Amidst a growing bias for National Law University (NLU) graduates in legal recruitment, questions arise about the genuine superiority of NLUs and the fairness of this preference.
The recent job posting from KIA India, which initially favored graduates from National Law Universities (NLUs), has stirred controversy and sparked a debate on the perceived bias towards the NLU tag among employers. Critics argue that this preference overlooks the talent and potential of graduates from non-NLUs and perpetuates socio-economic disparities.
KIA India original job post
In response to the backlash, KIA India revised the job posting to require a law degree from “an accredited and well reputed institution” rather than specifically from an NLU.
This controversy has prompted a reevaluation of the reputation and value of NLUs. In recent years, some NLUs have faced criticism for inadequate infrastructure, poor academic standards, limited placement opportunities, and substandard living conditions. This has led to protests from students dissatisfied with their university experiences. The proliferation of NLUs across the country has also raised concerns about the dilution of the NLU brand.
Prominent judges, including Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, have cautioned against granting special privileges to NLU graduates. Legal challenges have also been raised against discriminatory job postings, such as a case involving the Bihar Mining Corporation Limited and a recruitment notice from the National Thermal Power Corporation Limited, which the courts deemed discriminatory.
The cost of attending a top-rated NLU is significantly higher compared to non-NLUs, raising questions about accessibility and equity in legal education. The IDIA survey highlighted that a majority of NLU students who secured admission had spent over ₹50,000 on coaching for the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT). This raises concerns about whether competence and potential are confined to those who can afford such coaching.
Employers in the legal sector have varying perspectives on the value of an NLU education. Sambhav Ranka, Senior Partner at IC Universal Legal, emphasized that the reputation of the law school is not the sole criterion for recruitment. He stressed the importance of cultural fit, relevant experience, and soft skills over the institution’s name.
Commenting on the (original) job post by KIA India, Ranka said, “For a job post to give preference to candidates who have graduated from NLUs is not common. Frankly, it isn’t the ideal practice because technically, you’re differentiating people in terms of their educational background at the first instance without seeing what they bring to the table – which is not the right approach. It gives a sense that people from other colleges are a little inferior to others. However, their possible intention would be that they are looking for someone who has gone through the rigours of an intensive law course… I know so many people from the top NLUs, but a few years down the line they would be struggling to find their feet, and at the same time people from unrecognized universities are doing phenomenally well. There are enough such examples. There’s no fixed formula for gauging candidature of an individual only because of their law school.”
Honey Mishra, Lead-Legal Operations at Spark Minda, acknowledged that some bias may exist, particularly when senior management has an NLU background. However, she emphasized that in the corporate environment, candidates are typically evaluated based on their interviews and relevant experience rather than their alma mater.
Managing Partner at Solomon & Co Aaron Solomon said that his firm makes no distinction based on the college an individual has graduated from. “The NLUs certainly have a good reputation. However, given the multiple law colleges in and outside India, our firm does not have any preferences amongst law colleges. In relation to our recruitment of the more experienced candidates, it is the candidates’ knowledge, experience, and skills that outweigh the name and location of their law college.”
Sachin Chipade, Senior Counsel and Head-Contracts and Commercial Transactions at TATA Technologies, opines that the distinction isn’t necessarily between NLUs and non-NLUs, but between tier-1 law schools and other lesser-known colleges.
He said, “I’ve seen people from ILS Pune, Symbiosis, Institute of Law NIRMA University perform very well and have a deeper understanding and knowledge of the law. Similarly, I have also observed when interviewing candidates from WBNUJS and NLU Jodhpur that their communication skills are really good, which is crucial in an in-house role. While recruiting, I won’t be very hung up on the law school background. I would have a set of questions that I’d ask everyone then I wouldn’t make any distinction and would test people basis how they respond, which matters more. Conceptual clarity tends to be better in tier 1 colleges and what you bring to the table. If you’re fundamentally clear, more work may come to you.”
As much as recruiters claim that they do not prefer NLU grads, the fact remains that the highest paying corporate jobs at the top firms almost always go to graduates from the top NLUs.
Again, a distinction here has to be drawn between the top five or six NLUs and the rest.
Back in 2018, we did a study on recruitment at the top law firms and found that 191 jobs went to students from 7 NLUs, while only 15 students from other universities landed jobs at these firms.
Over five years later, there is little evidence to show that this trend has bucked.
On the trend of employers preferring NLU candidates, legal career coach Aashna Jain said, “Sometimes, employers/companies don’t want to spend resources or time in training people, and that’s a bad thing. They rely on the idea that if a person is from an NLU, they would necessarily be groomed in the tasks expected on the job. However, it is counter-productive to rely on this belief. Students from non-NLUs who heavily engage in internships throughout their time in law school, take it on themselves to groom to work environments and specific tasks. So this distinction that recruiters make is very artificial and should not be done.”
JSA Partner Dina Wadia revealed the firm’s hiring strategy a few years ago: “The decision to go to a particular law school or university to a large extent depends on the experience we have with the students from that university. The quality of students who intern with us from such schools also influences our decision. While we do have a certain standard of university in mind, that again is not the only factor when making a selection. Given our recruitment mix, we don’t visit all the law schools that invite us and visit three or four law schools each year. We further rotate one or two of them each year to give other and newer law schools an opportunity.”
Logistical limitations aside, there is a tendency to assume that students of the top NLUs represent the cream of the crop.
While it remains the prerogative of the employer to fix eligibility criteria, surely it would be beneficial to law firms and corporates to cast their nets a little wider to find equally competent law grads in non-NLUs?
Also read: Toxicity and Abuse in Law Firms
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