LARGE DISTINCTION BETWEEN LAW SCHOOL AND A LEGAL CAREER
There is a significant gap between Law schools and offices, which means that law schools are working in the direction of academics rather than in the direction of making professionals from it roots for its offices are law chambers or law firms.
If you're wondering why?
Is it because of the approach that law schools and the industry takes?
Is it because of the students?
Is it because of something else?
It's not because of the law school; rather, it's because of a problem with the five-year BA LLb/BBA LLb course; the structure of the course is not at all practical, and the way it's implemented and goes in law school lags far behind the ground reality of the standards of the law field/workplace.The law school should act as a facilitator, but I guess the law school does not know this or they are not playing their role properly.
Not only modern law schools, but also a list of NLUs share blame because they lack a proper internship and placement cell, as well as a network with law firms, corporate lawyers, and other professionals.
Drafting, research, and negotiation abilities, as well as current legal knowledge, are all valuable assets.
The list is extensive, and the terminology I've used aren't discussed in law school or in the curriculum; they're only found in legal chambers and legal firms.
These are the fundamental terms or,to put it another way, a lawyer's working routine/style
Let me illustrate with an example:
As part of one of my Internships, I was assigned the duty of advising my client on the procedure for trademark registration, filing a TM registration application in the client's favour, and drafting a search report.
Because in Law School he or she is only given or imparted topic information, not how to apply or advance in the workplace, after covering an IPR subject in a curriculum established (fifth-year) for this reason.
Unemployment and a plethora of other challenges in the legal profession have emerged from the current difficulty with this system.
Lawyers and firms are concerned that the high standards they set for graduates are not being maintained because students do not take their job seriously or professionally.
Because of these factors, they are not being hired by firms or advocates.The issue is not with law students, but with the structure and technique of law school courses+.
But what are the remedies to this critical issue that is currently causing concern?
Currently, the system or methodology used to teach law students requires a lot of changes in order to try and make it more practical and knowledge-based, so that every Law graduate is equipped with the skills and knowledge required by the profession, as well as a clear mindset to choose the appropriate area of interest based on their tested and developed abilities.
70 percent Practical 30 percent Theoretical
or
80 percent Practical & 20 percent Theoretical
Subject Knowledge should Account for 30% of the Grade and 70% should be granted on basis of their participation in development activities as mentioned below and on basis of internship .As a result,we can discern a healthy balance betweenn both practical aspects, which are 70 percent theoretical, and theoretical aspects, which are 30 percent practical.
So here, I am presenting a proper remedy to this problem that law students who want to follow this model
First stage
Indentify or Identification
Law schools should assist students in determining their subject of interest. This may be accomplished by providing them with a variety of workouts and chances like to encourage them to take part in Moot Court ,MUN, Debates like APD & BPD, Mediation and other events .
Law faculty should also direct,guide and encourage the students in preparing Research papers, writing articles and solutions for contemporary social problems.
These activity based knowledge programmed will help the mentors to identify the flair of the students which further can be grouped and developed according to the interest of the students and can help students to excel in their respective chosen area
Second Stage
Grouping
Identification of Students flair,passion,participation should be followed with another important step i.e. Grouping .Grouping in context to it refers to the division of students on basis of their interests which further helps the Law faculty to develop and channelise them on basis of their Interest and Flair. They need to categorise the students according to their respective fields, like students interested in
Litigation,
Cooperate Law
Judiciary,
Mediation & Arbitration,
Higher Studies (LLM)
Third Stage
Direction and Development
Every law student who is interested in his or her respected field needs to give Proper Direction & Development after identifying and classifying them. This is a very crucial step that will in fact benefit every student in future professional life too. After the students have been categorised, they must be developed in accordance with the pre-requisites for the profession they choose to pursue.
They can be developed and directed through:
Suitable Internship opportunity in respective field
Teaching them specific subjects in a more practical manner
Application of Subject knowledge vis a vis to the work field,
Development of Writing & Drafting skills (Including CV making too)
Debating Skill
Arranging Workshops and interactive sessions with well-known lawyers.
Expert Lectures
.
Within a certain time of internship, participation in activities such as moot court, advocate competition, mediation, and strengthening their communication, oratory, and research abilities will assist them in providing a structure for working. It is very practical and aids in the development of law students' personalities and talents.
Fourth Stage
Facilitator
Law schools should act as mentors and facilitators .This can be done by facilitating them by providing platform of Job placement opportunities, updated knowledge of laws and skills-based courses. Workshops and interactive sessions with well-known lawyers as well as conducting mock Interview Sessions too.
Giving them a proper balance of practical and theoretical aspects Teaching them law in a more practical rather than theoretical manner, so that students can apply it in a practical manner.
In addition, law schools must have a strong network of people connected to law firms and advocates so that students can receive guidance and motivation in achieving their goals
Law should act as a bridge between law students and the working environment. It should work as a facilitator and try to cover this gap by this way of implementation which is very practical and market oriented approach and model
Conclusion
If the BCCI, government, UGC, advocates, law firms, faculty, and law schools follow this model, it will be a significant step toward the development of the education system as well as a high quality of advocates, lawyers, and judges in the country, which will help the country grow in the future. This method should be adopted not only by law schools but also by other Professional institutions and schools.
With adoption of above methodology disciussed, Law Graduates will be more acceptable in their field or Area of Interest, which will provide a high quality of lawyers and judges. Indian education system needs to adopt this type of structure which makes a person more skilful, intelligent and practical.
Jashn Sethi
First Year
JLU School of law
Bhopal