THE LURE OF THE LAW SHAMNAD BASHEER MHRD PROFESSOR OF IP LAW WB NUJS FOUNDER, IDIA IMS WORKSHOP 25 TH MARCH, 2012.

THE LURE OF THE LAW

SHAMNAD BASHEERMHRD PROFESSOR OF IP LAW

WB NUJSFOUNDER, IDIA

IMS WORKSHOP 25TH MARCH, 2012

WHY LAW?

• WHY NOT?• PRIMARY REASONS– LOVING THE LAW • INTELLECTUAL STIMULATION• JUSTICE/SOCIAL REFORM• ADVOCACY/LEADERSHIP SKILLS

• SECONDARY (PERKS)• PAY PACKAGE• POWER• RESPECTABILITY IN SOCIETY

Famous Lawyers: Law and LeadershipFamous Lawyers: Law and Leadership

Famous lawyers-Famous lawyers-

THE LAW SCHOOLS

• 914 law schools in India• Of those, around 25 have a decent standard• A significant number of these: NLU’s• Emergence of the National Law Universities (NLU)• Started with the National Law School of India

– NLSIU, Bangalore

• Now 14 of them in various states of India

List of NLU’s National Law School of India University, Bangalore (NLS) NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad (NALSAR) National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata (NUJS) National Law Institute University, Bhopal (NLIU) National Law University, Jodhpur (NLU –Jodhpur) National Law University, Delhi (NLU – Delhi) KIIT Law School, Bhubaneshwar (KLS) Gandhinagar National Law University, Gandhinagar (GNLU) Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur (HNLU) Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow (RMLNLU) Chanakya National Law University, Patna (CNLU) Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Patiala (RGNUL) National University of Advanced Legal Studies, Kochi (NUALS) National Law University, Bhubhaneshwar (NLU Bhubaneshwar) National Law University, Ranchi (NLU – Ranchi)

Rankings of Law Schools

• Always controversial!• Broad categories of ranks (based on CLAT preferences last year).• Tier 1:

– NLS (Bang), NALSAR (Hyd), NUJS (Kolkata), NLU (Delhi)• Tier 2:

– NLU (Jodhpur), NLU (Bhopal), NLU (Gujarat)• Tier 3:

– RMNLU (Lucknow), HNLU (Raipur), NLU (Orissa), RGNLU (Punjab)

• Tier 4:– CNLU (Patna), NUALS (Kerala), NLU (Assam), NLU (Ranchi)

Other Leading Law Schools Jindal Global Law School (JLGS), Sonapet, Haryana Indian Law School (ILS), Pune Government Law College, Mumbai Faculty of Law, Delhi University Symbiosis Law School, Pune University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun Nirma University, Gujarat Christ Law College, Bangalore Amity Law School, Noida University Institute of Legal Studies, Punjab University Kolkata University

SOME PROMINENT LAW SCHOOL GRADUATESSOME PROMINENT LAW SCHOOL GRADUATES

VIKRAM RAGHAVAN Associate General Counsel, WORLD BANK

NANDAN NELVIGI PARTNER, WHITE AND CASE (leading US law firm)

RAHUL CHERIANFOUNDER, INCLUSIVE PLANET

SIVARAMJANI THAMBISETTI PROFESSOR, LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS (LSE)

ASHISH ARUN OWNER OF OFFSHORE RESEARCH PARTNERS (LPO) AT 25

MS SRIKARIAS OFFICER NLS, 1998(Secretary to Nilekani)

JOEY MATHEWSLEADING MODEL

SOME PROMINENT LAW SCHOOL GRADUATES (Contd.)SOME PROMINENT LAW SCHOOL GRADUATES (Contd.)

SANDEEP FARIASOWNER OF VENTURE CAPITAL FIRM(market driven anti poverty campaign)

Career Prospects: Sheer Diversity• Litigation Lawyer (trial court, high court, supreme court): Senior

Lawyer (Grand Counsels)– Kapil Sibal, Abhishek Singhvi, Arun Jaitley

• Law Firms (Amarchand, AZB, Khaitan, Trilegal)– Corporate/IPR/Marine law

• In house lawyer (TATA general counsel)• NGO (human rights/environmental law)• Research and Academia

– Policy body (lobbying/advocacy)

• Law and business (legal outsourcing/legal databases)• Legal journalism• International Organisations (UN/World Bank/WTO)

The Legal Pay Package

• Compares with some of the best in the industry

Monthly Salaries:

• Law Firms/Companies Rs. 50,000 – 1.2 lakhs pm• Intn’al Law Firms Rs. 2.5 lakhs pm• PSUs Rs. 40,000 pm• International Org. Rs. 50,000 pm• NGOs Rs. 25-30,000 pm• Litigation Rs. 10-20,000 pm

LAW SCHOOLS AT A GLANCELAW SCHOOLS AT A GLANCE

Interactive classroom teaching (socratic (case) teaching) Competent faculty Well designed course curriculum, legal aid

WHY A NATIONAL LAW SCHOOL?

STATE OF THE ART INFRASTRUCTURE AND FACILITIES STATE OF THE ART INFRASTRUCTURE AND FACILITIES

LAW SCHOOL IS NOT JUST ABOUT THE LAW!

CLAT• Common Law Entrance Test (CLAT)• Conducted by separate law school each year• Nearing standardisation• Now mainly aptitude based• 4 sections

– English (including Comprehension): 40 marks– Logical Reasoning: 40 marks – Legal Aptitude: 50 marks– General Knowledge (current affairs): 50 marks– Elementary Mathematics (Numerical Ability of the 10th standard

variety): 20 marks• One mark each (no negative marking)

CLAT TIPS• Aptitude based• Best way is to practice (particularly previous papers)• No memorisation• Read newspapers (English + GK)• Prior knowledge of law can prove disadvantageous• Take the “logic” at face value (propositions are to be taken as

true)– Proposition 1: All dogs are black– Proposition 2: All things black are beautiful– Conclusion: Therefore all dogs are beautiful

• Sleep well!

IDIA (Increasing Diversity by Increasing Access to Legal Education)

• A movement to create more diversity from within NLU’s

• To Increase Access to Education for the Underprivileged

• Opportunity to pursue law for students from all strata of society

• To empower and train students selected by IDIA

• Create Future Leaders (Community Representatives)

CLAT (Common Law Admission Test)- Expensive application forms for CLAT

(about Rs. 2500)- Exam centers mostly in urban areas.- CLAT tests on General Knowledge, English,

Maths, Legal and Logical reasoning- Rigorous and consistent training- High participation and competition

NATIONAL LAW SCHOOLS- High fees (almost 2 lakhs a year)- Cost of living (laptop, books, etc.)

ACCESS BARRIERS: WHAT STOPS ME FROM GETTING TO A NATIONAL LAW SCHOOL

TACKLING THE ACCESS BARRIERS

IDIA prepares students for CLAT:

Aptitude test to select students

1-2 years training, guidance and mentoring

Collaboration with leading coaching centres (IMS)

If admitted, IDIA will:

Pay college fees and expenses (about 10 lakhs per student for 5 year course): but only if admission in top law schools (fee waivers: only 2 law schools)

Mentor students and provide support to students to adjust and cope with law school

Throw up internship opportunities

Success in very First Year!14 out of 50 students made it to the top NLU's

TOP RANKERS. Shivendu Pandey: 45th rank in general caterory :National Law

School,Bangalore. Mukesh Kumari Kori: NALSAR,Hyderabad Karthika Annamlai:NLU, Bhopal. Johnson Subba (Sikkim): NLU,Orissa Ria Siuli, NLU Gujarat

IDIA STRIKES IN THE FIRST YEARIDIA STRIKES IN THE FIRST YEAR

DISABLED CATEGORYDISABLED CATEGORY 5 visually impaired students secured admission to leading NLU’s

• Bhimvarapu Mouli Aravind,All India PWD Rank 10-WBNUJS.• Goram Sivasankar,PWD Rank 12-GNLU,Ahmedabad.• Bandi Sudhakar,PWD Rank 20-GNLU,Ahmedabad.• Arepalli Naga Babu,PWD Rank 25-RMNLU,Lucknow.• Tudumu Andalu,PWD(SC) Rank 1-NLU,Jodhpur.

All of them are from severely economically disadvantaged backgrounds .

OUR SUCCESS STORIESOUR SUCCESS STORIES

Ria Shiuli is an 18-year old girl from Basanti, Sunderbans. Her father is illiterate and owns a grocery shop. She is now in GNLU,Gandhinagar.

Karthika Annamalai is an 18-year old girl from Tamil Nadu who embodies success. She lost her mother and had to battle with a drunk uncle to realize her dream of studying in a NLU.

Shivendu Pandey’s father passed away eight years back. His mother works in the Life Insurance Corporation of India. With a General Category rank 45 in the CLAT, Shivendu is now at NLSIU> Bangalore

Bhimavarapu Mouli Aravind is a visually challenged student from Nellore. He secured a seat in WB National University of Juridical Sciences.

Arindam Bhattacharjee- His father is a lawyer who practices at the Murshidabad District Court while his mother is a homemaker. Arindam secured admissionto NLU, Bhopal

Johnson Subba- His father is a peon in the Power Department while his mother is a homemaker. Johnson is now at NLU Orissa

Thank you very much!

• For more information on IDIA, please see www.idialaw.com

• IDIA contacts: Arnab Basu ([email protected]): head of West Bengal chapter

• Arnab Roy: (head of North East chapter):[email protected]