by reading the case. You wont remember if you read bangia and the thing was in a throw away sentence in some chapter. You will remember the case if you read the case. You may not remember every little detail- but youll remember the important cases. its been 10 years from college. I remember the citation for important consti cases because i spent so much time reading that damn case and trying to understand it. do yall not read cases anymore?

If you’re in nalsar and you don’t understand how those books are used - the standards have fallen quite low. Have you read everything on scc online or Manu? It’s the same thing in law journals. Commentaries like seervai and mulla - back in the day that’s what we studied from at nalsar. You couldn’t get through fam law without reading mulla and maine and through consti without reading seervai. You don’t remember every word of it - but you largely remember how the law evolved and where to look for information you need.

1. The sr adv most definitely not be readings journals cover to cover. It would be silly.

2. He must definitely be underlining cases and paras relevant to case at hand.

3. His associates will also be underlining texts relecant to briefs assigned to them

4. As far as remembering page no. of a case is concerned, he must have done it deliberately to impress the intern. A cheap ploy designed by Sr Advs to showcase how brilliant and magnanimous they are

I can't speak for all Sr Advs, but I interned under one of the top lawyers in the country. Smartest man I have ever known. Chamber was smaller than I expected but it was completely filled with books. Now I have seen a few chambers and the collection of books they have, but I am not joking when I tell you that each and every one of the 1000+ books had been read. There were biographies, commentaries, manuals, and books about contemporary topics (LGBTQ, AI, privacy, etc) and each one of them had underlinings and corresponding notes.

In fact, during a meeting, when a particular point of law was questioned, he asked me to get a specific SCC volume and even knew the exact page number where the question of law was answered in the positive. It took me a while to come to terms with how knowledgeable and well-read the man was. It was simply inhuman.

AIR and ITR journals for multiple years were falling apart because of extensive use. Usually, seniors buy SCC or AIR manuals for multiple years but rarely ever use them. They serve as a good background for a Zoom call. However, for the first time, every single book had highlights, underlinings, bookmarks, and flags.

And the reading never stopped. Every couple of weeks, either an author would send him a copy of their latest book/commentary, or his friend, who was a bookstore owner would show up at the chambers with the latest books. Books about history, politics, economics, and everything under the sun. He would slowly but surely make time to read them all, despite how busy he was.

Really gave me some perspective about how much effort it takes to reach the top. I am an avid reader myself, but I can never imagine coming even close to that man. It was inspiring and intimidating at the same time. I wish I reach that level someday, but as of now, it is a distant dream.