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An estimated 3-minute read

CLAT Special: Challenging NLSIU’s supremacy. And the Right to be recruited for other NLUs

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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:

1. Insist on the coin flip.

2. Unreasonable is the new reasonable.

3. A full analysis of 2010 placements at NLSIU, NUJS and NALSAR.

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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"?


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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.

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The post ends abruptly. It wants to discuss foreign law firms, but then, does Moily read LegalPoet's blogs?

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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

 

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