Scope of Legal Education- Few Questions

 What is legal education?

             JEMTEC School of law, Greater Noida, is affiliated to GGSIP University, New Delhi where we are imparting legal education to citizens of our country. It encompasses the knowledge of the principles, practice and theory of law as envisaged in our Constitution and various other laws. It includes the study of pre-constitutional as well as post-constitutional laws. Legal education in India generally refers to the training of budding lawyers before their entry into practice in law courts. Legal education encompasses the completion of a degree of B.L., B.A.,LL.B., (Honors) or B.B.A., LL.B.,(Honors) or BSc. LL.B., or B.Com., LL.B., at primary level and degrees of MBA., LL.M.,  MBL-LLM., MBA-LL.M., Ph.D., and D.Lit. at an advanced level. 

The continuous legal education is also part of it, which does not require any degree, but it provides the students and practicing lawyers with updates on recent developments in the field of law. Truly speaking, legal education is a broad concept which includes practicing law in various courts, law teaching, legal research and administration of law in various fields where law plays a role and commercial and industrial employments and other activities which postulate and require the use of legal knowledge.

Scope for traditional Law Career in India

 The traditional career in law use to be only practice of law in the field of litigation. Law has been an excellent career in India since ages. The legal education, of late has really opened up new opportunities for the law students in India. Practicing law as an Advocate, in civil, the criminal or revenue side was/is the primary scope for all the law graduates, although first generation lawyers have to struggle most to make a top position in this field. The latest scope is to work as corporate counsellors with law firms to contest their legal cases. Becoming ICS, IPS or a judicial officer are other excellent options. A law graduate can join the District Judiciary by cracking the competition examination of Civil Judge (JD). He can compete for Higher Judicial Services after 7 years of practice as an Advocate. He can be elevated as High Court Judge after 10 years practice in any High Court. The chances of becoming a judge of the Supreme Court are also open to such aspirants. A law graduate is able to work in a variety of industries such as litigation, law firms, Government organizations, MNCs and individuals. He can become a partner in law firms, LLP firms and companies. He can be appointed as Advocate-General, Attorney-General or solicitor-General to represent the Government sides in the courts of law.

 

A law graduate can be appointed as Judge-Advocate-General, which is a short term appointment for five years, extendable by other similar terms. History reveals that most of the successful politicians were Advocates. So this lucrative option is also open to the law graduates. A new startup like running a coaching centre for training the students for competitive examinations like ICS, IPS, PCS, Civil Judge (JD), HJS etc., is also a new venture for law graduates.

After completing a law degree, Advocates can be hired as law officers, legal associates, junior lawyers, legal advisors, corporate lawyers, human rights lawyer, animal rights lawyer and litigators on civil, criminal or other sides. He can work as a legal journalist, legal analyst, and columnist of a newspaper, legal correspondent or anchor of a television channel. New avenues like practicing in Income tax, intellectual property rights, cyber laws, arbitration and conciliation matters, RERA matters, and artificial intelligence are also open for the law students. Thus, scope of traditional law career has expended and increased immensely.

 

What can a Law student do in post pandemic times to be successful?

The Covid-19 started in the end of 2019. Its first wave was felt in 2020, second one in 2021, and third one in 2022 and now we are facing fourth wave in 2023. Hence, the term post pandemic appears to be 'misnomer.' It appears that Corona will be part of our life like influenza. Hence greater precautions are needed. The chief Justice of Supreme Court has time and again insisted on the hearing of cases through video-conferencing. All most all the High Courts are working through video conferencing in order to avoid rush of people in the courts. So much so, many courts of District Judiciary in various states including NCT of Delhi are working exclusively through digital plate forms. Entry of litigants and lawyers is not allowed in the courts keeping in view the menace of Covid.

In light of this current scenario,  law students have to equip themselves in this latest technology of computerization and video conferencing and definitely, they have to set up such digital plate forms at their offices and/or residences, which will involve a good chunk of expenses at their ends. 

Law is not only a viable career option but also a way of life because law has role in almost every walk of our life. The entire higher education including law courses are confronting an existential crisis. The Covid-19 has elevated law school's challenges. The students had staunchly resisted on-line learning until the spread of Covid-19. But the new normal, tech-enabled, crisis created shift from classroom to on-line learning occurred with astonishing speed, pervasiveness and seamlessness. Distance learning is just a start. The tools, resources, and market appetite exist to re-imagine legal education and to create models that will better serve the students, customer and society.  In the changing scenario, the legal education will morph from a 'place' to a process; appointed time to 'on-time' and in real time learning. Legal education will have to be more affordable, data enhanced, result driven and accountable at the same time. 

Fostering network and strengthen relationships

In order to foster our network and strengthen our relations with the industry, we regularly organize the visits of our students to various industrial establishments. For our network and strengthen our relations with our alumni, we have created a strong data base with our alumni and we invite them for their interaction with new students.  Our faculty network is very strong. We have a blending of experts with us. We have engaged lawyers and judges for practical training of the students. Most of them are having Ph.D. degree in law.  We have international linkages with other Universities in the form of students exchange programs. Our research wing is very strong. We inter-alia conduct 'faculty forum' in which our faculty members speak on various contemporary topics. The proceedings of the faculty forum are duly published. Besides that we conduct various seminars, and conferences at national as well as international levels. Our alumni remain connected with use through our Judicial Training Academy in which we train them as to how to prepare for preliminary, mains and interview stages of competitive examinations.

Aligning Legal educations with the business needs of today’s global market

In order to align our law school with business needs of the day in global market, the legal education will have to see a transition phase from short term diploma factories to learning centres for life that provide upskilling throughout careers. The new pedagogy will instil the flexibility, agility, and augmented skills and competence required of legal professionals in the digital age. The legal education will provide programs with curricula tailored to competencies and experience required for specific roles and functions. 

Not all legal professionals require law school degree and license to practice. Many of them may simply need "law light" exposure and in-depth knowledge of specific legal areas which are complementary to the main practice of law, like computer working, desk support, process management, data protection and analysis, compliance training, technology design and other justice system delivery accessories.

Legal education will have to provide a blend of practical and people skills, cultural awareness and doctrinal knowledge. The students will acquire a more global perspective, better understand the speed, complexity and a mind-set of digital business and learn to be agile problem solver, imbued with a customer first mind-set. For most of the law graduates, law will be a skill, not a practice because the practice of law is shrinking and the business of delivering legal services is expanding.

In contemporary global market, legal education will have to be tech-enabled. The students and faculties will no longer be constrained by physical presence, prescribed times to learn, or a "one size fits all" approach to learning, content and process. The sophisticated digital plate forms will enable professors, wherever they are located and by whomever they are employed, to provide an individualized learning approach where student diversity, performance, and career objectives are taken into account.

To say this is not to suggest that law schools will vanish. But the existing law schools will have restructure their curricula and faculty composition. Covid-19 has turbo charged new model of delivering and acquiring legal education. New model of education will focus on output instead of input. The pedagogy will have to view legal education from the point of view of clients and not lawyer. The students are required to be trained for law in the age of customer. Legal education is at the cross roads. Its model was under seizing before pandemic and under water now. Hence transformation is the need of the hour.

Woman and study of Law

The first and foremost element for encouraging more women to study law is to inspire them to join law courses. Educating them that study of law is the most potent tool to become strong in the life. If the women folk want equality before law, they will have to study law so that they are not dependent on any one else for protection of their rights. This study will make them economically strong. We have to motivate the women folk for study of law. We have to eliminate the fear of failure from the mind of the women. Self-belief in them has to be encouraged. We can teach them with the help of inspirational and motivational quotes. We have to bring out the women from fixed mind-set that they cannot do legal studies to growth mind-set that they can do better in the field of law. This will develop their own and internal confidence towards the study of law.  The women will have to come out from low energy level and distractions in order to have 100% focus in legal studies.  We will have to reward the women on their joining the field of law and getting competitive. We will have to educate the women as to why they should join study of law. We will have to provide right environment, study habits and routine to study law.  We can imbibe the power of routine in females because they make behaviours more automatic and will power free way to achieve success in the legal studies. Women organizations can play a vital role in inspiring the females to join the study of law. This is how we can encourage more women to come and join study of law and legal system.

 

Law in books v. law in action

At JEMTEC School of law, Greater Noida, in order to strengthen rule of law, we try to bridge the gap between law in books and law in action by teaching the students procedural parts of the law with great emphasis, especially with the help of moot court, mock trial, client counselling, Youth Parliament, model United Nations, arbitration, mediation and conciliation skills besides framing of the charges, framing of the issues, judgment writing and various competitions like drafting of complaints, Bills, FIR, plaints, written statements, affidavits, injunction applications, and writs etc. 

We take our students to the Parliament house, NCW, NHRC, Police station, SSP office, District jail, ARTO office, sub-registrar's office, RERA office, Noida and Greater Noida authority office, District Hospital, postmortem house, District Court compound, High Court and Hon'ble Supreme Court for imparting practical skills in them. The practical skills are imparted to the students with the help of diagrams, charts, equation methods, video-recorded lectures, power points presentations besides the open discussions and debates. A minimum of 20 weeks internships is compulsory for all the students, case study method, seminar method, and research methodology are other pedagogical tools for inculcating practical skills in the students. Our Para-legal volunteer students are made part and parcel of legal aid, legal literacy and legal awareness programs in collaboration with District Legal Services Authority, G. B. Nagar (UP) to improve the institutional capacities of key justice service providers to enable them to learn the practical aspects of the law and at the same time effectively serve the poor and needy sections of the society.

In order to achieve practical excellence in legal education, we insist on doctrinal as well as empirical research in the field of law so that students may discover new ratios decidendi of cases decided by the various High Courts and Supreme Court and verify the old ratios of decided cases. Our effort is to shape the quality of rule of law in the minds of the students at the campus of JEMTEC, School of law itself and to strengthen the process of identifying and retrieving information necessary to support legal decision making.

https://www.jimsgn.org/course.asp?courseid=3

By Professor Dr. N. K. Bahl