Why do you need Sunday off? Supreme Court Justice Aravind Kumar to young lawyers

Supreme Court judge Justice Aravind Kumar on Saturday urged young lawyers to adopt a culture of discipline and long working hours and cautioned against the growing tendency of young lawyer to take weekends off early in their careers.

He said that commitment to the profession is essential for success and cannot be achieved by limiting working hours.

“You should be wedded to your profession and only when you dedicate yourself to what you are doing, the results will be encouraging. And the answer is none else, myself. So I appeal to all the youngsters, taking off once. This is what I have seen in especially Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. Sundays not working, Saturday evening taking off. In Bangalore, we had no holidays,” he said.

He was speaking at the 5th Edition of the ICA International Conference on the topic "Policing Arbitration: Do Anti-Arbitration Injunctions Help or Hurt India’s Global Standing?"

Justice Kumar contrasted this with his own early years at the Bar, where long hours and minimal breaks were the norm.

“In Bangalore, we had no holidays. Only holiday was Sunday going at 4.30. Otherwise, we used to always work… earliest was 11.30, late was 1.30,” he noted.

He stressed that sustained effort and dedication are critical for professional growth and reduced working hours may come at the cost of learning and experience.

Justice Kumar also shared a personal anecdote from his early practice to underline the importance of commitment.

In an arbitration matter he worked on as a young lawyer, he attended proceedings just days after his wedding.

“You got married day before yesterday and you are here,” he recalled being told by the arbitrator.

Explaining his decision, he said,

“I did not want to lose the flow of the reasoning… I wanted to learn.”

He also urged lawyers to remain honest in their work and respectful towards their seniors.

The session was moderated by Senior Advocate Amit Sibal and also featured speakers Alex Gunning KC (One Essex Court, London), Amanda Lees (King & Wood Mallesons, Singapore), Tine Abraham (Partner, Trilegal) and Igor Gorchakov (Partner, Al Tamimi & Co UAE).

In another session, Supreme Court judge Justice PK Mishra addressed the growing role of artificial intelligence (AI) in arbitration, describing it as “not merely an innovation but a necessity.”

He was speaking on the topic "The Future of Arbitration: AI and Legal Technology in a Digital Era".

He noted that AI tools are increasingly being used for document review, legal research and drafting, significantly improving efficiency and reducing costs in arbitral proceedings. At the same time, he cautioned that AI cannot replace human judgment since arbitration often involves balancing fairness, equity and justice.

Justice Mishra also flagged concerns around confidentiality and data security, noting that arbitration involves sensitive commercial information which could be exposed when large datasets are processed through AI systems.

Justice Mishra stressed that while AI can assist in improving efficiency, it must remain a tool under human supervision, guided by principles of transparency, accountability and fairness.

The session was moderated by Ganesh Chandru (Partner, Dua Associates) and featured speakers Dr Marc D Veit (LaLive, Switzerland), Olga Boltenko FCIArb (Boltenko Arbiters, Russia & Hong Kong), Mehak Oberoi (GE Vernova, Hydro APAC) and Mayank Singh Thakur (MASIN India).