Legal Eagles
NLSIU has held the top spot in the rankings for the past three years running. Students get hands-on practice, besides a world-class education
IN THE FIRST WEEK at the NLSIU, one of my seniors told me, “NLS is a big pie. What piece of the pie you get depends on what you make out of the pie.” This remark has stayed with me. While NLS has its daily regimen of classes with strict attendance rules, it also provides students the freedom to pursue interests outside classroom. It is what you do after 1.30 pm that defines NLS for you. Student committees and administration work very hard to facilitate and encourage co-curricular and extra-curricular activities.
While we may passionately debate the contours of a legal provision in classes in the morning, we get to decide what we want to do with the rest of the day—one may spend time in the library, cheer for a team at a sport-
ing event, attend a talk, prepare for a competition, read, sleep or just go to enjoy in the town. At night, you will find hostels and canteens bustling, with conversations on topics ranging from artificial intelligence to the death penalty. Of course, you will also find a daily dose of campus gossip at one of these places!
One might think that at a top law school with such great opportunities, the competition would be cut-throat. While the students are competitive, the competition is mostly constructive and positive. Everyone works hard to excel, but that is generally not at the expense of others. Students are ready to share their notes and material, discuss ideas, explain concepts, share resources and knowledge. I remember, in an exam for which we had an exceptionally large syllabus, my batchmates collaborated and made notes for different readings. It made the course easier for all of us. You will find the cooperative spirit moving beyond exams— students often form ‘firms’ and research together for internal moot court competitions.
The moment you enter NLSIU, you are assigned several mentors—for the library, for projects, etc. There is also a student-run ‘parent system’, in which the person with the same roll number from a senior batch is your ‘law-school parent’. One may find other
seniors through various associations— there are annual state lunches where the incoming students get to meet the seniors from their respective states.
When I joined, I was told that NLSIU was all about corporate jobs. The last five years have proved this is not the case. While almost everyone in my batch managed to secure employment in India or abroad, there so many brilliant, passionate and inspiring folks who have chosen interesting career paths—public policy, startups, arts and academia.
Personally, NLSIU has been a great immersive experience. I will soon graduate with the realisation that the past half-decade has been a transformative experience—not only in terms of what I know, but also in the ideas I believe in, and most importantly, the way I think!