Got a legal case on your hands? Consult your lawyer for advice digitally

From dealing with layoffs, bank defaults and making Wills, people are spending heavily on virtual legal advice during lockdown. And lawyers are charging about 25% less, with a few doing it pro bono

A veteran lifestyle journalist who was recently laid off says she was 'strategically made to resign' barely 20 days into the corona crisis, instead of being thrown out just so that her company could wriggle out of giving her severance pay. There was no sitting down and discussing, just a phone call and a WhatsApp message indicating that ‘your services are terminated’.

Her 24-year stint with the company she had served came to an abrupt end, along with the entire team of her weekend supplement. "It left a bitter taste in my mouth,” says Sona Lakhani (name changed) but she thought she was “too small a fry” to raise her voice against the media giant.

“It is a fact that most of the company employment contracts are one-sided,” says Sonam Chandwani, Managing Partner, KS Legal & Associates. Chandwani is a legal expert who offered her services “pro bono’ (free of cost) recently on her LinkedIn account to those laid off. People actually sent her copies of their original employment contracts, which she reviewed and offered appropriate advice. 

“My recommendation to everyone is when you have been retrenched in large numbers--one financial services company got rid of 2,000 employees--then you must fight in a group and the company will bend. A group has more power and financial muscle to appoint a lawyer. Ideally two months' salary is warranted but the least one can ask for is a notice period and a month's compensation. In case employees have not been given their provident fund, they must write to the labour commissioner and move the labour court, as labour laws are strongly in favour of employees,” she says. "We cannot stop companies from terminating employees but we can definitely ask for the bare minimum."

There should be no kneejerk reaction to a long-standing employer-employee relationship, just because something has happened the past three months. According to lawyer Sudip Mullick, Partner, Khaitan & Co, “A humanitarian approach is needed from both parties. Employers should look at pay cuts instead of retrenching. An employee cannot be subjected to ‘hire and fire’ – after all you have invested in training somebody and he is a valuable asset for his skills and honesty and loyalty towards the company. There is a need to demonstrate goodwill. Employees should also voluntarily accept pay cuts, especially at the middle and senior levels, and allow the company to survive. Both need to act in a more reasonable, rational and moral manner.”

The renting rant 

What happens if your tenant can't pay you rent on time? Or if you are not able to pay the rent to your landlord? Rent waiver has become a bone of contention between tenants and landlords. But legal experts say as long as you are using the premises, you have to pay rent. Says Mullick, who specialises in construction contracts and disputes and heads the real estate practice at Khaitan & Co, “Chances of claiming force majeure are not there in residences where tenants are using the premises. Still, it does not prevent a tenant from appealing to his landlord to reduce the rent or deferring the payment for a particular period if his earnings have been jeopardised. But remember, it is only an appeal and not a matter of right.” 

Force majeure is a common clause in contracts that essentially frees both parties from liability or obligation when an extraordinary event or circumstance beyond the control of the parties prevents either party from fulfilling their obligations. These include events such as a war, strike, riot, crime, epidemic or any event described in legal terms as an act of God. In practice, most force majeure clauses do not excuse a party's non-performance entirely, but only suspend it for the duration of the force majeure.

A retailer in a mall or a lessee in an office building who have not been using the premises due to lockdown, can invoke the force majeure clause in their contracts. However, while tenants say that they have not been using the premises and so should not be paying for it, landlords argue that they have been providing services like upkeep of the premises, maintaining security guards and protecting the tenants’ property even if it remains unoccupied. So there is a certain amount the landlord is entitled to even if his premises is not being used.

Some people have even been using force majeure to wriggle out of contracts. Says senior advocate Rajiv Bansal, who has represented Delhi Development Authority (DDA) as Senior Standing Counsel, apart from NCLT, NGT and other bodies, “That will not be possible right now because the clause has to be construed very strictly. If you have an agreement which defines force majeure, then you will be bound by the language of the clause.” He alerts that if the landlord takes a difficult position, it may be impossible to find a tenant for at least a year after the present tenant vacates.

These steps must not jeopardise the relationships and everyone needs to make certain adjustments. Corporate and policy lawyer Sumant Batra, Managing Partner of Kesar B Dass & Associates, advises that the entire thing must be looked at from a long-term perspective. "Short-term measures to stabilise the business and overcome the present crisis should not be picked up as a norm going forward,” he says.

Bank defaults

Bank related queries are another area of legal consultation. RBI recently asked banks to provide a three-month moratorium on loans and EMI repayments. In view of the extension of the lockdown and continuing disruptions on account of Covid-19, it was decided to permit lending institutions to extend the moratorium on term loan instalments by another three months, that is, from June 1 to August 31. These changes in law have led to changes in contracts. Batra says that a lot of bank related queries have been coming his way. However this is “not a loan waiver but only deferment. You will have to repay the outstanding loan amount after the end of the moratorium period.”

Where there's a Will... and where there isn't 

The global pandemic has put a question mark on life and death and several panic-stricken people have been making Wills. Many are scared and do not want to leave anything to chance. Recently, a 40-year-old pilot based in Powai got his Will made from the same lawyer who had made it for his parents. He says, “I travel frequently and the risk to my life is fairly high.”

It is extremely important that people make a Will once they start earning. You needn't do this in the very early stages of your career but once you are stable, you should consider making a Will, advises Mullick. He adds everybody should remember that a Will can always be changed. It is not sacrosanct and you can make a new will or even add to an existing one. The purpose of a will is simply to avoid any family dispute. It ensures that whatever you have created in your lifetime or inherited falls into the right hands, and doesn't fall into the wrong ones.

This is the time to assess and allocate your assets such as gold, locker, mutual funds, savings, insurance, banks, stocks and real estate, and get the nominee form from banks. These days people are making a Will even while on a ventilator, and on a video call. You needn't bequeath your assets on stamp paper and can draft it on a plain piece of paper. However, it must be signed by two witnesses, neither of whom is a beneficiary. You do not need a lawyer, and it isn't even mandatory to register a will. Still some people hire a lawyer as they feel safe and secure by engaging the services of a professional.

Marriage-related issues

Marital discord has been on the rise during lockdown, with an increasing number of cases of domestic violence. According to Chandwani, “In South India, cases of domestic violence have been on the rise during lockdown. The Madras High Court has heard several cases and if you recall, Tamil Nadu was the first state to have launched a domestic violence helpline number.” If you are a victim of domestic violence, you must engage a lawyer who will file an FIR. Chandwani says, "We usually don’t take any chances with such cases as there can be a threat to the victim’s life. We immediately file a complaint with the police and such complaints are taken very seriously. The police summons the accused (husband) to come to the police station, questions him, lets him off with a warning and tracks him for a weekly follow up."

The other problem is divorce. Says Bansal, “There are any number of court orders that call upon the husband to pay compensation, and he is not able to pay the alimony or maintenance claiming he has no money.” Their advice is even if you can’t give hundred percent, you need to give as much as possible, and can’t leave the person (the ex-wife) on the road.

When legal cases go virtual

There are many benefits of legal advice going online. First and foremost is that with no physical appearance in court and lawyers getting on a video call from their air-conditioned homes or offices and saving commute time, almost every lawyer is willing to reduce fees by almost 25 per cent. 

The Second is that only the people actually involved in the case are present over an e-legal consultation, unlike a courtroom, which is thronged by spectators.

Says Batra: “Abroad, you only have those people sitting in court whose matter has to be heard, unlike in Delhi courts where you have 95 people sitting apart from the five whose presence is required. We do it on screens and it’s much more disciplined because people don’t interrupt.” But on the flipside, Batra adds, “A lawyer standing on his legs arguing in courts can be far more persuasive than one on a video call.” And clients would always prefer a physical hearing rather than a video hearing. Sudip Mullick corroborates this, saying that having a witness cross-examined in the presence of a judge and audience, versus speaking to camera and machine is completely different. It is not about intimidation but an open court keeps a check on everyone- witness, lawyers as well as the judges-especially in criminal trials of national importance, everyone wants to know the details.

Online services it seems are here to stay especially for legal consultations. Experts  agree that we are in for those times where only urgent and important matters will be picked up for physical hearing while the rest will happen by video.

How much engaging an online lawyer would cost you
Sr.no.	Legal issue	Offline Consultation	Online Legal Fees
1

Making a Will 15,000-22,000 10,000- 15,000 2 Retrenchment and layoff 22,000 10,000-15,000 3 Rent waiver issues 11,000 11,000

4

Changes in contract due to change in laws 15,000-33,000 11,000-25,000 5 Force majeure  15,000-33,000 11,000-25,000 6 Domestic violence 11,000 5,000-10,000 7 Legal notices to hospitals 11,000-50,000 11,000-25,000 8 PILS related to healthcare 55,000 55,000

All fees in Indian rupees; Source: MB AssociatesEnable GingerCannot connect to Ginger Check your internet connection
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