In a democratic society like India, everybody needs to know the laws. However, legal education is a broad concept, as it not only makes efficient lawyers but also creates law-abiding citizens with human values and rights. “India is constitutionally a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic. We cherish the objectives of justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity. Our legal system plays a crucial role in upholding these ideals and hence legal education becomes the foundation, for the effective functioning of our system,” says Akshay Kanti Bam, Chairman, Icon Education Society (IES), Indore.
Indeed, the study of law must equip its students to instill basic philosophies, ideologies, and critiques that culminate in the creation and delivery of a ‘just’ society, instead of giving a robust knowledge of the constitution of the land, techniques for practice, skills and competencies. That is what IES seeks to achieve. As a first step to achieve its objectives, IES in 2003, decided to set up an exclusive and independent college to provide specialized, high-quality Law education for professionals, coupled with all basic infrastructure facilities. Indore Institute of law is the first independent and exclusive college of law in Indore, affiliated to the Bar Council of India and Devi Ahilya Vishvidhyalaya (DAVV), Indore. With a modest beginning in 2003, Indore Institute of Law has grown exponentially in the last 16 years under the able leadership and guidance of Akshay Kanti Bam who has received many prestigious awards, including Captains of Industry Award 2015 from Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan, former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh and Entrepreneur of the Year 2016 by Madhya Pradesh Entrepreneur and Excellence Award, Indore 2016.
Today, the Indore Institute of Law is the only private college in Madhya Pradesh that offers a complete suite of law courses under one roof. The institute offers five-year law courses including B.A. LL.B and B.B.A.LL.B, along with three-year LL.B (Hons) and two years masters LL.M. Akshay claims, “Our faculty members focus on 360-degree development of students. Our Teaching pedagogy covers regular Assignments, Project work, Research work, Article Publication, Paper Presentation, weekly test, Crash Course and Pre-University Test before University exams. As a result, our students are getting top rank in university exams.” The institute’s classroom teaching of law is blended with moot sessions, assignments that invoke students for preparation of PPTs, and encourage library reading, regular sessions on current affairs with special emphasis on burning topics of legal importance, literary sessions to encourage research and many more. “We also groom the students on various aspects of their personality by modules on soft skills development. The result is apparent with the placements of students ranging from corporate and legal firms to service at domestic and international courts of law,” shares Akshay.
The legal studies at Indore Institute of Law are limited to domestic practices. The college has a dedicated student exchange program that allows its students to have exposure to global law practices. “We take our students for academic visits to The International Court of Justice, Hague and The International Criminal Court, Hague, Netherlands. This exposure helps the students to improve their language learning, enhance their intercultural skills, and polish their self-reliance and self-awareness,” explains Akshay. What makes Indore Institute of Law truly unique and a leader in law education in India is an array of opportunities that they offer to their students for better practical exposure coupled with theoretical learning. The institute provides International Clinical Training to their students in the way of In-house Clinics, Externship Clinics, Independent Clinical Programs, Pro Bono Programs and various Competency Development Programs like MUN (Model United Nations), Parliamentary Debate, Arbitration and Mediation, Legal Essay Writing, Trial Advocacy, Blogging, Documentary Competition, Client Counseling and many more throughout the year.
Akshay says, “The objective of organizing such events is to give the students a rich exposure which helps them in building their confidence and this further helps the students in developing the required skill sets necessary for their legal profession. This also helps them in developing nexus/networking, as advocacy is all about networking.” Student engagement for knowledge enhancement at Indore Institute of Law is through various ways like classroom training, training through industry interaction, skill assessments and counseling and feedback sessions, mock interviews, opportunity-based training and many more. In order to develop participation, team building and leadership skills, Indore Institue of Law has formed various student-run committees that are governed by the student council. These student run committees include Election Commission, Literary Society, Moot Court Society, Event Management Society, Sports Society, Online Society, Placement Society, Alumni Society, and Legal aid Society.
On the other side, Students at Indore Institute of Law undergo a very rigorous internship process for holistic development and getting insights on the real work environment related to their career interests and choices. Various internship opportunities are offered to students during their five-year integrated course, right from their first year, in the form of – Judicial clerkships, Legal Clinics, Clerkships at reputed law firm, Corporate Houses and LPOs / Academic research. “We organize a well-layered structure of educational visits for students to right from the District Courts to High Courts, Supreme Court and even International Court of Justice – The Hague, Netherlands, Consumer Forums, Human Rights Commission, Parliament, Law Firms, LPOs, PSUs and Corporates,” adds Akshay.
During the past five years, many bright and talented students of Indore Institute of Law have been placed in some of the top companies and law firms in India. These include Trans India Law associates, QUISLEX, Mind Crest, India Shelter Finance, IP Leaders, VIS LEGIS, Ranbaxy and many more. Students who placed are drawing handsome salary packages in the range of Rs. 5 lakhs to Rs. 9 lakhs per annum. Akshay proudly claims, “Being a part of Judiciary as Civil Judges, ADPOs, PPOs, Member of Parliament are the major achievements of our students. Some of our students have also become researchers and written books on Cyber Security.”
Since its inception, Indore Institute of Law has been raising the level of law education in the country to that of any international law university, as they have realized that a college is not just only about the academics, but stands for the overall development of the students. “We are going to focus on rounding the students’ personalities, income social status, self-esteem a bit more. While academics is one aspect of it, we are also trying to increase the exposure from the current level. I have many plans for the same,” mentions Akhays. One of the plans of Indore Institute of Law is collaborating with reputed legal firms in order to offer the students even better internships, which could result in better placements. They also plan on furthering the Moot Court culture in their college by training and encouraging students to participate in the national-level moot court competitions. “We will try to inculcate the students for future-oriented subjects such as Cyber Laws, Maritime Laws Space Laws, Intellectual Property Rights and many more. In the end, I plan on developing a better relationship to inculcate development into the system and to improve it in a holistic manner,” concludes Akshay.