Lawyers Don’t Get the Amount of Respect They Deserve as Compared to Other Countries - Kumar Bhanu

Want to become a member of Eat My News? You can enrol for EMN membership now from here.

1.Tell us about your background and journey?

I did my schooling from Tagore International School, Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. As a commerce student I wanted to attend Prestigious University of Delhi which I did. 

I took admission in Delhi College of Arts and Commerce, University of Delhi in the year 2011 and completed my graduation in Bachelors of Commerce Honours i.e. B.com Hons in the year 2014. 

Though after completing my graduation I didn’t go for placements as I wanted to pursue CA. But my destiny had something else store for me as I cracked the Law Entrance Exam conducted by the Faculty of Law, University of Delhi in the year 2012 and finally made it. 

Apart of being an economics, accounts and business student now I was a Law Student. I completed my bachelors in Law (LL.B) in the year 2018. During my Law School I had interned with various Advocates and Law Firms. In the year 2017 I had interned with a Delhi High Court Advocate, then I was Legal Content Writer for Educoncours (a Hyderabad based firm) and then I had interned with a Saket District Court Advocate and finally I had interned with Barucha and Partners. 

I realized it later as a student I enjoyed studying law much more as
compared to my graduation. Being a Delhi University student which we proudly say as I used to enjoy my Law School days. 

Time flies as we all say 3 years passed like a snap of a finger. I did everything from hanging out in the canteen, hanging out with my friends, studying and yes most definitely not attending some of my classes Hahaha….. 

In the year 2018, I got myself enrolled with the Bar Council of Delhi and got a provisional license of 2 years and in the year 2019 I cleared All India Bar Exam
(AIBE) conducted by The Bar Council of India got the permanent license to practice and started practicing as a full fledge Advocate.

2.What do you think is the key differences in studying law in India and other countries?

I think Law is a very vast subject and individual has to study in depth just to get hold of it. Indian laws are hybrid in nature. 

Studying Law in India is challenging as compared to abroad as the Law Schools in India doesn’t provide enough practical platform to practice in the Indian courts as studying Law is different and practicing in the courts is a whole different story. 

But now the Law schools have started various platforms like moot courts, legal debates etc. but we still need to work on these aspects. 

Students studying Law abroad are much more specialized as compared to Indian Law students. Indian Law degree especially from a Good reputed University

will hold a good reputation only in India but American or British Law schools hold a prestigious reputation worldwide which is a major drawback for us. 

As the quality of Law Schools in our country are degrading year by year, only few reputed colleges are left and even after completing the law degree from a good reputed college, Lawyers are not placed well in our country which is a very big drawback. 

Lawyers don’t get the amount of respect they deserve in our country as compared to other countries mainly because of the vast majority of population of our country and lack of quality of legal education. 

Opening up of so many Universities which do not meet the standards/quality of education has compromised with integrity and respect/reputation of this legal profession. 

But still Lawyers like doctors and other professionals are considered to be above the society. Unlikely, we do get the respect but not that much what we deserve as we fight for the society and rights of the common people.

3.Which Top Institutes would you recommend for studying law in India?

It depends on the individual if he wants to pursue 5 years Integrated Law then
National Law University, Bangalore, NALSAR Hyderabad, National Law University,
Bhopal, National Law University, Delhi, Symbiosis Law School, Pune.

For 3 years Law which is pursued after graduation I would recommend Faculty of
Law, Delhi University as Delhi University is the first University to introduce Case
studies in India, Faculty of Law, Banaras Hindu University commonly Known as
BHU, Rajeev Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law (IIT Kharagpur) etc.

4.What advice would you pass on to someone who wants to be lawyer?

My advice would be study hard and study smart. Be aware of all the latest laws and cases and supreme court ruling and guidelines and latest judgements and study with passion you are sure to succeed, if you don’t love reading and writing this profession is not for you. 

You have to be an avid reader and writer and you have to be aware of sections and laws which is not everyone’s cup of tea. Also as we are progressing so
much digitally I would recommend certain apps for a smart phone which are meant for lawyers cum advocates to be aware of new judgements coming up now and then like Law Finder, Supreme court ejournal , latest laws etc….

5.What are the various career scopes after being a lawyer?

It depends upon an individual what a he or she wants to get into after completing their Law. 

There are variety of scope and most common are-

 Practice- It takes time and hardwork but it is rewarding only after having a good
years of experience.

 Judiciary or Civil service exams- An individual can go for Judicial Service Exams
and can become a Judge if not an advocate or clear UPSC exam and become a
Bureaucrat or an officer/civil servant in government administration.

 Law Firm- An individual can fetch a job in a Law Firm if not practice, in which
they pay decent salary to the upcoming lawyers though it is like an ordinary job.

 Law officers- An individual can clear entrance exam conducted by various Banks
in India and become a law officer in the bank.

 Legal advisor- An individual can become a legal advisor in the panel, department of any government banks or private banks or in legal department of any legal firms or companies.

 Law Professor-After completing Masters of Law i.e. LLM and clearing NET
exam, a person who is eligible and keen to become a professor can very well do so by teaching in various law schools.


6.What success look like to you in this job?

I wanted to a join corporate law firm due to ongoing trend lawyers are leaning more towards corporate jobs as compared to litigation though both have their own pros and cons. 

My first job was with Advocate on Record (AOR) Supreme Court followed by
various district court Advocates and with a Criminal Advocate. From this I changed my mind and ended up in litigation and forgot about corporate. 

Being a first generation lawyer though it’s hard for me to be an independent litigator in these initial years but litigation is like a roller coaster ride quite thrilling and thus rewarding.

Advocacy is when you are practicing and appearing before the court and not just by sitting at one place and doing the work that is not advocacy at all. Now I practice before various District Courts of Delhi and the Hon’ble High Court of Delhi.


7. Which is your favourite book and Why?

I am an avid reader. I read a lot whether it is Law Journals, Novels, Digests. I love
writing poetry, I have written a lot of them. My favourite books are -:

 An era of Darkness by Dr. Shashi Tharoor.
 The second world war by John Keegan.
 The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank.
 Landmark Judgments that changed India by Eminent Jurist Asok Kumar
Ganguly.
 Letters to a Law Student: A Guide to Studying Law at University by Mcbride
Nicholas

Interviewed by - Divas Agarwal

Edited by - Vayun Sahni