In Conversation With Ameya Gokhale, Partner, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas

How and when did you know becoming a lawyer was your life’s true calling? 

This is a rather difficult question! Looking back, I think I was unknowingly eased into becoming a lawyer by a string of factors over the years rather than one eureka moment. Growing up in the 90s was one very big factor. The 90s was a decade of sudden and immense socio-political and economic change. Naturally, legal and regulatory changes followed. As a young kid, I had developed the habit of reading newspapers regularly and was generally interested in what was happening. Discussions and debates at home would invariably be surrounding these issues. A lot of legal matters were generally discussed at home too, owing to the fact that my mother is a practicing lawyer before the Bombay High Court. The law was therefore always lurking somewhere in the background in my early years and I think that played a big role in my decision to join the profession. Once I secured admission to the National Law School of India University, Bangalore the decision became pretty much a no-brainer!  

Would you please tell us about your specialisation and the array of work you handle at your firm? 

Throughout my career, I have been very fortunate to have got the opportunity to handle an extremely wide array of work. That has not changed at Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co. I handle a wide variety of corporate and commercial matters and my team and I represent clients at every conceivable judicial forum- from the district court level right up to the Supreme Court. Besides, I also handle matters before various quasi-judicial authorities and tribunals such as NCLT, NCLAT and SAT. While a major part of my practice comprises of Commercial Suits, Writ Petitions, Arbitrations, Insolvency matters and Securities Litigation, I prefer to think of myself as an all-rounder, who can provide the client with a wide spectrum of services, under one roof!      

As a new-age lawyer, what to your mind is the one thing in the current legal ecosystem at the Bar, Bench, or in the Law Firms that needs our attention? 

There are actually two things that come to my mind. 

The pandemic has shown us that it is possible to take justice straight into the homes of litigants via videoconferencing, saving immense time and costs. I am all for the idea of justice delivery being location agnostic. While there are some arguments against it, I think it is the need of our times that all courts and tribunals across the country are able to function successfully in hybrid mode on a permanent basis. The technology is there but the challenge is how to take this technology to the districts and mofussils across the country. We as lawyers also need to have a change in our mindset in order to fully embrace the hybrid system.

Secondly, the focus on mental health. Once again the pandemic has shown how it is important to concentrate on people and mental well-being. Without focus, attention and care toward our colleagues mental health needs, no organisation can claim to be truly successful. In that regard I am proud to say that at Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co., we have been able to put up a very robust and proactive Mental Health programme which constantly finds ways to prioritise and promote the well-being of all our lawyers.     

Many Congratulations on joining the BW Legal World Elite 40 Under 40 Club of Achievers 2021. What to your mind has helped you get to where you are and what advice would you have for others who want to set off in a similar direction? 

Thank you. This would never have been achievable without the backing and upbringing given by my parents and the lesson and guidance of all my teachers, professors, seniors & colleagues in the profession and certainly not without the fantastic clients I have worked with over the years. I owe them all a debt I will perhaps never be able to discharge fully.

“Law is an ocean and as much as you think you have mastered it, that is only a mirage”. Therefore, one has to have the willingness to constantly learn, put in the hard work and long hours, apply your mind and be dedicated to your work. There is no substitute or shortcut for this. It is easier said than done but I genuinely feel that this is the only key to success in the profession.     

As a final note, would you please recommend to our readers your favourite book that left a lasting impression on you.  

I really enjoyed reading the Art of Captaincy by Mike Brearley. It is a fascinating book on leadership and man management. I read this book a few years ago but I can draw many helpful parallels to it today as I lead a large team of my own.

On the legal side, I would recommend young lawyers to read the Concept of Law by H. L. A. Hart. It is funny how I barely understood it when I initially read it as a first-year law student. The treatise grew on me when I re-read it many years later and it was an absolute revelation.