This interview has been published by Priyanka Karwa and The SuperLawyer Team
Managing Partner of RKP & Associates since 2000! What inspired you to establish your own firm, and how has the journey been so far? Any memorable milestones you’d like to share?
The journey of my legal career started way back in 1997. Fortunately, I was exposed to the intricacies of legal practice and court craftsmanship at a very early stage, and this generated the confidence in me to go all out by 2000. Being an astute observer, I had realised during my initial days of lawyership that this field offers limitless opportunities if you are ready to dedicate yourself. The thought of establishing RKP emanated from my passion towards law and the drive to serve the clients in a more comfortable environment. To be very honest, the initial days of RKP were quite a challenge – tougher than I had envisaged, but like I said your dedication and hard work will always be rewarded. I had started with a very small team, and have gradually expanded not only in my core area of practice, but also in the corporate and M&A arena. It is also heartening to see that my clients have reposed a great extent of faith in me all these years which keep me motivated to harness myself even at this stage. One of the prominent milestones for RKP, I would say, was making our presence in important cities of the country through associate offices. We are looking forward to having our physical offices in all the metro cities and that would be our next milestone.
Apart from the courtroom, you are associated with the Board Advisory Panel of Cerracap Ventures, USA, and A&S Pharma, UK. How do you balance your legal practice with advisory roles for international companies, and what unique challenges does this bring?
It is true that advisory roles are quite challenging because the stakes involved in such roles are quite high. At the same time, not only your legal acumen but business acumen are also tested. Having seen the commercial disputes of corporate houses for a long period of time, I have developed an understanding of the issues these corporate houses face. I use this understanding to mark my contribution in the advisory roles. Another interesting aspect of the advisory role is the difference in culture and working style of the corporates vis-à-vis the workings of litigators. While as a litigator, you have to take quite a stringent approach, this approach has to be adjusted and become more pragmatic when it comes to advisory. Nevertheless, international exposure has given me a broader perspective to understand things and work towards them from a higher horizon.
You’ve been a part of various legal forums, including the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India and National Company Law Tribunal. Can you share a courtroom story or an incident that left a lasting impression on you?
The courtroom experiences have been quite important to understand the intricacies of litigation practice. Court craft is something which can be learnt only by making appearances before the Courts. I will narrate a story which will give you an insight as to how the Bench needs to be convinced persistently with your arguments. During my initial days of career, I was representing a person who had filed a Public Interest Litigation before the Supreme Court. The Bench was of the clear view that the petition was more for a publicity stunt rather than for a cause. Even before I could present my case, I I was stormed with questions by the Bench. At that moment I realised that it is not only the legal grounds on which you present your case, are important but also as to how you present these grounds before the Courts. Over the period of time I have realised that it is equally important to strategize as to where you start your case from so as to make that first impact. Once the Bench starts hearing you and opens the case file, you get that extra moment to make the next strongest point of your case and that’s how you take the Bench to the relevant page of your case and draw a full audience from the Bench.
As an advocate-on-record, you’ve seen the legal landscape evolve. What changes in the legal field do you find most interesting or challenging today?
Well the most interesting development in the legal system is the collegium system. Without commenting on it against the collegium system, the challenging aspect is time constraints with the court and high volume of cases. So when the case is taken up, the lawyers have to make that impact in the few seconds that they get. Also, the virtual courtroom system has also eased off the travelling pressure for the lawyers, especially the lawyers who have multi-forum practice.
Lawyers often have interesting stories about what happens behind the scenes. Can you share a humorous or unexpected moment from your experience in the legal realm that still brings a smile to your face?
This is not my story but I was present in the courtroom when it happened. A junior lawyer was probably making his first appearance. While starting his case he confidently submitted to the judge that he was appearing for the petitioner while in fact he was representing the respondent. In this confusion he started arguing against his own case – after a short while when he realised that he has messed up, he simply concluded his remarks by arguing that all the grounds he just made are the grounds which may be taken by the other side, and now he would rebut all these arguments one by one. It was quite hilarious but at the same time, he ought to have been given the credit for flipping his side in no time with his witty conclusion.
We’ve heard you’re quite the reader. If you were to recommend a book that isn’t related to law but impacted your perspective, what would it be, and why?
Well, being an advocate, reading becomes a compulsion initially which subsequently graduates into a habit. This habit allows you to take inspiration from different parts of the world through books. I personally believe that good books can shape up your life. One book that I always recommend to young professionals is “Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life” authored by “Héctor García and Francesc Miralles”. This book motivates you to put yourself into work to lead a happy and healthy life. I see these days that young professionals do not indulge in reading books, rather they rely much more on social media content. My take on this is that nothing could replace books.
When you’re not immersed in legal matters, how do you unwind? Any hobbies or activities you turn to for relaxation?
Being the senior lawyer in the Firm, I hardly get time to unwind myself. But whenever I can spare some time, I love to travel. I have travelled to different parts of the world in the last decade. It opens up your mind and gives you a broader horizon to understand people and their culture.
Your expertise extends to providing legal advisory on Mergers & Acquisitions and foreign direct investment. If you could give one piece of advice to young lawyers entering this field, what would it be?
Laws around M&A and FDI are quite complex and dynamic which keep evolving as per the industry requirements. Any young lawyer intending to take up these practices must be thorough not only with the legal provisions but also with the market development. M&A requires a lot of understanding of the business of companies and the idea behind the transactions. Lot depends upon what kind of exposure you have got because every transaction has unique requirements and understanding those requirements enable you to deep dive into the detailing around it. Having said that, M&A is one of the most interesting and universal practices. People who have keenness of indulging in comprehensive legal documentation and finding innovative legal solutions must try their hand in this practice.
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