NLU model has steered majority of law graduates to corporate jobs: CJI BR Gavai

Chief Justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai on Tuesday cautioned that India’s National Law University (NLU) model, while revolutionary, has ended up steering a large share of its graduates to corporate jobs rather than public service.

Delivering the Prof NR Madhava Menon Memorial Lecture at Dr Ambedkar International Centre in New Delhi, he said,

“One of the recurring criticisms is that the model has, perhaps unintentionally, channelled a majority of its graduates towards careers in the corporate sector.”

CJI Gavai said that the measure of success for law schools cannot be restricted to placements or corporate packages.

“Our classrooms must be places where critical thinking is not only nurtured but also encouraged...The real goal is to prepare students to be the guardians of the Constitution.”

“While it is true that the corporate world needs highly skilled lawyers, our society also requires legal professionals who are equipped to address global challenges and committed to bringing about social change,” the Chief Justice underlined.

Justice Gavai noted that classrooms must go beyond producing technically sound graduates.

“Law is not merely a profession, but a vocation of public service, grounded in justice and human dignity,” he said.

He also urged law schools to rethink how judgments are taught.

“They should also move beyond the method of teaching of ‘what did the court hold’ to ‘why did the court hold’."

A shift in focus, he explained, would allow students to grasp judicial philosophy, constitutional values and the dilemmas faced by judges.

Access to justice and education formed another major theme in the address. CJI Gavai pointed out that geographical distance, economic disadvantage and linguistic exclusion continue to exclude many citizens.

He proposed solutions in the form of technology, instruction in regional languages and the creation of pathways for first-generation learners. Unless these barriers are dismantled, he warned, access to the law will remain “a privilege for the few, not a lived reality for every citizen of this Republic.”

Justice Gavai also reminded academics of their responsibility to influence debates beyond India.

“Our academicians must rise beyond the boundaries of local or national concerns and actively engage with the pressing issues that confront humanity at large,” he said.

The perspectives of the Global South, he added, “cannot remain peripheral in global legal discourse,” but must shape conversations on rights, environment, technology, migration and peace.