Internship Experience@Cyber Law Consulting(Adv. Prashant Mali, Cyber Law Expert and Bombay High Court Lawyer) Mumbai, Maharashtra

About the Mentor:

Advocate Prashant Mali, is a famous International Cyber security & Cyber Law Expert Lawyer. He practices in cybercrime, Data Protection Law, AI, Blockchain, Fintech, Ecommerce, Financial & EOW crimes, Privacy Law, Trademarks, Copyright, Consumer & Electronic Evidence. A Practising Bombay High Court Lawyer & Legal Counsel in Mumbai, India. He is country's only technology lawyer with prior working experience in the IT Industry & then in Law Field with Qualifications as Masters in Computer Science (M.Sc.), Masters in Law (LLM), Certified Computer Forensics Expert (CCFP). He has 22 years of Experience. He is a published author and has authored 8 books on Cyber Law, Cyber Crime, Privacy Law, GDPR and has written articles in all leading magazines and newspapers of India & Interviewed by Television News Channels like BBC World, Zee Business News, NDTV Profit, Bloomberg etc. Cyber crime lawyer could be a just another professional name. He has got many landmark judgments in the form of Acquittals & orders before various courts. He is also sought after International Speaker on Cyber Security, Cyber Crime, Cyber warfare, International Cyber Law, Privacy Law, IPR etc. He Provides Expert Legal Opinion on e-commerce, Bitcoin, Cloud computing, Electronic signatures, AI, ML, Robotics, Cyber Law or The IT Act,2000, Privacy Law related matters and appears before Various Courts as Expert Counsel for Government agencies, Companies & Individuals. He was invited to Oxford University to present a paper on "Cyber Terrorism & International Law".

Address:

Andheri : A902,Grenville CHS, Lokhandwala Complex, Lion Sol Marg, Andheri(W), India
Bandra : B1003, 11 Sarvoday Apartments, Kher Nagar, Bandra East, Mumbai, India
Phone: +91-22-26581818 / 25401515 | Twitter : @CyberMahaGuru 
E-mail: prashant.mali@cyberlawconsulting.com / cyberlawconsulting@gmail.com

About the author:

Keshav Kumar is currently pursuing B.Tech (Computer Science) + LLB with specialisation in Cyber Laws  from UPES, Dehradun. He has previously interned with Gurgaon Police Cyber Cell, Delhi Legal Services Authority and Pyramid Cyber and Forensics Pvt. Ltd. He has interests in ethical hacking, forensics, cyber security and law. He is the winner of two National Level Ethical Hacking Competitions (CTFs) organised by IIT Bombay and Chandigarh University. He has been conferred with ‘Intern of the Year Award’ consecutively for three years by the University. He has been invited as a speaker at various forums and Law Enforcement Agencies like National Commission for Women, Gujarat Police, Gurugram Police, Delhi Police, schools and colleges for cyber security training and capacity building sessions. He has also contributed to Haryana and Uttar Pradesh police departments pro bono in solving various fraud and criminal cases. Travelling and Photography are his personal interests.

Email : keshavcckk@gmail.com | Instagram : nazar_keshavkumar 

Internship Experience:

My first interaction with Cyber MahaGuru Adv. Prashant Mali was in the year of 2017 at the Gurgaon Police Cyber Cell Internship where he was invited as a speaker. Impressed by his vigour and personality, the decision of interning with him was taken then and there only although it took two long years to materialise. With the initial rejection of my application due to non-availability, I finally got an email from his office dated 8th May, 2019 confirming my internship. I was both eager and curious to embark on this journey of learning for which I was waiting since long. The internship lasted from 17th June, 2019 to 31st July, 2019 full of exposure and experience. From a struggling man to a successful lawyer to a great humanist, he epitomizes a true karmayogi. Like a seeker, I learnt not only legal tactics from him but also human principles. I have made my best attempt to describe it week-wise.

After battling with the city’s rain and traffic, I finally reached office on time on my first day where I met Adv. Tejal Patel, Legal Head, Adv. Anil Manke, Sr. Lawyer and Adv. Sweety Tajane with a warm gesture.

 I was given a topic for the research paper that was to be submitted at the end of my internship period. The topic was “Data Localisation and Data Portability: Analysed and Compared with EU-GDPR and IN- PDPA”. Five other interns also joined namely Sachin Singh, Mumbai University; Simran Verma, IP University; Aman Ahmed, Mumbai National Law University; Sanika Thakur, Mumbai University and Soundarya Sinha, Amity Law College. All were young law students and it was fun interacting with them.

The next day as per the directions from the office, I visited Bandra Criminal Courts and Bandra Family Courts to observe the proceedings. I maintained a diary throughout and wrote if I find something very important. At the end of the day; I reported to the Adv. Tejal Ma’am and briefed her about my experience. 

The next day I accompanied Tejal Ma’am to Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission and Bombay High Court for the case hearing. The last two days of my first week were exciting as I got the privilege to hear to the infamous Rita Basu Case, the first case related to the identity theft which was at the argument stage at that time and visit the Mantralaya wherein I attended the Court of Adjudicating Officer established under S.46 and 47 of the IT Act. The Adjudicating officer was Sh. S.V.R. Srinivas (IAS) Principal Secretary, IT who is known for his speedy disposal of cases. Fridays were usually spent in Mantralaya visits. I attended a total of 17 hearings at Mantralaya during the internship.  

After a wait of one week, I finally met Prashant Sir who was out of Mumbai for a scheduled programme. My meeting with him lasted for about two hours. I was trying to assimilate as much as I could from him. Sir asked me about my educational background, my interests, my previous internships and future plans. We discussed about data privacy laws, cyber law, hacking, digital applications and security so on and so forth. The discussion also included a few life changing lessons quoting one of them, “You will succeed when you start learning every day from everything” and I realised that coming here was one of the best decisions I made for my career and life. During the course of discussion, I discovered that we have a common interest too viz. photography. He also guided me on research paper and how to be topic specific while writing. Next couple of days I was in office reading case files including the recoded cross examination done by Sir in various landmark cases and working on my paper. Sir never missed a chance to make the learning interesting by employing innovative techniques. He used to bring various technological devices like Arsenal which is an IoT device, Raspberry Pi, 256-bit Hardware AES USB drive, drives with biometric security, SSDs etc. and discussions regarding their security, data privacy regulations, legal issues, ethics had become a part of our daily after office routine.

The schedule and discipline of the interns were designed and closely monitored by Prashant Sir himself. To break the monotony, he gave different assignment the third week. I was given the task of making power point presentations on Crypto currencies- Challenges for Law enforcement agencies, Data Privacy and Bitcoin Generation which I really enjoyed. I submitted the presentations at the end of the week after making changes suggested by Sir. I also submitted my initial draft of the abstract of research paper on the first day of third week which was appreciated by the Sir. Forth week was full of Court Visits. Here I got many chances to listen to Sir’s arguments in various courts. He was calm and very specific in his arguments. Just 7-8 soft points and the whole case will be covered in that. The technique of not beating around the bush, sophistication combined with clarity and confidence has proved in favour of him in various cases. I learnt how a great defence should be in a court. 

The Fifth week started out great. I witnessed client meeting taken by Prashant Sir himself. Tejal Ma’am taught me about Trademark Filing procedure, Case Filing in the court, Research and Drafting. 

I felt fortunate when Sir took me to Alibagh on a break in his BMW. There are some journeys and life-learning experiences in your life that you don’t forget and it was one of them. It was Guru Purnima on that day and I seek his blessings. 

Sir took the side seat and asked me to drive. Driving a luxurious car in the midst of Mumbai’s heavy rain and traffic was initially challenging. But for an adventurous traveler like me who once took a road trip from Delhi to Goa , it was a game of just few minutes to catch hold of it. I got to know the real Prashant Mali who is very humble and spiritual in his life. He is a great devotee of Shiva. He is a self-made man and a product of his tireless struggles since 2007 when he started his law firm. He is a true example of the fact that no person can become successful who has not hit the bottom. 

We went for photography at Akshi Beach and relished some famous food joints in between.We explored the whole Alibagh. We stayed at his home there for a day. I received a very warm welcome and love by his family members for which I still have gratitude in my heart. I would specially like to thank his uncle and aunt for their hospitality that was full of love, affection and lip-smacking Maharashtrian food. Far away from the city’s hustle and bustle, there was a calm night and a peaceful sleep. I felt like I have found a family here in Maharashtra.

As my internship period was getting closer to be over, I was feeling low. The last week was mainly oriented towards submission of my research paper. Before my final submission, Sir took another session on Formatting and Citation part. After making all the necessary changes, I finally submitted the paper. It was my last day in Mumbai. 

On our way back to Mumbai, I got to know that Sir has planned a farewell party for me at his Lokhandwala home. It was a pleasant surprise. One of his friends, Mr. Swanand also joined us for dinner and drinks coupled with Punjabi music. Sharry Mann songs made our party more delightful. Then came the most cherishing moment of my entire internship period when he gifted me a BMW Wallet and a Card USB as a token of love and appreciation. It will always be valuable for me.

The last part of my internship was in Delhi when Sir appeared in the case of Sanjay Dhande V/s ICICI Bank at TDSAT and I had the privilege of listening to his arguments again followed by lunch at The Ashoka, Delhi. Sir is a food passionate and it turned out to be an advantage as he took me to various famous cafes when I was in Mumbai, where we would have great food and coffee served with his lifetime Gyan talks.

Apart from this, I also got the opportunity to witness various live-discussions and news interviews of Prashant Sir which were aired on Zee Business, NDTV, CNBC etc. Cyber Law Consulting has all Mac and it implies "Cybersecurity should not only be preached, it should be practiced". There is an incident that I would like to share. One day I asked Sir if I can bring my laptop to office for making PPTs as I am more comfortable in using it rather than working on Mac.It was provided to me by the office. As per office rules, no employee is allowed to work on his/her personal device. Sir gave a befitting reply to my question, “You will never get a familiar judge in the court yet you need to perform”. These words of my mentor still resonate in my mind. By getting out of your comfort zone and breaking your limitations can take you ahead of others in the life. 

The office has a positive environment for working. The staff members are really cooperative. The best thing I liked was everyone there would have lunch together, which is very unlikely to find in any firm. The pearl white colour of the walls always reflects peace and optimism. The balcony offered a great view of the whole Bandra in the evening and I used to go there almost every day for my mind to get refreshed. The system of keeping the footwear in the racks outside the office really amazed me. What I learnt there was not only strict legal concepts but much more than that. During this 46-day period, Prashant Sir has been a guide, friend and mentor to me. He appreciated me for my good work and scolded me like a boss wherever I was wrong. He is truly a Guru that I was seeking and I bow down to him like a disciple for teaching me some life changing lessons.