LawSikho

Course price and date

Fees

INR 1,000 (all-inclusive)

Dates of first workshop June 15 and June 16

Timing

June 15: 7 pm - 10 pm

June 16: 7 pm - 9 pm

Why should you bother to learn about consumer litigation?

Are you a consumer? You can handle your own consumer litigation, and get justice. We will show you how to go about it.
Are you a lawyer? In post-covid post-lockdown world, consumer litigation will go through the roof. Airlines, hotels, educational institutes, e-commerce - a lot of businesses have been defaulting on their legal obligations, and there will be deficiency in services. Consumers will have to go to consumer court to get reparation.
If you can already handle consumer litigation, great. If you need a crash course on it, here we have it for you.
Are you a law student? Consumer litigation is better than mooting to develop real life legal skills, and also to earn some pocket money by helping out common people, startups and SMEs with their difficult consumer disputes.
Want to explore beyond the world of moot courts and experience real-world litigation through consumer litigation? Do you want to practice real drafting and argue before judges? We will show you how you can do it.

Common misconceptions about consumer litigation

There is no money in it. This is not correct. Many companies are spending a lot of money on this.
The fee paid by individual litigants is very low as matters involve small sums. Even individuals who file these consumer cases are happy to pay a reasonable fee. You can build a thriving practice if you accept small fees from a large volume of clients looking for a solution to their consumer disputes.
There is no growth if you practice consumer law. This is not correct. Getting consumer cases from big companies is fairly easy. As you build relationships with in-house counsels and they get to see your skills and professional approach to matters, they will slowly open up to the idea of giving you other matters as well.
Only lawyers can argue before consumer courts, law students can’t do anything here. In reality this is one court where law students can argue if they are authorised by a client through a special power of attorney, both in district forums and in appeals. For that matter, anyone can obtain an authorisation from a client in consumer matters and appear on behalf of another person. There is no restriction on your appearing before consumer courts.
Big matters are only before the National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission. Indeed there are some large matters of consumer disputes

This is relevant for you if you can identify with a few of the following questions:

Do you want quick wins in terms of both client acquisition and bolstering your earnings as a lawyer in the very short term?
Do you want to learn more about an area of practice that is not competitive at all and have a lot of opportunities?
Do you want to build a career in litigation in the post-COVID post-lockdown world?
Do you want to rapidly acquire some corporate clients and begin to build deeper relationships with them?
Do you want to develop your ‘court craft’ and secure opportunities to argue before judges?
Do you want to experience the joy of helping common people win legal battles against big corporates?
Do you want to create your first set of clients in a non-competitive area of work, build a thriving practice with a large volume of matters and later grow into newer practice areas through the same clients?
Do you want to develop the legal knowledge and prowess to help clients solve real problems even before you graduate?
Do you want to learn how to draft documents like legal notices, responses, consumer complaints and appeals, and actually get the experience of doing these things in real life?

What do your clients desire

There are consumer disputes of varied sizes. The very small ones that involve money below INR 20,000 often makes little sense to pursue given the work involved in getting a relief. Lawyers also often do not want to take up such matters as their fee expectations from such matters are very low.
However, for young lawyers looking to get their initial break and some experience such matters provide great opportunity to learn work, help people, build some reputation and even earn some small sums.
On the other hand, corporate clients facing consumer litigation also want reliable lawyers at a reasonable rate and do not look for very senior lawyers. They are willing to give a chance to smaller lawyers in such matters.
There are also consumer disputes involving large sums - non-delivery of property by builders or defective buildings, faulty medical devices or implants, expensive cars sold with defects, insurance and banking services, luxury goods, highly priced electronic goods, mobiles and laptops, ecommerce involving large ticket items, travel - which can run into amounts that are over 10 lakh - 1 crore+. In such matters clients want lawyers with proven track record and experience of handling similar matters.
Many consumer cases are filed out of spite and anger, and the consumers are essentially looking for justice or some sort of retribution. Many medical negligence cases filed in consumer courts are often of this nature, where the litigant is not seeking compensation as much as he is seeking that the other side should face some serious consequence.
Most of the time all the clients in this market, and much unlike other legal markets, just want that their case is being diligently pursued and that there is a reasonable cost to all of these.

What career benefits can you expect after pursuing this introductory program

As a competent consumer lawyer with a reasonable volume of clients, how much can you earn by exclusively working at district level consumer courts?

Let us assume that the average amount of compensation per consumer dispute which is claimed by a client is INR 20,000 to INR 100,000.

If the dispute is of an even lower value, we are assuming that the client will want to do the matter himself or herself, although sometimes they may come to a lawyer even for this.

Let us now look at a broad breakdown of what you can charge:

Drafting and filing: INR 2000-3000 per draft
Per appearance charges: INR 1000 per appearance

*Assume that out of pocket expenses are additional.

Note that we are assuming a very modest fee here. It is rare that any lawyer will charge such a low fee. However, we are assuming that being a beginner your charges will be very affordable. Let us see on this basis what could be your income potential in a month.

Please note that before we proceed that in high stakes matters where there is a claim against an insurer, builder or a hospital in a medical negligence case, you may be able to charge far more.

In order for you to appear for the maximum number of matters, they must all be filed at the same district forum. So you will have to narrowly focus on one area.

Let us assume that you can represent clients for 5 matters on one day. Assume that you perform 2 new filings every week and are present for oral hearings on two days of the week.

How much does that work out to?

Let’s do the math.

Aggregate monthly billing from drafting and filing work: INR 2000 x 2 drafts per week x 4 weeks: INR 16,000

Aggregate monthly billing from hearings: INR 1,000 x 10 hearings per week x 4 weeks: INR 40,000

Total monthly billing from consumer matters: INR 56,000/- per month

Thus, with 10 appearances every week and 2 new matters filed every week, it is possible to earn upto INR 56,000 per month!

Not too bad for a lawyer starting out on his own.

What is even better is that this requires you to spend only very limited hours in court! You are free on the remaining days of the week to pursue other matters and earn more.

It is also important to note that consumer cases usually do not require extensive drafting and long drawn out arguments and cross examination unlike most other litigations. That means you will probably spend less time on such matters while drafting and arguing.

There is also a possibility of proceedings going fully online. Given that the Supreme Court, High Court and other forums and arbitral institutes are gradually shifting to online proceedings, consumer forums may follow suit as well.

If that happens, you may be able to represent a consumer before district forums in multiple districts, and before the state or national commission and at a district forum, even if you are not in a location where the state commission or the national commission bench is situated.

Now, you may not have so many matters to work on in your first month, but if you set out to do this dedicatedly, and do your marketing right, you can build a very reasonable practice around consumer litigation in a few months. It may not make you filthy rich, but with some time and good work, you can hope to earn as much as an associate in a good law firm!

What if you are unable to even take out 2 days of the week to work on your own matters and be in district forums?

It may be that you do not have the time to build a full-blown consumer litigation practice. You may be working very hard under a senior and may have very little time to work on your own client development and independent matters.

Still, note that the monetary return as compared to the time investment is quite high.

Can you work on enough matters to earn a supplementary extra income of INR 20,000 per month, in addition to what you already work on? Would that be a worthwhile pursuit?

You can use the skills acquired through this introductory program in the following ways:

If you practice independently, you can obtain retainer arrangements from consumer facing companies operating in the above sectors

If you work under a senior, you can help consumers with disputes independently, earn a supplementary income and also increase your confidence

You can prepare for in-house positions in consumer-facing companies as consumer cases represent a huge aspect of their legal work.

Four steps through which you can become a battle-ready consumer warrior

Learn battle tested strategies along with sample templates on how to perform real consumer litigation work

There is a lot of information available online for free - bare acts, case laws and articles on different legal issues under the Consumer Protection Act. However, such information is not adequate to work for a real client.

One needs practical ‘how to’ guides, strategic inputs and adequate briefing to perform specific legal tasks, along with templates and guidance on how to customize them for real client matters. You can ask any doubts on our learning management system.

Attend live online classes to interact with practitioners, get briefed on how to perform real work and ask doubts

There is no substitute for face-to-face learning from real interactions with practitioners who have worked on client matters. Attend 5 hours of live sessions to learn how to perform the work step-by-step. Interact with experts and ask questions to cement your learning. You can watch the recordings later also if you miss any part or need to revisit something. Access will remain with you for 1 month.

Develop confidence by performing practical drafting exercises and application of skills to life-like situations

What you have learned in theory may not be of any value unless you can put it to use reliably. For this, practice in simulated scenarios is important.

Airline pilots perform on-ground flight simulations, martial artists develop strength through practice on punching bags and mock fights, and cricketers practice in the nets to improve.

Similarly, in our courses, you get the opportunity to apply your learning to simulated drafting and strategy assignments.

Improve through personalized feedback and corrections from evaluators

One cannot always see one’s own blind spots. The best athletes, CEOs, and professionals need coaches to improve their game and take it to the next level. What if you could receive line-by-line corrections and feedback on your drafts from a trained evaluator? Would it help you to improve and perform better next time? Every learner has the opportunity to get corrections and line-by-line feedback on every assignment submitted. This is a very personalized method of feedback. Our students have cited this facility to be the most beneficial for their skill development.

Training Methodology

Access to study materials with templates through our online learning management system (LMS), Android and iOS app (access will remain active for 1 month)

One 3-hour and one 2-hour live class will be held (recordings available to those who miss the class)

You can ask questions, get your doubts cleared live as well as through the discussion board on our learning management system

You can ask questions, share your screen, get personal feedback in class

Practical drafting exercises for key documents

Group feedback in classroom and in-line evaluator feedback

Classes will be held over 2 consecutive days from 7-10 pm on day 1 and 7-9 pm on day 2

List of Weekly Exercises

Day 1: Initiation of a consumer dispute by Complainant (Representation for Complainant)

Exercise 1: How to draft a legal notice.

Exercise 2: How to draft a complaint. Draft a notice for initiation of consumer proceedings

* Group feedback will be provided in class on the second day and written feedback will be provided in-line within 7 days

Day 2: Defense for Opposite Party (Representation of Opposite Party)

Exercise 1: How to draft a reply notice.

Exercise 2: How to draft a version/ affidavit in evidence.

You will have access to a sample for self-evaluation. No feedback will be provided for exercises on Day 2, given that this is only an introductory course, and an opportunity to experience a premium experience of LawSikho courses but over a very short duration.

Syllabus

Study Materials

CHAPTER: Stages of litigation at a consumer forum

Notice and reply
Drafting of a consumer complaint (along with documentary evidence)
Interim applications (2 common ones need to be explained - application for interrogatories and application seeking permission to cross examine expert)
Filing of the complaint and jurisdiction-related issues
Version of Opposite Party
Evidence
Arguments
Judgment
List of key hearings in the entire process

CHAPTER: Impact of Consumer Protection Act, 2019 on litigation work

Pre-litigation mediation opportunities
Increase in pecuniary jurisdiction of district forums
Widened definition of consumer and opportunities for more legal work
E-filing of complaints and possibility of remote filing
Investigation agency
Product liability actions

CHAPTER: How to draft a legal notice

Is a legal notice mandatory prior to initiation of proceedings?
Mandatory components in a legal notice
How to describe the facts
How to establish the substantive ingredients of the violation
How to refer and attach relevant documentary evidence
How to end your notice appropriately
How to identify the remedy
Common mistakes
Checklist of items to be included in the notice

CHAPTER: How to draft a response to a legal notice

Why is it necessary to send a response to a legal notice?
How to deny the facts alleged in the notice
How to establish that there was no defect or deficiency, or that it was suitably rectified
Documents which should be attached in the response
Alternative remedies which can be proposed if a mistake has occurred
Specification of initiation of counter-proceedings in the response and its pros and cons
Common mistakes
Checklist of items to be included

CHAPTER: How to draft a consumer complaint (along with interim remedies)

Service-related issues
Components/ sections of a consumer complaint
How to satisfy the ingredients of a defect in product/ deficiency in service in your drafting
Documents to attach
Quantification of compensation and other reliefs that can be claimed
How to include appropriate remedies in the prayer
Which interim reliefs to claim?
Common mistakes in drafting and filing a complaint
Checklist of items to be included in a complaint
Sample format of consumer complaint
How to dig out procedural rules for the format of a consumer complaint in your state

CHAPTER: How to draft and file a version (i.e. response to a consumer complaint)

How to refute allegations
Documents to attach to support your defense
How to draft the prayer
Time limit for filing
Filing-related issues and service on the complainant
Applications for condonation of delay
Common mistakes in drafting and filing a written statement
Checklist of items to be included in a written statement
Sample format of version

CHAPTER: Trial and Evidence in consumer proceedings

Presentation of oral, documentary and digital evidence.,.
Marking of evidence
Admission and denial of documents
Summoning and attendance of witnesses
Discovery and production of documents
Issuance of commission to examine witnesses
Requisitioning of reports
Evidence by affidavit
When to call an expert and standards of ‘expertise’ necessary to call an expert
Evidence involving testing of goods
Evidence in cases of medical and professional negligence
How is expert evidence and evidence around testing rebutted
Examples of consumer forums refusing to adjudicate cases because of complexity

Chapter: Case study of a consumer complaint against an insurance company and an airline Chapter: 5 most important case laws for your practice broken down

Templates

Sample legal notice and response

Special power of attorney authorizing someone other than an advocate in a consumer case

Sample consumer complaint filed at District Forum

Sample Written Statement in a consumer complaint

Application seeking leave for cross-examination

Application seeking leave to file interrogatories

Sample Appeal to State Forum

Price

Above prices are inclusive of all applicable taxes and charges.

Standard

RS. 1000 incl. of all charges

View details

Join the waitlist

INR 1,000 (all-inclusive) Date: June 15 and June 16

June 15: 7 pm - 10 pm

June 16: 7 pm - 9 pm

Join the waitlist

What this program is not

It is not a full blown LawSikho course. It is only a workshop, intended to introduce you to the processes and study materials that will get you started on the path. While some advanced level students may get enough material and training in this workshop alone to crack law firm jobs, most others will likely need far more help.

Please do not think that this workshop will certainly get you through a big law firm next week, because that is not what we promise. This is a workshop to provide you a pathway and an action plan, along with tools that will give you an immediate boost in your journey.

If nothing else, you will be able to quantify and understand the gap between where you are and where you need to go, and you will know what you will have to do in order to get there.

Do you have further questions?

Please call on this number

+91 84395 72315

Usefull links

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