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An estimated 6-minute read

NALSAR- City of Justice (Part II)

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This is a continuation from my previous blog: http://www.legallyindia.com/Blogs/Entry/nalsar-city-of-justice

Research Activities:

One of the foremost thrust of the university is on research which it undertakes. Whoever said that there no research activity in NALSAR should clearly RE-SEARCH it. Firstly, going by legallyindia’s MPL (with NALSAR being the leader) how do you think moots are won? Well first, you research well enough on the topic and then the second step, you argue in front of the judges. So if you can’t research well enough on you topic, just how exactly do you argue? The fact that NALSAR is doing well in moots speaks volumes about its researching skills. (This is open to debate, some claim that moots are won by dumb petite girls with big eyes and small skirts).

Now moving onto the more formal activities that people consider as research. NALSAR also has myriad journals doing some great work. The Indian Journal of Constitutional Law (IJCL), NALSAR Student Law Review (NSLR), Indian Journal of Law and Economics (IJLE) and Indian Journal of Intellectual Property law deserve special mention. Students have published their articles in other leading journals of the country. The Center for Disability is doing some very good work in drafting the bill as assigned to it by the Central Government. Lack of space constraints my will to write more, but believe me there is plenty.

Mooting:

Like all other law colleges mooting is something similar to a religion in NALSAR. I won’t going to details because the list is long but those wanting to know more are more than welcome to check out Leagllyindia’s MPL both the 1st and 2nd editions. NALSAR has had some pretty stellar performances in both domestic and international moots. For the past two years it has had BCI Moot in its kitty with the latest addition being the ICC Hague Moot, Runners Up. (For the uninitiated BCI along with DM Harish is often regarded as the top moots of the country). Let me end this by saying that if you think NALSAR’s MPL table is huge then you clearly have not seen the trophy cupboard in the admin block. Sitting, glistering in the light are trophies and mementos from nearly all the moots that have taken place. 1st and 2nd years are routinely found in the corridor looking in awe at the achievements of their seniors and hoping they can repeat the performance. (http://www.legallyindia.com/201105302114/Mooting/mpl2-nalsar-nujs-win-2-tiers-each-nls-on-1-nalsar-shoo-in-for-mooting-championship)

International Exposure:

With 10 foreign nationals joining the 70 comrades in class a good eclectic mix of students is achieved in the classroom. (some of whom are from the SAARC countries or PIO's.) Earlier 5 seats were reserved for the Bhutanese citizens, with the passing out the senior batches though the number has started dwindling from 5 to 2-3 per batch but still the Bhutanese and Nepali presence is always strong in NALSAR.

Another thing worth mentioning in this category is Foreign Student Exchange Programmes. NALSAR has tie ups with nearly 11 foreign universities abroad for student exchange. Every semester you’ll find 11 students from the University heading off to foreign lands and spending one semester abroad (4 to 5 months). University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign, USA and University of Western Ontario, Canada are popular among students because of the high rankings they enjoy. Radzyner School of Law in Israel is another good option available. Other universities are located in Australia, Switzerland, Singapore and the US. Also the quid pro quo arrangements entails Exchange Students from these universities also spending a semester in NALSAR adding to the cultural diversity in the University. (http://nalsar.ac.in/excahange_programs.html)

Studying Abroad (LLM’s):

This is another factor which adds to the international experience and NALSAR takes immense pride in. A number of students have gone abroad to pursue their LLM’s from foreign universities.  Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, Yale are specially popular among the senior batches. Obviously getting admission in these universities is not an easy task and the junior-senior relationship (that I spoke of earlier) is always handy when filling the application forms. This year alone (2011 batch) students got admissions offers from all the 4 universities that I mentioned above.

Students have also been the recipients of all the major scholarships that are offered in the country today. Rhodes, Felix, Commonwealth Scholarships are found in this year alone (batch of 2011). I am sure that the future batches of the University will carry on the trend.

(http://nalsar.ac.in/Rhodes_scholarship.html)  (http://nalsar.ac.in/Commonwealth_scholarship.html) (http://nalsar.ac.in/YoungIndia_Fellowship.html)  (http://nalsar.ac.in/Awards/FELIX_scholarship.html) (http://www.legallyindia.com/201104162030/Law-schools/nalsar-2011-59-desk-jobs-8-llms-with-in-house-filling-up-100-rcc-quota)

Placements:

This is for SOME one of the most important reasons for joining an National Law University. I will again restrain from throwing facts and figures. They can be found here http://www.legallyindia.com/201104162030/Law-schools/nalsar-2011-59-desk-jobs-8-llms-with-in-house-filling-up-100-rcc-quota . What I would like to speak about is actually the quality of placements. One side you have institutes claiming that they have achieved 100% placements figure. But I would like you to examine the quality of placements, the quality of the law firms recruiting, magic circle foreign firms, PSU’s, MNC’s etc. What I mean to say is don’t just look at the crude numbers of placements but at the quality of the placements achieved by the University. After going through the numbers I am sure that you are capable to judge the companies that visit campus. And if you are still wondering about the numbers then yes, approximately all the people who sit for placements get jobs. This time around 100% figure have been achieved but in the recent years there have been instances when 1 or 2 people left the college without jobs.

The End:

My sole aim through this post was to paint a TRUE picture of NALSAR. If you dispute what I have written as incorrect (as factual information not relative comparison) then feel free to correct me or approach any other NALSAR student to validate my claims.

There have been rumours doing rounds that under the present leadership of our very dear VC NLASAR has no future, let me assure these people that this is not true. Assuming hypothetically (for the sake of argument) that these rumours are true, then, if this is NALSAR in its lean phase (what with the present moot wins, the placements, LLM’s, scholarships) then you can only imagine the might of this institution under the guidance of a capable VC. This is bound to happen as the present VC has a term of about 1 year left, as and when he goes another will be appointed. The students will outlive the VC as they have nearly 5 years of their law school life left.

A quote from a very legendary senior:

“The secret of surviving in NALSAR?  Just imagine you have come to your friends farmhouse for an extended stay of 5 years. Study, moot and get a job, it’ll be over before you know it. Then you will reliaze that life is such a b*tch, you will have to slog your a*s more more than dog, live in a cramped building, breathe the city’s polluted air. It is then that you will truly miss this farmhouse, the Shameerpet lake, a smoke at shankars and a beer at Nani Wines. ”

So, to borrow from a leading advertisement

“If you are not studying in NALSAR….well…then….let’s just say you are not studying in NALSAR.”
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