Abhinav Kumar (Technology, Media and Telecommunications 2022), Avi Bhandari (Technology, Media and Telecommunications Law LLM 2023) and Juan Alberto Pulido Lock (Technology, Media and Telecommunications Law LLM 2023)
With 11 judges representing every key region of the world, the Challenge is the ultimate competition for lawyers interested in joining the industry in an in-house role or through practice at a law firm. Every year since 2017, over 20 teams from more than 10 countries compete for the right to face each other off in the semifinals, with the top 4 teams scoring the all-inclusive tickets to the year’s Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania.
Abhinav Kumar (Technology, Media and Telecommunications 2022) and his teammates Avi Bhandari (Technology, Media and Telecommunications Law LLM 2023) and Juan Alberto Pulido Lock (Technology, Media and Telecommunications Law LLM, 2023) competed under the team name of 'Pisco & Curries'.
You can read more about the competition on the Games Industry Legal Challenge 2022 website.
Abhinav, who currently works at Clintons as a Senior paralegal, has also recently given an interview on Amicus Partners’ website about his experience of studying for an LLM at CCLS in London, and at Penn State Law in the US.
Below is an excerpt from Abhinav’s interview:
The LLM helped me get access to the UK market and opened up other avenues, including working in the videogames industry. My two teammates (Avi Bhandari and Juan Alberto Pulido Lock) and I, as the team “Pisco & Curries”, participated and won the Games Industry Legal Challenge, a renowned annual video games law moot competition.
The team was invited to the Games Industry Law Summit 2022 in Vilnius earlier this year and we got to meet and converse with the ‘Avengers’ of the video games law industry (over 300 lawyers and professionals from across the world).
While the LLM put me in contact with the right people, what I understood from my interviews is that my previous experience in the Indian film industry and working with international studios played a major role in securing my current job at Clintons.
There are notable differences in the working style of the firms in India and the UK, however the commercial aspects of the business are inherently similar.
The differences include the legal drafting style, working pattern, billing the clients, hourly rates, and the overall culture as such.
However, I believe working in a Tier I Entertainment law firm in India and advising international clients, prepped me very well to adjust in foreign waters.
My main advice for anyone considering a masters abroad would be to first figure out the agenda behind pursuing a masters.
If the aim is to find a job and work abroad, I would advise to pursue the masters after gaining substantial experience in a field. A masters with prior experience definitely helps the job-hunting process.
If the aim is to pursue a future doctorate or a career in academics, choose a college that aides research.
If the aim is to have fun and enjoy a year getting to know people and living in a foreign land, then there is nothing wrong with that, just ensure you make the best out of it and have a blast.
In any case, studying abroad helps you grow your personality and opens up your mind and thinking to a broader horizon.
You can read more about Abhinav on Clintons website.
The above questions are from the interview was conducted by Swati Sabharwal, a law student at the University Institute of Legal Studies, Panjab University. The full interview can be accessed online.