awasthi, Partner at AZB & Partners In a Discussion With SuperLawyer Giving Insights On Practice Areas Such As Corporate Advisory, Employment Laws, And Information Technology

    This interview has been published by Prabhjot Singh, Priyanka Karwa and The SuperLawyer Team

    What was your motivation behind choosing law as a career?

    While I did not consciously plan a career in law, circumstances led me into it. While in Class 12th, my favourite subject was political science and when it was time to decide on graduation, Lady Shri Ram College for Women was my first choice because of its reputation as an excellent college.  I was fortunate enough to get in and it was a life-changing experience for me. It was at LSR I learnt that staying silent (when you really had so many questions to ask) was injurious to only yourself – something that has helped me tremendously in my journey and I pass it onto the new generation! Parallelly, the trajectory of my personal life had already made me super conscious of rights of women at a very young age so the desire to know the legal position had taken a strong hold.

    Additionally, the family had been engaged in civil litigation for long and I was exposed to legal documents, working of litigation system in our country and the immense frustration that came with delays! After graduating in Political Science Honours, I decided to study law and joined the Faculty of Law, Delhi University. My sole motivation to have a career was financial independence and it turned out to be a career in the legal profession. Frankly it was unplanned, but I deeply believe that it was destined for me.

    What were the challenges that you faced in the beginning of your career?

    The first challenge was to find a job which did not require me to be a litigator! I passed out as a lawyer in 1992. No one, including myself had heard of “corporate law”.  But I had absolute clarity that I was not going to practise as a litigator. This puzzled my family as they would ask “then why did you do law?”. I had no answer only a strong belief that there must be something a lawyer can do which does not require her to go to court! I had witnessed the pathetic legal system during the 1980s and early 1990s, with its accompanying unimaginable harassment of litigants.

    The disastrous infrastructure of the courts at Tis Hazari, one of the district level courts at Delhi and only slightly better facilities at the Delhi High Court, were equally demotivating factors. Being a first-generation lawyer and not knowing any lawyers to guide me, I was clueless.

    I would look up classified ads in the newspaper and go for interviews in small companies looking for in-house lawyers. The few interviews that I did have, stalled at my refusal to go to court. In desperation I picked up the yellow pages of the telephone directory (yes, that was during my lifetime!) and shortlisted 10 law firms listed in that (my sole criterion was the distance I would have to travel in the DTC bus from my home – an unavoidable nightmare for any Delhi girl!). To cut a long story short, it was serendipity which brought me to Ajay Bahl & Co. which was looking for a lawyer who did not want to go to court since its corporate law work was just starting to pick up!

    The second challenge was related to the environment in which I started my corporate law career – remember this is 1993 – no precedents (for Joint Venture Agreements etc.); no computers or internet, no search engines or data resources – only physical books; recent economic liberalization meant that everything was new for the regulators, the clients and the lawyers – exciting times full of potential but also a lot more of extra effort was required and the learning curve was really steep! Looking back, I feel it were those initial challenges of scarce resources and limited support which honed my skills to be able to roll up my sleeves and dig in – persistence, resilience and sheer grit to make it happen!

    Sunila as per you, what are the skills required for being a corporate lawyer and any roadmap that a professional should follow to be the same? 

    This is a very difficult question to answer. I have seen such varied people with different skill sets doing well as corporate lawyers that in my view it boils down to individual abilities and destiny. But in general, based on my observations and personal experience, some of the essential skills in today’s scenario are

    (i) an analytical mind to be able to understand the rationale of what we are advising clients;

    (ii) effective communication, whether verbal or in writing, so that non-legal persons can also understand your advise; (iii) confidence, which comes from doing your home-work well – that requires knowledge of the law, doing proper research (as opposed to Google search!), understanding the client perspective and business needs;

    (iv) having an eye for detail and at the same time ability to look at the big picture;

    (v) ability to think things through – this helps tremendously in not giving theoretical advise to clients – world over businesses push advisors to think out-of-the-box to provide workable solutions which are also legally complaint;

    (vi) integrity – towards your profession, the law, your colleagues, organization and clients. Clients disclose the most sensitive commercial information relating to their business to their legal advisors so gaining and maintaining that trust is life-long effort!

    In hindsight I have not followed a roadmap, so I am unable to prescribe a roadmap as I believe its every individual’s journey that she has to undertake.

    Among all the practice areas, i.e. corporate advisory, employment laws, Information Technology, e-commerce, etc, Sunila, which one do you find the most interesting and challenging? 

    I have been fortunate enough to gain experience in diverse practice areas within corporate law at different points in time and each have been, in their own way, interesting as well as challenging. When I first started, I drafted commercial contracts taking help from conveyancing books! When you draft something from scratch, you understand the legal basis for which each provision that is included in the contract and sync it with client requirement. Today, with standard template forms and existing precedents, this opportunity to learn drafting is a huge loss to the profession. For me, the next phase came quite quickly because India had entered the era of economic liberalization.

    Those initial years kept corporate lawyers like me very busy with Joint Ventures & Technical Collaborations with its related drafting & negotiating contracts; obtaining regulatory approvals for foreign investment; advising foreign clients on setting up operations in India which included a whole gamut of laws relating to employment, leasing of offices, compliances and the like.

    There was never a dull moment in those days! Then the mammoth legal due diligence exercises took centre-stage. The excitement revolved around which new city the DD team was going to be based in and for how many days! I found the DD exercises gave incredible opportunity to learn about new laws, regulations and understanding different businesses. The variety for me ranged from alcohol industry, automotive parts, media, pharmaceutical companies to IT and BPOs. The advent of the Information Technology Act, 2000, again shifted the focus of work for me and new practise areas were evolving with online businesses throwing new challenges.

    The big technology companies with large workforce brought its own employment related challenges and learnings. The focus expanded to employee issues including sexual harassment at the workplace. Laws kept changing trying to keep pace with technological developments and new businesses in fast-changing corporate world. I believe the last decade or so has seen the fastest growth in terms of new practise areas for corporate lawyers with data privacy, e-commerce, fintech, crypto, ESG (environmental, social and governance), gig economy and therefore gig workers and the like taking centre stage. From my perspective, even after 30 years, what’s not to love about corporate law?

    How do you push through your worst times?

    The support of your family and your workplace is vital especially in tough times! I have been blessed in both these areas and it is their support which has made it possible for me to face any and every challenge and come out stronger. Over the past few years, for personal reasons I have been actively practising “Gratitude” and “Forgiveness”, including by attending programs conducted by subject-matter specialists, and I have benefitted immensely from it in my professional life too. It has given me a different perspective on life, made me calmer, less stressed and given me the strength to push through some of the toughest times with equanimity and grace. The fact that these changes make it easier to deal with tough clients or work situations is a bonus!

    Talking about work-life balance, there has been ample amount of discussion on health issues as a lawyer, what do you believe are the best practices to maintain the equilibrium? 

    I believe that there is no perfect formula to achieve the right balance simply because the balance must be decided by each person individually. Long before work-life balance became a “thing”, I took a very conscious decision to prioritize my family without compromising on my professional role – this is easier said than done in real life, but I still follow it. Once there is clarity on this, not only will you subconsciously work in sync with this principle, but circumstances also arise which will be conducive to achieving this objective. To use my favourite line, it is as if you set a positive intention for yourself, and the Universe conspires to deliver it to you!!

    The other important decision that I took consciously was to build a team which would make my life easier because no one can be on the treadmill constantly and forever! My mantra was, and continues to be, mentor people to take your place so that you get to get off the treadmill whenever you want to slow down or take a break. There should be no place for insecurity as there is no substitute for experience.

    My workplace gave me freedom and flexibility to achieve this objective and I am grateful for that support. The starting point for this is the coming together of people with right work ethic/drive/passion and committed to their own professional growth as well as the growth of the team and therefore the organization. Teamwork means you can delegate, share responsibilities and distribute the pressure, hopefully equitably – what better way to grow professionally without compromising on family time or “life outside of work”?

    I am also a great believer in taking periodic breaks with complete disengagement from work– whether for family vacations or doing some programs for mental well-being. I also encourage team members to plan vacations or short trips at periodic intervals and spend time with family – in my book switching off is good for rejuvenating your mind and re-charging your batteries – both for personal and professional life – so the work-life balance happens organically. Finally, if one is assured of support from team leader, team and the workplace in times of personal emergencies or family crisis then the major cause for stress is automatically removed.

    How do you make contract drafting and managing look easier for your clients? Our readers are interested in knowing that.

    I am not sure about this question? Most big companies today do contract management internally and do not look at external lawyers for this function. And as I mentioned above, no one is doing drafting today – everything is templated.

    Sunila, could you highlight some of your success habits that enable you to meet your goal?

    If you work as part of an organization then understanding the ethos of your workplace is very important. I have always been a team-player and not pursued individual glory – nothing wrong with pursuing that but I personally have not been motivated by it. As I said earlier, financial independence was my sole driving force to pursue a career. However, over the years, witnessing that your individual success is intrinsically linked to the success of others working with you and of your organization, it motivated me to make conscious effort towards building a solid team which imbibes the true philosophy of the organization.

    Our objective is to deliver the best quality & effective legal advice and support to clients in a timely and cost-efficient way. Simultaneously, the workplace environment provides equal opportunities, encourages dedication to work without compromising on personal priorities, recognizes talent & merit and rewards excellence & commitment. It may sound unreal, but it has been experiential for me. 

    Building a sustainable team has been at the core of my professional success. In my experience, individuals working together cohesively, appreciating & supporting each other while subscribing to same core values tend to thrive. And to make an effective team I put great emphasis on

    (i) mentoring juniors,

    (ii) delegating work & responsibilities while being accessible for guidance,

    (iii) direct interaction with clients,

    (iv) providing regular feedback including appreciation,

    (v) pro-active thinking & taking initiative,

    (vi) professional conduct & integrity, no matter the circumstances,

    (vii) trainings to enhance knowledge building/sharing & staying updated,

    (viii) equitable opportunities to grow individually,

    (ix) support in personal crisis,

    (x) rewards and recognition.

    I firmly believe that the present status of my professional life reflects a sense of belonging and being invested in my work and workplace. Flexibility to evolve and adapt with changing times, openness to keep learning and hear/implement new ideas, approachability and humility have all been contributory factors as well.

    If you could do it all over again, would you choose the same path for yourself? If not, what would you change?

    As I said previously, I did not consciously choose this path, I believe the path chose me! I don’t really believe in do-overs, so I guess at this stage in life I would not like to speculate what could have been…I think it’s a waste of time. What is, it is – that’s all.

    What advice would you give someone who is considering being in this field?

    Do not be blindly allured by the so-called glamour and money associated with a career in corporate law – it is a lot of hard work, nose to the grind, sheer dedication and commitment, before you see the fruits of your labour – this is true for any profession or career. The pressure is compounded by essential requirement to stay up-to-date with any changes in laws/ regulations; case law including impact of judgements or interpretation by courts or regulators. I cannot think of another profession which requires this constant necessity to be fully aware with the latest (legal) position – even if it pertains to knowledge of only your area of practise.

    Finally, in my experience, two factors which are highly overrated, which seriously impact law students or in-coming lawyers in corporate law practice, are firstly, the pedigree of the law college and secondly, the internships done while studying law. I may be old-school, but I sincerely believe, both these factors make little difference as long as the candidate is clear in her focus on what she wants to do and why.

    In all my hiring for my team since I became a partner almost 15 years ago, I have never reviewed a resume based on law college or internships or even previous organization. Having most of the best performers from so-called worst or average law colleges and unknown law firms, I believe it is mostly individual capability and drive which determines the professional path of every person (of course on an esoteric level, I would add destiny or serendipity to it as well!).

    So do not get bogged down by “pedigree” of your law college or “status” of law firms or organizations you intern or previously worked with (whether its Tier I or not etc.), instead focus on what is it that you want to do and how would you want to achieve it.

    Get in touch with Sunila Awasthi-

  • Khushboo Luthra, Associate Partner at Singhania & Partners LLP In Conversation With SuperLawyer On Importance Of Practice Development Department For Growth Oriented Firms

    Khushboo Luthra, Associate Partner at Singhania & Partners LLP In Conversation With SuperLawyer On Importance Of Practice Development Department For Growth Oriented Firms

    This interview has been published by Prabhjot Singh, Priyanka Karwa and The SuperLawyer Team

    Why did you pursue LLB after MBA-Marketing?

    A lot of what happens in our life is because of going with the flow. There were forces around me which pushed me towards law. I finished my MBA during the subprime crisis and had a few friends who were UPSC aspirants, and we used to have enriching discussions around laws, governance, economics, policy, management, international business, and regulatory environment etc.

    Law interested me and I decided to appear for University of Delhi’s Law Entrance Exam without any pressure in my head as I had already secured a PPO from Confederation of Indian Industry after my MBA-internship there. That year most of the law entrance exam was focussed on current affairs and I did not know those socialisations with friends will help me clear the entrance exam.

    You got a job at a Band 1 firm as a professional support lawyer, but you choose law practice development as career?

    I had a good 4 year long and successful stint with industry chambers early in my career. I was fortunate to get international exposure as well. A friend referred my CV for the opening as a Professional Support Lawyer in a renowned law firm and I got an opportunity to work on competition law matters with the finest minds in the country.

    I had thoroughly enjoyed my work in FICCI which involved a lot of marketing-communication, events, writing, and media relations but soon I realised that I was not enjoying being the “lawyer”.

    My heart wanted to pursue a career in management of business of law. Then I got this opportunity with Singhania & Partners which resonated with me and was a perfect opening aligning with my education background (MBA & LL.B.) , interests in communication management, and experience.

    Tell us something about Singhania & Partners and your role as Head- Practice Development at the law firm.

    Singhania & Partners is a full-service law firm and is one of the best places to work. We are recommended in the area of Corporate-M&A, Arbitration & Litigation, Employment Law, Banking and Finance etc. Over the years firm has established itself as an expert in construction disputes and infrastructure sector.  

    I joined the firm as Practice Development Manager in 2015 and was managing communications. Soon after that Mr. Ravi Singhania, Managing Partner entrusted me with implementing his vision which was to ensure that quality and correct legal content should reach information seekers through digital means. Later on, I also led the digital transformation within the organization which is still a work in progress. Over the years my role has expanded to include campus outreach and internships management as well besides other strategic practice development initiatives of the firm.

    What is your two cents of advice for other similar organizations planning digital transformation?

    Having a vision on the objectives of digitisation is an absolute must for driving the digital strategy and creating a digital ecosystem for growth driven firms. No organization would regret investing in technology, each organization is on a different learning curve and systems and processes will continue to improve once we are on this journey. Sooner you start the better it is.

    However, it is must to have a clarity on the objectives of digitisation. For instance, one should know whether through digitisation we are trying to improve marketing and client outreach or reduce duplicity of efforts in matters management, HR process improvement or internal records management or creating a digital ecosystem.

    Lastly, whatever is the objective of investing in technology make sure you click with the service provider. Service provider is as important as the software you are purchasing. Interview and assess the delivery team assigned to you. Make sure that the implementation team is committed, has shown the stability with the company and have genuine interest in understanding your business and its people. Document minutest of details, work on end user feedback, improvise, and check progress regularly.

    Why it has become strategically important to have a practice development department for growth oriented firms?

    We are living in information age; organizations must invest in ensuring that the right communication about their expertise and services reaches to information seeker. Practice development department bridges this gap and play an important role in ensuring visibility across social media, reputation management, and website management through knowledge management of the firm.

    They help create right internal and external communication to create a cohesive experience, and unified message for the prospective customers, prospective employees, internal and external stakeholders, and clients across all digital and physical platforms.

    They do so through various means such as informative content dissemination to demonstrate the firm’s expertise, managing submissions to legal directories, maintaining a record of the firm’s engagement, and facilitating conversations between fee-earners and service seekers.

    There are a lot of start-ups around law practice development consulting. Do you see law firms outsourcing this work to these start-ups?

     Yes, there are a lot of start-ups around practice development consulting of law firm. This is a growing area. However, in my opinion, no outsider can do much to assist in practice development till the firm leaders do not have the buy-in of fee-earners. Planning and execution are two sides of the same coin, the consultants might give good suggestions and plan for you but there is more to it than meet the eyes and at the end execution of these initiatives cannot happen without the involvement of internal stakeholders. If your internal team/ fee-earners are not aligned with you in meeting the practice development objectives consultants won’t be able to deliver much. Those who will be able to bridge the gap between planning and execution will survive and flourish.

    What advice would you give to someone considering a career in the legal field?

    I would recommend aspiring lawyers to do as many internships as possible and take exposure in different practice areas. Even if you have decided on practice area for you, I would recommend that lawyers should do internships in other practice areas as well to develop a holistic perspective.

    I strongly advocate that law students must do internship in the practice development departments of the law firms, and it becomes even more important if they want to establish their own practice after finishing their law degree.

    Get in touch with Khushboo Luthra-

  • Deborshi Barat, Counsel at S&R Associates In a Discussion With SuperLawyer On Current Demands And Importance Of Practical Skills In The Legal Profession

    Deborshi Barat, Counsel at S&R Associates In a Discussion With SuperLawyer On Current Demands And Importance Of Practical Skills In The Legal Profession

    This interview has been published by Prabhjot Singh, Priyanka Karwa and The SuperLawyer Team

    What motivated you to take law as a career and how has been the decision so far?

    Law was appealing at the level of ideas when I was young. In law school, like at NUJS, said ideas tend to get affirmed (absent extraordinary circumstances). For those of us who didn’t grow up with lawyers in the family, some self-selection invariably occurs. Since law wasn’t part of the Indian board curriculum in my time, certain proxies, such as affinities for logic, language, argument, etc., informed the decision-making process. I’m not sure if these proxies are useful, let alone representative, but we do rely on them disproportionately at that stage of life, given informational and experiential scarcity.

    It’s been a pretty good journey so far. I’ve lucked out over time with regard to being able to dabble variously, and I enjoy diverse aspects and manifestations of the law. I look forward to more learning.

    Your internship experiences are filled with renowned firms and other reputed people, was there any roadmap for the same or all did was in flow? How would you guide students in choosing internships?

    I suppose these things are part of an organic trajectory, perhaps steered by a latent sense of purpose. Things do happen in a flow, but we ultimately end up navigating viable paths. Curiosity helps. I see students these days choose internships based on niche interests and very specific practice areas. I admire such clarity, especially at that young an age. While it’s difficult to know yourself completely in law school, elimination is useful. However, I still think that sampling from a large spread is a good idea before marrying into the unknown.

    Could you shed some light on your journey in the topmost university, Fletcher? I’d love to know the flashbacks.

    Fletcher was a cherished destination. Even when I first joined S&R Associates (where I currently work), I had an idea that I might want to explore a specialization later, preferably in a different country. I liked Fletcher because of many things, but most of all for the flexibility and eclectic environment that it offered. The crowd is truly diverse and international, and my ways of looking at the world changed fundamentally when I came out.

    The best memories are perhaps the simplest ones, the quiet neighbourhood, the bucolic surroundings, the redbrick buildings, hours spent inside the ‘Harry Potter Room’, trudging to Harvard amidst the first snow of winter, and endless cups of coffee with friends. Add to that, the opportunity to genuinely engage with people from various walks of life, from various parts of the world, from contexts wildly different from yours: that kind of exposure is irreplaceable.

    Deborshi, among all the specialisations, i.e., in MALD, LLM, and Ph.D. Fletcher’s programme, what do you find the most interesting to you? How far did you use all this expertise in your practical areas of work?

    I liked the Master of Arts in Law & Diplomacy (MALD) program because it gave me the chance to keep law as a base and build on that substratum by adding disciplinary layers to it, including those involving public policy, political economy, international relations, comparative politics, global history, research methods, national security, foreign policy, international organizations, transnational business, and others. The MALD remains Fletcher’s keystone graduate program, and for good reason.

    Also, it’s a 2-year program, as opposed to the 1-year LLM. I’d heard from others before me that a year’s duration often feels too short from a learning perspective, and I wanted a more immersive experience.

    I received two awards as a student under the MALD program: the William L. Blue and Joan R. Blue Scholarship, and the Alfred P. Rubin Prize – awarded by the Fletcher law faculty to the ‘outstanding student of international law’ in a given year. Other than my core specializations at Fletcher, I also cross-registered with the Harvard Law School (HLS) for a semester-long seminar on law and politics.

    Accordingly, I decided to apply for the LLM thereafter. The LLM is a distinctly curated program, comprising smaller cohorts, a very close-knit community, regular exchanges with faculty and peers, periodic events and updates, and some amazing international law professors.

    The career trips to New York and DC pivot away to interactions with partners from global law firms, rather than with policy thinktanks and international organizations alone, such as in the MALD. For instance, Prof. John Burgess, then partner of WilmerHale, was the Director of the LLM program during my stint there.

    His insights on international M&A and cross-border financial intricacies were deeply valuable. At the same time, cross-listed faculty like Profs. Jeswald Salacuse and Ian Johnstone brought with them multi-disciplinary perspectives on investment law, arbitration, the UN, the World Bank, along with constructivist approaches and sociological constructions of the law.

    The PhD, of course, is a very different animal. It’s a self-driven process, especially after you finish your coursework, clear the comprehensive exams, and defend your proposal. That’s when the real research begins, and it’s easy to get lost en route. Besides, life happens. Managing things and people in the course of the PhD – which, in a US curricular perspective, remains an immensely trying, albeit templated, process with several discrete milestones – is one of the bigger challenges.

    Going through your background information, it seems you’re always up for learning something new. Even though you worked independently in the Calcutta High Court, after obtaining MALD and LLM degrees, you indulged yourself in teaching a self-designed elective course in “Law and Public Policy.” So, Deborshi, was that challenging or thrilling for you, and how?

    Being from NUJS myself, I wanted to offer a course there. This was before my PhD coursework began. However, by that time I’d already decided to adopt a more ‘law and policy’ approach to work. That way, offering such a course at NUJS was a culmination of many things, including my interest in weaving together miscellaneous disciplinary paradigms into mainstream legal analysis.

    How about your experience with Harvard LIDS, Boston, and working with ? What do you think is the most exciting part you would like to share with our readers regarding the same?

    From the perspective of personal evolution, these stints were hugely significant, where I wanted to push myself to try new things, especially in the context of applying my learning to situations on the ground. For instance, ‘law and development’ was one of my main focus areas. Working with the Law and International Development Society (LIDS) at Harvard thus provided a great opportunity in respect of putting to use some of the theoretical constructs I’d learnt across real-life problems and circumstances. We worked with the secretariat of Transparency International about the possibility of reparations for victims of ‘grand corruption’ in international criminal proceedings.

    Further, ‘international negotiation, mediation, and conflict resolution’ was one of my other specializations. I was taking a course on mediation with Prof. Eileen Babbitt. Around this time, I joined MWI, a company in Boston working in the ADR space, specializing in dispute resolution for companies through ombudsman, negotiation, consulting, arbitration, facilitation, and mediation services. I worked with instructors at the Harvard Negotiation Project of HLS, learning from their experience of negotiating with Fortune 500 clients and vendors. As part of my training, I mediated a few cases in Massachusetts district courts as well, particularly in south Boston.

    Similarly, I was working with Prof. John Cerone on matters of international criminal law and humanitarian law, which culminated in representing Fletcher for the Model International Criminal Court Moot held at Krzyżowa, Poland; serving as editor for the Journal of Humanitarian Assistance; and joining the Fletcher Human Rights Practicum, pursuant to which a small group of us had the opportunity to collaborate on drafting amicus briefs for the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), a body of independent experts that monitors implementation of the corresponding treaty.

    This last experience came in handy because I’d already been working as Supervising Lawyer with Femin Ijtihad – Strategic Advocacy of Human Rights (SAHR) – a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Accordingly, I continued working with SAHR until 2017 as its Global Legal Counsel using lessons from such experiences.

    As Global Legal Counsel at SAHR, I developed best practices and drafted model laws for the purpose of legislative reform, designed judges’ and lawyers’ training workshops, and advised individuals, organizations, and local lawyers/judges in various jurisdictions, including in the US, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Nigeria.

    Later, during the formative stages of my PhD, when I first got interested in the legitimacy of dispute resolution, I worked with my advisor, Prof. Salacuse – an ICSID-empanelled arbitrator and a leading expert on negotiation theory – with the Judicial Leadership Project conducted by the National Center for State Courts at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

    I also taught a lot during this stage and worked on several consultancy, research, and training assignments, including in terms of: taking foundational classes on International Law for undergraduate students of the Political Science Department at Tufts University; teaching introductory courses on American Politics, Sociology of Race & Ethnicity, and Globalization & Social Change under the School of Arts and Sciences at Tufts University; updating Prof. Salacuse’s book on “The Law of Investment Treaties” (3rd edition) for Oxford University Press and another book on “International Business Planning: Law & Taxation (U.S.)”; coordinating and teaching a course called “Debates in Economic and Political Relations” conducted by the Horizon Academic Research Program, New York for exchange students from mainland China; and serving as coordinating instructor for the Tavitian Scholars Program in Public Policy – conducted by Fletcher for diplomats and officials from the Foreign Service of the Government of Armenia.                    

    So far we’ve seen lawyers not focusing on their mental health because of work pressure and tight deadlines. Please shed some light on this issue, any tips that can make the situation better?

    We develop our own coping mechanisms over time. If there is meaningful work to be done, there will be appurtenant pressures and timelines within which one needs to deliver. I can’t speak for others, but I like to treat work as an extension of self. Accordingly, it’s very important to me that I enjoy the work that I’m doing, to be really invested in it. When that happens, I think a couple of things coincide: you end up being better at your job, and the pressure stops being a bother. In fact, the pressure might become a thrill in itself.

    I’m deeply aware that mental health is an important issue for all professionals, including for lawyers. Modern-day work ends up creating high-pressure situations for everybody. We ourselves as clients and consumers in quotidian contexts demand fast, efficient service. It’s not so much fun, perhaps, when the boot is on the other foot.

    Work-life balance is what everyone talks about, presumably as an ideal. I’m not big on that myself. I don’t mean that we should sacrifice life, or the pursuit of happiness, at the altar of work. But when work goes beyond a set of itemized chores, or when work means more than something one has to do out of a sense of compulsion or duty, it starts creating a balance of its own. Life gathers around work. Personally, I like that kind of life.

    If, on the other hand, work starts feeling like a lot of work – an ordeal, a terrible burden, etc. – then maybe one needs to move things around. I realize that this view reeks of some kind of privilege that many are ill afford to harbour, on account of variegated factors ranging from family, finances, health, and sundry responsibilities. Having said that, I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), an incurable and debilitating autoimmune disease, in 2006 when I was in my third year of law school. At that time, I had no idea what MS was, or what to expect from it over the long-term.

    I remember thinking that it sounded pretty awful when the neurologist looked at my MRI and pronounced his verdict. Some other doctors suggested that I leave studies altogether and focus on maintaining my health, let alone maintain hopes of building a career, legal or otherwise. It’s been an interesting journey ever since, for sure. I’ve had incidents of relapse during internships at JSA and NDA. I’ve been tempted to give up many times, because simple things that others take for granted, or tasks that ‘normal’ people do on an everyday basis, get very difficult to complete at times. Since I have the relapsing-remitting kind of MS, there are good days and there are bad days, and some phases of relapse, along with a progressive accumulation of disability over time.

    With that qualification, however, I know that I have been very lucky to have had the kind of support from family, friends, doctors, physiotherapists, gym instructors, peers, colleagues, bosses, and employers that allowed me to continue – be it at Tufts, Fletcher, AQUILAW – where I worked during my PhD, Jindal, or S&R.

    We have to reach out for support when we need it. It sounds simple, but it’s very difficult to do. This realization itself goes a long way in taking care of oneself.

    We have heard that most law schools don’t focus on practical skills, and the current demands as well, what are your thoughts on the same, and how law students and other professionals can upskill their game?

    I was teaching at the Jindal Global Law School before re-joining S&R Associates as Counsel. I think that educational institutions (and the wider pedagogical culture that such institutions uphold) undergo some learning over time and adapt themselves to new dynamics, especially in order to remain competitive and relevant. Compared to my time as a student, law schools these days need to, and do, focus a lot more on practical skills, including actively seeking out legal practitioners to conduct sessions where stories from the trenches are shared to give students a better idea of how things work in the real world.

    At least that’s what my first-hand takeaway was, from my 3-year stint at Jindal – where as an Associate Professor, I offered courses on contract law, investment law, M&A and PE, etc. I myself used case-studies and real-life examples to familiarize students with the commercial law aspects of the courses I taught. The idea was to provide a holistic and ‘practical’ learning experience for all students. The Bar Council of India, too, has introduced various new curricular requirements that focus on such practical skills in keeping with the times.

    Lastly, any 5 best pieces of advice for our readers?

    I honestly doubt that my ‘advice’ will find resonance across the board. Nevertheless, here goes:

    1. Make plans. These are building blocks of your future.

    2. Expect said plans to go awry. Bad things happen, none of us is special. Be prepared to improvise.

    3. Keep an open mind, and keep learning. Staying relevant and curious is half the battle.

    4. Stick to your strengths and build on them.

    5. If possible, have fun meanwhile. Life is short. No point making it more painful than it needs to be.

    Get in touch with Deborshi Barat-

  • Vijay Pal Dalmia, Partner at Vaish Associates Advocates In Conversation With SuperLawyer On Legal Implications Of Web 3.0 & Role Of Mentor In Legal Profession

    Vijay Pal Dalmia, Partner at Vaish Associates Advocates In Conversation With SuperLawyer On Legal Implications Of Web 3.0 & Role Of Mentor In Legal Profession

    Did you always want to become a Lawyer or was it something that you decided in the later part of your school life? What other career options would you have considered, if not law?

    From school time, I had the intention to become a lawyer, though I was also good at science and my teachers wanted me to opt for the medical field. Once I reached college, I also considered options relating to military and civil services, however, on the death of my father Late B.L. Dalmia in the year 1983, who was a distinguished senior lawyer, I finally opted for law as my profession.

    You have published numerous papers and Articles. How important do you think these are in shaping your understanding of law?

    Article writing and publications always give you an edge in understanding law. One has to do a lot of research and read judgments before writing an article which immensely adds to your knowledge and acumen. In my experience, article and paper writing has always been a boon which helped me immensely in my profession.

    What can be the real challenges while establishing a career in the field of law?

    Information and knowledge are widely available these days after the invent of the internet and particularly Google. However, for establishing a career in the field of law, you need to understand that “A lawyer must know something about everything and everything about something”.

    For building a career in the field of law, it is extremely important to understand the practical side of the law, psychology, body language and judges. One may be a corporate lawyer sitting in the office but it is highly important to understand the ways the judges analyse documents and ask questions. Understanding a judge’s psyche is of utmost importance to be a good lawyer. In my view, every budding lawyer must spend some time in court to be a good lawyer and understand the practical interpretational aspects.

    According to you, what major improvements we need to make in the crypto laws and regulations?

    Presently the most important thing is that the Government must come up with comprehensive legislation on cryptos. Crypto has acquired massive dimensions in society and has practically touched the lives of most people. Cryptos are no more in nascent stage. The entire concept and business have advanced. At present India is facing a situation of being “nowhere” in the domain of crypto laws. There is a stalemate and the Government is indecisive. There are no crypto laws or regulations except to some inadequate extent under tax laws .

    The role of mentor often gets underestimated, what is the importance of mentor as per your experiences thus far?

    Having a mentor is one of the most important aspects of the legal profession. Learning becomes easy and sharp. You come to know about the “tricks of the trade”. Getting guidance becomes easy.

    What can be the legal implications of Web 3.0 according to you?

    Web 3.0, sometimes known as Web 3, is the concept of the next generation of the web, in which most users will be connected via a decentralized network and have access to their data.  The world is on its way to an Internet where people will have complete control over their data and privacy which will be made possible by blockchain technology. Some of the implications relating to Web 3.0 are national security, sovereignty and integrity of the country, public disclosure, privacy, taxation, governance, IPR protection and enforcement. Web 3.0 is a complicated structure.

    Can an Advocate be soft-spoken yet established; what do you think about how the legal profession takes this quality?

    Being soft-spoken is a matter of duty and pride for an Advocate. It is not a matter of choice, rather its obligatory for an advocate to be soft-spoken and polite with clients and in court. Being loud, arrogant or harsh is not a good quality of any advocate. Politeness wins and you get to gain before the court and with the clients. A soft-spoken and polite advocate is always highly appreciated and welcomed by all in the profession.

    Would you like to give any career/life tips to the readers?

    One of my sincere pieces of advice is to write as much as possible on legal topics and circulate it on the web through different forums.

    Give lectures, run your own Youtube channel and educate the public which will bring recognition and clientele to budding legal professionals. In this profession, you can not advertise, and new advocates have to make their presence felt. In my view, there is no other alternative.

    Remember, advocacy is a grey hair profession, and it takes time to succeed. Give time to your profession and yourself. Keep on developing your skills.

    Get in touch with Vijay Pal Dalmia-

  • Avi Kalra, Founding Partner at Clergy and Wisemen In Conversation With SuperLawyer On Startups, Arbitration and Much More Interesting Aspects

    Avi Kalra, Founding Partner at Clergy and Wisemen In Conversation With SuperLawyer On Startups, Arbitration and Much More Interesting Aspects

    This interview has been published by Prabhjot Singh, Priyanka Karwa and The SuperLawyer Team

    Was pursuing law planned for you or it all happened in a flow? Kindly share with our readers.

    Well to start with, I am a first-generation lawyer, and to be very honest law was never a career option for me until the 10th Grade, I had planned to either join my father’s business or start something of my own. However, it all changed in the year 2012, when my father was involved in a car accident, in which one bike hit his car and the pillion rider died on the spot.

    After this, it was the first time that I ever visited the Local District Court of my city. During court visits, I was highly influenced by the impact the lawyers could have over their clients. Soon after, I developed interest in Criminal Law and the same grew over me and made my belief indeed stronger. So today, I can proudly say that being in the legal fraternity was a well thought decision and didn’t happen by chance.

    What do you think, which specific advice has helped you come thus far in law? What is that one motivation that keeps you going in life?

    The advice that has helped me come this far is that if you roll up your sleeves and decide to do something, nothing in this world is impossible. Everything is doable, you just need to have the courage.

    Frankly speaking, I never participated in any public speaking event in high school and had stage fear. Now came the time in Law School, when I realized the importance of Moot Courts but the continuous insecurity of never being a good public speaker or having no prior experience kept acting as a barrier.

    It was only in the third year when I got the opportunity to participate in the Intra Mock Trial, where although in my opinion, my public speaking was not up to the mark, however, this opportunity gave me a sense of understanding that it was these mental barriers which were stopping me to do something. Since then, I have worked upon my oratory skills, and have never said no to such an event, which has helped me tremendously in becoming a better orator and Advocate.

    Speaking about Motivation, after winning the National Mock Trial Competition in 2017, me and Prateek Lakra made a goal to start our own law firm after completing 3 years at the Bar. In 2021, we started Clergy & Wisemen, and since then there has been no looking back, and taking our Law Firm to the level of top law firms in India is the motivation that keeps me going.

    Could you brief a case you were led on that substantially broadened your knowledge of the legal field?

    From what I have learned while practicing law is that law is nothing but common sense, one should just have the vision to see the answers. It is an art that is learned through experience and wisdom. During the initial years of practice, the most crucial part is to understand the implementation of what we study in the Law School.

    It was in 2019, when a Fraud had been committed by a person, which was worth crores. In the same case, my client was duped for a handsome amount. Initially, we filed a Suit for Specific Performance against one of the properties of the Accused before the Delhi High Court, however, it came to our knowledge that the Accused had created multiple third-party rights over the property, therefore, we also had to move before DRT, since the bank had started proceedings against the accused. Also, there were claims from various entities, due to which there were multiple suits and cross impleadments.

    Parallelly, proceedings under the 156(3) Cr.P.C. were also instituted against the accused, wherein we got favourable order and an F.I.R. was also registered with the Economic Offences Wing (EOW), Delhi Police.

    These proceedings helped me understood various remedies that a person has under both the Civil & Criminal Laws in India and how the Courts and Tribunals function.

    Among all the specialisation, i.e., Administration law, RERA, Taxation, Corporate law and Arbitration, which area of law is the most interesting to you and why?

    I would say that Corporate Law, since Corporate Law can itself be classified into various other sub-specializations, and due to the recent increase of Startups in India, Corporate Law has opened up various opportunities for Young Lawyers.

    Now, with Startups the issue that usually comes up is that they cannot afford Big Law Firms, and it is where young lawyers can step in.

    Further, in Corporate Law, a Lawyer has to get into the shoes of the Founders so as to protect their interests while making agreements such as the Shareholders and Founders Agreement, so that in case the Company goes for funding or dilutes its equity, the founders don’t lose the control over their own company. Moreover, issues like dispute resolution between founders also has to be carefully drafted. With contracts, it is necessary that the Liabilities are limited, indemnification clauses are watertight, and in the case of Intellectual Property, the rights are carefully defined. I can go on with such examples, such is the nature of Corporate Law.

    What would you do if you had taken on a case that went against your values? Any prior experience you could relate with?

    I take cases as per my conscience; however, I am a firm believer in the fact that a person is innocent until proven guilty.

    Yes, there have been certain cases where I had to self-introspect whether I was doing the right thing, however, I tend to keep my personal opinions and professional life apart. As the great Mr. Ram Jethmalanai once said: “A lawyer who refuses to defend a person on the grounds that people believe him to be guilty is himself guilty of professional misconduct.”

    How do you maintain the work-life balance Avi?

    As a Lawyer, I feel that law is that field where once you are at the initial stage you need to spend more hours, drafting, researching, and navigating through documents, but as you practice more and more it gets easier to locate the crux of the case and you exactly know where to hit the nail, so spend in your initial years, it will reap well. Also, law is just like investing, the more you invest in your legal skills right now, the more returns in the later years.

    Personally, for me, what has helped me maintain my sanity with this schedule is waking up early in the day, and having some time to myself before the whole show at the law firm begins. I believe that one must do something that is good for his/her soul once a week. It’s okay to take a break, but you should know when the break ends. The work should not suffer, make yourself that efficient.

    What strategies do you use to ensure that your clients receive the best possible?

    There is no secret sauce to ensure the best possible results. Each case has to be seen in its own strategic manner.

    In my previous experience be it working at chambers of a lawyer or law firms, one thing I saw was that although the Clients were getting reliefs in their cases, however, they were not satisfied by the management. For example, the client would not know what is going around in the case, sometimes they won’t know what is next date, no regular updates, so on and so forth.

    After starting Clergy & Wisemen, we not only ensured that our clients get the best legal services but also focused on the management of the Law Firm, be it the regular updates of their cases, addressing their doubts, having dynamic meeting slots, taking regular follow ups about our services, etc.

    Now with Corporate Clients, we have come out with certain services such as Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM), Legal Manager, which have substantially increased the effectiveness and efficiency of the services provided by us. Recently, we have tied up with certain AI companies, which help us in the drafting of contracts, although each contract is reviewed by either an Associate or Partner at the Law firm, but it has helped us in reducing the TAT and Cost.

    What challenges have you faced as in bank matters with DRT, DRAT, NCLT & NCLAT?

    DRT and NCLT, alongwith their appellate tribunals, were made so that the burden over the courts is reduced and the cases can be fast tracked. Although, the burden over the courts have been substantially decreased, but I would not agree with the fact that the matters have been fast tracked.

    Since, due to a smaller number of benches, the matters usually take a substantial time to be adjudicated, wherein the sitting benches are not able even finish half of the cause list, and requests such as to list the matter at the top of cause list have to be mentioned.

    Moreover, these tribunals are not on par with the High Courts, be it the adjudication process, or the working of the registry.

    Therefore, I believe that the number of Benches in the Tribunals should be increased and only in the rare cases the timeline mentioned under the Code shall be extended.

    Lastly Avi, any advice for our young legal professionals?

    My advise to the young legal professionals would be that they should always be updated with what is going around in the Legal Sector, this would not only help them in increasing their knowledge, but also to strike out a conversation at a relevant place and time, and trust me this helps significantly.

    The other would be that they should understand that whatever service you are giving should be a valuable addition to the client and it must solve their problem, taking care of these would definitely help a professional building up his name, since the person would not only happily pay his/her fees to you, but also would recommend you to others.   

    Lastly, in case someone is planning to start his own practise, then rather than just possessing the legal skills, one must also have the skills of a sales person, it might sound a little different, but Law is a Business until you get a client, one might be a very good lawyer and possess good skills, but till the time he has got no client, those skills would be worth nothing. Therefore, it is advisable that you must know to sell whatever skills and knowledge you possess. 

    All the best!

    Get in touch with Avi Kalra-

  • Lokesh Bhola, Managing Partner at Legal Icons In Conversation With SuperLawyer Shares His Side On Struggles For A First Generation Lawyer

    Lokesh Bhola, Managing Partner at Legal Icons In Conversation With SuperLawyer Shares His Side On Struggles For A First Generation Lawyer

    This interview has been published by Prabhjot Singh, Priyanka Karwa and The SuperLawyer Team

    Was pursuing law planned for you or it all happened in a flow? Kindly share with our readers.

    It was not at all planned. After completing 10+2 in commerce stream, I opted to become a Chartered Accountant. I had even took admission and deposited fee for that. During that time, five year course from I.P. University, Delhi was introduced and  my father influenced me take a plunge in the field of law. I had appeared in the common entrance test conducted by the University and was fortune to get admission in limited ‘free seat’ on basis of merits.

    Initially it was more of subjective learning rather than practical and took some time to get myself adjusted in that flow. Afterwards, I had started developing my interest and scored well thorough out all semesters. Never thought that I would become first-generation lawyer in my family, however destiny has chosen so for me.

    What do you think, which specific advice has helped you come thus far in law? What is that one motivation that keeps you going in life?

    As a first-generation lawyer, the journey has been quite tough yet exciting. Working as the junior most associate in the Law Firm to heading a boutique Law Firm has been an overwhelming and enriching experience.

    The hurdles on the path of this journey, especially as a litigation lawyer, are tough to handle. Consistency and Dedication are two stepping stones for almost every success.

    Do not expect quick results especially while practicing as litigation lawyer. Change the mindset from working as employee to working like a professional. Own responsibility for every step taken by you while working on a matter. Success does not come without failures. We cannot have favourable results the way we thought every time, however we should be capable enough to be responsible for those results.

    Initially many colleagues even left the profession due to various reasons like low income, great hard work with slow or no results and that had sometimes demotivated me to choose this profession, but like a pillar of strength and motivation my family stood beside me and here I am today, enthusiastically climbing the ladder with more than seventeen years of experience and having Law Firm of my own. 

    Could you brief a case you were led on that substantially broadened your knowledge of the legal field?

    In last seventeen years, I had the privilege to lead as well as assist my senior colleagues in various corporate commercial matters across different Courts and Tribunals. 

    I fairly remember a matter dealt by me in my previous law firm, where we used to brief Late Mr. P.P. Rao, Senior Advocate in a constitutional matter being tussle between State Government and Union Government to enact law to control and supervise State Universities in the State of Himachal Pradesh.

    We used to take him for hearings before High Court of Himachal Pradesh at Shimla. In my entire career, I have not come across any other Senior Advocate like Mr. Rao, who was so thorough and clear in his understanding on the constitutional matters.

    He used to throw case law citation as well as its relevant paras to us while briefing him. That matter has surely broadened my concepts on educational and constitutional matters. I think it was his hard work and good wishes that we won that matter on his birthday.

    As an empanelled Arbitrator with prestigious Delhi International Arbitration Centre at High Court of Delhi, I have gained experience of deciding matters judiciously which has helped me in proving reasoned and more apt interpretation of legal issues.

    Lokesh, you have over a decade of experience in legal, how do you see the legal industry coming up with new concepts and creating exciting opportunities?

    India is a large country and the biggest democracy in the world. We have by far the longest constitution in the world, so the laws are accordingly quite vast. Similarly, there are host of Cases pertaining to Supreme Court and High Courts. Both these are referred regularly in the current set of cases and used immensely in the courts and by the lawyers. All this can happen only through digitization and having effective analytical tools which can help a Lawyer to quote relevant cases in the court and the corresponding Legislations and Provisions.

    I can see a lawyer walking into the court with a simple Tab and referring to relevant Legislations/Cases and the Judge verifying the same through his online terminal linked to the Master Registry. No more attachments of papers/cases/book portions etc. It makes the system faster, accurate and efficient.

    There is a huge role for Digital Transformation to play in the Legal Industry. We are far too behind in this area compared to our western counterparts. Undoubtedly, thanks to corona period, we have come a long way in transforming ourselves from a paper-based judicial system to a digital system. However, lot more is required to do in this field to help in surviving in faster pace.

    You have been there in some really big deals, how would you educate our readers about the risks attached to the same?

    Every journey has up and down graph like an ECG report. It is always fascinating to deal big ticket matters, however the same comes with many fold of challenges and expectations from client and senior colleagues. It’s true that our hard work should not depend upon the quantum of the matter dealt by us, however high stake matters involves greater effort and strategy to deal the same.

    Don’t hesitate to take opinions from expert or senior colleagues in a ticklish matter. A direction is must to achieve a goal. In a litigation, experience has bigger role than the academics. One should always adapt to learn not only by reading and research, but learning from experience of others especially your senior colleagues.

    A small court crafting skill can save you from multi-fold hurdles and that comes from court experience. A young lawyer should sit and watch proceedings in court rather than roaming outside courtroom waiting for his turn to come. A lawyer must not enter courtroom without reading his brief as you never know what may come from bench as a query.

    What strategies do you use to ensure that your clients receive the best possible?

    My preparation for a matter starts from first meeting with the client. We should make goal oriented strategy in a matter that too keeping in mind the financial implications on the client. Now a days, thanks to multiple courts and forums, we have various alternatives available to churn out results in a given matter in a most possible and economical manner. My endeavour is to pull our best suitable remedy out of bunch of options available for a given client considering his financial capabilities and timelines to get desired results.

    At the same time, a lot depends upon the zeal and hunger of client to get results in a given time frame. Many clients opt not to disclose correct and complete facts on the threshold which leads to multiple hurdles and greater time to achieve the desired goal.

    Workplace harassment also contributes to mental health issues that last forever, what are your views on the same? 

    Work-life balance is very important to ensure a long term efficiency in work and a satisfaction in your personal life. Workplace stress can be managed by fixing short term goals and taking all possible effort to achieve the same.

    Being a Partner, I try spend sometime with my team members to interact and discuss work and the general life related aspects. However, one needs to prioritise the work and maintain a discipline during the working hours.

    I am a strong supporter of not carrying the work related stress to home and spend my away time playing with my daughters as well as working out. It is equally important to take care of your health and therefore, I have made it a routine not to carry work at home except in dire emergency.

    Lastly, any 5 best pieces of advice for our readers?

    Legal field requires continuous study and keeping yourself updated of the latest developments. So, it is very important to make an early habit of reading latest judgments as well as precedents. Young lawyers should also visit Courts and hear established legal practitioners argue the cases in Court.

    There are no substitutes for hard work in law. I’ll quote J.R.R Tolkien, when he said “Shortcuts make long delays.” There are 5 P’s success formula  – Passion, Patience, Punctuality, Perfection and Politeness.

    Get in touch with Lokesh Bhola-

  • In Conversation with- Sandeep Bhalothia, Head, Legal Affairs Section (Legal, Regulatory, Risk, Compliance & Contracts) at Augmented Era and Partner at Node.Law

    In Conversation with- Sandeep Bhalothia, Head, Legal Affairs Section (Legal, Regulatory, Risk, Compliance & Contracts) at Augmented Era and Partner at Node.Law

    This interview has been published by Prabhjot Singh, Priyanka Karwa and The SuperLawyer Team

    What is your current role? How exciting is it for you? How do you describe your legal career?

    Let me begin by appreciating the work that SuperLawyer has been doing for the past few years. I used to read the interviews on SuperLawyer when I was in law school, and it gave me immense inspiration, hope and guidance.

    I started as a Legal Manager and sole legal counsel of Augmented Era when it was a start-up. Now, I am Head of Legal Affairs, and the group does more than 100 million USD (B2B) with several business verticals like apparel manufacturing, software development, financial education platform, events and marketing.

    I have seen my role and the company grow significantly over the past three years, with now presence in more than ten jurisdictions.

    This role will always have a significant impact on my career, irrespective of where I work in future, as it has exposed me to high stake deals, cross-border negotiations, emerging technology transactions etc.

    I also had the opportunity to lead the regulatory hearing in 4 jurisdictions which ultimately resulted in administrative closure – a rare opportunity for young lawyers.

    Having said that, the role came with its unique challenges. I was new in UAE and graduated just one year ago from law school.

    When I was offered this role in 2019 after cracking the last interview round, I started having a second thought. I thought that I might be biting off more than I could chew! We all occasionally have self-doubts. But as William Shakespeare once said, “Our doubts are traitors, And make us lose the good we oft might win, By fearing to attempt.” So, I went ahead with the opportunity, and it turned out to be the best decision of my career.

    Now I primarily work on technology, data protection and regulatory compliance issues, which I thoroughly enjoy.

    What struggles one has to be prepared for when practicing as a legal professional in the UAE? How can networking help in both corporate and litigation areas?

    It is not easy to provide a comprehensive answer to this question. The struggles an individual would face in UAE will vary depending on their past work experience, from which jurisdiction they graduated, what was their practice area, and whether they have a bar registration in India and other jurisdictions like the UK, USA, Canada etc., or not.

    The ability to draft and speak in Arabic, a law degree from the UK, USA, Australia, Canada, or some other prominent common law jurisdictions and a bar registration in those jurisdictions can ease your life when looking for a legal role in UAE. However, these requirements are not mandatory for all roles. I do not have any of these and am doing fine.

    Finding a corporate lawyer role in the UAE is easier than finding a litigation lawyer. UAE’s legal system is unique, and the court hearing before local courts are in Arabic with some exceptions like ADGM and DIFC, and that would be one of the biggest hurdles for someone who wants to be a litigation lawyer in UAE.

    Nevertheless, I don’t see any challenge in UAE that cannot be tackled for someone who wants to practice commercial and corporate law, whether in local law firms or in an in-house role. Every year I see dozens of lawyers in my network moving from India to UAE.

    Those who can break into this jurisdiction from India highly rely on transferable skills like contract drafting, regulatory compliance, outstanding legal research capabilities and networking.

    Networking, to some extent, is like preparing for war. You might not see the immediate benefit of it, but all the hard work and time invested in networking will ultimately be helpful when you plan to make that shift to a foreign jurisdiction. Networking takes time, so I would recommend that the readers start early.

    You were great in academics and was awarded with the Distinguished Alumni Award on graduation What impelled you towards your goal?

    I would disagree!

    I was never great at academics, or at least l do not believe so. I used to be above average and would score high in some subjects that sparked my curiosity. However, I never prioritised academics over other meaningful exposures.

    The Distinguished Alumni award was given to me not because I was great at academics. The selection committee’s decision was based on overall exposure to various activities.

    I participated in debates, negotiation and mediation competitions, client counselling competitions, publications, a variety of internships, semester exchange (Tsinghua University), was briefly active in sports, etc. I was doing everything that I can get my hands on while ensuring that I don’t blow a hole in my academics.

    I enjoyed all these different experiences that Jindal Global Law School provided rather than just “going through” law school. And I guess that is the reason why I received that award.

    How do you see the role of Virtual General Counsel emerging in coming years and what roles and responsibilities do they play?

    During the recent pandemic, we have seen that legal departments around the world have become more cost-conscious.

    Even big companies have started giving serious attention to outside counsel expenditures, and recent economic headwinds have further pressured the in-house legal department to cut costs.

    It is still manageable for MNCs, but it gets further difficult for start-ups or smaller organisations to get the best legal advice for their fast-growing operations. And that is where Virtual General Counsel come in. It is a relatively new concept, but we can see many tech companies and start-ups accepting this model.

    Virtual General Counsel is a lawyer who usually works full-time for a law firm or is an independent practitioner and is hired by a company to act as their General Counsel, but the twist is that such a person will not be a full-time employee of the company that has hired its services as “Virtual General Counsel”.

    Such lawyers would act as “Virtual General Counsel” for more than one company, depending on their time commitment. Companies prefer this because they can hire an expert from private practice to advise them on day-to-day legal issues and rely on their growing expertise; companies don’t have to bother about hiring an internal General Counsel and can avoid the cost associated with immigration, visa, insurance etc.

    Sometimes, in such an arrangement, the company gets the entire law firm team as their Virtual General Counsel giving the company on-demand specialist expertise at a low cost, where there will be a single point of contact from the firm, more like a Relationship Manager.

    I believe such arrangements will become more prominent in tech start-ups where in-depth legal advice is required at a competitive cost over the coming years.

    We are excited to hear the reason you opted for MSC in blockchain and digital currency, also what privacy issues does blockchain invite along with itself in coming times?

    I have always been fascinated by technology, especially how the law has to always catch up with it. I started reading about blockchain in my second year of law school (2014), and after coming to UAE, I got lucky to work on some blockchain and digital currency projects. This further increased my interest in exploring this domain in-depth academically.

    It was in 2020 when I first thought of doing this MSc from the University of Nicosia but pursuing it along with my current job seemed daunting, so I shelved the idea. However, at the beginning of 2022, we had some additional projects in the company where I was supposed to advise extensively on emerging technologies like blockchain and NFTs; therefore, it seemed a logical next step, and that is how I ended up being an MSc student (distance learning) along with the current full-time job.

    The University of Nicosia is arguably the first to provide a full-time degree course on Blockchain and Digital Currency. Their modules mix law, policy and technical aspects of blockchain and digital currency. I would recommend this MSc to someone who wants to dive deeply into blockchain and digital currency. It provides a comprehensive understanding of what is happening worldwide in this space from both legal and technical aspects and what we can anticipate.

    Regarding the privacy issues that blockchain brings with it, one can argue that it makes it difficult to regulate it. It is not a privacy issue but a regulation issue because of privacy. Like in the case of cryptocurrencies that are based on “Trustless”, “Decentralised”, and “Immutable” blockchain, it becomes challenging and unfeasible to fully regulate such cryptocurrencies.

    Firstly, there is a lack of one target as no single entity controls cryptocurrency like BTC.

    Secondly, the proliferation of pseudonyms makes it nearly impossible to identify the accused.

    And thirdly, it is difficult to establish the jurisdiction and governing law because the cryptocurrency network is not restricted to one specific jurisdiction; some jurisdictions treat cryptocurrency as property and others as currency.

    Even void or voidable crypto transactions can be entered on the blockchain, but a transaction entered on the blockchain is not legal by default, but it does, in most cases, make it irreversible.

    GDPR requires the identification of a “data controller”, and public keys used by natural persons for cryptocurrency transactions on blockchain may constitute “personal data” under GDPR rendering GDPR is applicable to “processing”, “collection”, “use” or “disclosure”.

    Recital 26 of GDPR states that data which has been “pseudonymised”, and could be attributed to a natural person by using additional information, is information on an identifiable person.

    And French data protection authority has observed that public keys constitute personal data if it is connected to a natural person.

    In the absence of an identifiable data controller, the GDPR cannot be enforced as data subjects enforce their rights against the data controller under GDPR.

    In cryptocurrency transactions, miners, developers, and users of the network determine the purpose of processing personal data.

    All these players might be hiding their real identities and located in separate jurisdictions, complicating the enforcement of GDPR.

    Such situations make it challenging to access who is the data controller, where they are located, how data subjects can enforce their rights and whether it is feasible to do the same.

    This is one challenge, but I am sure there is a way around it.

    You worked in multiple jurisdictions, how was that experience and being  a lawyer how tough it was for you to adjust according to different laws and regulations?

    Switching jurisdiction as a young and first-generation lawyer is challenging. I had to understand the new legal system, find opportunities, make new friends, get active in networking, read, understand new laws, adjust to a new culture etc. But eventually, one can manage all these challenges, and after a few years, when you look back to the time when you started, you develop a lot of respect for lawyers who have come before you.

    I will not say it was easy, but also it is not impossible. Many lawyers migrate from their home jurisdiction to a foreign one, and they were my inspiration. I silently looked up to them and focused on improving.

    I have been pursuing online courses since 2013. I am a big fan of virtual learning. Whenever I felt that I lacked academic and technical knowledge on a specific topic, I would look for an online course and devote myself to it until I was confident that I had some grasp over it.

    I continued this habit even after moving to UAE, and that has been of immense help.

    What made you start your own legal consulting company and how well is it going for you thus far?

    The Node.Law focuses on delivering legal consultancy services to start-ups working on Web3, NFT, Digital Currency, Metaverse, Blockchain, and FinTech space. It is a new venture, and I co-founded it with my friend from law school, Aman Garg, who is also working in Dubai.

    In the last few years, we have seen increasing demand for legal support in emerging technology, and since both of us are interested and have been working in this domain, we thought of extending our support.

    It has been an exciting journey so far. In such a short time, we have advised on several projects and our firm is retained as Virtual General Counsel on a 1-year contract by two fast-growing start-ups.

    How would you describe your career up till now? Where can we expect you in upcoming years?

    I am blessed with a supportive family, friends, mentors and professors from law school. They all have played a significant role in shaping my career. I am doing what I love to do, and this will continue in future.

    I plan to finish my MSc by next year and then focus on growing Node.Law.

    Would you like to give some advice to the law students?

    There are only two ways to be good at something. First, by in-depth reading and second, by working on it. If something excites you, then make sure you immerse yourself in extensive reading to have the required confidence when you get an opportunity to work on it.

    Reading and continuous learning are inalienable parts of a lawyer’s life.

    Get in touch with Sandeep Bhalothia-

  • In Conversation with: Paul J. Campson, Managing Partner at Campson & Campson, Personal Injury Attorney and Seasoned Litigator

    In Conversation with: Paul J. Campson, Managing Partner at Campson & Campson, Personal Injury Attorney and Seasoned Litigator

    This interview has been published by Prabhjot Singh, Priyanka Karwa and The SuperLawyer Team

    How would you describe your job and yourself to a 10 year old?

    I am a lawyer who helps people who were hurt in an accident get money for their pain.

    Paul, as we read about you, being a member of the carpenters’ union (United Brotherhood of Carpenters) , how did it help you in your law career?

    Being a member of the Carpenter’s Union taught me the value of hard work and the importance of an education. Being a carpenter is a physically challenging occupation and often very dangerous, so the importance of following rules, particularly safety rules, is very important.

    Appearing before various law tribunals and forums needs extra effort, how do you plan your work to be super-efficient? 

    Planning is the secret ingredient to success and efficiency. Even if I handle a case many times, I always write an outline and emphasize the points I need to make.

    This keeps me focused because it is very easy to become distracted and be thrown off track by a smart adversary, so thinking how I might lose a case is the best preparation for victory.

    You have been actively taking up Pro-Bono cases and have done a lot of free service in your career trajectory? How important is it for Law Students and professionals to take up Pro-Bono cases and help the needy? 

    Pro-Bono cases are very rewarding. Volunteering time and expertise to those who cannot afford top legal representation is the hallmark of our justice system.

    Pro bono cases provide attorneys with the chance to work with other lawyers in their firms who they would not otherwise know, as well as practice in areas outside of their day-to-day work. This fosters collaboration and increases future cross-firm prospects. It also assists attorneys in forming networks with other lawyers who work for legal assistance foundations. Networking leads to business development, which helps the firm as well.

    As we all are aware of the 9/11 incident, how was your experience wrt getting justice for the victims? Please elaborate it

    9/11 was a very difficult time for the entire nation. Being able to represent victims pro-bono was very special. At the time, no one understood the long term health ramifications connected to 9/11.

    To delve into the medical records of these victims and come up with creative ideas to get them the maximum compensation, was a stand out moment in my legal career.

    How hard is the bar exam to be passed in New York and how can one prepare with a well curated road map?

    The NY State Bar Exam is one of the hardest in the country. To pass it, you have to prepare for it as a full time job. Get on a schedule, study 9-5 and take lunch everyday at the same time, just like a job.

    Again, preparation is the key to passing the bar. Do the hard work in the morning and the rest of the day will fall into place.

    Lastly Paul, what tips are you likely to give to students willing to practice as a Personal Injury lawyer in the US?

    Personal injury is a very competitive field. tell everyone you meet and family and friends that you are a personal injury lawyer. To be successful you need cases. A great trial lawyer is useless without cases to try. 

    Get in touch with Paul J. Campson-

  • In Conversation with: Paras Jain, Partner at KZJ Partners and Founder at Whistle for Public Interest-WHIP

    In Conversation with: Paras Jain, Partner at KZJ Partners and Founder at Whistle for Public Interest-WHIP

    This interview has been published by Prabhjot Singh, Priyanka Karwa and The SuperLawyer Team

    Paras, please tell us how it feels to achieve so much at such a young age marking your presence globally?

    It gave a sense of great pride, as I won my first legal battle against a giant company misleading and selling fairness creams in India. It boosted my confidence to handle high stake and complex legal disputes single handedly. But now, it acts as a motivational force to work for public causes.

    Generally, complex matters are so critical that advocates fear not even taking them, but you have ferociously fought and won too. What keeps you going with these matters?

    I do not think that advocates have any fear of not taking complex matters. It is a personal choice of one whether to take such matters or not. For example, I have personally fought cases dealing with Right to Information (RTI) Act involving critical questions of law. This has both positively & negatively impacted public at large in getting information from authorities.

    Being a responsible citizen and an advocate, I understand the importance of protecting right to information. This is what keeps me going with these matters.

    Our audience is keen to hear your landmark legal battle against ICAI, ICSI, ICWAI, CBSE and DU

    As ICSI student, I requested ICSI to provide me copies of answer-sheets at cost of Rs. 2 per page as per RTI Act. But ICSI was adamant in charging        Rs. 500/- per subject from all examinees. This was causing wrongful loss to examinees and wrongful gain to ICSI. Case was litigated at all levels and was ruled in my favor by the Supreme Court of India in                             ICSI Vs. Paras Jain, Civil Appeal No. 5665/2014. 

    Subsequently, the ruling has been followed in letter and spirit by professional and educational institutions ICAI, ICWAI, CBSE and DU which all were charging exorbitant fee from examinees.     

    In nutshell, this landmark judgment has been beneficial for student community in India

    What obstacles have you faced in acing your career in litigation and shining with true colors, tell our audience the accurate road-map?

    Though there have been many obstacles but certainly the crucial obstacles were to get the family support and to find the right seniors to mentor in the process of litigation. I wish to thank my parents and my wife who stood by my choice of pursuing career in litigation. I also wish to thank my seniors Mr. Rajiv Mohan, Mr. Jayant K. Mehta, Mr. Abhimanyu Kampani, Advocates, who have been the guiding force in my career.

    For accurate road-map, I would say that law students must participate in moot court, debates, writing competitions and undergo different internships. This enables law students to analyze & to know their area of interests, and helps them in pursuing their career in a particular field.

    We have read that you are the founder of Whistle for Public Interest-WHIP, our audience is excited to hear from your end, what’s it all about?

    Whistle for Public Interest-WHIP is a group of law students and young lawyers founded in 2015 when I was in law school. Group has been working consistently for transparency, legal reforms and environmental protection. Group has been successful in bringing use of A4 Size Paper in legal proceedings, use of Mic-System & setting up of Online RTI Portal in Supreme Court of India.

    The group has also intervened and assisted the Supreme Court of India and High Courts on questions of law relating to right to information.

    Group has also been providing internships to law students through “Intern from Home” Program.  Under this program, law students interact with subject experts on issues of public interest and understand ground realities & its impact. Group efforts have also been recognized and appreciated by former Chief Justice Akil Kureshi, High Court of Rajasthan. 

    Truly speaking, there’s been a lot of misconceptions regarding litigation in India right now, what piece of advice would you like to give to our young law students?  

    Law colleges and law students have a major misconception that only Corporate & Arbitration laws can assure law students lucrative career in law. But today every law has its own significance and its impact on clients and the society. In my opinion, law students should explore other areas of law as well and practice litigation according to their interest and passion.

    Law students can easily do these things by attending conferences, seminars & court hearings. Ultimately, the purpose of life is to secure joy and the Comparison is the thief of joy.                     

           

    Get in touch with Paras Jain-

  • In Conversation With: Mumtaz Bhalla, Partner at Economic Laws Practice (ELP) and an Advocate on Record at the Supreme Court of India

    In Conversation With: Mumtaz Bhalla, Partner at Economic Laws Practice (ELP) and an Advocate on Record at the Supreme Court of India

    This interview has been published by Sonali Parashar, Ojuswi Sahay, and the SuperLawyer Team

    It is said that the best moments happen when they are unplanned. How true do you find this axiom? Do you anyhow relate to it considering that you were a science student and had never intended to take law as a career?

    I fit this quote perfectly. Law for me was unplanned. It wasn’t a thought-out decision. I didn’t know of the challenges the profession brought with it. Had I planned on it, I would have researched and succumbed to the pressures and challenges, especially since no one even in my distant family was/is a lawyer. After finishing school, I was clueless about what to do. I knew that I could never be a Doctor for even the very sight of blood could send shivers down my spine.

    A friend wanted to pursue law and convinced me to sit for an entrance exam. I think it worked in my favour. I came with no expectations, just seamlessly adjusted and fell in love with it. Sometimes the lack of expectation can set you free, certainly did so in my case. Today, I can say with certainty that it was the right and the best choice for me. I could have been nothing but a lawyer. 

    How did you manage to secure an internship under Mr Arun Jaitley and then land a job role at L&L Partners? 

    Mr Jaitley was the reason I took law seriously. I went to him seeking an internship in my final year of law school. At that time, everyone intended to seek a job where the internet and law firms were the most sought. I was very clear in my mind that I wanted to be a litigator and I knew that Mr Jaitley was inclined towards politics, so it may be my one and only chance to work with him for a considerable time. When I interned with him, the sheer aura he exuded was inspiring. His oration was impeccable and there was so much to learn from him.

    The internship led to a job as he felt that, if groomed right, he could be a good lawyer. I am glad I learnt from him, else I would have never been what I am today. Mr Jaitley quit practice in June 2009 and I had no choice but to move on. I had interned at L&L Partners and it was natural for me to look for a job there. I knew the environment and they knew my work fairly well. So, it all fell into place and it did not take much time for them to decide on my candidature and I joined L&L in July 2009.

    You worked at L&L for more than a decade. Can you share a bit about your role and the kind of work you had there? Do you think that L&L Partners was a turning point in your career?

    L&L appeared to be a stop-gap arrangement back then because I was not sure if I wanted to be at a law firm. I was enjoying law, but a job change after working at a place merely for one and a half years left me in a bit of a quandary. I joined L&L and there has been no looking back since then. From being valued as a resource in every matter I worked on, to being given the exposure to develop business with barely 3 years into the profession, allowed me to hone my all-around skills. I was acknowledged for my contributions in a matter, given out-of-turn promotions, and allowed to argue matters early in my career. Mr Jaitley inspired me…he was my guru.

    L&L shaped me into what I am… They knew what I was capable of, and they gave me the confidence and the platform to grow. I handled a variety of matters. A lot of practice areas (such as criminal trials) were not what my team did…but I was always encouraged to explore that part of the law as well. My Senior Partner had faith in me and let me develop my own ideas and approach. I have done everything from civil trial to criminal trial to PMLA to the consumer to arbitration to appellate and constitutional matters. I don’t think I could have gotten this kind of exposure anywhere else. In fact, it was my experience which helped me clear my AoR exam in my first attempt without the effort I expected I needed to put in. I continued with my regular work and cleared the exam with a good score.  

    You happen to excel both in Arbitration and traditional court-based litigation. What according to you is the best dispute resolution method? Do you think ADR is really serving its purpose in lowering the pendency of cases and burden on Courts?

    According to me, Arbitration is nothing but a personalised mini-trial. It is a more formal and time-bound process. I enjoy arbitrations as much as I enjoy traditional litigation…and sometimes even more. Out of all the arbitrations I have handled till now (big or small), all have been presided over by retired Judges, so the efficiency of CPC has never been compromised despite CPC not be strictly applicable. 

    I feel ADR is serving its purpose. With the way the Arbitration law has evolved in the last 7 years, it is at par with global standards. Arbitrations no longer go on like civil trials for years and years. The challenge to an award is restricted and with no automatic stay to an award upon the filing of an appeal anymore, matters get resolved quicker. Courts are usually reluctant to grant a stay without a deposit and where the Judgment-Debtor has to pay a big deposit, the matter often gets resolved without going through the lengthy process of an appeal in many cases. I feel while ad-hoc Arbitrations are expensive, institutions like DIAC bring it closer to smaller claims. I am certain that with time, arbitrations would make way for all kinds of disputes. 

    What skills according to you a law student must groom in order to pursue his/her career in International & Commercial Arbitration?

    I think reading the Arbitration and Conciliation Act is not enough. They must read the latest law on it…see how courts are interpreting it…follow law commission reports, and international developments…because what happens internationally is adopted by India too…sooner or later. 

    Can you tell us a bit about your current role and responsibilities? 

    Much like L&L, where I was a Partner for about 5 years, I am a Partner at ELP where I handle their dispute resolution (arbitration and litigation) practice. My role at the firm includes execution of matters, and business development so that we all can grow as a firm. Unlike several other firms, ELP (as did L&L) encourages its Partners to argue matters and conduct evidentiary hearings, which makes work more exciting.

    You have also served as the regional representative of India in the International Bar Association’s Criminal Law Committee. Would you like to share your experience and key learnings with us? 

    That was a beautiful experience. I argued for the Prosecution in a mock trial for an international crime before a Bench Comprising of a sitting Judge of the Supreme Court of Korea and won the criminal trial. My entry to the committee just didn’t help me organise the Trial but helped me understand issues of Transnational Crime, discuss cross-border criminal law issues and meet the experts in the arena. IBA also helped me gain an international name which is hard on the criminal side till you take part in any actual international criminal trial. In fact, law firms in India usually don’t focus a lot on criminal trials and organisations like IBA take us beyond our territorial limits.   

    At last, would you like to share your success mantra with our readers?

    After having given 13+ years to the profession, I feel there is no success mantra. There are no rules to go by. Work hard and with complete sincerity…enjoy what you do…success is a natural by-product. Don’t be impatient, don’t look to take shortcuts, there are none. Grow your way up the ladder with patience and perseverance.  

    Get in touch with Mumtaz Bhalla –