Thread by @barandbench

Chief Justice of India, NV Ramana to shortly release a Society of Indian Law Firms (SILF) Coffee Table Book.

Other dignitaries slated to attend include Attorney General KK Venugopal and Senior Advocate Fali S Nariman.

The event is scheduled to start at 5.30 pm.

The event will be live-streamed on YouTube:

Lalit Bhasin, President of SILF gives introductory remarks:
"SILF is India's only association of Law Firms. SILF and its members through consistent endeavours have upheld social commitment, promoted cultural, legal and ethical values with a view to strengthen rule of law."

Bhasin: The coffee table book has been compiled to provide easy access. It is an exclusive compendium of profiles of the member firms. It is a legal data bank.

Bhasin: All of you known and I can say with daring certainty that SILF represents a brilliant think tank of legal professionals which is not there anywhere in the world.

Bhasin: It is befitting and a great honour that the honourable CJI is releasing this book. We are also grateful for the gracious presence of KK Venugopal and Fali S Nariman, who has also written a beautiful foreword for the book.

Bhasin: During COVID, our members had contributed significantly in giving back to society as part of our professional social responsibility.

Zia Mody, Senior VP SILF, Co-Founder of AZB and Partners speaks.

Mody says that one thing she would like to speak that CJI may think about is is about how "we as lawyers could be of more assistance to our Supreme Court in any form or any programme that we could add value."

Mody: All of us from the ground have practical suggestions, speciall backlog, practical main points. If there is something you think would be useful for Court and AG's office for us to collaborate, I don't think that any law firm would not be honoured to do so

Mody: Open dialogue with SILF on whichever topic you think works, I think we are all here to offer our services. Specially, as Lalit says, we have also been doing a lot of pro bono work during COVID.

Mody: All of us recognise, as Law Firms, that we are really judged by the elite practice within our law firms, which is litigation. You are judged by the quality of your strategy, your intellect, your superiroty between peers, as to how good you are in court.

Mody: All I can say that is my father (Soli Sorabjee) always used to leave me with the advice that "you are an officer of the court in the beginning and you are an officer of the court in the end, and nothing should change from that beginning to the end."

#SoliSorabjee

Mody: So we want you (CJI) to tell us whatever you think works. We are here to be trusted by you and to do the right thing by the citizen. This Coffee Book is just an occasion to thank you for all you have done.

Jyothi Sagar of J Sagar and Associates speaks.

Law firms are relatively recent. Law firms largely serve business clients and thus their growth is inherently linked to the growth of the economy, he observes.

Sagar: Several SILF members are already investing in technology, training, talent management, info systems and emerging areas of specialization... they are becoming professional in their outlook and preparing for challenges that lie ahead

Sagar: Moments such as the release of this volume gives all of us courage and belief to continue with the good work that has been done by SILF members over the last several years with the hope that we make a difference

Cyril Shroff of CAM speaks.

Shroff: SILF and its members since 1991 have dramatically modernized the legal profession. We still have a way to go. Now it is about the next 25-30 years, we need to look at the challenges that lie ahead

On the future challenges, trends that lie ahead

Shroff: Global trends and within that a few sub themes. Firstly, the all-pervasive rise of technology. It has already entered every facet of our lives, in the administration of legal services

Shroff: Then the impact of geo politics. There is at least one school of thought that the West is in decline and China is on the rise and within a decade or so China will become the dominant economy in the world.

Shroff: A lot of our concepts of justice and common law is rooted in common law and essentially western concepts. What the next 10 to 20 years will mean with China as the dominant power in the world is something that we need to think about.

Shroff: Where China met the common law in Hong Kong, we know what happened and we want to see how that is going to evolve and whether there is a role for India to be counter-balance and to stand out and sort of make its presence felt in keeping the balance

Shroff: Another major trend I think will be #climatechange. We are seeing the effects of where nature crossed its boundaries in the last 18 months. This is not the last pandemic we will face in the next 100 years with the global ice melting.

Shroff: There will be many more new viruses and we have to see how that is going to shape out. So this is one trend.

The second will be the role of institutions, not only the rule of law but the role of law, I believe, is going to be reinvented.

Shroff: With increase in importance and power of state, I think this is going to be called into question repeatedly, especally in the background of the rise of technology

Shroff: I think the boundaries of ethics is also going to be rewritten whether it is in our own profession or whether we are a profession of business. I think we are both. But where do we draw the boundary line is going to be a question.

Shroff: The boundary lines will not only be drawn but will have to be constantly changed and the law will have to find the right answers.

Shroff: Linked with that is the qn of access to justice. The entire system is trying its best but we always seem to struggle in comparison with the task ahead. So this is the second trend

Shroff: 3rd is about nature of work. John Maynard Keynes at some point of time said human beings will not have to work more than three hours a week. But today a lot of us are putting in 80 and 90 hrs. The explanation for that is we managed to create a lot of nonsensical jobs.

Shroff: I think the next 20 years call for dialogue in society and it has to be a multi partite conversation between the bar, the bench, law firms, civil society and free-thinking members

NG Khaitan speaks.

Khaitan speaks on his legal journey, as he concludes he hopes SILF would help and teach young lawyers of their duties to the court and society.

After Sudhir Ravindran, Altacit Global and Lakshmikumaran of Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan speaks, Senior Advocate Fali Nariman commences his address.

Nariman: At the beginning, we were all assured that this would be a virtual event. It was only later that we were requested to show at the start, the book which is yet to be released.

Nariman: And to show the book to one and all, one had to lift it. I confess Chief Justice that I lifted it with great difficulty and I am now confident that I qualify for the weightlifting competition at the next Olympics.

Nariman: Flippant remarks apart and seriously speaking, this is a memorable occasion for all the members of SILF, especially those who figure in a book which is so beautifully presented and so richly illustrated.

Nariman: As the pictorial presentation shown earlier testifies, I happen to be present at the founding of the society two decades ago. So I am in the position of some sort of a founding uncle. It is given to uncles to unburden themselves of words of advice

Nariman: And in by avuncular role, I would like to remind all members of SILF, as I have in the book itself, of the lawyers proper placed in society

Nariman: It was more than 75 years ago, way back in 1946 that the great American lawyer John Davis, addressing the Bar Association of the city of New York stressed who lawyers were and what they did.

Nariman: What he said is equally relevant today - "True, we build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures—unless as amateurs for our own amusement. There is little that we do that the eye of man can see ...

Nariman (continues quoting Davis): "... But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men’s burdens and by our efforts, we make possible the peaceful lives of men in a peaceful state."

Nariman: I submit that is the image that each member of this society must strive to achieve, to make possible in this conflict-ravaged, disease-ridden world, the peaceful lives of men and women in a peaceful state.

Nariman, as he concludes: I too, in the few years of my existence left, wish to rejoin the lunch table in the Supreme Court of India and we look forward to the time when we are no longer in virtual mode. Thank you all.

AG KK Venugopal speaks: I start with a note of apology. My voice has suddenly given way, it has been a chronic problem. I wish had Fali Nariman's ... ( -unclear -)... voice, but unfortunately, it is not so.

AG Venugopal remarks that SILF is the vision of one person, Dr Lalit Bhasin, and his dream of unifying over 100 law firms into a single powerful entity

Venugopal: Today, I find, that so far as 2018, the Indian legal market was worth an estimated 1.3 billion USD or approx 8,000 crores. According to the BCI, there are as many as 1.3 million Indian lawyers.

Venugopal: Law is a chosen field for many bright young students. We have members of SILF alone 100 or more law firms. What Lalit Bhasin has achieved something remarkable.

Venugopal: Yet, even in this celebratory moment, I must strike a sobering note. In a recent speech in Harvard Law School Justice DY Chandrachud had this to say - "The corporate legal sector must realize that national networks of legal service providers incl NGOs are unable...

Venugopal (continues quoting Chandrachud J.) : "... to meet the needs of India's disadvantaged population today..."

Venugopal recounts that Justice Chandrachud spoke of how existing resources constraints, disparities in justice etc. were worsened with the COVID pandemic

Venugopal: One of the main areas I believe that an organized body of law firms may be of assistance is in providing technology training ...in the times of COVID-19 we have turned entirely to virtual hearings.

Venugopal: While the transition was difficult for law firms, it was nothing short of traumatic for the vast majority of the litigating bar. The Courts themselves were concerned.

Venugopal: It seems likely our dependence (on technology) will only increase, as perhaps it should. The situation we found ourselves in is unprecedented

Venugopal: As Justice Ramana, the CJI recently, the work of ensuring complete justice as aspired to under the Constitution can never be said to be completed

Venugopal: The mandate of our Constitution is to work tirelessly, to surpass our own expectations, to make India a country where rights are cherished and sets an example for other countries to follow.

Venugopal congratulates SILF and its members for completing the milestone of 20 years.

Venugopal concludes his address.

CJI NV Ramana speaks: I remember there was once a time, although it was easy to obtain a law degree, it was extremely challenging to have a livelihood out of the same

CJI Ramana recounts that people used to ask "why are you practicing law, did you not get any employment elsewhere or do you not want to get married?"

CJI Ramana: It was often considered as a degree of last resort. Most of us learnt while practicing. I am not sure if the present reality is any different

CJI Ramana: The few things that still exist - inequity in opportunities for lawyers. More than three decades ago, with the economic liberalisation of India, the legal landscape also underwent drastic change

CJI Ramana: Practice areas such as mergers, acquisitions, structured finances, corporate insolvency has now assumed great significance in the past two decades

CJI Ramana: Today, Indian law firms are on par with their global counterparts ... Law firms cater to diverse needs of their clients ... it not only reduces cost and time but also ensures a holistic approach to one's legal needs

CJI Ramana: Admittedly, despite the pandemic in 2020, India recorded more than 300 mergers and acquisition deals worth 37.5 US billion dollars

CJI Ramana: There is no denying that the law firms have been in the forefront of the Indian economy

CJI Ramana: While laws and regulations are the backbone of the economy, a well functioning legal services sector ensures that they are properly implemented.

CJI NV Ramana: I am glad that SILF and its members have engaged to fulfil their social commitments. I would like to suggest that this forum is best placed to ... new policies and build new commitments.

CJI Ramana: Thank you Ms Zia Mody for your kind offer to assist the court and share your expertise. We can definitely gain from your assistance. I will ask the Registry of the Court to be in touch with your office.

CJI Ramana says a significant aspect to be considered by law firms is wrt to social outreach.

CJI Ramana: The prevailing perception is that law firms is only for the service of the rich ... the need of the hour is to remove such perception.

CJI Ramana says there is a need to do more pro bono work and to reach out to those who are inhibited from reaching out.

CJI Ramana: When it comes to fulfilling our Constitutional aspirations, we all must do our bit.

CJI Ramana: It is a well-known fact that law firms provide economic mobility for first-generation law graduates who otherwise would have struggled within the system of litigation practice.

CJI Ramana: These opportunities have opened new avenues for fresh law graduates. Moreover, the lucrative pay packages offered by law firms incentivize the pursuit of law as a career.

CJI Ramana: However, often we hear issues about lack of diversity within law firms.

CJI Ramana: Major law firms tend to go only to Tier 1 cities and select Universities for recruitment. In the process, many young talented lawyers, despite interest and willingness, are left out of the process. There are diamonds in the rough everywhere

CJI Ramana urges law firms to take initiatives to ensure inclusivity and realize the full potential of human resources

CJI: After all, diversity brings wide-ranging opinions to the table. Diversity can provide more holistic and equitable solutions.

CJI Ramana: Speaking of diversity, law firms must focus on retaining more women lawyers by incorporating institutional changes.

CJI Ramana: The law firm fraternity in the next phase of the great Indian Legal project, we must not forget to look inward as well. Law firms need specific requirement with respect of training, acumen and drive

CJI Ramana: Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities are becoming hubs of commercial activities. This would necessarily lead to transactions and disputes. Law firms must find local talent to handle these clients

CJI Ramana: Steps can be taken to actively seek competitive ways to find talents, particularly in regional law schools

CJI Ramana: Lastly, an area in which law firms need to pay particular attention is the impact of ethics in their practice. We all are custodians of a very rich tradition. We must pursue our chosen path with the utmost integrity.

CJI Ramana: I am happy to sit, of course in the digital platform, between two legal luminaries, Mr Venugopal and Fali after so many days. And I am glad I hear Fali's voice after so many months.

CJI Ramana: I wish you a very healthy long life Mr Fali and Mr Venugopal. He has to guide the Indian judiciary and the legal systems in this country. Thank you once again for giving this opportunity. Namaskar

CJI Ramana concludes his address.

Book is officially released after CJI Ramana's speech.

CJI Ramana (to Fali Nariman as he holds the book and recalling Nariman's earlier remarks): Please don't lift, it's okay.

Event has concluded after the vote of thanks.