The National Law School of India University (NLSIU) awarded gold medals to 48 graduates during the convocation across different programmes. Amongst them, three students from BA LLB (Honours) programme — Saurabh Gupta, Vrishank Singhania and Pallavi Khatri — received eight, seven and six gold medals respectively, the highest this year. Speaking to The Hindu after receiving their medals, the trio said that they were all going to London to work in law firms soon. They also shared their experiences at NLSIU, the challenges and the impact of COVID-19 on their college life.
Mr. Saurabh won the most number of medals, including the Basant Kumar Birla Medal for the II Rank Student. Hailing from Chandigarh, he described his experience at the top law school as “life changing”. “The journey has been full of ups and downs. It helped me grow as a person and helped me explore what I wanted to do in the future,” he said. After a Masters programme in University of Oxford and a two-year job at a law firm in London, he plans to practise law at the High Court in Chandigarh.
Good support system
The medal winners said that as much as the experience at NLSIU was enjoyable and highly academically beneficial, they underwent a lot of stress. “As we are a small, competitive college, it is quite stressful and is a high-pressure environment. It is a constant challenge as there are a lot of expectations, not just academically, but to perform in other areas as well. However, you learn to cope with it overtime and it gets better with a good support system”, said Mr. Vrishank from Hyderabad who was awarded the Indira Khaitan Medal for University First Rank and Sarala Birla Medal for the overall topper along with the Best Outgoing student medal.
He added that while he missed social interactions during the pandemic, academically, the virtual classes worked out well. “As there are a lot of activities like moot courts, debates and committees involved in law school, the COVID-19 period gave me the time to slow down and introspect and focus.,” he said. He is currently working with a Supreme Court Lawyer in Delhi and will work in London for two years after that. Upon his return to the country, he plans to have a career combination of litigation and academia in his future.
Ms. Pallavi from Chandigarh won the Kumari Devi Menon Memorial Medal for All-round Best Graduating Girl Student and Ms. Anuradha N. Memorial Medal for Best Outgoing Female Student along with four others. When asked about the challenges she faced as a woman in the University, she said “It was pretty similar to what women in face in the other areas of life. While NLSIU is a really open, progressive, liberal community, there are a few bad apples everywhere. From one or two people, you face a little bit of sexism and instances of unsavoury comments. But otherwise, professors and everyone else are very supportive. There are also many collectives in the university which work towards reducing prejudices in the college.”
She will soon be joining a magic circle firm in London where she will work as a commercial lawyer in the corporate department. She wants to have a business of her own in the future and is looking to build a safety net and get some exposure before that.
Legal aid trust
Ashwini O., who graduated from the LLM programme, secured the M/s. Sitaram Jindal Foundation Gold Medal for the Best Outgoing LL.M. Student hailing from marginalised background. In 2013, she graduated from the same law school in LLB and worked in the corporate sector thereafter.
A little while after that, she realised that her true interest lay in litigation and started her career in the field with Ravivarma Kumar, former Advocate General of the State. She practiced before the High Court of Karnataka. “I really enjoyed picking up causes, filing PILs and litigating. Then I felt the need to get back to academics and came back here”, she said.
Ms. Ashwini also runs her own legal aid trust — Dhwani Legal Trust where child rights and women’s rights are the main focus of work. “We work with domestic violence victims and also create legal awareness which providing legal aid.”
