By the time you can call yourself a good lawyer, 10 years would have passed – E K Nandakumar, Senior Advocate, Kerala High Court

EK Nandakumar is a Senior Advocate at the Kerala High Court, and Senior Partner at Menon & Pai Advocates. In this interview with Bar & Bench, he talks about Menon & Pai Advocates, a firm renowned for producing High Court judges, the proposed liquor ban in the state, and the quality of legal education today..Bar & Bench: Why did you choose to do law?.E K Nandakumar: Actually, I didn’t choose law, I merely drifted into it. I did my post-graduation in economics and was taking a break when the option to do law came up and I joined it. I did a three-year course from 1982-85. Initially, I had no intention of doing law..B&B: What were your early days of practice like?.EK Nandakumar: The early days were hard. In those days, we had to work under a senior who would expect the junior lawyers to put in a lot of work. We had to work long hours, regardless of anything else that was happening. We had to work even during the vacations, so it was real hard work. For most part of the early days, our role was restricted to assisting the senior, and arguing cases came much later. It took us two to three years to finally appear in front of a judge, because that was the prevalent practice during those days..B&B: Tell us about the kind of work at Menon and Pai Advocates..EK Nandakumar: Our clients are mainly corporate clients as we cater to companies. We do all kinds of work, except criminal. We are involved in writ petitions, as we appear for public sector undertakings, including oil companies. So, a lot of constitutional law matters come up. We also have a taxation wing, which takes care of Direct and Indirect matters. We also handle a lot of labour law cases in Kerala as well as in Tamil Nadu, appearing on behalf of plantation clients..B&B: Given how successful the firm is in Kochi, do you plan on expanding to other cities?.EK Nandakumar: Presently, we have a small tie-up in Delhi, but we are shortly going to start a firm at Delhi. We plan to operate it under our name..B&B: Menon & Pai is known as a ‘judge-making factory,’ producing around 15 High Court judges over the year. What do you think is the reason behind this trend?.EK Nandakumar: It’s basically because Associates are brought up in the highest tradition. The volume of work we do is immense, so they are exposed to a variety of matters after working here for a few years. They have a fair idea of almost all branches of law we handle, and this equips them to handle situations a judge would face. In fact, whoever plans to become a judge is encouraged to do so..B&B: Do you have any plans to switch to the Bench?.EK Nandakumar: No, I am not cut out for judgeship. I’ve always been happy doing what I do now. I don’t think I’ll make a good judge..B&B: What is your opinion on the proposed liquor ban in Kerala?.EK Nandakumar: The liquor ban arose out of a clash of egos. It will serve no purpose for the common good. Every sensible person knows that a ban on liquor has never worked anywhere. It was a wrong move on the part of the government. It only succeeded in exposing a few corrupt ministers and politicians. I don’t think it will ever work, it will only give rise to bootlegging and rampant drug abuse which will result in a parallel economy. It makes even less sense since liquor will be freely available in our border states. Our borders, as you know, are very porous. The ban was a complete waste of time. Our politicians could have concentrated on something more productive, like infrastructure development..B&B: There have been some recent complaints about Kerala’s Advocate-General, who was served a notice by the Kerala Bar Association for alleged misconduct..EK Nandakumar: I haven’t really read into the matter, and wouldn’t like to comment on it, given the fact that he is a constitutional functionary..B&B: In the backdrop of the recent Senior Advocate controversy in the Karnataka High Court, do you believe that advocates should be allowed to apply to become Seniors?.EK Nandakumar: I don’t think there is any harm in applying to become a Senior Counsel. It would be nice if the judges decided themselves, but then they rarely do. But then, the application should be looked at strictly on the basis of merit and not on the basis of how connected the applicant is. They should look into the applicant’s clientele and the number of cases he has appeared in. Each person must do his homework before voting for an applicant who is fit to be a Senior Counsel. Here, what you have is that judges come and decide on one day without even knowing who the applicant is. So, as long as background checks are done, there’s nothing wrong in advocates applying for the gown..B&B: What is your opinion on the NJAC?.EK Nandakumar: It will be a welcome relief. I am all for it! My personal view is that the collegium system isn’t fair. If you know someone in the collegium, you’re in, that’s how it works. Hopefully, the NJAC will consider only meritorious people for the Bench. There is a view that the independence of the judiciary will be diluted, and it is a fair argument. Having said that, going back to the earlier days, when the government also had a say in appointment of judges, there were some real stalwarts on the Bench. So it is a system that can work..B&B: What do you think about legal education today?.E K Nandakumar: It has obviously improved over the past two decades. The five-year course has made it better and more formalized. With a lot of law schools coming up, each is trying to compete with the other, and that ensures quality. The standards have been set by the National Law School in Bangalore and others are emulating their success. I have noticed that youngsters have a more sound understanding of the law when they graduate. That is something we did not have when we passed out, because we were never made to work or given assignments. Unlike in those days, the focus was not on research, there were just plain lectures..B&B: What advice would you have for young litigating lawyers?.EK Nandakumar: As is the case with other professions, you have to work hard. You have to be patient and bide your time. By the time you realise that you should stick on, ten years would have passed! You have to constantly improve yourself and this can be done by attending courts continuously, watching others argue, learning the mind of the judge and following the best practices of the profession..Most of the youngsters have a tendency to join corporate firms and companies. Of course, they also go on to have great careers, but nothing matches being a litigating lawyer. It does take time, but it will be worth it in the long run..B&B: But a lot of them have taken education loans..EK Nandakumar: If you want quality education, you will have to pay, everything comes at a price. The fees charged by law schools is nothing compared to the amount charged for paid seats at engineering and medical colleges. The governments have stopped funding universities, and a lot of them have become self-sustaining institutions. Law schools will also have to generate their own income. If you want to impart quality, you need a good and competent faculty. You can ensure that only by paying good salaries. Necessarily, the cost, including infrastructural costs can be recouped only through this.