Advocatespedia:Today's featured article/August 8, 2024
To be honest, I never thought I would end up in the litigation field. I always liked to plan things in advance, set goals, achieve them, and be happy. My plans always used to work. People often say plans don't work, but I don't believe in that because I used to set a series of different possibilities and then plan accordingly. If something didn't go as per my wish, I would have a backup plan. As a result, my plans generally worked.
I always planned to join a law firm, gain some experience, then shift to a company and relax. I also dreamed of being a guest faculty member at a law college because teaching truly inspires me; I enjoy it immensely.
After graduation, I was quite confused. I didn't know whether to join a law firm or pursue a CS articleship since I was also studying CS during my college days. I thought the best way to decide between CS and corporate law firms was to try them out first. So, I joined a well-known CS firm and worked there for a while. Soon, I realized it wasn't my cup of tea. During my time there, I often thought about how I would be making submissions to judges and working on different cases if I were in litigation. I missed the rigorous application of the mind and the excitement of my moot court days. Even though I only received participation certificates, I enjoyed arguing and making submissions with utmost conviction. I left the firm.
I returned to Bangalore to attend my graduation day. I had no plans of working in Bangalore initially, as I wanted to stay in my hometown and work. However, when I came back for the graduation ceremony, I decided to apply to various law firms and litigation firms. To my surprise, I received four job offers, most of them for litigation profiles. Since corporate law excites me, I also wanted to explore the corporate and commercial litigation side.
One day, I visited the NCLT to meet different advocates and ask if there were any vacancies in their chambers. This was completely unplanned, and I had zero expectations of securing any job offers. To my shock, after talking to a few advocates, one of them asked me to send my CV. He told me that he was looking for a junior advocate in his chambers. Initially, I was very tense and nervous about joining because I didn't have a great experience in my previous PCS firm and wasn't sure if I would be the right fit for his chambers. However, since he handled corporate and commercial matters, something I always wanted to explore, I convinced myself to give it a try.
This is how I started in litigation. Even after joining, I was unsure and doubtful about myself, but eventually, I accepted that this is my cup of tea. I am managing things in a clumsy, messy way, I have a long way to go, but I am trying, and I have the best mentor one could ever ask for. He is very patient and calm and has more confidence in me than I have in myself.
I am now enjoying litigation, something I never thought I would do. Life has a weird way of teaching us lessons. Even though things didn't happen as per my plans, it's been good to explore things beyond my imagination. Not everything goes as planned, but there's a different kind of joy in seeing what happens if not this, then what. There is a sense of excitement and curiosity in me that keeps me going.