Law School – Worth your time?

I’m no expert on legal education and the intention behind writing this column is not to draw up a preachy piece, but I’m afraid it’s going to sound like that in parts. We’ve all had our share of peeves and grumbles when we were students, and sometimes continue to carry those with us. The grub served in the college canteen not measuring up to our high standards was an evergreen grouse, the inadequate quality of the faculty was a personal bugbear for many as was the lack of infrastructure and facilities on campus, the curfew hours and so on. The list is endless. As students, we often get so caught up in all the fretting and whining that we don’t see the vast array of opportunities that have opened up merely by virtue of being in a law school, regardless of which law school it is..Unlike in an engineering or medical college, students in a law school have a host of extra and co-curricular activities to choose from. One can often hear friends and acquaintances from other spheres looking forward to the one annual cultural or sports event in their respective institutions. Without intending to be condescending, jumping over walls to get to the nearby cigarette shop or bunking class to watch a match often make up the highlights for the rest of their year. This may be an exaggeration, but you get the point. Importantly, engineering and medical colleges usually have such a large number of students that standing out often requires more than just merit. Also, unless you are in an IIT, BITS, CMC or an AIIMS, the quality of students can often be compromised by the large intake of “management quota” (paid seats) students..Most well-known law schools have a merit based entry system, where the general rule is that management seats are a minority if not the exception. Apart from all-India exams such as the CLAT and LSAT, competitive, institution-specific entrance tests such as the AILET and SET put you on your way to universities like NLU-Delhi and Symbiosis-Pune. Further still, colleges like ILS-Pune and GLC-Bombay look at board exam results prior to admitting students. The short point being that most students in law school are of a minimum quality (debating the merits of the entrance system is for another day). This is not to say that law schools are brimming with Einsteins, but simply that the average quality of students is probably higher than in some other streams. Therefore, the biggest advantage that we have in law school is a positive peer pressure..Law school exposes us to a variety of extra-curricular activities ranging from mooting, debating and model UNs to research paper writing and client counseling. There are some students who are enthusiastic and proactive and take up these activities. The talented amongst these are often able to motivate some of their peers based on the merit of their actions. However, a remarkable number of students go through law school, without ever having looked up from their study material to see what lies beyond. Academics is of course the chief reason why parents spend money on law school, but that doesn’t need to be all that you have gained in five years. It’s like walking into Baskin-Robbins and having Bavarian Chocolate every time – sure it’s a great flavor, but there is so much that you are missing out on!.Stage fright, stringent attendance rules and the like are all excuses that students come up with to mask the real reason for not experimenting – the fear of failure. The real failure is in letting that fear overcome us. There is no shame in attempting something outside our comfort zone, and then deciding to give it up on realizing that it’s not our cup of tea. Not giving such activities a shot could leave you with a queasy feeling of regret a few years down the line..The benefits of being a part of these activities in law school cannot be overemphasized. The sheer high of standing at the podium and arguing in a moot or delivering the prime minsters’ speech during a parliamentary debate can leave you with an immense sense of confidence, which often spills over to other activities in life. Representing a nation at a model UN forces you to broaden your horizons and attempt to understand issues of politics and society that you may never otherwise have bothered to look up. Publishing a research paper in a national or state journal could fill you with a sense of satisfaction because all of us, at some level, crave for validation whether that comes from your parents, peers or sometimes a publishing house. The end goal is to grow as a person and have confidence in yourself and your abilities. It would be silly to waste away opportunities that are waiting at your doorstep..The beauty of the whole system is that there is something for everyone. You don’t need to be a spontaneous, witty jargon thrower to be able to gain something from law school. While some individuals in this category may turn to, say, parliamentary debating, those who prefer structured and prepared oration may choose to opt for mooting. If you have discovered that public speaking is not your thing, you could resort to client counseling which allows for competitive oration in a more private setting. For those who want to have nothing to do with speaking, publishing research articles are a wonderful and fulfilling mode of expression. It may still be case that despite giving it all a shot, there is nothing that has caught your fancy. If that’s the case, so be it. At least you’ve learnt what you don’t like..There have been so many of my batch mates whose personalities have changed completely over the course of the five years. Not all of us are lucky enough to receive the best schooling. Some of us may be from rural backgrounds and find it slightly harder to settle in with the city kids. In situations where you find yourself with significant handicaps in terms of language or exposure, it may be difficult to dive headlong into some of these activities. However, the right attitude may be to simply look at that as a hurdle which has to be crossed and not as a serious impediment. I’ve seen individuals in law school staying back in hostel during their vacation breaks to attend spoken English classes, and then go on to participate in oratory activities a few years down the line. With the number of annual cultural and sports festivals that are organized by the various law schools over the year, these are other avenues that a student can look. The bottom line is that the five years must add value to your personality. If mooting does that for one, it could be basketball or music for another, but you won’t know unless you give it a go..Apart from all of this, the company we keep and lifestyles we choose in college sculpt our personalities as well. Students coming from strict households are often unable handle the freedom of hostel life and fall astray to alcohol, cigarettes and the like. These are all part of college life and I can’t say that there haven’t been days where I’ve woken up in a stupor unsure of why I wasn’t in my own hostel room. However, it’s important though to have your own code about these things, and ensure that you stick by it. No code is right or wrong, there are simply those that work for you and those that don’t. To recount an incident from when I entered law school, I found it strange that I was being judged for never having seen a porn clip in my life (though I can’t say that holds true anymore). You may find things that your peers perceive as standard or customary but that you don’t think is par-for-the-course, or vice versa. This is where your own code must kick in to ensure that you never lose sight of your larger goals..All of us aim to get into the country’s “best” law schools (which one is the “best” usually varies depending on whom you ask), but some end up being more bitter than others on not being able to achieve that goal. A lot of the whining and complaining starts here. Something good can always come out of any situation, but you have to at least be the catalyst if nothing else. Even if you are not where you want to be, you can still be the biggest fish in a slightly smaller pond and no one can stop you from later jumping into the sea. There are always things to learn, opportunities to explore and avenues to grow, so go grab life by the scruff of its neck!.Bishen Jeswant is a Sub Editor with ESPNcricinfo. He graduated from National Law Institute University, Bhopal in 2012 and worked with one of the country’s top law firms for a couple of years. After an enjoyable law firm stint, he decided to give his passion a chance with ESPN.