Simply stated, there are two primary aspects which have to be considered while making a career choice. Firstly, whether the nature of work will interest you; and secondly whether you will excel at it. Since substantial amount of time of a law teacher is spent on teaching, researching and writing, the answer to both the questions depends on your passion and talent for these activities. The early years of the academic career are demanding, logistically as well as psychologically. Thus, not wanting to practice law should not be the only reason to opt for legal scholarship. On the bright side, the academic field can be an immensely rewarding experience for a variety of reasons, viz., there is a great degree of professional freedom; the work is intellectually stimulating; one gets to interact with bright minds; and above all there is an opportunity to impact the development of law and other people’s understanding or perception of legal issues.
As is the case with every other stream, law students also tend to look up to their teachers as role models. The prospective teachers need to appreciate the responsibility associated with their role and discharge their duties in a befitting manner. For those interested in becoming a law teacher, the following essentials requirements should be borne in mind:
One of the essential pre-requisites to securing a future teaching position in law is obtaining the necessary qualifications. In India, this includes a Bachelors as well as a Masters degree in law, ie, LLB and LLM, with a high class-standing from a recognized law college/institution. At a later stage of the teaching career, one may want to pursue a PhD in the chosen field of study so as to gain in depth knowledge of the relevant subject. Additionally, most law colleges/institutes, particularly the prestigious ones, treat accomplishment in ‘research’ as crucial. This is gauged by both the quality and quantity of scholarly publications. Therefore, when considering a career in legal academia it is important to be committed to being a ‘scholar’. It is vital to have substantial ‘postlaw degree’ publications published in academic law journals or reviews.
Effective organizational skills are sine qua non for all teachers, and teachers of law are no exception. One must also possess strong inter-personal and communication skills, since students require effective communication with their professors on a regular basis. Further, for law students who are keen on joining academia, working as a research assistant for a professor is highly recommended. It is through this route that a prospective teacher can acquire ‘hands-on’ training for the job. Additionally, the professor can also serve as a vital source of information as well as, more importantly, a reference.
Since law touches upon every walk of life, a law teacher should have an understanding of wide ranging areas encompassing management, finance, biotechnology and engineering. Moreover, the concepts of law are dynamic in nature and keep evolving. As a natural corollary, the role of a law teacher cannot be static. One has to constantly update oneself about new issues and changes. In this context, one will be well-advised to cultivate regular reading habits and keep abreast with the latest developments in the field of law.
Another critical aspect which a prospective law teacher should be mindful of the application of science and technology in the legal development. A number of laws are now being enacted absorbing scientific inventions, in turn facilitating technological progress aimed at achieving not just economic growth, but also social justice. It is, therefore, imperative that legal education is influenced by and is in tune with the “technological revolution” sweeping the world.
For those contemplating ‘crossing-over’, moving from the ‘problem-solving’ approach of the law practice to the more ‘theoretical’ focus of legal scholarship, would always be a daunting challenge. While in the practice of law, the thrust is on finding solutions for the client, irrespective of whether the client is at fault. In the arena of legal scholarship, one has to impart the best possible information on the relevant subject. The two fields require very different skills. In India, the trend of making a transition from ‘practicing to teaching’ is lacking. It is indeed rare to see practicing lawyers taking sabbaticals and spending that period pursuing teaching in a law college. If such an exchange were to happen, the faculty members as well as students would be enriched and inspired. Needless to add, the rich practical experience of the practitioners would go a long way in helping shape a new kind of curriculum and teaching methodology in the law colleges/institutes.
It is no secret that the numerous lucrative career options in the field of law often lure away quality law teachers. The excessive competition in the teaching sector, lack of monetary incentives and the cultural attitude towards teaching being considered a noble but last option, only add to the woes. Hence, the pursuit of academics calls for realistic expectations!
Globally, the remuneration scales for lecturers and professors teaching law have always been lesser than that of their counterparts in the corporate sector as well as in law firms. Traditionally, law graduates who opt for teaching only do so because they are passionate about teaching and engaging the next generation. Various studies have also indicated towards an inefficient incentive structure for teachers. The Union Minister of Law and Justice recently underlined the urgent need for the law colleges/institutes to attract competent faculties and to develop a strategy to retain them. In his view, in order to attract better faculty, better monetary incentives will have to be introduced. Having said that, the various National Law Schools set up across the country offer lucrative career opportunities to deserving teaching candidates. Infact, a number of private law schools now offer internationally-competitive salaries and benefits depending on qualifications, academic standing, experience and position held by the candidate. Things are also beginning to look up for the law colleges/universities in the public sector. Recently, the Sixth Pay Commission has recommended enhancement in the pay scales for lecturers and professors of the public sector. Perhaps the time has now come for researchers and graduates to consider teaching as a serious career option.
The way in which the Indian legal education was functioning in the recent past was far from satisfactory. The tradition of legal scholarship as an integral part of a teacher’s role was negligible. Majority of law colleges had only a few full-time teachers, the rest being part-time. Even the composition of the teaching staff was unsatisfactory and that discouraged the younger lot from entering the academic field. It was often seen that the faculty comprised a large number of non-tenured lecturers, a smaller group of tenured associate/assistant professors, and a few professors at the top. The result was that the majority gave up the struggle for ‘scholarly achievement’ and preferred to stay away from academics. Notwithstanding the rather gloomy environment of the past, the contemporary landscape of law teaching in India has undergone a somewhat positive change. With the setting up of several National Law Universities across the country and the mushrooming of various private law schools of global standards, the quality of legal education in India as well as the opportunities in the arena of academics have vastly changed. Interestingly, the ‘Second Generation Reforms’ developed by the Ministry of Law and Justice also give a thrust on, amongst others, “improved service conditions for law teachers”.
Let us now take a look at some areas of concern which need to be worked on. For starters, in order to attract the young generation towards academics in India, especially those who are teaching in universities abroad, the young scholars will have to be sufficiently inspired. In the contemporary scenario the role of an academic has transformed. In other words, today we can no longer define the role of an academician as solely that of a ‘teacher’. Along with pursuing academics, one must be also allowed to work in the private sector or for that matter in the public sector, as long as it is pursued in an ethical manner without compromising the commitment to teaching. This will be achievable only when the law colleges/universities are flexible enough to promote scholarship from diverse backgrounds. Another concern has been that the majority of institutions promoted scholarships only on the basis of seniority, thereby ignoring merit. The challenge for the younger members of the faculty is to face the ‘silent’ opposition and the mental block of the senior members of the faculty which stems from the latter’s resistance towards the younger generation and their innovative and ‘out of the box’ approach to teaching. This trend is slowly but surely changing as witnessed from the increase in the number of young academicians in the country.
It is universally acknowledged that in order to improve the standards of legal education, we need law teachers who are well- trained, well- paid and dedicated to the cause. Thus, any future course of action should focus on paying higher remuneration to teachers; establishing all- India institutions for teacher training; and giving the teachers an option to work in another capacity simultaneously. Further, experts widely believe that a greater dialogue amongst the vast numbers of law teachers in India is needed to identify and implement improvements in the legal education, in particular, ‘teacher training’. Law teachers need to be inspired to collaborate more closely, using new and readily accessible technologies, to contribute more interactively to the legal education reforms, past and present. Considering the gigantic proportions of this task, the road ahead can be paved only by way of an effective collaboration between the various law schools, the Bar Council of India, and the Government.
Shamnad Basheer Ministry of HRD, Professor in IP Law, National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata
“Legal academia is a very attractive option for those interested in teaching and research. In fact, legal education in India could be said to be in ‘Third Phase’, where we are now moving towards a greater emphasis on research and scholarship, and where legal academics begin pushing the frontiers of Indian law through their writings. The ‘First Phase’ was the pre- National Law School phase, where the general standard of law students and faculty were both found severely wanting. The ‘Second Phase’ was the National Law School phase, unleashed by Professor Madhava Menon,where there was an excessive emphasis on continuous teaching, projects and evaluation, leaving little time for research and writing.
Anyone planning to pursue legal teaching in India should have an LLM Degree at the very minimum. And ideally a PhD as well—so that they move up through the ranks reasonably quickly. As far as the courses which a teaching candidate should study are concerned, it depends on one’s area of interest and what one wishes to specialise in. With the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations, the salary scales have gone up and one can now live comfortably. The beauty of academia, however, remains the scope to teach and mould young minds and to really have the time to analyse legal issues indepth.”
It is a very complex question. You have rightly said that one who wishes to go into law teaching needs to have a deep understanding of law. I endorse that, but more than understanding law, there should be fascination to know more about law. A teacher should know the entire pathology of law. In law teaching, simply knowing technique without compassion is a mess and simply having passion without technique is a menace. So, there has to be proper blending of techniques and compassion. A law teacher has to be a storehouse of knowledge, but knowledge without goodness is dangerous. And therefore, one should represent knowledge as well as goodness. A teacher must represent normative aspect, behavioural aspect, institutional aspect and the justice aspect.
In the West, a large number of people are doing management and shifting to law and the vice-versa is also true. People having engineering background are also coming into law. I think India too needs that kind of blending. Further, one cannot think of or about law unless we also talk about foundational aspects of law like jurisprudence or procedural law.We do require contract, evidence, procedures, but the point that is notable is that the procedure to deal with the kind of torts and crimes that are taking place today still remains the same. In order to be a good academic lawyer, one needs to evolve into that hybrid and competent individual. He has to understand management, finance, accountancy, biotechnology, management, engineering and even medicine.
Well, we would need something more than a ‘jack’. A lawyer has to be a philosopher, an artist, an engineer, a doctor and a magician. As a good law teacher, I need to understand where the banking and law intersect, dissect and converge. If we speak about copyright, we also need to understand music. Only then can we improve our lawyering. Today, every aspect of life is touched by law.
After Sixth Pay Commission, the revised salary structure for teachers is not that bad. I am not saying that it can be compared with the corporate pay packages. But at the same time, in courses like law, there is also a lot of scope for consultancy. It has to be done on an ethical basis, i.e., there should not be absenteeism in the classroom and it does not come unless there is a commitment for teaching because law teaching is not a profession which could be imposed on anyone. I am, to say the least, a bit upset on this front. The Bar Council, the Law Ministry, the HRD ministry and the judges are discussing so much about improving the legal education, but nobody is willing to tell as to from where is the investment going to be generated.
If we want the students to love the subject it will require a lot of effort on the part of faculty. But I doubt, whether this is taking place. The Bar Council of India needs to think seriously about introducing new reforms. People are speaking of ‘first and second generation reforms’ of legal education. But as per me, legal education is yet to be properly conceptualized.We should first understand the notion of legal education, what kind of faculty is needed, and how their selection is to be done. The faculty has to be empowered and they must understand their strength and weakness. And empowering faculty means they must work on those weaknesses and how to make optimal use of their strengths. A collaboration between law schools, Bar Council, Law Ministry, and HRD Ministry is required to conceptualise legal education.
Students who wish to pursue law teaching must have compassion, passion along with technique, skill and the highest degree of IQ and EQ. But more than that, they should develop how to reconcile IQ and EQ. Apart from being sensitive and reflective they have to be great listeners. Listening is a great virtue which every law student wishing to pursue teaching as a career should aspire to acquire. Even the law teachers must understand that they have to learn along with the law students because a law classroom is nothing but a laboratory of learning. …as told to Avinash Mohapatra
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