Most of us enter law school without a clue on what exactly to do once in law school, how to plan for internships, and about the various career options that exist. By the end of the 2nd or 3rd year, we still lack the skills to research and write, to argue, and find and read case laws like a thorough professional.
By the 4th year, we lack the confidence and the skills to make great careers. We don’t have quality internships, paper publications, mooting achievements, or projects to showcase in our CVs. Some of us don’t even know how to draft good CVs and cover letters.
This leads to poorly trained young professionals who struggle to get jobs. Many who entered the legal profession with enthusiasm end up drifting away to side jobs.
With Lawctopus’ 1-month long online Law School Orientation Program called the ‘Launchpad for Law Students’, we’ll ensure that you are among the top 1% of students just entering law school.
You’ll gain a tremendous amount of clarity on your law school journey, internships, research papers, moots, and the skills to do well in them.
We are confident that 95% of your questions about how to do well in law school, which careers to choose from, how to research and write well, and how to argue and draft well will be answered. Worried about the remaining 5%? Well, let your exploration of law and life guide you to those answers.
The Lawctopus’ Launchpad for Law Students
For those of you who are just starting their law school journey, Lawctopus has a 1-month long online program called ‘Launchpad for Law Students’ that will help you start your legal career with clarity and confidence.
Click here to register for the Lawctopus’ Launchpad for Law Students.
Below are the week-wise topics the Launchpad will cover:
Week 1: September 1-7: Understanding the Law School Life and Law as a Career
- Session 1: Orientation Session + Understanding what exactly you need to do in law school to succeed: academics, internships, moots, societies, publications, etc.
- Session 2: Get a clear plan of action to map your internships. Know how to secure internships, and do well in them
- Session 3: Getting PPOs (pre-placement offers) by the end of your college
- Session 4: Learn the art of drafting a high-quality CV
- Session 5: Learn the art of drafting a high-quality cover letter
- Session 6: Day in the Life of a Corporate Lawyer and Day in the Life of a Litigator
Week 1 Assignment: Draft your CV and a cover letter
Week 2: September 8-14: Fundamentals of Legal Research and Writing
- Session 1: Introduction to Legal Research: Legal reasoning, Issue spotting & Understanding various sources
- Session 2: Finding the Law: Using databases like SCCOnline and Manupatra competently
- Session 3: Legal Writing: Learning structure, clarity, and precision
- Session 4: Footnoting like a pro: Bluebook, OSCOLA and Other Styles of Footnoting
- Session 5: Publishing your research in top law journals and presenting your paper in top conferences
- Session 6: Using different AI Tools effectively & ethically in Law School
Week 2 Assignment: Write a short 900-1000-word legal research essay
Week 3: September 15-21: Reading and Understanding the Law
- Session 1: Developing the habit of reading critically: How to read Bare Acts from scratch
- Session 2: How to read Case Laws and make Case Summaries
- Session 3: How to Read Law Journal Articles
- Session 4: How to Build a Strong Legal Vocabulary
- Session 5: Introduction to Interpretation of Statutes
- Session 6: Reading, Understanding, and Drafting a Contract
Week 3 Assignment: Draft a Case Summary on a Case Law
Week 4: September 22-28: The Art of Argumentation in Moot Courts and the Real Courts of Law
- Session 1: How to read a moot problem
- Session 2: How to research for a moot memorial
- Session 3: Drafting a moot memorial
- Session 4: Court Mannerisms in a Moot Court
- Session 5: The Art of Argumentation in Moot Competitions
- Session 6: Learning teamwork in Moot Competitions- Mooting Strategy and Role Division
Week 4 Assignment: Mock Court: Draft a Memorial and Argue in Front of a Judge
How will You Learn?
Lawctopus’ Launchpad for Law Students is rigorous in structure and content, but caring and warm in spirit and delivery. The Launchpad consists of the following 8 learning elements:
- Daily 75-90 minute long LIVE sessions (except Mondays)
- Weekly assignments to help you apply the skills being taught
- Personalised feedback on each of the 4 assignments for every student
- Reading resources and recorded lectures that capture years of experience into a few minutes or pages
- Recorded versions of LIVE sessions to help you review or learn if you missed the session LIVE
- An email thread and a WhatsApp group to remind you about the LIVE sessions and assignment deadlines
- A course mentor to support your learning and growth, and address any doubts that you may have
- An online forum where you can post your questions and get answers within 2 days
Faculty
Tanuj Kalia
An executive coach trained from Coacharya, and currently in the process to become an ICF-certified coach
Founding CEO of Lawctopus, India’s leading legal careers platform for law students, aspirants, and young lawyers
A 2013 law graduate from the prestigious NUJS Kolkata
Author of the book ‘Law as a Career’, published by LexisNexis in 2015
Keynote speaker at various fora, two times TEDx speaker
Mansi Mankotia
Multiple publications; 3 prominent ones include: one at CADR-RGNUL, another in a Scopus Indexed Journal, and a third in a journal published by Oxford University Press (OUP)
Cleared the UGC NET exam in 2023
LLS’ Faculty for Legal Research and Writing Course, rated 93.6/100
Jaibatruka Mohanta
LLS Faculty for Mooting, rated 96.4/100 by our learners
Winner of 3 National and 1 International moot court competitions
B.L.S LL.B from the SVKMs Pravin Gandhi College of Law, University of Mumbai
Currently, Research Fellow, CEERA, NLSIU Bangalore
Click here to register for the Lawctopus’ Launchpad for Law Students.
Logistics
- Duration: September 1-30
- Venue: Online (Zoom)
- Class Timings: Daily LIVE classes from 5 pm to 6.30 pm; holidays on Mondays. If you miss the session, you can watch the recordings of the same
- Language: English. If you are from a vernacular medium, please don’t worry.
Fees
- Rs. 8999 (till August 17)
- Rs. 9999 (from August 18-31)
Time required
We expect you to invest around 7-8 hours of your time every week other than your live classes.
- Live classes: 1.5 hours/day
- Readings/recorded lectures: 3 hours/week
- Assignments: 4-5 hours/week
This can be managed along with college.
Certificates
E-certificates will be given to students who attend at least 75% of the classes live and complete all assignments successfully. Our courses are rigorous in structure and caring in spirit.
All students who put in a sincere effort pass our courses and get the certificate. All students also get a second chance for all assignments.
Assignments
There are 4 assignments, once every week. The assignments are around:
- Career Assignment: Making a CV, a cover letter [Time expected: 2 hours]
- Reading the Law Assignment: Writing a case note on a case law [Time expected: 3 hours]
- Legal Research and Writing: Writing a 900-1000 word research essay [Time expected: 4-5 hours]
- Mooting and Argumentation: Drafting a short moot memorial and arguing in front of a moot court judge [Time Expected: 5-6 hours]
You’ll be given personalised feedback on each assignment.
Institutional Partnerships
Law colleges interested in getting highly practical and useful legal training for their incoming batches can contact us for institutional partnerships.
Minimum students required: 50
Please email us at tanuj.kalia@lawctopus.com with the subject line ‘Launchpad for our Institution’. Mention the number of students who will be participating.
We’ll be happy to offer you a discounted group rate.
FAQs
Will I be able to manage this along with college?
Yes. The program is designed to be done along with your college. Attending classes from 5 pm to 6.15/30 pm is doable for everyone.
Other than this, you will be required to put approximately 4 -5 hours of work per week doing your assignment and 3 hours of effort per week on readings and recorded lectures.
This 7 hours of work can easily be managed on weekends (when your college is off) or on Mondays (when the Launchpad is off).
My Law School has already conducted an orientation. How will this be different?
Our Launchpad is very different from the orientation session that law schools have. We respect law colleges immensely, but we are also clear on how and why we are different:
- Faculty who have been there and done that. We have explained this earlier, but just to repeat the example of Mooting. In the Launchpad, you are not taught mooting by an academician, but by a prize-winning mooter.
- Reading resources and recorded lectures. Our modules capture decades of experience of various experts into a few minutes and pages. The recordings are done by world class mooters, researchers, law firm partners, and people who have built excellent legal careers.
- Personal feedback on your assignments. Each of your assignments will get personalized feedback. You’ll know where you went right and where you went wrong. We didn’t get such personaled, detailed guidance in our law school journey and we are changing that through our courses.
- Pan-India student cohort. In 80% of the colleges, students tend to be from a particular region. Our cohort is national. You’ll know what other students are doing and thinking, get inspired, and expand your network!
- Focus on fundamentals: The Launchpad for Law Students focuses on fundamental skills. Reading the law, research and writing skills, speaking and argumentation, planning your career are skills that will establish a strong foundation for your law school and legal career journey.
Testimonials from Students of Our Summer and Winter Training Programs
It was wonderful. I had a great time. I have learned a lot. The faculty has also been so kind on each step. The classes have been amazing nd the best thing I found out is that teachers are willing to help us even when this course gets completed […] I’m extremely grateful to everyone at lawctopus. Lots of love and respect to all.
– Gursemran Kaur, Class 12 Student, Saint Joseph’s Senior Secondary School, Chandigarh
It’s was brilliant… actually I personally didn’t know much about the law field and the future scope in it. This program gave me so many ideas and motivation 😁 thank you for your kind of support and teaching. […] Specially I liked about the course is the faculty gave their 100 percent to improve our skills. And gave their experience, knowledge and guidance.
– K. Indu Kirrti, 4th Year, Nyaya Vidya Parishad Law College, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh
It was very useful. The teachers were awesome, specifically Sangeetha mam, Tanuj sir and Jaibatruka sir. I really enjoyed the courses, lectures, and the interactions. […] I enjoyed the Capstone sessions led by Sangeetha mam, they felt very creative and freeing.
– Shriya Singh, NLU Delhi, New Delhi
It was excellent. The program was well-structured, comprehensive, and practical. Each module including reading material and the videos from legal research and writing to moot court preparation and the capstone research project added significant value to my learning.
– Venkatesh P. Gaikwad, 2nd Year BA.LLB, Manikchand Pahade Law College, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar,, Maharashtra.
My overall experience was excellent. Being an introvert, I interacted and talked less during the program but my respected teachers made sure that I understand the course […] I gained many things that I didn’t know before. If life permits I wish again to enroll for some course in Lawctopus.
– Sijil Sharma, 1st Year BBA LLB, Adamas University, Kolkata, West Bengal.
The course itself was absolutely amazing, very well-structured and incredibly student-friendly […] The faculty ensured everyone understood the concepts and participated actively, which made learning contract drafting easy and enjoyable.
– Pragya Shrivastava, 2nd Year, Dr. D.Y Patil College of Law, Nerul, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra
I particularly appreciated the practical orientation of the course. The blend of case-based assignments, expert-led video sessions, and detailed reading material made complex legal concepts much easier to grasp […] Thank you with all my heart for giving me a better perspective for my career. Best Course to be a part of.
– Shreya Sharma, 5th Year, NMIMS, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra
The course is very insightful and the Faculty of the course is very concern and supportive towards learners […] Thank you so much for giving me this valuable knowledge and information about litigation & drafting. In my early law school period. Thank you so much LLS.
– Anurag Rai, 1st Year, Kingston Law College, Berunanpukhuria, West Bengal
What I liked most about the course was its structured, practical approach to both legal research and mooting. The sessions broke down complex topics […] Peer discussions and interactive elements kept me motivated throughout. This course truly enhanced my ability to think like a law student and present like a future advocate.
– Tanvi Narula, 1st year (awaited), SLS Pune, Maharashtra.
The course is well detailed and informative. All the topics are elaborately taught. The teachers are very supportive and encouraging. The frequent reminds of the classes are also a great feature of course […] The course was totally worth it. Definitely a journey to remember.
– Vedant Nayak, 3rd year BA.LL.B., Kiit School of Law, Bhubaneshwar, Odisha.
Click here to register for the Lawctopus’ Launchpad for Law Students.
