MY LAW SCHOOL JOURNEY TILL NOW
By Shivam Goel, 3rd Year Law Student at VIPS, Delhi (Online Intern @LawOF)
My law school journey began in an interesting way as I never aimed for “Law” as a subject for my graduation. In fact till 12th standard of my schooling neither I had any interest in Law and Legal Studies, nor did I have any knowledge relating to it. My interest in Law started to develop during the preparation for entrance tests and law not being the first preference even then. Luckily, I got an admission in Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies, Delhi, being my first preference in Delhi.
Even more interestingly, I was extremely hesitant going to Law school, since I am an introvert and was always told that to be a lawyer, I need to be an expressive person and I observed that fact within a month of my first year when we started to have weekly oral presentations for each subject. It is obvious that all this really helped me in gaining that exposure that every student strives for. Moreover, within my first year of law, I got an opportunity to intern at Human Rights Law Network (HRLN), Delhi, one of the best Law NGO working in India. The enthusiasm in me visiting High Court and the Supreme Court for the first time was also noticeable. Unlike various other colleges, VIPS is pretty discipline oriented college which might not be okay for many but was best environment for me. The college infrastructure is also delightful.
In the Second Year of my law, I starting building my CV and enhancing my vocabulary which were seen as being most important for a law student to earn internships under big lawyers and to become more presentable. I participated in a couple of moot court competitions and also presented my research paper at ICFAI University, Dehradun. My academic studies also went well in both the years and I observed that preparing your own notes on subjects really helps you not only in exams but in long run as well. I interned at District courts, Tis Hazari which was felt essential for observing the functioning of lower courts and then, also at Delhi High Court. I had been good at research, hence was able to handle such tasks without any lags.
Now the Third Year of Law School, which provides the basis of procedural laws, has started to become a bit hectic and it gradually becomes difficult to handle such vast subjects with other co- curricular activities. In this year, I basically didn’t participate in competitions as such but did attend various seminars and conferences most of them based on HUMAN RIGHTS, being my favourite subject in law on which I aim to pursue my career as well.
I still have a lot more to go through and way more to learn. An experienced lawyer is a ‘powerhouse’ of knowledge; nothing should stop him from learning and exploring the undiscovered. What makes him stand different in a queue is his awesome way to analyse a situation, and taking a stand for what is right and giving a tough fight to what is wrong.