National Law University, New Delhi

The group of institutions collectively known as the National Law Universities (NLUs) now number over twenty. For long, law lagged behind several other professional and degree courses when it came to prestige and career opportunities, but now, thanks to the NLUs, it is considered a top career choice. With the opening up of the economy, law grads can now take up careers in corporate law, international agencies, NGOs, Legal Process Outsourcing (LPOs) firms and academics, besides the conventional careers centres around litigation and the judiciary. This was the reason for the launch of the five- year integrated programmes by the NLUs which can be taken up by students immediately after completion of their school. 

The National Law University Delhi (NLUD) was established in the year 2008. The Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court functions as the ex officio Chancellor of the NLUD. This Delhi- based institute is also one of the few NLUs to stay away from the CLAT exam. Instead, it recruits students using the AILET (All India Law Entrance Test). This is a test for a single institute only NLU- Delhi. Unlike CLAT, this is for 150 marks only, but the time limit is that of a football match – 90 minutes. While Maths is for only 10 marks, the other four usual segments are worth 35 marks each. AILET used to be one which did not have negative marking, but that has been reversed now. 

Courses are available at the NLUD at both the UG as well as PG levels. At the UG level, the flagship five- year integrated programme BA LLB is offered. The LLB of course is the standard degree offered to Common Law countries’ legal study graduates. At the master’s level, the LLM is offered here. There are seven optional specialization areas for one to pursue an LLM. Several optional seminar courses are also on offer here. This includes for topics such as European Law, Comparative Law, Contract Drafting, Advanced Criminal Procedure, Copyright X, Corporate Taxation, Criminal Practice, Corporate Finance, Corporate Litigation, Indirect Taxation, Indian Trademark Law, International Investment Law, International Economic Laws, Media Laws and Legal Drafting among several others. 

Bridge programmes are also available for those who want to complete their education, or those to have studied from foreign countries, where certain courses require some brush- up. This also includes some compulsory papers such as Property Law, Constitution of India and Professional Ethics. PG diplomas may be taken up in certain areas where working professionals seek to build greater level of expertise. At present the areas of such training are in – Urban Environment Management & Law, Environmental Law & Policy and in Tourism & Environmental Laws. All these diplomas are run in collaboration with the Worldwide Wildlife Fund (WWF). 

The institute is also a leader when it comes to legal research. For this purpose, specific centres of excellence have been created to facilitate the same. There are centres here for the areas of – Comparative Law, Communication Governance, Death Penalty, Transnational Commercial Law, Social Inclusion & Minority Rights, Transparency & Accountability in Governance, Comparative Studies in Personal Laws, Banking & Financial Laws, Corporate Law & Governance and for Criminology & Victimology. There is a Centre for Environmental Law, Policy and Research (CELPR). Another is the Centre for Innovation, Intellectual Property and Competition (CIIPC). And another one is the Centre for Constitutional Law, Policy and Governance. Besides this, the NLUD includes two endowed chairs. These are the K.L. Arora Chair in Criminal Law and the Justice B.R. Sawhny Chair in Professional Ethics. 

The NLUD is also a trainer when it comes to forging MoUs with academic institutions, research centres or corporate houses to further its research, industry connect and academic credentials. Some of these partners are the fellow NLUS in places such as Kolkata, Bengaluru, Patiala and Tiruchirappalli. Partner agencies include the Amnesty International and the UNHCR (United Nations High Commission for Refugees). Academic collaborators abound from across the world’s continents. Examples from the USA include the likes of – Harvard Law School, University of New Hampshire, Regent University, the Pepperdine University and the Lewis & Clark Law School. European partners come from countries such as the UK, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. The Deakin University and the University of Melbourne are the collaborators in Australia while from South Africa, there is the University of Johannesburg. 

All this focus on research and academics has led to the NLUD featuring highly across ranking platforms. It has been placed as the 2nd best law college in the NIRF (National Institutional Rankings Framework) with a AAAA+ rating point. All this has in turn fueled excellent placements on campus. Some of the key recruiters in recent seasons have been the likes of- Bajaj Finance, AZB & Partners, CPA Global, ICICI Bank, Tata Power, Uber, Lex Counsel, PDS Legal, Themis Associates, Herbert Smith Freehills, Tri Legal, CCG, Star India, Wipro, Udwadia, Verus Legal, S&B Partners and S&R associates among others.