Jharna Jagtiani is an Advocate who has completed her Bachelor’s degrees in Business, Post-Graduation in Human Resource Management, and thereafter decided to pursue law. Jharna Jagtiani is an Arbitrator, Mediator, ODR practitioner and Mediation coach and she is also the co-founder of Prerna Foundation, which is a socio legal initiative started with an objective to ease the access to justice for people at large and aims to work towards an increased awareness of mediation as a primary mode of resolving any dispute.

We, at Legal Desire, got the opportunity to have an interaction with Adv. Jharna Jagtiani and she gladly shared her insights with us with regards to how Alternative Dispute Resolution Regime in India and how it could be deemed to be regarded as a significant and a much easier way to resolve disputes in the future.

Advocate Jharna Jagtiani shared her views on how she decided to get into the legal field and how her life was at her law college and one can find her responses here:

Could you tell us something about how you decided to get into the legal field and how was your life at your law college? 

Advocate Jharna Jagtiani: To be very honest with you, nothing was planned. During my high school days, if anyone would have asked me what I wanted to do, I would have said- ‘I have no clue’. Although, one factor that might have contributed to having so many career paths and changes thereafter, is that I absolutely love indulging myself, especially in learning new things, to be more precise- subjects. I have always had this feeling that no matter how much I am reading, that’s just a drop in the ocean. It is imperative to read, is what I feel, because the more you read, the more you tend to learn and understand things better and reading is something which is extremely necessary for an individual in the legal field.  There was always some or the other book that I lined up for myself before I was finished with the previous one. Nothing really motivated me to change the career line, nor was anything planned. I wanted to go with the flow and see where I end up! My life in college was exactly how I described it previously. It was just me trying to figure out and learn more things and see where it led me and how it would shape me into a better person that I am today.

Could you tell us something about your career and the role you play, i.e. you are an Advocate, and you are also an Arbitrator and a Mediation coach, so could you tell something about how you got onto this journey and chose Arbitration and Mediation as an option? 

Advocate Jharna Jagtiani: Alternative dispute techniques really work in settling disputes as compared to the traditional court proceedings that go on for years together. 

There are two-fold roles in mediation. If you’re the mediator, it is the duty of the mediator to see that there is free flow of information sharing, without conceiving any material facts and at the same time ensuring that the parties are continuing dialogue. It is pertinent to make sure they move forward in the discussion and proceedings rather than their dialogue coming to a halt. Now understand this, if you represent a party in mediation, then your job is to have a clearer picture of the need of your client while looking for a mutual settlement. 

In case of arbitration as well, the roles are quite similar. The one distinction is that the arbitrator has to give an award called an ‘arbitral award’ which is equivalent to a decree passed by a court and is binding on the parties to the dispute. Therefore, in case of arbitration, the arbitrator has to be sure and precise while giving an award. 

In other words, I do believe in the work that I do to earn a living and I hope, till the time I am in this profession, I would never be partial or biased to any party. 

According to you, what is ADR and at present, what do you think is the situation of the ADR regime in India? 

Advocate Jharna Jagtiani: I believe with time, the alternative dispute resolution methods have become more mainstream than the traditional court proceedings in a few matters, especially in matters pertaining to contractual breaches, few matrimonial disputes involving judgement in persona, disputes arising of subordinate rights in matters pertaining to Intellectual Property Rights and at the same time ADR is referred to while dealing with certain specific labour disputes. The situation in our country right now is that not many people know and understand what ADR is. The following steps will definitely improve the ADR regime in our country- 

i. The main motive for ADR to solve more cases and make amends to their disputes. 

ii. More awareness amongst lawyers about benefits of ADR practice, as they do not encourage their clients to resolve their disputes using ADR mechanism. At the same time, I am also of the opinion that it is highly imperative for the lawyers to have relevant training.

iii. Empanelling trained mediators based on their merit and skills and on the basis of their advocacy practice.

According to you, how much significance does ADR have in today’s developing Indian Economy? 

Advocate Jharna Jagtiani: ADR is basically a faster mode of settling disputes. In a country like India, where there are so many people with so many problems and grievances, we require a time efficient mode of settlement. The problem of pending cases can be resolved quickly with ADR in the picture. India as a country requires this more than any other country. 

The Bar Council of India passed a notification stating that Mediation and Conciliation should be deemed to be regarded as a compulsory subject in the LLB Courses, what is your opinion on this? 

Advocate Jharna Jagtiani: I am of the opinion that this is a great step as ADR is not a subject that has been given prime importance in college. It’s not been treated as one of the core subjects which really does not help students in the long run, especially those who want to venture in the field of ADR. Hence, this step comes as a way forward in improving the ADR regime in India.

Do you think it is important for students to learn about ADR in the initial days? 

Advocate Jharna Jagtiani: Most certainly. However, that depends on the education system of our country. The onus is on them to understand the importance of the subject and introduce it in the initial stages so that students get the opportunity to have in depth knowledge about the subject. The sooner they get to learn; the more exposure they get.

In other countries, arbitration training is given to law students which opens innumerable opportunities for them and makes venturing into arbitration a viable career option for them, do you think the same will happen in India? 

Over time, yes, it will happen. There is still so much in the field of ADR that students and even advocates sometimes are unaware about. With time, the importance of ADR will be known and understood. The onus is on us to shed light on the importance and usefulness of ADR. I think having a theoretical and practical approach for law students in universities will definitely help them and I think this change is slowly happening. 

In India, ADR hasn’t gained as much momentum as it has in other countries and jurisdictions and India cannot still be deemed to be regarded as an arbitration friendly jurisdiction, do you think this would change? 

Advocate Jharna Jagtiani:  Yes, most certainly. I feel ADR is still a very unexplored field or it could be said that the ADR regime in India is still in its nascent stages. People may know about it, however, it has not reached its full potential yet. I think over time; people will get used to the idea of ADR in India. It is only a matter of time. 

Could you tell us a little about what you do as a Mediation Coach? 

Advocate Jharna Jagtiani: Mediation coaching is a form of conflict coaching.  The coach assists one of the parties who wants help with matters that are beyond the usual scope of the mediator’s role. The role of a coach in terms of preparing and supporting a party for mediation is also quite different from a client’s advocate, who may take a more adversarial approach that would focus majorly on strategy and result. 

My role as a mediation coach varies of course, depending on the circumstances and client’s objectives. For instance, as a mediation coach I help the client anticipate possible reactions from the other side and engage him or her to practice effective ways to respond. Coaches act as “the opposite or other side” and provide feedback that helps the person in his/her efforts to respond to a challenging interaction.

Lastly, would you like to give some advice to our young readers who are probably pursuing law and wish to make a career in ADR? 

Advocate Jharna Jagtiani: Being a lawyer myself, I find these unprecedented times very challenging. To be always aware and updated about the changes around you is really important as we are moving faster to the world of electronics and the internet. If someone had asked me whether I believe that one day the courts would be operating online, I would have probably brushed the thought of laughing but now, this is our reality. Always be open to new challenges, opportunities and learning something new because knowledge is something no one can take away from you.