A Virtual Chat with Anant Sharma

Anant Sharma is Advocate & Managing Partner at K & S Legal L.L.P and Co-Founder & Convenor at My Lawyers Advice. His key areas of practice include General Litigation, Arbitration & ADR, Drafting & Preparation of Agreements & Covenants, General Corporate Advisory, Recovery of Debts & Loans, Due Diligence & Legal Audit and IPR Solutions.

Q. Could you tell us more about My Lawyers Advice, which is a unique web-based full service boutique firm. How does online delivery of legal services work and how does your firm handle the workflow? 

The most unique part of My Lawyers Advice is that not even a single work is outsourced outside the core team and it caters to Individuals, Start-ups, SMEs, MSMEs and big size Corporates across the globe. The online delivery of legal system is very simple and both cost effective and time efficient. Clients can do video consultation and can send their documents online while using different web tools and the lawyers can also deliver the results at a much faster pace. Our firm is well equipped and we have a dedicated IT team to handle the entire issue which includes setting up video calls or conferences with the clients, data security, data privacy, e-filing of documents, sending regular updates by way of e-mails, SMSs and Whatsapp messages. The IT team works in close liaison with the lawyers and clients and bridges all the technological gaps and maintains a 100% secure network. 

Q. You have worked with some renowned law firms in the past and then you started My Lawyers Advice. What was the reason behind this shift? 

Yes, I have worked with the top notch law firms of this country and have handled big ticket clients which include national as well as international clients, but there was neither recognition nor job satisfaction. I always wanted to start something of my own and thus My Lawyers Advice (www.mylawyersadvice.com) came into the picture. It feels good to have something of your own and gives you the best satisfaction when your work is recognized with your name.

Q. What kind of cases do you generally handle? 

Our firm specializes in the following areas:

Q. What are the benefits and challenges of a virtual law office?

The benefits of a virtual law office is/are manifold as it saves a lot of time, it saves a lot of costs of both the lawyers and the clients, it is beyond the territorial limits, it can be made flexible as per the world clock, is easy to maintain and many more.

The biggest challenge of virtual law office is that it is still not welcomed in India and even today people feel the need for having personal meetings. Furthermore, there are certain cases where it was found that the deliverables were poor and the client was dissatisfied with the work quality.

Having said that, the concept is picking up but the final destination seems to be far away.

Q. Do you think Artificial intelligence and machine learning can transform the legal industry? If so then in what ways?

Yes, times have changed and Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning have become the new tool in the hands of mankind which is widely used in other industries and professions, however, the legal profession is still lacking the transformation.  

Technology can be used to fasten the functioning of the courts and revamp the entire justice system. Further, technology can be well used to streamline documents and case files. It can be well used to co-ordinate with clients in a more proficient way. It can also bring positive changes in the legal education system also.

The legal professionals irrespective of their age and experience should endeavour to adapt to the technological revolution and evolve themselves in the 21^st century.

Q. Do you have any message for young lawyers?

Young lawyers should bring more innovation in this legal field and should not run only after money. History has proved that innovative ideas always sell and have better acceptance and outreach over the primitive ones.

Young lawyers should definitely concentrate on evolving the legal profession while using technology as the key source. 

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