Judgment day

The way legal studies used to be perceived traditionally has changed in the last few years with the emergence of new areas of study within the discipline. The demand for legal services in areas like healthcare, intellectual property, venture capital, energy and environmental law has brought about a sea-change in the way aspiring students look at law as a career.

The admission season is on and students aspiring to study law in both the undergraduate integrated programme or at the postgraduate level, will be rushing to universities offering these courses.

The Faculty of Law, Delhi University, offers law at the postgraduate level, which is a three-year programme. According to J L Kaul, professor-in-charge , Campus Law Centre (CLC), DU, law as a discipline as well as a career is no more the old-school kind. Today, the field is growing with various specialisations and with global exposure . Also, law as a profession has matured in the country with increased corporatisation . India, over the years, has opened to foreign investment, which has made space for legal professionals in that area. All these factors contribute to the rise in competition for admission to law schools.

"We have in total 2,500 seats for the three law centres at the faculty, to which about 8,000-9 ,0000 students apply every year through an entrance test conducted by the university," says Kaul.

Further, he says, the discipline is taught under the semester mode. A number of new papers, including environmental law, human rights, gender justice and international trade law have been included in the curriculum recently, as they are emerging fields in this sector.

"The popular fields of specialisation among students, nowadays, include cyber law, corporate law, environmental law, international trade law and human rights law. There is a high demand for corporate lawyers across the globe as legal outsourcing has also increased tremendously," he says.

Students can have good career prospects in the field as they can work in corporate companies, law firms, government agencies , practice judiciary etc.

"For the last couple of years, placement on campus has been progressing, with a good number of students recruited by corporate houses, MNCs, law firms, government agencies like ONGC, international publishers and even NGOs," adds Kaul.

While DU offers a three-year law programme , Jamia Millia Islamia, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (GGSIPU) and National Law University, Delhi (NLUD), offer a five-year , BA LLB (H) integrated programme , which is a popular trend among students for the last few years.

According to Rose Varghese, dean, faculty of law, Jamia Millia Islamia, law as a profession has grown due to globalisation and the corporate world. Today, no organisation or industry can exist without a legal division.

"We have a total of 80 seats in the fiveyear BA LLB programme offered by the faculty , to which we receive around 3,000-5 ,000 applications every year. Since in the five-year programme, students are fresh out of school, they are receptive and curious, which is an advantage as they want to know more and can be moulded into the discipline well," she adds.

According to Suman Gupta, dean, school of law and legal studies, GGSIPU, more students are joining the integrated law course as it offers specialisations in the discipline. Legal education has many connotations, and a good job offer is one of the factors that drive students .

"Fields like cyber law, cyber crime, environment and industry law are popular among students. However, many go for civil services or judicial practice as well. Last year, we introduced two new papers in the curriculum - cyber law and crime; and intellectual and industry property law. While the first semester is common, from second semester onwards students can choose from the various specialisation papers," says Gupta.

According to Ranbir Singh, vice-chancellor , NLUD, "We have students from about 19 states studying here. Out of the total 80 seats, 20 are meant for Delhi students and 10 seats are reserved for foreign students. The rest of the seats are meant for students from other states."

He says, "Popular courses among students include intellectual property rights, environmental law, securities, capital market law, corporate law, human rights, and labour and development law."