Prasanth Raju has an impressive academic track record and has dedicated additional time to completing the final challenges of meeting the late miles he set out to achieve. Law is his passion, punctuality is his principle, hard work is his hobby and dedication to every work he chooses to handle until he wins it is his nature. Excellence in work is the seed of fortune, he believes, as he profoundly believes in the providential power. Prasanth, who does not postpone any work for tomorrow if that is workable today, spoke to Ecostar Business and agreed to sit down to answer the questions. Excerpts.
Q: The legal profession is a challenging profession where one needs cutting-edge talent, logical reasoning and analytical skill. Don’t you think many law graduates choose to settle their plan with whatever minor cases or routine work come their way? What is your message to the new generation of lawyers?
ANS: Legal Profession is a paradox stuck between Nobility and Sustainability. Young minds, nourished with constitutional ideals and driven by a desire to bring change, step out of law school only to realise that the game is rigged, unfair and uncharitable. The gatekeepers of the legal profession indirectly control entry into the chambers of Senior Advocates, often offering pay and emoluments that range from meagre to virtually nothing. Faced with these barriers, many young lawyers—driven by desperation rather than choice—end up accepting whatever work or chambers come their way, simply to gain a foothold in the profession.
The message is simple: you can’t pour from an empty cup. The initial years in the legal profession are undeniably tough. From gaining entry into supportive senior chambers to learning the ropes of litigation, managing cases independently, and eventually winning them, this entire journey often spans 5 to 10 years before it begins to bear fruit. Patience, resilience, and self-preservation aren’t just virtues—they’re necessities.
Unless one is prepared to toil, make personal sacrifices, and has the financial resilience to withstand this demanding grind alone, it’s nearly impossible to stay the course. But for those who endure, the gains—though delayed—can be disproportionately rewarding. The legal profession doesn’t offer instant gratification; it tests your endurance before it rewards your excellence.
Q: By educational qualification, you are an electronics engineer with an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore. However, you chose a different profession where you are required to burn so much midnight oil. What attracted you to the profession, where you need a longer time to establish?
ANS: I was working at a venture capital firm near Bandra Linking Road, where meetings often took place at the nearby Starbucks. One rainy day, a drain opposite the café overflowed—spewing filth and waste onto the street. Despite MCGM’s efforts, the problem persisted until a manual scavenger was brought in. He came with his wife and two small children and, without any protective gear, spent the entire day waist-deep in the gutter, removing waste with his bare hands.
What struck me most was what happened during his lunch break. After washing himself with plain water, he sat with his family on a makeshift mat of newspapers, sharing a simple meal of rice and dal. There was so much joy on their faces—pure, unfiltered contentment. I soon realised that this constant exploitation would eventually crush their spirit. All it would take is a health or financial emergency to shatter the fragile world of happiness they had managed to build. Watching this broke something in me.
Here we were, sipping ₹300 coffee in air-conditioned spaces, while in the same city, in the 21st century, manual scavenging—outlawed and inhumane—still exists. We continue to exploit the vulnerable, trading human dignity for convenience. Capitalism has fine-tuned itself to reward a few at the cost of many.
I began to question my own work. Was creating pitch decks and Excel models really worth the lakhs I was earning? One day, in the office lift, an elderly gentleman overheard me talking about my work. He asked, ‘How long does it take you to make one slide?’ I replied, ‘A few hours—or a few days for a whole deck.’ He smiled and said, ‘If you’re a lawyer, every slide you make could change someone’s life.’
That thought haunted me. And when COVID hit, it became the final push I needed. I chose law—not just as a career, but as a calling
Q: What are the challenges a first-generation lawyer faces?
ANS: After working for 12 years in a different industry, I made the bold decision to restart my career at 38—stepping into the legal profession alongside peers nearly half my age. My days began early, moving from one court to another, standing for 8–10 hours daily in trains, courtrooms, and offices. I started from scratch—filing, drafting, numbering, even stapling—much like an entrepreneur, only without the financial burden or risk. If it didn’t work out, I had the safety net of my previous profession.
Still, it wasn’t easy. At my age, many top-performing lawyers are already partners or on track to become Senior Advocates. Meanwhile, I was just beginning—facing doubts, fears, and the unsettling question: Is it too late? The legal profession is not always welcoming, and gaining end-to-end litigation exposure without hands-on mentorship is extremely difficult.
Fortunately, I found a way in. I was accepted into the chambers of two Senior Advocates—one a specialist in civil litigation, the other in commercial law, indirect taxation, and arbitration. I immersed myself completely: reading every file, attending every meeting, tracking court proceedings, analysing legal strategies, and identifying what worked—and what didn’t.
Ironically, it was COVID that became a turning point. Online hearings brought the courts into our palms. I observed proceedings from the Supreme Court to various High Courts, studying how different counsels argued and refined their advocacy styles. Slowly, I absorbed the craft of litigation and began handling my own matters.
Within three years, I moved from uncertainty to confidence—effectively handling cases across arbitration, GST, income tax, civil and family disputes, and offering legal advisory services. I crossed the bridge of self-doubt, transforming myself into a full-fledged, practising advocate.
Q: When Indian companies go global and deal with various clients in the international market, the number of litigations might also increase. For small companies, it is tough to fight litigation in countries where the law and regulations are different. What are your views on this matter?
ANS: With the dual forces of globalisation and rising protectionism, small companies must be strategic in managing litigation costs. Tailoring dispute resolution strategies to suit limited cash flows is critical—and increasingly, arbitration is preferred over traditional court litigation. Even more efficient are structured alternatives like conciliation, mediation, or hybrid models such as Med-Arb or Arb-Med, which help reduce losses and unlock working capital that might otherwise be tied up in prolonged legal battles.
However, institutional arbitration—while reliable—is often expensive and intimidating, especially for smaller entities. As a result, many global clients are now moving toward proactive dispute resolution mechanisms, starting at the contract drafting stage. A growing preference is emerging for international commercial courts over arbitration, offering both predictability in cost and procedural rigour. Notable among these are the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Courts, Qatar International Court, Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) Courts, Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC), the Chinese International Commercial Courts, the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) Court in Kazakhstan, and the Netherlands International Commercial Court.
The shift is partly due to perceived biases in arbitration and the lack of transparency compared to judicial forums, where judges follow strict procedures and are bound by rules ensuring neutrality and consistency.
Another rising trend is third-party litigation funding. While India has yet to formally legalise or regulate such funding, its acceptance seems inevitable—especially for high-value disputes. Third-party funders assess the legal merits, success probability, and all variables before investing in a case, offering financially constrained but legally sound companies a path to justice.
Ultimately, small and mid-sized companies must approach dispute resolution with a tailored strategy—there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. Intelligent contract drafting, choosing the right forum, and taking timely legal action can significantly improve the chances of success while keeping costs manageable.
Q: How do you view the influence of technology in managing a case in terms of finding empirical references, preparing the case file and speeding up necessary submissions before the Courts?
ANS: Technology is one of the greatest equalisers in the legal profession. It not only democratises access to opportunities but also brings visibility into best practices adopted by top counsels. That said, it’s a double-edged sword—the real power of technology lies in knowing how and when to use it.
The key is identifying the right tool for the right task. Whether open-source or subscription-based, a well-balanced mix of free and paid solutions can drastically enhance efficiency without inflating costs. Building and maintaining a personal portfolio of legal tech tools is now a vital skill.
From drafting a case, meticulously organising facts and timelines, aligning them with the correct legal provisions, statutes, circulars, or judicial precedents, to automating routine annexures—technology can assist at every stage of case preparation. It enables more efficient filing, better-structured submissions, and even tailored arguments that reflect judicial preferences.
Legal tech is no longer just a tool—it’s an art form. Mastering it requires continuous learning, constant experimentation, and staying updated with evolving solutions. When used effectively, it shifts your focus from mechanical tasks to high-value strategy, research, and advocacy—while also freeing up time for building relationships and expanding your professional network.
Q: The rise in cyber-crimes, technology disputes, online embezzlement and copyright infringements, particularly involving deceptively similar brands and services, may be making legal conflicts more complex and difficult to navigate. Do you think new-generation lawyers face tougher challenges without staying updated?
ANS: The legal profession no longer rewards narrow specialisation. Today’s realities demand cross-functional and interdisciplinary skills that cut across sectors and legal domains. For instance, a simple GST investigation can trigger a chain reaction—leading to an income tax inquiry (due to unaccounted cash), followed by proceedings under PMLA, Benami Transactions, Black Money laws, and FEMA violations. This cascade can push a company toward insolvency, invoking IBC provisions and eventually sparking arbitrations between various stakeholders.
This interconnected nature of modern litigation means that a lawyer focused only on one niche risks becoming obsolete. With technology, foreign law firms, and multi-disciplinary generalists stepping in, adaptability is no longer optional—it’s survival.
Furthermore, the rapid pace of regulatory changes erodes the traditional divide between senior and junior counsels. When a new law is introduced, everyone starts from the same line. The real differentiator is the ability to quickly grasp evolving regulations, understand business models, foresee global legal headwinds, and guide clients through the right dispute resolution mechanism—be it litigation, arbitration, mediation, or insolvency proceedings.
Modern litigation practice now demands an understanding of how SEBI and RBI regulations intersect, how to structure international fundraising or mergers, and how to manage cross-border compliance risks. It’s not enough to be an expert in common law alone—a blend of common law and civil law reasoning, coupled with jurisdictional agility, is becoming the new standard.
In essence, today’s litigation lawyer is no longer just a legal advisor—they are a legal strategist offering packaged solutions across multiple domains.
Young professionals must also recognise a growing reality: the competition is no longer just your peers—it’s AI. Recent studies show a decline in intern and paralegal intake due to the rising adoption of AI tools in law firms and in-house legal teams. These tools are faster, scalable, and already replacing many routine legal tasks.
As entry barriers rise and client expectations grow, only those who combine legal expertise with tech fluency and interdisciplinary thinking will remain relevant. The legal profession is evolving—and so must the professionals within it.
Q: Is AI going to play a significant role in the legal profession? How do you foresee its role in the judiciary? Will it speed up the delivery of justice in any way if the judiciary adopts AI in future for any support?
ANS: AI is poised to become the next game-changer in the legal profession, dismantling traditional gatekeeping structures and democratising access to legal knowledge. As information becomes more open and tools become more accessible, the influence of legacy hierarchies will gradually fade, giving way to a new era of technology-driven legal services.
Top law firms in India are already treating AI not just as a tool, but as a strategic investment. For instance:
- Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas (SAM) has deeply integrated Harvey AI into its workflows.
- Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas (CAM) has adopted a multi-platform approach, deploying Harvey AI and Lucio, along with tools like Copilot and ChatGPT Plus, to enhance operational efficiency and empower its lawyers with AI-driven research and drafting capabilities.
- Trilegal has partnered with Lucio for AI-powered document review.
- Khaitan & Co. is building its own proprietary AI tool, DocInsight, to maintain confidentiality while leveraging AI capabilities in-house.
The judiciary, too, is embracing AI. The Supreme Court of India is already deploying AI in two key initiatives:
- SUVAS (Supreme Court Vidhik Anuvaad Software) – an AI-powered tool for translating judgments into regional languages.
- SUPACE (Supreme Court Portal for Assistance in Court’s Efficiency) – an assistive AI platform developed by the Supreme Court’s e-Committee. It helps judges and researchers extract relevant case information, find precedent, read case files, and even draft documents. SUPACE is self-learning, improving its relevance and accuracy with each interaction.
These developments are part of the e-Courts Mission, with four core objectives:
- Expanding access to justice.
- Enhancing judicial productivity and transparency.
- Fully digitising the Indian judiciary.
- Supporting advocates with improved efficiency in court processes.
While some High Courts are cautiously adopting AI—for example, the Kerala High Court has issued a policy allowing AI for research but explicitly prohibiting its use in delivering judgments—there is a visible shift towards experimental yet responsible adoption of AI. Concerns like AI hallucinations and their potential impact on justice delivery are rightly being addressed with caution.
AI can bring transformative changes in how Indian courts function as follows:
Enhance judgment quality by promoting clarity, consistency, and extracting the ratio decidendi from complex rulings. Identify conflicting decisions across High Courts and consolidate legal reasoning. Improve judicial discipline by flagging inconsistencies even among same-bench rulings, both in High Courts and the Supreme Court.
Empower judges to focus on adjudication while automating procedural and academic layers of legal writing. Importantly, AI can introduce transparency and accountability in judicial performance. Reduce case backlogs by supporting underperforming judges and speeding up drafting, research and aiding adjudication. By analysing judgments across objective parameters, it can help differentiate true legal minds from those surviving on networks and influence, creating public opinion rooted in data and merit.
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Prasanth Raju
Prasanth Raju is an advocate and counsel at the Bombay High Court and the Supreme Court of India. Before entering litigation and arbitration, his over 12 years of diverse expertise in technology, business strategy, venture capital investments, and other fields enriched him with a broad skill set and unique perspectives. An electrical and electronics engineer and an MBA graduate from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bangalore, he earned his LLB from the prestigious Government Law College, Mumbai, and enrolled with the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa to practise Indian law. He has specialised in handling indirect taxation, including GST and the Customs Act, as well as economic offences, arbitration, family law, mediation, employment-related litigation, and more.
As an alumnus from IIM Bangalore, he was chosen to interact with Warren Buffett, the Oracle of Omaha, through a competitive process to attend the Harvard Project for Asian and International Relations (HPAIR) in Seoul, South Korea and selected among the top 100 global students to participate in the South American Business Forum in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Prasanth received the Gold Medal and Prathibha Award for his academic excellence from the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, his home state.
