How to get through Law School

1. Get into a Law School

To get through into one of these is not as easy as it may appear nor is it as difficult as you might expect. Coaching centers are always eager to give you the appropriate training for a less than appropriate sum of money. Books, online tutorials and suchlike are dime a dozen. Enroll for one of these and be prepared to stick your nose to the grindstone for at least six months.

2. Get a pair of black and white formals

Accept it. There will be no Ally McBeal-esque tiny skirt and fitted jackets. White shirt or kurta and black trousers is your lot. You can find ways to spruce up that monochrome outfit. But that is a whole other "How To" blog.

3. Do some weight training

 To carry around those gigantic volumes and reams of papers. This will be of great help once you graduate and do the same for your seniors. Believe me, those are dumb bells cleverly disguised as books. Also, you will probably need to refer only one sentence of a long long paragraph in the chapter that takes longest to find.

4. Always sound smarter than you are 

This involves throwing around your weight and some heavy duty legal terms to confuse the opponent, whoever that may be. Like they say, if you cant convince them, confuse them. Learn some of the more hard to say words and say them really fast in the middle of the argument. You'll win hands down my friend. 

5. Develop an impenetrable stomach lining 

For the endless cups of coffee and tea you'll be gulping and the plates of samosas, biryani, pizzas, pasta, etc you will be having. It's a five year course and no one, absolutely no one spends graduation eating at the hostel. It's college and you need to develop the immunity of a horse if you are to cram in all the partying, goofing around, late night studying, last minute revisions and assignment submissions.

6. Master the art of sleeping in class while your hand pretends to take notes

I cannot stress upon the importance of this skill enough. Ideally, it should have been honed sometime around Standard X, but if you are a late bloomer...well, it's never too late. All you need is a couple of books in front of you, one hand supporting your face to prevent you from losing your teeth in a funny but humiliating accident. And the other hand to float over a notebook, appearing as if you're taking notes. (Note : not strictly applicable to only students of law. Others may try, but the author assumes no responsibility for any consequences that my arise out of this stunt).

7. Read John Grisham - you just have to. It's a matter of principle. 

Apart from great reading and thrilling plots, it will give you a sense of how law works, and how you can make it work for you. Hey, if nothing else, you may end up writing a great novel and earning millions. Although, Mr. Grisham will sue you 'to the moon and back' if you so much as think of incorporating one of his ideas into an Indian version of The Client. 

8. This is how you will look..

in your imagination...whereas in all probability, you will spend five years looking like this:-

9.  Make friends with the nearest Xerox place owner. 

You will be availing of their services a lot more than you think. Think entire notebooks, textbooks, question papers and refreshers. All this will pass through the hot lid of the copier and save your day, your marks and possibly your degree. The organisers of college fests may approach them for sponsorship and in a pinch they'll copy a 500 page text book for you to read, learn and make presentations/write an exam on that subject. 

10. Internships

They are THE key to good jobs. Chase them like a fox would chase rabbits or how you would chase a teacher to mark you present in the attendance register. The bottom line is, get summer internships. Ask your teachers, mom, dad, uncle, aunt, grandparents, friend's cousin's boyfriend's mate....anyone at all who you think will help you get one. 

Word of Advice : Do not fall asleep in a courtroom.

(pictures taken from internet and used for representational purposes only)