COVER STORY
Describe your journey as a leading woman lawyer?
S
hweta Bharti is Senior
Partner at Hammurabi
& Solomon, a leading
full-service law firm in
India, and possesses nearly
16 years of experience
in litigation and dispute
resolution. Shweta has
represented clients in all
facets of corporate litigation
and strategy.
Shweta is Chairperson of
the Environmental Law
Committee of Inter-Pacific
Bar Association (IPBA),
General Secretary of the
Society of Women Lawyers
(SOWL), and a very active
member at various other
international
forums,
including the International
Bar
Association
(IBA),
Organization for Economic
Co-operation
and
Development
(OECD),
Society of Indian law Firms
(SILF) and I-Tech Law.
Shweta holds a LLB and a
MBA and is the recipient
of several awards and
accolades, the most recent
being “Women Leader
in Legal” by the Indian
Women’s
Convention,
2016. Shweta also provides
free legal assistance to the
poor and destitute through
various NGOs and other
organizations.
The journey so far has been very exciting and I look forward to even more interesting
times in future. Post Law College, as a new entrant into the field of litigation, being a
first-generation lawyer, there were challenges galore. However, I found the judges very
encouraging and supportive of young lawyers and that gave an opportunity to a new
entrant like me to articulate my arguments and present the same rather effectively. I also
got the opportunity to work with the best in the industry which expedited my learning
curve which also helped me learn the nuances of law and its effective implementation.
In today’s scenario, being a woman lawyer has undergone a paradigm shift, and we are
more accepted by clients, fellow lawyers and judges. The legal profession is no longer
looked upon as a male bastion and some of our illustrious woman lawyers have not
only broken the glass ceiling but have proved the contrary with their strength, grit and
determination.
Describe the challenges that you have faced as a leading woman
lawyer?
As a woman lawyer, even after the change in scenario, the situation remains extremely
challenging, and the tasks ahead are humungous. The clients are from all segments of
society and while those who have evolved or come from an educated family background
are more accepting of woman lawyers, there still exists a segment of clients for whom this
will take time as there is still a lack of trust and faith. During the discharge of our duties,
we are also required to travel outstation to smaller towns and cities, to the District and
Munsif Courts, where women lawyers are accepted very little and thus, there is a necessity
for more women lawyers to not only join the profession but also practice in these District
and Munsif Courts in order for women to gain more acceptance and admiration.
The other real challenge that I foresee as a woman lawyer is to fix the leaky pipeline. We
lose a major part of the female workforce post marriage, child birth and child rearing.
Working from home is still a considerably alien concept for the legal industry, and
thus women find it extremely difficult to overcome hurdles of family obligations while
continuing to discharge their professional obligations. Speaking for myself, I had my share
of hassles that a working woman has to go through and being a mother of two growing
girls, I had to insulate myself from the day-to-day rigmarole of falling short of familial
expectations. There have been days when my children would be sick, needing me besides
them and I would have an urgent hearing to attend for which the client had engaged me
and was looking to me for delivery. There have been moments of guilt, pain and sacrifice,
which have made me more balanced, more rational and more pragmatic as an individual.
I firmly believe in the 3P’s - patience, perseverance and persistence which pave the way
to success and these cuts across gender.
Which are the cases you would say form the silver lining of your
career?
There have been various milestone cases that not only gave me an opportunity to emerge
as a lawyer but also excel in the field of Law. While growing up in the profession, I have
had my share of burning the midnight oil, as there are really no shortcuts to success and
no substitute for hard work. At the onset of my career, there have been cases where the
Petition would be drafted overnight, presented before the Court in the morning for listing
on the same day at 2.30 PM and filing before lunch, so the matter could be taken up for
hearing at 2.30 PM with orders in hand by 4.30 PM. These cases were not only challenging
but also a great learning experience. We handled various infrastructure disputes having
ramifications on all National Highway projects. We also handled a major joint venture
dispute related to a foreign company trying to set up base in India, which was vehemently
resisted by the local Indian partner, which led to a slew of inter se litigations between
parties. We also successfully handled various international arbitration disputes under the
aegis of ICC, LCIA, SIAC, etc., which exponentially enhanced my learning curve.
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