THE
MOST INFLUENTIAL
Women
LAWYERS
Ruch
2020/ VOL. 12/ ISSUE 06
TO WATCH
Editor’s Note LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY FOR A BETTER FUTURE
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he legal profession is one of the dignified, important, and noble amongst all. This profession plays a key role in improving our society and lawyers act as a representative for providing justice to the people who are seeking justice. However, to deliver justice requires strong legal acumen, desire and ability and judicial nature to fight for injustice that is happening in society. The lawyers should choose to act in harmony with the principles mentioned in the constitution of India. Effective lawyers are capable of preserving, protecting and defending our constitution and are capable to uphold the values and principles mentioned in our constitution. It is essential for lawyers to ensure a good balance between justice and compassion. Lawyers should know how to differentiate
between being compassionate and delivering justice. Civilized society is where there is equal balance between compassion and justice. It is important to be compassionate and it is also important to deliver justice. It is good to be compassionate, but it is wrong to tolerate injustice by being silent. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. To tolerate injustice by being silent is a cowardice. Lawyers need to have courage to fight for the injustice happening in society. Lawyers who are making a difference in the society through delivering the right legal services are no less than warriors. Such lawyers are the most important pillars of our country. To deliver proper justice one needs to be courageous yet considerate. This nature helps to be judicious in decision making. The skillful, talented and judicious lawyers are capable of improving the functionality and justifiability of the judiciary system. Such lawyers are the great assets of our country who are able to enhance the trust of people in the judiciary organ of our country by ensuring the justice to the vulnerable and offended
Darshan Parmar Managing Editor
darshan@insightssuccess.com
people in our country. Such effective judiciary system is essential to reduce the crime rates and injustices in the society and this leads to a civilised society. The capabilities of new lawyers to make rightful judgements can be enhanced by some training sessions by senior lawyers. Those lawyers who uphold the morality and integrity while maintaining an appropriate balance, the compassion and justice are capable of becoming the best lawyers. Among all advocates, women lawyers also play the much contributing role to improve the functionality of judiciary system. Women’s intuition and their courageous yet considerate nature help them to make most judicious decisions. Importance of women lawyers is huge in judicial system. These women lawyers are able to understand the women related issues much better and are able to take the decisive steps to ensure the justice to the women and enforce the punishments to the miscreants. This ensures the dignity of the women and it empowers them to perform their contributing role in the country with
much freedom and in safe environment. The great lawyers are able to preserve, protect and defend the good people. In this edition of Insights Success, we have featured ‘The 10 Most Influential Women Lawyers to Watch,’ that are contributing to ensure the effective balance of compassion and justice in the society is maintained to the best extent possible. Enjoy reading and flipping through the pages of an article curated by the in-house editorial team of Insights Success.
DarsHP
Khatlawala Pandya
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Special Profiles 16
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CONTENTS
Ruchi
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ARTICLE 20
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38 30 CXO
Editor-in-Chief Sumita Sarkar Managing Editor Darshan Parmar
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Assisting Editor Abhishaj Sajeev
DECEMBER, 2020
Contributing Writer Aditya Umale
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The
10
Most
Women Influential
Lawyers to Watch
Company Name
Management
Brief
Argus Partners
Adity Chaudhary Partner
Adity is a Partner in one of the leading law firms in India.
Reddy & Reddy Law Firm
Akanksha Reddy Partner
Advocate Akanksha Reddy is admitted to the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa.
Anand and Anand
Archana Shankar Partner
Archana Shankar is a Senior Partner at Anand and Anand where she leads its Patent and Design practice.
LexOrbis
Dr. Shivani Shrivastava Associate Partner
Dr. Shivani is an Intellectual Property Practitioner, a registered Patent and Trademark Agent with a Doctorate in Bioinformatics.
The Enviro Legal Defence Firm (ELDF)
Eisha Krishn Partner
Eisha Krishn is one of the erudite legal professional who is an expert in environment, wildlife, and protected areas.
Inttladvocare
Mamta Jha Partner
Mamta Rani Jha has anextensive experience of 18 years in practicing litigation with expertise of Intellectual Property laws.
Little & Company
Ruchi Khatlawala Pandya Partner
Ruchi is one of the youngest partners in a 160 year old prestigious law firm.
WORDICTIP
Sheela Ram Kumar Advocate
Advocate Sheela Ram Kumar is an expert in filing Trademarks and Copyrights online along with prosecuting applications before various registeries.
Suri & Company Law Firm
Suruchi Suri Partner
Suruchi Suri is a graduate from ILS Law College, Pune and started her legal career at the Chamber of Late Mr. Goolam Vahanvati.
Vandana Shah
Vandana Shah Partner
Vandana Shah is a lawyer who provides clients spread across India with exceptional legal services in all aspects of family law.
Ruchi Khatlawala Pandya Balancing Traditional Principles with a Modern Approach
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COVER STORY
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My dream is to have a perfect balance of conventional/traditi onal principles with a modern approach which gives complete comfort level and desired results to our clients.
Makeup-Bindya Seth, Photographer-Mitesh Palande
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or most of us, our parents are our role models and real-life heroes. They instil in us values and prepare us for a battle called life. As kids, we are often in awe of them, watching them handle everything and cannot wait to grow up and be like them. As for the parents, they do not want us to be like them, but a much better version of what we are capable of being. As a child, Ruchi Khatlawala Pandya saw her father, Ajay Khatlawala, a senior partner of the firm Little & Co., wear his black and whites to work each day. This fascinated her to adorn his black lawyer’s robe each time it was brought home from office while he was to travel. A dream to follow his footsteps silently grew inside her and in due course, she found herself driven by her fascination towards various legal affairs. Though she was too young to understand these intricacies when she started shadowing her father, it only added to her curiosity and made her pursue the profession even more. Today, Ruchi is one of the youngest partners at Little & Co., a 160 years old prestigious law firm. She has carved her niche in the legal fraternity and the society, which she beholds with complete dignity and respect. In September 2019, she was awarded for being an aspiring lawyer - the Rising Star under-40 Award at New Delhi, by Legal Era. Ruchi is passionate about writing and has written legal articles for a few domestic and international magazines. “Being married to Shrinath Pandya (more of a friend than a husband), a businessman; for more than 13 years now and a mother to an eight-year-old gorgeous Vyana Pandya gives me an unbeaten pleasure of being a woman!”exclaims Ruchi. Tracing her journey After completing her higher studies from Sophia College, Ruchi knew that she wanted to secure admission in Government Law College (GLC) for her law degree. Those were the days when five years integrated law course was just introduced in India and she wanted to be a part of the first lot and she made it. She joined M/s. Little & Co. as an intern (despite being the daughter of a senior partner of the firm) learning the fundamentals which no school, college or books do ever impart. Recalling the initial days Ruchi says, “The practical knowledge and implementation of all that we study during our young days carry a value only when put to appropriate use! My parents always believed in making us earn what we
deserve instead of giving things on a platter to us. Both my parents supported me to the fullest when I genuinely needed it but at the same time, I was made to earn my own living and also had to earn my luxuries which of course I am extremely grateful to them for! My mother, Daksha Khatlawala has been my pillar of strength for all my bad times! She is my real inspiration for the way forward in life! My father has been my role model in life and a real example of honesty, hard work and integrity, no matter what situation one is in. My younger sibling, Viraj Khatlawala has been by my side each time I turned back for help. At times I wonder, who is the older of us!” Making it Big Ruchi appeared for Solicitors exam from Law Society of England and Wales in the year 2005, clearing which, she was deputed to work at DLA Piper Rudnick Grey Cary (London) through Little & Co. giving her the muchrequired experience in international law and legal practise. She also had the opportunity to witness and
The 10 Most Influential Women Lawyers to Watch experience live hearings at the Royal Courts of Justice in London for more than two years while she was handling high stake litigation for Deccan Chargers, the then IPL team against a White. On her return from London, she was immediately deputed to join Star TV, Mumbai office, as legal advisor for about six months. “Post, that, resumed work back at Little & Co., for a while, once again Star TV approached us and requested to depute me back to their Mahalaxmi office in Mumbai as they needed full-fledged legal assistance in launching Star CJ channel, collaboration with CJ, Korea. This was one life-time experience for me as dealing with Koreans on a day to day basis for the closing of various documents, with absolute language barrier had an urge in me of having a magic wand!” says Ruchi. Being a part of Little & Co. At Little & Co., Ruchi’s portfolio/areas of practice consists of Real Estate-Project Finance, General Corpo
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I encourage a paperless working system which is more effective in terms of time management and reproducing the quality of work expected from us.
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On what makes her accept or reject a case? To begin with, I have till date, never rejected any case but yes, have always evaluated the merits and drawbacks with a very clear and open mind which enables me to be non-judgemental at each stage of the case! Before taking up any mandate, I make sure that I provide my client with an informed understanding of available legal remedies, rights and obligations. Giving them a clear explanation about practical implications of legal proceedings is my first step towards trying to achieve the goal which clients carry with them before approaching me. If a client is willing to accept those probable implications and shows utmost confidence in the advice given by me, I go ahead and accept the case. I staunchly believe that a good lawyer is also ushered by personal conscience and the approbation of professional peers. On whether e-court platforms and digitization of the judicial process will help the law firms and the citizens equally? Definitely! It should and it will! I believe and have experienced that digitization helps remove mundane tasks from the process. Technology scours with increased efficiencies, quality service delivery, client satisfaction, faster turnaround time, reduces the use of paper, improves transparency as the possibility of tampering with official documents is somewhat eradicated, there is real-time work collaboration and it offers newer services with an improved work-life balance. Not just the clients or law firms but technology also helps in faster delivery of justice. The Online Dispute Resolution is also finally seeing some more light due to these trying times. On contributing to help eradicate legal illiteracy among common citizens. “Bounty always receives part of its value from the manner in which it is bestowed.- Samuel Johnson”. I try to give as many pro bono advice to the needy as possible, guide them through the process and make sure that their requirements are fulfilled. I also take part in legal awareness drives regularly. God has been kind enough to give me few opportunities where I have been able to help destitute women, children and also could bring back the scattered family together who may have been victims of family property disputes or other social dilemmas. Advice for budding lawyers and entrepreneurs of the legal industry. The most important advice that I can give budding lawyers and entrepreneurs is to read a lot, keep themselves informed and updated about the legal developments. Internships are essential and a must but so are other activities like moot courts, writing research papers, debating etc. They should get involved in as many activities as they can as per their proclivity. They need to be at par with the changing world and be worldly-wise rather than being bookish!
rate (attending to a multitude of legal requirements) and Commercial Litigation which includes Arbitration and Dispute Resolution. The firm has an impeccable IT department that has helped transfer heaps of documents from hard to soft copies to help lessen the burden. The firm believes that being technologically abreast is a must, especially in the current work-from-home environment. It uses technology for purposes like document review, resource management, abstraction and automation, data analytics in legal research and comprehending client engagements and invoices, electronic signatures, case management, transcription services, contract management etc. Taking the Firm Ahead Little & Co. is conventional and traditional in its approach which apparently has been its strength and the team will always want to stand by these principles. Having said that, the firm, being an extended family to her father and Ruchi herself, her dream is to have a perfect balance of conventional/traditional principles with a modern approach which gives complete comfort level and desired results to our clients. “I’m striving to achieve a more modern outlook and new age practises for the firm which gives the firm a much-needed boost in today’s competitive legal industry. I’m also keen on putting to use Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) in the working environment of the firm. AI can dramatically reduce the time and increase efficiency in turnaround time and deliver to the client quality coupled with quantity. AI will not only improve client servicing but also add on to the robust infrastructure of the firm,” concludes Ruchi.
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Dr. Shivani Shrivastava
Aiding Individuals, Start-ups and Businesses in Identifying and Protecting their IP Assets
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he world is moving towards a knowledge economy and innovations are being considered as an important tool for technological development and economic growth. Intellectual property right, a bridge connecting innovation to economic growth, has always attracted innovators, investors, start-ups, academicians, etc.
and assist DPIIT recognized startups to protect their patent, trademark, and design matters. She has filed more than 200 applications under SIPP (Scheme for Intellectual Property Protection) for DPIIT recognized startup.
An Intellectual Property Practitioner, Registered Patent and Trademark Agent with Doctorate in Bioinformatics, Dr. Shivani Shrivastava is a perfect blend of law and technology.
Her legal journey starts with receiving a scholarship from TIFAC (Department of Science &Technology, Government of India) under WOS-C in the year 2006 for training in IPR. WOS-C scheme has given her a platform and exposure to IPR. Working with various organizations including Government bodies, IP boutique firms, IP Law Firms, etc, helped her transition from the technical to a techno-legal domain. Being a registered Patent and Trademark agent, Shivani handles all forms of IP which includes patents, trademark, industrial design, and copyrights. She handled projects related to patentability searches, freedom to operate analysis, patent landscape, drafting and filing the patent applications, patent prosecution, trademark filing and prosecution, industrial designs registration, copyright filing, etc. She is also involved in IP valuation, due diligence, technology transfer, licensing, etc. She mostly specializes in Bio, chemical, pharma related inventions, licensing and commercialization of patents, and end to end trademark registration process.
Currently, Shivani is an Associate Partner at LexOrbis, India’s premier Intellectual Property law firm, providing end-to-end services related to all aspects of IP laws, including advisory and consultancy, asset identification and clearances, procurement, protection, transactional, enforcement, and litigations. Having vast experience of more than 14 years she has been advising and assisting individuals, startups, SMEs to identify and protect their IP assets. She works closely with clients and handles their IP portfolio. She is regularly advising and mentoring clients on building and managing IP. She is also impaneled with the Government of India as a facilitator under the startup India scheme to advise
16 | December 2020
A Journey Full of Passion and Determination
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Dr. Shivani Shrivastava Associate Partner
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December 2020 | 17
Understanding customer requirements, pain points, and providing useful insights, and helping them to create a strong IP strategy has always fascinated her. From Paper Documents to Digital Documents Being a tech-savvy IP practitioner, Shivani is using technology for day to day work which includes, client communication, client meetings, filing of applications, etc. Digitization of documents at the office makes the easy transfer of information among colleagues and clients. Using databases for clients, projects, and docket management helps to get quick information and keeping track of the projects, deadlines, and any upcoming action. The arrangement already placed in practice helped a lot in managing work amid the covid-19 pandemic and provide uninterrupted services to the clients. In the opinion of Shivani, e-court platforms and digitization of the judicial process was always needed. Current changes in the process due to Covid-19 can be considered as a revolution in the legal field. This would help streamline the process and increase the efficiency of courts and law firms. Digitization of documents allows easy access to the same even from a remote location. Spreading IP Awareness Having worked with hundreds of individuals, startups, and small entities, Shivani has mentored them on various aspects and implications of IP. She has involved herself in conducting many IP workshops to spread IP awareness. Lexorbis is also associated with various government and autonomous bodies like DST, DBT, MeitY, CII, FICCI, ASSOCHAM to participate in IP awareness programs. Shivani understands the importance of IP and would like to be part of more IP awareness programs to spread IP knowledge. Apart from polishing her existing knowledge, she keeps working to acquire new skill-sets that would help her to become an influential leader; “a woman leader”.
18 | December 2020
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LEGAL
20 | December 2020
SPACE
Top Tech Trends in the Indian
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Legally Trending
D
evelopment in information technology (IT) has paved the way for businesses to spread across many industries. IT has been one of the transformational factors in many businesses, but the Indian legal space has still been very much distant from its impact. Even with the slow transition, the legal industry in India has been able to adopt digitization as a part of its general functionality. It has been observed that technological development is getting adopted by different law firms may it be traditional family-run or individual corporations. Adoption of modern systems in businesses where the convergence of new technologies and businesses has led to the legal industry’s lean towards the introduction of technology in the broader sense of the overall trading ecosystem. The impact of technology on the legal space is continuously changing the way lawyers are practicing and the legal department is experiencing a paradigm shift along with the law firms as they are getting more aware of their cost-efficiencies materialized by IT. The legal departments and law firms are now encouraged to re-organize their strategies along with the practice models and operations. Such an evolving ecosystem has given birth to the need for technology integration to the core level of legal practices. It has become an epicenter of expansion by procuring resources, restructuring of processes, client delivery, productivity, and profitability along with the economics of the law firms. IT does not only perform as the enabler of the value but also as the value creator. As per the ongoing scenario of the Indian legal industry, the trends that are emerging from the evolution of digitization in the legal space are as follows: 1. Artificial Intelligence (AI)/ Mechanized Lawyers: Artificial Intelligence in the legal ecosystem has been able to reduce the rote tasks and provide meaningful results in a very brief amount of time. The legal space’s adoption of AI has revolutionized the industry as well as digital applications, for example – contract management, timesheet, legal analytics, market research, and many more. Speculations are also stating that there might come a time when the lawyers will get replaced by robots that are driven by artificial intelligence (AI). They will play a critical role in streamlining matters and deliverables.
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2. Communication and Client Delivery: The lawyer-client relationship has taken a huge turn since the technology has been introduced in legal practices. There are different portals and co-working platforms that are facilitating the systems providing smaller turnaround time (TAT), online presence and availability, transparency in communication, document sharing, research, and audio or video facility, and prominent security technology. With enhanced communications and client interactions, the way messages and information are relayed has shifted digitally towards video conferencing, facetime over texting, online dashboards with advanced MISs, etc., from personal meetings. 3. Cloud Computing: It has been observed that many law firms are now showing a keen inclination towards cloud computing. Law firms are considering cloud-based system management software in areas such as document management, file storage, practice management, knowledge management, client-relationship management, and human resource information systems. Law firms are leveraging the power of virtual servers to secure and archive important data. Realizing the essence of smart technology like cloud computing, law firms are investing heavily in not only obtaining robust systems but also in the adoption of sophisticated tools to enhance its security. These virtual computing tools are proving to be useful in reducing the costs all the while allowing lawyers to work remotely from courts, clients’ offices, home, or co-sharing offices.
5. Legal Services Online: There has been a substantial rise in different online platforms that enable opportunities to prospective clientele to connect with the lawyers for basic services that range from trademark registration, general registration, execution of wills, leases and lease agreements, contracts, dishonoring of cheques, consumer complaints, and redressal. Many online platforms have executed the trend of approaching various experts from different legal fields and locations to provide a comprehensive set of legal solutions to the clients. These online legal service enablers connect with legal practitioners and segmentize them as per their expertise, practice, locations, and fee criteria, making it feasible for the clients to perform suitable cost evaluation and give due consideration to all the options available. We all know that the legal industry in India pertains to one of the oldest professions and currently is experiencing a transformation in terms of digital development like the utilization of smart technology. As far as the clients’ viewpoint is considered, this has resulted in availing affordable services at more accessible touchpoints and the law firms are enjoying enhanced productivity and profitability in a new light. Adoption of technological advancements is not just proving to be efficient but also effective financially becoming a facilitator in building relationships and helping law firms to gain the next level of growth spectrum.
-Darshan Parmar
4. Performance Mapping: As the legal space dabbles in the service sector, it is critical for law firms to keep tabs on the productivity and profitability of their service delivery. Elements like billings, billed hours, client lead generation, and receipts, etc., have become important in terms of practice. Legal tech has made all this possible in the sense of creating reports and analyzing them at the same time. The legal team leaders are better able to map their performance as well as the productivity of their subordinates effectively. In terms of current applications, the legal space has moved from manual discretionary performance evaluation to automated human resource information systems (HRIS).
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If one has the ability to think on their feet and is committed to devote efforts towards clients’ interests, there is no stopping them from becoming a trusted legal advisor – the kind that clients would love to go back to, again and again! -Mamta Jha, Partner and Head of Litigation
Woman Lawyer of the Era 24| December 2020
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Mamta Jha Saving and Burnishing People’s Intellectual Properties for All Times
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or every fantastic idea that anyone can ever think of, there are hundreds of those sitting around trying to steal it at the first opportunity or, if the occasion so demands, copy it to their advantage. For anyone who does not think much of intellectual property, try imagining someone reading your thoughts and capitalizing on it while you keep wringing hands by the wayside. If the statement above hurts, know for a fact that there are the likes of Mamta Jha who, while specializing in Intellectual Property, help those with innovative ideas to capitalize the same by first protecting it as a property. With that being done, a great idea becomes a commodity that commands a value in the market. Mamta Jha, Senior Partner and Head of Litigation & Opposition of Inttl Advocare, is one of India’s most prolific Intellectual Property lawyers. She pioneers in the field of capitalizing and protecting intellectual properties of entities, more so corporate bodies. The firm came about in the year 1991 in Delhi at the hands of its Founder & Managing Partner, Hemant Singh, one of India’s foremost IPR lawyers. Close to two decades in the field, Mamta attributes the firm’s journey and growth thus far to an undiminishing passion to provide the right kind of services with the right fervour to his clients. She is a staunch believer in following her dreams with passion and is a true daredevil at heart when it comes to perseverance and hard work. With her feet firm on the ground, Mamta aims for the sky and believes that only the fervently tenacious survive to grow and tell the world their stories. Her success story began with a giant leap of faith when she gave up a well-remunerating career option and joined the firm in its formative years. While she had extensive experience in general litigation, she was still new to the field of intellectual property and had a keen interest to foray in the field, given her rich background in the field of science and being a Gold Medallist in B.Sc. (Zoology). When asked pointedly as to what it was that prompted her to join the firm, the reply was crisp and clear – she found a mentor in
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Hemant Singh and both were aligned in their vision to do path-breaking work, ensuring that the clients’ interest always remains the driving force, along with gaining the right knowledge. Today, what started as a 3 member litigation team at the firm at the time of her joining, has grown to a robust strength of 50 plus members. Indomitable spirit towards excellence and the ability to forego one’s own comforts to groom the team has brought the firm where it is. The firm has steadily grown over the years, not only in turnover and size, but also in terms of working for some of the most iconic brands and most significant entities. Both Mamta and Hemant take pride in nurturing fresh talent and while they heartily encourage the youth to join the firm, they also have a list of dos and don’ts clearly lined up. Upper-most on the list is the ability to have an amalgamation of legal knowledge with an attitude to serve. If one has the ability to think on their feet and is committed to devote efforts towards clients’ interests, there is no stopping them from becoming a trusted legal advisor – the kind that clients would love to go back to, again and again! This is probably the one important reason the firm has always stood by clients and given their intellectual properties the protection they always deserve. Mamta’s professional journey is exemplary in the truest sense, where she scaled new heights with passage of time from being the Senior Partner and Head of Litigation & Opposition to recently being an Equity Partner in the firm. The body of work she has accomplished, be it in her present engagement or in her previous commitments, are a testament to ‘never say never’ attitude. She has etched an indelible name for herself in the IPR domain where she is today acknowledged as a leading authority in the Indian IPR scenario besides being known for the unprecedented efforts that she puts into client servicing and the hard-work she put into her work otherwise. An avid supporter of progressive changes in the field of IPR, Mamta often voices her opinion by speaking at various IP fora and authoring thought papers on emerging IPR
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issues. She had the privilege of authoring the India Chapter of the AIPPI-Wolters-Kluwer Practitioners’ Guide to Antibody Patenting. She is the Chair of the INTA Oppositions and Cancellations Sub-Committee, India Representative of APAA Anti-Counterfeiting Committee, India Member of the AIPPI Biotechnology Committee, and India Leader – AIPPI Study Question on Inventorship of inventions made using AI. She has been featured in the book titled “Antibody Patenting: A Practitioner’s Guide to Drafting, Prosecution and Enforcement. Recently, she had the privilege of being the first Indian interviewed by ‘Leaderching’, a renowned platform for Leadership and Coaching that covers stories of people who have overcome challenges and triggers discussions around important topics. Speaking of the duo’s work and why Inttl Advocare is so renowned, it boils down to, among others, some awe-inspiring facts that include: • Representing leading and iconic global brands whose products, reach and significance stretches across industries and continents. Having honed their skills over such a vast expanse of work, the firm has remained instrumental in creating and establishing landmark judgments in the field of IPR protection and from the looks of it, shall continue to do so in the future. • A vast repertoire of clientele and experiences having represented a range of brands including Fortune 500 companies across industries and conglomerates that stretch from foods and beverages, liquor, garments, cosmetics, FMCG, fashion, apparel, IT and software and electronics, communication and telephony, media, pharma, automotive, biotech to name some. • Magnitude of cases. Under the able stewardship of Hemant Singh and Mamta Jha, the firm has filed for over 2500 IP-related litigations that pertain to diverse fields within the IP panoply including trademarks, copyrights, industrial designs, patents to name some. In the legal profession, every firm has that one case that is closest to their heart for a plethora of reasons including name, fame and the spot-light that shines on them. For Inttl Advocare, that one case is that of Blenders Pride. It stood out (and still does) in the context that it unequivocally and unambiguously established the rights of overseas brand owners who look for an entry in India to sell products under their brand. The case authoritatively ruled such owner’s right ought to be protected based on international first use.
Second comes systems, including the latest in computers, software and all there is in information technology and digitization. The latter has helped them serve their clients IP needs including IP rights prosecution, portfolio management, international filing, filing through Madrid Protocol, transactional aspects of IP management, as also covering IP-related enforcements in India. This branch of law being relatively new, it calls for continuous and intense study which is bolstered by firm-wide knowledge sharing sessions that helps the team remain updated on the nuances and developments in IP. Mamta being the stickler for best practices, the firm has in place best practices unique to each client that make things simpler, speedier, and affordable for clients in the long run besides affording transparency in working while providing holistic support to clients by assessing cases from various angles and aspects. Over three decades of dealing with some of the most complicated cases in IP, Inttl Advocare has regularly been acknowledged and included in top-ranked firms by leading global publications. The firm also cherishes the Best Trademark Counsel – Global Award 2014 by Novartis Pharmaceuticals. One of the premier international publications recently stated that “Inttl Advocare is a highly respected intellectual property boutique, famed for its contentious practice. Hemant Singh is regaled by industry insiders as one of the best IP litigators in the market.” The partner-duo not only manage the practice of the firm, but also remain regular speakers at national and international IP forums. Both have affinity towards building professional relationships and believe in knowledge sharing and exchanging best practices with colleagues all over the world. Looking at the future, Mamta with her vast knowledge backed by decades of experience, agrees that change is coming about in the Indian IP scenario with the Government taking decisive steps. What further needs to be done according to her is to reduce the time and pendency of patent applications, accelerate examination and reduce the elements of multi-layered approvals, applications, and examinations.
With a solid, experienced team at the helm, it is but given that the team would perform year after year. To this end, the firm believed in investing its fullest in the right kind of human resources who shall take their legacy forward for all times.
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Adity Chaudhury A Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) Expert
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ovid-19 has made it imperative for us all to either adapt and embrace technology or perish. Though lawyers have been forced to embrace technology much more due to the pandemic, this has been a welcome change and is here to stay.
be able to afford the required technology to participate in the ecourt platform. Hence, any development of the e-court system must strike a fine balance ensuring creation of an infrastructure which ensures access to the judicial system for all.
“I believe that one of the greatest benefits of adopting technology is that it will eventually result in increased access to justice,” says Adity Chaudhury, Partner at Argus Partners. The significance of this cannot be overemphasized. Though it does not seem that physical hearings can be completely replaced with virtual hearings and ecourts soon, these extraordinary times have shown us that e-courts can be as effective. Adity hopes that the judiciary is more open to having e-courts even after the current pandemic, and litigants are given the option of e-courts.
A Self-made Legal Professional
This will tremendously help those litigants who must travel across cities and spend huge amounts of money to get their matter heard. Even for lawyers, e-courts are a welcome change since location is not a constraint anymore. However, one must also be mindful of the fact that all litigants may not have access to or
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Adity is a partner at Argus Partners, a leading law firm in India. She started her career with the law firm Amarchand Mangaldas (as it was then known) immediately after graduating from the National University of Juridical Sciences in Kolkata in 2008. She joined its corporate team. Adity later came to Argus Partners and has since been with Argus through its growth trajectory over the past decade. She is one of the youngest partners. Describing her journey so far, Adity says that looking back she is glad that she chose the path of corporate law and being with Argus has been a great journey. “Early on I got the opportunity to not just practice corporate law but also have a close view of the working of a law firm and the business side – this experience has been delightful and challenging, and overall a tremendous learning
experience. I am immensely grateful to Krishnava for reposing faith in me and giving me this opportunity”, she says. Krishnava Dutt is the Managing Partner of Argus Partners. From the beginning, Adity was keen on pursuing a career in the legal field. “No matter how cliche it sounds, I always wanted to become a lawyer,” describes Adity. While it is not as glamourous a profession as movies portray it to be, but it is a profession where there is tremendous opportunity to contribute to public policy and thinking. Adity’s focus area is mergers and acquisitions (M&A) – where she is passionate about the process and is always ready to have a nuanced discussion and debate on it. Apart from M&A, she advises on corporate matters including corporate governance, securities law, shareholder disputes, corporate insolvency and restructuring, and private equity. Adity has advised on several large deals such as the acquisition by Tata Steel of Usha Martin’s steel division, HDFC’s investment in Yes Bank under a scheme formulated by the Reserve Bank, merger of GRUH Finance with Bandhan Bank, Binani
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The 10 Most Inuential Women Lawyers to Watch
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To be honest, a large part of the reason for me to step into this field was my mother. She was always keen to see me as a lawyer and really encouraged me to study law
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Cement and Monnet Ispat’s insolvency resolution. When one thinks of public policy and law, areas such as environmental law, human rights, gender law and criminal justice comes to mind first. However, in the field of corporate law too there is a lot to be contributed in terms of policy. Corporate governance is an area which Adity focuses on, engaging with companies and their Boards and assisting them in implementing a robust corporate governance framework. She also hopes to contribute to the development of law in this field. Advising young law aspirants and concluding, Adity states, “Be focused, be patient, work hard, and enjoy what you do.”
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Adity Chaudhury Partner at Argus Partners
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INTER- COUNTRY
ADOPTION PROCEDURE IN INDIA “Adopting one child won’t change the world, but for that child, the world will change.” -Anonymous
H
istory of Child Adoption Multiple reasons can be quoted as to why people adopt children. Most common being the inability to bear children naturally. Some adopt to provide a better lifestyle to the child whereas some do so in order to expand their family. In India, adoption can be traced back to Ramayana and Mahabharata where references to adoption have been made. Traditionally, only male offspring were adopted. The reason for this being, the male child would carry on the lineage of the family. In the present age; children are adopted as a normal lifestyle, irrespective of their gender. Inter country adoption albeit small; but plays a significant role in International Law. The later half of the 20th century witnessed more viability in international adoptions. Typically, rich couples from privileged countries adopt ethnically backward children from developing countries. Inter country adoption enables couples all over the world to adopt children from any country which is a signatory to the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in respect of Intercountry Adoption (‘Hague Convention’). The Hague Convention was concluded on 29th May, 1993 and entered into force on 1st May, 1995. It provides a formal international and intergovernmental recognition of intercountry adoption to ensure that adoptions under the Hague Convention will generally be recognized and given effect in the signatory countries. It buttresses the United Nations Convention on Rights of the Child (Art. 21). Under the Hague Convention, each signatory country has to establish a “Central Authority” to serve as the country’s primary contact in adoption process; satisfy several checks
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for a child eligible for adoption, verify the propriety of the adoption under the laws of both countries; and make a reasonable prior effort to facilitate a domestic adoption agreeing to use only certified adoption agencies. India signed the Hague Convention on 9th January, 2003 and ratified the same on 6th June, 2003 with an object of fortifying the inter country adoption provisions in India. Measures Adopted by India under the Hague Convention Central Adoption Resource Agency (‘CARA’) was set up in June, 1990 by the Ministry of Welfare, Government of India to regulate, monitor and promote adoption of orphaned, abandoned or surrendered children, with the principal mandate of finding loving families for children in need of Care and Protection. CARA was designated as the Central Authority under the Hague Convention in 2003. CARA facilitates, regulates and monitors all in-country and intercountry adoptions through Child Adoption Resource Information & Guidance System (CARINGS). Prior to 2017, there was no enactment dealing with the inter-country adoption procedure in India. Therefore, for the various guidelines laid by the Supreme Court of India in Laxmikant Pandey v. Union of India steered the intercountry adoption procedure. Justice P. N. Bhagwati held that “...2. Since there is no statutory enactment in our country providing for adoption of a child by foreign parents or laying down the procedure which must be followed in such a case, resort is had to the provisions of the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890 for the purpose of facilitating such adoption.” Following these guidelines, the Adoption Regulations, 2017
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(‘Regulations, 2017’), were notified on 4th January, 2017 in supersession of the Guidelines Governing Adoption of Children, 2015. Further, the Inter-Country adoption procedure in India is also governed by the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 alongwith the Regulations 2017. Inter-country Adoption Procedure in India as per Regulations, 2017 Eligibility Criteria: Regulation 5 Like all international adoption programs, India has its own unique eligibility requirements for adoptive parents. Any Prospective Adoptive Parent (‘PAP’), irrespective of his/her marital status and whether or not he has biological son or daughter, can adopt a child subject to following, namely:(a) the consent of both the spouses for the adoption shall be required, in case of a married couple; (b) a single female can adopt a child of any gender; (c) a single male shall not be eligible to adopt a girl child; In case of a couple, the composite age of PAPs shall be counted and the maximum composite age of PAPs (couple) should be between 90-110. The minimum age difference between the child and either of the PAPs shall not be less than twenty-five years. Applicants must be financially capable; physically, mentally and emotionally stable and without any life-threatening conditions. Minimum two years of a stable marriage is required. CARA determines the minimum age range of children to whom parents need to be open as follows: Age of the child
Maximum composite age of prospective adoptive parents (couple)
Maximum age of single prospective adoptive parent
Up to 4 years
90 years
45years
Above 4 and up to 8 years
100 years
50 years
Above 8 and up to 18 years
110 years
55 years
Procedure: Chapter IV- Regulations 14-22 The PAPs can approach the Authorised Foreign Adoption Agency or the Central Authority concerned, as the case may be, for preparation of their Home Study Report and for their registration in CARINGS. In case, there is no Authorised Foreign Adoption Agency or Central Authority in
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About the Author Ruchi Khatlawala Pandya(BLS LLB Solicitors UK & Wales) is one of the youngest partners at the 160 year old law firm in Mumbai, Little & Co. Her main practice areas include Real Estate-Project Finance, General Corporate (having a multitude of legal requirements) and Commercial Litigation which includes Arbitration and Dispute Resolution. In September 2019 bagged the award as an aspiring lawyer-the Rising Star under 40 award; at New Delhi, through Legal Era. Being a passionate writer, she has penned down legal articles for a couple of domestic and international magazines. December 2020 | 31
their country of habitual residence, then the PAPs shall approach the Government department or Indian diplomatic mission concerned in that country for the purpose. Further, The Authorised Foreign Adoption Agency or Central Authority or the Government department or the Indian diplomatic mission concerned, as the case may be, on ascertaining the eligibility of the PAPs for adopting a child, shall get their Home Study Report completed and register their application in CARINGS in the format along with the required documents as specified in Schedule VI of Regulations, 2017. This application will be scrutinised and if found eligible, it will be forwarded to the Specialised adoption agency. Profiles of two children, in one or two referral(s), shall be forwarded by CARINGS to the Authorised Foreign Adoption Agency or Central Authority or Government department or Indian diplomatic mission, as the case may be, which may further forward such profiles to the PAPs concerned as per local rules and in case of a foreigner or Overseas Citizen of India, the profiles of children shall be referred to the PAPs. Once the PAPs have selected a child to be adopted by them following the further procedure as mentioned in the Regulations, 2017, a No Objection Certificate (“NOC”) will have to be obtained as per Regulation 16. Post the receipt of this NOC and pending the court procedure (as per Regulation 12), the parents may have to take the child in pre-adoption foster care for a temporary period. The PAPs shall receive final custody of the child from the Specialised Adoption Agency as soon as the passport and visa are issued to the child after issue of adoption order from the competent court. Immigration procedure of the child is laid down under Regulation 18. Within three days from availability of the adoption order, the immigration authorities and the foreign regional registration office or the foreign registration office concerned, as the case may be, are intimated about the confirmation of the adoption. The passport for the adopted child is to be obtained by the Specialised adoption agency. Post which, the adoptive parent(s) shall come to India for taking the adopted child to their country within a period of two months from the date of adoption order.
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Currently the fees for an inter-country adoption is US $ 5000 (approx. Rs. 3,50,000). This also includes the legal fees of and the expenditure incurred by the Specialised Adoption Agency. The Way Forward Initially, there used to be reservations in minds of foreign couples whether or not they would be treated at par with indian couples or if there would be any potential bias towards indian couples in terms of a prospective adoption. However, A recent judgment of the Supreme Court reported in 2019, Union of India v Ankur Gupta, reiterates the currently existing inter-country adoption procedure in the light of Regulations, 2017 and the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. The SC held that “...the statutory procedure and the statutory regime, which is prevalent as on date and is equally applicable to all aspirants, i.e., Indian prospective adoptive parents and prospective adoptive parents for inter-country adoption, cannot be lost sight.” This judgment goes a long way to reflect that the inter-country adoption procedure in India is well organised and is always upheld by the courts in India. When it comes to the LGBTQ community, India has definitely taken a step forward. In the landmark judgment of Navtej Singh Johar vs. Union of India the Supreme Court unanimously struck down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, to the extent that it criminalised same-sex relations between consenting adults. Under the current adoption provisions, a single parent with homosexual orientation maybe allowed to adopt in/from India however, whether same-sex indian or foreign couples are eligible to adopt from India or not has not yet been clarified. Presently only two Asian countries have legalised same-sex couples to adopt i.e. Taiwan and Israel. For encouraging adoption, the legislature will also have to advance towards giving equal rights of adoption to same-sex couples as have been given to heterosexual couples.
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Adv. Sheela Ram Kumar A Symbol of Expertise and Excellence
T
he legal system has played a role of paramount importance since the beginning of civilisation. The very reason of establishing laws and regulations is for the institution of society to prevail without distortion of peace and to ensure no citizen is denied their fundamental rights. Over the years, the Indian legal landscape has undergone an intensive development spearheaded by industry experts and thought leaders. One among these experts is Adv. Sheela Ram Kumar, the Head of Trademarks and Copyrights Division at WORDICT-IP. Adv. Sheela exhibits utmost proficiency in filing Trademarks and Copyrights online and prosecuting applications before various registries. As a qualified lawyer, she not only looks after trademarks or copyright filings for various clients but also deals with Oppositions, Rectifications and Revocations. A good command over English and alacrity of mind are the additional traits that she carries to the table. Adv. Sheela graduated as a Bachelor of Law from Osmania University in May 2017 and enrolled with the Telangana Bar in October of the same year. She also holds Master’s degree in commerce from Osmania University and a Post Graduate diploma in Computer Applications from
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Department of Electronics, New Delhi. Since her venture into the practice Adv. Sheela has been managing the family law firm WORDICT-IP. She effectively took over the management of the firm and has been handling various clients and catering to their requirements of Intellectual Property Rights, especially filing, and prosecuting before the various registries. Adv. Sheela has also been appearing before the civil courts in Hyderabad in other Civil Litigation matters in Intellectual Property, as well as matters before the High Court of Telangana. She has played a significant role in setting up an IP mentoring firm named “Innovpath” which purely caters to spreading IP awareness through training programs, symposiums, lectures, and conferences. Sharing her philosophy on the discipline of law, Adv. Sheela says, “Law according to me is a highly analytical subject that demands a continuous study. I believe that a lawyer represents the client in a court. He/she should be found defending the client and not being defensive about the client. I take up a case for the purpose of fighting it out. I reject a case when I find that I am being misled in it.” Exemplifying Expertise
and premier law firms in the city of Hyderabad. The firm possesses and exhibits a diverse experience of more than 29 years in handling issues specifically in Intellectual Property – Registration, Enforcement and Valuation. WORDICT-IP is backed by a dexterous, persevering, and assiduous team of attorneys, lawyers and Para Legal. The firm’s mission is to provide high quality, creative, and resultoriented legal services to individuals and businesses and serve as a primary resource and partner in all aspects of clients’ business growth and development. The firm has garnered a growing list of clients varying from multinational companies, large corporates, business houses, small and medium enterprises in the fields of chemicals, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, etc. In-tune with Technology When asked about how the firm leverages technological developments to facilitate its services, Adv. Sheela asserts, “WORDICT-IP is a technologically oriented IP Law firm and has used technology to an extent where our office has become almost paperless. Technology has helped us during the pandemic, and work did not suffer at all and we were able to maintain all the timelines without any
WORDICT-IP, established in 1992 as a boutique IP firm, is one of the oldest
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The 10 Most Inuential Women Lawyers to Watch
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I take up a case for the purpose of fighting it out. I reject a case when I find that I am being misled in it.
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glitches. We also used technology widely to give Virtual internships to college students under our new brand Virtutern and we have successfully completed six Virtutern programmes so far. This enabled our interns to have a good feeling that they were able to intern and learn topics even when everything was shut down.” On Digitalisation of Law Sharing her opinion on whether e-court platforms and digitization of judicial process will help law firms and the citizens equally, Adv. Sheela says, “Yes. As India is growing into a digitalized country, it would be an appropriate step to continue e-court platforms. Law firms are already equipped with necessary equipment and technology to perform effectively on e-court platforms. They can cater services at ease due to the decrease in travelling time to courts scattered at distant locations.”
Adv. Sheela Ram Kumar Head of Trademarks and Copyrights Division emphasis on educating citizens on the usage of such platforms and creation of apps that facilitate citizen’s usage. If the mentioned measures are taken, even citizens would benefit from e-court platforms as it allows them to save time and money.” In conclusion, Adv. Sheela shares with us, her objectives for the near future saying, “My ideas and plans for the near future are to conduct programs in schools and colleges on innovation and basic concepts of IP. I also want work towards introducing Artificial Intelligence in Legal Documentation.”
“For citizens, the process of adaptation might be a little cumbersome. There should be special
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December 2020 | 35
Akanksha Reddy The Advocate Extraordinaire
L
aw is one of the oldest professions there is. Over the millennium, this unrivaled profession has only grown in demand, and demands more skill and proficiency than ever before. Being a good lawyer requires a multitude of skills such as good communication skills, judgment, analytical skills, research proficiency, perseverance, creativity, logical thinking ability, public speaking skills, writing skills, leadership skills, listening, and decision making with gravitas. In short being a lawyer is more like being a polymath than any other profession. Our next pick for ‘The 10 most Influential Women Lawyers to Watch’ edition, we present Adv. Akanksha Reddy, who is not just a good lawyer, but she is a great one! Akanksha dynamically heads the corporate team of Reddy & Reddy Law Firm. She has obtained her LLB from Pune University and her LL.M in Business Law from Symbiosis Law School. With that and many other notable qualifications, she is admitted to the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa. To gain valuable insights into this evercompetitive profession, we conducted an interview with Akanksha Reddy in the hope that she may inspire many of our readers who aspire to be a successful lawyer in today’s times. So, without further ado, let us dive right into it and relish the knowledge we are about to receive. Please introduce yourself to our readers and your professional journey so far. I have always been an inquisitive and strong-headed person since a young age and my inquisitiveness has always been supported by my family. Furthermore,
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my parents have created an atmosphere for me where deliberations are given importance in personal growth and development. Owing to this I along with my parents’ guidance singled out on studying law as my career choice. I completed my LLB from Pune University and my LLM specialization in business law from Symbiosis University, Pune, along with various diplomas. During my time in college, I interned under individual lawyers, firms and corporate organizations. Towards the end of LLM, I started interning at Reddy & Reddy Law Firm which I thoroughly enjoyed. Also, witnessing Adv. Sudhir Reddy’s dedication and love towards this firm inspired me to be a part Reddy & Reddy Law Firm and grow together. What inspired you to step into the legal industry? What factors make you accept or reject a case? Before answering this question, I would like to say that I address my métier as Legal Profession instead of Legal Industry as for me it is more of a profession rather a simpliciter economic or commercial activity. It has been my interest to assist people by trying to find legally backed solutions to their problems and also enable them to justify their acts logically. I believe that this very interest inclined me to step into this profession. We, at Reddy & Reddy Law Firm, do not really reject any legal issue which comes our way as each issue leaves a lesson behind. We strive to fulfill our client’s expectations with the best possible legal solutions as per our understanding. However, we do not keep our client in the dark if we realise that we may not be able to fulfill his/her requirements. This can be a reason for our inability to take the said legal issue. We endeavour to assist every client that approaches us and often recommend
other professionals as well if that issue does not fall under our practice areas. What are your distinct areas of practice? I head the corporate department of the firm and I am also a part of its management and administration. My distinct areas of practice would be general corporate and advisory, negotiations, and I am also a member of various POSH committees incorporated at numerous corporate entities. How do you utilize technology to help facilitate the services? Our firm has always been tech-friendly and technology has made it possible for us to provide services across the globe. We as a firm use technology to the best of our capability. To elaborate a few- we use legal search engines for apt and quick research, cloud data storage and shared network drive for secure data storage. Along with being Wi-Fi enabled our office is also firewall protected as we are mindful of protecting the confidentiality of our client’s data and information. We also hold online as well as telephonic consultations for various clients, if that is a preferable mode for them. Past and continuous usage of technology acted as a boon for us during the lockdown when ‘work from home’ was a necessity. All our meetings, internal or external, were all conducted through video conferencing. We have been a part of various online appearances for court proceedings through e-court and participated in various negotiations and mediations online. We have also been conducting POSH (policy for Prevention of Sexual Harassment) workshops for our corporate clients through online video conferencing. According to you, will e-court platforms and digitization of judicial process help the law firms and the
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The 10 Most Inuential Women Lawyers to Watch
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With the advent of internet and advanced cutting-edge technology the stereotypical image of the judicial system has changed
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citizens equally? Please share your views. It would be difficult to equate the benefits of e-courts as received by law firms vis-à-vis the citizens as both of them are at different footings in the judicial system. Nonetheless, it cannot be denied that with the advent of internet and advanced cutting-edge technology the stereotypical image of the judicial system has changed. This change has become all the more evident and significant during the COVID-19 pandemic. The necessity of balancing health and safety along with continued judicial process is being attempted with the use of e-courts and digitization of the entire process. Interestingly, with the system of virtual courts clients can assure the presence of counsels or advocates of their choice from anywhere across the country. . Through digitization, lawyers and citizens can examine files, get updated about the status and progress of their cases. Various judicial forums have moved towards filing of applications, petitions or complaints electronically. I believe that we are at the initial stage of the digitization process of the judicial system and we have a long way to go. However, we must bear in mind that the benefits of digitization and e-courts will be visible only when the citizens are made aware and well-versed with the intricacies of using electronic mediums. How do you, on your part, help eradicate legal illiteracy among common citizens. Being well aware of the fact that a large section of our society is incognizant when it comes to
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Akanksha Reddy understanding their legal and civil rights, we as a law firm have always strived towards eradicating legal illiteracy amongst the citizens of this country by focusing on creating legal awareness. Reddy & Reddy Law Firm frequently conducts workshops in order to educate people about their basic legal rights and duties. Since internet is one of the fastest modes of spreading knowledge to the public, our firm publishes legally relevant article on our website and social media platforms. We also attempt in engaging our subscribers by creating interactive content for legal awareness on social media such as educational posters, weekly quizzes, and crossword. We have also started an institute named IIADR for making alternate dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms the preferred way of resolving dispute and train the next generation into applying ADR which may be cost-effective and a practical method for managing various kinds of conflicts What do you envision for yourself and your firm for the near future? I see my self venturing into new and unexplored practice areas which in turn would help expand the reach of the firm and be of assistance to the society at large. We intend on taking up more pro bono legal issues as a firm to support the underprivileged and give back to the society. As mentioned, the firm also has a new initiative called IIADR, and we aim to take steps towards growing it and achieving its vision.
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