India's Best Colleges 2026
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Law | Top of the legal order | National Law School of India University, Bengaluru
The gold standard in legal education, NLSIU is spreading access to justice in vital areas as well as helping new lawyers to find their feet in the profession
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- Ajay Sukumaran
No. 1: National Law School of India University, Bengaluru (Photo: Ratheesh Sundaram)
The founding ethos of the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) was to pioneer legal education reforms and bring about a transformation of the Indian legal system. India’s top law institute is testing two approaches to further that goal in the new academic year. One is the Clinics Project, which is designed to address the serious access to justice issues in five areas—juvenile justice, criminal justice, caste justice, labour justice and citizenship and immigration. At the same time it provides young law students with crucial experience of what litigation, advocacy and practice in these areas look like in the real world. Students will work with the District Legal Services Authority and other stakeholders, including civil society organisations, lawyers and social workers, for the provision of legal aid. “We are very happy we will launch India’s largest clinical programme this year,” says NLSIU Vice Chancellor Prof. Sudhir Krishnaswamy.
The other intervention, via the NLSIU Litigation Fellowships, will support 30 early-career, first-generation litigators annually with a monthly stipend of Rs 30,000, professional mentorship and continuous learning opportunities for two years. “We hope that, over a period of time, we will be able to show substantial impact on shaping the legal profession beyond the law school,” says Prof. Krishnaswamy. For NLSIU, that’s a genetic trait.
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