Mystory@Adv Meghana S Desai (Chavan): How I chose my course and career path – Challenges and learnings

Mystory@Adv Meghana S Desai (Chavan)

There were no lawyers in my family. It was my father who was my inspiration. I always saw him helping others, solving their problems without charging a single penny. You could say that social work was in our blood. I was keen to do something through I could also engage in this kind of social work. My interest was in resolving others’ problems. But I was of a shy nature. I was soft and hardly talkative. I wanted to go for medicine but since I was not that strong intellectually, I was unable to take admission to Science. Thereafter, I decided to try nursing but my father objected to this. Instead, he gave me confidence and motivated me to study further, I took admission to BCom and got introduced to Business Law which became my favorite subject. Throughout my undergraduate years, the interest in law subjects increased gradually. Even within the family, one of my aunts married a lawyer and inspired me to take up Law. It was my turn to convince my father this time and I forced him to get me admission to a law college. I feel that if you start walking towards your destination, ways and means automatically comes to you to help you get to your destination.

In the year 2003, after BCom, I took admission to Nalanda Law College. I wanted to go to a top college for this course but unfortunately, admissions to all top colleges were full. I was disappointed and thought that there was no chance of admission to a law college but finally, my father got the address of Nalanda Law College through a friend.

In Nalanda Law College, our batch was the very first. Because of this, I was unable to get strong study material. To make matters worse, much depended on self-study since this was a newly opened college. But my father always maintained that “self-study is more important than better institute of study,” and I decided that I would complete my LL.B from the very same college.  

Yes, it was difficult to collect the relevant study material without knowledge of the best reference books but this only helped me improve my research abilities. In those days, there was no smartphone or Internet but reaching out to other batchmates and friends from LLB and studying in consultation with each other helped a lot in clearing my LLB exams.

At that time, I was also doing part-time jobs in some small offices. This was my big mistake. I would like to advise others not to involve themselves in odd jobs, instead, to work in a law firm in any capacity, either as a clerk or an assistant to a lawyer. By working with a lawyer, you will get more knowledge about case laws, their substituent sections, various articles, rules and regulations etc. This will equip you with better knowledge for your exams as well as help you win moot court competitions. Working with a lawyer also improves the theoretical knowledge that is required for exams and simultaneously gives you practical knowledge that counts as relevant experience after you finish your LL.B programme.

I would like to tell the world that everyone’s lives are bound by a set of rules and regulations and lawyers are needed to preserve and redefine these rules and regulations. Lawyers enjoy great social status. So think about it and go for Law. Be loyal to your profession and be loyal to law and to your Client. "Good Luck".

About the Author:

Meghana S Desai is interested in cooking and in learning new things. Her hobbies include dancing, singing, playing carom and badminton.  She is currently working as a Legal Consultant (legal advisor) in a real estate company.