I gave this talk at the NMIMS Law School, Navi Mumbai on 16 August 2022. Core skills of reading, writing, thinking and speaking are explored with recommended books. The intended audience is 1st year law students.

1. HASIT B. SETH
NMIMS School of Law, Navi Mumbai
16 August 2022
(c) Hasit Seth, 2022

2. ♔Name: HASIT B. SETH
♔I am work as a counsel in Bombay High Court and arbitrations.
♔My practice focuses on commercial dispute resolution covering IP,
construction, contracts in litigation and arbitrations
♔I am licensed to practice law in NewYork and India
(c) Hasit Seth, 2022

3. ♔What lawyers Do?
♔ Inputs
♔Outputs
♔Forms of Advocacy
♔Writing
♔ Miscellaneous
(c) Hasit Seth, 2022

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5. ♔ Litigation
♕ Civil
♕ Criminal
♕ Regulatory
♔ Property Law Conveyancing
♔ Corporate Law – M&As
♔ Labour Law
♔Wills & Estate Law
♔ Banking & Finance Law
♔ Capital Markets Law
(c) Hasit Seth, 2022

6. ♔Represent Litigants in courts or tribunals
♕Oral arguments
♕Drafting pleadings
♕ Notices / Correspondence
♔ Drafting documents: contracts, deeds, conveyances, etc.
♔ Give legal advice (can I legally do this?)
♔ Give written opinions
♔ Teach Law or related subjects
♔ Research and Write – Law, Public Policy, etc.
♔Lobby (not much in India)
♔Negotiate Deals (scope varies across the world)
(c) Hasit Seth, 2022

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READ THINK
WRITE
SPEAK

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READ THINK

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READ
• How many books have you read before
law school?
• How many will you read?
• Only books count; rest is chaff.
• What’s your reading speed?
• Can you sit >= 6 hours / day and read?
• Do you have a reading plan covering:
– academic and beyond?

11. ♔ Material to read in law is vast
♔ More than medical (MBBS) course
♔ Constantly changing material
♔ It gets worse when you practice
♔ Core material can be read ONLY in law school
♔You simply will not have time later to read in depth
(c) Hasit Seth, 2022

12. ♔The problem is this:
♕You can get away with a LL.B. easily without reading much.
♕The bar exam is super-easy too.
♕ But then you are unemployable and will be cursing others who are ahead.
(c) Hasit Seth, 2022

13. ♔ Academic
♕ Read ‘LearningThe Law’ by Glanville Williams
♕ OnlyVepa Sarathi & C.K.Takwani’s books are good;
rest – no comments.
♕Try to read an English law book on core topics.They
are easier to read.
♞ Anson on Contract
♞Winfield onTorts
♞ Megarry on Real Property
♔ Fiction / Non-fiction
♔ Legal Biographies
♕ M.C.Setalvad, M.C.Chagla, H.R.Khanna
♔The Economist Magazine
(c) Hasit Seth, 2022

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• Set a Goal
• Read 100 pages per day
• Write 200 words per day

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• Critical thinking is an acquired skill.
• Under the art of “Rhetoric”
• Understand Persuasion, Logic and
structure of Arguments
• Formulate arguments and test them by
debating them
• Learn methods of inference, deduction
and induction
THINK

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WRITE
SPEAK

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• Debates
• Moot Courts
• Elocution
• Public Speaking
• Model United Nations
SPEAK

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WRITE
• Literacy Is NotWriting
• CommunicationAbility
• Writing ‘Plain English’ Is Hard
• Write Everyday;Write a Lot
• The Economist has the best writing.
• Fix your grammar. It’s embarrassing if
you are wrong on grammar.
• It’s a Skill.

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Thomas Rowlandson artist, British (1757–1827), Met museum

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trial_by_combat

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WRITTEN
ORAL

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WRITTEN
ORAL

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28. ♔ Cannot emphasis enough this is the MAGIC KEY
♔Write and publish 10 high quality before you graduate in top law
reviews
♔ 5 out of those 10 articles be in the broad area of preferred practice
(c) Hasit Seth, 2022

29. ♔ Governance
♕Write letters of feedback and appreciations.
♕ File RTI Applications
♕Visit Courts
♕ Search For Original Notifications
♔ Attend Public Lectures
♔Visit Museums
♔ Learn Hindi or Local Language Legal Writing
♔ Learn how Post, Banks, Railways, Flights, Hotels, etc work.
♔ Always search for people more intelligent than you to learn from.
(c) Hasit Seth, 2022

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