Sanskar Agarwal – New Delhi, India

I am a practicing Civil, Commercial and Corporate Lawyer based in New Delhi, India. India is not only one of the most populous but also one of the most litigious countries in the world. In the past few years, the Government of India has enacted, notified and amended a bunch of laws, such as the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016, regular amendments to the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, Goods and Service Tax Act etc.

Introduction of new laws in any country imply expansion of different sectors of the economy, which in turn expands the legal infrastructure of that country. New forums are established which in turn bring in a sea of opportunities for lawyers.

In between all these opportunities, a question with respect to how to maintain “work-life balance” crops up. Work-life balance is a subjective thing. It could mean something different for a fresh graduate who has just entered the field of litigation as against a lawyer or a senior lawyer who is already established.

Some lawyers give weightage to the number of hours put in, while some measure it with the quality of work produced. Sometimes, there may be instances, when work requires prioritization, for example, a litigator preparing for an important trial or for a case listed for final arguments. On other instances, work is put on the back burner and personal life may take the front seat.

Personally speaking, work-life balance means planning and organizing oneself in such manner that both do not entangle with each other. Sometimes, despite best efforts, one tends to grow upon the other. In my opinion, week-wise and month-wise planning works best.  Noting the tasks, be it the drafts which have to be submitted, research, preparing for cases listed for the coming week, deadlines or even personal tasks like a doctor’s appointment, meeting friends, outings with family, all this can be achieved together when consciously structured. Dealing with your time loosely, tends to bring deadlines closer, thereby making work chaotic and unpleasant.

In India, a lawyer usually works for six days a week, which can be seven in case of urgent meetings, briefings or preparing for a case for the next week. Usually, the courts start functioning at 10 am, hearing matters up to 4:30 pm. Post the court hours, the real work starts i.e. preparing for cases listed the next day, attending briefings with Senior Lawyers, working on the propositions discussed in those meetings etc.

To encapsulate, sometimes life takes a backseat because at the end of the day, everyone wants to succeed and achieve one’s goal. As a lawyer, it can take years to sharpen your skills and make a good living and therefore, a professional’s career cannot be quantified. Having said that, it is equally important to manage your personal life. If we look at a larger picture, all work and no play could make one’s life monotonous. Although, maintaining an equilibrium might seem difficult, but it certainly can be achieved to an extent through proper planning.