Hailing from a family of lawyers, Rishika Harish has been practicing as an advocate in the Bombay High Court on its original side and various other fora, since 2014. She works in the Chambers of Senior Advocate Janak Dwarkadas and does mainly civil, commercial and environmental litigation. Harbouring a very keen interest in issues of environmental law and conservation, Rishika has appeared in various public interest litigations before the Supreme Court and the Bombay High Court including in relation to the development of a metro car shed at Aarey Milk Colony, construction of the Coastal Road in Mumbai and vis-à-vis destruction of mangroves in Mumbai. “Just a few days after joining chambers and getting my ‘sanad’, my senior asked me to help him out with a matter in which he’d been appointed as amicus curae. The matter was on the status of a decree holder in winding up proceedings of a company and whether the liquidator can go behind the decree in adjudicating the claim. I was so excited and did a lot of research - trolled through various judgements and (of course) Ramaiya commentaries, prepared notes and discussed it with my senior extensively. On the day of the matter (after more discussions and preparation) we were on the way to the High Court when my boss dropped the bomb! Mr. Dwarkadas suggested that I appear, since he felt I was ready and it would be a good opportunity for me. It was such a great gesture and also well planned because I didn’t even have time to be stressed or chicken out in that moment! It was my first ever appearance, and my senior sat next to me through the matter and was so supportive, as were the judges and the counsel appearing. It was pretty thrilling when the judges accepted all the submissions I made. In hindsight, I distinctly remember being quite nervous and speaking a bit too fast while appearing, but all in all it was a wonderful first appearance and I couldn’t have asked for more!”