I have seen a lot of law students doing physical internships with law firms in their 4th year during the months of Jan-Feb or September-October. Since our university does not provide us with attendance claims in our 4th year for internships, I wanted to know which universities allow for the same.

MNLU Nagpur have a pretty bad policy in this regard. Gave only one month break for assessment internship in the last semester of entire course where attendance could be claimed. Students get negligible practical experience in a profession where the market is now oriented more towards skills and on-field pressure handling. As a result, many students continue their job hunt even after 6-8 months after graduation.

Not at NALSAR. In fact internships are discouraged here. I once informed an acad chair that I will be staying back in Mumbai for 1 week in June, and was told that they dont care and that I will miss the foundational concepts etc. Even the woke profs keep mentioning in class how students are so corp minded and will just go behind internships.

Someone show them how much international law or constitutional law enthus are paid in the job market.

What should they have done ? Not taught anything until you come back ? The university runs on a schedule . If you miss classes - you miss classes. If you miss the first week - you will be missing foundational classes. What really can the acad chair do for you in this circumstance ? There’s absolutely nothing except to warn you there will be academic consequences. Did that one week of interning get you a job ? Did you learn a lot ? I’m betting neither of those are true. Employers unfailingly go by batch rank when they hire on day zero- why ? - it’s because the topper kid who went to every class and took notes and worked hard actually knows the law and has demonstrated a work ethic where they don’t ask for special treatment and don’t make excuses for themselves. Be more like that kid.

I didn’t say unfairly. I said unfailingly. And exceptions don’t make the rule. I was that exception. I had a rank in the bottom 20% of class - but I got the job I wanted and I got into grad school later it all worked out fine. I’ll tell you - it would have been tonnes easier if I had just studied. I would’ve gotten so much more money and job hunting would’ve been so much more easier

To all the students who are advocating for missing classes for the practical exposure that internship brings, I have got this question. To the best extent that I am aware of, every university provides at least 2 months of break in every calendar/academic year. Let us assume that the exams take place for a total of 1 month in every year. That leaves 9 months. Normally, the universities that work on a semester basis provide for approximately 3.5-4 months of classes in every semester. The other holidays and some other events cater to the remaining 1 month. Now, out of these 9 months, the required attendance percentage is 70% in most NLUs at least (I am not sure about private colleges, though BCI prescribes 70% only). Which means around 6.3 months of classes have to be attended to be eligible to sit for the exams. Which means that a student can easily intern for 2 months every year without requiring any attendance exemption. Add the original 2 months of break to these 2, which means that 4/12 or 1/3 of every year can be spent interning. Is there any 'professional course' that requires more practical exposure to the students on an undergraduate level? No, there is really none.

You may hate this answer, but the fact remains that majority students waste the 30% in frivolous ways. If they are that interested in interning and getting practical exposure, it is quite possible to do so without requiring such attendance exemptions. On the other hand, students who end up missing classes barely do anything to make up their theoretical foundation and that is a proven fact as educators and surveys across the world has established. You may say that nothing is being taught in classrooms, but the solution to that is getting better teachers and not to miss classes. You may claim that all that you need to practise law is to intern, in which case petition the BCI to do away with the degree requirement. Surely if all students think and feel like that, then they would continue to do so even after graduation and therefore people who vote for the BCI and the members themselves also believe the same!

One may argue that there are not that many quality internship opportunities available, which forces the student to be able to intern whenever they get that opportunity. To that argument, my counter is twofold. First is that, the solution of using 30% of your classes for internship will still work. Secondly, that is a reflection of the sorry state of affairs of the legal industry in this country. Missing classes and hence lacking foundational knowledge is what leads to more problems, not solution to that one.

Those calculations provide you with the opportunity to do four internships in a year. Very few students do that. You can always take a break during one or two of the four months. If you always break down only during class hours and that too for more than 30%of the classes, then the solution is better work life balance and a healthy lifestyle, not missing classes.

On the contrary, it is so practical that all your toppers use that formula only. That's how they maintain a good CGPA and also do plenty of internships so as to land the best jobs and scholarships. If you are driven, then you will be able to calculate the best options for you. If you are not, then you will whine about why you have to attend classes in order to get a degree.

RGNUL has a good policy. Every semester, apart from the usual months of Jan, June, and July, you get one non-exam month for internships in Green Channel Firms/Advocates/Judges. These are usually February and either of August or October. So 2 months extra every year where attendance is condoned provided you have 50% overall attendance. Even if it is an online internship, you can avail of this policy. 1-2 days of travel leave is also given. Green Channel Firms are usually Tier -1 or well-known firms and advocates/judges.