In Conversation With Nishant Nigam, Partner, Goswami & Nigam LLP

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

Law was not my preferred choice of profession. I was inclined towards architecture and structural engineering. However, having a few lawyers in the extended family, I also appeared for entrance exams for pursuing the five-year LL.B. course. It is when I interacted with a few lawyers prior to joining the LL.B. course and thereafter, appeared for my first moot court competition is when I realised that being a lawyer is my true calling. In fact, my interest in architecture and structural engineering has kept me in good stead as I have now been able to specialise in construction arbitration. 

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

I specialise in Commercial Litigation and Arbitration with a special interest in construction and engineering arbitration. Further, I also handle disputes and regularly advise clients in the field of labour and employment laws and intellectual property laws. 

What are your predictions for 2022 in the area/s of specialisation mentioned above? What are some of the upcoming trends of the industry? 

As regards Arbitration, we see an upward trend and the jurisprudence is growing with new judicial precedents— which are in line with established international legal principles on the subject—being pronounced by the day. 

In labour and employment laws, the advent of the Labour Codes is going to bring an absolute overhaul of the existing structure and thus, we as practitioners in the field are excited to have the opportunity of advising existing and prospective clients in this regard. In the intellectual property sphere, we are focusing on patent advisory and litigation as the patent litigation jurisprudence is in an interesting phase and is also growing consistently.

One recent landmark judgement or the best judgment of 2021 that you’d like to share a word about.

According to me, it was the judgment of a three judge bench of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of N N Global Mercantile Pvt. Ltd. vs. Indo Unique Flame Ltd.. The said judgment overruled a few other judgments including the SMS Tea Estates judgment. This judgment has been essential for the law on Arbitration in India since it has re-emphasised the basic principle of severability of the Arbitration Clause from the main agreement. Personally, I had used the SMS Tea Estate judgment to my advantage and also been at the receiving end sometimes. However, on both occasions I sincerely felt that the ratio of the said judgment was not in consonance with the international principles governing arbitration. Hence, with the N N Global Mercantile judgment, the law seems to have moved in the right direction.

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.

Since I started practicing, I have been a proponent of the use of technology in the practice of law. From my early days in practice, I have used technology as part of my daily work and tried to introduce various technology tools at offices where I have worked. The past two years disrupted the legal ecosystem considerably, however, it also gave us an opportunity to accept technology to bring about change into the existing mechanism of conducting litigation in the country. The adoption of various online tools such as Zoom, CISCO Webex and the like allowed us to continue the process of justice delivery without being hampered by the restrictions placed due to the pandemic. Hence, in my opinion, we should build on the existing infrastructure and allow the said technological ecosystem to grow so that the same can be utilised effectively by the judiciary, lawyers as also the litigants. The enormous expenditure incurred in building a world class system should not be made redundant just because the restrictions due to the pandemic have been eased. 

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?

At the outset, I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to the esteemed jury for according this prestigious recognition to me. 

A senior in the profession once told me that the client is always in a hurry and thus, will keep pushing his Counsel to do a hasty job. However, the Counsel should not get burdened by such expectation and always take extreme care in delivering the services to the client as it is only through his work that he/she is recognised in the profession.  I accepted the said advice and gave it a little twist of my own! I believed in providing quality work but also ensured timely delivery of the same. This has helped me achieve whatever I have till date. Hence, I would recommend the same to others as well.

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

The Bhagwad Gita is the most relevant book for the legal profession. It has had a deep impact on my psychology as a litigation lawyer and I would recommend the same to others. The theory of performing “karma” without worrying about success or failure emanating from such “karma” can go a long way in honing our skills as a lawyer as it helps us to focus on the work and not on the eventual success or failure of a case.