Along similar lines though, what about M&A? If a company is buying another's real estate (through a subsidiary company), is that a real estate deal or vanilla M&A?
Cool story bro (unless you're a PR agency hired by Swiggy). :)
That said, will be interesting to see how many 'blitz-scaled' startups will be around in 3 years time once the water recedes and the Walmart-like buyers have run out...
The trouble with real estate M&A is not that it doesn't involve M&A, particularly if there are companies concerned, but that the deal values in pureplay real estate M&A (or infrastructure projects M&A), tend to dwarf the more vanilla corporate M&A, which would distort the league tables.
Thanks for your feedback. The issue with this reasoning would be that it creates a sort of circular chicken and egg situation: a deal is classified as PE if PE lawyers were acting on it. How do you classify a PE lawyer? If they're acting on PE deals...
We're trying to come up with some easy rules that won't get too complicated and that can apply across the board.
This is clearly a real estate investment by a PE player, so it gets complicated, though...
Hello, just wanted to run this by readers. For the purposes of our M&A / PE league table, we are not classifying this as an M&A/PE transaction, since the underlying assets are basically real estate, so they will be classified as a real estate deal instead (for which we have not yet started a league table for 2018).
There will be some grey borderline areas, but I think this is a more sustainable classification that is also followed by other league tables.
The idea behind our live league tables is that they are live and transparent throughout the year, and that their state and the deals that have gone into them can be seen at any time by anyone...
Once the data is final, we will do a proper feature that analyses performance, standings, etc.
Thanks for your feedback. Please do read the methodology and descriptions: we are currently still processing submissions, and have a bit of a backlog to get through due to the huge interest...
CAM was the first to submit outstanding deals, but in a few days, it should be more accurate...
Hi, thanks for checking - have updated the language a bit. Generally, if a comment has not been published after a day or so, that usually means that it has not passed our community guidelines and was moderated.
Hi, it appears to be working at this end - maybe you mis-clicked? Could you please check voting like again on a comment and let me know if it's registered properly? Thanks!
Haha, that's quite hilarious. Thanks for pointing out - we've been revamping our comments tech a little bit, and an unintended side feature (read bug) seems to have been that everyone is super nice and not downvoting anything :)
Have now corrected, comments can be downvotable again.
Regular commenters, please also note, we've improved our GIF search engine for comments, and the 'refresh comments' button now works properly and will load the latest comments without having to refresh the page.
If you have any other requests for improvements or features, please let me know.
Well, I thought it made some sense to mention - there are some who specialise only in private clients, or only in corporates, or only in government work, or any combination of the above. :)
Hi Jenny, thanks for your feedback. Will consider whether is possible to implement technologically, though the lowest subscription for one month is only Rs 199, which is not too far removed from the figures you mention. The subscription won't auto-renew or charge your card.
Sorry for the delay in my response. Several things would suggest that this is indeed one aim of NLUs. Just looking at the NLSIU Act, for instance:
From right at the start: "WHEREAS the functions of the Bar Council of India includes the promotion of legal education; AND Whereas the Bar Council of India to carry out the said function has got created a public charitable trust called the Bar Council of India Trust, the objects of which inter alia includes the establishment, maintenance and running of a model law college in India;"
It is arguable, without statements to the contrary, that this means "promotion of legal education" that is widely accessible, rather than just promoting ivory towers for the elite, but perhaps that's not clear-cut depending on ideology.
Then, under Objects of School:
quote The Objects of the School shall be to advance and disseminate learning and knowledge of law and legal processes and their role in national development, to develop in the student and research scholar a sense of responsibility to serve society in the field of law by developing skills in regard to advocacy, legal services, legislation, law reforms and the like, to organise lectures, seminars, symposia and conferences to promote legal knowledge and to make law and legal processes efficient instruments of social development, to hold examinations and confer degrees and other academic distinctions and to do all such things as are incidental, necessary or ·conducive to the attainment of alt or any of the objects of the School.
(2) The School shall be open to all persons of either sex irrespective of race, creed, caste or class of all religions[...][/quote]
I think 'disseminate learning and knowledge... and their role in national development" would speak towards being open to everyone, while number 2, "irrespective of ... caste or class" etc implies that means (which are often an effect of class or caste) should not be used to curtail access to NLSIU.
I agree it's not clear-cut, but it's somewhat implicit in the spirit of establishing a state-funded NLU that it should be accessible, irrespective of means.
Hi, sorry for the delay - I just had a look but can only see one comment not published, but that one was not referring to the administration and management. Can you please repost?
It's the other way around - Mozilla Foundation is the parent of the for-profit Mozilla Corporation, which plows its profits back into the Moz foundation... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mozilla_Corporation
The right to protest against a public body is not the same as an expression of future career intent, surely?
But I don't think any Rhodes applicants are lying, and yes, I agree, when applying to scholarships everyone kinda plays the same game that's expected, and fills in applications they hope will be accepted (just like most lawyers applying to corporate law firm jobs will profess to a deep love of corporate law, which may or may not be the case).
But I do imagine that the Rhodes interview process would weed out the disingenuous applicants who are just doing Rhodes for CV points...
Interesting points, though I would disagree on several counts specifically.
1. Just because a 21-year-old-or-so wins the Rhodes, doesn't mean that their lives should suddenly become subject to open criticism about whether their achievements down the line are 'worthy' enough or not.
2. Think back to when you were 21 years old. Maybe you wanted to be a human rights lawyer too, or weren't sure yet what to get into? I think it's fair to change your mind, or that the public sector is not for you, or that your interests lie in other fields. For what it's worth, I think one of the careers you mentioned in your post that I'm aware of, is doing a fantastic and much required public service, very much in the spirit of the Rhodes 'soundbites', as you call them.
3. I think the point and reason why we're covering the Rhodes, is that they're a fantastic opportunity in a young lawyer's career, and they are one of the most sought-after and recognised such scholarships available.
4. Would it be nice if the Rhodes was given to people who want to work in corporate law? I don't think a scholarship is necessary for that vertical: you can join an international (or even domestic) law firm, work there for a few or 3 years and have saved enough money to pay for an Oxford post-grad out of pocket yourself.
5. Not enough young students are interested or serious about public service, and the fact the scholarship exists has perhaps focused one or two minds on the career path and has inspired them to do something as 'worthy' as the Rhodes winners?
Hi, thanks for your feedback. One of the comments had slipped through, shouldn't have and has now been moderated (one of the ones under 5.1.1). That is regretted.
However, other than that one, I thought it has been a fairly interesting discussion that I don't think does any harm to the Rhodes or the scholars. But since this is an open forum for discussion, I don't think it hurts to debate the value of the Rhodes, its history, what scholars decide to do in their careers, BigLaw vs social lawyering, etc.
Sorry, I appreciated your post, but since many of the HP characters were students, I wasn't sure whether some of these initials were potentially referring to students.
Furthermore, it's not very nice to even call professors Bellatrix LeStrange, Voldemort, etc :)
Indeed, as much as we all love Potter, the magical legal system doesn't make that much sense (and let's not get started on how Quidditch is even a game that anyone in their right mind would want to watch).
We have updated the story with a comment from the assistant professor whose brainchild this course was, Shouvik Kr Guha. Have also included below:
"This elective course is primarily meant to be an experiment more than anything else. I am sure a whole lot of people would think that there are several courses NUJS should rather offer to its students, especially courses relating to financial laws that would make their lives easier in law firms or other jobs later.
I completely agree with them about there being a huge dearth of capable and qualified people to offer such courses at NUJS and probably all other National Law Universities today. I have tried to address that in whatever small way I can over the past five years, by offering courses like Project Finance, Banking Law, International Investment Law, Insurance Law, Antitrust, Technology & Innovation etc. That is one of the main reasons I myself have returned to my alma mater, to help in whatever way I can. I am currently teaching Corporate Law I every alternate semester. How much help these courses have been are really for the students to decide, especially after they graduate.
However, I also believe that a teacher should always push the boundaries, instead of growing too comfortable or complacent. As should every student. This course is partly meant to do exactly that. Hopefully, it should make students think a little and be creative in the application of the legal principle that they know or will learn, to literary scenarios they are personally fond of and interested in.
I could have used multiple fictional universes for that, but I am preferring to start small. If we manage to come up with sufficient quality original literature in the form of student essays, we can even perhaps consider publishing a volume like Thomas Jefferson School of Law has done in the past, but let us not get ahead of ourselves at this stage. The course seems to have got way too much attention before it can even begin, something I would have liked to avoid! I don't even know how many people if any would sign up for the course, because contrary to what an outsider may think about the course, I do not have a reputation for giving away 'easy grades' in any course that I offer.
I would actually be offering Project Finance as another elective course during this very semester, though to a different batch. It should prove to be a challenging exercise, given how antipodal the courses may appear and the different mindsets that teaching those would require, but hopefully I can live up to that challenge.
Finally, to every person who believes that we should offer more industry-oriented courses, please understand that I am fully on your side and would love to accept any kind of contribution from your end, in the form of course ideas, feedback, suggestions, and most of all, you all going back to your respective alma maters whenever time permits and help out with the courses.
This is an open and standing invitation for alumni including non-NUJS alumni.
I know that there are multiple administrative challenges, but we cannot really give up in the face of those, can we? To those who think that law schools should offer this kind of course too, to encourage diversity in thought process and the like among students, thank you for your vote of confidence in the course. I hope I would be able to live up to such confidence as a teacher too, and would of course love to receive any kind of feedback on how to make it better. In short, all help is welcome, from supporters and critics alike. We are all in this together, not against each other."
ED is not quite the same as partner and is based in the US, so he's not able to appear before tribunals and the like here... But I'm honestly not entirely sure how the practice at Khaitan is structured...
(have corrected)
Along similar lines though, what about M&A? If a company is buying another's real estate (through a subsidiary company), is that a real estate deal or vanilla M&A?
That said, will be interesting to see how many 'blitz-scaled' startups will be around in 3 years time once the water recedes and the Walmart-like buyers have run out...
Do also have a look here for what else is currently in the real estate bucket:
https://www.legallyindia.com/real-estate-property/real-estate-property
The trouble with real estate M&A is not that it doesn't involve M&A, particularly if there are companies concerned, but that the deal values in pureplay real estate M&A (or infrastructure projects M&A), tend to dwarf the more vanilla corporate M&A, which would distort the league tables.
Would be happy to get more feedback from readers.
We're trying to come up with some easy rules that won't get too complicated and that can apply across the board.
This is clearly a real estate investment by a PE player, so it gets complicated, though...
There will be some grey borderline areas, but I think this is a more sustainable classification that is also followed by other league tables.
Any and all feedback or thoughts are welcome.
Once the data is final, we will do a proper feature that analyses performance, standings, etc.
CAM was the first to submit outstanding deals, but in a few days, it should be more accurate...
Any other bugs or irks with LI website, please do let me know any time...
Have now corrected, comments can be downvotable again.
Regular commenters, please also note, we've improved our GIF search engine for comments, and the 'refresh comments' button now works properly and will load the latest comments without having to refresh the page.
If you have any other requests for improvements or features, please let me know.
From right at the start: "WHEREAS the functions of the Bar Council of India includes the
promotion of legal education; AND Whereas the Bar Council of India to carry out the said function has got created a public charitable trust called the Bar Council of India
Trust, the objects of which inter alia includes the establishment, maintenance and running of a model law college in India;"
It is arguable, without statements to the contrary, that this means "promotion of legal education" that is widely accessible, rather than just promoting ivory towers for the elite, but perhaps that's not clear-cut depending on ideology.
Then, under Objects of School:
quote The Objects of the School shall be to advance and disseminate
learning and knowledge of law and legal processes and their
role in national development, to develop in the student and
research scholar a sense of responsibility to serve society in
the field of law by developing skills in regard to advocacy,
legal services, legislation, law reforms and the like, to organise
lectures, seminars, symposia and conferences to promote
legal knowledge and to make law and legal processes efficient
instruments of social development, to hold examinations and
confer degrees and other academic distinctions and to do all
such things as are incidental, necessary or ·conducive to the
attainment of alt or any of the objects of the School.
(2) The School shall be open to all persons of either sex
irrespective of race, creed, caste or class of all religions[...][/quote]
I think 'disseminate learning and knowledge... and their role in national development" would speak towards being open to everyone, while number 2, "irrespective of ... caste or class" etc implies that means (which are often an effect of class or caste) should not be used to curtail access to NLSIU.
I agree it's not clear-cut, but it's somewhat implicit in the spirit of establishing a state-funded NLU that it should be accessible, irrespective of means.
But I don't think any Rhodes applicants are lying, and yes, I agree, when applying to scholarships everyone kinda plays the same game that's expected, and fills in applications they hope will be accepted (just like most lawyers applying to corporate law firm jobs will profess to a deep love of corporate law, which may or may not be the case).
But I do imagine that the Rhodes interview process would weed out the disingenuous applicants who are just doing Rhodes for CV points...
1. Just because a 21-year-old-or-so wins the Rhodes, doesn't mean that their lives should suddenly become subject to open criticism about whether their achievements down the line are 'worthy' enough or not.
2. Think back to when you were 21 years old. Maybe you wanted to be a human rights lawyer too, or weren't sure yet what to get into? I think it's fair to change your mind, or that the public sector is not for you, or that your interests lie in other fields. For what it's worth, I think one of the careers you mentioned in your post that I'm aware of, is doing a fantastic and much required public service, very much in the spirit of the Rhodes 'soundbites', as you call them.
3. I think the point and reason why we're covering the Rhodes, is that they're a fantastic opportunity in a young lawyer's career, and they are one of the most sought-after and recognised such scholarships available.
4. Would it be nice if the Rhodes was given to people who want to work in corporate law? I don't think a scholarship is necessary for that vertical: you can join an international (or even domestic) law firm, work there for a few or 3 years and have saved enough money to pay for an Oxford post-grad out of pocket yourself.
5. Not enough young students are interested or serious about public service, and the fact the scholarship exists has perhaps focused one or two minds on the career path and has inspired them to do something as 'worthy' as the Rhodes winners?
However, other than that one, I thought it has been a fairly interesting discussion that I don't think does any harm to the Rhodes or the scholars. But since this is an open forum for discussion, I don't think it hurts to debate the value of the Rhodes, its history, what scholars decide to do in their careers, BigLaw vs social lawyering, etc.
In this case, it seems fair to treat these as separate deals. We've reported the other leg of the transaction here:
https://www.legallyindia.com/corporatemna/azb-khaitan-double-team-reliance-as-link-legal-assists-den-networks-on-311m-jio-payday-20181018-9608
Thanks for the tip in comment 1.1.2 above.
I think the confusion may be because RIL announced both deals at once, which is how most media reported them.
Furthermore, it's not very nice to even call professors Bellatrix LeStrange, Voldemort, etc :)
This, however, should be obligatory viewing for all 1st year sci-fi lawyers :)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Measure_of_a_Man_(Star_Trek:_The_Next_Generation)
"This elective course is primarily meant to be an experiment more than anything else. I am sure a whole lot of people would think that there are several courses NUJS should rather offer to its students, especially courses relating to financial laws that would make their lives easier in law firms or other jobs later.
I completely agree with them about there being a huge dearth of capable and qualified people to offer such courses at NUJS and probably all other National Law Universities today. I have tried to address that in whatever small way I can over the past five years, by offering courses like Project Finance, Banking Law, International Investment Law, Insurance Law, Antitrust, Technology & Innovation etc. That is one of the main reasons I myself have returned to my alma mater, to help in whatever way I can. I am currently teaching Corporate Law I every alternate semester. How much help these courses have been are really for the students to decide, especially after they graduate.
However, I also believe that a teacher should always push the boundaries, instead of growing too comfortable or complacent. As should every student. This course is partly meant to do exactly that. Hopefully, it should make students think a little and be creative in the application of the legal principle that they know or will learn, to literary scenarios they are personally fond of and interested in.
I could have used multiple fictional universes for that, but I am preferring to start small. If we manage to come up with sufficient quality original literature in the form of student essays, we can even perhaps consider publishing a volume like Thomas Jefferson School of Law has done in the past, but let us not get ahead of ourselves at this stage. The course seems to have got way too much attention before it can even begin, something I would have liked to avoid! I don't even know how many people if any would sign up for the course, because contrary to what an outsider may think about the course, I do not have a reputation for giving away 'easy grades' in any course that I offer.
I would actually be offering Project Finance as another elective course during this very semester, though to a different batch. It should prove to be a challenging exercise, given how antipodal the courses may appear and the different mindsets that teaching those would require, but hopefully I can live up to that challenge.
Finally, to every person who believes that we should offer more industry-oriented courses, please understand that I am fully on your side and would love to accept any kind of contribution from your end, in the form of course ideas, feedback, suggestions, and most of all, you all going back to your respective alma maters whenever time permits and help out with the courses.
This is an open and standing invitation for alumni including non-NUJS alumni.
I know that there are multiple administrative challenges, but we cannot really give up in the face of those, can we? To those who think that law schools should offer this kind of course too, to encourage diversity in thought process and the like among students, thank you for your vote of confidence in the course. I hope I would be able to live up to such confidence as a teacher too, and would of course love to receive any kind of feedback on how to make it better. In short, all help is welcome, from supporters and critics alike. We are all in this together, not against each other."