Mumbai/Sonipat: Leading law firm, Khaitan & Co. has established an Endowment Fund worth Rs one crore at O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU) for the benefit of Jindal Global Law School (JGLS) as an extraordinary act of philanthropy and corporate responsibility.
The endowment will support a Chair in corporate law, a special centre for business law and research, two medals for outstanding students’ academic performances, an annual lecture series and a negotiation competition jointly organised by Jindal Global Law School and Khaitan & Co.
Khaitan & Co. is one of the oldest (over 100 years old) and largest (over 850 professionals) Limited Liability Partnership firms in India. Khaitan & Co was established as early as 1911 with the efforts of Debi Prasad Khaitan and J.N. Mazumdar when the first office was set up in Kolkata. Remarkably, Khaitan served as a distinguished member of the Drafting Committee of India’s Constituent Assembly.
The firm has regularly featured in several international rankings and has been bestowed with many distinguished awards for its remarkable contribution made for the advancement of the legal profession. The Endowment aims to support JGU’s educational and research activities by helping the latter fulfill its intellectual and social commitments.
The Endowment comprise of five key initiatives:
1. Khaitan & Co. Chair in Corporate Law
The Chair will promote teaching and research in international and comparative business law through publications. The Chair will become an “intellectual site” for building knowledge on corporate law and strategic inputs for corporate legal practice. It will also aim to inspire and prepare students for corporate legal careers and instill relevant institutional values and ethics while contributing to the legal profession.
2. Khaitan and Co. Centre for Business Law and Research
The Centre will work in association with Khaitan & Co. Corporate Law Chair by streamlining and optimizing the latter’s activities. The Centre will also aim to produce knowledge and strategic research materials e.g., policy and position papers, publications in peer-reviewed journals, periodicals, monographs, and reports. The Centre’s focus will be on the intersectional spaces of business laws, public policy, and technology.
3. Khaitan & Co. Outstanding Academic Performance Medals
Two outstanding academic performance medals will be awarded to students who secure top grades in “Corporate Law”. The medals will be a recognition of the students’ depth and rigour of engagement with the knowledge of corporate law and their intellectual commitment to the subject.
4. JGLS-Khaitan & Co. Annual Lecture Series on Comparative and International Business Law
This annual lecture series will aim to relay the outcomes of research on international business law. It will also focus on the comparative aspects of business law and practice so that the transnational needs of business are served and addressed. The lectures for this distinguished series will be delivered by eminent academicians, jurists and national and international practitioners.
5. JGLS-Khaitan & Co. Negotiation Competition
The competition will aim to provide a platform for young talent to test their knowledge of law and business transactions and skills in negotiating deals. It will also help in building a competitive spirit as it is experienced in the global market amongst the students and impart the essential ethics of international business.
Commenting on Khaitan’s & Co.’s act of philanthropy, Professor (Dr.) C. Raj Kumar, Founding Vice Chancellor of O.P. Jindal Global University & Founding Dean, Jindal Global Law School observed, “By the act of instituting ‘Khaitan & Co, Endowment Fund’, the Firm has demonstrated its deep commitment to promoting excellence in legal education and the legal profession. A law firm establishing an endowment in a law school is also a congruence of shared goals and aspirations.
“I am delighted that Khaitan & Co. has found such compatibility between their professional goals and JGU’s mission and have chosen us for instituting this endowment. I also see the vision of Khaitan & Co. of ‘leveraging insight to script legal discourse’ reflecting in the aims and objectives of the Endowment. Where else, if not in the intellectual spaces of a law school, can such a noble objective be fulfilled? I am deeply grateful to Khaitan & Co. and the inspiring leadership of Mr. Haigreve Khaitan for this initiative on behalf of, not only Jindal Global Law School, but also on behalf of the community of law schools, which I also humbly represent.”
Announcing the Endowment, Haigreve Khaitan, Senior Partner, Khaitan & Co.stated, “I have witnessed the evolution of Jindal Global Law School, O.P. Jindal Global University as a premier institution in India and internationally. I also cherish my own association with JGU and take pride in my participation in its growth. Hence, I am delighted to announce the establishment of Khaitan & Co. Endowment Fund at O.P. Jindal Global University. This endowment is an opportunity for Khaitan & Co. to fulfill its founding objectives and to meet our responsibilities as an institution towards legal education and the legal profession. I sincerely hope that the ideas this endowment aims to implement will help in improving the professional landscape by nurturing talent through enhanced ways of teaching and research”.
Professor Peter H. Schuck, Simeon E. Baldwin Professor of Law Emeritus, Yale Law School, USA & Chair, International Board of Advisors, JGUhas observed on this development that, “Establishment of this endowment is a meeting of minds of JGU and Khaitan & Co. Their shared vision, goals and ideas that resulted in the establishment of this endowment make it an extraordinary example of the essential interaction between legal education and the legal profession. Law schools and law firms should interact with each other not only in professional platforms for idea-sharing, but they should also share the social benefits in the mutual interest of legal education and the legal profession. I wish JGU and Khaitan & Co. all the best of success”.
Professor (Dr.) Jayanth K. Krishnan, Milt and Judi Stewart Professor of Law, Indiana University, USA & Co-Chair, International Board of Advisors, JGU observed, “Establishment of this endowment is a case of an eminent law firm collaborating with a leading institution, both trailblazers in their respective domains of function. I am sure that this collaboration will lead to outstanding outcomes in teaching, research, and institution building, which in turn will produce an extraordinary generation of legal professionals. I applaud Khaitan & Co. for this initiative and congratulate JGU for this achievement.”
(IANS)
