Kanika Bhardwaj: Building a Litigation Practice from the Ground Up

For many lawyers, entering the legal profession comes with the advantage of established family networks, inherited practices or professional connections. For Kanika Bhardwaj, the journey was markedly different. As a first-generation lawyer, she began her career without the resources or infrastructure that many established practices take for granted. Her experience of building a legal practice from scratch ultimately shaped the philosophy behind Kanika Bhardwaj Law Firm.

Bhardwaj says her journey has been defined by both challenges and persistence. When she started out, she did not have an office and would keep her case files in her car while meeting clients at places such as canteens and cafés. Despite these limitations, she remained committed to the profession she had chosen.

“I always wanted to be a lawyer,” she explains, describing law as a career she had consciously chosen rather than something she entered by circumstance. For her, passion has been central to surviving the demands of litigation. She believes that those entering the profession without genuine interest in it may eventually find it difficult to sustain themselves.

The idea of establishing her own law firm began taking shape during her fifth year of law school. Having completed approximately 12 to 15 internships during her college years, Bhardwaj gained exposure to different aspects of court practice and developed an understanding of the realities of litigation. One of the lessons she took from those experiences was that professional competence alone does not automatically translate into a successful practice. A sustainable litigation practice also requires clients and cases.

With that objective in mind, she began working towards establishing her own firm from the day she received her Certificate of Practice. Her focus was not simply on becoming a practising lawyer but on creating an organisation capable of developing a steady client base while handling matters across different areas of law.

Today, Kanika Bhardwaj Law Firm works across litigation as well as corporate legal services. Its litigation practice covers criminal, civil and family or matrimonial matters, while the firm also handles proceedings before the High Courts and the Supreme Court of India. These matters include appeals, writ petitions, Special Leave Petitions, statutory appeals and transfer petitions.

Alongside litigation, the firm has developed relationships with companies and start-ups in India and internationally. Its corporate legal work includes contract and agreement drafting, legal documentation, support during meetings, employer-employee matters, arbitration support and data-protection-related assistance. The firm also functions as an “out-house counsel” for companies that retain its services for their ongoing legal requirements.

Bhardwaj’s approach to legal strategy is rooted in the belief that no two cases can be treated identically. According to her, the facts of each matter and the relief sought by the client determine the strategy that needs to be adopted. A defence matter may require identifying weaknesses in the law or procedure, while representing a complainant or petitioner requires ensuring that potential gaps in the case are carefully addressed.

A major part of her approach involves understanding the complete story before developing a strategy. She expects clients to provide detailed and accurate information, while also recognising that clients may sometimes hesitate to disclose certain facts. Establishing a professional environment in which clients feel comfortable sharing those details, she says, is therefore an important initial step.

Understanding the opposing side is another component of her preparation. She believes that knowing the opponent can provide an important strategic advantage. From there, her process moves towards examining the applicable laws and procedures and supporting the case through relevant judgments and precedents.

Preparation does not stop once the initial strategy has been developed. Bhardwaj places considerable emphasis on repeatedly reviewing the facts, pleadings and trial material. Drafting, in particular, is an area she considers fundamental to litigation.

For Bhardwaj, the draft is effectively the foundation upon which a case develops. She therefore believes that pleadings should not be prepared mechanically through standardised templates. Careful drafting, in her view, is essential because the position taken in the pleadings can continue to influence proceedings as a matter progresses through different levels of the judicial system.

Client preparation is another important part of her practice. She says she keeps clients informed about the steps they need to take, evidence they may need to arrange and actions they should avoid during proceedings. Before cross-examination, she ensures that clients understand the details of their files and are prepared for the examination process.

Her philosophy regarding the lawyer-client relationship is equally structured. Bhardwaj believes that the relationship should remain professional rather than becoming excessively personal. In her view, maintaining professional boundaries helps clients take their lawyer’s advice and instructions seriously. At the same time, she recognises that clients may need space to discuss the emotional aspects of their cases or provide personal information relevant to the matter.

The firm’s internal structure reflects a combination of delegation and direct oversight. Its current team includes three junior lawyers, an office boy, a clerk and a rotating group of interns. When a new matter arrives, juniors generally undertake the initial drafting and research, including identifying relevant judgments. Bhardwaj then reviews and finalises the drafts herself.

The clerk manages court filings, obtains orders, maintains case records and handles other clerical responsibilities. Although the firm also has a team working on legal drafting, Bhardwaj retains personal oversight over the final version of a case draft or legal document.

The firm’s ability to work across multiple practice areas, according to Bhardwaj, depends on having the right people, resources and professional network. She does not believe that a lawyer should necessarily restrict themselves to one narrow area of law. Instead, she advocates developing broad legal knowledge and gradually building expertise through practical experience.

She points to the procedural foundations shared across different kinds of litigation and stresses the importance of understanding legislation, procedure and evidence. In her view, experience is one of the principal ways in which expertise develops: handling a greater variety of cases exposes a lawyer to different factual situations, legal questions and procedural challenges.

Networking also plays a significant role in her professional philosophy. She considers relationships with senior lawyers and other professionals important, particularly when a lawyer encounters a difficult or unfamiliar situation. Building such resources, however, is not an overnight process. Bhardwaj describes her own development as the result of approximately a decade of sustained work and continued learning.

Beyond individual litigation matters, Kanika Bhardwaj Law Firm also provides retainership-based legal services to companies and start-ups. Under these arrangements, the firm can act as an external legal department, supporting clients with internal and external legal matters, contracts, agreements, non-disclosure agreements, legal notices, arbitration support and litigation.

The retainership structure varies according to the workload and requirements of each organisation. Routine legal consultation, documentation, intellectual property matters and data-protection-related assistance can be covered through a monthly arrangement, while litigation is handled separately with fees determined in advance.

The firm’s workflow generally begins with the juniors, who prepare preliminary drafts and research before Bhardwaj reviews and finalises the material. She also personally attends court hearings. Communication with corporate clients is primarily conducted through email and virtual meetings, while the firm’s office remains available for in-person meetings during working hours when required.

Keeping up with developments in law has become increasingly accessible with the digitisation of the legal profession, according to Bhardwaj. Her team follows new judgments, rules and amendments through online legal resources, webinars and professional newsletters. The firm also maintains access to legal research platforms such as SCC and Manupatra.

For international developments, Bhardwaj says the firm follows international bar associations and maintains professional connections with lawyers and researchers working in relevant jurisdictions. These networks can become useful when a specific international law, regulation or guideline needs to be understood.

For young lawyers entering the profession, however, Bhardwaj’s strongest advice is to begin at the grassroots level rather than immediately pursuing high-profile legal environments.

She believes that many fresh law graduates make the mistake of beginning their careers directly in the Supreme Court or prominent law firms without first understanding the fundamentals of litigation. In her view, starting at the district-court level provides an opportunity to learn the practical foundations of legal practice—from filing cases and summons to understanding trial procedures, civil and criminal proceedings and the mechanics of cross-examination.

Once those fundamentals have been developed, she believes that moving towards the High Court and Supreme Court becomes considerably more meaningful because the lawyer has already understood how cases develop at the trial level.

For Bhardwaj, there is no shortcut to developing a legal practice. Her own journey—from keeping files in her car and meeting clients in cafés to establishing a firm handling litigation and corporate matters—forms the basis of that belief.

Her story ultimately reflects a straightforward professional philosophy: build from the ground up, remain consistent, develop practical knowledge, maintain professional discipline and continue learning. For a first-generation lawyer, the process has been less about inherited opportunity and more about creating a practice through persistence, experience and a long-term commitment to the profession.