Shashank Sardesai is a Partner at EverTrust Legal with a diverse background in both corporate law and litigation. He is known for his passion for dispute resolution and has a wealth of experience in securing justice for his clients.
Shashank’s journey in law includes memorable experiences, such as winning a national moot court competition and delivering a well-received speech at the Bharatiya Chhatra Sansad. He also successfully completed the company secretaryship course alongside his law studies.
Dedicated to the legal profession, Shashank is committed to expanding his firm’s practice and representing clients across various courts and tribunals in India.
What inspired you to pursue a career in law?
The part about law that most attracted me was the wide spectrum of knowledge canvassed in this field. I knew having a career in law would mean learning and working on different laws and rules that govern everything around us, from commercial transactions, contracts, disputes, crimes, environment and society to just everything. This was the simple inspiration for choosing law at that time.
Can you share some memorable experiences from your law school days?
There are several memorable experiences from my law school days.
In the 3rd year of law school, we participated in a national level moot court competition and the organizers changed the complete format of the competition at the last minute. Ultimately, we managed to win the competition even with last-minute changes and that was a thrill I will never forget.
The second memorable experience was in the last year of law school when I had the opportunity to deliver a speech at the 8th Bharatiya Chhatra Sansad (BCS), hosted by the MIT World Peace University, Pune.
BCS is a national platform for students and dignitaries to share their views on diverse topics and is attended by hundreds. Dignitaries and leaders such as Late A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Sr Adv. Mr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Mr. Nitin Gadkari and several others have attended and spoken at BCS in the past.
I had selected Gross Domestic Product (GDP) v/s Gross Domestic Happiness (GDH), which basically emphasized the need to evaluate a nation’s progress by not only measuring its financial well-being, but also by assessing the happiness of its citizens.
I remember the speech was thoroughly loved and appreciated by the huge crowd as well as the chief guests and this is one of the most memorable experiences from my law school days.
What achievements are you most proud of?
First would be clearing the company secretaryship (CS) course simultaneously with the 5-year law course. This was an uphill task since the passing percentages of the CS examinations are as low as the chartered accountant examinations held in the country.
I remember juggling the study of both the courses simultaneously was not easy. Ultimately, I successfully cleared the CS course by the 4th year of law school. This achievement has helped me tremendously in shaping my career.
Another achievement that makes me proud was when our band performed at the Hard Rock Cafe. Playing guitar has always been my passion and when we got a chance to perform in front of a live crowd, the entire experience was surreal and mesmerizing.
What are some of the key milestones in your career?
When I first started practicing independently, I had a chance to work on an application for securing bail for the accused persons in a criminal case.
Now, while I had assisted or worked on such matters previously, I had not argued such a matter independently. The Court heard my arguments for 3 hearings and ultimately, was convinced and allowed the bail application.
What moved me and my team was that, during the hearings, the families of the accused would wait in the Court corridors all day long, just to see any positive outcome and after the bail, they just couldn’t stop thanking us.
This was special since this case particularly gave me a sense of being able to bring justice, in whatever small ways possible.
What major challenges have you faced in your career, and how did you overcome them?
From the time I was pursuing law and CS, I was determined to pursue corporate law after graduation.
Accordingly, after passing out, I started working with a major law firm in its corporate team. However, you never know what destiny holds for you.
While working with the corporate team for almost 2 years, I got a chance to work on a few litigation assignments and that’s when I realized that it is litigation that I thoroughly enjoyed and could see myself working on disputes in the long run. So, I decided to make a complete shift to litigation.
Having said that, taking a u-turn from corporate to litigation was not easy because who would hire a corporate lawyer with zero litigation experience? As a result, I had to start my litigation career from scratch as a trainee associate with another law firm, after having spent 3 years of my career in corporate law.
This was very challenging since changing the practice area meant a lot of unlearning and mending ways.
However, as challenging as it may be, it turned out to be the best decision today. After having gained considerable experience in litigation, I am proud to be a founding member of a law firm specializing in dispute resolution.
How do you handle stress and maintain a work-life balance?
Law, without a doubt, is one of the most stressful professions out there.
Having said that, I believe friends and family play a pivotal role in helping you sail through stress. I have always found it helpful to just talk with friends or spend some quality time with family, whenever in stress.
Another way is to pick up an instrument or a hobby. I find peace in strumming guitar whenever I have some time on hand.
For work-life balance, it’s important to carve out clear work timings and targets. In this field especially, working on weekends or till late is often glorified in several organizations. While that may be necessary in case of work emergencies or urgent deadlines, however, should be avoided, as much as possible to ensure a good work-life balance.
What are the current trends in the legal field that law students should be aware of?
I believe artificial intelligence (AI) is one trend which is picking up speedily, not only in the legal field, but across all industries.
Recently, I came across an article which showcased how AI can assist lawyers with drafting and research. Further, the article also highlighted how AI may even replace a few services provided by lawyers, thus questioning the need to hire lawyers for such services in the first place, in the near future.
Therefore, it’s crucial that law students and lawyers are aware of the ways in which AI is touching the field of law.
How do you see the field of law evolving in the next decade?
There’s a lot of developments happening all over the country, especially tech-driven developments. A few years ago, there was no concept of lawyers appearing in Courts virtually. However, COVID-19 forced us to find an alternative and hearings through video conferencing happened.
That said, there is a long way to go, since most of the trial and district Courts in the country still do not have the facilities to enable virtual hearings. I believe this is gradually changing and in the next decade, lawyers from any state or city will be able to appear virtually in any Court or tribunal in the country.
Second development which seems to be on the way is use of electronic documents in Courts, instead of physical papers. Most of the lawyers all over have already migrated to using e-documents and liquid text in Court hearings.
Several judges of the High Courts too are using e-documents instead of physical paper. However, barring the High Courts, physical papers are still used in several trial and district Courts in the country. This is one evolution that is likely to take place and in the next decade, we can see completely paperless Courts in India.
What advice would you give to law students who are about to graduate?
Work hard, but make sure you enjoy college life with your friends. After law school, you will find lesser chances to stay in touch with friends.
Secondly, explore every field of law when you are interning, otherwise, you will never be able to choose any practice area confidently and with determination.
Lastly, make sure you participate in maximum academic and cultural events and competitions since it’s the overall development that counts in the long run.
How can students make the most of their time in law school?
Having a defined schedule can really help. Secondly, multi-tasking is very important, and students should learn this skill if they want to make the most of their time.
One way to make the most of your time is by taking up internships after law school hours and not only intern during vacations. For this purpose, students can consider interning part-time with local lawyers and firms who have tremendous knowledge and experience to offer.
This will make a remarkable difference to the experience you possess once you graduate.
What changes would you like to see in the legal education system?
Several. But the most critical one is the need to incorporate practical aspects of law in the curriculum.
For example, we learn about the Indian Contract Act but there has to be more emphasis on actual drafting of contracts. Similarly, learning only the theory of civil or criminal laws is not adequate and students actually should be taught how to draft pleadings, conduct trials, cross examinations etc.
These are skills which need to be taught to students from the first year of law school. If these practical trainings are not incorporated in the curriculum, the students will continue to spend considerable amount of time after graduation in learning the practical aspects of law.
What are your future plans and goals in the legal field?
Future plans and goals are to expand our firm’s practice as much as possible and to represent clients before all kinds of Courts and tribunals in India.
I have always found it fascinating as to how there are numerous kinds of Courts in our country for every kind of case and dispute and it’s my aim that me and my team appear before all such forums. I remember a Senior Advocate once said that he would argue even before a tree, if required and that’s the kind of enthusiasm I believe we should all carry towards our work in the field.
How has Lawctopus supported you in your career journey?
Lawctopus was the mentor for us in our law school days and I am sure it continues to be one even today for all law students.
I remember, back then, Lawctopus was the only way through which we would come to know of the moot court competitions happening in different law schools, invitations for research publications, internship vacancies and many more such events. That enabled me to take part in such events and also intern with different firms and lawyers.
Even today, Lawctopus has provided me with an opportunity to teach and that is something I will always be grateful for, since I thoroughly enjoy teaching. There’s no doubt that Lawctopus has always played a crucial role in shaping my career.
Recommended books (on subjects of their expertise)
- Cross examination – Principles and Precedents by P Ramanatha Aiyer
- Practical Guide to Drafting Commercial Contracts by Bhumesh Verma
Source: Lawctopus
