Working With Our Team: Questions and Answers

Not on this site. It deals with commercial suits, recovery, mediation, injunctions and execution. For arbitration petitions, NCLT and insolvency, or DRT and SARFAESI work, go to the other sites in our network: arbitrationlawyer.in, ncltlawyers.in and drtadvocates.com.

We hear you out, read the main papers and tell you honestly what we see. Usually that covers whether you've got a claim or a defence, which court or forum fits, any limitation or deadline trouble, and the realistic options, anything from a legal notice to a settlement to a suit. We'll also point out what's missing from your file. Often something is. If you'd like us to act, we discuss the fee for the first stage in that same meeting and confirm it in writing afterwards. Our process and fees page lays out the steps.

Call or WhatsApp +91 96259 61599. Or write in through the contact page with a few lines on the dispute and the other party's name, so we can run a conflict check first. Tell us about any deadline that's close, like a summons, a court date or a limitation date, and the meeting will be fixed in time. Have scans of the main documents ready to send once the appointment's confirmed.

Bring the contract or purchase orders, the invoices, the buyer's ledger account, delivery proof like challans and e-way bills, and every email or WhatsApp message about payment or complaints. Add any legal notice you've sent or received, and GST returns showing the invoices if you have them. A one-page list of dates helps more than people think. Don't hold back the bad papers. Commercial suits need full disclosure, and we'd much rather see the problem now than in court. Our guide on documents for a recovery suit has the full list.

It can. Plenty of clients outside Delhi NCR meet us by video, and quite a few inside it do too. Send scans of the main documents a day or two before, in date order, so the meeting goes on advice and not on reading. Video works well for a first review, strategy talks and updates. Meeting in person still helps when there's a stack of originals to go through. Or when a witness has to be prepared for evidence.

Please do. It saves time. PDFs work better than photos, and one file per kind of document is far easier than fifty separate images. Name the files sensibly, say by invoice number or date. Send copies only and keep the originals safe with you, since the court may want them later. If something's commercially sensitive, tell us first. We'll agree a safer way to share it.

We talk about it at the first meeting, once we understand the dispute, the forum and the stages it's likely to go through. The fee depends on the work. A legal notice, Section 12A mediation, the suit, interim applications, evidence, an appeal and execution are each separate pieces of work. We then put the fee in writing, stage by stage, so you know what a stage costs before it begins. You won't find fee figures on this website. Bar Council rules don't allow advocates to advertise.

Because most commercial disputes never run their full course. Many settle after a notice, in mediation, or once the written statement arrives. Agreeing stage by stage means you commit only to the work in front of you. At each point you decide whether the next stage is worth paying for. It keeps the advice honest too. The next stage gets discussed when both of us can see how the case is really going.

Court fee is usually the biggest item. It's ad valorem, meaning a percentage of the claim under the state's schedule. After that come the mediation fee under the 2018 Mediation Rules, process fees for summons, charges for certified copies, translation, notarisation and courier. Matters outside Delhi NCR may add local counsel and travel. And if the case goes against you, the court can order you to pay the other side's costs. You'll get an estimate of all this from us before anything is filed.

Both. Commercial disputes involve every kind of business, from proprietorships and partnership firms to LLPs, private companies, startups and MSMEs. Individuals come to us as well. It might be the landlord of a shop or warehouse, someone who lent money to a business, or a partner in a firm. The dispute matters, not the size of the client. If it belongs in another forum, such as a bank's recovery claim before the Debts Recovery Tribunal, we'll tell you where it fits.

We can't. Rule 20 of the Bar Council of India Rules (Part VI, Chapter II) stops an advocate from fixing a fee that depends on the result, or from agreeing to take a share of what's recovered. That rule protects you as much as it protects the profession. Your lawyer's advice shouldn't be coloured by a personal stake in the outcome. So the fee's agreed for the work, stage by stage, whatever happens.

We will. Sometimes our advice is not to sue at all. If the debtor has no assets, the claim is close to limitation, the papers don't prove the debt, or the costs would eat up whatever you recover, you'll hear that from us. There may be a better route: a firm notice, a negotiated settlement, or for a registered micro or small supplier, a reference to the MSME Facilitation Council. When Advocate B.K. Singh reviews a recovery file, he looks first at two things. The last written acknowledgment, and the defendant's assets. Those two facts often decide whether a case is worth filing.

No. And be wary of anyone who does. Bar Council rules don't allow advocates to promise outcomes. Timelines aren't in our hands anyway; they turn on how crowded the judge's board is, how the opposite party conducts itself and what happens in evidence. What you'll get from us is an honest range for every stage and a clear account of the risks. We'll also flag steps that can cut the case short, for instance a summary suit, or asking for summary judgment when the defence looks thin.

Advocate B.K. Singh, the founder and principal advocate, sets the strategy and reviews the main pleadings. Advocate Sadhna Singh works on these files with him and handles recovery and commercial court matters day to day. If a case runs outside Delhi NCR or goes up to the Supreme Court, associate counsel or an Advocate-on-Record join in for filing and appearances there. From day one you'll know who your contact is and who appears on which kind of date. Our team page says more about both advocates.

He does, where the matter calls for it. That's especially so at hearings that carry weight: interim applications, final arguments, matters in the Delhi High Court. Not every date needs the principal advocate in the room, though. Plenty of listings are short procedural dates. Before you engage us, we explain how appearances will be handled. If you want Advocate B.K. Singh at a particular hearing, just say so, and we'll talk it through openly, including any effect on the fee.

You'll get a short update after every date: what happened, what the court ordered, the next date and anything we need from you. Orders are shared once they're uploaded. For the big steps, such as filing the written statement or arguing an injunction, we talk before the date, not just after it. You can check the case status yourself too, on the eCourts or High Court website, using the case number. We'll show you how. It takes a minute.

Fewer than most people expect. You, or an authorised officer of your company, will usually need to come for Section 12A mediation sessions. You'll also be needed when you give evidence and face cross-examination, and on any date the court calls the parties in person, say to explore settlement. Counsel handle the routine dates for service, filings and adjournments. We'll tell you ahead of time when your presence matters. And whether video's an option.

He can, and often he should. He's the one who can explain the ledger and the reconciliation. But decisions and signatures need someone with authority. In a company, that's a director or an officer authorised by a board resolution. In a firm, a partner. In a proprietorship, the proprietor. Whoever signs the plaint and the statement of truth should know the facts, because they may have to stand by them in evidence. If you can, bring the accountant and the decision-maker to the first meeting together.

A director, the company secretary or another principal officer who can speak to the facts, as Order XXIX of the Code of Civil Procedure allows. Ideally there's a board resolution or power of attorney naming that person. Keep it ready before filing. The registry may ask for it, and so may the other side. In a partnership firm, a partner signs. An LLP acts through a designated partner or an authorised person. You can change the signatory midway, but it creates paperwork, so pick someone who'll stay with the case.

It is. Communications between you and your advocate during the engagement are protected under Section 132 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, which replaced Section 126 of the old Evidence Act. We can't disclose them without your consent, except in narrow cases, such as communications made to further an illegal purpose. Inside the firm, only the people working on your matter see your papers. So tell us everything, the awkward parts included. Advice built on half the facts is weak advice.

Only with people who need them for your matter, and only with your knowledge. That means the court, the mediator, the other side where the law requires disclosure, and associate counsel or an Advocate-on-Record if the case is outside Delhi NCR or in the Supreme Court. Your papers aren't used for anything else. Some things are commercially sensitive, pricing or customer lists for instance. Tell us early about those. The court can be asked to limit who gets to see them.

It's for a conflict check. Bar Council rules don't let an advocate who has advised or acted for one party in a matter act for the opposite party in the same matter. So before you share details, we check whether we've advised the other side or a connected company. If there's a conflict, you'll hear straight away. You can then go elsewhere, and your strategy won't have been disclosed to us.

It turns on what we did for them before. Work for that company in this same matter, or in one closely tied to it, rules us out. Unrelated work is different. If we hold nothing confidential that bears on your dispute, acting for you may be possible, but we'd think it through carefully before agreeing. Sometimes you'd genuinely be better off with another lawyer. When that's the case, we'll tell you so in plain words.

We'd brief associate counsel in Kolkata and run the strategy and drafting from Delhi NCR. In practice we go through your papers, settle the route, draft or vet the notice, the mediation application and the plaint, and instruct the advocates who'll appear there. For instructions and updates you've got one team to talk to. Not two. What the Kolkata counsel will charge is discussed beforehand and put in writing, same as our own fee. Our Kolkata page covers how those courts differ.

Yes, where it gets there by special leave petition. Advocate B.K. Singh appears in the Supreme Court himself. Filing has to go through an Advocate-on-Record under the Supreme Court Rules, 2013, and the firm works with one for that. But first, have an honest conversation about whether to go at all. Most petitions aren't admitted. And if you want a money decree stayed, expect to be asked for a deposit. There's more on our page about a Supreme Court commercial appeal.

There are two: Dwarka in New Delhi, and Vaishali in Ghaziabad. Dwarka's usually easier from West and South West Delhi and towards Gurugram. Vaishali suits East Delhi, Ghaziabad and Noida. Meetings are by appointment, so call or WhatsApp +91 96259 61599 before you come. If neither office is handy, a video meeting works just as well for most first consultations.

Of course. Hindi or English, whichever you're comfortable with. Most people tell the story better in Hindi anyway, particularly the part about who said what and when. In Delhi, pleadings usually go in English, so we'll walk you through every document in simple words before you put your signature on it. Courts in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana see a lot of Hindi papers, and we're used to working in both. One rule, though. Don't sign any plaint, affidavit or settlement until you've understood every line of it.

Yes. You can change advocates at any stage. Normally you get a no-objection from the earlier advocate and file a fresh vakalatnama. Where that isn't possible, the court can permit the change. Before taking over, we inspect the court record, because the old file may not show every order or deadline. And check urgently whether the 120-day written statement limit or an appeal deadline is running. A change of lawyer doesn't stop either clock.

Happily. Plenty of people want a fresh, independent pair of eyes on a plaint, a written statement or a decision to appeal before they commit to it. We'll read the papers along with the order sheet and tell you what we think, what we'd change, and just as often what we'd leave exactly as it is. Getting a second opinion doesn't mean you have to fall out with the lawyer you've got. Quite often you'll walk away with sharper questions to ask them, and that's useful in itself.

Where it helps, yes. Once we've reviewed the papers, we can give you a written note on the claim or defence, the forum, limitation, the documents still needed and the next steps. Boards, lenders and auditors sometimes want written advice on a pending dispute too. Whether that note is part of the first stage or a separate piece of work gets agreed at the start. So does its fee.

Not at the start, usually. We work from copies, and the originals stay safely with you. Courts ask for originals at particular stages, typically admission and denial of documents or when evidence is recorded, and we'll tell you ahead of time which ones and when. Keep them in one folder in date order. Don't write on them, punch them or staple them.

As fast as the papers let us. Tell us at first contact that it's urgent, and send the main documents straight away. Urgent relief needs a clear story, documents that prove it, and a reason the court should act before hearing the other side. A suit that genuinely seeks urgent interim relief needn't go through Section 12A mediation first. We won't overstate urgency to the court. A weak urgency claim can sink the suit on its own. Our page on interim injunctions explains the tests.

Often that's the better outcome, and yes, we do that work. It might mean a letter to the other side, haggling over an instalment plan, or appearing for you in Section 12A mediation. Then the settlement itself gets drafted with fixed payment dates, interest if they default, and some security, post-dated cheques for example. Once a settlement's recorded in pre-institution mediation, the law gives it the status of an arbitral award. If they default on it, you can enforce it the way you'd enforce a decree. Our page on pre-institution mediation explains more.

Quite a lot. No promised results. No backdated documents, no false affidavits or invoices, no approaching a judge outside the courtroom, and no cases filed just to harass someone. The Bar Council of India's rules also forbid advocates from advertising results or soliciting work, which is why this site carries no client names and no win rates. These lines protect you as well. Judges don't go easy on a party found leaning on doctored papers.