Clever, intelligent and smart — they advocate for people’s rights. As they enter the court room donning the black coat to fight for justice, they not only attract people’s attention, but also become the hope and voice of the voiceless. They are the lawyers, who our society respects.

Do you also wish to enter the world of law and become a part of one of the respected professions of our society? All you have to do is pursue higher education in Law and prepare yourself according to the demands of the course and time.

The universities that will prepare you to become future lawyers are Tribhuvan University (TU) and Purbanchal University (PU). Various colleges associated with these universities offer undergraduate and graduate programmes in Law.

Where to study?
Since 1954, TU has been offering two undergraduate programmes in Law — LLB (three years), BA LLB (five years) — and graduate programme LLM (two and three years). You can acquire the degrees at Nepal Law Campus, a constituent campus of TU.

Kathmandu School of Law (KSL) has been offering — LLB and BA LLB (five years) and LLM (two years) since 1999 .

Though BA LLB and LLB are both undergraduate programmes in Law, what is the difference between them?
Krishna Prasad Bashyal, Associate Professor and Assistant Campus Chief, Nepal Law Campus explains, “In BA LLB one gets to study subjects like Economics, Political Science, English, Nepali, History and Sociology and the teaching medium is English so as to maintain the international standard. Moreover, it gives students the validity of pursuing undergraduate degree in Bachelors’ in Arts or Bachelors’ in Law . Meanwhile, in LLB, subjects are focused in the aspect of law only.”

Why to study law?
“Law is a subject related to the life cycle of people. The discipline and regulations in any society cannot be maintained without law where this subject concerns every family, society or organisation in a state,” Bashyal further mentions.

Sabana Poudel, BA LLB VIth Year student at Nepal Law Campus feels “law as a systematic formula that helps to bring uniformity in any society”.

She expresses, “A society comprises people with different ideas and sometimes it can create conflict where law comes handy to settle any dispute and conflict in the society bringing uniformity.”

Therefore, there is need of people who need to maintain law and order which is why they should study Law. Kumar Ingnam, Associate Professor/Principal, of KSL argues, “Law is necessary to maintain the system, principle, practice and values in any society. If these aspects are not maintained, there won’t be any order left in a society. Moreover, students of Law can become intellectual authority who can speak up for justice. One can also become a social engineer by pursuing this course.”

The charm
While many wish to become lawyers after studying Law, some are pursuing it for promotion while others want to enhance their career opportunities.

The lawyer in black coat and his power attracted Ramchandra Gautam, LLM IInd Year student at KSL, be the one and he pursued the course. Nonetheless, his “lawyer father” also influenced him.

Gautam, who is from Rukum, saw his father being the mediator between the Maoist and government and working for justice during the time of conflict. “That time I saw the power of black coat who does not work only for money but to give justice to the victim,” states Gautam who then understood the meaning of being a lawyer and was “sure that I am going to be lawyer”.

But Ram Chandra Bhandari, studying LLB IInd Year at Nepal Law Campus, aims to gain kno-wledge by pursuing this course. Bhandari, who also works in an insurance company as an officer reveals, “The students who enroll themselves in Law know about the regulating system of the government. And after being the student of Law, I got to know about federalism as well as I am here to enhance my career.”

Whatever the reason is, the students seem attracted towards Law. And surprisingly, the number of female law students is increasing, as per Ingnam. “The ratio of male and female students is 60:40. The reason for increasing female students might be because the girls are able to follow strict discipline required by this course. It might also be because of the reservations provided for females in different government organisations.”

Likewise, students with lawyer parents are influenced to pursue career in Law, he adds.

Scopes and challenges
A law student has numerous opportunities after completion of course. As per Bashyal, a Law graduate be a legal advisor, advocate, solicitor, teacher or can get employment opportunities in various courts of law, government service, et cetera.

“The law students have many options. But they can also work to bring social reforms and teach the same in the society,”Ingnam adds.But being a competent graduate of Law is quite a challenge for the students due to lack of practical knowledge and resources like Internet facilities for research, as per Poudel. “There is not any provision for Law students to observe and learn from the court.”

Gautam finds it difficult to gain practical knowledge due to the unwillingness of law firms to teach students who work as interns. He argues, “It’s not fair as we don’t get transportation charge and most of the time we have to do things like carrying their bags around. Such mentality of these organisation is a huge challenge for us.”

NEPAL LAW CAMPUS
LLB
Cost: Rs 20,000 (3 years)
Eligibility: Student with Bachelor's degree from any stream is eligible to join this course

BA LLB
Seat: 70
Cost: Rs 2,18,500 (5 years),
Eligibility: Student completing +2 from any stream can sit for entrance test
LLM
Seat: 50
Cost: Rs 40,000 (2 years); Rs 1,34,000 (3 years)
Eligibility: Student who has passed LLB can sit for entrance test Kathmandu School of Law

KATHMANDU SCHOOL OF LAW
BA LLB
Seat: 100, Cost:
Around Rs 5,00,000 (5 years)
Eligibility: Student completing +2 from any stream can sit for entrance test

LLM
Seat: 50
Cost: Around Rs 1,00,000 (2 years)
Eligibility: Student passing LLB or BA LLB can sit for entrance test

source:the himalayan times,27 Nov 2013