Ask what principles lawyers must conform to, what ideals they must strive by: Justice Harish Tandon at NLUO Convocation

National Law University Odisha (NLUO), Cuttack held its 12th Convocation on September 13, 2025.

The Convocation opened with the presentation of the annual report by Vice-Chancellor, NLUO Prof Ved Kumari capturing the achievements and initiatives of the academic year of 2024-25. In her address she reminded the graduates of the core of legal education,

“Days like convocation are like a bridge as one foot remains fixed in the past and one goes into the future. I say this to remind you that law becomes the anchor when storms gather. The law is the foundation holding democracy stable. Lawyers, judges, teachers and scholars must hold on to that anchor and it is you who has to do this. Uphold and promote the vision of NLUO with your empathy to the marginalized. professionalism in your workplace and integrity and sincerity in your personal and professional life."

Chief Justice, Orissa High Court and Chancellor of NLUO, Justice Harish Tandon presided over the proceedings of the function. The Chief Guest for the occasion was Director of the National Judicial Academy and former Judge of the Supreme Court of India, Justice Aniruddha Bose.

NLUO awarded 14 gold medals, conferred degrees to 168 graduates of the five-year integrated B.A LL.B. (Hons) and BBA LLB (Hons), 42 post-graduates of the LL.M programme, and awarded 3 scholars Ph.Ds. 5 BA Law (Hons) students were also conferred degrees.

Justice Harish Tandon highlighted the concept of morality and ethics in the law and the profession.

"At one place, the legal profession owes an unremitting loyalty to the best interests of the client, equally it imposes a greater responsibility to uphold the justice and assisting the court in discharging its solemn duty. The conduct, behavior, etiquette and the role in advancing the case in the best interest of the client, should be the above board. And to achieve the same, it cast an obligation to maintain the probity and high standard of professional ethics and morality. Apart from a social responsibility, and the obligations to contribute in providing a meaningful service to the people of the society, you have to ensure that the social fabric of the society is not disturbed and shattered. The Apex court in, (may I use this particular adjective), innumerable judgments, have highlighted the ethical and moral values which every legal professional must adhere to and deprecated any unprofessional approach as it shatters very social fiber, peace, and the tranquility in the society."

Speaking on upholding ethical and moral values, Justice Tandon said, "When we talk about ethics, I think, as a young mind, it always comes to mind what should be the meaning of those expressions. It is merely the subjective or objective one, to all of you, what you believe about ethics is when you proceed further, think first morally right or not, is it just or unjust, whether it is impartial or biased. If you get an answer, I think you did not have to think twice over the same."

Elaborating on the need for ethics, he said,

"In the legal profession, ethics is always regarded as the integral part of the moral philosophy impacting the profession, eradicating the faith reposed in the judicial system, and in the words of Kenneth Kipnis, the legal ethics is an area of ethical and jurisprudential inquiry. Ask what principles lawyers must conform to, what ideals they must strive by, and what professional conduct to follow in Court. You must understand a clear distinction between what is ethical and unethical. So long such distinction remain embedded in you, and there is no room for any bloodiness to come, I think you will be able to reaffirm the concept of novelty in profession."

Alongside academic accomplishments, the University has strengthened its scholarship initiatives by awarding merit-cum-means scholarships annually to the tune of ₹18,00,000 for meritorious and deserving students from vulnerable income backgrounds. In an effort to make legal education accessible, this year 58 students were admitted from the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and Persons-with-Disabilities category.

NLUO’s ranking has substantially risen from rank 26 in 2023-24 to rank 15 in 2024-25 amongst law universities. It is currently rank 6 among 27 National Law Universities across India.

The graduating 5-year LLB batch of 2025 has secured a total of 60 jobs, out of the 80 students who participated in the recruitment process. The recruiters range from top-tier domestic law firms, banks, private corporations, advisory firms, and Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs).

Additionally, students have also secured offers from policy think tanks and landed prestigious fellowships like PRS India's Legislative Assistant to the Member of Parliament (LAMP) Fellowship and the Internet Freedom Foundation’s Freedom Innovation Fellowship.

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