Tanvi Dubey is a practising advocate based in New Delhi. Currently working with Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co., and having an extensive experience in handling contractual, corporate and commercial disputes, she is a Member of the London Court of International Arbitration. She is also a visiting Guest faculty at National and non-national law schools. Here is the snippet of our interview with Ms. Dubey.
Q. You have found a mentor in Late Mr. Ram Jethmalani. How was your experience beginning your career under his guidance?
A. Words are not enough to describe this extremely charismatic, bold and exceptionally erudite lawyer. The first and foremost thing that comes to my mind is his advice to me that “…if you have chosen this profession, be mindful of the fact that there is absolutely no substitute to hard work..” There is absolutely no denial to the kind of hard work he did and the number of hours he used to spend on a single brief. Even on a non-working day, he would sit at his table at 10:30 A.M. straight upto 8:00 P.M.. Every time I met him his foremost question was about the most recent case, that I’ve worked on, the issue involved in that matter, my opinion, etc…
My first meeting with Ram Sir- was when I joined his chambers as an intern. On the first day of my internship, I was been informed that I need to accompany him to the Patiala House Court, where he was going to cross-examine a witness. I was elated to know this – as I had heard a lot about his cross examination skills. When he entered the court premises, every lawyer who saw him, even from a distance, rushed to him to either shake his hand, touch his feet, or hug him. And when he started the cross-examination, I was awestruck to witness the kind of dedication he had for his Client’s, which was pertinent from the kind of preparation he did for the matter. A person in his 90’s standing continuously for a stretch of 4 hours, was something truly inspiring for me. Each meeting with him taught me several valuable lessons, which not only helped me prosper as a lawyer but more importantly helped me develop as a better human being. There was always somebody who needed his help, and he would help everyone in the best way, he possibly could. I’m sure there are hundreds of people who have many such stories about the phenomenon that was Ram Jethmalani. To say that he had an illustrious life would be an understatement.
For him the courtroom was a stage and he was an actor. He bought empathy and passion in every case he fought for. His way of framing an argument and also presenting it- was undoubtedly magical- one would witness the same by seeing pin-drop silence in a crowded court room, when Mr. Jethmalani started his argument. He had absolute clarity in his arguments and also presented them in the most most understandable manner.
Ram Sir was definitely larger than life. I have no words to thank him for the role he has played in my life as a mentor, role model and an inspiration. Although he is not with us anymore but I am sure his principles and his teachings will guide me for the years to come.
Q. Your current specialisation is in Dispute Resolution under Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas. What are the fundamental things that you keep in mind?
A. At SAM, I have been fortunate to be part of some of the biggest litigations and arbitrations of recent times, in terms of value and significance. I strongly believe that the most important thing in any profession is fondness towards the work one is doing. To ensure excellence in work, its very important for a resource to know about the work environment, ethics, value system of the firm/chamber, which one seeks to join. The areas which I keep in mind while working, are enlisted hereunder :
a. Learn to listen
b. Bring multiple issues on table (even in an internal team discussion)
c. Don’t shred away from any kind of work, even if it involves minutest tasks like preparation of a brief, researching on a proposition or preparation of ancillaries;
d. Ensure active involvement in the filings before different courts and don’t blindly rely on the court clerks;
e. Apply innovative and lateral thinking, despite time pressure
Q. You have been one of the youngest Panelist to be invited by the University of Oxford and London School of Economics to speak on the issue-“Rethinking Gender Equality in Law”, sharing the panel with dignitaries including Mr. Mohan Parasaran, former Solicitor General of India and Mr. Salman Khurshid. How and why did you decide to advocate the legal empowerment of women?
A. The reason I chose to advocate the cause of legal empowerment of women was to enhance the understanding of the laws governing the rights of women. The primary reason which motivated me to take a step forward in this area, was the number of cases which I witnessed around me, wherein woman were totally unaware of their legal rights. I was fortunate to share a panel with some of the legal luminaries including Mr. Mohan Parasaran, former Solicitor General of India and Senior Advocate, Mr. Mahesh Jethmalani, Senior Advocate, Ms. Meenakshi Arora, Senior Advocate, Mr. Salman Khurshid, Senior Advocate. My discussion focused on the need for legally empowering women. During my discussion, I focused primarily on the following aspects:
What role can law and equality lawyers play in translating the activism into concrete legal and policy measures? How can law of a nation assist women in building their own identity and coming out of the world of distress and pain? How can the lawyers work with social movements to ensure implementation and enforcement of rights and policy policy? How can rights and gender equality law address the various strands of fundamentalisms that seek to dilute women’s human rights? How can gender equality lawyers work across different movements for social justice to ensure the gender equality issues are accounted for? How can awareness be creased among women about their rights and equipments to exercise those rights?
I personally engage in events advocating the issue of women empowerment in order to address the issue of powerlessness. I strongly feel that any law can play its role only when its effectively utilised. Awareness about the law and self realisation on part of women is required to turn the dream of ‘Gender Equality’ into reality. My advise to the budding women lawyers and law students is three fold :
– To be confident. Bridge the confidence gap. Think out of the league.
– Women need to support other women in the profession and mentor them.
– To be visible and fight against processes which invisibilize women.
Q. With many publications in various Oxford journals as well as in NLSIU Bangalore and NLU Delhi to your credit, what difference can you possibly observe in the review procedures of national and international journals?
A. There is nothing more important in the practice of law than your ability to put together quality written work. It is important not only for boosting up your CV but also increasing your knowledge in a particular area.
I would saw that each journal has its set requirements for publication. As far as the review procedure is concerned, it again varies for each journal. Typically, after a paper is submitted for publication in a journal, a journal editor screens the manuscript and after arriving at a decision shares the same for full peer review. Only after clearing the initial screening is the manuscript sent for peer review. Finally, journal editors or the journal’s editorial board consider the peer reviewers’ reports and make the final decision to accept or reject the manuscript for publication. Most importantly, the quality of research work is being focused upon for either national or international journal.
A thin line difference in review procedure for both national and internal national journals would lie in the committee of members reviewing the same. I have seen for couple of international journals, external members and members from different countries are a part of the editorial board.
Q. Having pursued various certificate courses, what do you think are the advantages of pursuing these courses, professionally?
Certificate courses are best way to get detailed knowledge about the subject matter and are immensely helpful in boosting up the legal skills and also helps in building professional credibility. They are extremely helpful in picking up legal knowledge which does not form part of the college curriculum. These courses are a great fit for studying subjects in law, as the ability to complete coursework on a flexible schedule can be ideal for doing the close readings of legal texts required to develop expertise in this field. This flexibility is also helpful to develop skills in law while continuing to work full-time jobs. In order to reflect a professional skill set and expertise as accurately as possible, earning a certification must be a thorough, challenging process. Thus, choice of the course has to be wise. Rather than just helping in boosting up the CV, certification courses also helps provide detailed knowledge about the subject matter.
Q. A word of advice to the young lawyers?
A. There is absolutely no substitute to handwork in this profession. From the very beginning a student must be very well focused. Strive to have an all round CV. Intern with different courts, companies, law firms and do it early so that when you make a final decision, you are sure about it. Law is a jealous mistress and requires long and constant courtship. Being from one of the non national law schools or new law schools is not that big a hindrance. What you require is a lot of hard work, lot patience and a positive approach. Something that will matter the most will be the way you will tell yourself your own story. Have a spark within you- so buckle up, and know that it’s going to be a tremendous amount of work, but embrace it. Sincerity and dedication are one of the most essential factors one need to focus throughout the law school journey.
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