Career in Legal Academia-Interview of Ms. Sakshi Gupta (Asst. Professor, MNLU Aurangabad)

1) Ma'am, please introduce yourself to our readers.

I am currently working as an Assistant Professor of Law at Maharashtra National Law University Aurangabad. I hail from Delhi. I did my schooling from DPS Dwarka and was a gold medalist throughout my schooling. I secured 95.2% in science stream in my CBSE Boards Exam. Thereafter, I decided to pursue law as a career and did my B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) from University School of Law and Legal Studies, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Delhi, standing amongst the top 3 ranks of my batch. Immediately after my graduation, I pursued my Masters in Corporate Laws (LL.M) from National Law University, Jodhpur, being amongst the top rankers of my batch. While pursuing my Masters itself, in my first attempt, I cleared UGC JRF-NET Exam and immediately after finishing my masters, joined as an Assistant Professor of Law at Maharashtra National Law University Aurangabad where I have been working since July 2019.

2) Please tell us about your law school experience.

I did my B.A. LL.B (Hons.) from University School of Law and Legal Studies, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Delhi (Batch 2013-2018). During my law school days, I gave equal focus to excelling in academics as well as in co-curricular activities like moots, publications, internships etc. Apart from being a topper throughout my 5 years of law school, I have also participated and won various Competitions. I secured the ‘Winner’ and the ‘Best Advocate’ Title in 3rd Justice PB Sawant National Moot Court Competition, Pune. I have won various essay-writing competitions and had some publications in reputed journals during my law school period. I always focused on doing productive internships throughout the 5 year period, I have interned with various reputed Tier-I firms like Shardul Amarchand, Cyril Amarchand, Khaitan etc. and have got call- backs from these firms. During my law school days, my interest developed considerably towards Corporate Laws, hence I structured my internships etc. in this area itself so as to learn the maximum.

3) After completing your graduation in 2018, what was the reason behind you opting for higher studies? You made it through CLAT PG and secured your place in NLU, Jodhpur one of the most prestigious law school of India. In which year of your graduation you decided to prepare for CLAT- PG? What was your strategy for the exam and how did you prepare for it?

When I completed my graduation, I had two job offers from law firms. However, in the last years of my graduation during my internships with law firms, I realized I was more drawn to a career in academics, where I could teach and share my knowledge with all; could research on my areas of interest etc. All these factors made me pursue LL.M, which is an essential requirement for being an academician. I sat for CLAT- PG in May 2018 immediately after graduation. I did not have much time, barely less than a month to prepare, but all thanks to my hard work and conscientious attitude in 5 years of law school, I had studied all my subjects well and so it was not difficult to clear the CLAT exam. If one has studied their subjects well in law school, there is no need for coaching too for clearing CLAT PG, mere brush up would do. When the results came, I was ranking in top 300s and immediately got admission in National Law University Jodhpur in my area of interest, Corporate Laws. After a few days of my admission, I also got admitted to NALSAR Hyderabad, however I decided to stay back at Jodhpur itself.

Before applying for CLAT, I had also considered doing an LL.M from abroad; hence I applied at London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), and got through it too. I could not apply at other places like Cambridge; Oxford as their deadlines for submitting application was over, it was a last minute decision to go for LL.M abroad, however after consulting with various people like my teachers, practitioners etc. they advised me against doing an LL.M from abroad because, one, that doesn’t guarantee a job back in India or in that particular country plus the whole process is very costly. So, one can consider doing an LL.M from abroad, once they have gained sufficient work experience and want to further enhance their knowledge in some particular area later.

Since, I wanted to go into academia, I decided to pursue my LL.M from India itself and finished my masters from NLU Jodhpur (Batch 2018-19).

4) You have qualified for JRF-NET, please tell our viewers the details regarding JRF-NET, how to make it through JRF-NET and the prospects after clearing JRF-NET?

While pursuing my LL.M in the year 2018, I sat for UGC JRT NET exam in November itself, after my first semester. I am blessed to having made through both the exams. NET exam gives eligibility to become an Assistant Professor, while with JRF; one can also enroll into Ph.D course with monetary support from Government. For making it through the exam, one needs to have clear understanding of the subjects and some basic research aptitude. I myself did not get a lot of time to prepare, but my clarity of the fundamentals came in handy to crack the exam. If one has been sincere with their subjects and concepts, they will not find it difficult to crack the exam.

5) What intrigued you to opt for career in academics and how did you made it to post of Assistant Professor of Maharashtra National Law University, Aurangabad in 2019, the very same year you completed your LLM? Please share in detail about your interview rounds and selection procedure.

Once I got my UGC JRF NET award, I started applying for the post of Assistant Professor Law during my LL.M days itself. At that time, there was a vacancy for the post of Assistant Professor Law at NLU Jodhpur and MNLU Aurangabad. After applying at both the places, I was shortlisted and got called for interview at both the organisations. I was amongst the very few who were shortlisted from my batch for interview with NLU Jodhpur .Luckily, I got through both the places but due to certain reasons and the, then prevalent circumstances, I opted for Maharashtra National Law University Aurangabad, which is a newly emerging university, established in 2017. Immediately after finishing my masters, I joined here as an Assistant Professor of Law in July 2019. I have administered courses on Alternative Dispute Resolution, Legal Methods, Environmental Law, Labour and Industrial Laws here. I am also heading the Internship and Placement Cell of the University.

6) Thank you so much Ma'am for talking with us, please end it with an adage which will motivate our viewers in the legal arena

Live and enjoy the whole experience, network and make good connections. Lastly, there are no short cuts to success and no substitute for hard work. Have the humility to learn, hunger to know, and drive to deliver!