GNLU launches GLASS initiative to support law grads who opt for litigation

The number of law graduates, particularly those from the younger law schools, who opt for a career in litigation has been a subject of much debate. Some of the more commonly cited reasons for this trend is insufficient income, unsure career prospects, and the burden of loans due to the ever spiralling costs of legal education..There have been some attempts to introduce institutional support, such as the SCLWT fellowships in the Supreme Court, but these are far and few between. Which is why Gujarat National Law University‘s recent initiative is significant..The university has launched the GNLU Litigation Assistance and Support Scholarship (GLASS) to incentivise litigation as a career option..The programme will provide a monthly stipend to a select number of GNLU graduates who have opted for a career in litigation. This should prove to be particularly useful for lawyers who work for seniors that don’t pay (or don’t pay enough). Additionally, the selected graduates will also be given access to GNLU’s library resources..Speaking to Bar & Bench, Nisha Trivedi, Head Co-ordinator of the Internship, Placement & Press Division, explained how the selection process works..“We have a set of scrutiny procedures, wherein we invite applications from final year students and go through their CVs. We also look at their previous internship experience. The next step is a personal interview, where the panellists are litigating lawyers..Then we shortlist five students and give them each scholarships of Rs. 7,500 per month for a duration of one year. ”.This year, five students from the graduating 2015 batch have been selected for the scholarship. They are – Tirth Bhatt, Prince Mishra, Sushal Tiwari, Garv Malhotra and Saksham Marwah..In a press release, one of the graduates, Garv Malhotra says,.“The program is both novel and noble as it enables graduating litigation aspirants to get financial security, which is usually absent in the initial years of joining the bar.”.Eliminating financial security, or at least minimising it, will certainly go a long way in encouraging young legal minds to don the gown, which in turn would improve the quality of the Bar..The bigger question though is, will other NLUs follow suit?