Published in Lawyers Update, Edition: August, 2017 Volume XXIII Part 8, Page 35. Visit: www.lawyersupdate.co.in For Comments, contact: nilendrak@gmail.com

1. INNOVATIVE SUMMER PROGRAMS
NEED OF THE HOUR
Maj Gen Nilendra Kumar
The usual academic system
followed by law colleges in India
is based upon semester or yearly
terms. Veryfew institutions offer a
trimester system. The program
starts in July (odd semester) after
the new admissions. It is followed
by arLeven semester in December/
January each year. Accordingly,
the college calendar shows a
summer break for the students
in May and June. There is then
a small winter vacation around
Christmas or new year.
Bar Council regulations and
the ongoing practice expect the
students to attend internships
d u r in g t h e t e r m b r e a k s .
Unfortunately, the guidelines,
opportunities and a systematic
approach for internships has not
been explained in the regulations.
It hardly needs an elaboration
that internship could relate to
litigating counsels at various levels
of courts and tribunals, corporate
law practitioners, in-house
counsels, law commissioners,
quasi-judicial bodies, prisons,
statutory authorities, regulatory
bodies, banks foreign embassies,
NGO's publishing houses, media,
political parties and countless
other forums. Who is to guide the
students in this regard? Where
should they go? And when? Do
what?
The scheme for internship
hardly allows any deviation. The
students lose out the studies and
attendance if they're not present
when the classes recommence in
July. The insistence upon rigid
adherence to attendance norms
limit the utility of internships for
which the policy and the faculty
are both generally ignorant.
Added difficulty for meaningful
internship is its restricted scope
during summer months. This
is due to closure of courts on
vacations. There is non-availability
of judges, court officials and
experienced advocates who
usually proceed outstations.
Thus the main difficulty for
a meaningful internship is its
restricted scope during summer
months.
In this backdrop of denuded
scope for internships, a substantial
number of students enroll for
summer schools abroad. These
programs are available mostly in
Europe, US and other countries.
Ironically, there is no expertise
to guide the students in an
organized and objective manner.
The students who can afford to
travel beyond India are often
lured by either attractive locations
(e.g: London, Geneva , Italy
etc.) or the name of prestigious
institutions like L.S.E. or King's
Colleges etc. In absence of proper
guidance, they do not derive
benefit from summer programs.
Some of the student's land up
attending courses which they
are yet to be taught in their law
colleges in India. Some others find
themselves saddled with subjects
in which they have little interest.
Majority of them go to summer
schools without any prior study
and preparation. Those w ho
cannot afford to go abroad find
total lack of opportunities in India
to attend summer schools.
It is for consideration that
suitable help and counseling be
planned and organized for law
students in this regard. What
course to apply for, at which
law college and with what prior
preparation. This information
would give the best value for
the amount spent. Perhaps if the
students explore the feasibility
to form a group, the expenses of
travel, boarding and lodging may
come down.
Courses at foreign institutions,
c ons idering the number of
applicants from India, could be
specially tailor made so that these
are held in May — June every year.
The courses maybe designed based
upon the need of the profession.
To illustrate, curriculum may
cover the comparative study of
environmental, IPR or energy law
topics; legal writing research; and
skill development. Some of the
courses may relate to transnational
practice or skills required for due
diligence work. Such a diverse
variety will make law studies
more meaningful. This policy
would also hopefully facilitate the
identification of suitable careers
for law students.
A connected issue is to set
up such law schools within
India. It may be appreciated that
Infrastructure and manpower
resources including the faculty
available at the existing law
colleges in India remain unutilized
during summer recess. The
added feature is the availability
of renowned guest faculty. They
would be relatively at ease and
available to be engaged as subject
matter experts. Innovative and
relevant topics can be included
that would help the students in
career placements.
Some of the eminent judges
serving and retired, senior in
house counsels and jurists may
be invited to be associated with
such ventures. The regular faculty
in different law colleges would
acquire valuable experience from
the proposed recommendations.
The faculty who is willing to be
thus utilized would benefit by
earning extra remuneration for
his services.
It is suggested that bodies like
National Law Schools, Universal
Institute of Legal Studies apart
from other progressive law
colleges can take a lead in this
regard.
What should be the approach
as regards choices to be offered to
the students? Those could take up
for instance, one, career options
and counseling, two, explanation
of latest case law and three, skill
development. Courses may be
planned to prepare for judicial
service exams or for entry to JAG
department of armed forces or
banking services etc.
Wher e pos s ible the law
colleges could also arrange visits
to courts, correctional facilities,
arbitration forums, and corporate
law chambers, offices of in-house
counsels, legislative bodies and
human right agencies.
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