“If you are resolutely determined to make a lawyer of yourself, the thing is more than half done already.”
Attorney’s Desk owns its existence and success to this quote by Abraham Lincoln.
It all began in 2015 with Adv. Radhika Ingole Thakker giving shape to her dreams of being associated with the legal profession with inspiration going as far back as her maternal grandfather who was an Attorney. For company and inspiration, there was also an uncle who was a Judge. An unmistakable sense of propriety and power that they portrayed drove her to take up law as her career and profession. Putting her mind to her chosen profession, she first cleared her LLB in the year 2012 from the Government Law College and started working at a reputed law firm
Looking back, she surmises that the experiences during her internship gave her more than she ever expected. Besides everything, it proved the perfect and solid steppingstone to where she is today by providing her valuable and varied work-related experiences. Towards the end, it also kindled in her the fire to go solo professionally.
Solo she went with Attorney’s Desk. Thus far, things remained within a tight structure with work being assigned to her by her employers which brought her certain monies at the end of the month. Going solo meant she was entering alien territory.
But for those with passion and perseverance, it’s said that things do happen to them, though after a while. Initially taking up cases pro-bono from where-ever they came, she built a body of work, her portfolio while also giving back to society- a feeling close to her heart which she says, gives her immense sense of satisfaction and fulfillment to this day.
Help during those initial days came from unexpected quarters! Her husband put the infrastructure in place with other members of her family pitching in to keep her away from household chores while she went about raising the sails of her mint-fresh boat to take on the high winds and huge waves.
Pro-bono cases good though they are at giving a semblance of mental satisfaction, do precious little to shore up one’s finances, a resource of immense importance especially to a growing concern. Hunger for growth found Attorney’s Desk once again in the prospecting mode.
It’s then that they raised their sights and focused on something quite different. With NBFCs, Banks and Financial bodies being formed in ever growing numbers, there’s always a need for competent law firms on their boards as advisors. Empanelment though necessary, is anything but easy to come by.
Walking down to the office of every NBFC, Bank and Financial body close by, all they got initially were outright rejections. Perseverance and patience finally paid back when they got their first client, and then another, and another, and so on.
Today Attorney’s Desk finds its name prominently displayed on the empaneled list of six NBFCs besides two banks being in advanced stages of negotiations. They also figure on the board of half-a-dozen start-ups and 25+ individual clients. Not bad for an endeavor that just a few years back was running from pillar to post looking for work.
Why Attorney’s Desk?
On their stupendous success, Adv. Radhika says, “it all boils down to understanding client needs in the minutest and most fundamental of details and providing solutions that are effective in every sense including of course, legal or financial.”
According to her, competition in the field being what it is, clients these days get more than they demand, and all that at reasonable costs. In the bargain, clients irrespective of their worth and merit, demand a degree of respect.
Keeping all these in mind, they envision a fundamental duty towards their own selves to convert every opportunity arriving at their doorstep. In doing so, they remain obliged to provide the best solutions to their clients which also brings recognition and accolades that they richly deserve.
Success to a great extent she goes on to say, is about accepting and using the latest in technology. While being appreciative of the initiatives and the scale of work involved in digitization, the new holy-grail that has everyone hooked, she says a lot may need to be done given that the road ahead is long and the work of transformation still in its experimentation stage.
Adapting to Changes
On digitization and all that it promises, she adds that with India’s skewed demographics, not every beneficiary would be technologically equipped to derive the assured benefits in the foreseeable future. Two scenarios she says, are likely to emerge. One, a complete shift online which eliminates limitations that form the bane of our legal system or two, a compromise between the best of online and offline judicial working with a view to dispense justice that is fast, efficient, and cost-effective.
Her words to budding legal eagles are “focus on observing and absorbing as much you can. Develop a thirst for knowledge and a hunger to learn. There are no shortcuts to success. Hard work, determination, and regular practice is the key in any profession, which gets exemplified in the case of a career in law.”
If their past and present sounds exciting, be informed that their future too is. In times to come they shall have offices in other parts of Maharashtra as also India. While doing so, they shall also take up interesting cases sure to bring them accolades and recognition which while strengthening their resolve shall also build their stamina for the long, long haul.
