In the Mid August, the Air condition system of the High Court of Gujarat failed
hence, we were living a nightmare with perspired Lawyer's UNIFORM i.e. Black
suit, Robe and Collar band! No, ventilation point for our body to get in or get
out our body heat!!! No, we the lawyers are not the only VICTIMS of this
Natural Surroundings! Honourable Judges were living the worst nightmare. Though,
the registry did arrange pedestal fans for the courtrooms but, they are just
mute spectator of our agony. Sometimes the total number of these fans outnumber
the total strength of advocates in a particular courtroom!
As the temperament running high of the lawyers so as JUDGES'. It was the Court where Service Matters and allied matters listed for adjudication. A Party-in -Person appeared for his case and started canvassing rather, narrating the troubles in life he is facing as he believes that all the solution for his troubles lie at the doorstep of High Court. The Judge who takes/ hears the matters is thorough Gentleman and Man of knowledge. She became to make the party in person aware, a Law Professor. She slowly and firmly tried to explain the Jurisdiction under Article 226. The Party in Person ain't impress with the lecturing skill of the Judge and he did not allow the Judge cum Professor to speak by raising the voice of his arguments. Everything has its own limit so as the Judge's patience. It is one of that situation where the passion of the litigant won at the cost of the patient of the Judge. Suddenly, he attains the highest pitch of his voice and pose a question to the Judge "If i won't get justice here from the High Court then where should I go?" the Judge readily answered by saying, 'Go to UP (Uttar Pradesh)!' The Judge was emotionally carried away! In fact, the petitioner is hailing from UP which makes those words more cruel.
We are back to normalcy. The Air-Conditioned Courtrooms make our lives more peaceful. we again started surfing the net and try to make ourselves more updated than we are updated few seconds ago. In this exercise of keeping ourselves updated I found out an article "Won't hear you in person because you might turn emotional "- CJI. Being a lawyer I was quite happy as nowadays there is an influx of Part-in-Person with whom we the lawyer rub shoulders. Professionally and economically it's not an ideal situation for any lawyer.
Avoiding the above-mentioned thoughts, a law student in me somehow managed to desert his slumber and presented me a set of questions, Why does CJI believes that only Party in person can turn emotional? does to turn emotional a crime? Can Judge and Lawyer turn emotional while addressing the Court? Is there any law/convention which expressly prohibit the Party in Person to turn emotional while arguing? Does it not amount to a violation of the principle of Natural Justice? Does it not tantamount to violation of fundamental rights of Party in Person?
2020 – the Corona year provides us with an opportunity to prepare our schedule independently as we have the only worry i.e. to keep ourselves locked in our home. No office – no courts- no conferences – no travelling – no social meetings. For many who are teased with names like Tsundoku master, get a time to read, read and read. I have also utilized this time to satisfy my hunger to read the books which are piled up a long time ago. Every book has its day!
It is an autobiography/memoir of Mr Sarosh Zaiwalla, a renowned solicitor based in the UK. In the foreword of the book, Mr Michael Brindle, QC writes, He (Mr Zaiwalla) was ever resourceful, ingenious and charming; so is this book. After his early days in the Parsi community in India, his breakthrough was to find a way into the English legal world. He was, as he says, the first Indian to start an English firm of solicitors in the City of London. This was a very unusual and remarkable success. He never looked back. After reading the book in one go (binge – read), I can say the narration of the book is lucid and language is fluid. The only thing I missed in the book is sarcasm and wit a lawyer generally perceived to have.
I am not sure whether I like the book because of my personal likings of the subject it covers or it is my general love for autobiographies or memoir. In 2018, I read a book viz. Legal Confidential: Adventures of an Indian Lawyer by Ranjeev C. Dubey. Where Mr Dubey provided an insight of lower courts of Delhi, the book of Mr Zaiwalla provides an insight of workings and high standards of the lucrative field of Maritime Arbitration and International disputes. The book has 12 chapters. In these 12 chapters, you would read about some political scandal and cases which attract public attention. You would read about Amitabh – Ajitabh Bachchan – Benazir Bhutto – Rajiv Gandhi – Sonia Gandhi – Maneka Gandhi – Joseph Zappia – L. M. Singhvi – Tony Blair – Hinduja Brothers et al. The book describes Mr Zaiwalla as an important figure on the London legal scene. Coming from a distinguished legal family in Mumbai, he arrived in London in the early 1970s to qualify as an English solicitor. Undeterred by the casual racism prevalent at that time, he went on to set up Zaiwalla & Co. Solicitors, the first-ever English law firm to be established by an Indian national. With tenaciousness, he developed a strong international commercial practice, with a reputation for taking on and winning contentious, ‘unwinnable’ cases. His client list is a roll call of high-profile individuals and corporations, including the President of India, China National Petroleum Corporation, Bank Mellat and NIDC of Iran. At a personal level, he has engaged with world leaders, including prime ministers and politicians, the United Nations secretary-general, and the Dalai Lama. In October 2002, Zaiwalla was recognized on India’s Annual National Law Day by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee for his contribution to the field of international arbitration law.
In this blog want to write about two-three anecdotes which are narrated in the book which I found interesting and worth sharing.
Amitabh, meanwhile, was a likeable character but very different from his brother. (His career was at something of a low at that time, although it was later to recover). He had a sharp memory and was always very courteous and respectful towards me. When I first met him, at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Bombay – shortly after meeting Ajitabh – he was a leading Bollywood star, but I thought I ought to start the professional relationship with him on the right footing. When at that meeting he called me by my first name, I politely told him to address me as ‘sir’. He accepted this was the right professional courtesy and thereafter throughout my interactions with him, he always addressed me in this way.
Most lawyers today think of strategy as a way to ambush the opponent. I have never followed this approach. I have always been fair to my opponent, giving them the opportunity to deal with the questions of the law contended by me for my client. My first principle is always to maintain a high standard of integrity, always acting with courtesy and politeness no matter how difficult the opponent is. Even if you make an error, if you follow this rule your mistake is likely to be excused.
…but I remained calm. I had learnt early in life that whatever the circumstances, one is always to remain cool and act with humility and courtesy.
I consider these anecdotes a lesson on Professionalism. It is always beneficial to remind ourselves of the basics of professionalism. The legal profession is one of the most toxic professions. There are various reasons which make litigating lawyers more judgmental, opinionated and indifferent. The book is not entirely on the legal profession as Mr Zaiwalla had played many roles such as Unofficial diplomate (Mediator between countries). The book also talks about work cultures of different countries especially India, UK, China and Russia.
Having travelled worldwide, I have found China is the only country where an Indian is not discriminated against. A white man is favoured to an Indian man in most countries. The Chinese word for a white man is ‘devil’. In the Middle East, if you have a white assistant, they will salaam to him, pay respects to him. In Kuwait, you may have a British passport but if you’re born in India there’s still a police check. I later went to Kuwait on a Chinese international arbitration case matter and despite having a British passport I had to wait for the police check to come through at airport immigration. I was made to wait in a room for fifteen to twenty minutes before I was allowed in. I had been there two or three times before. Every time I found Indians and Pakistanis were badly treated.
The Chinese didn’t know the western world, but they were willing to learn. If Indians don’t know something, they still sometimes pretend to know, whereas the Chinese will confess their ignorance and say that they want to learn.
I learnt that when the Chinese meet a foreigner for business, they always come in a team of five or six, sometimes even more. Only one or two would speak English and outsiders could easily make the mistake of assuming those individuals were the ones in charge. The Chinese business culture was to negotiate hard but once an agreement was reached and sealed, they would always keep their commitment. Oral agreements were not considered binding and would be treated just as a step for further negotiations. However, the placing of a company’s seal along with the signature was most important to make an agreement binding.
The book also provides engaging anecdotes of many other countries. The book though subtly accuses American Legal world for bringing change (albeit negative) in the British legal system.
Our client was shocked to find out that for a one-and-a-half-day jurisdiction application, one of the defendants claimed costs of £2.5 million. He had instructed a US law firm with an office in London. Their breakdown of costs showed they had twenty-three solicitors working on the case. This was completely disproportionate and unthinkable at the start of my professional career.
Ultimately, the book also provides a critical account of British Legal society including judiciary viz a viz diversity and acceptance of ‘coloured people’ in high echelons.
I have been successful in my profession and my rosy picture of modern Britain is not always supported by the evidence we have of how black, Asian and minority ethnic lawyers have fared here. The top level of the judiciary remains largely closed to them, although things are changing (and helped in part by my seeking to address the problems I faced with the Britannia P&I club many years ago now). Bear in mind too that if only around 7 per cent of judges are from ethnic minorities, only one in seven QCs and one in three partners of law firms are women. We are seeing progress but still have some way to go. I would like the English Bar and judiciary to maintain their high standards. So, I would not favour positive discrimination for appointments of judges. For this purpose, the sole criterion of merit should remain.
The book is a must-read for all lawyers. It also helps diplomats to understand how the second channel can be fruitful if the right person is an instrumental. The book has the political side of Dalai Lama and the personal side of other great figures. For this, the book becomes un-putdownable to its readers. This book can also be adapted in Web series as it has all the elements to become a good web-series or movie. The book is also a subject of a lawsuit in India. I have legitimate reasons to believe that Mr Zaiwalla would have the last laugh.
Opinionated I:
In the nineteenth century Benjamin Disraeli, England’s prime minister used to say, ‘Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.’
