This interview has been taken by Himanshi Garg, Campus Leader at Lawctopus and first-year learner at UILS, Panjab University
Kunwar Bir Singh shares his law school journey and other experiences that have molded his personality and can serve as examples for upcoming and present law students.
Kunwar Bir Singh is a final year B.A.LL. B (Hons.) student at University Institute of Legal Studies, Panjab University, Chandigarh. He holds a postgraduate Diploma in Financial Services and legislation from NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad, India.
He is pursuing his Association of Certified Chartered Accountants (ACCA) degree and is working as a student research assistant at the National University of Singapore. He is also a visiting editor at the University of Bologna Law Review, Italy.
Please tell us about yourself
I am a final year law student at University Institute of Legal Studies, Panjab University, Chandigarh. I am majoring in direct and international taxation.
Apart from taxation, I am also inclined toward laws related to investment funds, estate and wealth planning, strategic philanthropy planning, and investment arbitration.
I have worked as a trainee-cum-intern with the tax teams of the biggest law firms based in India like Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas, AZB & Partners, L&L Partners, Khaitan & Co., etc.
I have worked as an editor of law journals of national and international repute, which helped me in meeting the aspiration for scholarship in my field of specialization.
Last summer I worked as a student research assistant to professors from Harvard Law School, University of New South Wales, and York University, Toronto, on matters dealing with tax and arbitration.
In addition, I have a keen interest in international diplomacy and economics. I am an avid reader and my favorite book is “Fault Lines: How Hidden Fractures Still Threaten the World Economy” by Raghuram G. Rajan.
How is your law school experience?
We all know that college can be stressful sometimes and it can often leave us with cluttered thoughts about our career, but this is what makes the law school journey an enlivened one.
These five years are meant to make a law student opinionated and it provides us with a platform for airing our perspectives about things that matter in the longer run. For me, it has always been an institution where it is not about reshuffling prejudices and lending credence to ill-informed biases but a quest for objective findings to dispel egregious structures and thoughts.
Obviously, half a decade journey is a very long one and I can’t find a way to encapsulate all the things in one paragraph.
Tell us about your major achievements.
I believe every competition in which I participated and every experience that I gained, have contributed tremendously directly or indirectly, to my personal and professional growth. Not to sound self-righteous but I think there are a few that I am really proud of.
The first one is when I was selected as a tax fellow at the prestigious International Lawyers Project, London, where I was trained and mentored by the former tax head of KPMG USA and Vice-President of Chase Manhattan Bank, J.P Morgan group.
Second, I believe all the research assistantship offers that I received from renowned tax and business law professors, provided me with an opportunity to work on landmark case studies and suits revolving around matters like tax evasion, business restructuring, sovereign debt issues, etc. which further helped me in understanding the intricate details about the finance industry.
Last but not the least, when my application was selected in 2019 for the International Negotiation Competition-cum-Summer School at the University of Bern, Switzerland, where I was provided with an opportunity to work with the members of the World Trade Organisation and European Union on drafting policy briefs entailing the country-wise stance on climate change, which was to be presented at COP 25.
Why did you choose law?
In the winter of 2019, I was sitting near the fireplace reading “My Seditious Heart” written by one of the most prolific writers of our age, Ms. Arundhati Roy. The book took me to traverse my memory lane to the year 2015 when I had for the first time met her at the Jaipur Literature Fest.
I remember that I always wanted to take up a career as a political essayist. I remember I walked up to her with beads of perspiration rolling down my face and asked to put her signature on a book. She sensed the uneasiness on my face and asked what was bothering me. I asked her, “Ma’am! How can I be the next Arundhati Roy of men?”
Ma’am asked me to take up a career that should have the potential to strike at the fundamental foundation of the grotesque political structure. I did not understand what she meant by that but the air around it got cleared when I was in 12th grade.
To attain a wider sense of the interface of Law and Society, I chose to pursue law.
Do you have an affinity for academics?
Yes, of course. I believe we can never underestimate the importance of academia in law as the best writers carry the potential either to become great judges or to get cited in landmark cases. I have always focused on writing blogs, articles, research papers, etc as it helps me in putting forth my point concisely.
Who is your source of motivation/inspiration?
I think the greatest driving force to do something out of the box, comes from within one own self. Apart from that, my law school life got me a few mentors who have now become an indispensable part of my life.
I could have never envisaged that participating in a few competitions with them, would turn out to be a great leap in the ocean of constant encouragement and support, the depth of which is unfathomable.
Why did you choose taxation as your specialization in law?
There are a lot of reasons behind making this critical decision but there are the two most significant ones-
Tax is a niche subject where legal interpretation has a profound impact and this is evidenced by the fact that the most comprehensive book on legal interpretation, “Interpretation of Statutes” by G.P Singh has a different chapter dedicated to the interpretation of tax statutes. I have always been mesmerized by the literature related to interpretational issues either gathered from the pleadings by renowned tax lawyers like Arvind Datar, Mukesh Butani, etc or from the judgments given by the Supreme Court or High Courts. Choosing tax will always put me close to this.
Secondly, someone has rightly said, “Death and Taxes are the only two certain things in the world”. There may come a time when a few laws might become redundant or less lucrative but tax as a field is very dynamic. The whole debate around the validity of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology got attention from various governments when they saw these through the tax lens. Tax is not only relevant when a person is alive but also when he/she dies, which comes to the forefront in form of estate taxes etc. and why not choose a field which is so intricately involved in our own lives?
Last but not the least, tax has a lot of career avenues. With the subject’s knowledge, one can work as a tax specialist in MNCs or audit firms, as a tax lawyer in corporate firms, or as a tax counsel for other major corporations.
How do you manage your internships, academics, and competitions?
I believe there is no strait-jacket formula for this and it depends on a lot of factors. Strong time management is the secret to success in law school. As a law student, your time and attention are limited, valuable resources.
The best management could be done if you have created a master calendar for the academic year and it will help you allocate time effectively. Some of the things one can put on their calendar are mid-terms, final exams, project submission, email correspondences, personal obligations, commuting etc.
This is not an exhaustive list and one might need to tweak it every time something new comes up but it will give a fair idea.
Does being from a non-NLU affect your chances of success/opportunities?
I partially agree. There are some systemic defects in the non-NLUs which gives an edge to students studying in top-ranked NLUs. I believe it is very difficult initially, if you are not from a national law school or you are a first-generation lawyer then getting a job in a well-known law firm is a challenge.
I have experienced a lot of rejections in the initial years of my journey. But I believe once you gain the insight and have merit, this barrier is broken and you are largely judged on the basis of the knowledge you have.
I have met a few people from non-NLUs who are burning the midnight oil to carve a niche in the industry and I am sure they are in the right direction. Always remember that striving for success without hard work is like trying to harvest when you haven’t planted.
What advice would you give to the fresher law students?
Don’t worry too much and relax. I know there can be a sudden bombardment of innumerable things as a fresher law student. But believe me, every piece will fall in its right place with the passage of time. The only thing that one should focus on is reading.
Don’t restrict yourself to one or two mainstream career options. Try to participate in as many different competitions, as a law school journey provides you with.
What are your future career goals?
I am planning to become a corporate tax lawyer either in USA/ Canada. I will start writing my applications for tax LLM for the academic year 2023-24.
This Interview is a part of our Star Student/Faculty interview series wherein our campus leaders interview the star student/faculty of their college. Stay tuned for more!
Source: Lawctopus
