Ms Megha is an advocate and corporate lawyer based out of Chandigarh. She believes that the legal profession though tough at times, the satisfaction that comes from delivering a positive outcome makes it worthwhile. She has experience in handling general corporate and commercial law matters relating to real estate, infrastructure projects, mergers and acquisitions and civil litigation before Punjab and Haryana High Court. She is the recipient of the dean award for outstanding all-round performance in LLM (O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat) and a silver medallist in LLM. She also won the dean award for leadership in LLM. She also extends legal assistance to the economically disadvantaged.
1. To begin with, if I may request you to please share with our readers something about yourself, your journey in the profession and your early years.
For starters, I always wanted to enter the legal profession and I was never in two minds about my career path. During my graduation days at University Institute of Legal Studies, Panjab University, my entire focus was on academics rather than on more internships and gaining practical knowledge per se, which in retrospect, I would not advise because gaining practical knowledge only happens in courtrooms and offices (for corporate law practice). I was fortunate enough to secure a placement in my last semester and become a part of an esteemed firm having an amazing work culture and humble but extremely successful legal experts, lawyers, and consultants.
2. What inclined you towards the field of legal education? Do you reckon any specific incident that made you choose law as a career?
The field of legal education allows you to literally become a part of the strata of the society as “changemakers”. With each passing day, we learn how the society translates the law and vice versa and that automatically helps you to understand and empathise better and advise your circle, prospective clients and provide free legal aid to people who cannot afford legal assistance.
3. How did you shape at the law school? Please also share your interests and motivations. How did you navigate through your career path?
At law school, I was more inclined towards legal academia and I felt that scoring marks in assignments and college exams was the ultimate goal. In retrospect, I now think that I should have focused on both — practical knowledge through internships and of course faring well in the law school coursework. It is important to push yourself and avoid distractions to pursue your ambition. At the end of my 4th year, I changed my mindset and started to focus on my ultimate goal which is to become a good lawyer and gain knowledge on the procedural aspects. You can always start afresh and put in an extra effort to reach your goals so I did switch on the reset button and did not go into the rut of “why did I not do that”.
4. How has your experience shaped you into the professional? How do you think that your early years with a law firm have helped you declare your territory?
I honestly do not think you should define yourself to a territory. My experience has been quite fulfilling and enriching. As a part of Dua Associates, I am fortunate enough to speak to learned professionals who are always there to guide and motivate me and that is where work culture plays a crucial role. It is important to be surrounded with people who allow you to ask questions and improve on your knowledge so as a fresher, you should always be open to learn and open to make mistakes while learning.
5. As the recipient of the dean award for outstanding all-round performance in LLM at O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, how do you think such awards and achievements help personify a lawyer?
I would not say that awards and achievements do not matter, they do motivate you to strive for better performance and earn recognition. But one should not compare ourselves to others because that would allow you to go into a negative zone and spoil your mental health. It is good to see awards and achievements as little baits and something akin to patting your own shoulder in a manner of sorts. But nothing more than that. Seeing my clients happy and my work paying off is a better award, any day.
6. What according to you has changed/modified in law both in statutes and in the society?
With the current legal ecosystem, I see a sense of change – more acceptance, more gender neutrality, shift to understanding mental health at work and becoming more sustainable (though on that front, there is a lot of work to do still). That of course is getting reflected in the statutes, as well as draft bills and discussion papers available in the public domain. More stakeholder participation is also helping in drafting and enforcing workable legal frameworks.
7. What advice would you like to give students of law in a post-COVID era where students are anxious about choosing career paths?
In this day and age where we are faced with growing costs of living, anxiety and in general mental health is going south since students are concerned on how to become financially independent and the information on job cuts, salary cuts, etc. further adds up to this anxiety. In this scenario, first would be to never give up. If you do not hear on the job applications, write research papers, hone up your skills by reading judgments, improve your existing resume and try again. If something is not helping, speak to your professors and take guidance. Do not go into the rut of self-loathing and thinking that you are not worthy of, do not degrade yourself by negative thoughts. Turn the negative to positive through action and researching on the next available options – but keep that network intact whether it would be your seniors, professors, ex colleagues, etc. Let them know you are seeking an opportunity and always keep your updated resume with a well-drafted cover letter handy.
8. Any advice you would like to give to the readers of SCC blog? Apart from this is there anything else that you would like to share with the readers of SCC Online?
I would encourage the readers to never compare your ambitions and your current position with others. If you feel unhappy and dissatisfied, please take professional counselling, and speak to people in your profession rather than seeking guidance from people who are not in the same field as you are in. Read more and overthink less. In fact, budding lawyers and freshers now have the opportunity to watch real time Supreme Court proceedings through video conferencing, which is a big learning in itself.
