Internship Experience with Zal Andhyarujina at Bombay High Court
This article was my first publication on Lawctopus. It descirbes my summer internship experience with one of Bombay High Court's rising litigators Zal Andhyarujina who comes from an illustrious family of lawyers.
Manushi Satyajeet Desai- 2nd Year, Campus Law Centre, DU
Name of the organization. City
Zal Andhyarujina, Bombay High Court
Zal is a practising Barrister from Oxford which he attended on a Rhodes Scholarship.
He is the son of Mr. Tehmtan R, Andhyarujina who is former Solicitor General of India and an eminent Senior Counsel at Supreme Court of India.
Duration of the internship
4 weeks
How big was the office? Team strength?
Huge by Bombay Standards: clerk’s cabin, pantry with required essentials, a large room for the juniors, generally three – four of them, a cabin for Zal and Tehmtan Sir’s cabin – also used as a conference room.
Application procedure. Internship contact details
You can call and enquire regarding a possible vacancy.
Duration in weeks. No. of days/week. Timings
4 weeks, 5 days a week,
Accommodation: how, where, how was it?
I stayed with relatives in South Bombay –ten minutes away from Fort.
First impression. First day, formalities etc.
Zal is very pleasant and humble despite being considered one of the finest lawyers in Bombay.
The vast heritage of the chambers itself- Zal’s father, former Advocate General T.R.Andhyarujina and Siloo Mam, his wife who studied at Harvard practiced from there- can be overpowering. Zal’s cabin has his daughters’ paintings and other pictures.
You can imagine how relaxed the experience was -Zal told me off twice- Once for calling him Sir (he says , “I have not been Knighted yet”) and once for coming before time)
Main tasks
Preparing notes for briefing and researching, attending arbitrations and hearings and keeping track of the Board. Zal assigns research and drafting to juniors and the interns can be assigned work depending on their skills and level of study.
Zal encourages you to attend conferences and meetings so unlike most internships, one gets a first hand experience of negotiations, client counseling and much more.
Work environment, people
Excellent! There were three juniors who taught me a lot and were extremely friendly too- one of them even figured out bus timetables for me since I was new to the city.
The juniors ensured I had a good experience. I used to hang around with them during lunch and share their laptops if they had any notes to prepare. In courts, they ensured I understood the proceedings and kept me in the loop constantly- even added me on their Chamber’s chat group.
We talked about food most of the time and although they teased me a lot for my Gujju pronunciations – I had a wonderful time. On my last day Zal treated us to Pizzas!
Best things?
I got to attend Arbitrations, Client Conferences and Hearings.
Bad things?
I went during June so the weather was bad, it rained heavily in Mumbai and commute took a lot of time but the associates even gave me a lift in case the work went on till late.
What did you do to chill? Co-interns, colleagues
There is a bakery nearby and Fort, where Bombay High Court is located has a lot of good roadside stalls.The mava cake which we get near the office is to die for.
Stipend/ month
No stipend
Anything else you’d like to tell
I always pestered Zal enroute different courts and tribunals to share his experience as a beginner.
He was very forthcoming about his education in Oxford and the vast difference it made owing to the extreme hard work Oxford demands. Zal also emphasizes the importance of sports and participation in extracurriculars.
Biggest lessons
Don’t lose your cool, take notes and respect the judge always. [Even the Member at COMPAT called Zal by his name (I guess because his surname is too long)]
