My Three Best Internships So Far

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November 27, 2016

This article was written by Shresi Sinha from New Law College, Pune. If you want to share your law school story, share with [email protected]

Internships turn out to be an important aspect of any law student. Right from the application to the finishing touch, it’s a learning process throughout the journey. Examinations end and the hunt for good internships is on the go. Friends, seniors, contacts and most importantly internet comes to our rescue. The first step starts with the sorting out of the internship firms on several grounds like minimum internship period, the place, the timing, the brand name and so on. Updating our Curriculum Vitae is the next step, also any sort of covering letter or any other specifications mentioned is fulfilled and mailed. It is followed by reminder mails and calls for the internship opportunity. Following all such steps, I have had the opportunity to do as many as 6 internships in my 6 semesters. Though every bit of it has been an essential learning part, yet I would consider the following as my favorites: –

NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION, New Delhi.

The first and the foremost step towards any internship is the making of a CURRICULUM VITAE or a RESUME. It is a difficult task especially when you are in your first year of college. Now, first we need to understand as to what is a Curriculum Vitae or CV. The CV for any individual serves as a directory or an index of his qualification and achievements. There are so many versions of making the right CV, which I personally came across.

The length of the CV

The average length of the CV should be not more than 2- 3pages. It is because of the reason that the recruiting people just wants to get an idea of your qualification and are not into writing any sort of thesis on you. Yet it must also include all the essentials. So precision is what you learn here.

Format of the CV

Obviously there is no possibility that all the CVs would follow a similar format, but a general one has to be abided by, which needs to incorporate the essentials. These essentials include the 10th board result, 12th board result, any of your semester’s result and so on. Also, since first-year students are too young for completing any diploma, the enrollment can also be mentioned. Along with the diploma any sort of distance course or certificate course has to be incorporated in the CV

Contents of the CV

It is also an essential part to know what to include in a CV. Firstly, all your academic qualifications, any sort of competitions, winning or participatory on a national or state level, any publications available in the newspaper, magazines and so on. A CV should also include all sorts of co- curricular or extra-curricular activities you have been associated with. Do not include any qualification for which you don’t have a certificate. This should be complied with since it authenticates the CV

Once your CV is done, you are all set to apply it. For the National Human Rights Commission, I applied it via the email id which is given on the website along with the covering letter.

COVERING LETTER

Very often, it is told by the firm to apply along with a covering letter.

The covering letter serves as a short bio of the individual, including the name, year of study, phone number and email id. It also includes the purpose of the internship in a paragraph. The purpose needs to convince the firm so that they finalize your internship. For example, if you are applying in a firm dealing with Patent Laws, you should definitely mention of any diploma or any other course you have done regarding the subject. Use of accurate words in the right manner is what is required in this.

Send an email attaching the CV and a covering letter. The body of the email should be very precise and should only contain your name, contact number and email id. If you had telephonic conversations prior to mailing in the CV do mention it.

After sending in an email, the next step is the follow up session. It is very rare that any of the organization or the firm you have applied in for internship sends an acknowledgment email for the same, so you need to call them to confirm, several times you need to send a reminder mail. I was lucky enough because the NHRC People had a quick response mechanism with their email system, followed by a small telephonic interview.

Since they had an elaborate internship mechanism, the list of the selected candidates was mailed to the applicants.

NHRC- Starting up of the Internship

NHRC, situated in Copernicus Marg, one of the posh areas of Delhi, is the highest National Authority that works for the safeguarding of Human Rights. The selected candidates for the internship came in groups at the allotted time. Punctuality is a must. Always be there before the allotted time, not only will that help you feel relax but will also give a very positive impression.

Since Human Rights is guaranteed to all, there were interns from all fields of education, most of them however were from the law background.

The first two days were the introductory session, where we were shown the place, and an overall timetable was made for the remaining period of internship. We were told to do a research article on any of the Human Rights issues, for which we were acquainted with the huge library and also with the entire database available there.

We were divided into small groups and given weekly work. A very differently interesting work was with the MADAD cell of NHRC. It was a one to one interaction with the public, where they enquired about the status of their case and we were to provide them with the same, also there were others who used to come to the office and file in the complaint, all the formalities and procedures were to be guided by us. This not only was a new experience, but it also gave us a sense of responsibility where we had to remain alert to perform our duties. The way we need to talk to a client or a victim was learnt in this process.

Another weekly task was regarding the discussions of police atrocities and the defiance of human rights. Several documentaries and case studies were shown which were truly shocking. It was very sad to see that the public authorities have been exploiting their powers in such a heinous manner. We were made aware of the hard reality of the process of post-mortem through various videos which were so differently conceived by me.

Another impacting experience was a visit to the Dasna Jail. It is the largest jail in Uttar Pradesh and is spread in an area as large as 36 acres and serving as many as 1700 prisoners. The reform and rehabilitation policy prevalent in our system was clearly seen there. Special impetus to education and other fruitful activities was given. Many were also enrolled with IGNOU for their distance course. There were separate cells for men, women and the LGBT community, while the hardened criminals were given a comparatively strict punishment. Children below the age of 6 years were allowed to stay with their mothers and special day care centers and schools were provided to them. A separate legal aid facility was also given to the prisoners so that they weren’t denied of the rights which they possessed and were also made acquainted with the same. All in all, the jail visit was a fruitful and a one of a kind experience. It made us shed off the preconceived notions of the jail authorities portrayed to us in the reel life.

Through all these weekly experiences, we were to submit our research articles at the end of the internship. My topic was ENGENDERING RELIGION; WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO HINDUISM. Writing a research article was one of the most thorough and lasting experience. Choosing the correct topic and being able to express your views, backed with facts and figures is something I learned during this process.

National Human Rights Commission proved to play a very pivotal role in my learning process. It provided me with new experiences and opportunities. I would definitely recommend this internship to all the pupils and law students especially to go in for an internship with the same.

MULLA & MULLA & CRAIGIE BLUNT & CAROE(Advocates, Solicitors and Notaries), Mumbai.

I also had the opportunity to work with Mulla and Mulla, one of the leading law firms situated in Mumbai. The firm is a huge one with many partners and several associates. A hardcore legal firm, it helped me gauge the actual scenario of the legal expert. The workload is tremendous, dealing in different aspect of law, but the lawyers had a unique way of solving the same.

We were initially given the files for the cases for which we were going to attend the hearing. The files contained all the necessary information and every possible document annexed. I was made aware of how the entire system works, from the very scratch.

Client dealing and counseling was another aspect I witnessed. The court visits further enhanced my knowledge of the profession I had already chosen. The court discipline has to be maintained and it is definitely different from the moot courts we are so accustomed to.

The firm dealt with cases of top notch clients ranging from the film stars to the politicians. These were really interesting to study.

The firm also had a huge library which was open to the all the associates for reference. The use of law and applicability of the same in a particular situation was learned during the internship.

A healthy working culture was encouraged in the firm, and the associates were extremely helpful and offered a guiding light whenever needed.

The interns were given ample work and were always checked upon. This not only enabled us to be updated with our assigned work but also gave us a sense of responsibility.

One thing which greatly influenced me was the learning attitude which everyone possessed. Always being updated and ready for learning, from the co-interns to the partners, everyone believed in the idea of giving and receiving knowledge.

MANUPATRA, Information Solutions Private Limited, New Delhi

Everyone who is associated with Law is acquainted with Manupatra. It serves as one of the largest online legal database.

More than the work, I came to know about the work culture at Manupatra. Starting from the biometric to no use of cell phones and other restrictions came in the rules and regulations of the organization. It helped me gauge the corporate culture.

Time management, accuracy and effectiveness were the key points which had to be taken into consideration while working at Manupatra.

The work was duly assigned and was checked upon at regular intervals; also the employees were always ready to explain any doubts over and over again.

The remuneration and the free lunch which was provided acted as incentives which further motivated us to work.

The lunch breaks turned out to be a discussing platform where students from different colleges and areas shared their views and interests.

Also the work allotted to us like the finding of the assessment years for the various tax cases was uploaded within a week, this served as a great motivation.

The interns were given all the amenities, to ensure that quality work was received. This gave a sense of belongingness towards the organization.

It can be rightfully summarized that the process of learning is an unending one and cannot, rather should not, be stopped under any circumstances. Also, the field of law is dynamic in nature, where laws keep changing, suiting the circumstances and needs of the society. As an important element of the society, we need to understand our specific roles and work towards its fulfillment. This can only be done by adapting to the “learning instinct” which is essential at this point of the hour.

My Moot Court Experience: Runner Up At Amity Jaipur Moot

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November 27, 2016

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My Moot Court Experience: Runner Up At Amity Jaipur Moot

This article was written by Shreyas Jain of UPES, Dehradun. Want to share your law school experiences? Email your write up to [email protected]

“The harder you sweat in practice,

The lesser you bleed in war”

I have both experienced sweating and bleeding, though not in a war but as they say, for us law students, moots are the preparation of war in the outer world, after 5 years.

Bearing proudly the pageant of the 1st runner’s up in the Amity National Moot Court Competition, Jaipur certainly pulls me up a bit in air, but the ground realities were, are and will always be imbibed in me (most probably).

“No matter if you lose, you will never end up being a loser, but a learner”. With this line of thought (which never is an inspiration but a consolation in the end), I registered for the competition. We had the moot proposition, the inspiration and the human resources to do the job. Now, we just needed to commence our respective jobs, which by the way, is not as easy as it looks. Anyone can finish a task but to initiate one…. It’s a hard nut to crack.

For law student, the very natural and local guardians are not his relatives or parents but the seniors. Whether the problem is related to academics or in a need of a vehicle for one’s girlfriend, seniors are the first and foremost people, whom everyone addresses, so did we.

I had some experience under my belt by virtue of participating in the Intra Moot Competition in my 1st semester. As we were being provided with the details of the procedure of the research for the upcoming moot, a few questions did arose in my mind – ‘on the kind of research I did in my first semester’. However, the briefing session by one of our cherished senior did ignited the joy for mooting within us, but more than that the uneasiness, anxiousness, tension, to sum it all- “fear” bowled us over. Fear makes you do things on which you might not even have paid heed to, in ordinary circumstances. But now, we had a strategy in order to at least make our presence felt inside the moot court room. The ‘issues’ were divided so that everyone in the team works equally.

As the day of the competition came closer, every member started complaining about the concept of “24 hours in a day”. Time seemed to sweep as quickly as it could, leaving us in bewilderment as to when will the memo be completed? Our ‘not so’ extensive research on the topic of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender) came to an end on a fateful day. No doubt, we all were relieved by the fact that the research phase of the moot came to an end. Now just the other half of the journey remained to be walked upon.

As soon as the soft copy of the memorial was submitted, I knew that the oral arguments will decide, whether we will make it or break it! The journey to Amity, Jaipur had already begun and the fact that we were still pretty much clueless as to how and what are we going to speak in front of the judges? We had done our homework and in that process I went through the keywords “moot-speakers-court mannerisms” on you-tube quite a few times. Not even once did we thought of winning the competition, rather we just hoped for qualifying the first round, that’s it.

The first round of the competition was to be held the next day, wherein I needed to unveil the best out of me. But wait, what am I supposed to speak there? At the immediate instance, I was thinking about the sleepless night which is to be covered tonight. Phew!!

The first round, according to me, was pretty much in our favor and the results depicted the same. We were in the next round. Judges, as well as the audience sitting inside the room complimented my oratory skills, to which I humbly told myself, “They are being mistaken, completely”.

The next round was on the same day and to our amazement it was scheduled with the fellow room-mate team from Nagpur. The judges seemed to be scrutinizing the opinion of either of the teams with utmost meticulosity. It seemed to me as if the judges would not agree to us on any matter whether it is the maintainability of suit under article 32 or even conferring right to life to an individual. The judges, on the basis of their ability to grill the participants, scored a perfect 10 on 10 but sadly I was not judging them, rather they were. A mere mistake on the part of the opponents to keep arguing with the judge in spite of the judge asking them to move ahead with other contentions, proved fatal and they lost by a margin.

Luck favors those who help themselves. However, so as to make luck favor one side, an appropriate amount of diligence is also necessary to work in the same side. The final round against ‘Rajiv Gandhi National Law University, Patiala’ was pretty much at par, but the arguments from the opponent’s side had both quality and quantity whereas we lacked the “quality” part of it.

A moot certainly gives one a learning experience to handle pressure from peers, friends, colleagues, opponents and judges. As in a student’s life dealing with pressure and priorities is a basic objective which has to be achieved. The moments where we celebrated our victories were of great joy but one moment that took me in awe was after the final session was over, a lady came up to me stroking her right hand on my head she said, “You are an outstanding speaker” (to which I humbly told myself again, “what is wrong with them”).

My 5 Years Of Studying Law At Lucknow University

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November 27, 2016

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My 5 Years Of Studying Law At Lucknow University

This article is written by Priyansha Srivastava. If you want to share the stories of your law school, write to: [email protected]

“I am not what happened to me , I am what I choose to become”.

-C.G. Jung

Like every individual carry some ambition in their eyes and work accordingly, I too was amongst themwho carried a crystal clear dreams in my eyes of studying in a top most law college. I guess that very moment I was too young to realise that carrying dreams in your eyes isn’t enough, you need to work to achieve your goal. I was given a month’s time after my board examinations to prepare for CLAT. I tried my best but couldn’t make it through because of onepetty reason and i.e. my weakness with maths section. My days went dull and the darkness propounded leaving me to curse myself for not being able to achieve what I wanted. But it is said where no dooris left seek for the window, I did the same, a new ray of hope collided my life one particular day when my Uncle came in with the admission form of law department, Lucknow University. Though it was not in my plans but somewhere or the other I knew that “life is what comes in when you least expect it”. Anyways not being able to purse my goal I had no other option than to choose what’s lying on my way. Admission procedure completed and I became the full-fledged student of Lucknow University.

Herecame the first day of college and all of its first year students were required to attend the orientation programme. Before proceeding into the auditorium where orientation was being conducted I had that spark of excitementin me for I would be meeting new people whom I would call my friends and new place with completely professional environment but things weren’t that easy going as it appeared to be. Seeing the stern looks of the Professors out there and nervous faces all around me , my morale instead of taking a hike sank a bit. After I came back home I threwa tantrum that I would drop instead of going to the University. Then after being told by my grandma about the pros and cons of what I had in my mind she ultimately convinced me to carry on my studies over here.

Then came the second day, I went inside the classroom with all new faces sitting inside waiting for their dream journey to start. I sat with three girls sitting in a row and started with the exchange of introduction and the journey started with a smiling curve on faces and sharing our dreams and aspirations. Then entered our subject teacher and we were told the origin of the term “law” and its importance in each and every lives. Like this days passed and passed on well but I was not very satisfied. First semester went merely in settling down and knowing each other, for less opportunities were given from our faculties side such as group projects, assignment etc. thereby leaving us to take in ourselves the initiative to know our college mates.

We had all art side subjects therefore it wasn’t that much of a problem for they are interesting and knowledgeable except for the ‘history’ which till date has not gained my interest in it. Anyways, like this our semester examination turned up leaving us so very nervous as if we were made to sir for IAS examinations . Especially giving examinations in those chilling winters was not a child play and the biggest hindrance which came on my way then was not to get a hold on my subjects but it was to retain the same for long. Then the result came out and left me into the biggest shock of my life with merely 60% of marks and that day I realised that somewhere or the other this college can never be the best thing that happened to me, not because of the less percentage but because not getting the credits of my hard work in the right manner since my exams went on quite well and getting less than the hard work you put in leads you to pulled off morale. But I believe negativities in life do not come to uproot you from your confidence level but to work harder in that direction and showcase the life that you too are tough. I worked even harder in the next semester and was regular with my college with no bunks and absolutely no carelessness but yet again life knocked me down and in the middle of my examinations I met with an accident because of which I had to skip two examinations , leaving me to fall into the crippling thoughts of my drowning career. A ray of light showed its way and I was guided by my faculty teachers to apply for improvement the next year, providing me a sigh of big relief. I took a pledge that I would convert this loss into a better opportunity and would work hard on my subjects to balance the same. So this is how my First year of college took a flight.

Second year of college was very serious from the starting itself because of all the strenuous subjects we were made to deal with. In those initial days of my 2nd year I got so frightened with my subjects comprising of Law of contracts, Law of Torts, Jurisprudence, International Law, IPC, etc. that a mere thought of opening the book used to give me a kind of goose bumps but I was equally aware of it’s importance in government jobs and for a full- fledged lawyer so anyhow I convinced my mind to not let my confidence go down and work hard, however being new with all these subjects I couldn’t score well in my examinations but this time the result was satisfactory because I reaped what I sowed.Third semester examinations though being tough yet were interesting and I took it as a challenge and worked upon it leaving no stone unturned and luckily did comparatively well in the Fourth semester and thereby scoring highest in psychology with 80% which was my improvement paper of first year.

Then came the important year of my college life in which I did less for myself but did a little more to groom up my college. It might sound astonishing but like all law colleges, Lucknow University was not that much active in the practical source of learning such as moots, debates etc. When we were in our first year the concept of moot came to an end with the passing of the very active batch of that time. In my second year we did not give a heed to it but it is said “it is better late than never”. And in the very starting of our third year we i.e. me along with one of my friend took the initiative to restart morebund Moot Court Committee with well-established procedure and had detailed discussion with our teacher conveners as well as our dean and with their cooperation we gave a kicking start to the establishment of a moot court committee and then CV were called out for being its member and by god’s grace I was selected after going through two levels comprising of interview as well as CV selection. In that very year we conducted intra-semester moot court competition as well as inter semester moot court competition. This was a small push to influence the morebund cultural committee to give a new start as well. The feeling of seeing the success of what you have established is immense and no other happiness could be better than this.

Fourth year will always have a special corner in my heart for the people whom I used to call my friends became my best of friends and the subjects which used to give me goosebumps were under my control and the feeling of being the second seniormost gave me the feeling of what all I’ve gained and all the fake memories of not getting into a topmost law college almost vanished in the air, leaving no sign of regrets in my mind and soul. I was again selected as a member of MOOT COURT COMMITTEE. Also the subjects of the fourth year were interesting and difficult at the same time, the combination which we would hardly find. My control over the subjects of Fourth year was far more than satisfactory because of our beloved as well as so knowledgeable faculty members who made us learn those subjects like a child’s play. Seriously the way they have contributed and imparted their knowledge and the moral values cannot be compared to any sayings and any book in the world. Like this days went by and exams turned up and test phobia took the limelight and then arrived the time of results, when we crossed our fingers with the best hope we could master. It is said “hard work pays off” and I saw it happening for the first time and I scored 71% which was merely like a dream come true for me because scoring in seventies is something like floating on the 7th cloud and so was my position and I got the third rank in my batch which was more than what I expected and thanked from heart to all my friends, teachers and of course my parents who contributed in this achievement selflessly. In my fourth year also we conducted one inter- semester moot court competition. This year which was and still is my most memorable year went on joyfully leaving all good remark.

Then arrived my Fifth year of University as the name suggests from starting only it turned out to be stern since we were made to choose the subjects of our own choice, and believe me it is not at all an easy task for one wrong decision can show you what not. Not just this, it was the high time to actually start working upon your dreams and ambitions especially for me where I couldn’t take any other chance to risk my dreams or bring my career into a stake. This time I started my journey by interning in one of the Maharatna companies of India, ‘ONGC’ and also from the very beginning started working upon my subjects with firm determination and anxiety.

So, this was my journey till now in my University which includes all bitter and good experiences. In my opening para I mentioned about the very famous saying of Sir. C.G. Jung upon which frankly speaking I kind of denied or disagreed when I thought it to be less of what I got i.e. my admission in University but with each passing day I realised and today I am confirmed with this fact that Yes, This university is not what happened to me but what I chose to be. With no shame I accept this fact that before getting admitted to this renowned University I had certain conflict with my thoughts as to the college I am joining or the dream I couldn’t achieve but spending 4.5 beautiful years of my college life I have drawn a small conclusion that “never underestimate yourself”, for your identity is not from the place you have been brought up or groomed up but from the deeds you have committed even if you are attached to earth and today I can proudly say that “Lucknow University was the best thing that could ever happen to me”. Life is all about the changes you least expect but in the end we realise that such changes makes your life worth living and cherishing. You just need to accept the changes, respect the changes and work in order to maintain that change and convert that change for good.

My Four Years At The Law School, DSNLU.

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November 27, 2016

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This article is written by Saman Siddique, a student of DSNLU, Vizag who headed a student movement at DSNLU.

College is different from a High School; it made me one step closer to being qualified for a career of my dream and also allowed me to have fun while working hard. The four years of my law school can be said to have both good and bad experiences. Considering DSNLU is not among the top seven colleges there are comparatively less opportunities, thus one have to be keen in taking initiatives to be able to compete with the best law students.

One of the best things about DSNLU is its student initiatives and being among new law colleges it encourage participation, which helps us to recognise our area of interest by participating in various activities. The Professors here are very helpful and caring.

My first semester of freshman was full of excitement as everything was new be it the place or friends. I worked hard the whole semester and gave my best but result was not good, the time passed off and I learned to overcome the flaws in myself. My past experiences made me realise that hard work is the only way to success, thus from second semester onwards my results improved a lot. In Fifth Semester, I was the third topper of my batch and I am trying to maintain it.

For me, college life was not restricted only to the classrooms. Thanks to my friends who are my partner in crimes, they always managed to find some time for me and make me happy whenever I have a mood swing. In these four years, I have made many friends. Some are close, some are very close. Some I want to treasure for the rest of my life. People had warned me that getting into a Law School is just like getting into a full of darkness. You will eventually end up in the darkness. But they never said that there will be some stars that will lighten up your life. Yes, those stars are my friends. They gave me a reason to stay here far away from my family. They gave me the shoulder to cry whenever I missed my parents. They gave me reasons to smile whenever I got scolded by my faculties. Life would not have been so easy without them.

I never had a night out in my life ever till I came to this college. Going out with friends on long rides was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. I love exploring places and these people always helped me doing that. Coming out of the comfort zone i.e. from being the pampered child of my parents to staying independently in such a city where people don’t even know Hindi gave me confidence that this small town girl can adjust anywhere she goes. If she has adjusted with Idly in Breakfast, Dosa in Lunch and Curd-Rice in Dinner, it’s very obvious that she can adjust anywhere in this world!

Staying in a Hostel is the worst part of any student’s life and thanks to my parents; they never allowed me to stay in an independent flat. Always concerned about my security, my phone’s call history always consists of my Mom and Dad. It was for the first time they had sent their daughter to such a faraway place and talking on the phone was not sufficient for them. Skype had always come to my rescue. I guess my parents will be happy now. After one year, I will be with them back in my hometown practising under any senior in the District Court. Even after staying here for 5 years, I have understood the value of my parents. Staying with them for 18 years had let me take them for granted. But the main essence of your parents is known when you stay away from them and you crave to meet them but you can’t. That pain is gruelling. And I have felt it!

As it is said, College is the place where you experience every single thing. Life has given me the opportunity to study in a Law college which has seen many ups and downs from the date of its inception. My college was formerly known as Andhra Pradesh University of Law which was further amended to Damodaram Sanjivayya National Law University in the year of 2008. But recently after the TDP government came into power, it announced widely that a new NLU will be established at par with NALSAR in the near future.

Such an announcement sent frills through my friends and especially in me. Being from a middle-class family, getting into a National Law University was a tough call. In our families, girls are not allowed to go outside their hometown for Higher Studies. But thanks to my parents who sent me to this faraway Anna land so that I could pursue my dreams and become such a person who will not fear to stand out in the crowd. But such a news coming in, the first thing came into my mind was the frightening face of my parents. I never wanted them to break down. Tantrums from the near and dear ones, their hopes being churned down, and such things were making me feel nervous.

After the announcement was made, a Government Order was furnished and that made us more worried. The college wore a sordid look and everyone had the same question ringing in their mind, ‘Is DSNLU a NLU’? We questioned our college authorities but we didn’t get any clarification regarding this. After many unsuccessful attempts, we thought of forming a team who will meet the officials concerned and raise our voices against the adamant administration of our college. We formed an Action team comprising of some students who were really good in academics as well as public speaking.

I was made the head of that team. I was never a leader, but I was the first person to initiate the discussion of forming a team who will get the issue of each and every single student of DSNLU under one roof. It was tough initially to handle a group of 15 students, but thanks to all my juniors and seniors for supporting me handling the core issues of the status of DSNLU and asking the requisite questions to the administration. Our fight took us to the roads holding placards and demanding the government to take back the Government Order which stated that a new National Law University will be established in the Andhra Pradesh state which will be at par with NALSAR. We sat on Dharna asking our college to answer us.

We met the District Collector who assured us assistance. Being a staunch supporter of Aam Aadmi Party, it gave me confidence to follow the path of Arvind Kejriwal and sit on a Dharna demanding what we have a right thereof. We even sent a student delegation to the Law Secretary of Andhra Pradesh who assured us that he will look into the matter as soon as possible. Our wait was only increasing without getting any fruitful result. Days were passing by but we were unable to get any outcome. After discussing with every person, we finally decided that a student delegation will be sent to meet the Chief Minister Mr. N. Chandra Babu Naidu.

It was a tough task for me to decide who all will be going to meet a stalwart of Andhra Pradesh. It was very necessary for me to choose such students who could strike the perfect chord with the Chief Minister which in turn will secure our future. After some heavy gruelling meetings, I decided to send three students who were too good in Public Speaking and fore mostly were Telegu.

I was asked to accompany them as they all believed in me, but I had a different thought all together. Being a Telegu CM, a brief chat with him in his mother tongue will have a different impact rather than having the same in English. It was my call just with a wild guess that may be this meeting will bring in some good news. Luckily, the Chief Minister said that he will look into the matter and he won’t let the future of DSNLU go into haste. That gave a huge relief to the students of DSNLU, but the main tension was not averted. Till now, the future of the students of my college was not secure. They always had that tension of having their college de-recognised as a NLU. Students have sacrificed their pleasures and have worked hard just to become a part of this college. Being in a NLU is not only about a status, but also a pride to stand ahead in the crowd with their heads held high. It obviously gives them an edge over other Law students who are not from these elite law schools.

After a month or so, the Chief Minister announced that DSNLU will get all the support from the State Government and their status will not be de-recognised. This was a huge relief granted by the stalwart of Andhra Pradesh to the students of 18 different states who had come far away from their homes just to be a part of this University which was at its growing stage.

The day came when the first batch of my college passed out. Our Vice-Chancellor organised one of the best convocations I had ever witnessed ever. I got an opportunity to interact with the VC’s of the National Law Schools of India. The Chief Minister announced that DSNLU will be getting a grant of Rs.120 Crore from the State and the students will get every facility that they desire of. This was the best day of my life.

I have one more year left in this college. Initially, I always wanted these 5 years to end soon. But now it seems that 5 years were not enough to live a carefree life I lived here. I always thought of doing a Job in the initial years of my course, but now I want to write. Write as much as I can because writing gives me utmost pleasure. I want to make the most out of it in the last year of my college. Make friends, go everywhere where I haven’t been yet, booze with friends, have heartbreaks, shout out to the world, laugh out loudly, cry silently and dance like there is no tomorrow.

Life is only for once and this law school made this girl turn out to be a woman. A woman who is independent to take up her own decisions, who is fearless and who can stand up to any misdeed. I had never thought that law school will take the best out of me and instil such confidence in me. Now only I wish why the college was early to come to an end for me.

I wish so badly to be here for the next 5 years, to relive those moments I had with my friends, to enjoy the fun we made out of our lecturers, the classes we bunked just for the sake of going on long drives, the pleasure of waking till late night and watching movies and sleeping till late in the afternoon, take shower once in a week and fore mostly going out with friends to Seminars just for the sake of a short vacation. Life was never as good to me as I had always thought of ending up in a degree college way back in my hometown. Law happened by luck but what I am happened by choice.

In the end, college to me isn’t just a place where I have to work hard and study all the time to get my degree and get a job; it is a place to become responsible and independent. My college experience is going to be something which is valuable and priceless. These are the memorable moments of my life.

Know This Law School: NUJS

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November 27, 2016

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As the CLAT exam and other law school exams are approaching, it easy to find worried faces, tensed regarding which law school to choose over others.

To ease up the line of worries from the face of tensed law school aspirants, at First Taste of Law, I decided to write a series of post dedicated to different law schools judged on the basis of quality of education, recruitment, college environment and infrastructure.

The first in the file is NUJS. Let’s see how does it fare on these criteria.

Quality of Education

NUJS is known to have the best faculty among all the National Law Schools as it boasts of professors who have researched or done LL.M. from top international universities including Oxford, Harvard, and LSE. You can have a look at NUJS faculty by clicking here. Well, international degrees may be an indicator, but unfortunately they do not guarantee a great teacher. Legendary Prof. M. P. Singh, who recently retired, worked hard to bring together a great bunch of teachers and academicians in NUJS. NUJS continues to benefit from the efforts of professor Singh.
As far as the education system is concerned, NUJS has a two-semester structure and the exam consists of written paper and tutorials in the first two years and projects from 3rd year onwards. From third year almost all subjects become optional – giving a choice of specialization like few other colleges.
One good thing about the project system and tutorial is that you are not required to write harassing thousands of word to finish your projects. The word limit in the tutorials/ projects ranges from 1000 to 3000 which also discourages plagiarism and inculcates writing skills.

Recruitment

This is the factor that matters the most at the end of the day and makes the students really anxious, after all 5 years spend in a law school ought to fetch fruitful result.
Placement depends on the quality of students plus the way recruitment and placement committee of a batch functions, nonetheless, if we look at the last year placement record of NUJS, all the 75 students who sat for placement got placed. A plain consideration of recruitment figures shows that NUJS placed more people in the top 5 Indian law firms than any other law school including NLS and NALSAR. NLS is still preferred by international firms over NUJS, but international recruitment has not grown much in the last three years in light of the economic situation in the West. You can read further about it here.

College Environment

NUJS is known to have student friendly environment, where students manage most of the affairs that affect the lives of students – starting from the mess, hostel discipline to activities on the campus with minimal interference from the administration. NUJS has a tradition of student autonomy in non-academic matters. Academic events and fests held by NUJS students see the wide participation of law students from each part of the country and well-known academicians and professors. Curfew time at campus is12am. NUJS boasts of a strong student juridical association, amicable relations between seniors and juniors, NUJS can easily score 10 on 10 on this criteria.

Infrastructure

If a big sprawling campus is something that defines your ideal university, NUJS may not be the place for you. NUJS campus area is of 5 acres – with a state of the art university building and imposing hostel buildings. The campus is compact but is thoroughly enjoyed by students. NUJS has a tie up with SAI which is very close by for sports facilities. NUJS has hit some infrastructural milestones in the last couple of years, with a super high-speed internet connection, WiFi in campus, expansion of reading rooms and a great auditorium.
NUJS is located in the middle of the city, unlike most other law schools, with at least 6 famous malls within 5 minutes (2 of them) to half an hour reach. Everything starting for additional classes you may want to take (foreign languages to martial arts) or multiplexes, restaurants (and nightclubs if you want) or the best hospitals in the city are extremely accessible. Being located in the city brings with it a sense of security, one of the reasons that why the in time of 12 is is conceivable. Also, its an ideal place for you if you don’t want to walk a long way to class, waking up at 9:15 and attending a 9:30 class on time is totally feasible.
If we look at the other side of physical infrastructure that is the hostels, it does not depict a happy picture as far as girls hostel is concerned. There is an acute lack of space in girls hostel. So, if you are a girl, my suggestion would be that please give a serious thought to this issue before opting for NUJS.
As far as academic resources are concerned, NUJS has a rich library where most of the academic journals, books are available and accessible – and the current librarian has greatly focused on making digital archives of books and journals available.

The City

Last but not the least, the city where NUJS is located, Kolkata, is known as the city of joy which indeed it is. Amazingly cheap, with a warm and nice culture, excellent food to sample on every street, nice places to hang out at, cheap places to eat and shop, Kolkata is extremely student friendly. NUJS is in Salt Lake, which is one of the poshest and sought after place to live in Kolkata. It’s clean and has wide roads. As far as the weather is concerned, Kolkata has a decent weather minus the scorching heat and tiring humidity of summer and incessant rain in the monsoon.
Hope this post was helpful for you. Keep an eye on this space to know about other law schools.

Kindness of Strangers

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November 27, 2016

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Having grown up in a middle class family, one of the values inculcated into me at an early stage was to never rely on the kindness of strangers and especially not to ask for it. Never ask for help, it is equivalent to degrading yourself. It is similar to bending down in front of another, giving them an opportunity to put you down or even take advantage of your situation – this was the lesson we were taught as kids.

I have come across numerous other people from a similar background who loathe asking for help even from friends and consider it a personal tragedy if they ever need help from anyone outside the immediate family. I tend to think of it as a typical middle class phenomenon connected with a certain type of middle class pride.

As I grew up, I realised that successful people build a network of mutual support around themselves. They help many people without asking questions or keeping account and many people around them do the same for them as well. Successful people as well as good organizations thrive on a culture of constant generosity. It was quite a task for me to get over that cynicism which evolved into almost a sub-conscious reluctance to receive help, but I eventually came to see the virtue in kindness towards strangers – both in giving and accepting it. Now I am absolutely comfortable asking for help from even a person who is a complete stranger – and I am comfortable even on being rejected. I will ask anyways – I don’t mind hearing a curt no – it does not hurt my ego any more. It doesn’t affect my psyche like it once used to.

During my recent trip to some rural areas of Gujarat, I decided to list out all instances of kindness I asked for and received from strangers – and at the end of the trip I am amazed. Many of the stories are incredible, as if out of some story book. These incidents fill me with gratitude and faith in humanity. These experiences humble me and compel me to pass on these favours forward. Let me share a few of these stories with you,and I want to know your thoughts in the comments. What is your most amazing story of receiving kindness from a stranger? Are you comfortable with such a thing? Do you wonder if you are giving away too much power to a complete stranger by asking for help?

We are used to being refused any help outside what is stipulated in the rules, from anyone in official positions. Every official person, usually known as a “babu” even in the smallest of roles behaves like a petty tyrant and makes it clear that his job description does not include helping you so he would not. I met Naveenbhai in an office like that – and I desperately wanted to charge my phone which had been drained of charge, as I needed to call my office back in Delhi very urgently.

I asked Naveenbhai if I could charge my phone in his office. I had very low expectations – I was ready to cajole him a bit if needed. He was very forthcoming, and I was pleasantly surprised. I tried plugging in the charger in every available socket – but somehow my phone just wasn’t getting charged. Suddenly Naveenbhai stopped doing whatever he was doing, and tried to help me out because I was in a strange land where the majority of people did not even understand my words. He even tried plugging the phone into his computer. After trying for half an hour, he successfully charged my phone – all with a smile and he thanked all the gods when the phone started getting charged because he was worried that the phone has conked off. While the efforts were on, he even gave me his own phone to make a quick call, with a request to keep it short as he had very less balance.

Then there was Manohar Barse, who runs a local newspaper in the small town of Amaravati. I met him at a meditation camp. He overheard that I am being allotted a dormitory which does not have power and water. He intervened on my behalf and ensured that I get a comfortable place. I did not even ask for this act of kindness and didn’t understand what happened until much later.

While I was living through the extreme emotional upheavals of bipassana meditation which breaks down the barriers between conscious and subconscious minds bringing to surface years of anger, frustrations, fears and emotions – I realized to my horror that I had significantly lost vision of my right eye. Without going into too much detail – I was in a village with a population of 1200 people. The village had a general physician, and the closest town where there was an eye specialist was Bhuj, which was 85 kms and 3 hours of an auto ride away. The camp organisers informed the village doctor over phone and he came to check on me on his scooter within half an hour. He examined me and said I needed immediate medical attention and should leave for Bhuj the very next day. He refused to take any fee, wrote recommendations, asked me if I can afford the treatment and to inform him if I cannot since I was not carrying my debit card or any credit cards.

The next person was Satyasheel, a dhamma sewak. He was a civil engineer before he retired and dedicated his life to alternative medicines and unusual lifestyle choices. He is upwards of seventy, but a man of exceptional brightness and energy. Satyasheel was very concerned about what will happen to me if I were to lose my vision at such a young age. He started teaching me some techniques he practiced. When I was leaving for Bhuj, he asked me if I had enough money and then offered to come with me to the city in case I needed further care. I declined, but his good will for a person he met for the first time and will probably never meet again, touched my heart.

I reached Bhuj in the middle of a heat storm after a 3 hour journey in autos and shuttle cars and met this doctor in his early thirties – Rajesh, who was introduced to me over the phone by another bipassana practitioner. He is a surgeon in Bhuj and had started his own hospital just two months back. In between his surgeries, he helped me out with everything I needed, got me a special appointment with a very busy eye surgeon who is his friend, chatted with me about life in general, and offered to let me stay the night at his hospital, told me where to go to experience the awesome street food of Bhuj. For the first time in my life I stayed in a hospital in the room where the resident medical officer is supposed to sleep at night. I was running out of cash – he offered to give me a loan without asking how I will return it. I suggested that I will get my friends in Delhi to deposit some money to his account first – and that is what we did eventually. Imagine a very busy surgeon you met for the first time in your life doing all these things to help you out, without a moment’s hesitation or any expectation of being repaid in any way. That was true generosity.

I faced another big challenge. My flight was booked from Ahmedabad. Given thehundreds of buses plying between Bhuj and Ahmedabad every day , I did not expect any problem on this front. However, when I went to book tickets, I realised there was no available tickets for the next two days. Apparently summer vacation for kids had started and everyone was travelling out of Kutch – and every seat in every bus to Ahmedabad was taken! I found out a travel agency which had a private bus that I could take and reach Ahmedabad in time – but it had no seats. All seats were booked at least a day in advance. As the travel agency said they cannot help me anyway, I told them how important it was for me to reach Ahmedabad. I had to catch a flight. I had to reach Delhi soon to resume the treatment of my eye. They heard me – and spoke to the conductor of the bus. Then they let me travel in the conductor’s seat so that I could reach Ahmedabad in time. I paid the fare, but asked the conductor to sit from time to time while I stood, during the 7 hour journey so that it does not become difficult for him, and yes – it was definitely the best seat in a Volvo to travel in! You cannot recline or sleep, but the view from that seat is amazing. Again, generous strangers saved me a lot of trouble.

On my way back, as I was reflecting on the entire journey – I realised that my decision to travel with less money actually enriched my experience many times over. My idea was that since I was going for a meditation camp, I would be frugal. I took enough money with me to take care of things, but the sudden illness threw me totally off guard. Still, with help of strangers I did not only just get by, but it indeed strengthened my love and faith in humanity, and being good and generous to others.

It is one thing to think of these things intellectually – and quite another to actually experience them in times of need. When we make ourselves vulnerable, ask with humility and faith to a fellow human being for help, and I tell you that is the time we really discover the good Samaritans around us. It is a spiritual experience – which is why an insulated, safe, high class travelling experience will never be equally exhilarating and enriching.

Know this Law School: RGNUL

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November 27, 2016

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Next in the line in “Know thus Law School” series of post is on RGNUL written by Soubhik Chakrabarti who is in 1st Yr in RGNUL.

Over to Soubhik.

Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law

If you are worried about which National Law School to choose after giving next year’s CLAT, RGNUL of Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law is an option you have to take into consideration. RGNUL is one of those National Law Universities which has undergone a sea of change in the last year. With the new Vice Chancellor Professor Jaiswal joining RGNUL in 2011, many new developments have occurred.

1. Quality of education

The quality of education in RGNUL is pretty good. One of the most wonderful features about studying in RGNUL is the friendly relationship students have with teachers. The teachers mix well with the students. The students can interact with the teachers after the class and can seek help anytime they want. Many of the teachers have Ph.D. degrees or are pursuing their Ph.D.’s and are well qualified for teaching.
There is presently a two semester based examination system each year. Starting from 2011 RGNUL provides Majors in Economics, Sociology or Political Science (anyone) and Minors in History, Political Science or Sociology (any two). Each semester students have to do the project and give presentations on each of the subjects which really tests the students’ academic abilities. Moreover, there is little need for rote learning and independent thinking is always encouraged. RGNUL has been doing very well in Moot court competitions and parliamentary debates.

2. Recruitment

RGNUL is one of those places which emphasizes not only on creating good Lawyers but also good human beings. Perhaps this is the reason why most of the students who passed out last year joined litigation rather than going in for the corporate sector, however it does not lead to an inference that the Corporate sector is lagged behind. Out of the first graduating batch last year, there were many who went for judicial clerkship the Supreme Court. This year, there has been some good placement already so far, and a lot more are expected to be placed by the end of the year.

3. College environment

The University is pretty strict and does not allow any indiscipline on its campus. Students who indulge in acts of indiscipline are caught and show caused. The students and teacher are extremely friendly. The seniors are extremely approachable and willing to help in most instances. There exists no such thing as ragging in the University as everyone in the University knows the consequences of it. Perhaps the best thing about the University are the AC rooms, which provide great comfort for students in the hot weather of Patiala in summer. Evenings are spent either playing the various games or watching TV in the common rooms.

4. Infrastructure

The New Campus is nearly 50 acres in size, and being 11-kilo meters away from the city has a feel of its own. Students still go to the old campus in the middle of the city to study every day (by the University buses) as the academic block in the New Campus has still not been completed. From next year though all classes should start at the new campus where students reside, as the Academic Block there too is near completion. The new campus has a host of facilities for the students which include Gym, Table tennis courts, basketball courts, televisions, badminton court, volleyball court and even playground, among others. So if you are thinking to have a great time playing, this is the place! You could hone your talents and participate in the various fests throughout the country the University represents and bring laurels to the University!
The whole RGNUL campus is termed to be a green campus so there are lots of plantation of trees and plenty of gardens making the Campus wear a ‘Green look’. There is also the Wi-Fi which is available 24*7 with some great speeds. RGNUL also has one of the best National Law University Libraries, with synchronization to the Intranet of the University. There is no book that one does not get in the library and even if someone finds a book that is not available in the library, the University fetches it within a week upon request. The Intranet is also the valuable resource for all RGNUL students and has everything from Exam schedules, Mess food items every day to the syllabus of the subjects studied for the term. The new campus is being developed at war speed. There is the stadium that is being built as well as the shopping complex. The boys and girls hostels have already been built and students have been staying in the spank new hostels from last year. RGNUL soon plans to have its own moot court hall too and so has even started its own RGNUL moot Court Competition from this year.

5. The City

In the end, comes the city of Patiala itself. It is one of those peaceful cities you can ever find. Beware if you like a fast paced life with night outs and going to bars, this is not the place for you. Patiala is the place for you to grow and to learn. There is a mall and there are some places to go, but the relaxed yet steady lifestyle in Patiala is different to experience indeed. There is, of course, the majestic building which many people know Patiala to have, but the greenery and peacefulness in the roads are what takes the cake.

How is life in a law firm

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November 27, 2016

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We know what experiences at the law school are like, and what we should do to succeed in law school. The joy of success, the sadness of failure, the thrill of having achieved things, getting back into action from failure, these are some of the familiar feelings we have known. We know that if we study a bit and get good marks, participate in some extra-curricular like mooting or write articles, and are somewhat serious at internships, we are likely to get good jobs. This was my worldview of life in law school, and most law students, if they think about their life seriously enough, have a similar vision of life in law school and beyond.

What is it that actually happens after law school?

Some questions occasionally arise in the mind of a law student, such as-

What happens when you move out from law school into the law firm?
Is it fun? Why do our seniors who have bagged those top rupee-millionaire jobs hate their lives and leave their jobs?
Are you also going to hate your life after you start working?

These thoughts are dismissed out of your mind almost as soon as they arise, due to lack of much information around.
I am writing about this here because little is known about life after law school, and because being psychologically prepared beforehand is really going to help you survive better and remain happier. This post contains what I shall call the key to survival, a method to the madness of working in a corporate environment. I am writing about this so that you can shape your perspective of life in a law firm, and so that the occasionally erratic deadlines and schedules at work do not destroy your hope in the system.

Here’s a brief introduction to life in a law firm:

You have moved from the top of the pecking order to an entirely new world, and, as usual, you start from the bottom of this one. People may make the mistake of being over-excited or over-enthusiastic and go out of their way to impress their seniors – this is a recipe to disaster. Your seniors will tell you that there is nothing like pleasing them, if work has to be done at a particular time, it should be done by then, and it should be of acceptable quality (more on the quality part later in this post). You don’t have to finish it before the scheduled time, there are no brownie points for coming first. There definitely are brownie points for doing it well.
Like with everything else, it is likely that things will take much more time to complete than expected, as you have just started a new job and are learning the tools of the trade. But you will notice that this can be the case for anyone no matter how senior he is in the hierarchy. You can never really predict how long you will take to do something unless you have really begun doing it. The key to keeping your balance when timelines are unpredictable and work timings exceed certainty is this: Don’t start hating something just because it is taking more time – figure out ways to make the process more efficient so that you take less time to complete a similar task when it comes around the next time.

The key to survival

What are the other tools of the trade you need to know? You need to be able to manage people’s expectations, and constantly improve. You may be a slow learner, a fast learner, a careful guy, but you need to observe, and ensure that people around you are not offended by your habits, and you’ve got to genuinely try your best to improve. At the same time, don’t cover up your weaknesses or handicaps, because people’s expectations out of you can be unreasonably high if they don’t know your limits. If that happens, you are going to find yourself working disproportionately hard just to keep things going. You’ve got to improve your skills and work output, but you can’t become superman. A brilliant way of doing this is by enrolling yourself in various online courses while in college and getting ahead of the competition. For example, the revolutionary online course on Mooting has produced groundbreaking results in effectively improving various skills that are imperative for a lawyer to survive in any work culture. You must keep this distinction in mind. Work hard, be efficient, produce quality work, but don’t try and be superman simply to impress people. Others don’t expect you to be superman either, and they won’t kill you.
Sometimes, the bad phases can be stretched. A corporate law firm usually has many lawyers and can also suffer from infrastructural bottlenecks, so if there is a sudden increase in work coming from clients, the firm might be happy, but your work timings may get bad. That does not mean that your work hours will remain bad forever. Getting into a bigger office or hiring more lawyers cannot happen immediately, and the process takes some time – this could well be from three to four months to a year.
For junior lawyers, this period will usually be the entire period that they have worked in a law firm. So it is very easy for you if you go through such a patch to conclude that life is hell in law firms. However, this information will help you put things in a bigger perspective, and you will know that your difficult phase will pass. Don’t forget to discuss the situation with your seniors, HR personnel, and have an informal word with the top management, so that you know whether any steps are being taken to improve the situation. In a working career which for most people spans 30 to 40 years, surely, 6 months of a hectic schedule should hardly matter much unless the hectic schedule keeps repeating itself.

The last mantra, one that many of us have forgotten, is that when you get free time, make the most out of it. Waste time, waste as much as you have, but, in the words of Seth Godin, don’t waste it poorly. Don’t spend time doing anything that you do not enjoy. Live the life of your choice. Freshen yourself.

The next post shall be on how you can impart some self-training to yourself to smoothen your transition from law school to a law firm, communication skills, weekends, work-life balance and options to chill out (with friends and colleagues). Stay tuned.

Why you should never startup

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November 27, 2016

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List of Excuses For Not Beginning A Start Up if You Ever Need One

If you ever need an excuse to not to start up although you really want to, you can use this list. Chances are high that you will find an excuse or two acceptable to you over here.

I am too young to do something so serious!

I am too old to start from scratch.

I have no experience, I will first work with a (company/lawfirm/insert anything of your choice) and then I will be ready after a few years.

I have too much experience and too big a career at stake to risk it all.

I need capital to start! I need to work for a few years and save up first.

I know nothing about running a business; I need to do an MBA before I start up.

My parents think I am too young to do this – I need to prove myself as a professional first.

My grades will suffer – I will not get time to study. College is the time to study, I can always do this later.

I need to do an MBA first.

The market is not good right now, let’s wait till it bounces back.

The market is rallying now, let me mint money we can start up later.

I need to save X money before I can start up.

I am waiting for the right idea to hit me.

Not everyone can be Mark Zuckerberg. What if I fail?

I am going through a difficult phase in my life.

My family/spouse is not supportive.

I have a car/house/education loan to pay.

Every time I tried my hand at business it was a disaster. I am not lucky.

Any other excuses you can think of? Add in the comments.

How to be amazing at your work

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November 27, 2016

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Low Satisfaction at Work? An Insider's Guide to becoming a Messiah

Study, work hard, be diligent, and you shall be successful.

Before we start work, we measure success in terms of top grades, top placements and top packages.

After we start work , we measure success in terms of better reputation, more branding, increased influence and power, if not more money as well.

Branding, influence, power, reputation may add up to constitute what many call ‘work satisfaction’.

Work satisfaction is not given by work of a particular nature, it is not part of a job profile, it has to be created. You have to work in a particular way to create work satisfaction for yourself.

There are ways to hack exams, to study less, study strategically, get more marks, but what is the way to hack work satisfaction?

One way of solving the problem of low work satisfaction and have a more fulfilling life is through becoming a messiah, a pioneer, or a frontrunner, of a new thought. The process is explained below.

Why should you want to become a visionary:

1. To create a unique professional identity

We all crave a professional identity – we do not want to be machines, drones, or computers who work with clockwork precision – we want to stand for something. This is the reason that being a messiah should be acceptable to more people than you can imagine.

2. For friends, contacts, social circles, networks and power

Well, the contacts you develop, and these will be your OWN contacts, not contacts from your office. Even if they are not your paying clients, they will believe you, be led by you, be influenced by you, more than anyone else amongst your peers.

This will lead you to have a wider social circle – you will inevitably end up making more friends (some of whom can be game-changers in your life), you will collaborate more, pursue rejuvenating activities together (sky-diving, skiing, anything), you are likely to attend more parties, etc.

3. For the fun of it

It seems that being a messiah might add to some additional ‘work’, and now I am saying it’s going to be fun. How?The fun of it is, well, you don’t have to search for news anymore, news comes to you first, before it becomes news. This is because of the vast network of relevant contacts you would have made in the process.

4. For knowing some things that have value beyond your narrow ‘scope of work’

In the world of specialisation, the work that we do, the work that brings us money, is so specific that we lose touch with the outside world, and consequently, we lose interest in our work as well. This is a vicious circle. Knowing things and being able to connect with others keeps you in touch with reality and prevents boredom to a great extent.

Are there messiahs around us?

There are many instances of visionaries around us in real life – Manmohan Singh was a visionary when he decided to initiate liberalization of the Indian economy, Mahatma Gandhi was a visionary, when he believed that non-violence could achieve anything, including a nation’s independence. However, it is more difficult to spot instances of visionaries in our own field. You may also need to develop the habit of spotting them. I will give some examples – Professor Shamnad Basheer is someone most law school students identify with, is a pioneer in the field of intellectual property law in India. He has advised the Indian Government, knows the top brass in most law firms and pharmaceutical companies, is brilliant at making connections with students.

Similarly, the person who started the company you work for, or the founding partner in your law firm could be a visionary. Of course, it is not easy to find out what traits lead one to becoming one. I shall explain the most important one here.

How do you become a messiah / visionary – the Insider’s Mini Guide

Now, the critical part – in order to build the network you aspire for – you need to stand for something. You can’t become a messiah working 24 X 7 on technical matters, or things that the experts in your field know inside out and do everyday. Of course, you need to work hard on them, in order to continue with your current job, to improve work quality and output, to impress seniors and clients, and to continue on your way to professional development and promotion.

At the same time, you must identify empty areas, and start rooting for causes others haven’t. It is not difficult to link your field to the cause. For example, a lawyer interested in sports law will notice that in the vast literature on doping regulations and countless justifications that state that sports players must be punished for doping irrespective of whether they are at fault, players’ rights are ignored completely. Large sports organizations can afford experts to justify their regulation, but there are no sportsmen’s associations in countries which are organized enough and powerful enough to present a coordinated stand to sports federations like the International Olympic Committee.

When you stand for something, something that is ignored, and then try and connect with others, they start identifying you with the issues you argue. You begin to develop a professional identity and make contacts. This slowly enables you to have your voice heard where it can make a bigger impact – before the media, before governments, at international gatherings, etc. Over a period of time, you are able to influence the thought process of an entire school of people. This is how you develop a professional identity and fulfil your karma.

Work stops being boring. You begin to identify your work with larger issues that lie out there in the real world.

What happens to the world if everyone becomes a messiah? Well, India is very diverse. At the same time, it is an emerging market economy, and needs countless solutions to its problems. You can surely find your niche, if you search enough. You are a messiah in a particular niche, not in everything that exists in the world. There is ample room for everyone to become a messiah.

And … the Money?

I suggested a way of life above. If you follow it, you will definitely not remain a pauper. In fact, as you are going to love your job a bit more, you are likely to survive longer and sustain yourself better. In some cases, it may be possible for you to earn side income as well, depending on the nature of your work, and your employment terms.
Go there, venture out deep, and become a messiah. Your country needs young leaders. If you like the thought, let us know here.

NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION, New Delhi.

The length of the CV

Format of the CV

Contents of the CV

COVERING LETTER

NHRC- Starting up of the Internship

MULLA & MULLA & CRAIGIE BLUNT & CAROE(Advocates, Solicitors and Notaries), Mumbai.

MANUPATRA, Information Solutions Private Limited, New Delhi

Quality of Education

Recruitment

College Environment

Infrastructure

The City

Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law

1. Quality of education

2. Recruitment

3. College environment

4. Infrastructure

5. The City

What is it that actually happens after law school?

Here’s a brief introduction to life in a law firm:

The key to survival

Why should you want to become a visionary:

1. To create a unique professional identity

2. For friends, contacts, social circles, networks and power

3. For the fun of it

4. For knowing some things that have value beyond your narrow ‘scope of work’

Are there messiahs around us?

And … the Money?

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