My previous post and a few other articles on LegallyIndia made me think on two questions. But before reading this post further, please go through the two short posts by Seth Godin and then the Bar and Bench article on law school placements:
2. Unreasonable is the new reasonable.
3. A full analysis of 2010 placements at NLSIU, NUJS and NALSAR.
---
1. What makes NLSIU Bangalore, the number 1 law college?
Is it the location; Bangalore? Can’t be. NUJS in Salt Lake City (Kolkata) is the best located. Is it the infrastructure? No, not at all. NLSIU is not renowned for its infrastructure. NALSAR’s campus and infrastructure are far superior.
Is it the faculty? Nah. NLS’ faculty is average, to put it mildly, and hardly produces research work of mention. NUJS now has a much better faculty.
Is it the students? Ah! All the CLAT toppers go to NLSIU. They are slightly more intelligent (I’ll give them 1 IQ point more) having scored say 150 in CLAT vs. someone from NASAR or NUJS who scores say a 140.
How are these ‘slightly more intelligent’ students performing?
The top firms (AMSS, AZB, Khaitan, Luthra, Trilegal) visit all these 3 law schools and recruit dozens of students from each. They don’t seem to differentiate. MPL (Mooting Premier League) tells us that NALSAR and NUJS are getting the better of NLSIU in moots and even a promising NLUD is nipping at NLS’s toes.
The NLS’ alumni has given us many a superstar. Sure! But does that get magnified, because we see them all around us, because NLS alumni are more in number? Moreover, NALSAR’ and NUJS’ alumni are doing equally well.
The placements are nearly the same in all these 3 colleges. On a scale of 100 it would be 90, 95 and 100 to NUJS, NALSAR and NLS. I hope you’ve already seen this link for details.
So what makes NLSIU number 1? If there are no plausible reasons, is it all in our minds; in the minds of the CLAT aspirants, their parents, the recruiters?
Now well, should judgment not be made on facts? Are facts not clear enough? Since there is no visible difference between these 3 colleges, may I know on what basis will you be filing your CLAT forms? Maybe, you should consider tossing a coin.
Another thing: Next time when your uncle-aunty-bhaiya-didi or your neighbour asks you “Bangalore walah law school is the best, right”?, please do politely ask them “Why”?
---
**
2. Why do some of our best colleges viz. NLIU Bhopal, GNLU Gandhinagar fail to recruit even 90% of their students?
**
I agree that in a class of 100 there will be those 10 who got into drugs or who got their priorities wrong or who are, for a lack of better term, losers. But what about the other 90% of the class? Why can’t we achieve at least 90% placements?
Is it that India, as an economy, cannot offer cushy, well-paying jobs to so many lawyers? The assumption in the question is that when you study law, you study to become a lawyer. Actually, that is not the case.
Law, as a discipline gives you many skills: argumentative skills, critical and analytical reasoning skills, research skills, writing skills, networking skills etc.
In 1825 days of law school can’t you develop one skill which gives you decent employment? Even a dog develops an employable skill in that time! They perform tricks, sniff out drugs and help the blind. Are we worse than dogs?
Malcolm Gladwell, a leading popular psychologist estimates that geniuses (Picasso and the like) spend 10,000 hours to reach their pinnacle. Please do the calculation (10,000/1825).
Well, going by this calculation, law students in every good law school should be half geniuses by the time they pass-out! Is it that we don’t let our geniuses flourish? Do we law students tend to think in very straightjacketed and hackneyed ways? I think yes, we do. We don’t explore, we don’t think creatively as much as we should. We think NLU-internships-publications-law firm.
Why can’t a law student be a good journalist? If she can be, where are the placements in media: newspapers, magazines, online press?
Maybe being reasonable (ah! the reasonable man in the Torts case will be your first lesson) restricts creativity. More so when we live in a world, where being unreasonable is reasonable.
---
The post ends abruptly. It wants to discuss foreign law firms, but then, does Moily read LegalPoet’s blogs?
---
I know I confused you and that you need to make quick decisions. Here is help. Rankings of law schools:
1. NLSIU
2. NUJS / NALSAR
3. NLU, Jodhpur
4. NLIU, Bhopal
5. GNLU, Gandhingar
6. HNLU, Raipur
7. RMLNLU, Lucknow
Comments
How about professionalism? Perfectly conducted entrance exams. Results released on time. Culture that creates students who deliver quality work on time.
In fact I know an example of a certain young, curly-haired man from a certain elite school down south, who likes his 'drugs' and is undoubtedly one of the smartest produces of that institution. And guess what? He got a job. And a hefty package. He teaches!!
So, please, you may not have intentionally written that, but it sounds so unfair!
@3: There are now in Ranchi and Assam too. So?
@4: I accept, might have been biased. Excess of everything is bad; excess of drugs is destructive.
You know students who do well in spite of an occasional smoke-up. I know students who screwed their lives when it got one too many.
But well, it's a matter of choice. No one forces you into these things. So parents don't need to worry.
Sure. I completely agree. I just felt it read like you're using a stereotype. As if they're goners. Anyway, you know what I mean
So the reason for NLSIU being ranked numer 1 is [b]age and not excellence?[/b]
Surely then, with NALAR and NUJS turning 14(16?) and 12 respectively; hasn't the difference already started to lessen?
[b]Also (it's a question):[/b] will an older institution rest more own its past laurels than younger institutions who are striving hard to move up the ranks?
If yes, does it make more sense to be a part of the younger institutions?
My rankings still remain:
1. NLSIU
2. NALSAR/NUJS
[b]The point is:[/b] NLSIU is ahead because of its age and not excellence.
And this age difference is slowly being lessened. PXV is firm started by NUJS grads and is doing pretty well; so...
post after post about NUJS-NALSAR-NLS. the same repetitive boring mundane shit.
how about doing something productive, i am pretty sure you can use that writing skill of yours to pen down something different.
add to the fact that he is a student in nujs. He writes and makes guesses about GNLU, HNLU, etc as if he has seen them all.
Tell me have you ever even visited these places forget lawschools. people who work in ims and lst suggest students about law schools after years of experience and training
lets leave the bickering and fighting to the first year kids shall we. let the kiddos do that. 3rd-4th year in law school, lets look at life beyond it.
seriously GROW UP.
Talking about skills of the pen: just see his venture lawcomoduels.wikispaces.com; and you'll know how little your own thoughts are...
More than 150 have liked and shared these articles on Facebook. Who has grown up and who has not?
You seem to be doing a good job courtesy this version 2.0 of yours.
However, this post again brings us back to the old and redundant argument of which law school is the best and does that depend on the year of formation or alumni or any other special factor.
Coming to the point of GNLU not being able to place 90 % of its students. I had the privilege of having been part of the most successful recruitment drive that GNLU has ever had. Close to 70 students have been placed, most of them through the recruitment committee (including myself). Therefore, the change is happening and its happening fast. All the top firms- AMSS, Luthra etc. are vying to cash in on talent on zero day for the 2011 batch at GNLU.
Now, leaving aside the microscopic aspect of GNLU, and taking into account various other law schools. You need to realise that recruitment is a product of simple economics, the more the necessity, the more the number of recruitments. Right now, the market is ripe for jobs and this is the reason that law firms are cashing on talent. 80 students from NLS cannot all at once account for all the top paying jobs being offered to law school graduates. Case in point would be 15 people being recruited by AMSS from GNLU in 2010. So, therefore, if there is talent to be showcased, the recruitments will happen. NLS is the best in terms of quality- Agreed. But, that doesn't mean the rest are all that bad. Always look at a holistic perspective before jumping to such a hurried conclusion. At times, coming from a law school which doesn't offer you the luxury of a guaranteed placement works in your favor because you know you have to work harder in order to make the cut.
Cheers.
Don't muddle everything in economics and gyaan.
[b]Except for Amarchand no big firm recruited more than 2-3 people. [/b]This shows the top firms do NOT want GNLU guys. Amarchand is obviously because of the Gujarat connections.
Two dozen placements are by local gujarat companies. Is this an NLU or what?
Also, what author meant was all 90 getting placed (except the 10 out of 100 who are well, as it says, losers). That is at least 90% placements. GNLU's placements seem to be around 50%.
I loved when I read "In 1825 days of law school can’t you develop one skill which gives you decent employment? [b]Even a dog develops an employable skill in that time! [/b]They perform tricks, sniff out drugs and help the blind. Are we worse than dogs"?
@legalpoet: ur articles are very entertaining prima facie....but actually these articles are full of twisted facts....twisted in order to suit your purpose....now the purpose of these articles written by You, Kian and [...] on legally india and [...] have hidden agenda i.e. to prove that NUJS is better than any other law school....deny it all you want but you know the truth :p
Here are the counter-facts; counter-FACTS, not counter-arguments.
1. I hope you remember the TOI report on NLSIU accusing it of falling standards.
[b]Lawctopus defended NLSIU to the hilt[/b]. Please read here http://www.lawctopus.com/2011/01/cji-report-lambasts-nlsiu-more-to-it-than-meets-the-eye/
And this is what I wrote for NLSIU: [i] We are worried about reactions shown by many CLAT aspirants. Our advice to them will be: Keep NLSIU as the first preference. Keep it your dream law school.
Every law school has its problems, big and small. In the end it is your ‘choice’ which counts. You choose to be an academic laggard or not. You choose to do drugs or not. No one forces you into these things.[/i]
2. Infocracy India has recently filed an[b] RTI application against NUJS[/b]
Please see: http://www.lawctopus.com/2011/04/infocracy-indias-first-project-do-the-mess-workers-cleaning-staff-in-our-colleges-get-minimum-wages/
So yes, you were talking something about hidden agendas?
Check this link and then talk:
http://www.legallyindia.com/wiki/Indian_Law_Schools_-_Campus_Recruitments,_2010-2011
Here you go. I think the case in point is well explained here.
Its the general academic interest and discipline the average and below average students have towards the subjects that are part of their curriculum, the time spent by them in the library, and the number of times each of them would would think before plagiarising projects from their friends in other law schools.
We all know that the below average/lazy students from each of these institutions will look for short cuts to get through their 5 years. But I have noticed that NLSIU students have slightly more respect for academics than the rest. This is probably because they have the constant threat of losing a year if they are caught plagiarising or if they flunk a paper.
Ironically, in spite of all rhodes scholarships and mooting achievements, Nalsarites seem to have the least respect for classroom academics of the top 3. Most of them blame their below average faculty for that.
The NUJS students come somewhere in between NLS and Nalsar. I have heard NUJS students say they value a subject depending on who the faculty is. I have heard one of my friends from NUJS (who agrees with me on the academic environment bit) saying that with its present faculty profile, NUJS might get the same academic environment very soon.
Disclaimer: Purely my observation. I might be completely wrong.