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Derek Bok, a noted American lawyer and educator once said, “Law is the oldest of the arts and youngest of the professions.” His words definitely fit into the current scenario of legal education India. India, opening doors to the neo-liberal economic polities in the early 1990s, also opened doors to extensive job markets in, what we call, the IT & ITES sector in the later half of the decade. The trend continues till date.

But today IT is not the buzz word, which was there in the initial years of the millennium. The preference of students has changed from engineering-medicine courses to legal and interdisciplinary social science courses.

The number of students taking up the Common Law Entrance Test, commonly known as CLAT, is a fine example of the changing trend. In 2011, more than 23500 students applied for this test, which is a common test for admission in the 12 National law Universities across the country, which was around 6000 more than the number of students who applied for CLAT in 2010. It is expected to hit a 30000 mark in the coming year.

Thanks to the Indian law firms that have been creating ample opportunities for the fresh law graduates by absorbing them in their firms for opportunities. The Indian legal market is one of the fastest growing markets in the world and the Indian companies are making cross border transactions like never before.

The financial complications, challenges in the transfer of intellectual property and other knotty domestic legal consequences are handled by these law firms that specialize in fields ranging from taxation to merger & acquisition; from intellectual property rights to capital markets, aviation, and what not.

The demand to the growing need of solicitors is met mostly by the National Law Universities or the NLUs which have a 5-year integrated law degree. It is, however, paradoxical that the NLUs were established with a view to cater to the requirements of the legal profession, law teaching and research, and judiciary and it was expected that the students who study in this School will eventually become legal practitioners, law teachers or engage in legal research or enter the judiciary in due course.

According to Anand Prakash Mishra, Programme Associate (LL.B. & LL.M.) Jindal Global Law School, a desire to pursue a course in law is driven by the idea that, “the pay packages and work environment offered by the law firms to the graduates of top law schools can be compared to the offers made to the IIT grads. Plus law as a profession gives you an opportunity to practice in the court of law and create a niche in the field. The 5-year law course with its curriculum containing subjects like economics, political science, sociology, communication, management, and sometimes technology opens up a diversified career options after passing out. Law is an independent profession that does not tie you in the 9-5 job.” says Anand, who has been India’s one of the most popular law test trainers.

Prof. Ranbir Singh, Vice-Chancellor of the National Law University, Delhi says, “the option to study Law is by choice rather than by chance, is the essence of this shift. It is not because of one but many factors. The effort of the legal fraternity to establish focused Universities of Law is the trigger. The Law Universities provide new choice of a career which not only empowers young minds to take up social causes but also the opportunities present in a growing globalized world.” National Law University, Delhi, which is a premier law school in the capital, conducts its own entrance test. The priority for the Vice-Chancellor is to produce lawyers who are ‘technically sound, professionally competent and socially relevant’.

With a view to strengthen the legal education system in India, Prof. C. Raj Kumar, Dean, Jindal Global Law School, Sonipat suggests, “Law schools need to improve support for research and create an atmosphere that inspires students and faculty. Bright young lawyers should be encouraged to take up teaching.” JGLS has successfully roped in graduates from Ivy-League universities in its faculty list.

For Subhankar Nayak, a post graduate student in Social Policy at London School of Economics “studying law is an easy way to understand the politics and law of the land and eventually enter the political field’. It is not surprising that the lower house of our Parliament has as many as 75 lawyers. Subhankar is eyeing at the famous Campus Law Centre, Faculty of Law, University of Delhi (which imparts a 3-year LL.B degree after graduation) with an aim to enter into active politics after having a degree of law.

With growing number of law aspirants every year and the setting up of National Law Universities every year with their current presence in 15 states, it would not be inappropriate to say that ‘law is the order of the day’.

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