ShikshaTopQuestions-Law

Hey.
Both M.Phil in Law and LLM are Master's degree in law. They are pursued after completing the Bachelors in law either a 3-year course or a 5-year nature. The points of difference between the two are the nature of the course as well as time taken to complete it.
Prior to the change of rules by Bar Council of India, it took two years to complete LLM. But now, it just takes a year to complete LLM. MPhil, on the other hand, takes more time than a year.
LLM has a fixed curriculum that is taught in the universities I.e. there are mandatory subjects that are to be studied under the program. M Phil, on the other hand, is independent. It proceeds on the subject area on which a person wants to research upon. So, it is not only subject specific but also topic specific as it is generally done on a particular topic.

Hi,
The major difference between the two courses is the nature of the degree, the time taken to complete the course and eligibility criteria to pursue either LLM or Ph.D in law.
Recently, the Bar Council of India has reduced the time of LLM from two years to one year. So, now it takes just one year to complete LLM. Ph.D on the other hand generally does not have a fixed time limit. It normally takes around 2-3 years to complete Ph.D.
While LLM is a Master's degree in law, Ph.D is a doctoral degree. Once you complete your Ph.D, you can use Dr. as a prefix to your name.
Coming to the eligibility part for completing LLM, you require a Bachelor's degree in law. It can be either a 3-years degree of law or 5-years. PhD, on the other hand, requires Master's degree in law. Therefore, it's only after Master's degree that you can pursue Ph.D.
Hope this helps.

Ok, so without any further ado, let me tell you that life at an NLU is an eye opening experience. Indeed, college life is an experience of a life time but as a budding lawyer studying at a National Law University, the chances of being shaken to your core and being challenged in every aspect is very likely.
Here, one will learn (if one wishes to) how to balance academics and co-curricular activities. One will learn that time management is of utmost importance and while maintaining good grades consistently is important, debates and mooting should take an upper berth as they will help you to hone your oratory skills and bring out the lawyer in.
Law school will teach you to survive in the most pathetic conditions, to eat the most inedible food, to learn how to accommodate with people and their absurd attitudes and beliefs and often assimilate. Life at a NLU will shake your beliefs and challenge you intellectually. There will be people with whom one will share a life time of a bond and with others, it might be a more cordial relationship. Enemies might be there but that's when a lawyer's diplomacy comes to aid.
NLUs will give you plenty of opportunities to grow, if one wishes to grab them. Academic, culture, sports, debating, etc. everything will be there for everybody to decide what their forte is.
Basically, life in a NLU is simply amazing, magical and worth the pain and effort it takes to get in there.

Okay, without any further ado, let me tell you, campus recruitment has got a lot to do with one's luck and ones's CV. With a capital CV which are adorned with good grades, records of moots and debates won, the chances of you getting selected by a reputed firm is very high. In tier 1 NLUs like NLSIU, NALSAR and NUJS, one can expect top law firms which can offer something from Rs. 12 to 24 lakhs p.a. In tier 2 colleges like CNLU, RMNLU and NLU Jodhpur, sometimes, reputed firms may offer Rs. 8 to 16 lakh pa. In tier 3 colleges, the condition of recruitment might be disappointing as law firms are still reluctant to offer these newbies any such packages when they are still in their nascent stage.Undoubtedly, the tier 1 colleges offer the best packages. However, tier 2 colleges are matching up but tier 3 colleges still have a lot of catching up to do.

Hello,
DY Patil law school has managed to earn a name for itself in few years of it's establishment. It also has a vibrant placement cell which is in touch with industry and hence is able to place students in different industries. A law graduate can get absorbed as a law officer in different companies. Many students are placed as interns in law firms as well as with reputed lawyers. Many students prefer to study further in some or the other specialisation. Then there are some students who want to start off on their own and want to practice in a court of law. All this and some more opportunities are provided / given to the students of D Y Patil law school by the active placement cell of the college which is apparently in touch with the industry to fathom it's requirement. All this makes this to be the right institute to study.

Hey,
Pursuing a diploma in any of the course has several benefits of its own. These range from getting additional insight into that area of law to plus point in CV which would further help in getting jobs. Most of the times these Certificate and diploma courses are offered by the institution in which you are studying or some external institution in collaboration with your college. And the best part about these is that they can be pursued simultaneously with the degree program that you are pursuing. For eg., you can pursue a certificate course in IPR related laws even when you are in your 3rd year or 4th year of LLB programs. The additional benefit of these courses is the insight that you get into the subject and your future job prospects in that area of law. So, if you pursue a certificate course in IPR, it would have a significant impact if you are looking for a career in the IPR related laws. And the interviewer would be generally interested in you as you would have additional knowledge in that area of law as compared to other colleagues.

Hey,
There is no disadvantage in pursuing a certificate course. Law as a subject, the more you learn, the better you are. So, if you want to specialise in a particular area of law or if you want to build a career in a specific area of law, I think pursuing a certificate or diploma course in that area of law will provide you with the much needed insights as well as provide you with knowledge which would set you apart from your other colleagues. And coming to the best part about certificate course, they can be done together with the degree program that you are pursuing. So let's say you are enrolled in BALLB at NLSIU. A course on Mergers and Acquisitions is being offered by some Tier I Law firm. Mergers and Acquisitions being an important area of Corporate Law, it would provide you with practical insights and you can mention this course on your CV which would help you demonstrate your interest in Corporate law to the interviewer.

Hey,
The importance of International Humanitarian Law in the present day context cannot be highlighted. From the displacement of people to ethnic cleansing, most of the problems affecting countries involve international Humanitarian Law. For eg, the rehabilitation and resettlement of displaced people from Syria to whether Rohingyas should be deported or not, all of these are the major questions which fall under the ambit of International Humanitarian Law. With increasing international co-operation among countries and a large number of treaties and conventions being signed, specializing in International Humanitarian Law would provide you the platform to provide to legitimate answers to these questions. Further, you get to work with a lot of International Organisations including UN and World Bank. Pursuing a diploma or certificate course would help you with the enriching and invaluable knowledge you need in the subject and work beyond boundaries.

Hey,
If you visit any Court in India, most of the litigation involves the element of Criminal Law in some form or the other. A lot of disputes today involve principles of Criminal Law. Further, looking for a financial perspective, criminal lawyers make a lot of money. I think these odd reasons are enough to highlight the benefits of pursuing a certificate or Diploma in Criminal Law. Apart from these, most of the times, the subject are not taught at length in regular classes. In such cases, the diploma and certificate courses provide invaluable and enriching depth into the subject. And most of the courses can be pursued together with the degree program. Therefore, there is no additional time that you need to pursue these courses. Further, these courses add value to your CV.
Therefore, I would any day recommend pursuing a certificate or diploma course.