Things you should know before becoming a law student

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Relevance Of Comparative Constitutional Law- Madhava  Menon

16 ,December 2019

As the famous Tabatha Coffey once said “Classics never make a comeback. They just wait for the perfect moment to take the spotlight from overdone, tired trends”. Law is one such classic. Law has been around since time immemorial and now it has its roots anchored in all the elements of the society. If anybody wants an insight of the society at the grass root level, opting law is the most viable option. Law is a nexus of all the plausible streams in the universe and is variably incorporating something of everything.

To set foot into the realm of legal education, these are some of the fundamental pointers you need to be familiar with:

How can someone Opt for Law?

Kicking off, you may be looking for a Graduation degree with law or maybe a Post-graduate    degree. No hassle. Law has her gates open for all those who come looking for her. Students can plump for law after they finish their Higher Secondary school (10+2). Students trying to get into national law universities can give the following exams for 5 year law admission: CLAT, LSAT, AILET, MHCET, Lloyd Entrance Test (LET).

For students who want to study law post their graduation, they can give LLB entrance exam through CLAT as well for the 3 Year law degree.

The library is going to become your second home

This statement dawns horror upon some and for the voracious readers of novels, forget reading just for fun. Reading shall be to saliently to encapsulate knowledge. Law students spend myriad hours, also proving all the statements by our parents like “boards ke baad to aaram hi he” wrong in the mean process.

Expectation Vs reality

Bollywood movies and serials, which stereotype lawyers as a bunch of dudes wearing black and white and yelling objection your honour and silence; courtrooms flooding with people is hardly the real scenario in a law school. The famous dialogue “tareekh pe tareekh, tareekh pe tareekh”, if done in a real court will hold you in contempt of court for disrespecting the judge and will lead to the suspension of your practice licence. The real court has a lot of discipline and order than shown in the movies. Also, college life is far from as shown in the movies. It is certainly fun, but also a lot of work. You will be required to work extensively on your eloquence, articulation and writing as well as oratory skills, and above all the right demeanour in court proceedings, through practical aspects like the moot court activities.

You shall become guest to your own house

As the famous adage goes “law is a jealous mistress”. Law school is a tough shell to break past through. Regular visits to home will have to be stalled in the pursuit of deeper and more nuanced understanding of the legal dimensions. Holidays will demand mandatory two-month internships. You will certainly miss ‘maa ke haath ka khana’, make sure to take a lot of packed home food with you.

Don’t just work hard, work smart

Prioritising your work is the key. Divide your time for your various tasks. You will get used to it in the meantime. At times you will scrounge for twenty-six hours in twenty-four hours. Some might even say that Law schools are the new IITs. They have the charisma, which is inviting countless youngsters to join. In order to outshine the masses, you have to find your desired sub-stream within law and use your passion for the subject as your X-factor. This is what will segregate you from the rat race.

Might burn a hole in your pocket

In case you do not get into a National University, law school can be a costly affair. The private colleges might charge you a bomb price. Law books will cost you a fortune and for referendum purpose you might need various volumes and different publications. So making an informed choice and being sure about the expected takeaways from your end will make the entire investment worth your while.

Do Not Succumb To Self-Doubt

Law school can be tough at times. You might not be able to comprehend everything of what is being taught. Lectures seemingly halt the clock. This is especially true for the students who are coming from different streams. Intimidating are all the competitions, work load, drafting work, reading and deadlines. But as the famous saying goes “Tough situations don’t last, tough people do”. You will catch up slowly. Everything will come as a clearer picture. It’s just a phase, a phase during which you will metamorphose into a resolute individual.

These are a few insightful indicators every law aspirant must know at the outset, before taking the final plunge. Law makes you the architect of the future of the state, law is a commitment, a tough one to keep. You can participate directly into the functioning of the government be it judiciary, executive or legislature, law is the tri-junction for all. It’s a very noble profession to be in. Those who persist are surely rewarded, not just monetarily but also socially.

Author
By Aryan Kashyap
BA.LLB Semester-1