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Education Plus
What CLAT holds for law students
MEERA SRINIVASAN
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Beginning this year, students aspiring to get into some of the national law institutions will have to take a Common Law Admission Test (CLAT). Some views on how it will benefit law aspirants.
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Photo: S.R. Raghunathan
Looking ahead: Students from the School of Excellence (Tamil Nadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University) during a discussion in Chennai.
For students of law and law college aspirants, news about the introduction of a Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) is of great significance. Students from the School of Excellence (Tamil Nadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University) Deepika Shyam, Sampriti Sridhar, Lavanya Subbarayan, Adithi Arun, Annie Nicodemus, Vaishnavi Ravichander, Prithviraj Shankar share their views with Education
Plus, voicing their take on CLAT and other trends in legal education.
The smart, articulate, lawyers-to-be, make their points with great emphasis, agreeing with each other on most points and arguing with one another on some.
Most entrance examinations that determine admissions to law schools are largely similar. A common entrance test would therefore be convenient, says Vaishnavi, a third-year student. “A common test surely saves a lot of trouble,” adds Adithi.
Lavanya tends to agree but feels that students who are not satisfied with their performance in a particular entrance examination, will hence miss the chance of working harder for the others to make it to a good school. “Based on the results of one examination, we could prepare for the rest. Now it’s just one examination,” she says.
Having made it to a law school and now in their second and third years, the students seem very happy with the curriculum. “We do several subjects. The subjects also help us decide on our area of specialisation,” says Prithviraj.
All the same, students seem to quite enjoy the practical component of their course. Much of it not being made compulsory, students tend to take it easy, they point out. Guided practicals would be even more fun and useful, they feel. Instead of merely watching court proceedings, learning about the procedures followed in a court would help, they say.
The popularity of contests such as Moot Courts show how much value students attach to co-curricular endeavours. “Moots are amazing… you get to learn so much,” says Adithi. The standard of students winning national-level moots is very impressive, they assert.
“Since colleges encourage students to take up internships and projects, many get a fair idea of the profession while in college,” adds Prithviraj.
Expanding avenues
The growing importance of areas such as Cyber Law, Intellectual Property Rights and International Law has, besides expanding scope for law students, made their prospects very interesting. While many are still fascinated by litigation, more and more are considering allied or different avenues. Deepika, for instance, finds the area of Human Rights very interesting.
Corporates, too, offer several opportunities for law graduates. Legal consultants earn well, but some need the excitement of litigation to keep them going, students say. It depends on what one is looking for.
Landing a job in a reputed company could mean quick money, but growth, after a point is not too inspiring. Litigation, on the other hand, could mean several years of hard work, apprenticeship and patience before one makes it big after which the “sky is the limit” for how much they can quote as salary, students add.
Legal Processing Outsourcing (LPO) is another emerging avenue.
Higher education options
Options in India being limited, going abroad seems to be the first preference for students considering higher education in law. “Students prefer the U.K. for master’s in law. The courses span about 10 months. After five years, you can’t expect one to be interested in a course that takes longer,” says Vaishnavi.
Sampriti, like her friends, hopes to do a course after her undergraduation. “After some work experience, though,” she adds. Annie plans to take short-term courses at a summer school. “More students go to the U.K. because of the common law system. If one were to apply to a school in the U.S., he or she has to take several qualifying papers,” she says.
Many students, like Prithviraj simultaneously pursue courses such as company secretaryship. With expanding opportunities and competition, the scene looks very promising, students note.
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