The Bangalore Law Firms: In conversation with King & Partridge’s Arvind Moorchung

Arvind Moorchung is a Partner at the Bangalore office of King & Partridge, one of the oldest law firms in the country. In this interview with Bar & Bench’s Aditya AK, the Karnataka High Court advocate discusses trends in the Bangalore legal market, legal practice in the UK, legal education and more..Aditya AK: King & Partridge has been around for more than 150 years. Could you tell us about the history of the firm?.Arvind Moorchung: King & Partridge is a child of the revolution; we started in 1857 in Ooty. The next office was set up at Madras. The Bangalore office was opened around 50 years ago. Here, we do just about everything apart from hard core criminal and family law work. We do a lot of corporate and conveyancing work and have a large tax department..Aditya AK: How has the firm managed to thrive despite the advent of the big law firms in Bangalore?.Arvind Moorchung: We have a long standing equity attached to our name. People come to us because they have heard about us from someone..Aditya AK: How has the Bangalore legal market evolved over the years?.Arvind Moorchung: There has of course been the explosion of firms that have come from Bombay. There has also been a large number of independent practitioners who have set up their own firms, and many of them have been doing very well..Aditya AK: Would you say that it is a good time for a firm to set up a new practice?.Arvind Moorchung: I think there is already a very large amount of choice in terms of law firms. At the same time, if somebody is really good, they will always do well, wherever they are, whatever the climate..But I’m not entirely sure that it is the best time to set up a new firm in Bangalore. The sheer number of law schools that have come up is leading to a glut in the advocates’ market; I think there is a little too much supply..Aditya AK: What differences did you notice between practice here and in the UK?.Arvind Moorchung: I was there for around six months, so I didn’t practice too much. There, the systems are far better, I feel. There is a bigger awareness that such a thing as non-litigation practice exists. One does get the impression that the Bar Council of India doesn’t feel the same..We need to come around to a situation where telling a client when not to litigate is as important to the client as actually filing the case in court. I’ve heard of lawyers who advised their clients not to litigate, and the clients have said ‘I don’t come to you for this kind of advice’ and gone somewhere else..Aditya AK: What is your opinion on the Bar Council’s Certificate of Practice Rules?.Arvind Moorchung: I think we are going through enough trouble trying to keep track of the lawyers that are already there, and more trouble having a bar exam for the new advocates. How are we going to keep track of the advocates on a yearly basis?.If it’s only a matter of paying a subscription fee and filing a certain number of vakalats, what prevents someone from scribbling their signature on ten random vakalats a year?.Aditya AK: Have last year’s changes to labour laws made a significant difference?.Arvind Moorchung: I don’t think there’s been too much change. The practice remains very much the same, everybody’s attitude remains the same. Fundamentally, I think our labour laws are very disjointed. You still have the same issues that you’ve always had..Aditya AK: Which are?.Arvind Moorchung: Starting from the definition of the same person under various enactments, to why is it that only a certain class of employees falls within the ambit of the Industrial Disputes Act..Aditya AK: Which law course do you prefer – 3 year or 5 year?.Arvind Moorchung: In the UK, only the 3-year LLB course exists. I’m not convinced that the two extra years of BA or B.Sc. makes a substantial difference to the way we understand the law. We need to do more than mug up so-and-so sections of some Act. The 3-year course might have its disadvantages, but I do think we need to spend less time on the BA component; time should be spent productively in learning the law..Aditya AK: What are your views on practical legal education?.Arvind Moorchung: What we need is more organized internships. Though we need to leave it to the students as to what they want to do and where they want to intern, there is a little too much discrepancy in where they intern. There are people who intern in two places at the same time, there are those that have never interned in their lives. Even if a student has a CV with 10-12 internships, the question is how much he has actually taken away from those internships..For example, the medical internship takes place compulsorily for one year, at the end of which there is a 1-year written examination. Maybe we need something like that. As far as legal aid clinics are concerned, the students would benefit a lot more from being face-to-face with actual people who have problems, as opposed to reading some case law about it..Aditya AK: What do law firms expect from fresh law graduates?.Arvind Moorchung: Though I can’t speak for other law firms, I can say that firms need not necessarily look for a huge list of internships in a CV. They’re looking for somebody who has good basic knowledge. Graduates need to have decent marks and some amount of common sense and enthusiasm. The ‘I come from so-and-so college’ stamp is not the only thing that is required. I come from the oldest of NLUs, but I know so many of my peers who didn’t have that attitude, and right now, they are at the top of the profession..Aditya AK: Any advice for a fresh law graduate who wants to litigate in Bangalore?.Arvind Moorchung: Best of luck (laughs)..Specific to Bangalore, it’s useful if you can speak, read and write Kannada! Otherwise, I don’t think there is too much of a difference between litigation in Bangalore and anywhere else..It’s a very, very interesting field, but be prepared for long days that have nothing at all to do with “The Practice” or any of those legal dramas. There’s absolutely no connection! There will lots of very boring days and lots of hard work to be put in. It’s easy to get lost in the crowd..But at the end of it, standing in front of a judge, putting your point across and seeing the judge’s expression, knowing that they are appreciating your point makes up for everything.