Harish Adwant, IV BSL LLB, ILS Law College, Pune.
Worked at:
OJAS Legal – Corporate and Litigation Advisory, Pune.
Duration of Internship:
January 18, 2016 – February 17, 2016.
Office Details:
C-6, Malti Housing Society,
Opp. New MSEDCL Building,
Near Hotel Sahara, Senapati Bapat Road,
Pune – 411016
Phone: 020-68886008.
Work Hours:
6 days working, with Sundays off. The office timings are from 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM. However, the college timings for ILS Law College are from 7:10 AM to 11:10 AM. Therefore this rule has been relaxed for ILS students and they are allowed to reach office around 12:30 PM.
Ideally, the exit timing is around 07:00 P.M. However one may have to stay back in office, depending on the urgency of work completion or project assignments with the Partners.
(I once stayed back in the office till 12:15 A.M. while working with one of the Partners)
Application Procedure:
An application is to be sent to ranjeet@ojaslegal.com or admin@ojaslegal.com along with an updated Curriculum Vitae.
Office and Work Description:
The office is easily accessible as it is placed on a prime spot on Senapati Bapat Road. It is a small boutique office set up in a duplex bungalow with the partners’ chambers, associates and interns’ area, waiting area and a pantry. The office also has a cupboard which contains all the essential bare acts, commentaries and reference books.
The office is managed by Mr. Arpit Ratan and Mr. Ranjeetsinh Pawar, Partners of OJAS Legal. OJAS Legal is a full service law firm. It broadly handles civil, criminal and corporate legal matters. One of the noteworthy features of OJAS Legal is that it represents those parties in Court who approach the Legal Aid Centre of ILS Law College.
The nature and profile of work allotted to me was multi-faceted. It involved extensive work on drafting, research, due diligence, legal opinions, comparative study, etc. During the course of my internship, I was given an opportunity to work on the following projects:
- Drafted a Consultancy Services Agreement for the appointment of Technical Consultants in an education software company.
- Researched on the applicability and the rate of Local Body Tax in the districts of Maharashtra.
- Drafted a legal opinion for facilitating a Tripartite Development Agreement.
- Engaged in extensive case law and statutory research on issues involving Maharashtra Housing (Regulation and Development) Act, 2012, Maharashtra Ownership of Flats Act, 1963, Consumer Protection Act, 1986, Bombay Stamp Act, 1958, Income Tax Act, 1961, Indian Evidence Act, 1872 and the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908.
- Made a comparative study on the application and procedure for E-stamping across India.
- Assisted in drafting a due diligence report for the transfer of land property on perusal of land records such as Sale Deeds, Agreements to Sale, Power of Attorneys (General and Special), Mutation Entries and the corresponding 7/12 Extracts.
I would like to make a special mention of my contribution in drafting the Due Diligence Report. My work on this Due Diligence, which panned over two weeks till completion, was immensely helpful for me in understanding the practical aspects of documentation and maintenance of land records with the Sub-Registrar. I also learnt the manner in which one is required to methodically peruse such documents. In conclusion, it was a wholesome experience in corporate and commercial laws.
Work Environment:
The work environment is fairly disciplined at OJAS. The partners and the associates make sure that the interns are constantly kept busy. Assignment deadlines are religiously followed at this place.
At the same time, the office atmosphere is open to healthy discussions and queries by interns which ensure free flow of ideas. Lunch breaks are really informal where associates and interns share lunch and chill together followed by occasional coffee breaks.
Any other insights:
The best feature of this internship was that the partners and associates are more than willing to delegate responsibility upon the interns. There were also instances where I learnt the art of communicating with a client. As far as I am concerned, the internship imparted a more corporate approach towards law. Your experience at this firm largely depends on the quality of work in performing the assigned job. The work is often recognized and appreciated by the partners.
The only let down was the fact that I was not a part of any court visits. Barring that, this internship is going to be invaluable to me in the long run.
Accommodation and Chilling spots:
I have a house in Pune, so accommodation was not a problem. However, there are several PGs and flats-on-rent near Law College Road, Prabhat Road and Bhandarkar Road.
The interns were found spending lunch and/or coffee breaks at joints such as Simply Delicious, Rich-o-Cream, Symbiosis Chowpatty, etc.
Stipend:
Rs. 2500 (Rs. 500/week).
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