In Conversation with Senior Advocate Sidharth Luthra, Supreme Court of India

Mr Luthra, would you please tell our readers what motivated you to study law? What were the initial formative years of your professional career like?

I was not keen to study law to start with, though my father was an eminent lawyer. My elder sister Geeta chose law and our eldest sibling Meera is a paediatric surgeon. At school, I used to enjoy mathematics a lot and had engineering as a career option in my mind but did not take the entrance exam. I recall taking Brilliant’s tutorials but lost interest. I was then was encouraged by my brother in law Prof Daksh Lohiya, a scientist to do an undergraduate degree in Mathematics. I began to enjoy it but while studying in Hindu College, I realised that I was not cut out to be an academic in mathematics. From then on, my natural progression was towards law. 

At our time there were only a few options: engineering, medicine or chartered accountancy, neither of which enthused me. In hindsight, I wish I could have become an architect because that is an area which interests me but I had no exposure or any understanding as to what was required to be an architect as there was no one in our immediate circle in that field. 

The initial years in the profession were interesting, I came back from Cambridge in 1991 to work in Bhasin & Co., a prominent law firm, at a princely salary of Rs. 1,250/- per month. My car fuel bill was more than this!  Before I left, the salary was increased to 1,500 rupees a month. After a year I had to leave the job as my grandfather was ailing and I wanted to spend more time with him. I did not want to practice criminal law because my father was a giant in that field and I began doing civil & commercial practice. The initial years were interesting especially in the manner in which work used to get sourced. 

I had to struggle a lot and especially after I lost my father in 1997, my struggle increased manifold.  With the support of my late mother and wife Ketaki, who was a litigating lawyer and my siblings and their families, I persevered as there was a lot of encouragement and emotional as well as financial support.

What has helped you achieve and sustain success over a long period of time?

Frankly, a lot of my success is a consequence of luck, but luck is nothing if you do not work hard for it and if you do not recognize and exploit the opportunities that come your way. 

I was fighting for survival and had the ability to work very hard (16-18 hours a day), be focused and developed myself as a lawyer by learning from everyone around me. To be successful over a period of time, one has to be willing to learn always. Sometimes your success and the environment you are in makes you complacent because you may reach the top in your area of work/court. In my case, I began with trial court, moved to High court and now am primarily practising in the Supreme Court which has been an evolution in the manner and style of my working with diverse skills that are required in each court.

I would only say that to succeed you need 70% hard work, 20% intelligence and 10% focus on time spent in analysis, contemplation and figuring out what you are doing and where you are going wrong. It is important for a professional to analyse not only the successes but especially the mistakes because it is from them that you learn and it is from the success of others that you learn how to improve yourself. The day you stop being willing to learn is the day that you will begin to stop growing. Then there will be no uphill trend as a professional, but a plateau till you are over taken by younger, more hard-working, brighter, sharper professionals.

Your legal career has been nothing short of an inspiration for many aspiring and young legal professionals. Who are the mentors that you have looked up to and admired? How have they helped you in shaping your career?

I have worked with many of the great lawyers in the last 30 years and notable amongst them are Mr Fali Nariman, Mr Ram Jethmalani, Soli Sorabji, etc. I learnt a lot from my late father but lost him too early (in 1997). After that, I worked closely with my mentor late Mr P.R. Vakil, a father figure to me and a leader of the criminal bar & a prominent lawyer at Bombay(Mumbai). 

After Ketaki started her independent practice in 1998, she and I used to do a lot of matters together with her doing the civil commercial part and I did the criminal law aspects.  My drafting improved solely because of her efforts and help. 

How do you see litigation changing post the pandemic?

Litigation has changed in two ways post-Covid. The case load numbers are not just there and access to justice has got reduced because of lack of technological resources and because trial courts are not functioning as they used to. It is a  lean period for litigators and youngsters joining the profession who will now find themselves losing the opportunity of personally hearing court arguments and viewing cross-examinations because that teaches you a lot. When you argue before a full courtroom people see you.  The opportunity to showcase your talent is going to be lost for a while. Therefore youngsters will have to look at the profession differently to make their presence felt in a positive manner while working from home. 

What are your views on training juniors and fresh law graduates in a virtual setup?

In my view, a senior is like a parent to the junior and not just a mentor. Your juniors are your family and if you train them well, they will carry your lineage and the work ethic and reputation of your chamber. Juniors need to be trained not only in law and the nuances of legal interpretation but also on ethical values and court manners and decorum. So as far as new law graduates are concerned, I find it troublesome that they flock to the Supreme Court, maybe because of the top-heavy system. Needless to say, it troubles me that not enough lawyers understand the value of trial court practice. In my view, the procedural aspect of the law which you can learn on the original side whether criminal or civil or otherwise is only from practising in the trial Court. 

Fresh law graduates must try and take up as many opportunities to obtain professional training and not just be limited to the appellate courts as opportunities are limited at present. 

How crucial is it to gain an understanding of multiple legal systems for lawyers today?

It is essential for lawyers to understand multiple legal systems. Legal practice is no longer limited to domestic jurisdiction especially in the field of commercial law and arbitration. Indian lawyers dealing with cross border transactions have to understand multiple legal systems. 

Please tell us about your hobbies. What are your sources of creative outlet other than work? Any movies, work of art or books that have had a profound impact in shaping your personality?

I love to read other than law and especially history. I enjoy photography though now I am taking photographs on my phone and love walking and trekking in the hills. Books that have impacted me are ‘Zafarnama’ by Guru Gobind Singh, a book by Mohammed Shaikh called ‘Emperor of The Five Rivers’ on Maharaja Ranjit Singh and ‘Coromandel’ by Charles Allen. I enjoy movies though I do not get time to see them enough and I also enjoy music especially artists like Leonard Cohen. 

What will be your one message to aspiring and young lawyers? 

I think young and aspiring lawyers have a wide area of opportunities despite the Covid induced slowdown but young lawyers must work hard and look for opportunities that can enhance and showcase their talent. This profession is not about shortcuts. So hard work is essential and I would recommend that young professionals work hard and be focused and enhance your creativity. Everyone knows the law but how you apply it with strategy is what makes the difference. That is the only way that there will be success. I would also recommend that young lawyers take time off to refresh oneself, something which I believe I did not do enough in my younger days. So now I am trying to make up for that over the past decade. 

Please hold tight! BW Legal World is coming up with the inaugural edition of its print magazine. It will feature Senior Advocate Sidharth Luthra's full interview and much more from the world of law! Stay tuned.