1. Dharma - An Introduction Dr.

Balvir Talwar

2. Rig Veda explains the cosmic order and the order through which the universal intelligence unfolds in action. It connected with Dharma is called Dharmik. Dharma enables the
human being to function harmoniously in the social and natural surroundings to which he belongs.
3. three gunas – Sattva, rajas and tamas
4. fourfold goals of life – dharma, artha, kaama and moksha.
5. 6 gates to downfall – lust, anger, greed, arrogance, infatuation and jealousy
6. seven steps to liberation,
7. the eight fold path of yoga,
8. nature of the body with nine gates.
9. There are several human characteristics that are expounded as Dharma lakshanas including the 36 in the Bhagavad Gita which is more comprehensive. But the 10 Dharma
lakshanas indicated by Manu as below are the Key characteristics.
10. Dhrtih kshamaa damah asteyam shaucham indriya-nigrahah I
11. Dheeh vidyaa satyam akrodhah dashakam dharma lakshanah ||
12. Dhrtih – to hold, to contain – edge about which the law of balance hinges.
13. Kshamaa – forgiveness – yourself in mind for violence
14. Damah – to tame, to subdue – more possessions. Tame greed. Subdue lust. Tame the ego.
15. Asteyam – not taking that which is not rightfully yours - make haste to give the excess away
16. Shaucham – cleanliness - Not just physical cleanliness but also mental cleanliness.
17. Indriya nigraha – control of the five senses in your interactions with the external world Control your breathing thereby senses.
18. Dheeh – intelligence, understanding – The mind is just a storehouse of impressions and patterns, how the world operates
19. Vidyaa – Knowledge-, the world is one.
20. Satyam –both true and pleasant is the truth. unpleasant can be a fact but never the truth. Resort to silence if you are in doubt.
21. Akrodhah – Stay a witness to the situation until anger subside

Advocates barred from advertising their services

 Rule 36 of the Bar Council of India Rules under Section IV(Duty to Colleagues) of Chapter II(Standards of Professional Conduct and Etiquette) of Part
IV(Rules Governing Advocates).
 Rule 36 reads as under- “36. An advocate shall not solicit work or advertise, either directly or indirectly, whether by circulars, advertisements, touts,
personal communications, interviews not warranted by personal relations, furnishing or inspiring newspaper comments or producing his photographs to
be published in connection with cases in which he has been engaged or concerned. His sign-board or name-plate should be of a reasonable size. The
sign-board or name-plate or stationery should not indicate that he is or has been President or Member of a Bar Council or of any Association or that he
has been associated with any person or organisation or with any particular cause or matter or that he specialises in any particular type of worker or that
he has been a Judge or an Advocate General."
 The Bar Council of India passed a resolution on 30th April, 2008 [3] in front of a three-member bench of the Supreme Court headed by Justice B N
Aggarwal that advocates will be allowed to advertise on the internet.
 “PROVIDED that this rule will not stand in the way of advocates furnishing website information as prescribed in the Schedule under intimation to and
as approved by the Bar Council of India. Any additional other input in the particulars than approved by the Bar Council of India will be deemed to be
violation of Rule 36 and such advocates are liable to be proceeded with misconduct under Section 35 of the Advocates Act, 1961 [4] ."
 Rule 13 of Chapter II of Part VI of the Bar Council of India Rules under the Advocates Act, 1961 specifically state that: An advocate should not accept a
brief or appear in a case in which he has reason to believe that he will be a witness, and if being engaged in a case, it becomes apparent that he is a
witness on a material question of fact, he should not continue to appear as an advocate if he can retire without jeopardising his client’s interests. Section
120 of the Evidence Act, 1872 only deals with who may testify as a witness and does not lay down any restriction or restraint on the advocate to be a
witness in the case where he is acting as an advocate. A counsel for a party should not be his witness in the same case without retiring from the case as
counsel. It is a sound principle that a person who is appearing as counsel should not give evidence as witness.
 debarred under Section 126 of the Evidence Act, 1872 to disclose the communications made to him without the express consent of his client.

SCHOLARSHIP ENDEAVOUR AUG

 https://internationaleducation.gov.au/endeavour%20program/scholarships-and-fellowships/applications/pages/applications.aspx
 https://internationaleducation.gov.au/Endeavour%20program/Scholarships-and-Fellowships/faq/Pages/FAQ.aspx#application
 https://endeavour.education.gov.au/endeavour/my-details
 https://internationaleducation.gov.au/Endeavour%20program/Scholarships-and-Fellowships/Pages/default.aspx
 https://scholarship-positions.com/2013-endeavour-postgraduate-scholarship-awards-australia/2012/06/20/
 https://emle.org/application/#1512052850593-79c61f9d-069c
 https://webportalapp.com/sp/workflow/emle_app
 https://emle.org/application/

RESEARCH PROPOSAL
The research proposal should be 2000 words, which includes the following information.
 Proposed title of the study
 Summary/ outline of the proposed study
 Purpose/ aims of the proposed study
 Relevant background literature
 Research questions or hypotheses
 Definitions of key terms used in the proposal
 Research methodology
 The significance of the research
 Ethical considerations
 The timetable for the research
 Anticipated problems and limitations
 expected Resources required for the research
 Bibliography
 Appendix

One easy thing to do to get quick money is social media marketing. You can help a startup or some local brand to manage their social
media presence. Maybe you can manage their snapchat or instagram? If you do it well, in a way that generaterevenue or branding for
them, you can expect to get paid.

You can even help lawyers to create systems to manage their offices or clients better. Maybe a better filing system? Or introducing
software for higher efficiency? They will pay you for it if your service is valuable.

It is also possible to get paid legal work from them. You will not get paid as much as a lawyer does, obviously, but if you can turn in a
good first draft, it saves a lot of time for lawyers and the busy ones will pay you for it. You need to figure out who those lawyers are
though, and how they are going to trust you.

Always check after internship if the lawyers who were happy with your work will like to give you some work even afterwards. Don’t ask
for money at this point, just keep doing it and get them comfortable with the remote working arrangement. Later you can request to be
paid! If your work is actually useful, they will not say no.
These are jobs that need not always require a lot of skills. Others require skills you can easily learn, and still others that will take years
to learn.

Choose wisely.

Step 2 - How are you going to ask for it

It is not too bad to just walk up to them and ask. Worst you will ever hear is a no.Many a times when I was young I used to walk up to
people completely blank, without any preparation and then asked for opportunities. I got rejected a lot. But some people said yes. I
stayed in touch with the people who said no as well.Some day some of them did come back!

But the best way is to go prepared. I learned that over time. You can start right from the beginning. It’s much better.

Do a requirement analysis. Talk to people, do market research. Talk to 15-20 people trying to discover the real pain points. Then you
will know exactly what you need to offer and how much to charge.

Let me give you an example.

How can you figure out whether to offer guitar lessons in college to otherstudents, or create an youtube channel where you give guitar
lessons? Or maybe you should try to find out some wealthy clients outside the college?

It’s tough, right?

Start talking to people. Who are the people who want to learn guitar? What is their motivation? Why are they not already learning? Have
they bought a guitar? Do they want you to help them to choose a guitar? What sort of guitar do people want to learn?

And most of all, what is the problem? Why have they not already learned? Where are they stuck?

Maybe you find out that many people who bought expensive guitars then lost motivation. They felt lazy. Is it possible that if you give
them lessons inside their hostel room, they will actually do it? Are they ready to pay a decent sum for it? That would depend on their
motivation. If the goal is to serenade the girlfriend on her next birthday, and impress her with guitar skills, motivation is high. One
would pay.

Similarly, you may find out that the local builders have a big problem in getting certain paperwork done. Lawyers charge a lot. They
don’t really need a lawyer to do it. What if you could do it? What if you can get a part time job drafting real estate contracts for 2-3 local
builders? What if you start offering services to help them to comply with applicable labour laws?

What if you could find a startup which needs some legal support? Maybe it can’t afford a proper lawyer yet, could you help them with
some basic things as a paralegal and charge a fee?

There are thousands of possible options. But to pitch it right, you have to understand what is the pain point of your target group, and
then propose a solution. How much they will pay you depends on how motivated they are to solve that particular problem.

Once you know what is the motivation, what is the pain point and what value people want but find hard to come by, you will also know
where to find your customers. And you will know exactly what to say to them to open up their purses!

You tell people what their problem is, show them that you understand the problem, and then offer a solution. Not all will buy, but
many will. That’s a very simple way to pitch your services!

Step 3 - take money first

Once you have a confirmed client, please make sure to take the money. Either an advance. Or if possible, the full amount. This serves
two purposes.

One, as a rookie freelancer, you don’t know yet, but collecting money is a big problem for freelancers. A lot of time you do the work and
don’t get paid. This is a typical problem in India.

Only serious people will give advance. Those who don’t, don’t work with them. So taking advance ensures that client is serious. I
recommend minimum 50% advance.

Exception, when you are very new and do not have a reputation or success stories to show off yet, work for free. For a bit. Maybe a
couple of days, maybe 10% of the work. Just to give a taste. Then insist that you must get paid to continue. If you don’t get paid, there
may be two reasons. One is that your work is not worth paying for. Introspect, find out the truth. Ask around. See who is getting paid
and if there is a difference in quality.

The other possibility is that the employer does not value you, for whatever reason. Or maybe his business is tanking, or just that he
wants to exploit people. Either way, don’t waste your time there. Move to another potential client.

Also, taking money already means you must deliver. You make it serious for yourself too. There is no wriggle room after you take that
advance. Go and make things happen.

Step 4 - Deliver

A very important step. How good the delivery is decides your future success. Did you do it well enough that you will be asked for the
same service again? Are you going to get more, better paid work? Will you get referrals?

All that depends on the quality of delivery. Don’t compromise here.

Step 5 - ask for success stories, testimonials and referrals and showcase them

Many rookies think that after delivery you get paid and it’s over. No, it’s just the beginning if you have done the work well. You must
keep in touch, you must give them reminders about when they should take the next set of actions, and you must ask for testimonial,
which you are then going to display. In a physical business it can be on the wall, but these days it is far more profitable to get it on the
internet. Make sure you get your reviews, testimonial, or case study, whatever makes sense, and put it out there for everyone to see.

Also don’t forget to take the bad feedback too. What could you do better? What was not quite upto the mark. This is also important for
you to learn and then evolve.

You got to promote your success. You have to showcase it. Don’t miss that little but critical step. This will help you to get your next set
of clients, or even repeat business. Nothing sells like results and success.

Most importantly, get out there and get started. It’s a long way, and you are not going to stumble into a regular income. It is the result
of steady and long termeffort.

Best Regards,
Ramanuj,
CEO, iPleaders

Hi devanshu,

Do you compromise the bigger picture over small issues? Do you get easily distracted from your mission by small inconveniences?

I do. A lot. I am an expert procrastinator. But this article is not about ‘7 tips to beat procrastination’. You’ve probably read too many of
those, and nothing really worked. I’d know.

However, one thing worked for me. I will tell you about that.

Imagine you wake up sleepily in your bed. You realise you need to go to the loo. And it's quite urgent. You have to get up from the bed,
walk to the toilet, open the door, and do your business.

Will anything distract you on your way? Will you stop to play with the cute cat? Will you check your WhatsApp message before you
attend to nature's call? Will you even stop to pick up your phone even if it's ringing? If it's seriously urgent, I bet you won't even think
or pay attention to anything else.

Sorry about the gross example, but that’s a powerful urgency. That's called clarity of purpose. If you find that someone is already
inside the toilet, you will hammer on the door, shout, or do whatever is needed. You will even run to another toilet quickly if there is
another one, in close vicinity. You will be totally unstoppable. We can even say very powerful in that moment.

What if you did all your work with such single-minded focus and clarity of purpose? Will you be procrastinating? I think not.

It's not easy to find the purpose of your life that helps you to focus your efforts, razor-sharp the way I am saying.

If you do, great. You can ignore the rest of this.

Now, the story.

I am a scatterbrain. A few years back, say about 3 years, I was always bubbling with new ideas and itched to try them all out. Nothing
is impossible, I thought. Why can’t I start 3 different business? And I did. I was always pursuing new ideas. One after another. I would
leave my team to deal with the most, after I got them started and got things moving.

My co-founders were initially touched by my extreme enthusiasm and energy. But eventually as unfinished and not so accomplished
projects piled up, and work pressure began to go through the roof, we were all confused, irritated and anxious.

Even a small contingency quickly escalated to big problems.

All three businesses were growing too! But they were growing out of control. As revenue rolled in, so did responsibilities and a lot of
work that we were not able to handle well. Quality suffered, although quantity grew.

We saved face one way or the other. But my senior employees, as well as co-founders, grew edgy. They tried to explain to me the
impossibility of the situation, and that I should not diversify so fast. However, I was not willing to change. Grow fast, fast, fast, was my
mantra. Wasn’t that what Zuckerberg said? We are growing, isn’t that what really counts?

I saw so many opportunities and I wanted to grab them all. Or at least a majority of them!

But what for? I had forgotten at some point the reason we started the work while chasing growth. We wanted to make a difference to
people! We wanted to build companies that we were proud of. But for that, we must be customer-centric. Is the end user getting what
he or she is supposed to get? Are we able to deliver?

As I spread myself thin, and so did my co-founders, we were not able to go as deep as we had to. Quality was superficial. We did not
spend the time needed to make great courses, the ones that we could be proud of. Rather, we made passable, mediocre courses.

They were still much better than everything else available in the market, so they sold. We did fine. But in our hearts, we knew we
could give better, and we were not even going in that direction. We were trying to launch more and more courses, grab more traffic and
more eyeballs, and get more customers.

It happened with the other businesses too. I had started an online legal services company. As I went into a business development
frenzy, work rolled in, and revenues were growing spectacularly. But I did not focus on growing the capability of my team. I did not
think whether the team can deliver on what I was selling. It put immense pressure of them. They struggled under the weight of my
expectations. I had no clue though, I wanted everyone to soldier on and keep growing!

iPleaders blog and Superlawyer also suffered from superficial content. We didn’t care about quality, we just tried to push the needle
and add up more numbers.

Honestly, looking back, what a huge mistake.

Shortly after that, my co-founder in that business quit. Everything went topsy-turvy. It is around that time, with the help of some great
coaches and friends, I began to realize the huge cost I am imposing on myself and others by scattering my ambition, intention,
bandwidth and effort all over the place!

After that, I streamlined one business to require next to no attention from me, shut down the other, and focussed completely on
the legal courses' business.

Sure I’d lost a lot of money. The business I’d shut down, had made 7 lakhs in revenue in the last month of its operation. It was the
highest it had ever made! It wasn’t easy to let go. Till date, many of my friends and acquaintances ask me why I do not restart that
business. I would not. That is because now I know that my choice is between being great at something, maybe just one thing, or
having 3 mediocre businesses.

What has happened as the result of our razor-sharp focus on education?

Now we have bluechip companies buying our courses for entire teams of their lawyers, HR managers and executives! From teaching
law students, our courses are now good enough to cater to practising lawyers. Law firms are discussing with us how we can contribute
towards training their junior lawyers. Even institutes like MNLU, Mumbai, is organizing a 7 day workshop with our help, to reimagine
how business law professors can train their students to meet industry expectations from young lawyers (if you are a law teacher and
you want to attend, hit reply and let me know. If you want to share the brochure with your law teacher, hit reply and ask me).

I chose to be the best at legal education. We have not arrived, we have merely just begun the journey. We want to make the world’s
best legal education possible. We want to be able to provide what NLUs can’t even imagine giving to their students.

So that’s the direction we keep working at, with razor-sharp focus. And the results have begun to roll in. We are doing things we could
not even imagine we could do 3 years back.

We did that with the iPleaders blog too. We ratcheted up the expected quality of articles. It is fine if we get few articles, but now
suddenly every article had to be a stellar quality, and nothing else was to pass through.

That did wonders to the following of the blog too!

Over 60,000 lawyers, law students and other professionals are now repeating visitors of iPleaders blog, who come back repeatedly to
read more and more articles. This is still a small number given our 10 lakh per month readership. But the committed, loyal readers
are growing in number every month. This is the right way to build a brand. If we continue this way, I expect iPleaders blog to emerge
as a major media brand over time.

This is why, I ask students to work on one subject while they are in law school, to become enviably good at it. This is why I ask
entrepreneurs to work on just one powerful idea and not dabble in many. This is why I will ask you to cultivate a higher purpose in
your life, something that you can give all your life to. One thing. One thing to pursue till the very end of success.

Can you do that?

Can you become obsessed about being the very best in one thing? It feels just like the urgent need to answer nature’s call. The itch can
be that powerful if you make it the only focus of your intention and ambition.

What would that be for you? I will look forward to your answer. Reply to this mail.

Hi devanshu,

Wishful thinking or regrets?

If we could look back on our lives, most of us will be looking back wistfully hoping to change something that we regret.

It could be something small or drastic which could undo the so-called mistakes in our lives. Personally, I regret the missed
opportunities, mismanagement of time and wrong calls. Even if in the moment, a decision seem right, there is no way to know the
actual impact until much later.

I have turned down jobs that I thought were not the right fit, roles which seemed inadequate from learning perspective, settled for
positions way beneath my qualification, waited for call backs for the roles I had no real interest in, and more. To put it succinctly, I
have had my fair share of regrets, and I am sure there are some more stored in my future.
Although I may have some regrets or doubts over some decisions, I am glad that I was able to take a decision at the time. Because all
those decisions, big and small, helped me get where I am today. Half a decade into my career, I have had a variety of experiences.

I have worked for a media company, and am now working for a startup. I also have helped run my family business for a few years.
These past few months, I have learned a lot about marketing and writing. I have taken up courses, done workshops on policy
making and technology contracts. I have also set my eyes on what I want to learn next. The point is, I have learned more professionally
after my college, than while I was in there.

So, it made me wonder what it might have been like if I knew back then, what I know now.

I had stumbled into a career of media law. It was never really planned as such. Due to an interest in the media law, I had taken the
subject for a semester or two in law school. Based on that I had done my sole internship in copyright law. But that was the extent of
my interaction with media and entertainment law.

In the past few months, lawyers and law students have written to me asking about my experience in the media and entertainment
industry. Most of them wanted to know how to get their footing in the industry or how to pave their way towards a career in the media
and entertainment industry.

You can check out the following articles to have a better idea about the industry:

Know the law!

Any lawyer must know the laws first. So you can begin by reading about media laws. There is copyright laws, trademark laws, patent
laws, design laws, i.e., intellectual property laws. But that does not constitute media laws alone.

The sedition and defamation law under the Indian Penal Code also form a core part of media laws. The Constitution of India provides
for the freedom of speech and expression. This is where the origin story of media laws, lies.

There are various bare acts, books, journals, media and entertainment law courses, blogs, websites which will help build your
knowledge base. You also need to know about contract laws, negotiation and dispute resolution to put the knowledge into effect.

To understand any legal concept, I prefer to start with the bare acts and then go through the commentaries or articles on a specific
topic. They are available in libraries – physical and digital. You just have to look them up. Put in the work. It will work.

Alternatively, to learn about media laws, you can also check out the most comprehensive online course on media and entertainment
laws here.

Learn notice and contract drafting

Merely knowing how to draft a basic agreement is not enough and all agreements need to be drafted diligently. This is to protect the
company from potential disputes in the foreseeable future.

The thumb-rule for an in-house counsel is that as the agreements will be used in future dispute resolutions, there should be enough
room left for the company, to adapt and make decisions in future, if need be.

Similarly, there are different kinds of notices that media and entertainment companies use. For example, apart from the usual legal
notices such as demand notices and breach of contract, there are other specific legal notices that are drafted by in-house counsels.
These are cease and desist notice, Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedown notices, etc.

Most law students and lawyers like myself may have acquired the basic contract and notice drafting skill through internships or
practice after graduating from law school. But now, there is contract drafting course, specially designed to cater to specific needs like
drafting and negotiation of commercial agreements, corporate contracts, music licensing agreements, content assignment agreements,
etc.

Develop the ancillary skills

If you have figured out in law school itself, what you want for your career, you are already way ahead of others.

To have a career in media laws, you don’t just need the knowledge of the media laws and drafting, you need more. So, while you’re in
college start developing your ancillary skills.

Start writing more articles, research papers, blogs about media laws. Publish your work in a variety of publications-digital and
physical. This will help to demonstrate not only your interest in media law, but also help establish your intellectual prowess in the
field.

Another important skill is networking. Develop a network of your peers and experts of the field. Reach out to them on social media like
LinkedIn. Share your common interest of the subject matter through your research papers or articles. Seek their opinions or
comments. This will help you to improve your research and knowledge base, and also add on to your professional network.

This network can also help in securing fruitful internships and even help with future job prospects.

If I had known all this back when I was a clueless law student, I would have jumped-started my career in the right direction, and
saved a lot of time!

So don’t wait. Learn more about media laws, develop your skills while in college and pave way to your dream career!
Best Regards,
Snigdha Pandey

Why India Needs More In-House International Legal Scholars

As the country makes its presence felt globally, signing a plethora of agreements and MoUs, strengthening international law within the
country and outside is better than depending on foreign counsels.
As of early 2000, visiting foreign leaders to India do not land and take off from New Delhi. Their visits have become more local,
sometimes in Bengaluru, Ahmedabad and Mumbai, or in Trivandrum, Lucknow and Indore due to global investor summits, trade fairs
and other exclusive industrial tie-ups. This shift from the country’s capital to state capitals is a classic case of cooperative federalism,
globalisation and the moving goalpost of diplomatic relations.
In the past four years, the Central government has entered into more than 300 memoranda of understanding (MoUs) between various
countries and international organisations that encompass every form of public policy that affects citizens. While the legal and treaties
division of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has made these documents public on its website as a treaty database, due to lack of a
parliamentary legislation to ratify treaties, the drafting, seeking opinions, signature and performance of the agreement is a closed, non-
transparent mechanism. How much of this information is made aware and by whom to people -- who are the real beneficiaries of such
international agreements -- is suspect.
The Right to Information Act prohibits ‘disclosure that prejudicially affects relation with foreign state’ in an open and democratic society.
To this end, the Constitution of India vests the power to enter and conclude treaties with the Central government as an exclusive
executive act without being subjected to parliamentary approval. Given the ramifications of these agreements, such as imposition of
taxes, amendment of laws to weaken local enterprises and create a more liberal, less regulated market and without any debate or
discussion as a first step in Parliament, creates a huge vacuum in the nation’s governance transparency process.
THE CANADA EXAMPLE
While the Government of Canada, being a similar common law country, has a comprehensive policysince 2008 to formally table all
international legal instruments in Parliament by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, accompanied by a brief explanatory memorandum so
that parliamentarians and public have sufficient information to assess the repercussions of the document before it is signed and duly
consider any concerns raised by opposition parties.
On the other side, India does not make any such formal requirements to submit an international legal instrument to Parliament, except
for a MEA note that is submitted as a natural bureaucratic act. The Attorney General is not required to approve or table any instrument
less than a treaty in Parliament. While not having a policy as advanced as Canada’s, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has argued that
during his experience as an MP, the debates in Lok Sabha have ceased to be a healthy form of collective deliberation and instead follow
the whip and vote to pass a Bill.
The National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution (NCRWC), which submitted its report on March 31, 2002,
highlighted these concerns and suggested measures where civil society and MPs have a say in what goes into the text of the treaty, but
these were seldom adhered to. Articles 246, 253 and 73 of the Constitution give the widest powers to Parliament on the exclusive right
to legislate with a widest amplitude of extending the power to negotiate and ratify on subjects beyond the Union List, that is encroaching
into State List and Concurrent List. This unending centralised power simply means that an international agreement, whether it is
bilateral or multilateral or with organisations, can directly extend to all the states, thereby breaching the basic structure of federalism.
Some examples of this are signing the World Trade Organisation propelled-Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights package
that affects generic medicines, the Agreement on Agriculture that affects farmer’s minimum support price and Bilateral Investment
Treaties that allow foreign investment.
MEA CIRCULAR ON AGREEMENTS/MOUS
As a matter of fact, the latest MEA circular on ‘Standard Operating Procedures with respect to MoUs/Agreements with foreign countries’
dated April 2, 2018 states that ‘according to the Indian Constitutional scheme, making of international treaties is an executive act. A
treaty is concluded with the approval of the Union Cabinet. It is not placed before Parliament for discussion and approval. However,
where the performance of treaty obligations entail alteration of the existing domestic law or requires new enactment, it would
accordingly require legislative action.’
Furthermore, the guidance note states that ‘while the key difference between MoUs and treaties is whether or not there is an intention
to create legally binding obligations, Indian practice does not fully subscribe to this idea wherein the nature of the instrument is
determined based on its contents and not on the basis of its title.’
One must understand that the above guidance is not issued as a rule mandated by a legislation but is an internal document. While it is
assumed that due care is taken to ensure an adverse agreement is not drafted and enforced, not having a law to govern these executive
actions makes judicial review by the Supreme Court nearly impossible. Even to give a purposive interpretation of MoUs, which have
persuasive value, becomes a challenge as India is not a party to the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, 1969, governing the laws
and practices pertaining to treaties.
Given the rapidity of entering into MoUs as political expediency demands, such as to assist the safe return of displaced Rohingya
refugees to the Rakhine state in Myanmar by constructing housing projects, as concluded in December 2017, or building railway lines
between Bihar and Nepal, as concluded in August 2018, to counter China’s strategic railway advances to the hill country through Tibet
or extradition requests related to Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi and Vijay Mallya through the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty cases between
India and the UK, are not just regional and national security concerns but are long-term diplomatic interests.
If any of the MoUs are not performed in a timely fashion due to any concerns as not all are legal obligations but fall under the umbrella
of political and moral obligations, it leaves the Union of India in default. This creates a negative image at the international stage and
calls for checks and scrutiny. Harmonising and modernising best practices that is similar to developed countries, if not in all areas but
in securing legal interests, makes a fit case to exercise caution and due diligence in foreign policy interactions.
LACK OF IN-HOUSE INTERNATIONAL LAWYERS
India has been a party to six cases at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. The first
case was against Portugal in 1960 over the right of passage to its former colonies of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, followed by four cases
against Pakistan, the first in 1971 over suspension of civilian aircraft over Indian territory, second time in 1973 over 195 Pakistani
prisoners of war being tried by India, and the third time in 1999 over shooting down of a Pakistani maritime aircraft over the Rann of
Kutch as it entered India’s airspace, and the latest being the illegal detention of Kulbushan Jadhav in 2017 and one case against
Marshall Islands on nuclear arms disarmament.
A simple perusal of the oral proceedings on the ICJ website reflect these facts: India hired the legal services of four foreign counsels in
the Portugal case and two foreign counsels in the aerial incident case against Pakistan. Interestingly, Prof Alain Pellet from France,
while serving as chief counsel for India in the aerial incident case, has consistently served as counsel in the Maritime Boundary
Arbitration between Bangladesh and India at the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague in 2014, in 2015, he served as counsel
in the Enrica Lexie case at International Tribunal for Law of the Sea located at Hamburg, Germany between India and Italy, famously
known as the Italian Marines case and again as chief counsel in the Marshall Islands case at ICJ in 2016.
 While Indian lawyers conducted background case research, the final arguments were presented by counsels who were not Indian
nationals. More so, our legal experts are either considered on an ad-hoc basis or are reduced to assistive counsel. If India lacks in-house
international legal scholars to represent and settle disputes at international tribunals, it is only natural that it resorts to hiring foreign
lawyers to argue as chief counsels where sovereign matters are at stake and costs immense taxpayer money as legal fees.
Shashank P Kumar and Cecil Rose empirically analysed lawyers arguing cases at ICJ between 1999 to 2012 and come to the conclusion
that these foreign lawyers are overwhelmingly men from developed countries who typically are professors of public international law and
constitute a small group. While gender imbalance is a cause of concern, membership in international professional circles, prior
experience in pleading before the court and personal reputation as a track record are said to be the most visible factors in choosing a
counsel for a country.
This lack of incapacity to find local talent or to hone our own legal team makes India appear internationally weak and dependent on
non-national professionals. As Arun Sukumar has pointedout, western international relations and international law theory have been
uncritically accepted and prescribed in Indian university curricula without developing a native version, making the subject appear
borrowed and redundant. Because of its foreign origins, this discipline is taught scarcely and practiced by a few, making it elite and
alienated at the same time.
Lavanya Rajamani at Centre for Policy Research argues that domestically the quantum and quality of legal advice is not optimum as the
Legal and Treaties division of MEA is currently composed of 13 lawyers, of which only two have doctorates in international law and the
rest possess only graduate degrees. Out of 13, only three are stationed at New York, The Hague and Geneva. This small team advises all
ministries and departments of the Government of India on all contentious matters. Suffice it to say that for a country of 1.2 billion
people, resource crunch is not a crisis that cannot be resolved.
Contrast this with mature democracies such as the US, the UK, Canada and Australia, which have large dedicated international law
teams, spread across specialties and practice areas and ensure their governments are legally secured as they enter into long-term
agreements. As India progresses forward and makes its presence felt globally, strengthening international law within the country and
outside becomes crucial. As we continue to negotiate several important agreements such as water sharing between our neighbours,
cross-border movement of resources and free flow of goods and services for better trade gains, laying more emphasis on this branch of
law becomes ever more necessary, but only if people have a say in such matters.

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India’s Richest Brothers and How They Grew $41 Billion Apart
By
Bhuma Shrivastava
October 19, 2018, 12:00 AM GMT+5:30 Updated on October 20, 2018, 2:30 AM GMT+5:30

Mukesh Ambani’s wealth has soared, while Anil’s worth declined

Over the past year, the fortunes of the two brothers at the helm of India’s wealthiest dynasty have grown apart -- to about $40 billion
apart.

Elder sibling Mukesh Ambani, 61, toppled China’s Jack Ma as Asia’s richest man, after driving a telecommunications revolution in India
that propelled his petrochemicals conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd. into the $100 billion clubs. His personal fortune had swollen to
more than $40 billion as of Friday, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, billions ahead of Ma and at similar levels to Microsoft
Corp.’s former chief, Steve Ballmer.
Meanwhile, Anil Ambani, two years his junior, has had a difficult year, with some of his businesses suffering legal and liquidity
challenges that roiled stocks, cutting his personal fortune by almost half to $1.5 billion, according to the index.
Neither the brothers nor their groups responded to questions for this story regarding their wealth or business operations.
A Tale of Two Billionaire Bros
The diverging fortunes of India's Ambani brothers
Source: Bloomberg Billionaires Index
The tale of the two brothers’ diverging fortunes began 16 years ago, when their rags-to-riches father Dhirubhai Ambani, whose life
inspired a Bollywood film, died of a stroke without leaving a will. The industrialist, who started out as a gas-station attendant in Yemen,
had built a vast business empire, financing massive factories by selling so many shares to small investors that stockholder meetings
had to be held in a football stadium.

Dhirubhai Ambani
Photographer: Robert Nickelsberg/The LIFE Images Collection via Getty Images
A feud between his two sons following their father’s death dogged the group until their mother, Kokilaben, stepped in during 2005 and
brokered a truce. Mukesh got control of the flagship oil refining and petrochemicals, while Anil got the newer businesses such as power
generation and financial services. He also took over the telecoms unit, which under Mukesh had expanded aggressively by bundling
phones with mobile connections at throwaway prices.
Telecoms Lure
At the time, the wireless division seemed to give Anil some of the more promising opportunities. Crude oil prices had climbed to a then-
record price of more than $60 a barrel in 2005, sparking concern that refiners’ margins may get eroded. India’s burgeoning mobile-
phone market was hailed as the future.

Mukesh Ambani
Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg
A non-compete clause between the brothers kept Mukesh out of that arena until the agreement was scrapped in 2010. Mukesh quickly
returned, pumping in more than 2.5 trillion rupees ($34 billion) over the next seven years to build a speedier 4G wireless network for
his Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd.
“It was a very, very big bet,” said James Crabtree, a professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore and author of
the book “The Billionaire Raj,” which examined wealth inequality in India. Jio also gave Mukesh the chance to forge his own legacy
beyond the shadow of the businesses he had inherited, he said. “Jio in that sense was an all-in bet.”
It took a long time to pay off. Reliance’s shares lagged S&P BSE Sensex index for most of the past decade as investors watched Mukesh
pour money into his telecom network with little sign of a return at first.
Price War
When it came in 2016, the impact was dramatic. By July this year, less than two years after starting the service, Jio had signed up 227
million users and was making a profit. Rivals were bleeding as Mukesh’s upstart embarked on a devastating price war, offering monthly
plans for as little as $2.
“Reliance’s strategy to diversify beyond the energy sector was the biggest game changer,” said Sanjiv Bhasin, executive vice president at
India Infoline Ltd. “Mukesh Ambani had the 10-year vision to foresee that data will be the next gold and he invested heavily.”
What financed that investment was Dhirubhai’s old oil and petrochemicals business, which, expanded by Mukesh, still accounts for 90
per cent of Reliance’s profit. Cash flow from the business, together with a blue-chip rating gave Reliance Industries access to a large
pool of cheap capital. “Mukesh Ambani has very adroitly used this competitive advantage,” said Saurabh Mukherjea, founder of
Marcellus Investment Managers.

Anil Ambani
Photographer: Satyabrata Tripathy/Hindustan Times via Getty Images
Meanwhile, Anil has been selling assets to quell investor concerns around the indebtedness of some of his companies that contributed
to declines in his shares.
Like his brother, Anil invested billions to expand his portfolio, but the younger brother didn’t have a cash cow like the oil refinery to
finance growth. Instead, like other businesses in India and elsewhere, many of his companies increased debt.
Read here about how debt-fuelled growth is a playbook common to many conglomerates world over, with painful aftereffects
The borrowing spree by local companies caused India’s banks to amass one of the world’s worst bad-loan ratios and when the central
bank started cracking down on the resulting $210 billion mountain of stressed debt, highly leveraged companies came under pressure.
“The only options any indebted company has is to sell assets, seek refinancing or get new investors,” said Crabtree in Singapore.
Of Anil’s businesses, shares of Reliance Naval & Engineering Ltd. saw the worst decline this year, losing 76 per cent. Bought in 2015 as
part of his bet on defence as the next engine of growth, the warship and submarine maker has proven hard to turn around.
Its loan accounts have been “irregular or substandard” since 2014, the company said in March. The defence contractor is
in arbitration with ex-owners over the latter’s alleged breach of some warranties. Auditors in April cautioned against the firm’s ability to
survive and two creditors have an ongoing lawsuit to send Reliance Naval into insolvency. In a stock exchange filing in April that sought
to allay the auditor’s concerns, the company said it is engaged with its lenders and is confident on reaching a solution “to resolve the
financial position of the company and to continue as a going concern.”
Other group units have also faced difficulties.
Another of Anil’s defence firms has come under scrutiny over the 2016 negotiations between France and India for $8.7 billion of French
warplanes. In an Aug. 20 statement, Anil and his company denied allegations from opposition lawmakers that the deal unfairly
benefited his company, saying the lawmakers had been “misinformed, misdirected and misled by malicious vested interests and
corporate rivals.”
Missed Payment
Anil’s Reliance Infrastructure Ltd., which built Mumbai’s first metro line, missed a bond payment in August as it waited for proceeds
from the sale of power transmission assets to fellow billionaire Gautam Adani’s unit to cover the amount. It plans to be debt-free by next
year, Anil said at a briefing in August.
Electricity generator Reliance Power Ltd., also part of Anil’s group, has failed to stem a decade of overall decline in its shares since its
record IPO in 2008, just as the global financial crisis hit.
The group’s profitable financial services firm Reliance Capital Ltd. have also seen its shares decline this year, despite staying away from
bad news.

But the biggest challenge for Anil’s empire came from his brother’s business.
Reliance Communications Ltd., once the flagship of Anil’s portfolio, was battered by the price war Jio started. Last month, Rcom sold its
178,000-kilometer fibre-optic network for 30 billion rupees as part of a disposal that will see it divest of almost all of its wireless assets
and exit from the mobile phone business.
The buyer was Mukesh’s Jio.
RCom “was the crown jewel given away to Anil Ambani after the family businesses split,” said Bhasin. “Then the debt and interest
burden spiralled.”
In May, a creditor persuaded a court to begin insolvency proceedings for RCom before agreeing to an out-of-court settlement.
How India’s Richest Man Shook Up Its Phone Industry
Bloomberg News is currently defending litigation brought by Anil Ambani and Reliance Communications in connection with previous
Bloomberg reporting.
The sale of RCom assets to Jio brings the saga of the two brothers full circle and sets the stage for the next chapter in the story of one of
India’s great business dynasties.
Anil is gradually unwinding RCom’s debts and refocusing the firm toward real estate. This month he told investors that a property
development in Navi Mumbai, a planned city across the bay from India’s financial capital, will create 250 billion rupees in value for
investors.
Late Coming
“It may be a late coming but at least he is not running away,” said Bhasin, who remains bullish on the group’s infrastructure, finance
and power businesses.
Mukesh is gearing up for an even bigger gamble. In July he announced plans for an e-commerce foray that would marry the group’s
telecom and retail business to take on global rivals Amazon.com Inc. and Walmart Inc.
While the news helped boost shares of Mukesh’s Reliance Industries since the announcement, some investors are sounding a note of
caution about another ambitious expansion. Reliance Industries’ total debt has risen in the past five years and non-core investments
have shown muted returns on capital.

“There’s a reason investors put a discount on holding companies with diverse businesses,” said Crabtree, explaining that telecom
diversification worked but “taking it much further may be one too many rolls of the dice.”
In the past few weeks, Mukesh has faced his own challenges.
A verdict by India’s top court last month barred the non-government use of a national biometric database that telecom operators
including Jio had been using to sign up customers. The prospect of a multi-fold rise in verification costs for the telecom company,
together with a slump in the rupee and rising oil prices contributed to a 12 per cent drop in Reliance Industries’ stock this month.
Still, the media spotlight has been on Mukesh and his wife Nita, head of the Reliance Foundation, for a very different reason. Both their
eldest son and daughter got engaged this year, putting the Mumbai and Bollywood elite on high alert for two epic Indian weddings.
Judging by Akash’s lavish engagement party this June in the family’s $1 billion Mumbai home with 27 stories and 600-staff, they won’t
be disappointed.
The saga continues.

Congrats on your success in the UP Judiciary Exam! Please introduce yourself to our readers.
Thanks a lot for such wonderful wishes. I am Divyakant Singh Rathore from Jhansi (U.P.). I did my high school from Jawahar Navodaya
Vidyalaya Tikamgarh (M.P.) and completed my B.A.LL.B. (Hons) from Institute of Law, Nirma University, Ahmedabad in 2015.
I have worked in the Cantonment Board under the Ministry of Defence as a full time Legal administrative assistant for 2 years. I have
cleared UP PCS-J 2016 exam with 48th rank.
B. What made you choose judiciary as a career option?
I have chosen law as a scapegoat because I have performed very poor in physics, chemistry, and mathematics in my high school.
Belonging to the rural background, my only explanation for choosing law as a career was to become a judge. It somehow stuck with me
in my graduation and become my serious choice.
C. What’s the pattern of the Uttar Pradesh Judicial Services Examination?
The syllabus remains the same as 2016 for both preliminary and main examination but pattern got changed a bit in this year.
Firstly there will be negative marking in preliminary examination where one-third (0.33) of the marks assigned to that question will be
deducted as a penalty and secondly, minimum efficiency standard has been set where SC/ST candidates having below 30% and other
candidates having below 40% of total assigned marks treated disqualified.
1. What was your overall strategy for UP Judiciary Prelims?
As prelims consist of two papers, I have set different strategy for each paper. I made my strategy by taking into account the marks
allotted to each paper i.e. 150 for paper 1 and 300 for paper 2. The first paper is of general knowledge which is having a vast array of
topics.
I have chosen select topics like Indian national movement, geography, last 6 months of current affairs, static GK of UP and solved
previous year papers of not only PCS-J but also of PCS because the standard of questions is almost same in both exams. Being the
student of law, polity covers automatically in Paper 1.
My main focus was on paper 2 as it carries 300 marks and has a limited syllabus that helped me to check my growth.
I have highlighted small and static things in bare acts which supposed to make prima facie prelims questions like days in various
sections and written down often occurring doubts like in section 46 of CPC, I have written down that it is for two months and not for 60
days. This habit of mine helped me a lot in not making silly mistakes during prelims.
2. What was your overall strategy for the Uttar Pradesh Judiciary Mains exam?
The mains consist of 5 papers. Like prelims, I have also set different strategy for each paper. Firstly I went through previous year papers
to get the idea of questions as every state has its own kind of method.
Paper 1 is of GK which has set method of questions like people who matters, few descriptive questions etc. so I targeted and prepared
certain topics.
For paper 2, my habit of reading the newspaper helped me by providing the right context for the writing of the essay.
I did an exhaustive study of laws for paper 3 and paper 4. In UP, most of the questions neither technical nor based on problem-solving.
Thus, I have tried to cover all the topics and made pointwise notes along with case laws. It helped me in my revision.
Paper 5 consist of local laws which I read once before prelims and gave the maximum of my time for them during the preparation of
mains. I tried to prepare local laws like other general laws as it carried equal marks.
3. How did you prepare for the UP Judicial Services Examination’s Interview?
I prepared for interview mostly from online sources like watching videos for presentation, personality development etc.. I prepared
thoroughly on one subject of interest in case the interview panel inquires about it.
I also started reading laws together and picked any topic at any time which made me comfortable in switching from one law to another.
And then, I prepared contemporary topics especially related to the field of law.
4. Can you share your book list for all subjects/parts (prelims and mains) for the UP Judicial Exam?
Prelims:
Lucent for selected topics of GK which I mentioned earlier.
Ghatna Chakra (Hindi magazine) for current affairs.
Bare Acts
Universal’s MCQs
Mains:
Tata Mcgraw Hill for selected topics of GK.
Avtar Singh for Contract and specific relief act.
RK Bangia for Law of torts.
RK Sinha for Transfer of property act.
Aquil Ahmad for Mohammadan Law.
Paras Diwan for Hindu Law.
JN Pandey for Constitutional law.
CK Takwani for CPC.
KD Gaur for IPC.
Batuk Lal for Evidence act.
RV Kelkar for CrPC.
Bare acts of local laws
5. For how long did you prepare and how many hours did you put in?
I have started preparing during last year of my graduation. After graduation I got a job in defence ministry where I continued my
preparation and set targets for which I try to give 6 to 7 hours on weekdays and 10-12 hours in weekend and holidays.
6. Did you take coaching from anywhere for your UP Judiciary Exam preparation?
I haven’t joined any coaching, but it was because I like self-study. Like everything else, it has its own pros and cons.
It takes a little bit of extra time to identify the important things for the exam but self-study made my concepts very clear.
7. How was your UP Judiciary interview and what sort of questions were asked?
My interview went on for around 40 minutes. Apart from personal questions, the Panel asked about drafting of writ petitions,
condonation of delay for suits, application u/s 156(3) of CrPC and options available for magistrate like convert it into a complaint case
u/s 200 of CrPC, legal viewpoint on contemporary issues like the Doklam standoff between India and China etc.
There were questions to get my perspective like how I am going to deal with the pendency of cases and use technology as a Judge.
8. Anything else you’d like to tell our readers who are preparing for the Uttar Pradesh Judicial Services Examination.
Whatever I discussed earlier is purely based on my experience which may differ person to person.
I have not joined coaching, prepared while in service or choose certain topics of GK for prelims and mains are choices made by me
because I was quite comfortable with them.
The aim should be to clear the exam and make your strategy according to your comfort and suitability and not by just blindly follow any
trend or advice.

Arbitration is growing in importance each year. Most contracts that are executed today have an arbitration clause, whether it is
a terms of service, or a contract with your post-paid mobile phone company, an insurance contract, a joint venture agreement, a
shareholders agreement in a private equity or venture capital transaction, a loan agreement with a bank, a government contract or a
technology contract.

If you have an interest in arbitration, starting early is important - those who start early reap disproportionate benefits. For example,
a friend of mine who was interested in mediation was appointed to the Delhi High Court’s mediation panel at the age of 24. Another
friend, who is an industry expert for our arbitration course and who provided me inputs while writing this article, started his own law
firm called Triumvir Law at the age of 26.

Merely studying what is taught in your college is not sufficient to give you an edge, because there is tremendous focus on academic
issues and grey areas, statutory provisions and case law. Further, everybody in your batch (and across India) is taught from the same
syllabus.

To obtain an edge, you will need to develop the following:

 a sense of strategy (how to get the optimal relief for a client through arbitration, how to swiftly get the award or how to challenge
the arbitration, depending on whether you are a claimant or a respondent),
 understanding of commercial contracts so you have an idea of where disputes may arise and how to represent your client’s
interest,
 Knowledge and insights to create your own arguments and
 the ability to express your thoughts in writing (many of us do not develop our writing abilities at all or to the fullest potential due
to various lacunae in the legal education system)

In short, a comprehensive approach to solving problems and providing solutions to clients is necessary.

Even if you subsequently get into core litigation or build your career as a corporate lawyer (whether in a law firm or as an in-house
counsel), having deep knowledge of arbitration can be very beneficial for your career.

How can law students prepare themselves for a career in arbitration?

I am suggesting a few actions law students can take in law school itself to start preparing for a career in arbitration below.

Join a chapter or community for ‘young’ arbitrators and attend conferences in or near your city or country

Most arbitral institutions have a specific chapter or community for ‘young’ enthusiasts. You may need to become a member (for free or
for a small amount, but for students this is incredibly cheap) to join the community. Some of the communities that exist are:
 Young MCIA (by the Mumbai Centre for International Arbitration, a fast emerging Indian arbitral institution)
 Young SIAC (by the Singapore International Arbitration Centre)
 Young LCIA (by the London Court of International Arbitration)
 Young ICC (by the International Chamber of Commerce)
 Young ICCA (by the International Council for Commercial Arbitration)
 Young MCI Arb (by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators)
Make an effort to attend and participate in any conferences that are organized, especially in your country. For example, the Permanent
Court of Arbitration had organized a conference in October 2018 in New Delhi.

Consider travelling to another city if you can afford it - if you go with a clear plan to meet people and build relationships and keep doing
it consistently your knowledge and network will both expand.

Get mentors and actively network with them

Make sure you actively cultivate mentors in the areas of your interest, who have already been where you want to get to. It is much
easier to proceed in the right direction with the guidance of a mentor than do it all alone. You will have enough work to do on your own,
don’t add to your burdens.

Remember, irrespective of your age, you can get very worthwhile learning opportunities and projects, so make sure you keep in touch
with more and more people. Visibility is critical for you to get opportunities. Thus, networking is mandatory. Some meaningful ways to
network with people are to follow them on LinkedIn, comment on their posts, read their work and ask questions, share your work and
ask for inputs and feedback, etc. At the same time, do not forget or hesitate to ask them for any professional help or introductions when
you need it.

Take up additional courses

Taking up a good course that fits your need can really accelerate your learning and provide new perspectives. In my college days taking
up the CFA Course (Level 1) was very useful for me in acquiring a sense of how to look at things like a businessman and to think from a
financial perspective. I have subsequently been able to use this effort in designing Lawsikho courses with a very practical perspective,
identifying legal strategies to solve problems and in helping people draft better contracts.

In the area of arbitration, there is a volume of case law to explain and clarify the provisions of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, but
what happens step by step when there is actually an arbitration and how different aspects of arbitral proceedings work remains a
mystery for those who have not already worked on a few arbitration matters themselves. Other questions which remain a mystery are:
 What is the process like and what are the sequence of steps? What are the different proceedings before an arbitrator?
 How to draft different documents for the arbitration, includingcommencement of arbitration proceedings?
 How can you get the best immediate relief for your client?
 How do arbitrators take evidence?
 How do you speed up or slow down an arbitration proceeding (depending on whether you are a claimant or a respondent)
 Where is judicial intervention possible and what strategies can you use to minimize it?
After recognizing this need, we created the Executive Certificate course Certificate Course in Arbitration: Strategy, Procedure and
Drafting to explain step-by-step how an arbitration proceeding works, what is the work of a lawyer at each step of the proceeding and
how to perform each aspect of the work. You will even draft different documents through simulated exercises, on which you will
beprovided feedback.

Write for blogs

Writing posts for different blogs online such as Indian Corporate Law blog,Mondaq or iPleaders blog enables you to build an online
identity and expertise amongst different audiences. Indian Corporate Law blog is an excellent forum to build your credibility as an
academic or a writer on cutting edge developments in the law amongst a community of lawyers, academics and other technical readers.
As a student, although you cannot directly write on Mondaq, you can co-author an article with a senior working at a law firm (if they
publish on Mondaq).

Similarly, writing on the iPleaders blog provides an opportunity to provide a solution-oriented approach on the problems that
businesses and other stakeholders face and how to resolve them. This will enable you to build your expertise and network with a varied
set of people.

This approach will also help in getting shortlisted for interviews. Recruiters go through your CV before shortlisting you - if you share
links of published articles on your CV, recruiters can go through your article and get a sense of how deep your understanding of the
subject is.

For this reason, Lawsikho’s Executive Certificate Course in Arbitration: Strategy, Procedure and Drafting has a focus on developing your
writing abilities. We give you a number of writing assignments to do so that you get trained in writing articles of publishable quality.
Articles which meet our quality standards are published on the iPleaders blog. You can take a look at a recent article around dawn raids
by the Competition Commission published by a student of a Lawsikho course here.

Many students wonder why they should take up an online course for improving their writing skills, but we have seen their legal
research, analysis of law, ability to create a logical structure for their article, articulation and the timeline in which they write an article
drastically improve after getting coaching and feedback on the articles they write. Their timelines for writing an article reduce from
months to writing a publishable article in one day. You can imagine what kind of authority you would command if you published even
five articles per month from your law school days.

Learn contract drafting and how business works

You need to have a sense of how businesses work and understand the commercial sense behind different kinds of contracts. That will
give you a sense of where disputes will arise. You will also have an understanding of how the entire agreement works, which will be
critical in representing your client’s interest if a dispute arises. You can refer to this Diploma Course in Advanced Contract Drafting,
Negotiation and Dispute Resolution to understand how business contracts work. One ancillary benefit of this approach is that it will
also enable you to draft more effective contracts and arbitration clauses, and serve clients through advisory work as well, in addition to
helping them with arbitrations.

Go beyond theory and trivia

I will illustrate this through an example. If you read a case on a theoretical proposition, such as whether arbitration proceedings can be
initiated when third party rights are affected, don’t always look for a Yes/ No answer. Sometimes, the situation you want an answer to
could be a grey area. At the same time, if the proposition is not finally resolved and you find conflicting judgments and authorities, don’t
just conclude that it is a ‘complex’ issue and abandon your inquiry. That is a shallow approach inquiry and will not yield benefits for
your career.

Instead, try to understand in which factual situation courts have decided the way they have. Many aspects could be different in different
cases such as the context, the situation, the evidence available or the arguments taken by the parties, which leads to difference in the
court’s views. If you read carefully you will be able to recognize a consistent pattern or theory that is followed in all the cases, even
though their conclusions are different. You can write about these discoveries and insights.

Which approach do you think will have a greater impact and influence on prospective recruiters?

Track global developments on blogs

If you have an interest in international commercial arbitration and in investment arbitration, it is important for you to track legal
developments and case laws globally. Referring to free blogs such as Kluwer Arbitration Law blog, Global Arbitration Review, Herbert
Smith Freehills Arbitration Notes, Arbitration Nation,blog of EU Investment Law and Arbitration Review is a great way to start.

Leverage participation from arbitration-focussed moot court competitions optimally

You would have known about this one, but I still want to write about it so that you know how to ‘leverage’ your moot court experience
for career benefits, which is something people are weak at. Mere recognition as a ‘stud’ in your law school is not sufficient if you cannot
translate it into real career benefits.

If you have an interest in arbitration and want to learn the subject better, you can strategically focus on arbitration-related moots for
practice. It will challenge your mind to develop arguments and give you practice in performing legal research, reading case laws and
articulating your arguments to solve a problem or to make a point.

Make sure you have clear takeaways for your career (something you can say in your interviews) from your mooting experience. Typically,
this will require you to perform some additional legal research and stay updated on subsequent legal developments and articulate how
the situations or legal propositions relevant to the moot problem will apply to an Indian context or where an Indian entity is a
party. Many people skip this step, which hurts their chances of cracking interviews successfully.

For those of you who want to know of some reputed arbitration moots, here is a list:
 FDI Investment Treaty Arbitration Moot,
 Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot held in Vienna
 Vis East Moot, held in Hong Kong
 NLS Trilegal Investment Treaty Arbitration Moot
 Frankfurt Investment Arbitration Moot
Choose an arbitration seat if you get a vacation scheme

For those of you who want to specialize in arbitration and secure a vacation scheme or a training contract with a foreign law firm, you
can also opt for a seat or a short stint in international commercial arbitration to get a sense of the work. It can really widen your
perspective, even if you do not eventually work there. Your approach to understanding a client’s concerns and how international
disputes are handled will develop.

Hi devanshu,

Preparation is one of the most underrated attributes for success. At least it is least spoken about and the content of it is seldom
discussed.

Many coaches and gurus have said that success occurs when preparation meets opportunity, which is a really insightful quote, but
what exactly is preparation and how can you prepare better?

Ironically, preparation involves hard thinking (as opposed to repetitive donkey work).

When I look back, I see that I used to spend a lot of time on unproductive activities as a child and then a youngster, which I considered
to be ‘preparation’.

In school, I was an opening batsman for the school cricket team. Inter-school cricket tournament started in November every year. Apart
from regular cricket coaching from the month of August, my preparation only involved visualization of how I can stay motivated and
score a century on the next day. I was so needy and desperate that I could only honestly and urgently think of this goal, and beyond
thinking there was not much I did.

I did not focus on the real stuff which I needed to prepare for, such as:

The vast disconnect between my goals and the actual work I put in. Cricket coaching typically lasts 90 - 120 minutes, and where a
person gets only 5 - 10 minutes of net practice. That was my favourite part of the training, but I could not figure out how to train more.
When I did not get it, I didn’t bother to figure out a way.

My highest score was a 70 not out when I batted for an entire inning and we lost, I did no specific preparation on what kind of strength,
stamina and skill it takes to sustain my calm and score a century within the 45 over the game

I did not look at how I can play different kinds of bowling (especially good length balls) or those of good spinners who bowl on the
stumps

After a certain period of time (about 12 - 13 overs), I’d get tired because of my batting stance and that would lead to reduced
concentration, which in turn led to loose shots
How to ensure I play grounded shots for a loose ball - sometimes the other side would set the field according to the bowler and the
slightest miscue (or even a correct hit) would go to the fielder

As you saw above, I did the repetitive donkey work of going for cricket coaching every day and 24 hours of creative visualization for a
match (which is important), but no hard thinking to identify specific actions I could take to improve my weaknesses and capitalize on
my strengths (despite having a cricket coach for our school team).

Had I done or even attempted real preparation, there was a chance of discovering new and effective actions to improve my batting. I
could have noticed how my batting improved match after match and year after year.

I am able to look at this now, but I had no idea about this back then. As a result, the challenges and pitfalls I faced while batting in
Class 10 were the same as what I faced in Class 7. There was no improvement.

Since preparation did not give me results, I got fed up and stopped preparing altogether. Results didn't alter.

Ultimately, in the end, I thought I am not capable of performing certain kinds of tasks - like connecting with people, convincing them
with my new ideas, or articulating my thoughts clearly. In my view, whatever I said always had so many holes and loose ends.

This was the case until I realized that what I considered to be prepared was merely time spent going in circles of thought around
difficult loops and in anxiety. I realized that real preparation is something else.

Many law students prepare for job interviews and exams like that - they are in a lost mode and listen to what their friends, seniors and
peers have to say and rely on that, without working on the following:
 Identification of specific requirements and detailed skills necessary for the job, their own strengths,
 identification of necessary areas of improvement,
 identification of resources which they can use for their training
Most law students prepare last-minute for their recruitment. There is a palpable tension and pressure which they experience, and they
give it due credit and keep themselves busy and say they are preparing. However, they do not always recognize that this is not
preparation.

The absence of clarity creates this tension in your mind. What happens at this stage is that we go about in circles, reading up one thing
and the next from what we have, and then hope that this is sufficient.

Deep down, we are clear that we have no idea about whether this will work or not. Hence, the anxiety.

That is why I call this a state of no-preparation.

Why? Notice which of the four ingredients of preparation you missed.

First, let’s look at the identification of specific skills and requirements for the job. This step is almost always missed or performed
poorly. Typically, students ask seniors how they cracked an interview, who’ve just about started getting an idea of working in a law firm.
They will not be at the root cause of what ingredient gets a person recruited. Similarly, someone who is very senior may say that what is
required are the ‘basics’ or ‘common sense’. That is really vague.

In that case, how can you identify specific skills and requirements for a job you want?

You can speak to recruiters who regularly make hiring decisions and have hired hundreds of people at your level (as a fresher)

You can speak to experts in training and development, who actually have trained hundreds and thousands of people to get such jobs
successfully

Do you have access to these people?

You may not have immediate access, but you can search for them, find them on LinkedIn, reach out to them and then build a
professional relationship. You can then ask them these questions. Keep in mind that you will not get an answer instantly - you may
need to speak to ten or twenty such people just to identify what they need. This exercise can easily take you anywhere between 3 to 6
months. It is not easy to get the answers you need but it is possible if you perform all the steps correctly.

Second, you will need to translate what they need into ‘what you need to learn, study or practice’ to have successfully acquired those
skillsets. This will require some experience and judgment.

Everyone is capable of performing the above tasks, but people don’t. That is exactly where they don’t prepare.

Third, you will need to identify which resources are available in the market - typically in the form of books or additional courses that will
provide you with the right kind of training so that you build the skills that are required.

A second approach is that you directly do your research and find out a reliable training provider who can train you in these. For this,
you can look at various books and sample study materials provided by various online training providers, speak to people from those
companies and also speak to people who have pursued those courses and secured a career benefit from them.

Whatever you do, you need to do follow at least one of the two approaches. You cannot hang in the middle or follow a path
incompletely.

What is my take on this? As a co-founder and COO of Lawsikho which provides online courses you can take up to succeed in various
kinds of job interviews and build different kinds of careers in law, you may think my opinion is biased. However, I firmly believe that
your job is to succeed in your career and prepare with the maximum depth and velocity possible. Many people get caught up in the idea
of making it on my own and decide not to take any external support. I think that really harms you and distracts you from the real goal
of achieving the success you want. It actually makes your job harder. I have this view not because I run a company that provides such
training, but because I myself take help from various coaches, online and offline programs in different aspects of life. Currently, I am a
part of three coaching systems for effectiveness in different areas of life.

Let’s look at it with a simpler example - if your goal is to be a great batsman, will you focus on net practice and play more and more
cricket matches, or will you start manufacturing better bats because you don’t want to be dependent on someone else’s bat to hit sixes
and fours? You’ll trust the experts, right?

Instead of reinventing the wheel, you can actually simply skip the first and second step and trust experts who have trained others in
doing this. It shortens the duration of time (easily 3-6 months) and effort you need to undertake to identify what to do, and the risk that
you may make mistakes in figuring out some of the aspects. You would have done three to six months of research, whereas we have
been doing this for six years.

I can offer you a simple way to start. Lawsikho consultation calls are free. You can call us, have a free career counselling session where
you share your questions about your future and figure out whether the conversation actually makes a difference. You can study free
materials for any number of our coursesand then review if your learning has actually improved. You can check with your friends or in
your network if someone has taken a Lawsikho or iPleaders course and benefited.

If you have more clarity through this process than what is already available in your environment, you will know which direction to
proceed.

Now, I am not asking you to trust me - you can use the long way as well. Both methods will work. Ensure you don’t straight away skip
to the third step of preparing based on anything and everything you hear from your peers. That can be overwhelming and even misguide
you.

You need to choose one method and follow it completely, else your future will be at stake.

Therefore, choose a way.

How to know whether you are really preparing?

When you are walking on the path of preparation, it is important to know whether you have made progress or not. How do you recognize
whether you are spending time being worried about something or actually in preparation?

Most people get stuck around the same issue and go in circles around the same thing without resolving it, so the uncertainty of
something remains. They bury the question or refuse to look at it. As a result, anxiety persists.

If you look back, take stock of things and you recognize that you have made progress, then you know that you have been really
preparing. If no progress or movement is measurable, then you have not been preparing.

Irrespective of whether you take up a course to prepare or prepare on your own, you will be able to measure progress.

Preparation, Performance and Results

There is a vast difference in performance when you are prepared versus when you are unprepared. In two distinct performances, a
person can look like an idiot when he or she is unprepared and a master when the person is prepared - you won't even recognize that it
is the same person.

Performance makes others ‘judge’ whether you have merit or not, but what goes unnoticed is that the differentiating ingredient is not an
innate quality of merit but preparation.

Even with respect to the areas where you question your own merit, where you delve into the question of whether you are good enough or
not, preparation could be the ingredient that makes a difference.

As you can see now, success is heavily influenced by preparation.

After reading this, how do you plan to prepare? What are the hard things which are buried away and which you need to think about?

 deference to the rule of law is common in IPR

 the court upheld the long-standing principle that concepts cannot be copyrighted,
 Article 16.1 of TRIPs
 passing off
 The Court also stated that though the Defendant was exporting the counterfeit goods to Nigeria and not operating in India, the
mere application of the Plaintiff’s mark in India constituted use of the mark in India. Moreover, the Court awarded damages of
Rupees 9,86,580 after calculating the number of cartons manufactured and exported by the Defendants.

Joint Venture

 a uniform commercial project of 2 or more

 clear goal and conditions should be written out in the clauses of the JV agreement.
 a preferred form of corporate structure for foreign investors doing business in India.
 In sectors where 100 percent FDI is not allowed in India, a joint venture is the best medium, offering a low-risk option
 All companies registered in India, even those with up to 100 percent overseas equity, are considered the same as local companies.
 regulated by the Companies Act, 2013 and the Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008. tax laws, The Foreign Exchange
Management Act of 1999, labour laws (such as the Minimum Wage Act, 1948, Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, and state-
specific shops and establishment legislation), The Competition Act of 2002, and various industry-specific laws.
 A JV may be formed with any of the business entities existing in India. Choosing a good home partner

 (MoU) or a letter of intent is signed by the parties, joint venture agreement

 Foreign companies no longer require a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the Indian associate for investing in the sector where the
joint venture operates.
 Overseas firms in existing joint ventures can function independently in the same business segment.
 Companies in India are grouped into two categories – companies owned or controlled by foreign investors and companies owned
and controlled by Indian residents.
 Before signing a joint venture contract, the below points must be properly assessed:
 Shareholding pattern;
 The composition of the board of directors;
 General meeting and its venue;
 Transfer of shares;
 Change of control;
 Confidentiality;
 Indemnity;
 Break of deadlock;
 Jurisdiction for resolution of the dispute; and,
 Termination criteria and notice.

Types of joint ventures in India

Equity joint venture
This is an understanding whereby an independent legal entity is created in accordance with the agreement of two or more parties.
The associated parties undertake to provide money or other resources as their contribution to the capital or assets of the corporate
entity.
This structure is ideal for long-term, broad-based joint ventures, and include joint venture companies and joint venture limited liability
partnerships (LLPs).
Contractual joint venture
This type of joint venture might be used where the organization of a detached legal entity is not needed or the creation of such a
separate legal entity is not feasible.
This type of agreement is preferred in situations that involve a temporary task or a limited activity, or the JV needs to be established for
a limited term.
Choosing a business structure for your JV in India
Though a joint venture in the form of an incorporated company is the most popular recourse among foreign investors in India, other
types of JVs are also available:
Incorporated
 Company; or,
 Limited Liability Partnership.
Unincorporated
 Partnership; or,
 Cooperation agreement/strategic alliances.
In the case of a company JV, the parties to the arrangement may either incorporate a new company or collaborate with the promoters of
an existing company. Setting up a new company provides the most flexibility as the entity can be structured according to the
specifications, intentions, and obligations of the associated parties.
In the case of an LLP, the parties to the JV incorporate a legal entity under the Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008. This may be
secured by setting up a new LLP by the JV parties or by transferring one partner’s stake in an existing LLP to the JV partner.
A partnership JV is created under the Partnership Act, 1932. This type of JV includes aspects of a corporate JV and a contractual JV.
The business structure of a partnership JV is typically defined by the relationship between the persons who agree to share the profits of
their business, which is either managed by all of them or any of them acting for all.
Where a JV is a strategic alliance, the parties involved will mutually agree to collaborate as independent contractors rather than be
shareholders in a company or enter into a legal partnership. The JV contract in this scenario will state the rights, duties, and
obligations expected of the partners to the JV and between the JV parties and third parties. The JV contract will also state the duration
of their legal relationship. As the contract is binding on the parties, any breach will entitle the aggrieved party to seek legal action
against the defaulting party.
Advantages of joint ventures

The following are the main advantages for a foreign investor choosing a JV structure when entering India:
 Access to the established distribution and marketing channels of the Indian partner;
 Access to the available financial resources of the Indian partners; and,
 Access to the established contacts of the Indian partners, which will help ease the process of setting up operations in India.
A JV also offers the associated parties an opportunity to jointly manage the risks associated with new ventures. Through a JV, they can
limit their individual exposure by sharing the liabilities.
JVs offer many flexible business diversification opportunities to the partners. A JV may be set up as a prelude to a full merger or only
for part of the business.
Certain market sectors remain restricted for foreign investment and a local partner with a certain shareholding in the company is a
regulatory necessity for commencing business and making investments.
Management of JV companies
It is important to have the same opinion over the proposed management structure and to categorize which party has to organize early in
the joint venture procedure.
The management constitution, control, and safeguards should be agreed upon when preparing the memorandum of understanding
(MoU).
In the case of JV companies, the Companies Act, 2013 requires the entity to have a Memorandum of Association (MoA) and Articles of
Association (AoA), which serve as the charter documents of the company.
Foreign investors should note that in India, the JV agreement between the partners will not bind the JV company unless its terms are
included in the AoA of the JV company.
Further, to avoid future conflicts, the JV parties should include a provision in the JV agreement stating that if the AoA is inconsistent
with the provisions of the JV agreement, then the parties will amend the MoA and AoA accordingly.

Profit repatriation
 India allows free of charge repatriation of profits once the entire domestic and federal (tax) liabilities are met.
 Historically, there has never been an occurrence that India has failed to provide foreign exchange for repatriation.
 Investment exit processes are also fairly simple, and profits can be repatriated once all the tax debt and other compulsions are
fulfilled.
 Troubles only arise when people escape or dodge these liabilities, or do so out of ignorance.

due diligence check evaluates any risk factors associated with the potential partners.
Tax consideration

Tax
 The sale of shares in an Indian company is usually taxed in India as capital gains, even if the seller is not a resident of India.
 India has entered into double tax avoidance agreements (DTAAs) with countries across the world include Mauritius, Cyprus, the
UAE, Singapore, and the Netherlands.
Intellectual property rights
 Typically, the licensing agreement, know-how agreement, technical services or technical assistance agreement, royalty
payment, franchise agreement, and agreement including all other profit-making matters, including the use of intellectual property
rights
Labour
 blue-collar workers (unskilled and semi-skilled category).
 not mandate the need for a written employment contract.
 Employment contract includes duties and responsibilities, non-disclosure of confidential information, assignment of intellectual
property, non-compete, non-solicitation and
termination, Leaves.

 By 2026, India’s online retail market is predicted to grow by 1200% to 200 billion rupees
 Flipkart has a registered user base of roughly 175 million
 Walmart expands into the e-commerce market despite the restrictions posed by the FDI norms in India.
 Softbank sold 21% to 5%
 Tiger Global Management (USA) retains its 5% stake while selling off 17%.
 100 = 77+23