[blindLaw] arguing matters in court: a roadblock and a possible way forward

Sun Mar 19 09:26:18 UTC 2023

Hi Nandini. Sorry I missed this.

I know have an intern who assists me full-time, somewhat like the US
paralegal. She goes to court with me, converts inaccessible
documents/judgments when I don't have the time, reads out handwritten
documents and helps with difficult websites. It has been a game-changer,
honestly.

Rahul

On Wed, 1 Feb 2023 at 20:55, Singh, Nandini via BlindLaw <
blindlaw at nfbnet.org> wrote:

> Hi Rahul,
> As I am archiving older mail, I saw this item and wanted to see how this
> unfolded. Did you and your firm come up with something that works for
> everyone in your IP litigation practice?
>
> Regards,
> Nikki
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: BlindLaw <blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Rahul Bajaj via
> BlindLaw
> Sent: Sunday, October 16, 2022 11:55 PM
> To: Blind Law Mailing List <BlindLaw at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Rahul Bajaj <rahul.bajaj1038 at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [blindLaw] arguing matters in court: a roadblock and a
> possible way forward
>
> [EXTERNAL]
>
> With legal and non-legal aspects. On the legal side, I would need help in
> getting the person to read out verbatim certain extracts that I would like
> the judge to consider. to be able to pull out, in short order, relevant
> pages that the judge may ask a question about and be able to assist me the
> whole time in answering those questions. In general, I would need help in
> navigating the "complex, getting to the desired courtroom, being taken to
> the lectern, being able to speak with the court master if anything comes up
> and that kind of thing.
>
> Get Outlook for iOS<https://aka.ms/o0ukef>
> ________________________________
> From: BlindLaw <blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org> on behalf of Sanho
> Steele-Louchart via BlindLaw <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Monday, October 17, 2022 9:00:01 AM
> To: Blind Law Mailing List <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Sanho Steele-Louchart <sanho817 at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [blindLaw] arguing matters in court: a roadblock and a
> possible way forward
>
> Rahul,
>
> Could you describe some of the in-court issues you might need help with?
>
> Warmth,
> Sanho
>
> On 10/16/22, Rahul Bajaj via BlindLaw <blindlaw at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> > Hi,
> >
> > Good morning from New Delhi. I work as a practicing attorney at an IP and
> > civil litigation firm in Delhi. In litigation, making regular appearances
> > before judges is vital for gaining the confidence of the bar, the bench
> and
> > the litigant public. I have clerked for a Supreme Court judge before and
> > did some specialized litigation in my law firm job as a fresh law
> graduate.
> > but this is my first actual experience of doing a hardcore litigation
> job -
> > something I have always wanted to try. I am 4 months in. One challenge I
> > have been facing is not having a mechanism to appear in court on my own
> and
> > argue matters before judges. Part of the reason for this not happening is
> > because it takes time to build experience and trust.  but it also has to
> do
> > with accessibility. Sharing below the key features of an exchange with a
> > senior colleague at the firm I had recently apropos this. keen to hear
> any
> > constructive suggestions on the way forward.
> >
> > I said to him:
> > "Going forward, I am wondering what we can do to enable me to go solo to
> a
> > court and do the needful in a given
> > matter. For instance, this coming Monday, I think I would have been more
> > useful to the firm if I were going to a court where no one else is able
> to
> > go
> > due to the volume of matters, as opposed to going to the high court
> > [details of case redacted] where multiple people are anyway going, simply
> > to observe proceedings. Of course, in a given day, if there is no such
> > matter where there is scope
> > to contribute more than merely observing the proceedings, then it makes
> > sense to go just to observe matters. I guess what I am saying is that I
> > would not
> > like my choice of matters to be dictated by the accessibility of a court
> > complex but instead by where the firm might need me most and where I can
> > contribute
> > most. Equally, I understand that it would be easier for me to go for a
> > matter where I can tag along with a colleague or court clerks, as opposed
> > to
> > being on my own. And, of course, accessibility barriers cannot be simply
> > wished away...  That said, going forward, we should develop a system
> where
> > I can take up assignments where the firm can rely on me to be its face
> for
> > a
> > matter. And where this choice is not guided by accessibility, but factors
> > that are otherwise applicable, namely experience and trust. I am not sure
> > how
> > we can do this. I think the best way would be to hire an employee, part
> of
> > whose express mandate would be to assist me, inter alia, in court and
> with
> > accessibility
> > challenges. I am sure we can work out the logistics and commercials in a
> > mutually convenient fashion. What do you think?
> >
> > We had a good conversation about this. they shared that the reason why
> they
> > were hesitant to send me alone for a matter to a court was because there
> > wouldn't be a court staff or colleague to provide help. And that we
> needed
> > to figure out a way to deal with this. and that I shouldn't think that
> this
> > was a reflection on my abilities as a lawyer, but that it was a learning
> > process for them also.
> >
> > I suggested hiring a fresh law graduate as my assistant, with the salary
> > being shared 50-50 between me and the firm. that person can help me
> > with barriers of this nature, most notably court appearances. I will
> await
> > further correspondence.
> >
> > I understand that some litigation practices referenced above may be
> > unfamiliar to you. but the broad contours of the issue should be fairly
> > clear.
> >
> > Warmly,
> > Rahul
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > --
> > Rahul Bajaj
> > Attorney, Ira Law
> > Senior Associate Fellow, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy
> > Rhodes Scholar (India and Linacre 2018), University of Oxford
> > Co-Founder, Mission Accessibility
> > Special Correspondent on the rights of persons with disabilities, Oxford
> > Human Rights Hub
> > Coordinator of the working group on accessibility, e-Committee, Supreme
> > Court of India
> > _______________________________________________
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> >
>
>
> --
> He/Him
>
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-- 
--
Rahul Bajaj
Attorney, Ira Law
Senior Associate Fellow, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy
Rhodes Scholar (India and Linacre 2018), University of Oxford
Co-Founder, Mission Accessibility
Special Correspondent on the rights of persons with disabilities, Oxford
Human Rights Hub
Coordinator of the working group on accessibility, e-Committee, Supreme
Court of India