"A clear way forward on the basis of the matrix comprising career path and subject will help optimize your time, energy and finances. This is an important ingredient in the recipe for success."- Mr. Gajendra Maheshwari. Mr. Maheshwari is the Managing Partner of Reina Legal Advocates, Gurugram, India. He holds a Masters degree in Law and is a qualified C.A. and I.C.W.A. with over 22 years of post-qualification experience in the field of litigation, advisory and policy advocacy.
From working for Ernst & Young to starting your own law firm- Reina Legal Advocates, how has your journey evolved and what are some of the biggest learnings?
Typically, the lifecycle of a new firm of professionals can be divided into three phases:
First phase: is the year one, where there is enough courage and enthusiasm for overcoming all the teething problems. Each new assignment brings a lot of joy and satisfaction.
Second phase: is between the first and third year. During this time the growth curve tends to plateau. The founders then deploy all their skills that they had acquired previously. By this time, they realize the market expectations and hard realities in order to evaluate what’s working for them and what’s not.
Third phase: is the toughest one (i.e., kind of a valley of death) and typically lasts from the third to fifth year. Only those who have a strong foundation and fundamentals can cross this stage.
I always advise all the dynamic professionals wanting to set up their own shop that enduring success is achievable if they have patience and vision for the first five years.
The Data Protection Bill, 2019 is being analysed by the Joint Parliamentary Committee. How do you believe the legislation will affect and regulate the day-to-day digital transactions?
The Personal Data Protection law is going to bring a paradigm shift to the manner personal data is being collected and exploited today. Under the proposed law, the individuals to whom the data belongs (i.e., the data subjects) will become the real owner of their data in as much as they will be able to control how their data can be used by the collectors or processors of the data.
The law would mandate obtaining adequate notice to the data subjects of how their data will be handled by the collectors. Further, depending on the nature of data, consent of data subjects would be required for putting the data to different use. The data collectors would also be under the obligation to securely store/ process data, communicate any data breach etc.
All of these measures are likely to reduce the avenues for behavioural targeting, data frauds, cyber-crimes etc. that are nuisance for a common man in the digital world. The law will help guard the fundamental right of privacy that encompasses data privacy as one of its key elements.
In order to bag Pre-Placement Offers, what are the things that law interns should accomplish? What is the right time to ask for an assessment internship at a law firm?
What really matters is the hard work and sincerity demonstrated by the intern during the internship period. Interns must remember that the same set of seniors who they are working with, will have a big say later in the recruitment process. They should not be casual during the internship and proactively seek work/assignments during the internship period.
I have seen that the recommendations from the seniors play a very important role in securing pre-placement offers. A resource who has proven credentials will always get preference over the unknown ones!
As regards assessment internships, one should be aware about the vacancies in the target firm. Needless to say, this information can be gathered through the intern’s network developed basis past internship(s) or otherwise. Alternatively, interns can even enquire about the hiring plans while seeking permission for assessment internship. If no hiring is envisaged, even an effective assessment internship may not fetch fruitful results. To summarise, the timing of the assessment internship should correspond with the hiring requirements of the firm.
While recruiting a candidate, what are the few things that the firm/interviewers focus on? How much do grades matter?
Academic skill or excellence is only one of the parameters – while hiring interviewers also give weightage to other skills such as self-confidence, clarity of thought, communication skills, demeanour, teamwork etc.
Grades do help in getting preference over the candidate with lesser score, provided both of them are equal in other skills. There are many examples, where a gold medalist has less illustration career than a student who got lower grades. The key differentiating factor in such cases is the overall skills demanded by the position and not just the academics.
A lot of students tend to pursue a Company Secretary Course along with Law. Should students do both the courses simultaneously to increase chances of recruitment?
Those who aspire for a corporate job or practice in the area of corporate laws, the Company Secretary qualification would certainly improve their prospective. Likewise, Chartered Accountancy qualification is helpful for someone aspiring for the career in tax laws.
It is important to have a clear picture of the future goal before committing for a specialised course/ degree. Students should never put a cart before the horse, i.e., first getting enrolled for an additional degree and then deciding their career path.
A word of advice to 4th-5th year law students?
If you have been in your comfort zone, this is the time for a wake-up call. Take a stock of internships that you have done. Try to maximize the number or bring in the variety. Ideally, by this time, you should have clarity about your future career path, for example:
· Job with a corporate
· Practice with a law firm
· Practice as a counsel
· Further studies
Also remember to firm-up your thoughts on the subject you want to pursue, e.g., corporate law, IPR, taxation etc. while deciding your career move.
A clear way forward on the basis of the matrix comprising career path and subject will help optimize your time, energy and finances. This is an important ingredient in the recipe for success!
Also read- In conversation with Managing Associate Vibhav Mithal, Anand & Anand
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