Misconceptions about the legal profession may drive people in making errors in judgement, which can affect their lives drastically. It has been observed that people have developed a hostile attitude towards the lawyers and they choose not to even speak with one when in times of crisis. There are various misunderstandings that general public have regarding the lawyers and the legal practice, that needs to be galvanized. Common misconceptions like – ‘lawyers dragging out cases’, ‘they can make a specific outcome occur’ and ‘lawyers are strictly motivated by money’ are few of the cumbersome views people keep in their minds. They need to realise that things don’t always go as they want nor does it move quickly in terms of sessions and legal proceedings. The cases cannot be concluded without the final adjudication. A fact should be established that the process takes time. In some cases external factors may cause delays and client should accept that, it is the way the legal system in India operates. Also, no lawyer can ever guarantee a judge’s verdict during the proceedings. There are many factors that influences a specific outcome that occurs. It can be deduced that few of the proceedings might be more predictive than others, but a stigma to contemplate that attorneys can enforce an outcome is just simply inaccurate.
Still, some legal advisors who practice law with keeping in mind the best interests for their clients have been changing and shaping the public’s minds in a positive way. People are finding lawyers more approachable due to their personality and ever growing goodwill.
“I realize that I am being trusted to represent them and I understand what they feel, what they believe. I take that very seriously and put all of my efforts in winning their case.”
The above statement justifies the zeal of a person who is extraordinary at what he does and exceptional lawyer instilling trust and a sense of relief amongst his clients across the nation. A multi-talented and skilled man of knowledge, not just limiting to law but also an expert in finance and business is Advocate Sudhindra Bhat.
An Ambit of Versatility
With 2.5 decade of rich experience in corporate, education industry and law profession – Sudhindra is a practising lawyer and corporate consultant. He also has extensive experience in dispute-resolution as well as non-dispute resolution verticals across diverse facets. His qualifications in LLB, LLM, MBA, CFA, MFM, PGIRPM, PGSM and M.Phil. enables him in handling high-stake issues including High Court and Arbitration matters along with Criminal, Civil, PR, Personal Injury, Property Corporate Law and General Legal Consultancy etc. Not limiting to this, his forte includes specializing in Family/Divorce matters, services with a personal touch, statute drafting, contract drafting and negotiation with an aim to deliver rapid results via broad and deep analysis. Sudhindra is strongly focused on solutions that keeps the stakeholder profitable in the face of difficult and complex cases. As a due diligence specialist, he brings bottom-line expertise as well as refreshing and energetic approach to corporate law and maintains relationships in manufacturing concerns of Asia, Africa and European private equity companies along with universities and venture capital firms. “Since law school, I have believed that it is my responsibility and obligation to be a strong advocate for my clients; to protect and assert their interests,” says Sudhindra.
The belief of people in Sudhindra has resulted in him being an aggressive and forceful litigator. “I do whatever is required with integrity; to achieve my client’s goals,” he adds. He believes in loyalty a lot and likes being around people who are loyal. “If you’re not loyal, you’re not somebody I want anywhere around me,” tells Sudhindra emphasising the importance of loyalty in his life. He is a corporate award winner and author of five books.
Confronting the Legal Enigma
The legal profession has always been competitive. Yet, these days with rapid changes in the way law is practised, its resulted to be a major game changer. Such changes can be exciting, but the dynamics of it had led to a host of challenges. Major challenges like globalization and competition along with low-cost legal service providers, new developing law firms, technology and the internet has been disrupting the industry for a long time. Lawyers of today, need to overcome these issues in-order to stay competitive and relevant in the profession.
“In 30 years of practice I have seen the way in which law is practised has changed radically and rapidly,” confirms Sudhindra. He hopes that it keeps on changing. The admiration he has for his profession extends to the efforts he put in making a difference in someone’s life. “I help people live debt-free,” he adds. There are clients who come up to him and express their gratitude by telling him that they can sleep better at night and don’t have to fight with their spouse any more for cases or money. This makes Sudhindra feel very contempt.
The Legal Prism of India
Lawyers are in a unique position to help individuals, groups and organizations with their legal problems. Another good thing about being a lawyer, according to Sudhindra is the Pro-Bono-Work that lawyers do to help the low income group individuals and underserved portions of the population. For example – elderly, children and victims of domestic abuse etc. The legal system provides them with the opportunity to do humanitarian work in lieu with their skill-set and knowledge without going out of the context for giving back to the society.
Still, nowadays the legal sector in India has seen some drastic transformations over the few years. Apparently, there has been a paradigm shift in how the legal industry’s working process from earlier days has seen the designated changes.
“Earlier, it was all about legacies of a family pursuing this profession with toiling long hours, sweating it out and more,” tells Sudhindra. Receiving some actual legal advice was considered to be a tiresome task once, is now only a few clicks away. Technology has been a boon for the law professionals in this digital era. “Lawyers no longer have to hunt for their clients,” he opines. They can simply float their portfolios online across various legal networking websites for clients to find them. The legal process has seen fast-track progression since the dawn of the digital era. Due to the changing economic times, the consulting efforts of legal professionals has helped pave the way for attaining and retaining the clients. Ultimately, this whole phenomenon has resulted in making the sector more effective, efficient, accessible and reliable.
Some Counselling for the Young Blood
Legal education must be given its status of a professional course of study and like any other professional course, its standards must be regulated timely. The content of legal education must be given its due importance, while standardization of it must be carried out. There should be a set of norms that every law schools should follow while maintaining the quality levels of the legal education.
Sudhindra shares some insights for the legal aspirants – “Certification is far less important than success, and certification doesn’t guarantee success. Never depend on the certificate.” Young aspirants need to prepare themselves as they have a real hard time in the beginning of their legal career. “You may get stuck in the legal education bottleneck because the college is not going to teach essential skills that you need as a lawyer,” he directs. The students have to concentrate on their general intelligence and knowledge of law. “Careers do not always move in a straight line. You need to upgrade your skills and knowledge mid career,” informs Sudhindra.
A Vocational Path towards Entrepreneurship
SS Law Firm provides a palette of legal and professional services with a personal touch to its clients. The thing making SS Law different from other legal firms is it’s technical excellence combined with commercial insight. The ability to take most complex questions and coming up with clear solutions for it, is a forte of the firm. “SS Law is on a mission to create and add more value for its clients,” says SS Law’s team. With a pool of highly qualified and trained professionals, the SS Law team is committed in delivering world-class legal services. Along with the aim to provide highest quality support in an effective and efficient manner as possible.
“We put a world-class client experience right at the heart of what we do and the world’s leading businesses can come to us with their most complex challenges,” concludes SS Law Firm’s team.
Sudhindra Bhat: Breaking the Shackles of Legal Misbeliefs
