The law courses in India are generally of 3 years (pursued after graduation) or 5years (pursued after 12th). The law course is a professional course governed by the Bar Council of India Rules.
In the law school, students learn variety of laws; substantive and procedural both. The college provides the understanding of the provision but it fails to teach its practical implication or its usage. Also, the law school provides ample amount of time to students apart from studies. In order to use this time judiciously and develop the better understanding of law, the students can opt for various activities which are as follows.
1) Research Paper:
The most important thing which any law student should know is to research. Research in law means to find relevant articles, cases related to the topic. In order to hone this skill, a student should read a lot about the legal as well as the current topics so to be able draw the connection between the two and understand the application of law to the situation. The students can write about this connection or draw a theory regarding it and publish it any law journal. For example: piracy is a social issue but legally it leads to the violation of intellectual property rights.
The law colleges, have their own journals, students can publish their papers in such journal; also, some colleges organise competition for paper presentation. These competitions provides huge amount of prize money, so it is also a way to earn and add to the resume opportunity.
Furthermore, the skill of research is not limited to law school; in fact it helps a lot in jobs i.e. for strengthening the case.
2) Article Writing
Writing is also an important skill which a law student must know. Writing is an art of communicating same thing in limited or in elaborate words.
Article writing is similar to that of research paper writing however, it is limited in words. The Article is basically a view about the ongoing situation may be positive or negative. For example: a critical or positive analysis of the law passed by the government or a view on social issues. The Article writing also involves research but that is limited to ascertainment of facts as article is majorly focused upon the view of author supported by the facts.
The Law Colleges organises competition related to the same and also this could be published in a journal.
The art of writing helps students not only in college but in real world as well, for instance, in mains examination to the judiciary aspirant, drafting of legal documents to the advocate or in a firm. Also, a person who writes a lot is in a better position to interpret the documents or law as they could understand the reason behind usage of certain terminologies.
3) Review Paper
Review Paper writing is similar to that of Article writing. It involves writing of a review or to say reviewing the already written article of some author. In review paper writing, the shortcomings not covered by the author or the appreciation of its uniqueness than the other paper is covered. It is basically criticism or appreciation of another author's work along with the suggestions to the same.
The art of reviewing helps a lot in jobs when the companies expect the students to review contracts they are going to enter with the other party.
4) Moot Courts and Trial Courts
Along with the writing and researching skills, the next most important skill a law student should possess is the oratory skills. Being a law student, they should know how to manipulate the words and present their work in the best possible manner.
Moot Courts are basically a page or two long legal problems, wherein a student is expected to frame issues and find relevant cases for establishing those issues. The moot court competitions are evaluated by the judges of court. Therefore, participation in moot court competitions develops the acumen for arguments, research and also builds up confidence for appearing before the court.
The Trial Courts are basically similar to real-life cases, the process of research and memorial formation is similar to moot courts. The only difference between moot court and trial court is that; in former case the arguments are majorly on the basis of law whereas in latter the arguments are on the basis of facts supported by law.
The moot court and trial court competitions are similar to real life court cases and helps in overall development of law students especially of those who wants to pursue career in litigation.
5) Debates
Debates are producing the different view on the topic. Basically in debate the participants are expected to express the supportive and counter view on the topic. For the debate competition the participants should be updated about the recent topics and should be able to analyse it and draw its pros and cons.
The debate competitions facilitate the development of argumentative and oratory skills of a person.
6) Conferences and Seminars
In law colleges' lot of conferences, seminars, legal discourse are organised. These discourses include the discussion on socio-legal topics or current legal topics. The members of such seminars include judges, prominent professors and laureates; the discussion is held between such people and the attendees. The benefit of attending these discourses is that various views especially of esteem people on a situation can be observed which helps in developing a prudence of a person and he could analyse the situation in the light of such views.
7) Internships
Internships are the most activity in the law school which is made mandatory by the Bar Council of India and also some colleges make it mandatory every semester for students. Internships are basically working with the companies, law firms, advocates or in any such institution to gain the practical knowledge of the law field. Internships could be termed as field work for law students. Since the law is a professional course, the person pursuing it must know the theoretical and practical aspect of it; the former is taken care by the college however for the latter part internships are required.
Internship in crux is experiencing the work life after graduation for a short-period of time. The institutions providing internships teach how the work is done in law field which in reality is completely different from what is learnt in law school.
The interns have to apply in companies, law firms or to an advocate from a prior date, subject to approval. The institutions differ from area of interest.
8) Diploma and Certification Courses
Diploma is a like a year-long or six monthly course whereas certification courses are generally few months course. The student having interest in a particular subject or area can learn more about it through these courses in that field. There are various colleges and institutions which provide such courses; it may be paid or free. For example: the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organisation) provides a certification course on General Intellectual Property Right, the Harvard College provides a course name "Copyright X" on copyright, NLUs and other colleges provide Diploma Courses on various subjects.
These courses are pursued for the in-depth knowledge on the subject of interest.
9) Cultural Activities
Apart from the academic activities there are cultural fests organised by the colleges. These fests are generally a week long break from studies wherein various competitions like dance, singing, skits, fashion show etc. are held; it may be intra or inter-college. The overall personality development of a person is required irrespective of the field. The cultural activities are gateway from the studies. Some of the famous cultural fests of colleges are "Abhinay" of Bharati Vidyapeeth New Law College, Pune, "Symbhav" of Symbiosis Law School, Pune.
10) Sports
Likewise, the cultural activities sport competition are also organised by colleges. The physical health is equally important so a student can participate in any of the games like badminton, cricket, football, chess etc. Likewise the cultural fest, sports fests are also held by the colleges. Some of the famous sport fests are "Invicta" The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, "Virudhaka" of NLIU, Bhopal.
The aforementioned are some of the activities by which the 5 or 3 year of law course can be utilised fruitfully. The aim of laws student should be to make their resume bulky by the end of the course. Along with studies, a law student should participate in such competition which
is important in overall development of a student both academically and physically and it makes them ready for the practical world of law i.e. the actual work.
