ABOUT HIMANJALI GAUTAM
Experienced Advocate with a demonstrated history of working in the law practice industry. Skilled in Litigation , Arbitration, Dispute Resolution, Contract Law, and Legal Writing. Strong legal professional with a Bachelor’s Degree focused in Law from Faculty of Law, University of Delhi.
TOP 5 Questions that are most frequently asked by law students
1)Many students normally have a fear that since they are 1st generation law students their journey would be more difficult than a student whose parents are lawyers. What is your take on it and what would you say to them?
Himanjali Gautam-“Being a 1st generation lawyer life has been personally challenging for me in the field of litigation but I have this thing in me which does not let me do things which are easy. I never ended up limiting my horizons and had to start everything from the scratch. You grow at a regular pace in the beginning, and as you grow and gain more experience, you get more clients and you get a bigger office and more staff, that’ll happen over the course of time. The first few years, I believe five years, require the most effort possible. The idea is to figure out what path suits best for you as a person. I didn’t really have a legal background or a mentor as such who I can grow under the shadow of, so for me the plan for going independent was to have one case at a time. The biggest confidence building act I’ve done is being independent from the beginning.
Try to get as much exposure as you could with due guidance and exposure by seniors during your internships. I believe that law has two important aspects to it, firstly is to be a smart, analytical person, one who can analyse problems and give solutions, and that’s a quality which is very inherent. You can sharpen it and hone it, but you can’t learn it per se, knowledge of law is something you can grow over time by learning and studying, but if you have that skill of analysis it works well with the knowledge of law.”
2)In Law school there is a perception that the more the number of internships the better. Is it true? And many students feel that most of their friends get internships because of contacts and not merit due to which the students who truly deserve miss out. What would you say to them?
Himanjali Gautam-” Indeed, it is always important to go out and explore as mere knowledge of law is not sufficient. I have this view that it is not the quantity but the quality of knowledge which determines the minds dignity. Contacts do help the individual with the exposure but as I myself provide internships my main focus lays upon the Cover letter of the students which helps me know their purpose and their will to learn and explore this magical field. You do get some exposure from internships as college lacks in providing you practical knowledge of the field and when I went independent, it gave me a great opportunity to grasp a lot of knowledge in a really short amount of time. It is very crucial that students make an internship a top priority as an individual can learn a lot from the people around them.
PS: Enjoy your internships and Don’t consider it as a burden on yourself.”
3)Students are often confused about what a good CV looks like which can attract the attention of employers. Many students even pay some organisations to make a good CV for them. You must have changed and updated your CV/Resume many times in your career and you must have even seen many CV/Resumes of students as well. What according to you is an ideal CV?
Himanjali Gautam-” Just be concise with your cover letter and refrain from inserting more paragraphs and don’t forget to insert your purpose of applying. For me an ideal CV is well formatted with attention- grabbing details.”
4)What do you think is the key difference between a student who is selected by a top-tier law firm/lawyer and a student who is rejected? What would be your advice to the students who are getting rejected again and again, with respect to what their focus should be on?
Himanjali Gautam-” Sometimes the best things come to us while we are waiting. Our profession works on word of mouth. It takes consistent efforts, honesty and hard work to build trust and reputation. One must not take rejections personally and Let go of being afraid of the word NO, as a NO now does not mean NO FOREVER. Whenever you hear a NO end up questioning what would it take you to reconsider.”
5)What according to you is the most important life/career lesson you learned which every law student should know?
Himanjali Gautam-” The most important lesson I learned was to be polite to everyone; You are more likeable when you show respect to People.”
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