This article is written by Suman Chatterjee, Team LawSikho.

It’s that time of year again. The clock is ticking and the judiciary exams are about to be conducted in the coming few months. 

The sparkle in the eyes. The gritting of teeth. The butterflies in the stomachs. Aah! The classic concoction of emotions. To reach the pinnacle of success in our legal career.

To gain immense prestige, unbridled power, and unimaginable glory along with it…

I have yet not met any law student or even practising lawyer who does not want to sit on the big chair, wear the wig and wield the hammer, so to speak. 

However, it’s a thirst left unquenched, a dream unfulfilled for most. 

Why? Here are my commonly observed 10 most common challenges that every Judicial Service aspirant faces.

Today’s article is tagged #NoExcuses because we aim to provide the ultimate answer for all these challenges and excuses and help you make your dream come true (if and only if you truly desire to do so).

Challenge #1. What to study? 

The first biggest hurdle to begin this journey starts with the big fat question- “what all should you study?” The state notification only lists out the subject papers to be covered in the exam and that all the exam takers can simply resort to are the textbooks and bare acts. 

A few books and mock test papers, specifically written for those who aspire to take the exam, do exist for sure, but they are too generic and do not provide any specific exam strategy at all. 

One thing is for sure, you cannot pass the Judicial Service exam just by memorizing a few questions and answers. Rather, you shall be tested on your deep understanding of both substantive and procedural law.

Top-quality study material which covers all the topics in a precise manner is the only remedy to cover the entire syllabus in a timely manner, and if you don’t get proper study materials at hand, the journey is going to be rather tough for you.

Challenge #2. Too much to study

I will admit that even I am guilty of this one. I backed out of the Judicial Service race because I feared the vast syllabus covered in the exam. Even my friends used to say, “God! It requires spending 16-18 hours a day to crack the exam.” Don’t you ever do that! 

First, accept the fact that everything worthwhile takes a lot of effort and time to get. Otherwise, it would not be worth it.

What I didn’t know at the time though was that you can spend a mere 8-10 hours per day and very well be on the path to crack the Judicial Service code. It’s not about how many hours you put in but how much output results from those hours.

There are two types of students commonly found—one who work hard and the other who work smart. But it is only the third type i.e. those who smartly work hard are the ones who make it to the top chair! This is the motto that every judiciary aspirant should remember.

Challenge #3. No proper guidance

I totally agree with this one. Look around yourself and you will find multiple coaching centres for IAS, CLAT, IIT-JEE or CA/CS aspirants. 

But what about Judicial Services? Except a few local ones, only a handful of reputed ones with proven results.

Therein lies another problem. The very few renowned ones established in big metro cities are already flooded with students. The more popular a coaching centre is, the higher the number of students it takes in.

As a result, personal attention and feedback go down the drain.

And this is not only for JS coaching centres. One of my CA friends told me that the average number of students in a single class (session) in one of the premier CA coaching centres in Kolkata would reach as high as four hundred! 

Do you think the tutor provided personal attention to each of the students in the class? No doubt, for the students, many questions were left unasked and unanswered. 

The same with top coaching centres across the country.

The problem lies in that if your mentor does not personally guide YOU to fill up YOUR gaps and enhance YOUR strengths, how would you ever become better?

In light of the above, it can be said that most Judicial Service aspirants are finding it an arduous task to spot a good coaching centre with excellent faculty and great track record.

But even if they do…

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Want to know how to start your preparation for the Judiciary exam? Check the video below:

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Challenge #4. Coaching is too expensive

Most of the time, it turns out that the coaching centres are charging over a lakh or two in fees. Oops! Here you are, already spending lakhs of rupees on your LLB degree and then, on top of that, you have to spend another lakh or more to take the Judicial Service exam.

It is definitely a challenge for many. I totally agree.

However, it should be noted that hiring high-quality teaching staff, offering state-of-the-art learning facilities, and developing and updating study material year over year, does cost money, often more than we think. 

In my opinion, this is a necessary evil. The only solution to this is, self introspection and ask yourself if you truly want this or not. If the answer is yes, ask yourself if the coaching centre will even be able to deliver worth to you. If yes, go ahead without second thoughts, my friend.

Come to think of it, high fees are only a problem if you do not get any return out of your investment. Would you feel the same if that little amount really helps you become a judge? 

Of course, not!

Challenge #5. Coaching in a different city

Then again…

For many, paying high tuition fees is not an issue. They have got it covered. But for them, it might be that there are simply no coaching centres where they stay. 

For instance, there are no reputed coaching centres in Kolkata except a few local ones run by college teachers or private tutors. Here in Delhi though, you have got Rahul’s or Pahuja that almost everybody is aware of.

The problem is, not many would find it feasible to leave everything back in their hometown and shift to a different city to pursue their judiciary dreams. Even those who had packed their bags and planned to move are now stuck as the Covid outbreak has only added to the misery.

A biggish obstacle to your dreams certainly.

Challenge #6. Dreaded language and GK papers

I studied in an English medium school—yet another disadvantage for Judicial Service aspirants! Why? Let me tell you about my experience. While I was thinking of attempting the WBJS exam, the biggest challenge I faced was probably to write an essay in the vernacular language paper (that is, Bengali). Why o’ why?

Unfortunately, I was not so well versed in the vernacular language and to be able to write a full-fledged piece in it, I would have had to hit Bengali fiction books and follow Bengali newspapers daily. Something I sincerely dreaded, to be honest.

Moreover, honestly speaking, how many of us get the time to dedicatedly brush up on our general knowledge or keep up with the current affairs around the world daily? Not many. 

For example, I keep up with the legal news regularly but if you ask me about who won the World Billiards Championship last year, you would receive a blank expression. 

(BTW the ones who do, I salute you.)

Challenge #7. No state-wise strategy

Another important challenge that no one rarely talks about is, the strategy needs to go hand in hand with the state-wise exam requirements. Whether it is due to the types of questions posed or the subject papers covered, the exams differ in scope since they are state-level exams and not national level exams. 

Now therein lies another problem. Let’s say, there are no decent coaching centres in your city. Can you go to a different city for coaching instead? Even if you could afford it or travel to another state, that coaching centre would not prepare you for the exam in your state. 

You can either keep searching for a local coaching centre or decide to take the Judicial Service exam in the state you are taking the tuitions from. 

Disclaimer: I am not saying you won’t find any coaching centre in Delhi that prepares you for RJS but the odds are against you. 

Challenge #8. Not enough real-life practice

Taking a test at your coaching centre is nothing compared to sitting inside the big hall and taking the biggest academic test of your life on D-Day. 

Your hands are sweating, you are looking nervously at the person sitting next to you, and watching the wristwatch again and again. 

You knew the answer to this question but it is just not coming to you now. You will flunk this attempt too.

Do you know why this happens? Because you did not attempt enough mock tests. In my opinion, all these competitive exams are more about exam-taking skills and less about your ability. 

The more mock tests you take, the better prepared you will be. 

The tension, the excitement and the rush will be familiar to you. You would have faced D-Day many times before.

Challenge #9. Working full-time!

It’s not that only law students harbour the dreams of becoming a judge one day. Many experienced advocates and legal professionals covet it too. But they feel strapped for one commodity that nobody can buy … Time, the dearest of all. 

And I sympathize with them. Slogging for over 10 hours per day and tackling the ever-burgeoning workload … it’s a miracle that they still harbour and nurture their dream. Hats off to these guys. 

But that does not relieve them from the fact that they still need to put in a minimum amount of effort to pass the Judicial Services exam.

It’s a big, EXTREMELY BIG challenge for anyone, and as a matter of fact, you surely can’t do it alone this time. For the working professionals, you will need proper guidance and help from those who have been there and done that. 

Challenge #10. Can’t handle stress

I have seen many aspirants fail at the exam consistently, lose every pinch of self-confidence, and eventually get confused and lost along the way. They can’t handle the tremendous stress and they end up bursting like a bloated balloon. My heart cries out for them. 

It’s true that the Judicial Service exam is one of the toughest competitive exams in the country, and perhaps, lakhs of students vie for a handful of seats. 

What’s more? If you get a low ranking in the CAT exam, you might get into a low-tier college and still acquire your MBA degree. However, for exams like the IAS or the JS, you either pass or fail the exam. There is no grey area in between.

On top of that, the number of attempts is limited in the case of Judicial Service exams. And within those few attempts, you have to lift up the mighty hammer if you can. 

These are the top challenges almost every judicial aspirant faces.

So, I promised you a solution for the same, right?

Here you go.

Click here to find out about the solution.

I will give you an idea about what it is though.

We recently released our new, exclusive test prep course for judiciary aspirants—we named it ‘Lord of the Courses’.

With top-notch, super high-quality study materials, coupled with highly experienced and competent faculty, this course is one of its kind. I can guarantee you that this course goes one step further than most offline and even online courses out there. 

What makes it truly unique?

Here are a few things that set this course apart.

100% online course. Staying in a different city? No issues. Are you a working professional? No issues. Study at your own pace, at your own convenience.

Personal guidance. None of our students is left ignored or neglected. We pay individual attention to everyone and work personally with you.

State-specific exam strategies. Not only do we teach you strategies but also provide you with essential resources to help with state-specific statutes and questions.

Unique content format. Every study material is presented with notes and colour-coded format to help you learn much faster than usual.

Past-year question papers analysis. Broken up in various charts to figure out the question patterns, the most important topics, and how best to tackle them. 

Essay and judgment writing. Practice essay writing on frequently asked topics within a specified time limit. Scared of judgment writing? Our step-by-step methodology will help you grow your legal writing skills multifold.

Language papers. No more fumbling with grammatical questions, precis or translations anymore. Our language teaching faculty is here for you.

Free access to our litigation courses. Additional access to our litigation courses including criminal litigation, civil litigation, arbitration, IBC, NCLT, etc.

Free access to our contract drafting, cyber law and IPR courses. Tech-smart judges are the need of the hour. Also, you might get freelancing work for a little side income while you pursue this course. 

Mock interview sessions. Many students are rejected in the interview round, after toiling for the preliminary and mains rounds. 

All India Ranking. Get a rough idea where you stand among the other LawSikho judiciary students (potential exam candidates). You will know what your strengths and weaknesses are, and how to get on top of the charts.

And much more.

If you are looking for an all-around, in-depth legal test prep course that not only prepares you for the judiciary examination but also for other exams like UGC NET, Bank SO, Assistant Prosecutor, etc, this is the one for you.

Introductory Special Discount Offer
*Save Rs 1,00,000 on your purchase

Considering the VALUE you get out of this course, the regular price is fixed at Rs 1,50,000. BUT…

Since this is the first batch of judiciary examination training starting this April 2020, we aimed to draw the top talent from all over the country. For that, we decided to lower the price to Rs 50,000 only.

At a massive 67 percent discount!

For anyone who signs up now, they get to save Rs 1,00,000 on their purchase.

However, as you can understand, we could not extend this discounted offer to anyone and everyone. 

So, we limited the number of seats to mere 50 (of which 10 were already pre-booked even before the course was launched).

And the rest of the seats are getting filled up faster every day.

Do note that the enrolment closes in the next 3 days or as soon as there are no more seats left, whichever is earlier.

What are you still waiting for?

Don’t you want to crack the judiciary code and make your ultimate wish come true? Don’t you want to make your parents proud of your biggest achievement in life? Don’t you want the prestige, the power and the glory attached to it?

If yes…

Click here to enrol now before the offer expires forever.

Looking forward to seeing you inside the classroom.

If you have any query, give us a call at 011 4804 5203 or reply to this email stating “I want to become a judge”. We will get back to you urgently.

Cheers to you becoming a judge.

P. S. LawSikho is running hour-long webinars every day. Want to learn how to improve your learning skills? Prepare an LLM application to a foreign university? Career opportunities in new, upcoming areas of law? Don’t miss these high-quality webinars with industry and academic experts. Join our WhatsApp group to get instant updates on your phone.

NOTE: if the above group is already full, join here. If you face any problem in joining the WhatsApp group, kindly reply back with your name and WhatsApp mobile number and we would add you to the relevant group manually.

P. P. S. All our premium courses are covered under an unwavering 30 days full money-back guarantee. If you feel like it is not working out for you, maybe you are not getting enough value out of it or it is not meeting your expectations, just get in touch with us. We will refund every rupee you paid for the course.

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