Mr. Ish Jain has gained the accreditation of being one of the youngest advocates in India to have completed his LL.B. (Hons.) along with two LL.M. courses and Diploma in four different areas of Law. Here is his candid interview with Desi Kaanoon-
Q. While you have pursued your LL.M. with specialization in Four different areas of law viz. (i) International Commercial law, (ii) Intellectual Property Rights, (iii) Arbitration Law and (iv) Information Technology law, what were the benefits that you can evaluate, for doing the same?
A. Specializing in four different areas was initially challenging given the complexities and the depth of Acts and Regulations present in each practice area. However, upon commencing my practice, I realized that the value generation is immense. The broader knowledge base equipped me with the ability to provide strategic advice to diverse issues and diverse clients.
Technology (IT) and Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), both subjects were always a preferred choice owing to my interest in the field of computers, conceptualization of technology, cybercrime, brands, infringement of IP Rights, brand protection strategies and enforcement of IP Rights. While I studied IT & IPR during my diploma courses, I was intrigued to learn more and my inquisitiveness paved the way for including IT & IPR as two of the areas in my LL.M.
On the other hand, I chose another two different areas of law viz. International Commercial law and Arbitration Law since trade and commerce going ‘global’ in the truest sense of the phrase, cross-border commercial dealings have been growing. While this entails huge business opportunities, there is also a need to come up with ways to resolve cross-border disputes arising out of different legal and regulatory environments. To ensure that businesses do not run into troubled waters, International commercial arbitration is rapidly becoming the preferred mode of dispute resolution among various Indian and International entrepreneurs.
Q. You are one of the youngest Advocates to complete LL.B. (5 years Programme) along with 2 Masters (LL.M.) and 4 Diploma courses in different fields of law, all by the age of 23. What, according to you, is the contribution of strong academic track record in becoming a successful professional?
A. Knowledge and technical education provide strong roots to every professional. They equip you not only with the academic depth, but also with strong research skills, which is the base on which foundation of a successful lawyer is laid. Masters’ degree and specializations give you in-depth knowledge of realms of a practice area and different universities give you an exposure you will not receive in your traditional LLB course. There is no substitute for knowledge. Yes, to be an all-rounder professional, there are several other add-ons which a lawyer needs to build – like leadership, mentoring, practice development, practice management, vision for growth and impeccable client servicing. But all of these traits are over and above a strong academic base which can’t be compromised.
Another advantage of having a strong academic background is that you excel in the art of interpretation of statutes and legal documents. Pursuing diverse academics, some of the courses simultaneously, has made me comfortable with multi-tasking and managing conflicting priorities. This has helped me a great deal in my professional dealings as well.
Q. Your firm Regius Legal LLP is a multi-service law firm, with a special focus on civil and criminal litigation and dispute resolution. Would you be retaining the multi-service niche dispute resolution practice or do you have plans to venture into other practice areas?
A. Mr. Kiran Jain, who is a litigator par excellence, laid the foundation of his legal practice in 1991 by establishing Kiran Jain & Co. as a sole proprietary concern. Within the dispute resolution practice, the practice has been providing an entire array of services ranging from property disputes, debt recovery, money-laundering, white-collar crimes, frauds and scams, family disputes, finance and constitutional challenges.
With the amendment to the Companies Act and introduction of the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code (IBC), the growth of the corporate practice was inevitable owing to the growing clientele requiring us to deal with some of the most high-profile and high-stake matters in diverse forums in the above-mentioned areas. We were also increasingly handling domestic and international arbitrations for our clients from different industry sectors. Therefore, as part of its growth initiatives, the firm moved from a sole proprietorship structure to a partnership firm by on-boarding myself as a Senior Partner and formed Regius Legal LLP in 2018. Further, several of our corporate clients who have worked with us on the litigation side, are immensely impressed by our professional ethics and legal strategies and have started involving us in their business/commercial decisions & plans. This has set a strong base for the corporate practice of the firm. In the next phase of our growth, which is already in motion, our Partners are already running a diversified practice that covers diversified service offerings in the areas of Aviation, Banking & Finance, Real-Estate, Maritime, General Corporate/Commercial Advisory, Joint-Ventures, Intellectual Property, Information Technology and Mergers & Acquisitions.
As regards my personal plans, I would be focusing of further developing the aviation practice. Prior to Covid-19, civil aviation was my passion and had been working in capacity as a consultant to a company for almost 5 years. My experience, always made me keen to learn more about the sector. Infact last year I had attended a 6 months course in Astrophysics from the University of Mumbai. Post Covid-19, there will be several challenges that the sector will need to overcome- reviving the air traffic, insolvency proceedings of several airlines and its allied service companies, enforcement of insurance claims, distressed asset sales, renegotiation of contracts and lease agreements for aircrafts. As a lawyer interested in the future of this sector, I would focus more in doing my bit towards ensuring that the sector gets wings again!
Q. Could you throw more light on electronic courtrooms and virtual hearings, with special emphasis on criminal trial?
A. Now that we know the inevitable transition towards more technologically-driven legal system, the sooner we adapt to the advancement the better for us. However, I believe certain aspects of physical hearings cannot be and should not be replaced by virtual hearing. For instance trial in civil & criminal cases. This is because, during these stages, eye contact, studying the body language, face to face interaction play a very important role. Even certain evidences have to be produced in the court physically. I am of the view that critical stages during a case, for instance cross-examination, will not be as effective when done by virtual means. There is a lot of preparedness till last minute, interactions, brain-storming, relaying of crucial information amongst the party’s lawyer, counsel, witness and so forth. For such trials taking place through video-conferencing, where will the lawyers be on the screen end? How will interactions with witness take place? Whether lawyers, clients and witness will all be at one place or different places? How will the prompting of information (like it happens in physical hearings) take place while the hearing is in progress or how do you prevent prompting to the witness during cross-examination? There are a lot of questions that are yet to be answered before any ‘switch’ to digital means is made.
Q. You are the Co-Partner of a Mumbai-based law firm Regius Legal. What are the work opportunities in the firm for freshers?
A. At Regius Legal LLP we have a special focus towards knowledge building and research. The young lawyers bring a lot of fresh perspective and the firm is always eager to open its doors to fresh talent. The firm believes in a culture of grooming and mentoring the future-leaders from their very first day of the internships and every year we intentionally recruit fresh graduates from these internship to keep the wheel of growth spinning. The Partners take personal involvement in training the interns on practical, commercial and procedural aspects of law, to augment the academic learnings they gain in the law college. To add to this, our firm has a library of over 20,000 books, which is accessible to interns who are keen on developing a strong foundation to practice upon. We also have a Head of Research and Paralegal who spend quality time in making this culture of the firm more robust.
With appropriate training and under mentorship of our Partners, the interns assist in all areas of firm’s practice including Dispute Resolution, Aviation, Technology, Civil & Criminal Litigation and Corporate Advisory & Corporate Litigation.
You can reach him out via Linkedin on https://www.linkedin.com/in/ish-jain-343701a .
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