Interested in pursuing a career in law? Aishwarya Jha, our Trinity College Dublin Ambassador, tells us why the legal system matters and what drew her to undertake a law degree…
My response to “why law?” has been “why not?” since my uncles and aunties started asking “what will you do after school?” One great thing about Indian parents is that they don’t ask such annoying questions. They already know the answer – medicine or engineering. However, as my fortune would have it, I am just weeks away from the completion of my law degree at Trinity College Dublin. And as the dust settles, here are three reasons why a degree in law made and has continued to make sense to me…
Because it matters
I would be lying if I claimed to never have attended late-night phone calls from friends which start off with “I am in a bit of a situation”.
A law degree matters not because you become the law itself (you don’t) but because it instils in you a very distinct and useful skill-set and knowledge. The law in many instances defines, and in most instances reflects, the relationships between individuals, institutions, corporations and governments. Basically, the law matters and expertise of the law matters as a consequence.
Because it is fun
Ok, fair enough, my essays are a bunch of weird-sounding remixes of words found in the dictionaries of the 1800s.
However, they force me to think about reality in a critical yet sensitive manner. The coursework is not fiction, it’s all real, practical and even depressing in some cases. If nothing else, Law School gives you a 101 on how to do this whole ‘living’ thing. At the same time, it is fun because it allows you to represent both your thoughts and personality through your work. I have quoted the likes of The Devil’s Advocate dialogues and Kanye West lyrics in my writings – and I did get away with it.
Because it develops your personality
A law degree gives you insight into a range of disciplines and enables you to acquire a little bit of something of everything. The networking events, the vigorous internship/traineeship processes and putting up with law students in general forces you to learn how to small talk and not look stupid. Also, very importantly, using the law to advise others places a monumental ethical/professional/personal responsibility on you to be… well, responsible.
My reasons for studying law were all of the above AND person-specific factors such as my natural skills and interests, my desire to join the legal profession due to gradually acquired exposure, and to fulfil the selfish and philanthropic goals that I have set for my future-self.
Though at the end of the day, I wonder if it really matters what I think. You’re going to study law because you watched and liked Suits, aren’t you?
Does the college prepare students for taking the Bar? Did you pass the Bar?
HI Abraham
Thanks for reading. The Law programme is great – the Law School at TCD is well respected and the potential to learn and grow is significant (but dependent on your own calibre and initiative since Universities here do not have a spoon-feeding attitude).
So, here, you will have to take the Bar to train as a Barrister or the Law Society exam to train as a Solicitor. It might be useful to read up on the distinction between the two and research on the respective markets focussing on the employment scene especially from the POV of a non-EU citizen.
In my opinion, the Bar exams are not too difficult. If you studied law at the undergrad level with an average amount of sincerity, you would be fine. However, sitting the Law Society exam is hard(er). I wouldn’t say that the exams themselves are too hard to pass but they take up a lot of time, energy and money. You will have to set aside a year after graduating to sit these exams – and in this year, give it your all (time, effort, resources). And indeed, luck wouldn’t help you, you have to be a good student to pass these exams – which makes sense because only good candidates should sieve through to enter the profession.
I am half-way there w.r.t. the exam-sitting process. Hopefully, I would be done with these exams this year. However, I will not recommend aiming to qualify as a Solicitor or Barrister here if your heart is not hell-bent on it. Why? The one year after graduating feels like one long battle. Reminds me of that quote from Rocky – “…it ain’t about how hard ya hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.”
All the best with your future endeavours – I hope it brings you success and happiness.
Aishwarya