Importance Of Legal Education

Law is one of the most dynamic subjects of the world. Legal education is the heart and the very soul of the society for administering rule of law in a democratic country like India. In Keshvanand Bharati Vs. State of Kerala, Hon’ble Supreme court held that rule of law is the basic foundation of our democracy. Rule of law says that “Be you ever so high, the law is above you”. Education has wider implication. Education stands for development and makes men perfect. Legal education helps in bringing and establishing socio-economic justice. Change is the law of nature and law is the regulator of social change. It is sine qua non for the development of rule of law and a sustainable democratic order. In Manubhai Vashi Vs. State of Maharashtra

During the change from Mughal legal system, the advocates under that regimen, “vakils”, too followed suit, though they mostly continued their earlier role as client representatives. The doors of the newly created Supreme Courts were barred to Indian practitioners as right of audience was limited to members of English, Irish and Scottish professional bodies. Subsequent rules and statutes culminating in the Legal Practitioners Act of 1846 which opened up the profession regardless of nationality or religion. In India, legal education has been traditionally offered as a three years graduate degree. However the structure has been changed since 1987. Law degrees in India are granted and conferred in terms of the Advocates Act, 1961, which is a law passed by the Parliament both on the aspect of legal education and also regulation of conduct of legal profession. Under the Act, the Bar Council of India is the supreme regulatory body to regulate the legal profession in India and also to ensure the compliance of the laws and maintenance of professional standards by the legal profession in the

A lawyer has to comprehend the new social and economic changes in the world. The age old practices and tactics are no more relevant now. The legal profession is not what it was a century or even a decade ago. Its role in the society is different now because it has a wider set of economic, political and social roles. Society has changed significantly, and changes in the legal profession reflect those changes. Keeping this paradigm in mind, there is an emergent need to review legal education so that it meets the needs of the society. Lawyers will have to be acquainted with new tools and skills. A well administered and timely relevant legal education can, therefore, be said to be the only choice for the future. As opined by the famous Indian jurist, Nani A. Palkivala, the two marks of a truly educated man are the capacity to think clearly and intellectual curiosity which enables him to continue and intensify the process of learning even after he has finished the law course. Achieving the next level of paradigm for legal education shall not be possible without the presence of a faculty which is sensitive to the changing times. Hiring of good faculty has been a challenge in law schools in India and abroad. Former Chief Justice A.M.Ahmadi “ We have waited long enough to repair the cracks in the legal education system of this country and it is high time that we rise from arm- chairs and start the repair work in right