He has completed his Masters of Laws (LL.M.) from the Indian Law Institute, New Delhi with distinction. He had obtained PhD in Medicinal Chemistry before joining police service, and later again in the field of Law from TISS, Mumbai. He is currently pursuing a Doctor of Science degree from the Gujarat Forensic Science University, Gandhinagar on the issues of Administration of Justice in cases of Child Sexual Abuse. He has recently been selected for prestigious ‘Flex Award’ under the Fulbright Fellowship 2020-21.

The Hon’ble President of India has honoured him 2nd Bar by decorating three times with the Police Medal for Gallantry, the highest national award for Police. He is the recipient of the Police Medal for Meritorious Service conferred by the Hon’ble President of India. He is also proud recipient of the Gold Medal for Gallantry granted by His Excellency the Governor of Uttar Pradesh. He has authored a book by the title “Assisted Reproduction and Conflicts in Rights” in 2016 which has gathered remarkable response from esteem readers and academia at large across the globe. He has authored several book chapters and over two dozen articles, published in reputed national and international academic journals.

1. Over the course of your experience in this field, what all type of cases have you dealt with?

“I am a serving member of the Indian Police Service for nearly 25 years and on deputation have proudly completed over 7 years in the Central Bureau of Investigation. I have been fortunate to have supervised variety of cases of murder, rape, murder after rape, dacoity, burglary and Anti-corruption; and during this journey have used a plethora of forensic evidences. Apart from that, in my UNODC stint of two years, I had an opportunity to learn variety of methodologies to deal with organised crimes in different parts of the world. In totality, this provided me with opportunities to work on a range of criminal cases including blind and cold incidents.”

2. What inspired you to join this field, and most importantly what is motivating you to stick with it?

“When I cleared UPSC, I was offered my home cadre so I was very contented. I frankly admit that I love Police work and can proudly say that if there is any truth in reincarnation, in each of my rebirth, I want to be a cop. My reason for this is very simple- the police is one organisation that has the mandate to provides immediate grievance redressal and do justice without delay. If you go to court, it takes a lot of time, huge investment and requires long lasting patience. But if police personnel genuinely want, they can do wonders for the society. I am very happy to be part of the police system   which maintains peace and tranquility in the society. We as policemen have to work round the clock spending sleepless nights but I am happy to do so if under my jurisdiction, people can have peaceful sleep at night.”

3. We know that with time crimes have evolved in many ways, how has the investigation procedures evolved with that?

“This question is very relevant to modern times. The role of the police is to prevent the commission of crime and in case a crime has been committed, the prime task is to detect the criminals. Human identification, in many ways, remains focal theme of the investigation. Advancement in technologies have made criminals smarter, posing challenge before police to connect crime with criminals beyond reasonable doubt. On the other hand, a lot of new techniques, especially in forensic evidence, have also evolved helping police to detect crime. In 1997, when I joined police, DNA was in its nascent stage. If I remember correctly, in Varanasi district, in the Diana C. Routley murder case, a young lady from New Zealand was murdered and buried by a villager. She was an innocent 21-year-old tourist, who was taken by a rickshaw puller to his village in district Gazipur, and there probably she was gang raped before murder although this fact never came in the investigation. During investigation, it was revealed that the girl was killed and buried in a room and floor was constructed over the site. After four-five months, the police dug out the body remains. When the investigation was on the verge of conclusion, at that time I joined Varanasi police as the ASP, so I got to supervise the case and see it through the last stage. To identify the bones that were dug out, we had used multiple forensic techniques like dental superimposition, we procured dental records back from her country. DNA fingerprinting was also conducted, first time in Uttar Pradesh. Hon’ble Supreme Court [Dharma Deo Yadav v. State of Uttar Pradesh (2014) 5 SCC 509], in this case, commuted the death penalty to life imprisonment to the perpetrator. 

Despite the fact that use of forensic evidence varies widely, but the problem remains that if we see the global scenario, India is much behind. The number of crimes is too high and investigators are over-burdened. Further, police are not divided into branches of investigating and law & order. Thus, one policeman has a dual role, where he/she conducts an investigation and also has the duty to maintain the law & order. We do not have a team specialised in the investigation of a particular type of crime, the same person may investigate road accident, murder, robbery or petty offences. In my view, the time has come for India that specialised teams for investigation must be developed. If I compare police investigation with the Central Bureau of Investigation, I find that in CBI we have more specialised units, and an investigator has more experience in a particular field. I think this model should be replicated in the state police units. Further, the last point I would like to add is that earlier crime was localised, now the time has changed its dimensions especially in the era of digital technology, so the role of digital forensics has become very important in detection of crime. In almost every crime, you can find out digital footprints to link crime and criminals. The use of forensic tools such as DNA technology, voice sampling, digital forensics should be used extensively to corroborate with oral testimony of a victim or other eye-witnesses.”

4. With new advancements in technologies every now and then, how advanced are our labs?

“The problem in India is multifold, first, we have a lesser forensic facility and more demand. Consequently, the investigating officers do not pursue the collection of evidence and even if they do so, in many cases, they do not send them for expert opinion. Investigators have to wait for expert opinion for several months and sometimes even years. Many times, on the pretext of shortage of manpower or overburden of work, the forensic samples are not even being received in the forensic laboratories. Delayed reporting is the major cause for avoiding use of expert opinion by the police, in addition to the fact that police is not well trained and aware of possible use of corroboration by forensic inputs. Indeed, we must have some auditing system for of men and machines. For each forensic equipment one must know its capacity to produce reports in specified time. Similar exercise must be done for each expert. I strongly believe with my experience that our existing forensic facilities are under-utilized. Further, we should compute our requirement based on number of samples, accordingly we should augment forensic facilities in India. Police modernization fund may be utilized for this purpose. Forensic experts should be trained periodically because technology is evolving. Police also need to be trained for forensic evidence, and so are the other stakeholders of criminal justice system. Periodic training to enhance professionalism are the requirements of the day.”

5. While getting a new case, what exactly are the requirements you have from the police officers?

“Every case has its own uniqueness. We can categorize heinous crimes into murder, rape, dacoity etc. Standard Operating Procedures for collection of evidence for each odious crime must be construed, and updated periodically to incorporate new advancements. These SOPs may help investigator to conduct fair and scientific investigation, that may further facilitate speedy trial. More so, number of investigators must be increased by recruiting policemen at different ranks. Excessive workload compromise quality of investigation.”

6. How important is it for a forensic officer to visit a crime scene?

“It depends on circumstances and nature of crime. In most of the districts, we have field units. We should understand that forensic expert working in the lab is a different person and the person who is assisting the police officer on the crime scene. Sometimes in critical cases of CBI, while visiting the scene of crime, we request a battery of forensic experts to accompany us. But it is not possible in every case. It is neither desired nor required. For the ease of understanding, forensic work may be divided into two segments, one is sample collection from the scene of the crime, and secondly, analysis in the diagnostic center. A team of forensic experts is called a field unit and the mobile forensic vans are also available in the districts. But these experts serving in field units or mobile forensic vans are not required to be at the same level of expertise as scientists working in the laboratories. They are trained to trace, to collect, to package and to transport the samples to the laboratory. This set of officers may be police officers or depending on the resources of the state they may be trained forensic experts. But if trained experts are not available even police personnel can be trained to serve this purpose. The field units must be provided kits for the purpose of collecting samples. The chain of custody should be well maintained at every stage till reporting in order to protect sanctity of the forensic samples. In laboratories, on the other hand, we should have well trained, educated and experienced experts. The Apex Court, in Rajiv Singh v. State of Bihar [2015 (13) SCALE 901 : (2015) 16 SCC 369], has explicitly detailed various facets of an expert under sections 45 of the Indian Evidence Act and 293 of Cr.P.C.”

7. As we are aware of the movement for including at least one forensic investigator in every police station, what are your views on that? How necessary is that measure at this point?

“Considering resource constraints in India, it may not be necessary, though ideally it looks resounding. Considering nature and quantum of crime, we can place forensic experts as field unit at district level. Indeed, emphasis must be given to strengthen mobile forensic vans with well trained staff. These vans can move from one place to another as and when required. So rather than placing forensic experts in each police station, I believe the mobile van system must be augmented.”

8. We heard the news about the upcoming National Forensic Science Institute, as a result of which in 10 years the number of forensic graduates will be doubled. How do you think India’s preparedness for this?

“We do not have a shortage of trained forensic experts; you can say the graduate or post-graduate students. My take is that we should have a proper arrangement for employment too along with on job training. I come across various promising students with bachelors and post-graduate degree in forensics, but they do not have the requisite experience. There should be a composite plan on how to provide them education with experience. Whenever there is a vacancy, there is a prerequisite that the candidate must be a graduate/post graduate with specified period of experience. But where will they get that experience? When I was the director at the CBI Academy, top executives of an international forensic science university had visited our academy in Ghaziabad. During interaction, they replied that we do not ask for any experience, we either take post-graduates or PhD scholars depending upon our requirement. Once we recruit the candidate then we provide them with the training. I opined that every newly recruited forensic expert, after requisite institutional training, must be attached to a principal expert as an assistant expert. Once he gains experience as assistant expert, say 100 cases or 200 cases, then only he may be promoted as a full-fledged principal expert. We can compensate for the experience requirement with the help of this model. Rather than asking for an experience, we should go for better-educated persons and then train them as per desired need. In current scenario of recruitment with prior experience, already employed expert can only apply, consequently expert changes his place of work of his choice by shifting to another lab, and new blood does not get chance for induction, resulting in frustration among budding scientists. We have to overhaul our recruitment rules, if we are really willing to enhance our forensic capabilities.”

9. Sir in your opinion what should be the selection criteria and education qualification of fresher?

“Again, there cannot be a rule of thumb. It depends on the recruitment rules and field requirements. Depending upon the method of work, someplace might need an assistant, at another place they might require a full-fledged expert. They may require a graduate or a post-graduate, some assignment might even require a PhD. There are two legal requirements for qualifying as an expert, firstly, educational qualification and secondly, domain experience. Education should be practical oriented. I come across people, brilliant chaps but they do not have any experience, they only have a degree. One more important thing is when budding forensic students are doing theoretical courses, the institutions must provide them workable inputs on the law. Reason is simple; the forensic science is an admixture of various sciences and legal doctrines. The courtroom is the litmus test for an expert opinion, and expert is to defend his report during trial by deposing his testimony and to face cross-examination. I suggest that forensic institution must tie up with law schools and students must interact with each other to know fine nuances of other’s disciplines. Forensic sciences institutions must be equipped with moot courts, so that students must be given inputs on the court proceedings and legal procedures. Likewise, law students must be given inputs in the fields of forensic sciences. This exchange model may help to promote scientific temper into investigation and the criminal justice system. Our judicial officers must also insist on the collection of forensic evidence and not just go along with what the police is providing them as outcome of investigation. Police as well as prosecution or defence lawyers, are all “officers to help court in pursuit of truth”. Truth is the quintessence of justice; and fair investigation is the precursor for fair trial in order to find truth. This philosophy needs to be promoted”

10. In your opinion, do pure science students have an upper hand over students who have been studying Forensics for more than 5 years.

“Suppose a person has a physics, chemistry or mathematics background, how can you expect him/her to have an upper hand over a trained forensic expert who has done graduation or masters in Forensic Sciences. A person who is trained in forensic sciences will be more equipped than student trained in other discipline. Another important point I would like to make is that forensic experts must have relevant knowledge of the case laws. For instance, if you are DNA expert, you should know the latest judgments of the constitutional courts on this subject. These case laws should be taught in the institutions also during degree courses, and similarly, law students should be exposed to the cases related to the field of forensics. I consider a judgment as ‘live law’ compared to the statute, which has complex legal language to understand. An expert must follow the court proceedings and must know ultimate fate of his expert opinion. This exercise will provide an opportunity to an expert to understand the strength and weakness of the expert report, and to further improve his domain knowledge.”

11. What was the case you found most challenging to be solved?

“There has been plethora of challenging cases in my entire career, as senior police officer. I mentioned earlier the Diana murder case, which was successfully solved by using DNA and other techniques. In CBI, I have supervised the Unnao rape case that was also a glaring case in public view. In Anti-corruption I have a series of cases to mention but since I have worked there, ethically cannot disclose the details. Every criminal case is unique and a learning opportunity, it gives you a lot of insights and understanding as police officer. The focal point remains that if you have the desire to find out the truth, then forensic evidence, corroboration and scientific temper are the hallmarks for fair investigation.”

12. How has the lockdown and the ongoing pandemic made the job of law enforcement officers difficult?

“COVID-19 has brought out an additional responsibility of the police, they are the frontline warriors to combat the ongoing global pandemic. The police have shouldered this task as primary responsibility, consequently, priority for investigation took a back seat. The agencies like CBI and other central law enforcing agencies do not have to perform special duties during the pandemic, so they have been doing their part in the investigation. However, due to restrictions on movement and transport, the pace of the investigation has gone down. It is now picking up and, I wish, will attain the desired pace in near future. The court proceedings are also restricted due to COVID, but the CBI is doing its best, and recent judgment of July 2020 awarding life imprisonment to 11 accused in Raja Man Singh Murder case of 1985 is glaring example of sincerity of the trial court and the CBI.”

The post In conversation with Dr. GK Goswami, IPS Inspector General of Police, Uttar Pradesh on Investigation Procedures, Use of Forensics and more appeared first on Legal Desire Media and Insights.

As a Nigerian and Irish child born into the impoverished home of a single white mother in rural Alberta, Braeden’s story is one of overcoming socioeconomic and racial barriers, defying expectations, and conquering adversity.

Basketball was Braeden’s lifeline and his one way ticket to a successful and meaningful life. As an immigrant to the U.S., he leveraged his talent to become an All-American high school player, join Steve Nash and the Canadian Olympic team, and get a high quality education at a Division I school. After a life-threatening accident nearly ended his playing career, he set his sights on an even greater goal: the practice of law. He chose Seton Hall University, where he would become the first Division I ball player to also study full-time as a first-year law student (winning the 2016 Big East Conference Championship in the process).

Here’s a candid conversation with him:

What’s a day in the life of Braeden like for work?

As an associate at a large law firm, I typically work between 10 and 12 hours a day. I focus my practice on general regulatory enforcement defense and government investigations. Our clients are usually banks, financial institutions, and public companies or their senior officers. These investigations are generally initiated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the New York State Attorney General (NYAG) or various other federal and state financial regulators.

While I’m aware that the above may sound boring, I can assure you it’s not. The process of defending large organizations against government regulatory investigations typically involves the firm (and myself) performing an internal investigation ourselves. In many ways, we investigate and try to figure out what happened before the government does in order to best prepare our client for what’s to come. A big part of great lawyering is subsumed within preparedness and foresight. When you can accurately predict the issues that could or will arise, it puts you in a much better position. It’s like knowing the answers before exam day. That process of uncovering the key facts and information is what I love most about my job. This often involves reviewing and analyzing thousands upon thousands of individuals’ work emails and compiling a chronology of major events and key communications. This enables us to be able to tell a complete story. What’s interesting about these cases are the stories themselves. Because all I do is regulatory enforcement, many of the legal issues become repetitive. But the stories and facts we learn and uncover are always different, and frequently shocking and fascinating.

Likes and dislikes or pros and cons of the role?

Pros: Being a lawyer is an incredible honor and a unique privilege. Doing the specific work that I do is particularly satisfying because I get to work on many of the most sophisticated and complex matters that are happening in the world, and also represent many of the largest and high profile companies and individuals. This job also allows you to build analytical skills that enable you to be pragmatic in other areas of your life, aside from your professional career.

Cons: This job is hard work and there is often a great deal of pressure to perform. Working for a major law firm and representing sophisticated parties means that there is not much room for error or imperfection. Our clients pay top dollar for top talent, and excellent representation. Therefore, it can often be overwhelming and intimidating for some people, usually earlier in their career.

What was your journey from law school to your current job?

How can students prepare for a career in this field?

Advice you’d give for law students?

Work really hard in school, and obsess over the process of getting what you want. Do not be intimidated. If the laws of physics allow for your goal to happen, you can do it, period. It’s also important to realize how important it is to develop relationships and connections with people outside of school. Seek out mentorship from folks who have done what you want to do. Ask them questions and don’t be shy. Finally, be confident in yourself. If you don’t believe it, how can anyone else? Never be the one to say no to your goal. Believe in yourself with relentlessness and perseverance.

Anything you’d do differently?

Not to sound cliche, but no. I have planned out my professional career pretty meticulously, and I could not be happier or more satisfied with the results. It’s been a truly beautiful journey, full of obstacles and challenges. I would not rather have it any other way. If it doesn’t kill you, adversity makes you stronger. So in that way, I feel very lucky.

What are your keys to success?

Fear of failure – This may sound counter intuitive, but having a healthy amount of fear is actually very motivating. I’m so worried about failing I will do anything to succeed. But fear of failure is not the same as fear of losing. I love honestly losing. Losing excites me. Losing is temporary. Losing is part of the process. I cannot lose forever, and I now know that from experience.  I love that process of imagining a goal and wracking your brain to come up with a plan that might enable you to pull it off. You lose and then you reflect and think about what you did wrong, or what you could do differently. I have met many challenges. Finding success now is like meeting an old friend. When success is close, you can smell it. You think, “Hey, I can smell donuts, I must be near a donut shop.”  People who stop when faced with challenges often think: “Success doesn’t look like this… I guess I should try something else… I guess this isn’t going to work.”

Fun facts about you:

– I graduated from college in 3 years with a B.S. in Forensic Behavioral Science

– I was the first male NCAA division 1 athlete to play basketball while enrolled full time in law school

– I know how to brew meade (honey-wine)

– I like to paint

– I was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Since moving to the U.S. 12 years ago, I have lived in 8 states.

The post From Basketball Court to Courtroom: In conversation with Braeden Anderson, Regulatory Enforcement Attorney at Sidley Austin appeared first on Legal Desire Media and Insights.

We had a pleasure interviewing Channika. Here’s the candid conversation with her:

In your view, what are the major problems faced by the environmental tort law industry?

Well, I believe logistically proving Causation can drag out and delay toxic tort cases because the Plaintiff must show that the injury was caused by the substance at issue. The environmental tort law industry has to face unique litigation challenges, especially when litigating disputes such as direct personal injuries or challenging authenticity of public policies. Jurisdictional hurdles are commonly faced by environmental litigators and do not have standing because courts often conclude that environmental plaintiffs frequently claim the defendant’s action as harmful and against the public interest. 

Environmental tort cases often need to prove their legal significance so that court actions can prevent any future violations from the defendant. Sometimes, environmental cases get dismissed if the court believes that the plaintiff has not sustained any provable damage or harm. Environmental lawyers have to deal with serious ethical questions and also need to manage a balance between economic development and environmental protection. 

As an attorney, how much preparation do you do on files that are going for trial?

I assist with Discovery and going over questions with the clients. I handle all the paperwork that is required to get our clients in the bankruptcy trust system. A great amount of research is necessary to collect all the required information. I also do the fine legal part before we obtain the results. Apart from this, I listen carefully to my clients and try to consider all options while considering a client’s case. Above all, I always treat our client as a person and not as just another “case”. 

So, please share some of the highlights of your career so far?

One of the main highlights of my career that I would like to share is the sense of satisfaction and pleasure I derive while assisting Asbestos bankruptcy proceedings and Asbestos litigation. The field of legal research gives us amazing responsibility and the ability to help people where they have been injured and are hence liable to receive compensation. I believe that my career enables helping people that are injured or that need a voice, which is, in fact, an invaluable gift to me. 

According to you, what are the three main attributes that define success for an environmental lawyer?

As with all law practitioners, fundamental skills such as research and writing, negotiation, and oral advocacy are the three main attributes that are important to be successful as an environmental lawyer. 

We need to be risk-takers with creative thinking skills and we need to think out of the box, something like a detective. Effective communication both oral and written is a must for a successful environmental lawyer. In order to win trials in court, the ability to persuade others towards a specific viewpoint is important. Also, the attorney must prepare and collate a lot of details to build an effective case. Currently, there is not much infrastructure in place for us to follow, and thus we need to be creators in order to be successful as environmental lawyers. Lastly, as this field is a crossover between science and law, we need to be interested in science and apply the same to law, just like an investigator!

What challenges do you think law firms and environmental lawyers will have to adapt to in the coming years?

We, as environmental lawyers play a big role because environmental law is one such area that has a very minimal infrastructure in place to protect the people. While there is the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that puts forward great intentions but, it has not been funded in a proper way. Therefore, the responsibility of making a true difference falls on the attorneys. Possibly, the challenges will include handling large volumes of cases and still treating clients as individuals.

What advice would you like to give the students who are aspiring to take up the profession as an environmental lawyer?

I would like to advise the students that are aspiring to become an environmental lawyer that it is very important to be focused, diligent, organized and make a clear-cut plan. Environmental law is not everyone’s cup of tea; in fact, it is perfect for the energetic and creative individual who really wants to make a difference. You will not have a “life” for a few years while you are at law school. Do not let this deter you – you will achieve something remarkable with just some perseverance and grit.

It is not just easy to go against the chemical giants but it is one of the best and rewarding careers. Prospective students can find information regarding degree programs, examination preparation, professional networking, and career opportunities in this emerging field online. 

What would you like to advise the current law students?

There will be many times where you will want to quit. But, do not give up. At the end of your journey, your struggles will be worth it. As a student of law, you need to begin building your network as soon as possible. A good network helps by providing the most important professional support, acting as a resource for potential jobs, and a system for continuing education, which helps to stay updated in your field of law. Make sure you make the connections with care and nurture good friendship as this is quite important both professionally and personally. 

Thus, through this interview with Channika, we can infer that in a domain like environmental litigation, attorneys face a lot of complex challenges. Three major attributes namely- hard work, knowledge, and experience are invaluable to achieve justice. 

The post In conversation with ChannikaDeSilva Gonzalez, Research Attorney at Environmental Litigation Group, P.C. appeared first on Legal Desire Media and Insights.

Here’s Some More:

1. “When you’re backed against the wall, break the goddamn thing down.”

2. “The only time success comes before work is in the dictionary.”

3. “Winners don’t make excuses when the other side plays the game.”

4. “Sorry, I can’t hear you over the sound of how awesome I am.”

5. “Ever loved someone so much, you would do anything for them? Yeah, well make that someone yourself and do whatever the hell you want.”

6. “I don’t pave the way for people… people pave the way for me.”

7. “I’m not about caring, I’m about winning.”

8. “I’m against having emotions, not against using them.”

9. “I don’t play the odds, I play the man.”

10. “That’s the difference between you and me. You wanna lose small, I wanna win big.”

11. “I don’t have dreams, I have goals.”

12. “I could be drinking a juice box and still kick your ass.”

13. “I’m not interested in great, I want to know who its Daddy is.”

14. “Sometimes good guys gotta do bad things to make the bad guys pay.”

15. “It’s not bragging if it’s true.”

16. “Unless you’re looking to make me breakfast tomorrow, I think we’re done.”

17. “You don’t send a puppy to clean up its own mess”

18. “Those would all be shades of I don’t give a shit”

19. “Work until you no longer have to introduce yourself.”

20. “It’s going to happen because I’m going to make it happen.”

21. “I like to smile at people who don’t like me.”

22. “Don’t raise your voice, improve your argument.”

23. “You want to change your life? Change the way you think.”

24. “97% of people who gave up are employed by the 3% who never gave up.”

25. “Kill them with success. Bury them with a smile.”

26. “Goals so big you get uncomfortable telling small-minded people.”

27. “Win a no-win situation by rewriting the rules.”

28. “Let them hate. Just make sure they spell your name right.”

29. “Next time you ought to make a life-altering decision, just question yourself ‘What would Harvey do?’”

30. “I win. That’s what I do.”

The post Suits is over, But these 56 Harvey Specter quotes will forever motivate you appeared first on Legal Desire Media and Insights.

Arun Jaitley was born on December 28, 1952, to Maharaj Kishen Jaitley and Ratan Prabha Jaitley. His father was a lawyer. Arun Jaitley did his schooling at St Xavier’s School, New Delhi, from 1960-69, and graduated in commerce from Shri Ram College of Commerce in 1973. He also did his law degree from the University of Delhi in 1977. Arun Jaitley married Sangeeta, daughter of former Jammu and Kashmir finance minister Girdhari Lal Dogra, on May 24, 1982. They have two children, Rohan and Sonali. Jaitley’s both children are lawyers by profession.

After doing his LLB, Arun Jaitley started his law practice in the Supreme Court and several high courts in 1977. In January 1990, he was designated as a Senior Advocate by the Delhi High Court. He was also appointed Additional Solicitor General in 1989. Arun Jaitley was a delegate on behalf of the Government of India to the United Nations General Assembly Session in June 1998 where the Declaration on Laws Relating to Drugs and Money Laundering was approved. His clients cover the political spectrum from Sharad Yadav of the Janata Dal to Madhavrao Scindia of the Congress to LK Advani of the BJP. During the 1975 emergency under Indira Gandhi, Arun Jaitley was placed under preventive detention for 19 months.

In July 2000, Jaitley was also given charge of the ministry of law, justice and company affairs and in the same year was made a cabinet minister. In college, Arun Jaitley was the student leader of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in Delhi University Campus and later became the President of the University Students’ Union in 1974. Arun Jaitley as a lawyer represented the high profile case for Pepsi Company in a 2002 Supreme Court case against the Coca Cola company. He stopped practicing law from 2009.

Jaitley’s formal entry into national politics happened in 1991 when he was made a member of the national executive of the BJP. Within eight years of joining the BJP, he became the minister of state for information and broadcasting with independent charge in the NDA government at the Centre, led by then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He was also the minister of state for disinvestment with independent charge, a ministry created to give effect to the policy of disinvestments. 

The former finance minister had played a crucial role in Narendra Modi becoming the prime ministerial candidate of BJP in 2013 before the 2014 general elections, an idea that some of the senior leaders of the party were opposed to. Jaitley had personally spoken to most of the members of the party’s parliamentary board and chief ministers of BJP-ruled states to get their support in favour of Modi as the prime ministerial candidate of BJP. After the BJP, under Modi, won the elections, he was made the finance and corporate affairs minister. He also handled the portfolio of defence between 2014 and 2017 and of information and broadcasting between 2014 and 2016.

His other big achievements include setting up of a Monetary Policy Committee to set the inflation target of 4% with an allowance of plus or minus 2% and the further liberalisation of foreign investment rules. In addition, Jaitley took steps to stabilise the economy, which ensured India was no longer a part of the Fragile Five club. Not only did he raise GDP growth from 6.4% in FY14 to 6.8% in FY19, he also brought down consumer price inflation from 9.5% in FY14 to 2.92% in April 2019. For the poor, keeping a lid on inflation was perhaps his biggest achievement.

The consolidation of the banking sector was another major step initiated by Jaitley during his five-year term at North Block. He merged five associated banks of State Bank of India (SBI) and Bharatiya Mahila Bank with SBI, and also merged Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank with Bank of Baroda.

Budget reforms too were a part of his agenda. These included doing away with the artificial boundary of plan and non-plan expenditure and a separate railway budget.

Former finance minister Arun Jaitley will be sorely missed in the finance ministry not just because of his ability to build a consensus with various state governments to ring in some big-ticket reforms such as the goods and services tax (GST), but also because of his role as the main troubleshooter for the Narendra Modi government, given his legal background.

Career Journey:

> 1989 – 90: Additional Solicitor General, Government of India

> 13 Oct. 1999 – 30 Sept. 2000: Minister of State (Independent charge) of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting

> 10 Dec. 1999 – July 2000: Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Department of Disinvestment (Additional Charge)

> April 2000: Elected to Rajya Sabha

> 23 July 2000 – 6 Nov. 2000: Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Law, Justice and Company Affairs

> 7 Nov. 2000 – 1 July 2002: Minister of Law, Justice and Company Affairs

> 20 March 2001 – 1 Sept. 2001: Minister of Shipping (Additional Charge)

> 29 Jan. 2003 – 21 May 2004: Minister of Law and Justice and Minister of Commerce and Industry

> April 2006: Re-elected to Rajya Sabha (second term)

> 3 June 2009 – 2 April 2012 and 3 April 2012 – 26 May 2014 Leader of the Opposition, Rajya Sabha

> April 2012 Re-elected to Rajya Sabha (third term)

> 27 May 2014 – 9 Nov. 2014: Minister of Defence

> 27 May 2014 – 14 May 2018: Minister of Finance Minister of Corporate Affairs

> 2 June 2014 – May 2019: Leader of the House, Rajya Sabha

> 9 Nov. 2014 – 5 July 2016: Minister of Information and Broadcasting

> 13 March 2017 – 3 Sept. 2017: Minister of Defence

> April 2018: Re-elected to Rajya Sabha (fourth term)

> 14 May 2018 – 22 August 2018: Minister without Portfolio

> 23 Aug. 2018 – 22 Jan. 2019: Minister of Finance; and Minister of Corporate Affairs

> 23 Jan. 2019 -14 Feb. 2019: Minister without Portfolio

> 15 Feb. 2019 – 30 May 2019: Minister of Finance; and Minister of Corporate Affairs

The post Arun Jaitley’s Life Journey from a Brilliant Law Student, Lawyer to Outstanding Parliamentarian & BJP’s Troubleshooter appeared first on Legal Desire Media and Insights.

We had a pleasure interviewing Maria, here’s candid conversation:

Now that you are the President of FBA, why don’t you tell us your journey till here?

I joined the board of the Chicago Chapter of the Federal Bar Association when I was a brand new attorney.  My colleague was an officer, and she strongly encouraged me to join and become involved, because the board was looking for younger members.  As the years passed, I eventually became an officer of the Chicago Chapter and then became president.  Once I finished my presidency with the  local chapter, I got involved at the national level by joining the national board of directors and as a Seventh Circuit Vice President.  I also participated in our annual Capitol Hill Day, in which we meet with lawmakers to lobby for various issues, like increased pay for judges and for more vacancies so that we can elevate more individuals to the bench to help ease the congestion in court dockets.  I also chaired numerous committees at the national level.  After several years of being active at the national level, I ran in a national election to become an officer. While I have enjoyed all of my time in the FBA, my year as national President has been special. I truly enjoyed visiting different FBA chapters all around the nation, speaking at conferences and events, and meeting our members.

You are a frequent speaker of Fashion, what are your other areas of practice and interests?

I handle complex business litigation disputes and defend class actions involving statutory violations.  I also advise businesses on contract-related matters, statutory compliance and insurance-related matters.

So how does FBA exactly work?

The FBA has chapters throughout the United States and its territories.  Each chapter has its own activities.  In addition, we have leaders at the national level along with events at the national level.  The FBA consists of over 19,000 federal lawyers, including 1,500 federal judges, who work together to promote the sound administration of justice and integrity, quality and independence of the judiciary. The FBA also provides opportunities for scholarship and for judges and lawyers to professionally and socially interact.  We invite attorneys, judges and law students to join the FBA.

What changes have you seen after joining FBA as a president?

One of my initiatives this year was to focus on health, wellness and civility. Statistics show that lawyers experience high levels of stress, depression and anxiety.  Lawyers often suffer from stress-related illnesses, and lawyers frequently deal with incivility.  Focusing on health and wellness can help alleviate these issues. During my term as national president, we offered fitness classes at our conferences this year, including yoga, 5K runs, and jazzercise.  We also provided healthy food options at our conferences.  In addition, the Senior Lawyers Division launched a webinar series on attorney wellness.  The focus on health and wellness will be a permanent part of future FBA events.

What is your vision for FBA in your tenure?

I am pleased to see that the organization will have a permanent focus on health, wellness, and civility. In addition, we are focused on celebrating the achievements of women in the law and the importance of diversity and inclusion. We also continue to focus on civics education and have made great strides in educating students about the third branch of government. We hold a nationwide civics essay contest on an annual basis for high school students and middle school students. This year’s topic focused on cyberbullying and the First Amendment. We offer cash prizes for the top three winners in each category and a trip to Washington, D.C. for the first place winners along with a parent or guardian.  I encourage all eligible students to participate in next year’s essay contest, which will focus on the 100th anniversary of the Nineteenth Amendment, which gave women the right to vote. More details to come!

You are also the President of the Hellenic Bar Association, how are you managing between both of them?

Well, I am definitely busy! I had a wonderful term as President of the Hellenic Bar Association of Illinois, but I completed my term about two months ago. I am now Chairwoman of the Hellenic Bar Board. Each year, the president of the Hellenic Bar Association is in charge of holding a Scholarship Ball where we award deserving law students with scholarships. The theme of the Scholarship Ball during my term was this quote from Ancient Greek philosopher Plato: “Good actions give strength to ourselves and inspire good actions in others.”  This year, with the help of the John C. Kulis Foundation, I am proud to share that the Hellenic Bar awarded $70,000 in law student scholarships. We also recognized esteemed honorees who demonstrated the highest level of service to the community: Mr. John Kocoras, Esq., First Assistant United States Attorney, as Hellene of the Year; Mr. Dimitri Eliopoulos, President of Wealth Management at RMB Capital; Mr. Nick Katsoris, Esq., author of the Loukoumi children’s book series, and Mr. E. Angelo Spyratos, Esq., 2018 Lawyer of the Year.  

While there was some overlap of my term as FBA national President and HBA President, the positions are very different, and the responsibilities greatly differ.  For example, I was able to hold the Hellenic Bar’s Scholarship Ball before I started traveling in my capacity as FBA national president. The reality is that, while I was quite busy, I really enjoyed holding both positions. I like to spend my free time giving back to the community, and these positions allowed me to do that in positive ways. I have always been organized, but running two bar associations, traveling around the nation, and sustaining a busy legal practice has certainly taken my time management skills to a new level.

You are one of the youngest and few female presidents to take office with the FBA, how does that make you feel?

I am incredibly proud and grateful to the FBA members for the amazing opportunity to lead such an esteemed group of professionals. I am only the tenth female FBA President in the 100 years that the organization has existed.  I am grateful to my mentors, friends and supporters over the years who made this possible.

The FBA is forward-thinking with respect to diversity and inclusion, but the reality is that, until recently, there simply were more men than women in the legal profession, so it is logical that more men have been FBA president. With more women entering the legal profession, I think that there will be a higher percentage of female FBA presidents in the next 100 years of the organization’s existence.

As a female attorney and national bar association leader, I believe that it is important to mentor young women in the legal community and beyond.  During my term as FBA president, I have had young women from different parts of the world see social media posts from the FBA and contact me to tell me that they view me as a role model and inspiration since I hold a national leadership position at a relatively young age. I will never forget those messages, and it has forever changed my perspective. I learned that there are different ways to be a mentor — from up close or from afar. 

Tell us about your first experience with FBA.

My first FBA experience was attending a board meeting for my local FBA chapter in Chicago. I was a brand new attorney, and I knew that the room was full of accomplished and high profile attorneys in the legal community. My plan was to remain quiet and observe, but someone who eventually became one of my mentors (several of which I met at that very board meeting!) encouraged me to voice my opinion with respect to the fee charged for our luncheon events from a young attorney’s perspective. He taught me that you need to be vocal in a meeting in order for people to remember that you were in attendance. That advice still comes in handy.

Since FBA will be completing its 100 years in 2020, What did it accomplish in last 99 years?

It has been an honor to be national President of the FBA during such a special time in its history. The FBA’s mission is to strengthen the federal legal system and administration of justice by serving the interests and the needs of the federal practitioner, both public and private, the federal judiciary and the public they serve. The FBA is the premier bar association serving the federal practitioner and judiciary. The FBA has been a pillar for federal practitioners and the judiciary for one hundred years despite countless changes in society, politics, and technology.  The organization has endured throughout many different eras in our country’s history, which is a testament to its relevance, strength and fluidity. The organization grew from just a few founding members to a thriving organization spanning the nation. Today, the FBA has over 100 local chapters across the country and in Puerto Rico with approximately 19,000 members.  The FBA:

• monitors and often advocates on federal issues that impact the practice of federal lawyers and the courts;
• keeps its members abreast of current federal issues;
• provides opportunities for scholarship and education to the profession;
• provides opportunities for judges and attorneys to professionally and socially interact; and 
• promotes high standards of professional competence and ethical conduct.

For many years, FBA leaders have visited Capitol Hill to educate House and Senate lawmakers about the importance of the federal courts and their needs.  We had seventy- four attendees from twenty-five states and Puerto Rico at this year’s Capitol Hill Day.  Our issues agenda included a request for the prompt filling of judicial vacancies, more judgeships to address growing caseloads, a request for Congress to create an independent immigration court, and support for amendments to the Foundation of the Federal Bar Association’s charter as the only institution in America chartered by Congress to promote the federal administration of justice, the advancement of federal jurisprudence and the practice of law in the federal courts.  

FBA educates children about American Judicial System, tell us more about that?

For several years, the FBA has been focused on the importance of civics education, and we have several different programs in place to assist with this initiative.  Past FBA President Judge Michael Newman started the civics initiative during his presidency, and we have continued it for the last three years.  Through our annual Community Outreach Project, chaired by Sheri Mecklenburg, our chapters organized visits to federal courthouses for schoolchildren to meet with federal judges in their courtrooms to observe, learn, and practice legal skills as critical, life skills.  In addition, two models of court camps – a day program at a courthouse on Long Island and a residential program at a law school in Utah – are breaking new ground for FBA chapters to assist courts with their civics education initiatives.  As I previously mentioned, we also hold an annual civics essay contest.  This contest is near and dear to my heart, because I chaired the contest for its first two years, and I encourage students to participate.  We also have civics education resources available on our website at http://www.fedbar.org/civics.  I hope that these resources and programs bring a greater awareness of the legal system in the United States along with an understanding that there should be respect for our courts, judges and juries.  

Give your feedbacks to info@legaldesire.com

The post In Conversation with Maria Z. Vathis, President of the Federal Bar Association appeared first on Legal Desire Media and Insights.

The legal field is quite complex, so finding a specific lawyer that meets your needs to handle your case is very important. There are five most familiar lawyers in the field that you will need to know about when first getting into the legal world and when you may need each one.

1. Personal Injury Lawyer

A personal injury lawyer helps individuals who have had injuries in accidents and need financial compensation. The financial benefit is often necessary to pay for medical treatment, to make up lost wages and compensation for injuries endured. Wagnerjones.com personal injury attorney is an excellent example to help you understand these types of lawyers.

A personal injury lawyer can demonstrate how an accident and legal issues affect a person’s rights. They can walk a client through the system and help them receive the compensation they deserve. Most personal injury cases do not appear in a trial while a majority is settled before a lawsuit is even filed.

When it comes to being involved in an accident where judgment is likely to be muddled, and you won’t be able to make the best decisions. A personal injury lawyer is best for these types of situations since they have no personal bias or opinion in the case and can make the best decisions on your behalf. These types of lawyers are best for negotiating settlements with the plaintiff instead of going to trial. Tax lawyers are also very helpful when it comes to knowing complicated legal procedures, medical terms and paperwork, which are common in personal injury cases.

2. Family Lawyer

Family law focuses on issues involving family relationships and the touchy subjects that may arise. Family lawyers can handle legal matters like adoption, divorce and child custody, among other issues. The lawyers represent families in court or related negotiations and draft legal documentation.

Most family lawyers represent clients in divorce proceedings, but family law is a vast area of practice. When it comes to divorce cases, family lawyers can act as a mediator and approach the situation rationally and within the law. When it comes to child custody agreements, a lawyer can assist a couple drafting the prenuptial agreement and handling agreement that can arise from the contract.

Family law can be a very stressful and personal process, so having a trusted legal professional on your side can help be reassuring and relieving. At the end of the whole process, families should have better-defined relationships and problems properly resolved. You family lawyer should take you through every step of the process while being supportive of the situation at hand.

3. Immigration Lawyer

Immigration lawyers help you through the immigration process by helping you analyze your rights, possibilities and strategies and lead you through the complicated immigration process step by step. The immigration process is very complicated, and even small mistakes in the visa application or green card process can lead to year-long delays or possible deportation.

Immigration lawyers prepare much of the paperwork for their clients and help them organize through essential items needed like birth certificates or proof of marriage. They make sure the various forms of information you present, and your testimony is correct and consistent, which can be stressful and time-consuming without their guidance.

An immigration lawyer can also be helpful when applying for citizenship as well, which can be a very complicated process. Among the involved processes, immigration lawyers can assist with a client who has been convicted of a crime and if prior immigration applications have been denied. Most immigration trials and situations are not simple, and immigration lawyers are there to help the process go as smoothly as possible and determine the condition. 

4. Criminal Defense Lawyer

The role of a criminal defense lawyer is to represent their defendants in the criminal court system like arraignments, settlement conferences, trials and sentence hearings. They defend people at the federal, state and local level and to represent clients in federal courts, lawyers must apply admission to practice in that court. Many criminal defense lawyers are public defenders who are appointed cases and paid by the public defender’s office.

Throughout the process, criminal lawyers offer legal counsel and their extensive knowledge of the law to their clients that would be in their best interest. A vast amount of their time and duties are spent gathering evidence like police reports and eye witness testimonies so to compensate for that they utilize other expertise to assist them.

The primary duties of criminal defense lawyers are interviewing witnesses, performing legal research on the case, examining the crime scene, negotiating plea bargains with the prosecutor and figuring out a good sentencing program. Criminal law, in general, is a very complex body of state and federal legislation and criminal defense lawyers are for helping the process go smoother and getting everything settled correctly.

5. Tax Lawyer

When it comes to tax lawyers, it is not just about fighting numbers. You’re fighting the law as well. Tax lawyers are specialists in federal, state and municipal rules concerning tax liability and process of taxation. Tax attorneys are also highly sought after for their skilled understanding of tax law and to help clients better understand laws that govern taxation and for them to remain in compliance.

You may need tax lawyers for multiple reasons in your life and learning the possible situations now can give you essential knowledge for later. When you are anticipating having a taxable estate when you pass away it is good to have a tax lawyer to help you devise estate planning strategies. When starting a business legal counsel advice can teach you about the structure and tax treatment of your company. Engaging in international business is also something you need help with when including contracts, tax treatment and other legal matters.

The post The 5 Most Common Types of Lawyers and When You’ll Need Them appeared first on Legal Desire Media and Insights.

Interviewed by Anuj Kumar, Founder- Legal Desire

Anuj: Would you like to introduce yourself to our readers?

Asif: In last few years the legal domain has witnessed an acceptance for technology and has created a new branch of professionals, who are lawyers by profession and entrepreneurs from heart.  I would like to associate myself in that club.

I graduated in law from Lloyd Law College in 2015 and started practising litigation with some reputed senior lawyers. My practice areas were arbitration, IPRs, consumer and commercial disputes. While I was practicing law I got associated with advok8, which is a legal tech start-up. I was fascinated by the vision of this start-up, which is now an integral part of my life.  I also work as an RTI activist and have raised many important issues with the Government. I am glad to share that I also contribute as a columnist for Legal Desire.

I have actively worked on Third Party funding for the past two years and aided in making it a reality for the Indian scenario. As I got the chance to lead Third Party funding with advok8, I tried and was able to develop an indianised version of Third Party funding. I love working on innovations in the legal sector and believe that advok8 will come out with many path breaking developments in the legal sphere.

‌ Anuj: How did you become interested in Legal Innovation and Legal Tech?

Asif: I think the simple answer for this would be the timing. Around 2016, India was witnessing a huge wave of start-ups. OLA, OYO, PAYTM were a few such start-ups who were making it big like never before. Almost in every segment there was disruption. I had been reading daily about them and their success stories when I was approached by advok8 and I just fell for it. Also when you are first generation lawyer you look for a chance to make quick growth in this limited lifespan, while everybody around you will push you to wait for 5-6 years to start something of your own. I believe that if you want to do it, you must make a move for it, and the people around will gradually start accepting it.

‌Anuj: What is Advok8? Tell us about Advok8 and how it all came about?

Asif: Advok8 is a legal cum fintech start-up which is devoted towards making justice and legal services accessible to all at an affordable price.

In the initial stages, advok8 mapped courts, the inflow of cases and the readiness of legal infrastructure to deal with the growing number of cases. Kundan, who is one of the founders of advok8, attempted to understand these potential threats which would hit the Indian legal dispute resolution system in next few decades, and wanted advok8 to be a platform to minimize the harm and reduce the increasing number of cases through technology while promoting access to justice.

‌Anuj: What is the common line that your start-up works on? What is the pain area you want to resolve for people at large?

Asif: The pain area which we want to resolve for people is legal cost.

In my opinion, high legal cost or legal expense is a barrier for access to justice. If the cost of accessing justice is high then the taste of justice for different strata will be different. So, advok8 started helping out litigants with legal cost and making it a neutral factor.  

Keeping this is as its mission and vision, advok8 started Third Party Funding in India and is currently working on certain other products to resolve the issue of cost in litigation.

‌Anuj: Third Party Funding has witnessed a sudden rise in India. Tell us about it as you are the first movers?

Asif: Before I discuss more about Third Party funding, I would like to explain it to the readers. Third Party funding is the funding of litigation costs of a claimant, by a funder, in exchange for a share in the successful litigation or settlement amount. There are a few reasons why there is a sudden rise in the popularity of Third Party funding. The first is awareness after the Supreme Court judgment. The second is the interest of international litigation funders in India for exploring the Indian multi-billion dollar litigation market.  The third is clarity on law that, unlike other countries Third Party funding was never illegal, so there is no point legalising it. Fourth, India is trying to become an Arbitration hub and Third Party funding accelerates arbitration as a dispute resolution mechanism.

‌Anuj: How you are planning to take Third Party funding to a bigger scale? How does it help individuals and Businesses?

Asif: We need to understand that Third Party funding is not just a necessity for individuals who don’t have money and to fight cases but it is a strategy for businesses to cope with legal costs and expenses. Scaling Third Party funding will require two things; greater involvement of corporates and creating a new investment class where individuals can invest in cases and earn high returns in comparison to any other mode of investment.

Individual are benefitted by Third Party funding as they can avail it to fight for their rightful claims without worrying about the deep pockets of the opposite party. On the other hand, Third Party funding is a tool to manage huge legal costs for businesses. Businesses can improve their EBITDA and cash flow by availing Third Party funding, and by using the previously allocated resources of the legal department in operation.

‌Anuj: Recently you came up with another line of product, tell us about that?

Asif: As we work to make legal cost a less relevant factor for access to justice, we are trying to introduce something by which individuals can pre-plan their legal expenses or cost. Of course, if you can pre-plan your legal expenses, like other potential expenses, your pocket will not get hurt when you face legal problems.

Our product is currently in process and is not ready to be delivered yet. It will take few weeks to hit the market.

‌Anuj: What is your vision and mission?

Asif: Like most start-ups who made elite products accessible to masses by introducing technology in a viable business module, our vision is to provide standardised, affordable and reliable legal services to masses. Our team is also working on introducing AI and ML in certain existing processes which will make legal systems more accessible and efficient. Most importantly, we encourage ADR and ODR as methods of dispute resolution as we would like to prevent petty cases from entering in the system by resolving disputes through ODRs as this will reduce burden of the judiciary.

‌Anuj: What impact do you think your product will have on the society?

Asif: I foresee that over a period of time the most important impact would be a shift in the mindset of litigants or masses about legal disputes.

Today anything related to legal is considered a woe unlike a blessing in the developed nations. Running away from the legal and justice system will not help rather understanding the empowerment it can provide will make us a better nation, because it’s not only rights but also the enforcement of rights that matters in a democracy. If we can contribute in bringing a slight shift in this, we will be happy that we have done something worth.

‌Anuj: Will that help generating opportunities for lawyers?

Asif: Of course, this is one of the most delightful aspects of advok8. We already have a very big network of panel lawyers who are diligently pursuing cases for us and various parties associated to us. With our new line of products we believe that many more opportunities will hit the market specially for young talents, who find it difficult to start their independent practices due to lack of clientele.

To make legal services cost efficient, distribution of cases among lawyers is an important aspect.

Over the period of time a pyramid is formed whereby 80 % of cases are handled by 20% of lawyers in every state. This structure somehow ignores many talented minds and they fail to survive in the long run. We are trying to provide opportunities to those who are in the middle of this pyramid; this will ensure low cost and high quality legal services without effecting the practice of the group at the top.

‌Anuj: What is the real need for this product? Does it target any specific need of the people/society?

Asif: Our services enable access to justice which drives it to be a product for the masses. Here I would like to borrow a famous quote from Robert Kennedy as he said, “The glory of justice and the majesty of law are created not just by the Constitution – nor by the courts – nor by the officers of the law – nor by the lawyers – but by the men and women who constitute our society – who are the protectors of the law as they are themselves protected by the law.”

‌Anuj: What constraints, challenges and opportunities exist in the development, design and usage of Third Party funding?

Asif: Third Party funding has been in existence for a few decades in other jurisdictions, but the legal position was very unclear in India in spite of the fact that no law bars Third Party funding in India. So the biggest constraint was to find the legitimate scope of Third Party funding in Indian legal system. When we entered the market, it took a lot of time and effort to confirm that Third Party funding is legally possible in India. Our second challenge was to communicate that Third Party funding is different from litigation finance by a lawyer, which is not permissible as per the BCI Act. Third, of course, was the trust of people. Nobody believes you when you are a first mover of something. People were very sceptical when we first pitched crowd fund based Third Party funding, however things have started working for us. The traction is encouraging.

The market of Third Party funding is of around 80 billion US dollars in India and with nearly 3.3 crore cases pending in the courts, the opportunity is huge. Therefore, one can find that India is becoming a place of interest for international funders.

‌Anuj: Recently CAM has started “Prarambh”. How do you see it?

Asif: I think it’s a wonderful move and I am really inspired by this step of Cyril Amarchand & Mangaldas. CAM has always taken the lead in shaping the legal sphere.  This will encourage students from legal background to get into entrepreneurship with confidence. I think the idea behind this is to create greater acceptance for technology in the legal sector and to make a shift from traditional exhausting processes.

‌Anuj: Do you encourage Entrepreneurship as a career to lawyers?

Asif: Yes, of course!  I firmly believe that lawyers can be great entrepreneurs. Aditya Ghosh, who recently joined OYO as CEO, is a role model on how big you can make as an entrepreneur with a legal background.

‌Anuj: How can we deep root entrepreneurship at the law college level? Are you doing something for it?

Asif: The most successful entrepreneurs are coming from IIMs or IITs. The reason behind this is that these institutions celebrate entrepreneurship and innovation. Entrepreneurship is a part of their curriculum. If we want to deep root entrepreneurship in law colleges, we need to make it a part of the curriculum, like moot courts and client counselling. Colleges must encourage Entrepreneurship cells to promote innovations in legal and non legal sectors.

Yes, I am working with some influential leaders who are also entrepreneurs with a legal background, to establish and promote end-to-end entrepreneurial setup for law students.  When I say end-to-end I mean that when a law student has decided to take entrepreneurship as a career, he must have multiple opportunities waiting for him in the market.

Anuj: What is your message to young lawyers?

Asif: I will say let’s stop cribbing, blaming the seniors, hoping for clients, planning for independent practices and expecting magic to happen which will change your life. Believe me when I say, that you are the magician in your story. It is human nature that if you compromise once in your life, you will make a habit out of it.

Send your feedbacks/leads for interviews to info@legaldesire.com

The post In conversation with Syed Asif Iqbal, co-founder advok8.in on Third Party funding in Litigation appeared first on Legal Desire Media and Insights.

The proposed criteria for determining which families would qualify for the “economically weaker” tag are as follows: an annual income below Rs 8 lakh; farmland less than 5 acres; residential house below 1,000sqft; residential plot below 100 square yards in a notified municipality; residential plot below 200 square yards in a non-notified municipality area.

The Union cabinet on Monday gave its nod for tabling a constitutional amendment bill to provide 10 per cent reservation in government jobs and educational institutions to the “economically weaker sections”. The existing quotas, driven by the principle of social justice, will not be affected, sources said.

A similar proposal had been made by the P.V. Narasimha Rao government in 1991, but it was struck down by the Supreme Court on constitutional grounds.

For announcement, it is a great liner for seeking vote bank but in reality it is unworkable, as it needs in both house of parliament and state assemblies to ratify as it will be a constitutional amendment. Articles 15 and 16 of the Constitution will have to be amended for implementation of the decision.

Reports say the quota will be over and above the existing 50 per cent reservation, and thus, won’t impact the fate of the reserved communities.

An amendment of the Constitution can be initiated only by the introduction of a Bill in either House of Parliament. The Bill must then be passed in each House by a majority of the total membership of that House and by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of that House present and voting. There is no provision for a joint sitting in case of disagreement between the two Houses. The Bill, passed by the required majority, is then presented to the President who shall give his assent to the Bill. If the amendment seeks to make any change in any of the provisions mentioned in the proviso to article 368, it must be ratified by the Legislatures of not less than one-half of the States. Although there is no prescribed time limit for ratification, it must be completed before the amending Bill is presented to the President for his assent.

Supreme court ruled that the constituent power under Article 368 pf Constitution of India must be exercised by the Parliament in the prescribed manner and cannot be exercised under the legislative powers of the Parliament. (“Para 506e of Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala, (AIR 1973 SC 1461)

Article 368. Power of Parliament to amend the Constitution and Procedure therefor:

(1) Notwithstanding anything in this Constitution, Parliament may in exercise of its constituent power amend by way of addition, variation or repeal any provision of this Constitution in accordance with the procedure laid down in this article.

(2) An amendment of this Constitution may be initiated only by the introduction of a Bill for the purpose in either House of Parliament, and when the Bill is passed in each House by a majority of the total membership of that House and by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of that House present and voting, it shall be presented to the President who shall give his assent to the Bill and thereupon the Constitution shall stand amended in accordance with the terms of the Bill:

Provided that if such amendment seeks to make any change in –

(a) article 54, article 55, article 73, article 162 or article 241, or

(b) Chapter IV of Part V, Chapter V of Part VI, or Chapter I of Part XI, or

(c) any of the Lists in the Seventh Schedule, or

(d) the representation of States in Parliament, or

(e) the provisions of this article,

the amendment shall also require to be ratified by the Legislatures of not less than one-half of the States by resolutions to that effect passed by those Legislatures before the Bill making provision for such amendment is presented to the President for assent.

(3) Nothing in article 13 shall apply to any amendment made under this article.

(4) No amendment of this Constitution (including the provisions of Part III) made or purporting to have been made under this article whether before or after the commencement of section 55 of the Constitution (Fortysecond Amendment) Act, 1976 shall be called in question in any court on any ground.

(5) For the removal of doubts, it is hereby declared that there shall be no limitation whatever on the constituent power of Parliament to amend by way of addition, variation or repeal the provisions of this Constitution under this article.

Also, It is to be noted that Hon’ble Supreme Court had made it clear that reservation can’t go beyond 50%.

The Indira Sawhney judgment declared 50% quota as the rule unless extraordinary situations “inherent in the great diversity of this country and the people” happen. Even then, extreme caution is to be exercised and a special case should be made out.

If the government proposes to bring a constitutional amendment to include the 10% quota for “unreserved economically weaker sections”, the 11-judge Kesavananda Bharati judgment may stand in the way. The judgment held that constitutional amendments which offended the basic structure of the Constitution would be ultra vires. Neither Parliament nor legislatures could transgress the basic feature of the Constitution, namely, the principle of equality enshrined in Article 14.

The government, it is reported, proposes to bring the 10% over and above the 49% quota — 7% for Scheduled Castes, 15% for Scheduled Tribes and 27% for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes, including widows and orphans of any caste, which is permitted. But a total 59% (49%+10%) quota would leave other candidates with just 41% government jobs or seats. This may amount to “sacrifice of merit” and violate Article 14.

In the Indra Sawhney vs Union of Indian case (Mandal Commission case), a nine-judge bench of the apex court wrote that Kalelkar “opined that the principle of caste should be eschewed altogether. Then alone, he said, would it be possible to help the extremely poor and deserving members of all communities.”

The Mandal Commission, which followed Kalelkar Commission in 1979, submitted its report in December 1980. It recommended extending reservation benefits to socially and educationally backward classes (SEBC). Implementing it, the V P Singh government issued an Office Memorandum (OM) on August 13, 1990, directing that “27% of vacancies in civil posts and services under the Government of India shall be reserved for SEBC”.

Following protests against its implementation, petitions were filed challenging the OM. The court stayed the decision.

After the P V Narasimha Rao government came in in 1991, another OM was issued on September 25, 1991, modifying the earlier memorandum. The new OM said that “10% vacancies in civil posts and services under the Government of India shall be reserved for other economically backward sections of the people who are not covered by any existing schemes of reservation”.

The apex court struck this down while deciding the Mandal Commission judgment.

The court, which went into various Constitutional provisions on the reservation, noted, “…identification of such class cannot be caste based. Nor it can be founded, only, on economic considerations, as ‘mere poverty’ cannot be the test of backwardness.”

Striking down the provision, the court said, “This clause provides for 10% reservation (in appointments/posts) in favour of economically backward sections among open competition (non-reserved) category. Though the criteria is not yet evolved by the Government, it is obvious that the basis is either income of a person and/or the extent of property held by him. The impugned Memorandum does not say whether this classification is made under Clause (4) or Clause (1) of Article 16… we find it difficult to sustain.”

The top court observed, “Reservation of 10% vacancies among open competition candidates on the basis of income/property-holding means exclusion of those above the demarcating line from those 10% seats. The question is whether this is constitutionally permissible. We think not. It may not be permissible to debar a citizen from being considered for appointment to an office under the State solely on the basis of his income or property-holding. Since employment under the State is really conceived to serve the people (that it may also be a source of livelihood is secondary), no such bar can be created…”

Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has clarified that to implement the cabinet’s decision to start giving 10 per cent reservation to ‘economically-backward’ upper castes in government jobs, the Centre will bring in a constitutional amendment and not a legal one.

Prasad was responding to former union minister and Congress leader Manish Tewari at the launch of former MP Baijayant Panda’s book, Lutyens’ Maverick.

“The threshold to define economically disadvantaged persons is surprisingly high. Families with income less than Rs 8 lakh annually (or Rs 66,666 rupees monthly), or less than five acres of land, would qualify. These are very far from the poorest of the poor; instead, they would cover more than 75 per cent of households in the country. By contrast, India’s poverty line is marked at a dollar a day. If the government was serious in reaching out to the most economically vulnerable, its cut-off should have been much lower.”  –Harsh Mander, Retd IAS officer and social activist told The Print

The Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) released a startling figure of 11 million job losses in 2018 alone. In Parliament, the government has acknowledged that there are 24 lakh vacancies in various state and central department.

So a question arises, When there is NO JOBS creation and already 24 Lakh vacancies in govt sector which are not filled by the Govt, then Country need to debate for Reservation or Jobs?

The post Policy X-Ray: Why Modi Govt’s proposed amendment in Constitution to give 10% quota to upper-caste fails legal test appeared first on Legal Desire Media and Insights.

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar drew a distinction between rules and principle. Not only he made distinction, but he stressed that this distinction is real and important. According to him Rules are practical; they are habitual ways of doing things according to prescription but Principles are intellectual; they are useful methods of judging things.

What is this Hindu religion? Is it a set of principles or is it a code of rules? Now the Hindu Religion, as contained in the Vedas and Smritis, is nothing but a mass of sacrificial, social, political and sanitary rules and regulations, all mixed up. Hindu religion is nothing but a multitude of commands and prohibitions.

Religion, in the sense of spiritual principles, truly universal, applicable to all races, to all countries, to all times, is not to be found in them; and if it is, it does not form the governing part of a Hindu’s life. That for a Hindu dharma means commands and prohibitions is clear from the way the word Dharma is used in Vedas and the Smritis and understood by the commentators.

Ambedkar refuse to call such code of ordinances as religion as Hindu religion tends to deprive moral life of freedom and spontaneity, and to reduce it to a more or less anxious and servile conformity to externally imposed rules. Under it, there is no loyality to ideals; there is only conformity to commands in Hinduism. The worst evil of Hinduism is that the customs it contains must be the same yesterday, today and forever. They are immoral in that as they are not the same for one class as for another. The objectionable part is not that they are made by certain persons called prophets or law-givers. The objectionable part is that this code has been invested with the character of finality and fixity. Happiness notoriously varies with the conditions and circumstances of a person, as well as with the conditions of different people and epochs. That being the case, how can humanity endure this code of eternal laws, without being cramped and without being crippled?

Without any hesitation, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar said that such a religion must be destroyed, and stressed that there is nothing irreligious in working for the destruction of such a religion. It is duty of mass to tear off the mask, to remove the misrepresentation that is caused by misnaming such immoral law as religion. Once people’s minds cleared with this misconception and they understood that what they told is religion is not religion, but that is really law, then people will be in a position to urge its amendment or abolition.

So, long as people will look upon Hinduism as a religion, they will not be ready for a change or its abolition, because the idea of religion is generally speaking not associated with the idea of change.

Though Ambedkar condemned religion of rules, but he doesn’t the opinion that there is no necessity for a religion. He was convinced of the necessity of religion and he gave his opinion for the reformation that can make Hinduism a real religion and not a set of immoral laws.

He opined that there should be one and only one standard book of Hindu religion, acceptable to all Hindus and recognised by all Hindus. This of course means that all other books of Hindu religion such as Vedas, Shastras, and Puranas, which are treated as sacred and authoritative, must be by law cease to be so, and the preaching of any doctrine, religious or social, contained in these books should be penalised.

Every profession in India is regulated. Engineers must show proficiency, doctors must show proficiency, lawyers must show proficiency, before they are allowed to practice their professions. During the whole of their careers, they must not only obey the law of land, civil as well as criminal, but they must also obey the special code of morals prescribed by their respective professions. The priest’s is the only profession where proficiency is not required and they are not subject to any professional code.

Ironically, it is to be noted that mentally a priest may be unsound or may be suffering from a foul disease or may be wreck but he is fit to officiate at solemn ceremonies, to enter the Hindu Temple and to worship the Hindu god. All this possible because for a priest it is enough to be born in a priestly caste. They know only rights and privileges.

Ambedkar outlined that priestly class must be brought under control by some legislation and opined that a priest should be the servant of the state, and should be subject to disciplinary action of the state in the matter of his morals, beliefs, and worships, in addition to his being subject along with other citizens to the ordinary law of the land.

The number of priests should be limited by laws according to requirements by the states, as it is done in the case of the Indian Civil Services.

It would be better if priesthood among Hindu were abolished. Ambedkar is of opinion that every person who profess to be Hindu must be eligible for being a priest. It should be provided by law that no Hindu shall be entitled to be priest unless he has passed an examination prescribed by state, and holds a certificate/diploma from the state permitting him to practice. No ceremony performed by a priest who doesn’t fulfil this criteria shall be deemed to valid in law, and it should be made a penal for a person who is not eligible to officiate as a priest by this criteria.

The Hindus must consider whether they must not cease to worship the past as supplying their ideals. The baneful effects of the worship of the pasts are best summed up Ambedkar’s teacher Prof Dewey when he says:

An individual can live only in the present. The present is not something which comes after the past; much less something produced by it. It is what life is in leaving the past behind it. The study of past producers will not help us to understand the present. A knowledge of the past and its heritage is of great significance when it enters into the present, but not otherwise. And the mistake of making the records and remains of the past the main material of education is that it tends to make the past a rival of the present and the present a more or less futile imitation of the past.

– Dewey, Democracy and Education, Chapter 7.

Ambedkar mentioned that Hindus must consider whether the time has not come for them to recognise that there is nothing fixed, nothing eternal, nothing sanatan; that everything is changing, that change is the law of life for individuals as well as for society. In a changing society, there must be a constant revolution of old values; and the Hindus must realise that if there must be standards to measure the acts of the men, there must also be readiness to revise those standards.

In 1935 at Nasik district, Maharashtra, Dr.Babasaheb Ambedkar had declared his firm resolve to change his religion. He had declared that he was born as a Hindu but will not die as Hindu.

On October 14, 1956,He adopted Buddhism, along with close to 3,65,000 of his followers in a simple, traditional ceremony at Deekshabhoomi, Nagpur.

But Why he opted for Buddhism only, for knowing that read our next article in this series ‘Next Sunday’

You may also read these related articles:

26 Interesting Facts About Dr. B.R. Ambedkar

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar views on Abolition of Caste System in India

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