Tamil Nadu National Law University, Tiruchirappalli

About College: The group of institutions collectively known as the National Law Universities (NLUs) now number over twenty. Most of them recruit students using the CLAT (Common Law Admission Test) scores. This is considered the flagship exam, which gives entry to some of the finest Law colleges in the country. The competition for this is immense. The test includes 200 objective type multiple choice questions to be answered within a maximum time limit of 120 minutes. These 200 questions are divided into Legal Aptitude and GK hogging half the total share with 50 questions each. English and Reasoning are worth 40 each while math which is quite elementary is worth 20. For every wrong answer, a fourth of negative marks gets deducted. Success in this exam, opens the door towards some of the best national law colleges (NLUs). In spite of the ‘national’ tag associated with the NLUs, they remain state universities. CLAT is also one of the few law entrances that were conducted on online mode, but has now reverted to the offline avatar. 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 Tamil Nadu National Law University (TNNLU) in Tiruchirappalli was established in 2012, making it one of the youngest NLUs in the country. It was earlier known as the TNNLS with the school being replaced with university status. The Chief Justice of the Madras High Court is the ex- officio Chancellor of the TNNLU. It is built on a total area of around 25 acres worth land in the state of Tamil Nadu, as the name signifies. Courses are available here at the TNNLU right from the UG till doctoral 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. It is a one- year programme. Doctoral programmes may also be pursued here. The library here is one of the best stocked within the region. Besides the physical books on display, it also provides digital access to en number of international academic journals for research and academic purposes. Some special lectures are also conducted here on a periodic basis. External legal or industry experts visit the campus for that purpose, thus also honing an industry connect with the students. 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 – Competition Law, Labour & Development and for Research & Writing. The student life is one that is thriving on campus. There are multiple clubs and committees here at the TNNLU. These Committees are for the areas of- Moot Court, Legal Aid, Sports, Grievance, Internal Complaints, Debate Journal, Student Seminar Discussion and for Internships & Placements. There is another one for ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution). While these committees are for essential matters, there are clubs which are for the extra- curricular fun activities. There are clubs here at the TNNLU for – Environment, Photography, Theatre, Music, Dance, Arts, Sports and for Film. In addition, there is a Constitutional Law Society. The Moot Court Competition held each year is one of the most important ones.