The event was supported by Youth for Human Rights India, Ambedkar Research Forum, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment and sponsored by Digital School of Law & Myadvo etc.

The summit began with the lighting of lamp by Hon’ble Mr. Justice Mukundakam Sharma (Former Judge, Supreme Court of India), Dr. Lalit Bhasin (President Bar Association of India, SILF & Managing Partner, Bhasin & Co.), Anuj Kumar (Founder & Editor-in-Chief, Legal Desire Media & Publications), Ankit Gupta (Co-Founder, Legal Desire),  Dr. P. Lakshmi (Acting Dean, School of Law, Ansal University), Mr. Joseph Aristotle (Standing Counsel, Govt. of Karnataka) and Mr. Pranav Mehra (Principal Legal Counsel, Snapdeal). After seeking the blessings of God, all the guests of honour were presented with a token of respect in the form of a sapling. Thereafter, Mr. Anuj Kumar, Mr. Ankit Gupta & Dr. P. Lakshmi welcomes all the esteemed guests and gave their brief introduction.

 Justice Mukandakam Sharma was requested to address the gathering and he elucidated on the need of new laws as dynamism is an unchanging principle of a society and prevailing laws. He also made the gathering contemplate on the need for a balance between socialism and globalisation in our country. Sir Joseph Aristotle also graced us with his views on the role of legal fraternity in maintaining and promoting justice in the country.  Dr.  Lalit Bhasin explained the significance of law and role of legal fraternity in bashing social evils and upholding the rights of individuals. All of them highlighted the need of continuous updation of laws, as it can never be stagnant. Also Mr. Pranav Mehra emphasized on the various legal industries in our country and their contribution to the Indian economy. Legal Desire Core team then presented the guests of honour with mementos. This marked the end of inaugural of the summit.

The event began with Panel Discussion Session 1 which was on the theme “New Laws and Challenges”. The panelists for the same were Mr. Joseph Aristotle, Standing Counsel at Govt of Karnataka,  Mr. Subhash Shete, Senior Legal Manager at Walmart India, Adv. Kanchan Khatana, Managing Partner at Kanchan Khatana & Associates and Mr. Pranav Mehra, Principal Legal Counsel at Snapdeal, Miss Tejaswini Ranjan, Associate at Ernst & Young moderated the panelists. They were felicitated and presented with saplings and mementos by the Legal Desire Team. Various key points raised included new patent law, the requirement of stringent legislative action to impose the law, the extent of practical application of the laws relating to sexual harassment at workplace among other major issues were discussed by the panel.

In Parallel, there were 4 technical sessions where the research scholars and law students presented their research papers.

Next up was Panel Discussion Session 2 that was on the theme “Emerging Trends in Arbitration and Role of In-House Counsels”. The panelists for the same were Dr. Vijay Kumar Singh, Head at School of Corporate Law, Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs, Prof. Vaibhav Goel Bhartiya, Dean at Subharti Law School, Mr. Abhijeet Tople, Dy Director-Legal at Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd and Mr. Ashish Bhakta, Founding Partner at ANB Legal. Again Miss Tejaswini Ranjan was the moderator for the session. They were felicitated and presented with saplings and mementos by the Legal Desire Team. The speakers highlighted the importance of alternative dispute resolutions, it’s  practical applicability, future scope, advantages, third party funding etc.

This was followed by Panel Session 3, which was on the theme “ Law and Technology”. The panelists for the same were Miss Puneet Bhasin, Cyber Law Expert and Ms. Vasundhara, Legal Head at Myadvo.in. They emphasized on the growing need of cyber laws, the extent of it’s practical application and its scope in India.

Last session of the summit was Legal Desire Awards. It was graced by the presence of Mr. Ram JethMalani who shared valuable insights of his career and the landmark cases which he argued, that highly motivated and energized the audience. To felicitate the awardees the panel along with Mr. Ram Jethmalani consisted of Mr. Santosh,Advocate at Supreme Court of India, Mr. Subhash Shete, Senior Legal Manager at Walmart India, Mr. Anuj Kumar, Founder & Editor-in-Chief at Legal Desire, Dr. Anjumand Zaidi, President at Youth for Human Rights iNdia. The top-notch point of the event was when Lifetime Achievement award was handed to honourable Mr. JethMalani. Finally, giving away awards in various categories to their well-deserved winners concluded event. Following is the list of winners in their respective categories:

Law firm

In-House Counsel

Lawyer

Law School

Law Student

Law Faculty

Social Change Maker Award

Ranjan Tomar, RTI Activist

Shivakshi Bhattacharya & Swaranjani Agarwal, Law Students for their initiative of organising legal aid campaigns.

Academic Leadership Award: Prof. Renu Luthra, Vice Chancellor, Galgotias University

Best Team Member of Legal Desire: Vishal Kumar Singh

Writing for Courage Award: Vidhi Koolwal & Ankita Srivastava for outbreaking stories on Jiah Khan and Ram Rahim Case.

The post Legal Desire Summit 2018 concluded with Panel Discussions & felicitating Legal Fraternity Star Performers appeared first on Legal Desire Media and Insights.

The Indian legal profession today consists of approximately 12 lakhs registered advocates, around 950 law schools and approximately 4-5 lakhs law students across the country. Every year, approximately 60,000 – 70,000 law graduates join the legal profession in India. To become an eminent lawyer, one needs years of experience, dedication, rigorous study and track of the amendment laws and rules. All this helps an advocate to perform at his best in the court room and helps him interpret the law according to the nature of the case presented in front of them.

Here we would like to pen down topmost lawyers of India with reference to data of 2015 and 2016.

Harish Salve: Expertise in the areas of constitutional, commercial and taxation laws. He primarily practices at the India, but also appears in various High Courts and in international arbitral disputes, sometimes as a counsel and other times as an adjudicator. He served as the Solicitor General of India from 1 November 1999 to 3 November 2002. Land mark case:  Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Limited case of the Krishna Godavari Basin gas dispute case against the latter’s brother is the main Anil Ambani’s Reliance Natural Resources Limited.

Ram Jethmalani: Primarily known as only a criminal lawyer, although he has appeared in many important cases concerning constitutional matters.Ram Jethmalani first came to spot light with his appearance in the famous K. M. Nanavati vs. State of Maharashtra case in 1959 with Yeshwant Vishnu Chandrachud. And this case is about to show cased as Rustom realeasing on 12^th August, 2016.

Mukul Rohtagi: Works with various profiles of cases. Landmark case: Represented Gujarat government in the Supreme Court in the 2002 Gujarat riots and fake encounter death cases, including the Best Bakery and Zahira Sheikh Cases. He has also served earlier as Additional Solicitor General of India and presently appointed as Attorney General of India.

Majid Memon: Specialised in criminal law. Landmark case: He represented Yakub Memon but could not set him free.

Satish Maneshinde: Expertise in: Advocate FEMA, Custom Law Consultants, Service Matter Advocate, Will Legal Consultant, Labour Law Advocate, Online Dgft Licensing, Court Domicile Certificate, Excise, Civil, Factory, Consultant, Writ Advocate, Share Market Advocate. Landmark case: he secured bail for Sanjay Dutt in the Bombay Blast Case and for Salman Khan who allegedly killed one person for drunk driving.

Aryama Sundaram: Primarily practices corporate law but also takes up constitutional law and media related cases. Landmark Case:Lawyer in the S. Rangarajan case which resulted in one of the landmark judgments on the freedom of speech and expression.

Arvind Datar: He is a senior advocate of Madras High court who specializes in tax laws and a writer as well. His books ‘Nani Palkhivala: The Courtroom Genius’, ‘Datar Commentary on Constitution of India’ and ‘Guide to Central Excise Law and Practice: With Accounting Practices’. Landmark Case: High Court of Madras on the Sahara v. SEBI case (Sahara India Real Estate Corporation Limited v. Securities and Exchange Board of India).

Abhishek Manu Singhvi: Specialized in Constitutional law. Landmark case: Naveen Jindal vs M/S Zee Media Corporation Ltd & Anr.

Gopal Subramanium: Works with wide range of topics, from matters involving complex questions of constitutional and criminal law. Landmark case: concerning the law of arbitration in India, including the BALCO case.

Soli J. Sorabjee: Renowned human rights lawyer. He was appointed by the UN as a Special Rapporteur for Nigeria, in 1997, to report on the human rights situation in that country. Landmark cases: Keshavananda Bharati, Maneka Gandhi, S.R. Bommai. He has been honored with Padma Vibhushan for his defense of the freedom of expression and the protection of human rights.

Fali S. Nariman: Distinguished Indian Constitutional jurist and senior advocate to the Supreme Court of India since 1971. Landmark case: Nariman argued in favour of Dow chemicals (the owned by Union carbide) in the infamous Bhopal gas disaster case, which he admitted as a mistake in recent times. He has been awarded the Padma Bhushan (1991), Padma Vibhushan (2007) and Gruber Prize for Justice (2002).

By: Sanjukta Biswas, Staff Writer at Legal Desire Media & Publications

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