In Conversation With Sukrit Kapoor, Partner, King Stubb & Kasiva, Advocates And Attorneys

Sukrit, would you please walk us through your early years of education and the decision to become a lawyer?

I grew up in Ahmedabad and attended St. Xavier’s. I completed my schooling in commercial studies and while I was inclined to pursue chartered accountancy I landed up in GNLU, Gandhinagar after some career counselling and advice from family friends. I am forever grateful to my university for the opportunities and patience it showed me and for connecting me to my peers and course-mates.

One of the fondest memories I have is that of prepping for my term exams in the hostel room of one of my seniors (namely Mr. Kumar Ankit, presently General Counsel of Shree Cement) when I had just recovered from dengue. I was parked there as I was taking severe medication and he had ensured my parents that he will keep a tab on my preps. He kept me motivated throughout the exams while at the same time preparing for his own exams. The kind of camaraderie I found in GNLU cannot be paralleled.

The decision to pursue disputes and litigation as a practice came after I had pursued my masters in international law at the University of Essex. I believed that my legal acumen was better suited for the same and after a couple of years of rigorous practice with the chamber of Ms. Rachana Srivastava, Senior Advocate at the Supreme Court of India, I was more than convinced that my calling rests in pursuing a career in disputes.

Tell us about your roles and responsibilities at work, what does a day in your shoes look like?

I am a disputes and litigation Partner at King Stubb & Kasiva, Advocates and Attorneys and my role has multifarious aspects with a strong focus on the disputes and litigation practice.

I lead a talented team of ten (10) members in the New Delhi office of KSK while at the same time I collaborate with multiple members of KSK in various locations such as Bangalore, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, among others.

The beauty of KSK is that I am able to work with the members of other teams directly and the partners at KSK are more than enterprising and appreciative of growing together and collaborating in the best possible manner to ensure our clients get treated to the best of our abilities. At the same time the tech with which we work is cutting edge and truly helps us manage our work seamlessly.

No day is typical as I am constantly scrambling to answer novel and evolving questions to advise my clients and at the same time appearing and representing clients in proceedings before various judicial fora.

Aside from the above, I make it a point to be in regular touch with my clients and to ensure that through our interactions we are not only aligned in terms of strategy but also in terms of coordination for achievement of the desired result.

Given the above, a normal day sees me interacting with client and colleagues spread across the country and abroad.

Can you tell us about one notable case you have been involved in during your career?

While each case teaches one something new, one of the more remarkable cases that I recently contested pertained to an interim application for mandatory injunctions in a shipping transaction.

The nuances of strategizing in a high-stakes high value claim truly test the fundamentals of any legal practitioner along with requiring an in-depth understanding of the manner in which the industry functions to ensure that the best case is put forward.

In that matter we not only achieved an order directing release of 10 (ten) containers worth of life-saving drugs at the New York port for a leading global pharmaceutical company but also defended a hotly contested appeal against the order in our favour. The order granting the injunction did not only analyse caselaw on multiple issues but also set a precedent in terms of when must courts grant interim mandatory injunctions.

More than anything else, I was truly inspired by my team members who worked incessantly along side me to achieve the desired order.

What is your success mantra and what advice would you give to others wanting to tread a similar path?

Never stop learning.