This is the rough transcript of an interview I did in 2023 for a podcast run by my law school. You can find it online here.
1. What drove you to pursue a career in corporate law?
You know, I honestly think that this is the first time I’m realising that I have, in fact, pursued a career in corporate law. In any case, it happened quite by accident - life really is what happens when you’re busy making other plans. I was always interested in litigating, and joined the Disputes team at Trilegal when I graduated. The partner I was working with at the time also took up electricity law disputes (which are before a specialised set of bodies) and I found that body of law interesting enough to switch internally, full-time, to the transactional side of affairs. I was also extremely lucky to have found people who helped me immensely along my journey.
As to why I joined a firm, it was always seen as the ultimate culmination of the law school journey, and so I suppose that’s what I did - I think in law school, we have a tendency not to think what comes after that PPO or day zero placement. It took me some time to realise that your career is a marathon, and not a sprint.
To be honest, I find corporate law to be a little ’cleaner’ - by which, I mean it’s: (i) far swifter; and (ii) has room, at least in India, for far neater and cleverer drafting. That also appeals to me.
2. How was your experience at NUJS? What were some activities that allowed you to develop your skillset?
My experience at NUJS was pretty great to be honest. In general, college gives you room to make mistakes and hopefully even learn from them. I tried my hand at all the typical law school activities - mooting, debating, and so on - it wasn’t until the third year, or even later, that I realised I enjoyed ADR competitions much much more. I had the chance to attend the HSF negotiation competition as both a participant, and more recently, a judge, and both were great experiences. In general, negotiation simulations simultaneously carry higher and lower stakes than actual negotiations, but they serve as useful shorthands for the real word.
There’s a beautiful tweet that says ”Lawyers spend three years in law school just to learn to say “it depends.” and you might wonder if that’s time well-spent and all I can say is well, it depends on how you look at it.” - I suppose my law school experience was like that.
3. How do you think legal education in India can be enhanced to meet the needs of students looking to become transactional lawyers?
That’s a hard question. I haven’t thought much about legal education since I graduated, and I remain sceptical about whether large-scale, systemic reform can be carried out so I’ll leave all talk of the Socratic method out of this. That being said, I think the way law is taught, or at least how I was taught, was almost philosophical in the sense of how divorced it was from actual practice.
This may also come up later, but the emphasis on being able to recite sections of statutes or landmark judgments from memory is rarely helpful in the real world - a-ha! moments where you know the exact precedent to apply to a problem are far rarer than you think. Knowing how to apply the law in order to synthesise an answer for your client’s unique situation is a far more useful skill than simply knowing what the law says. And I don’t think we’re taught that.
Which brings me to my answer - I think we need a lot more interaction with practising lawyers in law school than is currently done. I guess credit courses help bridge the gap to a certain extent - I would try and make them a more regular feature, by which I mean try and incentivise willing individuals to deliver the same course every year. A crash course on M&A for instance, or an introduction to energy law. I know some of these courses were run, but as one-off instances.
But as someone who does a fair bit of recruiting for my team - you really don’t need that as a fresher. That’s what we’re there for. There are some basic workplace expectations which need to be met, and the rest your seniors are meant to teach you.
4. How do you think law students can find their interests? How did you find yours?
Exposure. As much as you can get of it.
Read. Often, and a lot. Then when you’re tired, read some more. Read things you agree with, and things you don’t. Sit with the discomfort - it should lead to growth.
Read [[books]] on our justice system - its successes and failures. Read Anita Gets Bail by Arun Shourie and also read the Colonial Constitution by Arghya Sengupta. Read To Kill a Mockingbird. Read Zia Mody’s book. Read Madhav Khosla, and read Gautam Bhatia.
If I can be slightly selfish, please also read the financial papers - Mint is good. Read The Morning Context. Subscribe to Money Stuff. Maybe read Barbarians at the Gate and The Smartest Guys in the Room?
If you don’t like reading, why are you in law school?
If you must, watch some movies. Watch Twelve Angry Men and watch Gangaajal. That cuts a fairly vast swathe across what you can expect to find in the profession.
Next - intern. Intern a lot. As much as you can, and in as many diverse places as possible. While I took every opportunity I got to intern, my one minor regret is that I didn’t diversify enough.
Also remember, everyone has interests - the aim is to find one that lets you earn a living. And there are more than enough instances of that - I know of people from law school who have gone on to become successful artists, sports lawyers, and even philosophy professors.
I also feel like interests are somewhat of a virtuous cycle and that there’s a larger feedback loop at play. You’re interested in something -> you spend time on it -> you get better at it - you like it more. Rinse and repeat.
As to how I found my interest, like I said, it was purely by accident. I had no idea what electricity law was when I was in law school. I, did, however, have a room overlooking the WBPDCL building - it was only after graduation that I found out what the folks over there did.
Also, watch this to figure out if being a transactional lawyer is for you!
5. What’s it like working as a projects lawyer?
Trust me, it’s pretty great, else I wouldn’t have been able to do it for so long!
6. What kind of work and deliverables are there?
Our work is divided into three buckets:
(i) due diligences - you can’t avoid these as a firm lawyer, regardless of practice area. Ours are specific to the infrastructure sector, be it ports, highways or renewable energy projects. We act both buy-side and sell-side - in either case, our job is to review contracts for the development and operation of these assets as well as for the revenue generated by them, along with any approvals required for these activities. The purpose of a DD report is to highlight issues - any inconsistencies, factual inaccuracies or deviations from what we usually see in the market. These points serve as valuation drivers for the deal;
(ii) contract drafting - we draft the contracts I mentioned under the previous bucket for greenfield projects being set up by our clients; and
(iii) general advisory - again, this is pretty much unavoidable, as any kind of lawyer. If you’ve seen The Godfather, then you’ll know your role here. As advertised on the cover, you’re expected to provide counsel to your client - hopefully, with lesser bloodshed. The infrastructure sector is also pretty heavily regulated, and many authorities exercise oversight. So things, and their interpretation change multiple times a week - we’re expected to keep up with and opine on these.
7. How is the access to mentorship? Is business development taught and carried out at an early stage?
On mentorship - given that it’s an area of law that requires some technical expertise, we all know and recognise that mentorship is required, and it’s fairly easy to come by. We’re a small community and are always very grateful when someone expresses an interest in joining us. Business development is also a little easier, again, since it’s a small and close-knit community.
8. What tips do you have for people who want to work in this field?
Tips on those who want to work as projects lawyers - that’s a good one! I honestly don’t think there’s anything specific - I know Legally India has a great list of books for projects lawyers, although I think I’ve only read one of them so your mileage may vary. I do think being a good lawyer is important. Since today’s the World Cup final, let’s put it this way - Virat Kohli isn’t a professional tennis player but I guarantee you he‘ll be a lot better at it than the average person.
The same for goes for law - if you’re a good enough lawyer, a change in practice area won’t affect you too much. Be up to speed with contract law, admin law, and interpretation of statutes - you’ll use these skills frequently, regardless of where you are or end up going.
That being said, having good instincts as a lawyer is helpful (and that can be learnt), but all you really need is a keen eye for detail and to be willing to work hard and learn - it’s not rocket science!
Not that rocket science is rocket science either - after all, we owe a great deal of our aviation history to amateurs working out of garages.
Cheers!