Advocate-on-Record enables you to file and lodge new applications in the Supreme Court.
If you are litigating in the trial and high courts until now and have always been wondering how it is to practice in the Supreme Court then read what these Advocate-on-Records tell you about their experience at the apex court.
1. What do you like about practicing in the Supreme Court?
Debesh Panda, Advocate-on-Record and specialises in arbitration. He has studied Geneva LL.M. in International Dispute Settlement (MIDS) after practicing for five years in India and has returned to resume his practice at the Supreme Court.
He shares his experience at the Supreme Court:
“In my practice so far, I have not yet come across any two matters, which are exactly alike. That is what I enjoy about dispute resolution, there is always something new to work on everyday!
Sometimes, I think of cases as a jigsaw puzzle where all the pieces are missing and both sides invite the judges to paint the missing pieces and put the picture together from their points of view.”
2. What kind of matters do Supreme Court lawyers usually work on?
Manisha Karia, Advocate on Record, has been practicing for the past 20 years. During her maternity break she co-authored a chapter on India in a book published by LexisNexis, UK on “Electronic Evidence”, which is an authority on the subject.
She shares about her work at the Supreme Court:
“As an Advocate of Record in the Supreme Court, I handle multidisciplinary practice as one cannot have a specific practice area we represent and file every type of matter.
I have been handling both civil and criminal Special Leave Petitions, Transfer Petitions and Writ Petitions before the Supreme Court. Off late, I have been doing more of Tax and IPR related matters.
I have been appearing in Constitutional, Company, Consumer, Property, Service law and Environmental law related matters.”
3. What was the most memorable case that you argued before the Supreme Court?
Dilip Annasaheb Taur, Advocate on Record, who previously practiced in Maharashtra moved to Delhi to establish his practice at the Supreme Court reminisces his most memorable case before the Supreme Court:
One of the most memorable cases I handled in the Supreme Court was the infamous case of paid news in the matter of Ashok Chavan, former Chief Minister of Maharashtra and my client Dr. Kinhalkar, former Home Minister of Maharashtra.
This case was very challenging and I worked very hard on it. I had briefed the erstwhile Sr. Counsel Uday Lalit (now a Supreme Court Judge) that the opponent was led by stalwarts like Kapil Sibal, Abhishek Singhvi and Mohan Parashar.
I handled this case for three years before the Election Commission of India, then handled it for two years before the Delhi High Court and further two years before the Supreme Court of India. We won the case before all the fora.”
4. What is it like to appear before a Supreme Court bench for the first time?
Arjun Krishnan, Advocate-on-Record from NLSIU, Bangalore with 15 years’ experience, shares his memory:
“It was a case in the regular hearing list of the Supreme Court, before Justice A.K. Mathur and Justice Dalveer Bhandari. The case had been in the regular list for months and it never used to reach.
But that day, it did reach. My Senior, Mr. Banerji, was arguing a case in another court. The briefing counsel was also held up elsewhere. I was the only one there.
I asked for a short adjournment, but the bench was not agreeable. They passed over the matter and told me to be ready to argue. I must confess, to my great embarrassment, that I was not prepared.
I quickly went over the written notes, and when my turn came, I made my submissions to the Court to the best of my ability. I remember being extremely nervous and my hands were shaking.
Eventually, my senior arrived and rescued me.
I have to say that the Bench was extremely indulgent, and I will be forever grateful for that experience. It’s a reported judgment – “Nadia District Primary School Council v. Sristidhar Biswas & ors”.
But I learnt a lesson the hard way – if you are holding a brief, be prepared to argue it, or at least know what it is about. It’s a story I always share with my junior colleagues in the hope that they will do better than I did, if caught in a similar situation.”
5. Do clients really appreciate giving work to a Supreme Court lawyer for local courts?
Vaibhav Kumar, Advocate-on-Record, who specialises in ADR with almost 13 years of experience shares his words of wisdom:
“I recognized that practising law at all different levels – from the District courts to the High Courts to the Supreme Court – was not only something I enjoyed, but was something that gave unique value to my clients.
Since I practise along this broad spectrum, not only do I serve the A-Z needs of my litigating clients, but I am also in a unique position to advise my corporate clients.”
If you have ever fancied building a Supreme Court practice, but hesitated, now is the best time.
Do you want to know why?
We will answer this in a 3-day bootcamp on Building a Supreme Court Practice and Advocate-on-Record Exam.
We will also discuss how to prepare for and crack the AoR exam.
You can build a Supreme Court practice and become an AoR without having to uproot yourself and relocate to Delhi, and even grow your existing practice by becoming a Supreme Court lawyer.
Join us in the bootcamp to know how.
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