Want to pursue litigation?

The most common advice you will get is to start your career in a district court – be it criminal or civil practice. There is a lot of merit in that advice. However, I strongly discourage my students from starting from lower courts.

There is a simple reason for this.

In the formative years, it’s all about setting the standards you are going to follow.

You have an internal compass. Don’t think of it as a compass that shows a direction, more like its a siren that goes off if you see low quality work, superficial and vague things, and ineffective and dishonest means.

You already have it, but you need to make it more powerful. It is an asset.

One of the most powerful things you can do in your formative years, or as soon as possible in your career, is to set very high standards.

How does it happen?

Some of it is intrinsic and aspirational. You want to be the best so you don’t want to settle for low quality.

Just like you may not want to live in a dirty room or become unhealthy or dress shabbily. This is an internal sense of quality inherent in us.

We all admire competence and skill.

But this sense can be either numbed or heightened by the environment.

If all your friends dress shabbily, live in dirty houses or are unhealthy, that becomes your standard or you get influenced to lower your standards.

But if you are surrounded by amazing people, your mental map is reorganized.

Want to be a black belt soon? Hang out with black belts regularly. You will be influenced. You will breathe eat drink martial arts.

Want to become rich? Surround yourself with rich people. You will pick up good money habits from them. You will see how they invest their time and money.

Want to become a great lawyer? As good as possible?

Let’s say you are interested in litigation.

Start by working as a judicial clerk in the SC. You will be surrounded by top lawyers every day. You will hear them argue. You will see how much they prepare and how they handle questions from the judge. You will see how complex the matters are and you will think those astronomical fees are normal.

Can’t get a judicial clerkship? No worries. Go for an advocate on record firm, preferably a large one that deals with top corporate matters.

You will not just see one great lawyer, but you will be briefing many of them day in and day out.

Set high standards in the first few years. Then go to district court if you like. You will bring high standards to your work there.

If you start from the district court, I am scared that you will learn the wrong standard.

Similarly, if you want to be a corporate lawyer, see how can you get to work with the best partners with very high standards, no matter how tough they are to work with or even if they recently opened a small boutique firm.

Setting high standards in the early years will do wonders for you. And if you are not in your early years, no worries. You can start now, but set your standards as high as possible.

It’s the best short cut to success that I have known in my life.

And this is what we try to do in all of our courses. We will set high standards that you can be proud for a lifetime.

In terms of course material, teaching, feedback and everything else. Here are the courses launching in February:

Diploma

• Diploma in Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment laws
• Diploma in Cyber Law, Fintech Regulations and Technology contracts Diploma in Industrial and Labour Laws
• Diploma in Companies Act, Corporate Governance and SEBI Regulations

Executive Certificate Courses

• Certificate course in Advanced Criminal Litigation & Trial Advocacy
• Certificate course in Companies Act
• Certificate Course in Arbitration: Strategy, Procedure and Drafting
• Certificate Course in Real Estate Laws