The establishment of the first National Law School, in 1987 marked a pivotal moment, introducing the five-year integrated law course with an emphasis on hands-on training.

The Bar Council of India (BCI) issued directives in 1997 to revise curricula accordingly, incorporating compulsory practical papers to institutionalise Clinical Legal Education nationwide. Despite these advancements, challenges persist. Many students, especially those from grassroots, miss out on crucial learning opportunities due to a lack of exposure to clinical programmes. Zenith Society has been working towards bridging this gap: our Clinical Legal Education Programme aims to foster a community of passionate, socially conscious law students who can work for the rights of the marginalised.

With this vision, we began our journey by advocating for the establishment of legal aid clinics in five law colleges in Gwalior. We didn’t expect that the path would be so challenging. We persisted despite facing bureaucratic roadblocks, and hurdles at each stage. Nonetheless, we managed to successfully establish functional clinics in these law colleges. Numerous workshops, field visits, camps, training were organised to expose students to the ground realities and equipping them with the tools of law to support the individuals and communities in need.

Students being trained in legal aid workshop

Yog, a law student in Gwalior had reached out to us, expressing discontentment with the lack of opportunities and quality education in law colleges in smaller towns. He had heard of our legal aid collaboration with a private law university and was inspired to do similar kind of work in his college. Yog’s energy motivated us throughout - it seemed as if he had found a new purpose in discovering clinical legal education. All he wanted was his college to also provide similar opportunities, and when he didn't find any, he started making his own. As Zenith engaged with the students, a team was formed and we could immediately see the transformation in the students. Our experiences working with these local law colleges were quite valuable and students like Yog played a key role in incentivising their college administrations to bring the required changes.

It's a long road ahead to transform clinical legal education. Did our work in Gwalior bring the impact we hoped for? What is that macro level shift which will bring systemic change? As we answer these questions and reflect on our approach, we see an opportunity to create avenues to include students/colleges all across India in social justice work- especially by collaborating with those who show intention and interest to adapt and experiment We facilitated a session with Darshana Mitra, Director Clinics, NLSIU, Bengaluru at the Agami Mela 2024 to realise this potential. We need all your support as we enter a new phase of work and look forward to keeping you, our readers, updated.

Students during a legal aid camp

If your college requires similar CLE support, reach out to us at zenithssle.communications@gmail.com