Interview with Advocate Nikhil Varma, Partner Miglani Varma & Company on Internship & Legal Work Structure in Tier I Cities

inbatv Interviews
  • What motivated you to take up law as a career?

              I have always had an insatiable curiosity, law as a profession has helped me satiate this need. It’s a profession where you constantly get to learn. In order to represent a client well it is necessary to delve deep into the subject matter and to glean as much as possible not just with respect to the legal propositions, but also into the industry that the client that the client hails from.

  • Did you intern with top-notch firms and renowned advocates during your graduation? How did you secure these internships?

            Hailing from a non-legal background, early on into law school I realised that I haven’t grown up surrounded by the profession and the only way to change that was to intern. I did intern at a number of Tier-I firms, Boutique Firms, Senior Advocates, Counsels. I would be remiss if I did not emphasise the pivotal role my internships played in moulding my idea of the legal profession. Securing internships was a bit of a challenge in the beginning, but after the first few internships, you get to know a number of people in the industry and if you’ve left a mark at your previous internships they are more than willing to give you a shot.

  • What do you think is the importance of networking in the legal field?

Networking is a cornerstone of this profession. Furthermore, there is no need to wait till you’re out of law school to start. The seniors and associates I worked under as an intern, are today some of my closest friends and advisors. I would urge students and young lawyers to get rid of any hesitation they may have and just reach out, at first it may seem a bit daunting, but they’ll soon realise that most of the people they felt were un-approachable are actually extremely helpful.

  • Is it important for a law student to intern in a top-tier firm? Does that give an upper hand?

My personal belief is that it is important for law students to intern with firms, seniors, counsels. in a Tier-I law firm is a different experience all together, one that no law student should miss out on. The sheer magnitude and working parts, all working in harmony to fight cases at a scale that is un-imaginable is awe-inspiring, every law student should get the chance to have this experience.

  • What qualifications and skills does your firm typically look for while hiring law graduates?

The checklist is short but unforgiving. We look for someone who is a team player, willing to grow both professionally and personally and will come to realise that they are integral members of the firm. Experience is secondary, we have no doubt that a graduate has the potential to learn. We focus primarily on an environment that is charged and efficient. The fact is, if you are unhappy with your surroundings or your work, productivity is bound to suffer.

  • According to you, what all skills does a law student need to imbibe in order to sustain in such a dynamic field?

Law as a profession takes a lot from you, but the one piece of advice I can offer is that when you put in the time, the rewards will far outweigh the initial frustration of the nascent years. As they say, Rome wasn’t built in a day, similarly you will not end up taking charge of a briefing on day one, or arguing a landmark matter, but pay your dues, the time will surely arrive and the satisfaction will be incomparable.

  • What helps you cope with stress of legal profession?

A proper work-life balance is an absolute necessity. A client comes to us during a stressful period of their life and our job is to help them alleviate this stress by presenting a solution and then working towards its implementation, as a result we take over that stress. There are always deadlines looming over everyone, tasks that seem impossible. In the absence of proper compartmentalisation, it is very easy to get consumed with the all-encompassing stress of our work.

At the firm we encourage working as a team, often you hit a wall in your work, there’s no point in going at it repeatedly, get a new prospective on it from a team member. We also advocate strongly in favour of a balanced work life. Every fortnight, we take a few hours off, pick an activity, or go for a meal. There’s only one rule, no shop talk.

  • Where do you see yourself five years from now? What are your future plans? How do you wish to achieve them?

We’ve come a long way from where we started. There’s a great team in place, a wide variety of clients. The firms Star-Up cell and International Arbitration Practice is growing rapidly. A cause that is very close to our hearts is education and currently we are advising several NGO’s in the sphere as part of our pro-bono work. The associates are very involved in the pro-bono practice of the firm and collectively we are working towards setting up a pro-bobo cell to ensure that we do our little bit to make sure justice isn’t denied due to financial constraints.

As for what lies ahead, we are looking at diversifying internationally and expanding in an organised manner while remaining true to our ethos of providing the best possible legal solutions to our clients.

  • What’s your advice for the fresh law graduates who are interested in litigation? Should they practice in court or join a litigation firm?

I don’t think there is a correct answer to this question. This would be a personal choice that requires a researched well-informed decision. There are pros and cons to both. In the end the graduate needs to sit down, map out the trajectory they would like for their career and accordingly decide on the right fit. A balanced approach is to partake in both for well-rounded development.

Interview by INBA Student Reporter