Corporate World Lucrative, But The Fun Is In The Bar

By SOA University   |   Tuesday, 09 September, 2014


Bhubaneswar, Sept. 5: Though lawyers graduating from various law schools and Universities were being lured by lucrative offers from various corporate houses, the challenge of being a lawyer lay in the bar, eminent personalities from the legal world told students of law at the SOA University on Thursday.

“There was a time when students joined a law course as a matter of compulsion as they could not get into a better course, but today bright young people were joining law schools by choice,” Justice A.S.Naidu, former Judge of the Orissa High Court said while speaking at the inaugural function of the 4-day ‘Legal Spectra’, the 2nd All India Law School Meet being held at the SOA National Institute of Law (SNIL).

The introduction of the 5-year integrated law course had ushered in a sea change in the field of legal education, he said adding though he worked as a High Court judge he always treasured his experience as a lawyer in the bar for 30 years.

Prof. Srikrishna Deva Rao, who joined as the Vice-Chancellor of the National Law University, Odisha at Cuttack recently and was the guest of honour on the occasion, told the students “arguing a case before a judge and persuading him to give a verdict in your favour gave the student of law the most satisfaction.”

“You may get a fat pay packet in a corporate job, but it will not give you the satisfaction of a practicing lawyer,” he said while urging the audience to remember that they always had a responsibility towards the poor and marginalized in the society.

Justice Naidu praised the facilities made available to the students at the SOA University while recalling that the state’s most prominent law college, the M.S.Law College at Cuttack had functioned in a three-room asbestos house with hardly any facility. But it had produced the maximum number of lawyers who had proceeded to become judges in the High Court and Supreme Court.

He recalled that Sudhansubala Hazra, the adopted daughter of famous Odisha leader Madhusudan Das, was the first woman to don the black coat in the state. He also praised the infrastructure created by the SOA University saying it was one of the most promising Universities making satisfactory progress.

Senior advocate Mr. Debasish Panda and SOA University’s Chairman of the Advisory Board, Prof. Damodar Acharya also spoke on the occasion. The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. R.P.Mohanty presided while the Dean of SNIL, Prof. Jayadev Pati introduced the guests.
 
Besides SNIL, eight other Law Schools from across the country including School of Law, Christ University, Bangalore, New Law College, Pune, HNLU, Raipur, The Law College, Cuttack, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun, KIIT, Bhubaneswar, University Law College, Bhubaneswar and M.S.Law College, Cuttack were participating in the meet. The contests included Moot Court, Legal Quiz, Parliamentary Debate, Judgement Writing, Client Counselling, Poster Designing, Street Play, Dance Competition and Fashion Show.

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