Not your average Mr. Sharma: A Series
(Calculated Risk No. 1 — Pursuing LL.M. from the US)
..Continued from the previous post
After graduating with my Bachelors of Laws (LL.B.) degree from Vivekananda Law School, New Delhi, I decided to pursue my Masters of Law (LL.M.) degree from the UNH Franklin Pierce School of Law in Concord, New Hampshire (formerly known as Franklin Pierce Law Centre). Something like this was unheard of, at least in our family. Most people around me expected me to join my father’s civil law practice since it was a safer option but my interest and passion was elsewhere. Anything outside his practice was considered too risky and hence not worth for me to do. However, I wanted to study Intellectual Property Laws, the flavour of which I received in my LL.B. course. I attended many seminars during law college and developed a deep interest in the subject. On many occasions, I also remember casually visiting the law office of Mr. MK Miglani, a renowned IP lawyer in Delhi whose son, Gaurav Miglani was my classmate in LL.B. and later in Masters program. His life stories on how he built his clientele were pearls of wisdom for someone who studied IP only in books. His nonchalante ways of sharing his experiences always struck a chord with me. By the end of my LL.B. degree, I was already representing artists, authors, musicians, inventors, celebrities and brands in my mind. And with all seriousness, I wanted to dig deeper into this area of law and chose a law school that was consistently in the top 10 law schools in the United States for Intellectual Property Laws.
When I analysed the pros and cons, I found there were many reasons why I could fail and should not pursue higher studies. It was all too risky. The following were just some of the reasons for me to drop the idea of an LL.M:
- No money.
- Lack of precedence in the family.
- Differences in the education system between India and the US.
- Cultural differences.
- Living alone and repayment of the loan (which seemed inevitable).
For a lower-middle-class family like us, any amount in USD sounded unaffordable and every day, there were many discussions on why it was so difficult. The discussions were focussed on the problems and not the solutions. Was it a risk worth taking? No one knew. The deadline to apply for the LL.M. course was not very far and the pressure just kept adding up. However, good sense prevailed and we decided to give it a shot. I remember the well-rehearsed speech that I gave to my parents explaining why this could be life-changing for me and the family and I did not have to wait for long to see tears rolling down their eyes. Perhaps they were just overwhelmed with the idea; perhaps they wanted to give me the support that they never got; perhaps my Moot Courts helped me hone my oratory skills a bit too much. Whatever the reason may have been, they decided to support my decision and find money in their already-empty pockets. Since we had no savings or active funds, we started knocking the doors of the banks for an educational loan. To no surprise, we were offered a meagre loan without collateral security but we had to arrange a lot more than that. Through some close family friends (God Bless Mr. Surendra Rohilla!), we connected with Mr. Moreshwar Abhyankar, the Loan Manager at Canara Bank, Janpath branch, who believed in my merit and assisted in extending my loan amount. During this entire process, I was apologizing to my family in my mind, albeit in an American accent, just in case I end up boarding the plane.
I remember paying attention to the word ‘scholarship’ for the first time during those times as I emailed my law school for inquiring about the same. After some back-and-forth, and to my pleasant surprise, they decided to give me a 60% tuition waiver and I was told that it was for my decent resume/grades, internship experiences and a strong Statement of Purpose. The tuition waiver propelled my chances by a huge percentage. There was a renewed energy in our preparation process and things were falling in place sooner than expected.
Even though I knew, all this was a big risk, my calculations never stopped. I found myself thinking in the evenings about how I can solve the financial issues. My newly “calculating” part of the brain advised me to gear up for a heavy loan and I decided to pick up a job after graduation in the US itself. “Like they are waiting for you to graduate..”, said one part of me, which I shushed by saying, “why to worry so much about the future; I will figure something out”. I responded to the lack of precedence of travelling abroad by giving myself the typical “there is always a first-time” response. Overall, I think the desire to see myself in a black graduation gown was much bigger than these now-petite looking problems.
Since things were moving in the right direction, I also decided to spend more time learning and educating myself about the US and the systems there. After all, I had to mitigate the risk I was taking. My only exposure during those days to the US was my time at a local cyber-café where I spent at least a couple of hours daily. The minute the dial-up Internet connection started working, I was on Internet Explorer and was transported to another world which made me forget all my preparatory anxieties. I was so deeply committed to the plan that I even wanted to be on the brochure of the US law school on which everyone looked so happy. The green grass, blue sky and beautiful autumn leaves on the brochures were literally speaking to me. And of course, I practised my smile daily while brushing my teeth, just in case I end up on the brochure cover page.
Hence by calculating the risks and my likely response to each trouble I may face, I felt better prepared and I was mentally packing an article of clothing each day. I did not pay heed to the external taunts given to me by our so-called well-wishers that I was bound to fail. Whenever I felt low, I read the list of Courses that my future Law School had to offer and I found myself choosing those I really wanted to study. I was simply not okay with what life might offer me after my LL.B. degree and I needed more to make my career.
I took a calculated risk of choosing what will make me happy rather than focusing on what others said, would be the right path for me. I struggled immensely and life was definitely more than the smiling faces and the greenery I saw on the brochure. But I had a dream and I just wanted to protect it. Hard work never deterred me, and I thought to myself that I will do everything in my power to see myself in a graduation robe and working for a job with every bit of knowledge the law school had to offer. Of course, things hardly go as smoothly as you imagine and there were several curveballs I had to dodge or even get hit by. But I am happy to share, that I did make it to the other side.
Not only I graduated with a Masters of Laws degree in Intellectual Property, Commerce and Technology degree, but I also made friends, professional connections and memories that are still very much active. After five months of gruesome struggle (another amazing story for another day), I got a job in a California-based law firm of which I later became the India-Partner and worked for 8.5 years until December 2014. Presently, I manage my law firm Pulastya Legal and am super happy serving my clients. I have an excellent team; we make tough decisions, fail a few times but and grow stronger each day.
As I continue to write my story, I do hope someone uses it to learn, unlearn or relearn something about themselves by taking “calculated risks”. I encourage you to stay with me in this series as I continue to unfold many more experiences and lessons learnt.
Coming Soon in Part 2: How my calculated risk-taking ability saved my career in the US and put me on a Partner-track in a law firm.
Stay tuned!
