The Indian Legal Fraternity has scores of personas and firms that have their floras and faunas in place when it comes to business operations. Lex Witness however takes a step aside and interacts with Pradeep Jain, Managing Partner, Singhania & Co., Mumbai; in an interesting conversation to understand a balance between a lawyers and a leader.
Without a second thought, Mr. D.C. Singhania.
I have never seen or met such a generous and visionary in my life. I have always seen him engrossed in thoughts for the benefit of the litigant. He has always mentioned that most of the litigants are the victims of ill advice of the lawyers than to the ill practice of the lawyers.
I have learnt the basics of litigation from him. He is the only person in the profession who instructed me to deliver best services to the client so that the client starts loving you.
Interest of client is paramount for us. Most of the commercial disputes can be settled amicably and we advise accordingly. We often encourage our clients to have ice breaking discussions and then to opt for litigation which otherwise is time consuming and an expensive affair. We believe that commercial disputes must be settled with the speed of light as it affects society at large and locks the valuable assets and productive manpower.
In my view, role of advocates is like a ‘guide’ to show right directions to the client. Like other developed countries, our fraternity should have respect and regard towards the profession. I have experienced that in a number of disputes wherein, foreign clients with their lawyers/counsels start constructive discussions upon our insistence. The method is simplified, points of concern and laws are exchanged and upon various occasions, matters have been withdrawn (not settled) thereby saving lot of time, energy and resources. In my view, advocacy is all about being positive. And that’s how you one commands respect for clients.
Singhania & Co. believes in empowering its people and provides with an environment wherein, one can exploit themselves for the betterment of family, society and the nation. We strongly believe that the entire world is one family and particularly for that reason not only our people but their families are also equally important. Mr. Singhania always emphasizes on ‘a happy family will churn out a happy and potential professional’.
Moreover, charity is primarily for the benefit of the others but secondarily for the benefit of ourselves. We all need to do that bit, what we expect from others.
It has been a very interesting journey. I never aspired to be a lawyer. However, by the time I was 13 years old, my mother would always say that I would be a Vakil (Lawyer). After completing Masters in Mathematics I had taken a break of two years for gardening (as I was very passionate about it). Somewhere in 1997, one of my friend challenged me that being a science student, I cannot pursue a Company Secretary Course. It was that moment that triggered me and I accepted the challenge. I moved to Indore for pursuing Company Secretary Course where I met Mr. Sunil Kumar Jain, (my mentor). He advised me to join law along with CS and thereby, I completed my Honour’s degree in law. Thereafter, I was absorbed in Singhania & Co. My dual qualifications assisted me to land in Singhania & Co. Now, I realise that my mother was correct and I feel within myself that I am born for this profession.
It is very challenging and I love it. Summits, meetings, brief-ups, consume the maximum time. The residue is left to attend to the needs of the firm. Being a Managing Partner, I am required to be aware of all the nitty-gritties of the firm. I am required to be super active to respond to any type of situations.
I do believe that like any other industry, legal industry should be liberalized and so is the presence of foreign law firms in India. It is the need of the hour, wherein, legal profession should be benefited from the liberalized foreign policy. Needless to say, requisite policies should be formulated. Further it will be beneficial to the clients and litigants in India.
I have interacted with various law firms across the world and also attended a number of arbitration matters. I feel majority of foreign lawyers are more focused on specialized practice while Indian lawyers often attend to all kind of matters.
I like encouraging practices like mediation and pre-litigation discussion between the lawyers. In most of the cases which I attended, majority of disputes were solved by interactions and few issues were referred to the Arbitral Tribunal. I would like to see more of this kind of practice in India and of course it would be beneficial to the litigants in particular and the society at large as well.
Mr. Singhania always says that for the good health of economy, civil and trade disputes must be resolved as swiftly as possible and valuable assets of the litigants must not be locked. In Singhania & Co, we always advise clients to primarily think of the commercial viability and possibility for amicable solutions and if put in litigation, try to dispose the matter promptly and avoid un-necessary adjournments.
In maritime law practice, not only our clients but the opposite partiesare also happy and have appreciated our approach when it comes to resolving trade disputes on multiple occasions.
Legal Profession is one of the finest professions today. If one believes in Honesty, Integrity, Trust & Transparency (HITT) and is ready to research, then great success is bound to knock your doors. Moreover, success comes with lots of Bounties
As such I don’t believe in charity in its negative connotation, as it sounds to be snobbish. I would like to term charity as ‘self-help’. I believe that one engages in charity/self-help for his/her own well being. Life is a log sheet of assets and liabilities. I believe that as one assists a fellow being, the assets weigh more.
Favourite Writing Instrument – I generally use my android tablet to put in my thoughts and emotions into words.
Favourite Reads – Indian fables- Hitopadesh & Panchtantra
Favourite Travel Destination – Singapore (Professionally)
Favourite Dish – Dal, Rice, Roti accompanied with Potato curry
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