Approach
How a matter is handled
A description of method rather than a claim about quality. These are the working rules the practice applies to every file, set out so that anyone considering an engagement knows what to expect from it.
- 01
The brief comes before the advice
A matter starts with reading what already exists: the contract, the notice, the correspondence, the filings, and establishing what the commercial objective actually is. Advice given before that reading is guesswork with citations attached.
- 02
Adjacent areas are treated as one problem
A funding round is simultaneously a corporate matter, an IP matter and a compliance matter. Where those threads sit within the same practice, they are addressed together rather than passed between advisers who each see one part of the picture.
- 03
Options are set out with a recommendation attached
Where more than one course is open, each is described with its cost, its timeline and its risk, and one of them is recommended. A list of possibilities without a view is of limited use to someone who has to decide by Friday.
- 04
Correspondence is answered
As a sole practitioner I handle my own files, which means questions are answered by the person who knows the matter. Where a reply will take time, that is said rather than left to be inferred.
- 05
Plain language, precise drafting
Explanations are given in ordinary words; documents are drafted in the words that will hold up if they are ever read by a judge. Those are different registers, and conflating them serves nobody.
- 06
Scope and fees are agreed in writing
Before work begins, the scope of the engagement, who will do the work, and the basis of the fee are recorded in an engagement letter. Changes to scope are recorded the same way.
- 07
Confidentiality is not negotiable
Communications between an advocate and a client are protected under section 132 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, which carries forward the professional-communication privilege previously found in section 126 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872. That protection is treated as a working constraint, not a formality.
Working arrangements
Practicalities
Where matters are heard. Appearances are before courts and tribunals in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. For matters elsewhere in India that do not require an appearance, advisory and drafting work is carried out remotely.
How work is scoped. An engagement begins with a written engagement letter recording the scope, the person responsible, the fee basis and the treatment of out-of-pocket expenses.
Conflicts. Before an engagement is accepted, the matter is checked against existing and former clients. Where a conflict exists, the engagement is declined.
What is not undertaken. The practice does not accept matters in areas outside those listed, and does not act where doing so would require holding conflicting positions on the same question for two clients.