
LEGALITY
VIABILITY
BEST SHOT at success !!
In Conversation with
MR. RAGHAV MEHNDIRATTA
on
" LSE & Annenberg-Oxford Policy Institute ALUMNI"

About Mr. Raghav Mehndiratta:
Mr. Raghav, an Indian qualified lawyer, has specialized in areas of Technology Law, Human Rights, and Criminal law. He holds LLM in Information Technology Media and Communication Law from the London School of Economics and Political Science. There are many more golden feathers to his cap which enhance the glam and glory of his profile. He's a member of the teaching committee there in London. Sir has also volunteered as a judge for many of the prestigious moot court competitions and some of them are William C. Vis International commercial arbitration moot, Prize media moot court competition. He's a real inspiration to many of the law aspirants because he has set such a great exemplary holding vast experience and uncountable achievements.
He has a keen interest in teaching and mentoring young minds and is an advisory board member to various organizations.
Interview
- Aastha Vyas
Ques: What will be the right approach to be a part of an institution as a student and as a research intern?
Sir replied as the way he chose the internships was of two months period in summer. He said one should have an idea at first in mind about how you are going to handle your internships. His plans comprising one internship of a long-term plan and another to explore a new area of law and an office which he hasn't worked before. This way sir ended up working with two sitting judges of the Supreme Court.
The internship he has done and research organizations he was a part of was an intern at International Arbitrator Institution and worked across different courts starting from trial courts in Delhi. Sir has also worked in a couple of research organizations too. The next question was how to balance cooperate life and litigation as it is really a herculean task or how to maintain professional life as a legal student and legal profession along with personal life?
In his view, if at campus it might be easy for a law student to trigger balance because all have scheduled time. Like-minded pupil around, easy to handle things.
In law school, sir used to keep himself very busy. Now being a working professional, he's trying very hard to strike that balance that is mentioned above. According to sir, he guesses he's disproportionately favored at work and doesn't know whether it's healthy but far away from hitting that balance.
Ques: Usually we used to come across the question while we attend interviews for internships and at the time of creating SOP's, that's" what was the driving force that encouraged you ta take law for college? "
Sir replied that he had a skill set that made him a decent candidate to go to law school. He was flexible for public speaking and had an aptitude for legal analysis and getting down to the ways of matters and seeing what it is. The reason why he chooses the law in addition to this because he always had an urge to do something in which he can use his skill sets to bring about an impact. At one point sir has thought in his mind about pursuing journalism but felt the law was a better option to raise voice in society to bring the positive change which all of us wished to see in society.
Ques: What are his views on data privacy and artificial intelligence, especially when these two aspects are in controversies nowadays?
This is an area of law talking about data privacy than in a state of flux in India. As we know Supreme Court has recognized the right to data privacy in Puttu Swami's judgment. We earlier had a bill in 2018 regarding data privacy data protection legislation which is going through the stages of policymaking at the moment.
Sir said in his view right to privacy should transform from an abstract right to a concrete right capable of being forced in an easy way. Privacy is not something for elites it should not be a concept enjoyed by few. The privacy should be enjoyed by every person in the country.
Ques: What are your opinions regarding the way how one should handle moot as he has judged many prestigious moot court competitions, what do judges expect from candidates and what's the right way for the mooter to approach the bench? Though we have the standard format in India it won't be the same for another judge from another country.
This was an answer which provided much insight he said every judge no matter national or international, Judges are always looking for very good knowledge of the law and to answer the question in the way the exact question was asked addressing well. It gives a good impression that they get a feeling that you are answering a question that they were looking for and not avoiding the question.
International moot preparations depend upon where it's happening and a lot of other factors.
Sir said they have participated in the west-east moot competition. They didn't have a coach at the time but were told by the people whom they interacted with to have a different strategy while going to the west-east and west- Vienna. Interacting with Indian judges in a very fluent and professional language specifically the medium of language English is preferable. However if one talks to people from other jurisdictions, it's advisable to reduce the pace of talking. Do not make assumptions at different countries' legal systems. If at an international moot we may have judges from commons and civil law backgrounds. Once we advance to the international level of moot our preparations should be long-drawn preparations.
Ques: What was your experience at working with NHRC India. What advice he would like to give to people who want to be part of such an organization?
Sir said- It was a simple application process and it was many months of waiting. Why he chose this because he was keen and aware of the theoretical body of knowledge behind running such an organization but needed to get some practical knowledge by interacting with them.
His advice was, apply well and advanced once you are sending the application. Be persistent and make sure you follow up. Depending upon corporate or government body, perseverance in applying time and day is crucial. All these make application and presence hit the attention or not. Invest time in furnishing cover letters, tailor your CV you are applying into, and show the employer this is an application tailored especially for the organization and not a digital application sending in common.
Ques: All Law firms are different in how they work and in their conduct. What is expected from an intern at any organization?
Any intern is expected to have a mindset to learn, willingness to work hard, and the willingness to deliver the result the way they want them to. "
His personal approach was always to interact and learn. Ask the right questions and prove yourself a sincere law student. Ask the right questions, be committed. Give seriousness it deserves. No one should deliver substandard quality work thinking nobody going to double-check. If one could take more responsibility by being accurate, precise and if one can match the quality of the first-year associate, then the person won.
Ques: What are your opinions on BCI's abolishing one year of foreign LLM program and How it could embark a lot of applicants who want to go abroad?
Is BCI overstepping on its mandate was one among the criticism? It's a privilege if you're having a scholarship and hoping to go out for litigation. But the impact of the decision, will it affect immediate plans or not all these can't be discussed in micro perspective. Choosing such a degree whether to have a law job immediately or to gain life experience, regarding job back in India or in litigation all these things are there connected to the recent talks on this controversial subject.
He continued saying he would like to answer this question with pleasure but currently would like to take this question as slightly different hence concluding.