Astha Sharma: A Journey of a First-Generation Lawyer to Making it as a Partner in AQUILAW

Astha Sharma
Astha Sharma

Life is meeting everything and everyone for the first time in each new moment that passes you by, seeing the world with renewed perspective each time, and learning from each experience that adds to your repertoire of knowledge. Nonetheless, there are as many humanly possible ways of comprehending, thinking, mindset, perspectives, and outlooks.

Add to that personal, professional, socio-cultural, political, economic, and a plethora of other desires, dreams, demands, needs, and ambitions to diversify the individuals’ approaches, and conflicting situations are bound to arise in everyday life where we frequently cross each other’s path.

Sometimes, whether willingly or unwillingly, these personal and professional conflicts cannot be resolved outside of a court of law. While entering the courts, we––as an individual, professional, business, corporate, or public or private entity––might find ourselves scared to our wits if not guided by trustworthy and faithful legal guidance in the form of professionals such as Astha Sharma, Advocate on Record (AOR) and Standing Counsel for the State of West Bengal, Supreme Court of India – Partner, AQUILAW.

Restoring Your Beliefs

Astha has over a decade of experience before the Supreme Court of India, various High Courts, and Statutory Tribunals across Delhi, focusing on Civil, Criminal, Constitutional, Commercial, and Corporate Disputes. Being an Advocate on Record, at the Supreme Court of India, the practice and procedure of litigation in the Supreme Court is her forte. Prior to AQUILAW, she has been practicing independently since 2017, after being associated with PLR Chambers & Co., an Advocate on Record Firm for over a year. Before that, she was primarily associated with Mr. Sunil Fernandes, AOR, and assisting him in matters pertaining to the then State of Jammu and Kashmir. She completed her LL.M in Criminal Law, Criminology & Forensic Science from National Law University, Jodhpur (DE), in 2013 and her B.A.LL. B from Army Institute of Law, Mohali in 2010.

As the Standing Counsel for the State of West Bengal currently, Astha is the representative of the State in the Supreme Court of India, and responsible for representing the interest of the Govt. in cases ranging from Civil, Criminal and Constitutional issues.

Elaborating about her law firm, she says that AQUILAW, a Kolkata based Law Firm, with offices in Delhi and Mumbai, is a leading law firm working at the intersection of corporate, government, technology, and business. She conveys, “Through diversity among its lawyers, chartered accountants, economist, and a competent support system, the firm caters to end-to-end solutions for our clients.”

AQUILAW specializes in various industry sectors, as well as corresponding practice areas to provide solutions, driven toward the long-term goals of its clients. The Firm’s core practice areas include dispute resolution including domestic and international arbitration and litigation, criminal litigation, real estate, infrastructure projects, corporate and commercial, policy, and GST/Indirect Tax.

A Passionate Journey of Zealous Love

Briefing about her own journey into the legal profession, Astha says that while she was in School, her family and friends would often joke that her gift of gab or her love for arguing, and the manner in which she would analyze and dissect any issue to bring it to its logical conclusion, would make her a good lawyer. What was meant to be a regular comment, soon turned out to be her chosen path, when during a career counselling session, she was introduced to the legal world, and what she had only seen in the movies, up until then, became a more realistic and achievable goal. “So, while I was a science student in School, I knew that law is what I would like to pursue further. Being from the Defense Background, Army Institute seemed like the obvious choice back then, and it has been one of my best decisions so far, both the profession and the institute,” she reflects.  

Further recollecting on challenges faced by her initially, vis-à-vis the challenges now, Astha shares that the biggest challenge while in Law College was learning to live outside the comfort of her home, being responsible and independent, while trying her best to cope with classes, assignments, moot courts, and figuring out internships, which would help augment her career. She reminisces, “Hostel life, where you are literally living in each other’s pockets and have zero personal space, to figuring out course options, thinking what if I make a wrong choice were all a constant worry, and those seem trivial in comparison to life as a Legal Practitioner, today.”

Being a first-generation lawyer, has its own struggles, and finding the right mentor and guide in Mr. Fernandes, right out of College, has been a true blessing, she states, but is quick to add that even then, being a woman in this profession, Astha has to work twice as hard, right from the basics, “Where a clerk is more comfortable in taking instructions from a male colleague and eager to dismiss what you have to say, to handling and coordinating with the Registry staff, and ensuring that your work speaks for itself and that you are not in the profession, only till you find a partner and get married, but serious about making a place for yourself,” . She goes on to add that, “litigation is hard on you both physically and mentally, and every day brings in new challenges, so one has to truly love what one is doing to survive in this profession, to be wanting to get up each morning, with the same zeal and enthusiasm, as the day before.”

An Exceptional Expert with an Edge

Telling more about the various specialized legal offerings, solutions, or services that she provides to her clientele, Astha reveals that as the majority of the work she does, involves matters from the State, she has to constantly advise Govt. officials and various State Departments, about legal options available to them to protect the interest of the State, that clubbed with the fact that in Supreme Court, one gets to deal with cases of all kinds, and is not restricted in the areas one practice in.

“For some, it might mean that you are a master of none, but a jack of all trades, but for me personally, it only means that there is never a dull moment, and you are on edge 24X7 while getting to work on cases dealing with a variety of legal issues, without being restricted to one particular specialization,” she explains.

The work also entails strategizing on politically sensitive cases, anticipating the next moves, and keeping oneself abreast of a lot of ancillary factors. “Being a first-generation lawyer, from a Non-political family, the kind of work she has done in the past 12 years, and what I am exposed to on a daily basis, makes me feel extremely fortunate, and it is always a great feeling, when the clients are happy, which I must confess, is not an easy feat,” she states.

Shedding light on the impact of technological advancements on the Law space, she believes the COVID-19 Pandemic, brought in greater technological advancements in the Legal sphere, which though did exist in the past but were not easily accepted, as most people were hesitant to adapt to the changing times, and were comfortable with how things were.

She says, “Being put in a position, where we had no choice but to accept Zoom Calls and Google Meets, WhatsApp groups for coordination, VC Links every morning, using emails and WhatsApp as acceptable modes of service and interaction with not just the Clients, but other counsels and Registry Staff, and using soft copies of petitions for arguments rather than lugging around the bulky files.”

She goes on, “Now when we look back, it seems that these basic changes, may have changed how the system has always been. It has not only increased efficiency, but most people I know, are better equipped at managing their time while waiting in Court, saving time travelling for meetings, and there is overall access to information at your fingertips, in the smart world. I am equally surprised at the Senior Generation, who at one point in time struggled with sending Text Messages or emails on the Phone, adapting to the changing times with such panache.”

Influencing Future Generations

According to Astha, “All of us, are influencers in our own individual right, I believe. More often than not, we do not realize how something we do in an extremely casual manner, impacts someone else especially the younger generation of lawyers.”

Having someone who has found their foothold in the profession, coming from similar backgrounds, and seeing them do good, is always inspiring. On top of that, having the determination to achieve something, and not shying away from hard work, has made existing in this profession a little easier. She says that she has been indeed privileged to have found seniors willing to guide her, peers, eager to encourage her, and celebrate each and every achievement, no matter how small, and younger colleagues who are ever so curious and eager to take in all that this profession has to offer, and who with their constant queries, make sure that she does not have an occasion to be complacent. “I am also grateful for the opportunities I have had to assist and brief stalwarts in the Legal Profession, where every conference and interaction, is a learning experience,” she expresses.

She further feels that the access she has to the judicial system being a legal practitioner has also paved way for her to take up social causes, which have always been close to her heart like Human Rights and Wildlife Protection. Having the opportunity to take up these issues in the Supreme Court through various Public Interest Litigations, and having brought about a minuscule change through favourable orders is definitely rewarding, and her way of giving back to society, and making use of her qualifications, in the best possible way.

Truthful Insights

In her advice to the aspiring legal enthusiasts willing to step into the legal space today, Astha shares, “Aspiring legal enthusiasts, in my opinion, are not only better equipped than we were while we took our first steps in this field, but are also clearer in their thoughts, as to what are their goals and how best to work towards them.

My honest advice would be to understand that the profession is not all guts and glory and that each and every client you come across, will leave their worries, anxieties, and negativity on your table, and it is on you to ensure that it does not affect you personally. You need to give equal importance to your mental well-being and know when to take a step back, breathe deeply, and reorganize your thoughts, before diving in deep again. Use technology to your advantage, and never hesitate to discuss your doubts or put across a point, because those may very well be the fresh perspective we need.” She would also suggest that to succeed in this sphere, one should strive to lead a Disciplined life, simple things like being on time, and responding to texts/calls in a timely manner, if not immediately, go a long way.

According to her the legal space is reshaping post-pandemic, and the struggles of the last two years, are finally giving way to good work, more interactions in the court corridors and an endeavour to not let the hard times take over. She explains, “Even though the Courts in our Country, were quick to adapt to Virtual Hearings, we still have a lot to achieve in terms of actual physical infrastructure, especially at grass root levels.”

While more and more women are joining the profession, there is a need for the infrastructure and basic amenities to be attuned to that change. It is also a refreshing change to see that the profession is more welcoming of women with status changes through marriage, pregnancy, and/or giving birth, and they are not career-ending events, as they were in the past.

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