In this Eminent Conversation, Mr. Ankit Rastogi, Partner at Mason & Associates, speaks with Ms. Radhika Bhargava* about his journey through the dynamic world of corporate law. From early lessons that shaped his professional discipline to the values of sincerity, client commitment, and adaptability, he offers candid insights into the evolving practice of law and what it takes to build a meaningful career in the profession.

1. Personal Journey & Motivation

Q: What has been the most unexpected lesson you have learned about yourself since entering the legal field?  

About myself, probably, that I was not so serious in life about work which I have become over these years. In school, I was an extremely average student with some sparks of good marks in subjects such as History and Sanskrit. Even in college, I was just an above average fellow. I am not saying that I am great now; what I am suggesting is that I persevere a lot more now & am much more serious towards professional responsibilities/tasks than I was when I was very young. In summary, I think I have been ingrained with sense of responsibility after entering the legal field.

Q: Looking back, is there a moment you would consider a turning point in your career, something that fundamentally changed how you work or think?

Every matter has an impact on the counsel working on it. Whether a win or a loss, the matter stays with the lawyer. There have been several matters that have fundamentally changed how I work or think. When I had joined the bar, I always thought that research, hard work, persuasive arguments are the ones that help you win the matter. However, the years – I have realised that it is not about the winning, it’s about getting the best for your client. A counsel cannot win every matter. However, what he can and needs to ensure is to get the best relief for the client in the facts of each case. A lot of my matters had moments, where something more could have been done to change the fate of that matter or to resolve it in the best manner possible. Today, the advisory is more inclined towards dispute resolution rather than straight jumping towards litigation. I take a lot of time to understand the business and operation of the client, to be able to advise them to secure their business interests rather than on position of law. All of these changes have come from experiences over the years. I have seen battles being won on paper, for academics but the real ground effect in some of the matters was in my opinion a loss. Thus, while advising one has to ensure that one not only wins on paper but also on the ground.

Q: What role has fear of failure or rejection played in shaping your resilience or career path?

Oh, I think a lot as far as resilience is concerned. However, I have mellowed down over the years on this fear. Earlier, I used to be paranoid if there was anything at all that I would have done wrong, even a minor error. However, now, after all these years, I try to see if it’s a solvable problem and its impact in the larger context. Bouts of panic have considerably decreased.

I don’t know whether ‘fear of failure’ had an impact on my career path. Maybe it did. May be since I was averse to any one pointing fingers at me for anything, I worked with utmost sincerity and diligence and it showed in end of year appraisals at offices I worked with. However, whether it was directly proportional or had a part impact, I would never know. 

2. Inspiration & Values

Q: What keeps you going on the hard days? Is there a particular philosophy or mindset that you fall back on?

“This too shall pass.” You know once I had filed a suit, without following a mandatory provision under a State law. The suit got dismissed on this technical ground with a cost. This was a suit that I had drafted, prepared, filed and got listed. There was no decision on merits and the suit was completely maintainable on merits after following that State law provision. The client and my seniors were too kind to say a word to me. They did not for a moment made me feel bad about it. This was probably because, I had already gone into a cocoon for a few days by myself; not talking to anyone in office unless spoken to, so they thought that this has already affected me a lot.

Why I shared this story is that, that one week was particularly hard on me. I didn’t want to see even my own reflection. But it passed, with the kindness of the office I was working in.

So, if I have been through a dismissed suit with costs, nothing really worries me towards the consequences. Having said that, there have been days when you have to work like maniacs to see the task through. I have spent night sleeping in sofas or floors in the offices I have worked at on more than one occasion with the satisfaction that I know what I am doing, the draft and documents are perfect & after the hearing I will take a break and humongous nature of the tasks have not bothered me.

Q: How do you define success at this stage in your career?

In law, I really don’t know what is success. Is it money, without having an intellectual stimulation. Is it a lot of matters, and perennial business. Is learning something new every day a success. I don’t know. I have never looked at success, honestly. I have only looked at the world for happiness. I was far happier when I was an Associate (just out of law school, freshly learning things in the trade, working from 9 AM till 9 PM almost every day), than I am now as a Partner. So, essentially, I cannot define success.

Q: You have admitted to being constantly “switched on.” How do you deal with burnout or the pressure to stay sharp?

So, if the work is pending, there is no way of dealing with burnout. You have to finish it. If its late during the day, and if I am tired due to excessive work pressure – I sleep. On some days, late in the night – I have observed that I have spent 10 minutes on 1 single page without moving further. That’s when I realise, I am tired and this has to be postponed. So, I take a nap. Get up early, recharged and then work on the same brief again. On heavy days, when I have to argue at length or conduct a cross – I sleep early and try to trick my brain, everything will be fine while fully knowing that I have to ensure it is fine. May be its equivalent to ‘All is Well’ thing in ‘3 Idiots’.

Q: What does sincerity mean to you as a lawyer, and how has it shaped your interactions with clients, colleagues, or courts?

Everything, that’s all that is required with common sense. See, if you are sincere towards your work, it shows whether amongst client, colleagues or Courts. If you know your brief and the legal position in the case, the Courts are far more appreciative & receptive of your arguments. Same is the case with clients and colleagues, who will respond to you in a likewise manner, when they understand your professionalism and the fact that you mean business.

What is one habit or discipline you have built over the years that you believe every young lawyer should develop early?

It’s difficult to point out one. Here are few I think which may be helpful:

• The first basic thing is to reach Court early;
• Knowing your file, in and out along with the position of respective papers in the Court record;
• Make a list of dates & events of every file and keep updating it as the matter progresses;
• Plan your matters at least a month in advance for any compliance, inspections etc. (Unless, obviously, if the compliance was supposed to be done earlier as per last orders)

3. Advice for Law Students

Q: What are things every law student should stop doing and start doing?

I really cannot comment on what should they stop doing because I am not aware as to what the current lot of law students are up to. I hardly even get a chance to interact with interns at my office, since they are being supervised by Associates. Having said that, may be, if phones are a distraction, use them slightly less. As far as what should every law student start doing, if not already being done, is to get early knowledge of all the practical aspects of this profession from understanding drafting, filings, listings, hearing structure, cause lists, making connections and most importantly how to be probably maintain your sanity in the most pressing situations.

Q: How important is it for students to specialize early? Or should they explore widely before choosing a path?

My personal view is to explore widely for five to six years & then if you think you can handle everything with expertise and demands of the market, do everything. If your view is too many practice areas overwhelm you or you have a particular inclination towards one, may be specialize in that.

Q: How can students balance academics with practical learning - internships, writing, and real-world exposure?

My god, these are some tough questions. The answer probably lies in time management & smart work. See sometimes you can work on some topics where the knowledge you have gained can be channelised into writing. So, you do both internship, research as part of internship and since you have already done the research you can write on the said topic also. This is just one example I could think of. Unfortunately, students cannot delegate but they can get together to share ideas and works. For example, two roommates may do a joint article, and divide their tasks to save time. See, articles where there are multiple authors may not work for everyone but is surely helps in widening the perspective. However, to be really honest, it’s a grind. Internships, with attendance, classes, plus articles is a lot of hard work if needs to be done together.

Q: What do you think distinguishes an intern who stands out from the rest in your eyes?

Hard work, hunger towards work, hustle, and owning your work. Any professional from intern to partner has to perform on a daily basis to make them stand out. The world is unfortunately extremely competitive (and I am far more behind in this self-created race by us) and the one who stands out is generally the one who pushes himself or herself beyond the call of duty. There are no set formulae. It’s just the dedication that an Intern has to show that they belong on this place & they have what it takes.

4. Intellectual Property & Career Building

Q: Why should students consider IP law today, and what makes it exciting and relevant in this era of AI, content, and technology?

Today or any other day, Intellectual Property Law should be considered for the immense growth and grey areas it has. It is always evolving and lot or principles and legal questions are yet to be settled. Further, in the times of AI where content is being created completely virtually, there will and in fact are arising a lot of issues which require a sufficient understanding of IP law, especially Copyright.

Q: What is your advice to students who feel overwhelmed by the technicalities of IP law or case reading?

Don’t be. You know, whenever someone asks me about certain cases which are technical to understand, I always recollect reading and understanding the decision in Neha Bhasin v. Anand Raj Anand & Anr., 2006 (32) PTC 779 Del. In that case, the Defendants used the defence of layering to argue that while the voice of the Plaintiff has been used in the impugned song, she cannot be given credit of the lead singer since Defendant No.2’s voice was consciously “layered” with the voice of the Plaintiff in such a way that a greater number of layers of the Defendant No.2 were mixed with a fewer number of layers of the Plaintiff’s voice and hence she is a back up singer for the song in question. The Hon’ble Court, to adjudicate the present matter, asked the sound engineer to provide it with 2 CDs, one with the song sung by Plaintiff and the other with the song sung by Defendant. The Hon’ble Court heard the song couplet by couplet to match each and every word with the relevant singer. Thereafter, after comparing the Impugned CDs as well as CDs containing sole voice of Plaintiff and Defendant No. 2, the Hon’ble Court was of the view that dominant or projected voice, if not the sole voice, is that of the Plaintiff.

I have given this example to bring home the point that one has to do the grind, even at the highest level and the students which are far more tech savvy today; have no reason to be overwhelmed by technicalities if they wish to go far ahead in their career.

Q: How did co-founding Indian Case Law impact your own learning, and would you recommend students start writing or blogging?

It helped me read faster, more analytically and identify crucial points in a matter. The best part about making case summaries or critically analysing them is that it helps you to retain that case in your memory far too long than it would relatively be when you have just taken out a case law for the purposes of a Court hearing. I would recommend students to start writing, whether through a blog or through an article as it really sharpens your memory, drafting skills and analytical reasoning.

Q: You have mentioned that international awareness is crucial. How can students build a global perspective while studying in India?

I think the world wide web helps us here. In today’s time it is quite easy to get an understanding of global perspective on the area of law that you are practising in.

Q: What are some underrated skills that young lawyers need to survive and thrive in boutique law firms?

May be just be diligent, show up, be sincere and don’t waste time. See, if you show up and are sincere, its half the job done. No one knows all the laws inside out; even they cannot be expected to know. However, you should know where to look or from where to start. Secondly, keep yourself updated with whatever is going on in the domain expertise in which your boutique firm is dealing.

5. Perspective & Personal Life

Q: You have been very honest about not having a work-life balance. How do you protect moments of peace for yourself?

How do I protect moments of peace? I really don’t. My moments of peace are reading, watching something or sleeping. All these three activities can be disturbed while work comes. So, there is no protection for moments of peace. However, if I am really busy with something or cannot devote my time to any calls or work from office, I tell my team certain days in advance so as not to call me on those days unless they are on the verge of losing their sanity.

Q: Has becoming a mentor to junior lawyers changed the way you see your own role in the profession?

I have not thought it that much. However, I just wish and pray that the team members that work with me become as independent as they can be in handling a matter, dealing with clients and covering all bases. I just try to ensure that they think analytically for solutions and don’t need me for any advice.

Q: Is there a quote or line that has stayed with you throughout your legal journey?

One, I have multiple.

• If you are always curious, you will always be learning.
• If you are not updated, you will be finished.
• You are in the service industry, give your best to client.

And many, many more.

* Conducted by Ms. Radhika Bhargava, Internship Coordinator at CLAonline and a 4th Year student of Law at Symbiosis Law School, Noida