Meet the first ever NUJS and NALSAR graduates to be designated as Senior Advocates

Avinash Desai and B Mayur Reddy, two of 36 lawyers to be designated as Senior Advocates by the Telangana High Court this week, became the first alumni of West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences (WBNUJS), Kolkata and National Academy of Legal Studies and Research (NALSAR), Hyderabad respectively, to be conferred the gown..At 39, Desai is also the youngest Senior Advocate to have ever been designated in the High Courts of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh..Desai graduated from NUJS in 2005 and began practicing before the Andhra Pradesh High Court.He then spent a year clerking for Justice Tarun Chatterjee in the Supreme Court. Following this, he read law at the University of Bologna, Faculty of Economics in cooperation with University of Hamburg, Faculty of Law and the University of Vienna, where he received a European Master in Law and Economics (Erasmus Mundus).Shortly thereafter, he received an LL.M. from University of California, Berkley..He resumed practice in the High Court in 2008 and started his independent practice in the year 2015.His firm Desai Law Offices, which he runs along with his wife and NUJS classmate Devika Banerjee Desai, has offices in Hyderabad and Vijayawada. The firm deals with matters pertaining to election law, constitutional law, corporate law, taxation laws, revenue law, real estate, contracts/commercial litigation including commercial arbitrations pertaining to major infrastructure and energy projects..Reddy graduated from NALSAR in 2005, following which he secured an LL.M. from the University of Michigan Law School.In 2003, he clerked for Supreme Court judge Justice RC Lahoti during which time he prepared opinions for cases on commercial law, property law, taxation and constitutional law.In the summer of 2003, he acted as a research assistant to Professor Upendra Baxi at the University of Warwick.Reddy also held the position of Central Government Standing Counsel in the Andhra Pradesh High Court from 2010-2015. He continues to act as Standing Counsel for the Telangana Road Transport Corporation..Speaking to Bar & Bench about his designation, Desai shared his desire to gather further knowledge and deeper learning of the law in his new role.“I was lucky to start my journey as a law student under the guidance of Prof Dr NR Madhava Menon, who taught me to think big. I try to lead my life by following the mantra taught by Prof D Banerjea, i.e. “integrity, industry and intelligence (in that order!)”. My senior, Senior Advocate S Niranjan Reddy has inspired me and moulded me into the lawyer that I am today, driving me to reach this milestone. The common attributes in all my mentors is the thirst for constant learning, maintaining high integrity and hard work. This new chapter of my professional life will also be guided by these attributes, with renewed energy,” he said..In similar vein, Reddy said that a senior counsel was one who was not only well-prepared, but was also completely honest with the court and courteous to his opponents and the Bar."He must also give special attention to his own juniors so that they not only learn the law but also are in a position to get matters on their own," he added.