“Law is an exciting career option for youth as it offers satisfaction, intellectual exercise and recognition,” Aditya Sondhi, senior advocate and former Additional Advocate General, said on day 3 of The Hindu EducationPlus Career Counselling Digital Conclave.
Mr. Sondhi, who is an alumnus of the National Law School of India University, stressed on the fact that being a lawyer is one of the best ways to help those who have suffered injustice. It also offers an opportunity to build and reshape the socio-political fabric of the country using the legal system.
“Young people should consider all the aspects related to a profession before opting for it and pick a subject that they really like to take up as a profession. Don’t be unfairly influenced by your parents, teachers or friends. Law provides a voice to the one who has been treated unfairly by the system. A lawyer is the friend who listens to you and fights for your rights. Lawyer is not only your advisor, but also your friend. Lawyers are also the leaders who are at the interface of the legal system with the other sections of the society and governance.’’
Mr. Sondhi said “In India, Parliament does not have the absolute power to amend the Constitution. Any law passed by the legislature can be reviewed by the judiciary. Lawyers are the persons who lead these fights. If you want to be part of the effort of defining and redefining your country, law will make a tremendous life choice.” He recalled that a lot of freedom fighters have been lawyers and several tall leaders in post-independent India have been lawyers. “`There is a charm to law as it prepares your mind to be analytical. Law is an art that puts your gray cells into action. Being a lawyer is not just a job. There is a romance to law.”
He advised young students not to be fixated on a particular institution while choosing law. “You should realise that you are choosing a profession and a field of study related to that. You are not choosing a particular institute. I have seen several students who drop a year to get into the NLSIU Bengaluru and drop the idea of pursuing law all together if they don’t get in. I feel that it is not the right approach. If you get in, you get entitlement and an elitism that gives you boasting rights, which is not good.’
He informed the students that the Supreme Court had quashed the NLAT that the NLSIU was planning and that the choice left for students was the CLAT that offered a bouquet of good quality law schools.
Options aplenty
“It is true that the founding of NLSIU in Bengaluru by Madhava Menon rekindled interest in the legal profession. But then, there are a large number of equally good law schools and colleges across the country now. One should be sure whether they have an ambition to enter an institution or to enter the profession of law. All rivers join the sea and you should realise that you have a large number of options.”
Out of the 800 alumni of law schools, only around 4 per cent had joined the Bar in Karnataka. This figure would not be higher in other places, he said. He said the best juniors in his office were of non-law school backgrounds.
Mr. Sondhi took a range of questions from listeners.
He told a student that though corporate law firms were looking for students of a particular brand of law schools and colleges , it did not matter much to achieve success as a lawyer. “What matters is that you work hard, develop a work ethic with application of the mind to the issues before you.”
Young lawyers, including those from law schools, were in various professions, including social activism, corporate law, in-house legal counsel and civil services. Some had become entrepreneurs and even authors.
He pointed out that the B.A. LLB honours course offered by the law schools was different from the B.A. LLB of universities as it was more vigorous, intensive and intricate with clinical course, mooting, seminars and field work.
He said that corporate law was the most popular choice among young lawyers. There is a lot of money in it and a career in corporate law is safer, unlike in litigation as it needs years of hard work and building up of a reputation. Science students wanting to study law should not be discouraged as science disciplines the mind. It is also a good choice for those planning to prepare for the civil services.
He asked a young student who wanted to prepare for CLAT to either join a law tutorial or study on her own , by studying old questions papers. He said that for a pre-university student, a five-year programme was better suited to study law. However, if one is not sure of taking up law now, he/she can complete a degree, and then come back to a three-year course.
Mr. Sondhi opined that the masters in public policy programme in the law schools was a very interesting programme as it forced the students to take a wider view of things.
He agreed that success was easy for young lawyers with a godfather or those from families whose members have been lawyers. However, there have been a large number of senior counsels and judges who are first generation lawyers. “I am a first generation lawyer who has built his practice himself. You can do that by converting your disadvantage into an advantage of experiencing everything first hand and developing courage and confidence.”
He said that an introvert could become a successful lawyer, by learning the skill of communication and persuasion. “The charm of law is that you learn everyday. You don’t arrive. It is slippery and if you are not climbing, you are falling down.’’
Any LLB student could go abroad and study LLM, but to practice in other countries they needed to pass local examinations there, he said.
Being a judge was exciting as judges had the last word. One could start at the district judiciary by writing an examination or work as a lawyer for more than 10 years to be chosen as a judge.
Law schools should be chosen by speaking to students and teachers and not by their rankings as they can be misleading. “Anyway, it is not an assembly line and the output depends on the student’s hard work.”
One could build up his curriculum vitae by picking up skills of personality development and emerging technical skills in fields such as artificial intelligence. He also pointed out that environmental law would find its place in legal practice in the coming years.
“One needs to be proficient in English as it is the medium of instruction. But you don’t need to be Shakespeare. What matters is your common sense and ability to grasp things and simplify complex issues. It is a function of our intellect and not language.’
“The profile of the Bar is changing, with a lot of rural students from non-English backgrounds. It is like the changing character of the Indian cricket team. The once urbane team is now attracting players like M.S. Dhoni who are from small towns,” he said.
Anchor Anuja Ganesh said that over 10,000 students and parents had logged into the lecture.
