Legal profession in modern era has gained momentum as one of the most lucrative career option.Apart from legal profession there are very few career options which offer comparable power, prestige, and financial rewards that are associated with legal profession. Furthermore, the changing global structure has contributed to a sharp rise in the demand for professional with legal knowledge. Areas like corporate law, intellectual property law, mergers & acquisitions, Cyber Law, Arbitration , Debt Recovery etc. to name a few have seen a commendable growth. So, it is not surprising to see that These are very strong reason which is making more and more students every year to opt for a career in legal field.
In order to cater to needs of students and industry requirements, a large number of colleges and universities today are offering diverse courses in the field of law. Courses such as B.A. LL.B., BBA. LL.B., B.COM LL.B. and LL.B. are just an illustration of how law has been compatible with business studies, management, accounts etc. Further, a large educational hub like Delhi NCR alone offers many choices to students in terms of colleges offering courses in the field of law and in terms of the variety of programs available. The challenge with having many choices is the decision making of which is the best law course and the best law college for you. So, in this article, we will try to have a careful understanding of the important factors that can be analysed while selecting a top law college and the best law course for yourself.
- Legal Industry Interface
As things stand, a lot of legal work is based on interpretation. Being a successful lawyer is not simply about reading and memorizing bare acts. Rather, you need to understand how courts habitually interpret and apply various acts. This understanding can be gained only through practical exposure. A good law college would, as a matter of routine, conduct various events such as Moot courts, Mock parliaments, Model United Nations, etc. so as to provide students practical exposure to the art of preparing and presenting their arguments. Many such events are judged by sitting judges of courts and by renowned legal luminaries and practitioners by calling them in the capacity of Judge for the above mentioned academic competitions.
A good law college would also offer excellent opportunities for internship with senior judges, top lawyers and law firms, etc. Such an internship is also critical in providing the necessary practical exposure.Internships act as a platform for initial learning to all students who pursue them and gain professional knowledge which will ultimately help them once they enter into legal profession.
So, before choosing a law college, you can have discussions with some of the alumni or current students of that college. This would give you valuable information regarding the amount of and quality of practical exposure provided by that particular college.
- Infrastructure and Intellectual capital
A good law college must have world-class infrastructure, including academic buildings, libraries, access to databases and journals, etc. Similarly, the quality of the teachers and professors at a law college goes a long way in determining the quality of education that the college provides to its students. So, before joining a law college, you must ensure that it performs well on this parameter. Joining a law college that performs poorly on this parameter can be extremely harmful for your career.
You should ideally do at least some research online to get a sense of how each college performs in different rankings of top law colleges. This would clearly reflect the quality of facilities and faculty that a particular college has.
- The Courses offered
Once you have prepared a shortlist of top law colleges that you are interested in, you must also check which of these colleges offer law courses that meet your requirements and interest according to your long term aim . Here, you must not forget that your career is something which you will practice for the next 30 years (or more) in your life after completion of law course. Hence, you must choose a law course that genuinely interests you and appeals to you. Thus, it is extremely important that you pick a course which will help you make your long term dream turn into reality.
Online platforms can help you in this by reading various views and interviews of successful legal luminaries you can come to a conclusion which course is best suited for you. Also, you must check how each course offered by a college is ranked by various surveys. For instance, college A might be ranked higher than college B overall but the BBA LL.B. program offered by college B might be considered the best in the country. In such a case, for BBA LL.B. aspirants, college B might be a better choice than college A.
The above stated points are some of the most important tips and guidelines for selecting the best law college for yourself. The Selection of good law college for pursuing law degree will only aid you in making a successful career but the amount of hard work you put in while studying law and after completion of law course will actually determine the graph of your success in legal field.