Every year, hundreds of law students graduate from colleges and schools in India. But, how many of them are really equipped to become excellent lawyers? Do they have those specific skills that ensure their success? As an attempt to answer these questions, ADR Centre, Kochi, is organising a three-day residential certificate course, Finishing School for Law Students (FSL); one that provides unique insights into legal practice. This course is being conducted in association with the Centre for Public Policy Research (CPPR) and Civitas Legal Solutions, from January, 2012, at Ashir Bhavan, Kochi.

It has been recently noted that law graduates fail to perform to the expectations of this noble profession. Due to lack of proper training and awareness, most lawyers find it difficult to meet the needs and demands of the increasingly competitive litigation and corporate sectors. With the legal sector to be liberalised in the coming years, young law graduates will have to compete with their foreign counterparts, who are better trained. It is in this context that ADR Centre is joining hands with CPPR to train law students.

The course will be a mixture of interactive and skill-building sessions, and group discussions. There will be sessions on corporate legal practice, legal entrepreneurship, legal career planning, governance, and soft skills. The resource persons include eminent lawyers, academicians, politicians, journalists, bureaucrats and trainers. Retired judges will also be involved in the process, and the students will have interactive sessions with them. The course will also include mock sessions on advocacy, client management and mediation.

Last year, students from all over India attended the course. “The course offered interaction with some of the most eminent resource personalities in the legal profession and helped in enriching the aura of our thinking,” says Tarpit Patni from Nirma University, Ahmedabad, who attended the course. The students were also taken for a visit to Justice V R Krishna Iyer’s residence, followed by a boat ride on the backwaters of Kochi.

FSL will be held at Ashir Bhavan, Kochi, from January, 2012. Those interested can contact Project Associate Madhu S at 0484 6469177 or 09446089456. He can also be reached at adr@adrcentre.in.