Navigating a Legal Career: Present and Future Prospects

The desire to become a lawyer is frequently sparked by inspiration. The inspiration for most law students comes from either personal heroes (often family members), fictitious heroes (Perry Mason, Alan Shore), or the concept that one person can genuinely make a difference.   

The legal field so appears to be appealing enough, but what sort of individual would make a great lawyer?  Good written and verbal communication abilities come as standard.  A lawyer must alsoenjoy reading because conducting research is a significant part of the work. The most crucial ability that one require is logical reasoning, though. One must be able to analyse situations impartially and draw your own judgments. Law is unquestionably a career one should think about if one is intelligent, well-groomed and not afraid to express opinions.

The function of a lawyer in the modern period has radically changed, moving far away from white collars and black robes to opulent corporate offices and jobs in television, film, and other forms of media. For the layperson, law is a set of legally binding rules and regulations. But as a career, it signifies much more and covers many different areas, including litigation, media, intellectual property, academia, etc.

It was in this context that a two-day workshop on 'Navigating A Legal Career' was organised by the School of Law to guide current and prospective students of Christ (Deemed To Be University) Pune, Lavasa campus. It was an honour to host Professor Dr Ved Kumari, Vice Chancellor, National Law University, Orissa and Professor Jayadevan S Nair, Dean, School of Law, Christ (Deemed to Be University),Bengaluru.   

It was a matter of pride to host two Christ Alumni - Mr Andrew Chakrabarty, who went on to graduate from Australian National University, and is now a practicing lawyer in Australia as an Assosciate for Adero Law and Ms Sneha Priya Yanappa, who went on to graduate from the University of Oxford and is currently a research Fellow at Vidhi Centre For Legal policy, working with the Government of Karnataka. This two day workshop was a valuable experience for students who got the opportunity to interact with the finest minds in the field of law. The experiences and advices shared by these experts gave the aspiring lawyers of our University an insight into a bright legal career awaiting them.

By default, the Indian educational system puts students through several levels of stress while they pursue their academic goals. The Higher Secondary Examination is arguably the most difficult of these (HSC or Class 12 board). After their exams, HSC students are almost ready to choose their career route. This conundrum is inexplicable; for some, it is a dearth of possibilities, and for others, it is an abundance of options. It puts young minds under a lot of strain in either case. The workshop addressed this major issue and was successful in giving young minds an insight into the legal career.