Litigation is worth the wait if one likes daily ‘live action’- Senior Advocate Gopal Jain

Gopal Jain was designated Senior Advocate by the Supreme Court of India. In this interview with Bar & Bench, he talks about the advantages for a lawyer coming from a legal background, the valuable role of the juniors who assist him and the age-old litigation versus corporate practice debate..Bar & Bench: Tell us about your early days of practice..Gopal Jain: I graduated with a degree in Economics from Hansraj College, Delhi University and went to University of Oxford, where I read Jurisprudence. Immediately upon my return, I joined the Chambers of Mr. Kapil Sibal in 1992. Those were exciting times as he was representing Justice V. Ramaswami in his impeachment case and was also appearing in the leading constitutional cases of the time..B&B: Having graduated from a premier institution like Oxford, what do you think are the lacunae that exist in Indian legal education as compared to instruction abroad? .Gopal Jain: I would like to highlight the most crucial lessons that I picked up at Oxford which continue to hold me in good stead. The University inculcates the habit of thinking; nothing is taken for granted and there is absolutely no spoon feeding. Students are encouraged to apply their own mind independently and because in law (unlike other disciplines like Mathematics), there is no definitive answer like a yes or no, it is the thought process and approach which counts..Secondly, the case study based teaching technique makes the legal education holistic, as most of the learning is practical, based on actual cases and analysis, and provides good guidance for a young student of law..B&B: In your opinion, are second/third generation lawyers at an advantage because of their early (informal) legal education?.Gopal Jain: There is no making light of the struggle which is involved at the beginning stages of one’s career in litigation. Unless one has good seniors and well wishers who provide solid support and back up, the road is a tough one and there are multiple challenges to be dealt with. Furthermore, you are constantly pitted against second and third generation lawyers who have a distinct advantage from the day they enter legal practice whereas a new entrant has to work doubly hard to create an identity for himself..Being the first lawyer in my family and coming from a non-legal background without any sort of legal backing, I myself was witness to times where a case could have come my way but went to somebody else because of the banner or brand-name that they had and which I did not have. So it is difficult, frustrating and often agonizing when one faces such situations but it took determination to tide through these times..B&B: What are your thoughts on the supposed bias against junior lawyers appearing in the Apex Court?.Gopal Jain: This aspect has two parts to it and I should answer the question citing my own experience. Firstly, the Supreme Court gets the best lawyers from all over India and for that very reason it is a very tough place to practice because one has all the numero uno experts in one space..Secondly, as a junior lawyer you have to be very good at what you do and it helps to have expertise in a particular practice area. Quick research, lots of hard work and a good turnaround time is vital. To make a mark as a junior, one has to be a good briefing counsel to seniors..Overall, because it is the final Court of appeal, the stakes and expectations are high, and people always wish to approach the most eminent lawyer as that is how our system functions. However of late, there is a spate of very good junior counsels and emerging lawyers joining the Supreme Court practice (also because the quality of education that is imparted in India has gone up and most of them end up pursuing a foreign education) and because of this, hopefully the existing gap between the senior advocates and junior lawyers will get bridged gradually..B&B: There exists a perception that those assisting senior counsels have a minimal role to play since most of the groundwork is already taken care of. Thoughts? What level of preparation do you expect from the juniors working with you? .Gopal Jain: I think you should call my juniors right away before I answer that and ask them because the proof is always in the pudding! (laughs) There is a broad delegation of work among my 5-6 colleagues each of whom focus on different areas like telecom, energy, electricity, arbitrations, commercial litigation etc., respectively. There is a twofold advantage to this delegation – their learning curve goes up while working on different subjects and I benefit from their assistance and the way they approach the case..Most of the times, they get to read the brief before I do which enables them to prepare a short, concise note and research to find precedents involved. Post-conference, there is discussion on the strategy, research and arguments proposed to be made before the Bench. During final hearing matters, a more detailed note is required after the conference..I believe if you go to court with a note that is well researched and comprehensive, you bring focus to it and judges do not have to leaf through multiple pages and we stick to the discipline of time..I have tried in my own way to share the responsibility of a case with my colleagues and I give them full responsibility with complete involvement in a case. All of them work and put in a lot of effort as that is the sole ticket to recognition..B&B: Having worked extensively with the telecom sector, how do you describe the scope of this field of law for law students/young lawyers?.Gopal Jain: While discussing telecom as a practice area, one has to see it as part of infrastructure, and infrastructure itself has three parts; the regulatory, the policy and the business side. It is essentially an interplay of three things – contract, policy and regulation. For anybody interested in that as a subject matter, as it is not just law but also economics, it has great potential. Every sector is likely to have sectoral regulators and that results in a specialized area of practice which is only going to grow..B&B: What is that one piece of advice given by your mentors (Kapil Sibal & Soli Sorabjee) that has stayed with you through the years?.GJ: I feel that when you work in the chambers of eminent seniors, the greatest learning is from observing their conduct of a case and how they approach it. As a junior, one is only a shadow to the senior but one learns court craft. Working with Mr. Sibal, I witnessed court craft at its best in a Twenty20 format. He could persuade the Bench in the shortest possible time! His confidence while facing the Bench was an important trait to pick up. With Mr. Sorabjee, the approach was more comprehensive backed up by in-depth research and preparation, as is the case with Test Cricket! So in that sense, I was able to gain exposure to both forms of practice in these two chambers..B&B: What is your opinion on the National Judicial Appointments Commission?.GJ: There will always be two sides to this debate – whether we can strengthen the collegium or should the NJAC take over. The broad consensus is that the existing system needs some fine-tuning and improvement. Before the Supreme Court judgment, the primacy rested with the executive and thereafter with the court. Now it’s time for a hybrid of the era of executive primacy and the era of judicial primacy, and institutional primacy will hold the fort if the NJAC fructifies..B&B: What is your take on the classic conundrum that most law graduates are faced with: Corporate practice Vs Litigation?.Gopal Jain: Speaking from my own example, I was very clear that I wanted to be in court and argue cases. Since I did not come from a legal background myself, financial constraints and concerns were there. But I followed my passion and have enjoyed my work. An investment in a litigation practice has a gestation period. Of course initially it is tough but eventually money does come in. Also, things have improved so far as pay packages are concerned from the time I started practicing and people do pay better now. So I feel if one can just hold one’s horses during the initial days then in the long term, it evens itself out. Litigation is worth the wait if one likes daily ‘live action’..B&B: Do you still consider yourself as a student of law?.Gopal Jain: Absolutely! I may have areas of specialization but all of us are generalists at one level. One is constantly learning especially when we are amidst lawyers and experts in different practice areas. When an expert comes to brief me, I become the student and they are the teacher..B&B: Any interests other than law..Gopal Jain: Other interests have gradually come down over a period of time but sports and politics are a passion. However, the best part of legal practice is that it allows you to meet so many different people and forge new friendships. That in itself creates an interesting synergy which goes much beyond a lawyer-client or a lawyer-lawyer association and is truly fascinating and interesting..B&B: Describe law and the profession in one line..Gopal Jain: 24/7 guaranteed excitement!