We all want to be successful. No one can deny it. Although our definitions of success are often very different from one another. When I decided to do law, I wanted to be successful. I wanted enough money for survival and normal luxuries and also serve the society. I had a dream.
My dream was my definition of success, your dream may be different. Whatever our dreams were, there is one thing common among them, i.e. there was a plan to achieve it. Maybe not a written plan, but a plan in your mind. I know I did.
Here I am, trying to unravel the mysteries of the oh-so-confusing world of law school.
I have divided the entire ‘process’ into parts.
Level 1
Choosing a law school:
I will not get into the stupid debate of whether three year colleges or five year colleges are better. They both have their positive and their negatives. Sometimes people are upset they could not get into a ‘famous’ college. I have news for them. There is less competition in the so called ‘not-s-famous’ colleges and so the chances of excelling are brighter. It’s simple Economics, monopoly is good for the company and competition is harmful. It does not mean that people who got into the ‘famous’ colleges are worse off. They do have the disadvantage of extreme competition but they have the advantage of having so many options to choose from. They get more opportunities and more competition.
So, your law school is just a support system. It will help you grow but it is not the only thing that matters. So don’t be upset about whichever law school you get into. Just be thankful that you are one of the very few in the country who actually got into a college.
Level 2
CGPA: Cumulative Grade Point Average
Now we all know how important it is. The fact is that in law school and even during recruitment, intelligence and competence are measured in terms of CGPA. Some find it hard to digest. I used to find it extremely unfair. I mean, what if I was not a crammer? What if I was good at doing things than writing about them? We have all had that questions in our mind. I asked the same thing to one of the recruiters. He explained it to me very nicely. He said that CGPA is the only thing they can rely upon. It is the only thing that can be used to judge one student from the other. Moots can vary, paper presentations can vary, extra-curricular activities are sometimes very misleading and almost never useful. During interviews, people fake everything. They fake their commitment level, their competence and sometimes even their qualifications and experience. So all that they are left with is just the dreaded CGPA. They have no choice. Although he did tell me that PPOs (Pre Placement Offers) were a better option.
So that solves another point. Your CGPA doesn’t always show your worth but it’s one of the most important thing if you are looking for recruitment through college interviews. So we have two options, either slog our asses off and get the CGPA or slog our asses off during internships are convince them to give you a PPO.
Level 3
Moot Court/Debates/MUN/Paper Publication/ Paper Presentation
MUN= Mock United Nations
To moot or not to moot, that is the question. :D A rather pertinent one.
I personally don’t like the unnecessary importance given to moot courts. My opinion is similar on the other things like Debates/MUN/Paper Publications/Presentations. I must clarify that I am not saying that all of them are ‘bad’. They are good for your personal development but they are not the means to all the things at law school. They teach you a lot of stuff but don’t expect them to get you recruitments singlehandedly. Only thing I will tell you is, try it once. If you like it then you can continue.
Level 4
Contacts/Jugaad:
Now this is according to me, the most important part of being a law student. Make contacts. Socialize with everyone. You can learn from everyone, even if it is something small. Meeting new people has so many benefits. One is that you get to know how different people react to different situations. Second you can make ‘contacts’. They help you get internships and jobs. They help you get cases when you become a lawyer. No one was ever at a loss because he/she knew a lot of people. So cultivate this habit. Meet new people. Keep in touch. Don’t suffocate them or spam them. A birthday wish, a casual chat, a wish on the new year or something. Humans are supposed to be social, just be a human. It should work out fine.
Level 5
Recruitment
This is what almost all of us are working for. You might be thinking that this is the last level, well, it’s not. Recruitment is important, no doubt. Who doesn’t want money? We all have needs. We all want money. Recruitment is the only path we law students know that leads to money. I am talking about all kinds of recruitments and not just law firm recruitments. So the basic question is, how do you get recruited?
I once got a chance to talk to a recruiter, he told me a lot of things. He was the one who told me how much importance they give to everything else except CGPA. He told that the basic thing now a days is that you have to be smart in the way you talk. You have to be hard working. You have to be good at following orders. These things are important as they form the basis of what student do in their first year in office. The rest of what he told me will be in the next level.
Level 6
After 2 years of job experience
Well friends, recruitment is not the last stop on the law school track. Its what you do after that, that counts. No point getting a job into a good firm but doing work you never wanted to do. No point sitting in a posh office and doing something you don’t believe in. One of my faculties told me about a senior who absolutely hated Corporate Law. He hated it so much that he had written it on his Corporate Law notebook. Everyone knew about this. The irony is when he joined a law firm which dealt with just Corporate Law. Everyone was shocked. He was dejected. He needed the job.
My point is, don’t aim only for the top firms. Sometimes they might not give you what you really want. No one can work in an office for all their life if you don’t like the work. Try to find out your area of interest. I guess, that is why we have internships. They help you decide.
I am guessing this is already a very long post. I wanted to post it in two parts but decided against it. I thought it would spoil the flow. So, these are the six main levels that I divided the ‘process’ into. There can be many more. I am sure there are. Its just that I like these the most. If you have more then you welcome to share.
Constructive suggestions are welcome.
My other posts:
Love in the times of Law School.
Research Foundation for Governance in India: creating a polito-legal revolution.
Cheers