Prerpints.org logo
Preprint
Article

This version is not peer-reviewed.

Revolutionizing Clinical Legal Education in India through Corporate Social Responsibility

Submitted:

08 May 2025

Posted:

09 May 2025

You are already at the latest version

Abstract
This paper explores the stagnation in clinical legal education (CLE) within Indian law schools, which primarily focus on legal aid clinics, prison visits, and awareness camps. It proposes a transformative approach by integrating corporate social responsibility (CSR) to enhance the pragmatic, experiential, and efficacious nature of CLE. By fostering industrial collaborations and leveraging CSR funds, law schools can address funding shortages, improve infrastructure, and introduce modern tools like AI-based simulation labs. CSR can support faculty upskilling, internship programs, and job opportunities for law graduates, aligning CLE with contemporary legal and industrial demands. The study advocates for a synergy between CSR and CLE to elevate the quality of legal education and employability of graduates. The authors argue that the conventional approach to CLE needs to be altered to revolutionize its rationale. By integrating CSR, law schools can make CLE more pragmatic, experiential, and efficacious. Companies under CSR schemes can adopt jurisdictional law schools and provide funds for upskilling faculties and learners, building world-class law libraries, apprenticeship programs, internship programs, and providing jobs to law graduates. CSR has colossal potential to expand the scope of CLE.
Keywords: 
clinical legal education
;  
corporate social responsibility
;  
law schools
;  
industrial collaborations
;  
legal aid clinics
;  
internships
;  
employability
;  
artificial intelligence
Subject: 
Social Sciences  -   Law

Introduction

The research paper explores the integration of corporate social responsibility (CSR) into clinical legal education (CLE) to reform the outdated pedagogical framework of Indian law schools. Inspired by initiatives like Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal’s successful CSR-driven fundraising for the Supreme Court Bar Association, the paper critiques the conventional CLE focus on legal aid clinics, jail visits, and awareness camps, which lack innovation and practical impact. It argues that embedding CSR into CLE can address funding shortages, foster industrial collaborations, and enhance infrastructure, such as AI-based simulation labs, to make legal education more experiential and aligned with modern industry needs. The paper highlights the deteriorating quality of legal education, as noted in Devesh Sharma v. Union of India (2023), and the Bar Council of India’s inaction, proposing CSR as a transformative tool to elevate CLE, improve graduate employability, and meet the constitutional mandate of quality education.

Review of Literature (ROL)

The Author has meticulously gone through the hitherto literature available and qualitatively interviewed a few professors and LLM Graduates, seeking their views and valuable opinions on this contemporary discourse of fusion of CSR in CLE in Indian law schools. All the proponents have commented positively, reviewing the dialogue and imbuing those above. They all acknowledge the propensity of the study, i.e. transcending the conventional CLE curricula and adding modern tools and techniques to meet the ends of CLE. However, the literature on this title is meagre. However, whatever it is, it is valuable to develop an idea of how things are in the present and the future course of this noble realm of legal education. [1].

Research Objective

The paper aims to transcend beyond the primordial clinical legal education pedagogy. An attempt can be made to modernize the traditional law school apparatus via industrial collaborations and CSR Activism. Amplifying the contours of Clinical legal education (CLE) through CSR. World-class law schools, similar to National Law School Banglore (NSIU), are constantly getting funds through grants. NLSIU, a law university in India, has been given money (grants) to improve its facilities. Specifically, it received the JSW Grant, Funds to build a new building for academic purposes, and the Rajiv K Luthra Foundation Grant. [2]: Funds to upgrade the existing academic building and add new materials/resources for teaching and learning.

Concept of CSR and CLE

The concept of induction of CSR into CLE was kindled into my mind while watching the Friday group lecture where the Supreme Court Bar Association stalwarts facilitated the doyen of the Bar. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal is also a charismatic parliamentarian. His utmost maverick or painstaking efforts to collect a corpus which unprecedently has not been seen in the history of the Supreme Court bar being a presiding president of (SCBA) Mr Sibal has vowed to achieve great heights in the overhauling of the whole machination of the bar. he has achieved what his predecessors did not even think of wiz—collection of the corpus of 43,43,50,000. According to the SCBA, a total of Rs. 43,43,50,000 was collected under CSR initiatives as part of Sibal's commitment during his campaign for the SCBA presidential elections. This fund is meant to provide medical insurance and financial support to advocates nationwide. [3]. The initiative was highly appreciated, especially by the Friday Group, an academic collective of lawyers practising in the Supreme Court.
Analogously, if BCI makes an upending decision or the central government of India streamlines the imbuement of CRS in augmenting qualitative legal education in law schools across India. However, we have observed the vogue wherein the Bar Council of India incessantly grants permits to new law colleges, universities, private plus, and government without considering the qualitativeness of the legal education, which is seen to be deteriorating daily. Supreme recently in the case of [Devesh Sharma v. Union of India, 2023 SCC OnLine SC 985 [4]. "Right to education includes free and compulsory education and quality education." Correspondingly, the quality of legal education has been descending to the abyss. However, as the chief patron, BCI has been seen as a slothful and dormant status quo. Not much has been done by it. The law degree is now less valuable because of the proliferation of law schools—more than 70k.According to an estimate by the Bar Council of India, there are around 1.5 million registered advocates today, in addition to around 950 law schools and five lakh law students. Every year, approximately 70,000 law graduates join the profession. However, the poignant quotation is whether everyone gets a living after a degree. Unluckily, only a few get into law firms' jobs because of the prejudice and favouritism for the NLU and S innards, and those who suffer are the innocent grads of a government university and private university who have not delved into the actual meaning of CLE. [5]. Oblivious of practical skills or valuable personal skills. We have seen and will see increasing numbers of grappling lawyers for bread and butter. Therefore, to remove the cloud pal of gloom, we shall, being Academicians, practitioners and also judicial officers, step in to resolve the upheaval, which has the potential to grow into an endemic disease. Duty lies on the law schools to look for the industrial needs, look for collaborations with Big firms, MNC'S and so on, which we see in traditional law schools as penultimate year moot court; moot court is valuable but not sufficient to get complete proof of employment.
Nowadays, foreign law schools have resourced simulation labs. This is the new concept of using Artificial intelligence for better indoctrination of law students so they can better learn client counselling skills, negotiation skills, mooting skills, persuasion skills, and development of interpersonal skills. Nevertheless, the labs and equipment used in developing such labs require a huge amount that cannot be invested by every other law school, whether located in the suburbs or the metropolitans. [6] However, the scope can be derived from government contributions by providing subsidies for installing AI-based simulation labs. However, the Ministry of Law and Justice and the union government have paid little heed in overhauling the legal educational infrastructure. Also, the lackadaisicalness of the BCI has significantly contributed to poor legal education delivery.
The statutory definition of CSR is corporate social responsibility (CSR), which refers to the voluntary contributions made by companies to a better society and a cleaner environment. It is a concept whereby companies integrate social and other useful concerns in their business operations for the betterment of their stakeholders and society in general. However, Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013 ("Act") [7]Provides that certain companies must mandatorily contribute a certain amount towards CSR activities. As per the Act, 'Corporate Social Responsibility' includes but is not limited to Projects or programmes relating to activities specified in Schedule VII of The Act. Projects or programmes relating to those activities which are undertaken by the Board of Directors of a company in ensuring the recommendation of the CSR Committee of the Board as per declared CSR Policy along with the conditions that such policy will cover subjects specified in Schedule VII of the Act [8]. Companies may include activities in their Corporate Social Responsibility Policies: (i) eradicating hunger, poverty and malnutrition. Promoting health care, including preventive health care and sanitation, including contribution to the Swach Bharat Kosh set up by the Central Government for the promotion of sanitation and making available safe drinking water;
(ii) promoting education, including special education and employment enhancing vocation skills, especially among children, women, elderly, and the differently abled and livelihood enhancement projects;(iii) promoting gender equality, empowering women, setting up homes and hostels for women and orphans; setting up old age homes, daycare centres and such other facilities for senior citizens and measures for reducing inequalities faced by socially and economically backward groups;(iv) ensuring environmental sustainability, ecological balance, protection of flora and fauna, animal welfare, agroforestry, conservation of natural resources and maintaining the quality of soil, air and water including contribution to the Clean Ganga Fund set-up by the Central Government for rejuvenation of river Ganga;
(v) protection of National Heritage, art and culture, including restoration of buildings and sites of historical importance and works of art; setting up public libraries; promotion and development of traditional arts and handicrafts;
(vi) measure for the benefit of armed force veterans, war widows and their dependents, Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) and Central Para Military Forces (CPMF) veterans, and their dependents, including widows;
(vii) training to promote rural sports, nationally recognized sports, Paralympic sports and Olympics sports;
(viii) contribution to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund or Prime Minister's Central Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM CARES Fund)[9] Or any other fund set up by the Central Government for socio-economic development and relief and welfare of the Scheduled Castes, the Schedule Tribes, other backward classes, minorities and women;
(ix) (a) Contribution to incubators or research and development projects in the field of science, technology, engineering and medicine, funded by the Central Government or State Government [10] or Public Sector Undertaking or any agency of the Central Government or State Government; and(b) Contributions to public-funded Universities; Indian Institute of Technology (IITs); National Laboratories and autonomous bodies established under Department of Atomic Energy (DAE); Department of Biotechnology (DBT); Department of Science and Technology (DST); Department of Pharmaceuticals; Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH); Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and other bodies, namely Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)[11]; Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR); Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR); and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), engaged in conducting research in science, technology, engineering and medicine aimed at promoting Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). [12]
(ix) Contribution to incubators funded by Central Government or State Government or any agency or Public Sector Undertaking of Central Government or State Government, and contributions to public-funded Universities, Indian Institute of Technology (IITs), National Laboratories and Autonomous Bodies (established under the auspices of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), Department of Biotechnology (DBT) Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), Department of Science and Technology (DST), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology) engaged in conducting research in science, technology, engineering and medicine aimed at promoting Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs);(ix) contributions or funds provided to technology incubators located within academic institutions which are approved by the Central Government;
(x) rural development projects. [13]
(xi) slum area development. Explanation.- For this item, the term 'slum area' shall mean any area declared as such by the Central Government, any State Government or any other competent authority under any law for the time being in force.
(xii) disaster management, including relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction activities. Emphasizing clause 2, which categorically opines promotion of education, special education and vocational training to increase employability.
Regarding the statutory interpretation of CSR, Corporate social responsibility is unequivocally envisaged in section 135 of the Company's Act 2013 [14], which emphasizes clause 2, which categorically opines promoting education, special education and vocational training to increase employability. CSR can ensue in the legal realm to broaden the spectrum of clinical legal education. Embracing CSR in law school can potentially increase the quality of legal education also help in proliferating the employability of law graduates; legal and vocational programs can introduced in the guise of industrial sponsorships or collaborations .hitherto CSR has been amplified mostly in the realms of science and technology, law has not been the primal arena to be borne in mind by the CSR-perpetuating proponents; nevertheless, this ideology shall be changed, and research in law should be made the fulcrum.
One of the prime examples of the Institutional CSR exhibited under ICFAI UNIVERSITY machination. [15]. where ICFAI, a private educational chain of institutions, has promulgated a CSR policy wherein it has siphoned funds into its legal aid clinics to make it more happening. Siphoning funds into the legal aid clinics has many Advantages, from streamlining and routinizing legal camps and campaigns to building the requisite infrastructure for smooth functioning and collaboration with legal industry experts. Very few universities in India have a solid funding mechanism for the robust functioning of CLE clinics. Law firms collaborating with law schools can also positively impact employability, fostering apprenticeship, internship, and vocational programs.

CLE Is a Tool for Bridging the Gap Between Theoretical and Practical Knowledge

Clinical Legal Education (CLE) has emerged as a vital pedagogical tool in legal education, bridging the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application. By engaging students in real-world legal scenarios, CLE fosters critical thinking, ethical awareness, and professional skills crucial for effective legal practice. While traditionally focused on access to Justice for marginalized communities, the integration of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) [16] Principles into CLE offers a potent avenue to expand its impact and serve broader educational objectives. This paper explores the synergistic potential between CLE and CSR, arguing that incorporating CSR. [17] Projects in clinical programs can enhance students' learning experience, promote ethical business practices, and contribute to a more socially responsible corporate environment.
The core objective of CLE is to develop competent and ethical legal professionals. Participation in clinical programs allows students to translate theoretical legal knowledge into tangible legal services for clients, often those underserved by traditional legal avenues. This hands-on experience fosters critical skills such as client interviewing, legal research, drafting legal documents, and courtroom advocacy. However, limiting CLE solely to traditional pro bono services can inadvertently narrow students' understanding of the broader legal landscape and the complexities of corporate behaviour.
Integrating CSR into CLE allows students to understand the legal and ethical responsibilities of corporations, exploring how businesses can contribute positively to society. CSR encompasses various activities, including environmental sustainability, ethical supply chain management, employee welfare, community development, and corporate governance. By engaging with CSR issues within a clinical setting, students can better appreciate the intricate relationship between law, business, and society. [18]
One key benefit of incorporating CSR into CLE is enhancing students' analytical and problem-solving skills. Students tasked with advising businesses on CSR compliance, drafting CSR policies, or researching the legal implications of corporate actions must analyze complex legal frameworks, interpret ambiguous regulations, and assess the potential risks and benefits of various courses of action. This experience fosters critical thinking and practical problem-solving abilities essential for effective legal practice, regardless of their chosen career path.
Furthermore, engaging with CSR initiatives within CLE promotes ethical awareness and professionalism. Students confront ethical dilemmas related to corporate behaviour, such as balancing shareholder interests with stakeholder concerns, navigating conflicting legal obligations, and ensuring transparency and accountability in corporate decision-making. These experiences encourage students to reflect on their ethical values and develop a strong sense of professional responsibility. [19] By grappling with these complex issues within a supervised clinical environment, students are better prepared to navigate ethical challenges they may encounter in their future careers.
Moreover, incorporating CSR into CLE can broaden students' understanding of diverse legal and regulatory frameworks. CSR often intersects with various areas of law, including environmental law, labour law, consumer protection law, and securities regulation. By working on CSR-related projects, students gain exposure to these diverse legal fields and develop a more holistic understanding of the legal landscape. This broader perspective can enhance their ability to advise clients on complex legal issues and contribute to innovative legal solutions. [20]
The implementation of CSR-focused clinical programs can take various forms. Students can work with non-profit organizations to assist businesses in developing and implementing CSR strategies. They can provide legal advice to businesses seeking to comply with environmental regulations or labour standards. They can research emerging CSR issues and contribute to developing best practices. Additionally, students can engage in community outreach initiatives to educate the public about corporate social responsibility and promote responsible business practices. [21]
However, successfully integrating CSR into CLE requires careful planning and execution. Faculty members must have a strong understanding of CSR principles and the relevant legal and regulatory frameworks. Clinical projects must be carefully designed to ensure students gain meaningful learning experiences and contribute to positive social impact. Furthermore, effective partnerships with businesses, non-profit organizations, and community groups are essential to provide students real-world opportunities to engage with CSR issues. [22]

Evolution of Clinical Legal Education CLE or Genesis of Clinical Legal Education

Lawyers in the United States were taught by self-directed legal book reading, law office apprenticeship, or a combination of the two methods until the end of the 19th century. 4. But even in the republic's early years, educational institutions offered legal instruction. Jefferson restructured his alma mater, William and Mary College, in 1779, adding a "school of law" as one of the institution's six faculties. Each faculty was made up of one professorship, known as a school. "Jefferson's law teacher and fellow revisor of the Virginia statutes, Chancellor George Wythe" [23] Was appointed faculty head at the "Law and Police" school. This school persisted until 1861 (the William and Mary Law School was resurrected in 1920). However, one commentator claims it had the biggest impact on legal education when St. George Tucker's annotated edition of Blackstone's Commentaries was published in 1803. Tucker's work "fixed the Blackstone tradition in this country, and by ostensibly compressing all legal knowledge within the covers of a single book, undoubtedly discouraged the organization of law schools elsewhere." It made teaching law through apprenticeships both feasible and adequate.
Other law schools were established, such as Benjamin Franklin's College of Philadelphia in 1790, which merged with the University of Pennsylvania. [24]; the Litchfield Law School in Litchfield, Connecticut, 1784 was characterized as "essentially a specialized and elaborated law office"; and Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky, in 1799. However, Harvard Law School was the first law school established in this nation to operate continuously, opening its doors in 1817. There were twenty-one law schools in operation in 1860, but very few, if any, of them resembled today's law schools. Harvard Law School dean Christopher Columbus Langdell was appointed in 1870. He is typically credited with creating the case method of legal instruction, which has dominated most of the teaching of law today and was intended to transform the study of law in law schools.
Nevertheless, local courts and the attorneys who came before them maintained control over admission to practice even after the Langdellian revolution got underway. Graduating from law school and passing the bar test alone did not qualify a person to practice law until the 20th century. The university law schools were not required to provide practical instruction for their theoretical education due to ongoing obligations for law office study. However, as early as 1893, a law society at the University of Pennsylvania created a legal assistance dispensary. The dispensary at the University of Denver opened its doors in 1904. Harvard founded the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau in 1913, and all students at the University of Minnesota were forced to work in the Legal Aid Society's office. John Bradley oversaw establishing an experimental, six-week clinical program at the University of Southern California in 1928. Bradway then founded Duke University's Legal Aid Clinic, which is recognized as the first comprehensive in-house clinical program. Bradway's studies, groundbreaking work at USC, and Duke and Jerome Frank's essay in the University of Pennsylvania Law Review titled "Why Not a Clinical Lawyer School?, contributed to the late 1920s and early 1930s interest in clinical education, but it never really took off. Only the second law school to establish an ongoing, in-house clinical program was the University of Tennessee in 1947 [25]. This program is still the nation's oldest continuously running program. Only roughly twenty-eight law schools provided a clinical program based on a legal aid model by the 1950s.

The Genesis of Modern Clinical Legal Education

Emory Brownell, the Executive Director of the National Legal Aid and Defender Association (NLADA), and William Pincus, a program officer with the Ford Foundation in New York at the time, came up with the idea of a Ford grant to NLADA in 1958 to encourage law schools to have law students participate in legal aid clinics. Brownell viewed it as a chance to introduce some intelligent young people to the work of legal aid offices and arrange for them to assist with some of the cases. Additionally, he valued the reputation that NLADA could get by being linked to a sizable Ford Foundation grant. Pincus had a more ambitious plan. He viewed the award as "some small step toward determining whether law school education could be enhanced [and] taken beyond the confines of the classroom."
In the same way that medical schools expose their students to patients as part of their curriculum, he wished to encourage law schools to do the same for law students. Later on, it "became a crusade to change legal education," according to Pincus. As a result of Pincus and Brownell's conversations, the National Council on Legal Clinics (NCLC) was established, and the NLADA submitted a funding proposal to the Ford Foundation. The Ford Foundation gave NLADA $800,000 to be administered by NCLC. [26] A team of NLADA, ABA, and AALS representatives approved a seven-year initiative. In order to administer the NCLC's Professional Responsibility Project, Howard Sacks took a leave of absence from Northwestern University School of Law. Sacks was chosen to succeed Emery Brownell, who was the Director of NCLC until he died in 1961. When it was first established, NCLC aimed to prioritize clinical and internship training growth in professional responsibility. Professional responsibility training was "defined to include the duty to engage in collective action and co-operation with other professions and community institutions where the interests of client or community require such action," according to NCLC. [27], which did not limit it to legal ethics. “ It was believed that a lawyer's "professional responsibility" included getting an "understanding of the role of social institutions such as the family court, the youth board, and the modern social agency."
A lawyer's professional responsibility encompassed the following: "the lawyer's obligation to participate in public affairs; to secure adequate representation of the indigent in both civil and criminal cases; to participate in the work of the organized Bar; and to act as a guardian of the principle of due process It also included the lawyer's responsibility for community service. [28]"
In its six years of operation (1959–1965), NCLC awarded grants to nineteen law schools totalling roughly $500,000 to establish or grow clinical programs. NCLC provided funding totalling $150,000 for creating instructional materials in addition to law school awards for externships and clinics. Professors Murray Schwartz60 and Vern Countryman59's legal ethics casebooks and other resources for teaching professional responsibility were among the products supported by NCLC. 61 NCLC also made a movie starring Justice Felix Frankfurter. Discussions were started after the Ford Foundation's reviewers gave NCLC a positive assessment in the spring of 1965 [29]. in order to extend the grant to the Ford Foundation. The Ford Foundation's program officer in charge of the grant application, Bill Pincus, was unhappy with NCLC's efforts.
He desired The second grant is intended to have a greater influence on legal education. "The NCLC board did not advocate for reform, but they felt that [NCLC's] work was important and should continue," he said. However, according to Pincus, it catalyzed a significant shift in the legal education system. Pincus, however, was not N CLC's [30] Administrator and had less control over the program following the awarding of the renewal grant. Nonetheless, he demanded that the AALS receive the renewal grant since he desired a shift in legal education rather than merely more funding for legal aid initiatives. The AALS eventually consented to be the grantee, but it insisted on renaming the program the word "clinics." Pincus resisted [31]. He took this action because he believed it to be a reversal of the NCLC's initial emphasis on clinical education. Pincus agreed to the name change to gain the AALS's approval as a grantee, and the Ford Foundation awarded NCLC a $950,000 grant in 1965 to carry on the work for five years, plus the remaining monies from the previous grant. The Council on Education in Professional Responsibility (COEPR) [32] This is the new name for the initiative. The Three members selected by the ABA, three by the NLADA, four by the AALS, and four at-large members made up the new board of directors. Howard Sacks remained the Executive Director part-time, and seven original NCLC board members were still on the COEPR board. During its 1965–1968 operation, COEPR awarded funds to 21 law schools about $290,000. "The remaining grants were for clinical programs carried out during the regular school year, with half of these going toward summer internships." Grants totalling over $24,000 were awarded for field research and instructional materials. $25,000 was given to the AALS for a conference on professional responsibility education in law schools, and $23,300 was made accessible to groups outside of law schools for pilot clinical programs. This saga of grants and funding helped to cultivate a legal education with clinical essence. Hence, today, American law schools have achieved a feat that other law schools have not. This is possible because of the dedication of the APA and other bodies to achieve the civil rights narrative and their effort to make this noble profession not only noble but also a means to achieve social Justice.

Evolution of CLE in Indian Legal Pedagogy

Citizens must be granted social, economic, and political Justice, according to the Preamble of the Indian Constitution. Citizens of India are granted fundamental rights under Part IV of the Constitution. The Indian Constitution's Article 39A provides remedies to rectify rights abuses; nonetheless, With origins in the Legal Aid and Legal Education Reform Movements, CLE in India only began in the 1960s. For the first time, in 1949, the Bombay Legal Education Committee suggested that only students who decide to pursue a career in law should be required to take practical courses. [33] They also suggested that seminars, group discussions, moot court competitions, and other training methods be used. Later, in 1958, the Law Commission of India's 14th Report acknowledged the value of professional training and the need to balance academic and practical education. The main goals of the Commission's Report were to institutionalize and raise the general Bar for legal education.
Improved ethical and skill instruction in law school was demanded. Consequently, the Bar Council of India suggested including practical training in the curriculum in 1977. The University Grants Commission's (UGC) report, which outlined the goals of reformed teaching as increasing students' responsiveness to learning and requiring them to exhibit their legal knowledge, has had a significant impact on the history of CLE [34].
The report suggests that in 1997, a significant focus on clinical legal education was implemented by expanding the number of curriculum-based modules from 16 to 28. The Advocates Act of 1961 allowed the Bar Council of India to issue a circular order for all law schools and universities to update their curricula. Four practical papers have been required at law schools since the 1998–1999 academic year, which was seen as a significant step toward formally incorporating CLE into the curriculum. To improve the LL.B. course syllabi, a Curriculum Development Committee was invited to provide the second UGC report of particular importance to CLE. Under the direction of Justice V. R. Krishna Iyer [35], the Ministry of Law and Justice's Expert Committee on Legal Aid produced the first significant report on legal aid in 1973. In order to provide recommendations for the development and execution of a comprehensive legal aid program for the most vulnerable segments of Indian society, the Expert Committee was established.
A lack of funds, poor legal counsel, and a lack of legal knowledge can all hinder access to legitimate remedies. The Indian government enacted the Legal Services Authorities Act of 1987 (Legal Services Act) to grant this access. The National (henceforth NALSA), State, and District legal service authorities were founded by this Act to help fill the gap in access to legal representation, particularly for those who cannot afford it. The Committee for Putting Legal Aid Plans into Action was established by the Indian government in 1981. [36] At the time, Justice P.N. Bhagwati, [37] The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India led the Committee. The Committee for Implementing Legal Aid Schemes emphasized, as did the previous Committees, that legal aid programs cannot achieve social Justice in India, which is focused on courts or litigation.
The 1996 Bar Council of India (BCI) [38] Report on the National Law School of India (NLSIU) In 1997, the Advocates' Act 1961 allowed the Bar Council of India to publish a circular requiring all law schools and universities to update their curricula. With 21 required courses and two elective courses, universities were allowed to add additional ones.
NLSIU provides students with various clinical program possibilities, both required and elective, to help them accomplish the program's goals. Currently, the required clinical courses are: (a) Alternative Dispute Resolution, Counseling, and Client Interviewing; (b) Litigation Clinic; and (c) a special clinic that is linked with required two-month placements from the third to the fifth years of the five-year LL.B. program. The scheme's optional elements include moot courts, legal services clinics, and a community-based Law Reforms Competition. Aside from the aforementioned, NLSIU offers a course on professional ethics and law office administration taught with legal professionals' help. "The Commission considers that CLE may be made mandatory subject," according to the Law Commission of India's 2002 report. [39]

Upheveals in Initiating Clinical Legal Education in India

Several issues have generally prevented law schools from emphasizing providing their students with hands-on experience.
This UNDP analysis states that the following are the main obstacles to CLE development in India:
1. An established strategy for clinical legal education is lacking. Legal assistance clinics at most law schools are ad hoc, and their effectiveness mostly depends on how enthusiastic the teachers and students are. [40]
2. There is no workload reduction for faculty members assigned to oversee legal aid services, and students who participate in these activities are not credited, which deters them from doing so and from keeping their promises. [41]
3. People in the community are unaware that law schools offer free legal services and full-time law professors and students are prohibited from representing clients in court by the Advocates Act 1961.
4. There are challenges with assessment and supervision: Keeping an eye on students in the clinic is an enormous undertaking.
5. According to some people, A free legal clinic could cause tensions between the law school and the local legal community (Mohammad Ghouse, 1977).

Final Thoughts

Despite the BCI's mandate that clinical legal education be included in the curriculum, law schools are not paying much attention to implementing the required competency. In order to prepare students for the practice of law legal education serves this objective. Because of this, the law and legal education, which together form the foundation of society, ought to adapt to the shifting demands and preferences of a vibrant community. Consequently, to effectively launch CLE, the authorities and law schools must take action.

Imbuing Entrepreneurship in Clinical Legal Education or Introducing Entrepreneurship in Legal Pedagogy

Entrepreneurship, when we look at it from an ex-facie, is the paramount part of the business curriculum or business administration. This will make the degree more valuable and globalized in this hyper-competitive world and increase employment opportunities for business school graduates. Analogously, if we aspire to instil entrepreneurial skill sets in law education, it can positively impact the legal industry. Today, law schools globally, even American and British, have achieved outstanding excellence in the competitive realm of law. This was only possible for them because of their propensity to alter their curriculums. And the introduction of new methodologies in teaching. [42] However, this has not been ushered or streamlined pan world. Only a few law schools, or elite law schools like Harvard and Duke, have induced those above in their programmes. In India, a few law schools, like National Law Schools Bengaluru, NUJS, and National Law School, Delhi, have these legal incubation clinics (LIC). These clinics or incubation centres serve nothing but the primordial purpose of clinical legal education. That is, to foster employability and venture into making global lawyers equipped with multicultural and interdisciplinary domains, such as HR, IT information technology, Artificial intelligence, Transactional or border diplomacy, economics, international relations, and linguistic proficiency not only in their official language but also in languages which are recognized by the UN i.e french, german or Chinese what these skillsets can achieve is the stature of a competent global lawyer expert not just in legal theory but also in the practical aspect of the law who can work in multiple jurisdictions of the world ranging from the 1st world to the second world countries, entrepreneurship in legal context does not only mean venturing into the corporate world or the commercial litigation domain, but it pragmatically means venturing into the unchartered fields of law such as FINTECH, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE OR emerging technology, maritime law can be one than many American professors emphasizes on the seminal ness of the International law which traditionally is only taught from indoctrination view but not from the angle of practicing, Indian law schools shall inculcate the global legal disciplines in order to make indian lawyer to be global lawyers or the leaders of the 21st century. contemporaneous lawyers shall be vested with all the esoteric arsenals in order the deal with non pluralsic dominance of european countries and legal frameworks. The number of Indian lawyers shall surge in international law practice. More and more lawyers shall enter into international practice not just limited to traditional or conservative practice areas entailing civil, criminal or appellate practice in high courts and supreme court International internships, externships and apprenticeships in international institutions or institutes like the UN United Nations, UNSC (united nations security council), ICC I (international criminal court), WTO (world trade organization), WIPO (world intellectual property organization), [43] American Court of Human Rights, European human rights courts, international maritime organizations, etc. However, very few Asian law schools have such an approach. Only a few of them can pounce this idealistic plan into existence. There are hindrances because of the following factors. The paramount one will be the monetary or fiscal deficiency factor, the most prominent one, followed by the exposure. Generally, law schools do not have any industry or categorically international collaborations. In India, only many law schools or national law schools have a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with those above. [44]
Very few of the central universities in India or state universities have international affinity, resulting in the poor or brittle development of lawyers and law schools. Such law schools are aloof and are far from the primal standards. National School Delhi, the most popular law school, has an international presence and many associations and collaborations, from WIPO to WTO to the UN. They have launched multiple standards courses that meet the benchmark and even transcend the reputation of the world-famous law schools. This is possible only because of the dynamics of the stakeholders, vice-chancellors, professors, and educators. For example, we have WIPO offering an IPR intellectual property right LLM course in India, which is unprecedented and an achievement. Then, NALSAR is offering a wholesome course on insolvency or liquidation law in India, which is in high demand in India as well as outside the country. However, there is a kick to it: the cost of these courses. Although it sounds pleasing, the sordid part is that the finance involved is huge, and not a middle-class person can easily afford it. Affordability is an issue for most people in India who may be in foreign law schools. Affording quality legal education is the woeful aspect that shall be moot. [45] The hefty or exorbitant fees of these elite law schools and even the CLAT entrance examination cost are bizarrely high and unaffordable to many. Herein, the BCI Bar Council of India has been vested with overhauling legal education and shall venture into these sentinel matters to universalize the quality of legal education in India. Instantaneous reforms shall be initiated to change today's legal pedagogy status quo radically. Furthermore, shoving the legal entrepreneurial clinics (LIC) can be regarded as a watershed idea that has the plenary propensity to overhaul the whole scope of employment and the tendency to incentivize the concept of Clinical legal education in India like the developing up of unicorns we can also anticipate of legal unicorns. which will be revolutionizing the whole paradigm of the legal education and legal industry in India. one of the prime examples can be given of the law likho which was a startup by a passout of NUJS who saw the scope and dived into the field commencing nascent from the blogging to offering qualitative courses to venturing into other disciplines. Which ultimately led to its being listed as a company. Moreover, recently, it launched its IPO (INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING ). Similarly, several other LEGAL ED TECH startups like Jurisedge, Toppersnotes, Rahuls IAS Coaching, and others have earned millions. [46]. They all have aptly demonstrated the notion of beyond litigation. All these things can be nurtured by the one indomitable weapon that is CSR. [47]. Corporate social responsibility by providing a quantum of capital as Ford Motors did in America, even in the Era when the socialistic concept of CSR was totally Oblivion [48]. It was their tenacity to make an equitable, more egalitarian society that they created and made a change that they wanted to make.
When it comes to the idea of LIC," S thy some requires solid capital investment in law schools, specifically in Indian context the central government or the university grant commission UGC. or the BCI so-called the bastions or the messiah of legal education in India has vindicated there lackadaisical ness by doing nothing in the pursuit of development.

In House Counsels Role

This vocation is very less known in Tier 2,3 law schools. [49] There are appointments of in-house counsels in every private and public company, as well as multinational companies (MNCs). There are Teams of counsellors in every enterprise. Such teams do not appear before the courts but do most of the paperwork. Moreover, perenially assists the litigating advocates hired for litigation purposes for certain junctures. [50]
Direct internship opportunities in MNCs and other organizations can educate them about the sentinel role and allow them to make it a career prospect. On interviewing a few LLM colleagues, I learned that only a few knew about the role of In-house counsels. More and more sensitization has to be done on career prospects in the legal field so that they can analyze what suits them best. Today, law graduates seem perplexed, uninitiated and unoriented just because of poor delivery of legal counselling. [51] We shall ameliorate such postures, which will only bring disregard and dislike to our pedagogy.

Overhauling of the LLM and JD Programmes and PHD's in India

Nowadays, LLM curricula have nothing other than a reiteration of the LLB syllabi. Thus, it is vain to invest our time and energy in such a degree, although research methodology and comparative law are integral to the pedagogy. However, overhauling has to be done to make the whole degree of LLM fructifying. Industrial collaboration can be done through the CSR policy, which will help meet the rudimentary ends of the LLM degree and clinical legal education. The LLM Degree of 2 years can be dissected one year for theoretical purposes and the other for practical indoctrination. Per contra, the one-year LLM [52] It is divided into trimesters; the last semester shall fully focus on industrial or field training to make the candidate job-ready in the last months of the degree. Since time immemorial, there has been the trend of relinquishing or betraying the graduates and making them aloof and jobless. However, this narrative of the traditional law schools has to be instantaneously changed. The kind of amity and empathy they need to yield as the product or ripened fruit will ultimately help the law school build a permeating alumnus network, which will be a lucrative practice in attracting admissions and gaining stardom on the competitive pedestal. However, this cannot be understood by the officiating supervisors of law schools.

Suggestions

A recent report published by the Supreme Court's Centre for Research and Planning (CRP) revealed that legal aid clinics of law colleges and universities do not receive adequate funds from the University Grants Commission (UGC). According to a new report from the Supreme Court's Centre for Research and Planning (CRP), the University Grants Commission (UGC), affiliated universities, and legal services authorities do not provide law colleges and universities' legal aid clinics with enough funding, which makes it difficult for the cell to operate. According to Indian legislation, all law schools must set up a legal aid clinic or cell to give impoverished and marginalized people free legal aid. Providing low- or no-cost legal advice or assistance to clients who are disadvantaged or come from underprivileged backgrounds is known as legal aid. Additionally, it entails actions like campaigning for legal reforms, doing paralegal work, and raising legal knowledge. According to information presented to Parliament by the Union Ministry of Law and Justice, there are currently 1,662 law schools in India, with 1,095 [53] Institutions having legal services units. Of the 83 legal aid cells the CRP surveyed, 47 are affiliated with government institutions and universities, 31 are private, and five are semi-private.
According to the research, most law schools are either supported by the university or rely on the money that the clinics raise. According to the report, only 15 of the 83 legal aid clinics at the institutions it evaluated receive funding from outside sources like the state government through grants, contributions, or help. These clinics typically have a small budget, and their inability to pay for some tasks makes it more difficult for them to carry out their duties. For instance, the report stated that universities have determined that they can only conduct legal literacy programs like camps or "nukkad natak" (street shows) due to limited funding delays. [54] Due to a lack of funding, the clinics cannot help the villagers resolve the problems they have discovered in the nearby villages, including the non-implementation of social programs, it continued. The research emphasized a dilemma that Indian law clinics face: should professors be permitted to practice law? India is a rare nation where academics are prohibited from practising law. Academicians who are salaried employees of any individual, government agency, business, or facility are prohibited from practising law by the BCI Rules on Professional Standards. It is the fallaciousness or timidity of the legal academia echelons that they, still today, grapple to make CLE programmes the core part of the law school curriculum with due credits. [55]
We shall all be remorseful that we treat clinical legal education as a cocurricular activity today. The antidote to this endemic dilemma can be plausibly resolved or effectively resolved by the assistance in the moniker of CSR or Corporate social responsibility envisaged under the company's Act 2013. It has the propensity to improve the complete existing deficiencies. Fundings in today's landscapes have been the fulcrum of the dysfunction of the whole CLE apparatus. Private players can pump the requisite money into the clinics, making them more lively and functional. This entire arrangement can benefit both the actors and the company. As law students, both can reach the desired outcomes and achieve the constitutional mandate of social and economic Justice.

Conclusion

The integration of corporate social responsibility into clinical legal education presents a viable solution to address the systemic deficiencies in Indian legal pedagogy. By channeling CSR funds into law schools, institutions can overcome financial constraints, enhance infrastructure, and foster collaborations with industries to provide practical training and employment opportunities. This synergy not only aligns CLE with the evolving needs of the legal profession but also contributes to social justice by producing competent, ethically aware, and globally competitive lawyers. However, successful implementation requires proactive involvement from the Bar Council of India, the central government, and law school authorities to streamline policies and ensure equitable access to quality legal education. Embracing CSR-driven reforms can revolutionize CLE, making it a cornerstone of legal education that prepares graduates for diverse and dynamic career paths.

References

  1. Arjun S. NATIONAL LAW SCHOOL OF INDIA UNIVERSITY, BANGALORE.
  2. Krishnamurthy C. Legal education and legal profession in India. International Journal of Legal Information. 2008 Jul;36(2):245-64. [CrossRef]
  3. Robinson N. Structure matters: The impact of court structure on the Indian and US Supreme Courts—the American Journal of Comparative Law. 2013 Jan 1;61(1):173-208. [CrossRef]
  4. [Devesh Sharma v. Union of India, 2023 SCC OnLine SC 985.
  5. Brace P, Butler KS. New Perspectives for the Comparative Study of the Judiciary: The State Supreme Court Project. Justice System Journal. 2001 Sep 1;22(3):243-62.
  6. Krishnan JK. Professor Kingsfield goes to Delhi: American academics, the Ford Foundation, and the development of legal education in India. American Journal of Legal History. 2004 Oct 1;46(4):447-99. [CrossRef]
  7. Pai VS. Brief Profile of Our Illustrious Contributors.
  8. Hansford TG, Spriggs JF. The politics of precedent on the US Supreme Court. Princeton University Press; 2006 Dec 31.
  9. Jumde A, Du Plessis J. Legislated corporate social responsibility (CSR) in India: The law and practicalities of its compliance. Statute law review. 2022 Jun 1;43(2):170-97. [CrossRef]
  10. Jumde A. The law on CSR in India: An analysis of its compliance by companies through corporate disclosures. Journal of Corporate Law Studies. 2021 Jan 2;21(1):253-82. [CrossRef]
  11. Chhaparia P, Jha M. Corporate Social Responsibility in India: The Legal Evolution of CSR Policy. Amity Global Business Review. 2018 Feb 1;13(1).
  12. Pathak S, Tripathy AK, Panda A. Does Ownership Influence Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)? A Study Of Post-Csr Law Implementation In India. Journal of Law and Sustainable Development. 2024 Jan 4;12(1):e2417-. [CrossRef]
  13. Gupta O, Gupta K. CSR in India: The companies act and its implications. Journal of Contemporary Management Research. 2019 Mar 1;13(1):1-23.
  14. Sarker SP. Empowering the underprivileged: The social justice mission for clinical legal education in India. InClinical Legal Education in Asia: Accessing Justice for the Underprivileged 2015 (pp. 177-193). New York: Palgrave Macmillan US.
  15. Rai P, Cavaliere LP, De Lucia C, Faccia A, Khalil A. Conceptualising Clinical Legal Education In Legal Pedagogy Of India: Significance And Challenges. Turkish Journal of Computer and Mathematics Education. 2021;12(12):174-82.
  16. Afhami S. Role of legal consultants education on corporate social responsibility and social impact. Journal of Social Studies Education Research. 2021 Jun 29;12(2):152-79.
  17. Bloch FS, editor. The global clinical movement: Educating lawyers for Social Justice. Oxford University Press; 2010 Nov 3.
  18. Barry MM, Camp AR, Johnson ME, Klein CF. Teaching social justice lawyering: Systematically including community legal education in law school clinics. Clinical L. Rev.. 2011;18:401.
  19. Sarker SP. Empowering the underprivileged: The social justice mission for clinical legal education in India. InClinical Legal Education in Asia: Accessing Justice for the Underprivileged 2015 (pp. 177-193). New York: Palgrave Macmillan US.
  20. Shetty VP. Transformation Of Legal Education In India Through Innovation. Turkish Online Journal of Qualitative Inquiry. 2021 Jul 1;12(6).
  21. KUMAR J, TALUKDAR J. Clinical Legal Education in India. International Journal of Legal Science and Innovation. 2020;2(3):383-94.
  22. Devi AS, Kumalasari A. Corporate social responsibility program: Based on community development in the village. Journal of Community Service and Empowerment. 2024 Jan 27;5(1):13-22. [CrossRef]
  23. Pharmacist G. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy as a legal instrument to improve company reputation. Jurnal Ekonomi. 2023 Nov 28;12(04):2015-20.
  24. Ganesh MK, Venugopal B. Challenges, Practice and Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Sustainable Development of Environment and Society. Journal of Law and Sustainable Development. 2023 Nov 13;11(11):e1486-. [CrossRef]
  25. Genta IN. Regulation Of The Corporate Social Responsibility Concept In The Company Limited In Indonesia Legal Products. NOTARIIL Jurnal Kenotariatan. 2019 Nov 22;4(2):96-102.
  26. Amsterdam AG. Clinical Legal Education--A 21st Century Perspective. J. Legal Education. 1984;34:612.
  27. Tarr NW. Current issues in clinical legal education. Howard LJ. 1993;37:31.
  28. Spiegel M. Theory and practice in legal education: An essay on clinical education. UCLA L. Rev.. 1986;34:577.
  29. Paliwala A. The technology of clinical legal education.
  30. Wilson RJ. Training for Justice: The global reach of clinical legal education. Penn St. Int'l L. Rev.. 2003;22:421.
  31. Milstein ES. Clinical legal education in the United States: In-house clinics, externships, and simulations. J. Legal Educ.. 2001;51:375.
  32. Bloch FS, Prasad MR. Institutionalizing a social justice mission for clinical legal education: Cross-national currents from India and the United States—clinical L. Rev.. 2006;13:165.
  33. Wizner S. The law school clinic: Legal education in the interests of Justice. Fordham L. Rev.. 2001;70:1929.
  34. Barry MM, Dubin JC, Joy PA. Clinical education for this millennium: The third wave. CLiniCAL L. rev.. 2000;7:1.
  35. Sarker SP. Empowering the underprivileged: The social justice mission for clinical legal education in India. InClinical Legal Education in Asia: Accessing Justice for the Underprivileged 2015 (pp. 177-193). New York: Palgrave Macmillan US.
  36. Sharma N. Clinical legal education in India: A contemporary legal pedagogy. Indian JL & Just.. 2017;8:165.
  37. Wilson RJ. Training for Justice: The global reach of clinical legal education. Penn St. Int'l L. Rev.. 2003;22:421.
  38. Rai P, Cavaliere LP, De Lucia C, Faccia A, Khalil A. Conceptualising Clinical Legal Education In Legal Pedagogy Of India: Significance And Challenges. Turkish Journal of Computer and Mathematics Education. 2021;12(12):174-82.
  39. Bloch FS, Ishar IS. Legal Aid, Public Service and Clinical Legal Education: Future Directions from India and the United States. Mich. J. Int'l L.. 1990;12:92.
  40. Sharma N. Clinical legal education in India: A contemporary legal pedagogy. Indian JL & Just.. 2017;8:165.
  41. Bandyopadhyay S. Clinical Legal Education: A Tool For Advancing Human Rights In India. Brainwave: A Multidisciplinary Journal. 2023;4(2):435-43.
  42. Bloch FS, Ishar IS. Legal Aid, Public Service and Clinical Legal Education: Future Directions from India and the United States. Mich. J. Int'l L.. 1990;12:92.
  43. Pande BB. Moral and Ethical Issues Confronting Students’ Legal Aid Clinics in the Outreach of Legal Services to the Resources-Less and the Poor. Journal of National Law University Delhi. 2013 Jun;1(1):33-48. [CrossRef]
  44. Ragesh G, Sajitha K, Shrinivasa B, Thomas PT, Hamza A. Service users' perspectives on free legal aid services in India. Indian Journal of Social Psychiatry. 2018 Apr 1;34(2):178-82. [CrossRef]
  45. Kemp V, Munk T, Gower S. Clinical legal education and experiential learning: looking to the future.
  46. Collins D, Klotz E, Robinson B. Start-Ed: A Model for Commercial Clinical Legal Education. Int'l J. Clinical Legal Educ.. 2016;23:80. [CrossRef]
  47. Collins D, Klotz E, Robinson B. Start-Ed: A Model for Commercial Clinical Legal Education. Int'l J. Clinical Legal Educ.. 2016;23:80. [CrossRef]
  48. Rahimy N, Stecher T. Law Clinics as a Tool for Sustainable Entrepreneurship. Management: Journal of Sustainable Business and Management Solutions in Emerging Economies. 2025 Apr 13.
  49. Gregersen E. State of the Nation: 10 Years of Entrepreneurial Law Clinic Supervision in the United Kingdom. International Journal of Clinical Legal Education. 2023 Jun 12:7-33. [CrossRef]
  50. Delić A, Oberman Peterka S. How and Why to Teach Entrepreneurship Interdisciplinary? Case of Josip Juraj Strossmayer University Legal-Economic Clinic Osijek. In3rd International M-Sphere Conference for Multidisciplinarity in Science and Business 2014 (pp. 191-199).
  51. Platts-Mills ET, Wapples E. Thinking Like Entrepreneurs: qLegal’s Experience of Teaching Law Students to have an Entrepreneurial Mindset. International Journal of Clinical Legal Education. 2023 Jun 12.
  52. Jones SR, Jackson JT. Law & Entrepreneurship in Global Clinical Education. Janet Thompson Jackson & Susan R. Jones, Law & Entrepreneurship in Global Clinical Education. 2018;25:2019-.
  53. Tarr NW. Current issues in clinical legal education. Howard LJ. 1993;37:31.
  54. Preloznjak B, Brozovic J. The financial challenges of clinical legal education: an example from a Zagreb law clinic. Int'l J. Clinical Legal Educ.. 2016;23:136. [CrossRef]
  55. Joy PA. The cost of clinical legal education. BCJL & Soc. Just.. 2012;32:309.
Disclaimer/Publisher’s Note: The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of MDPI and/or the editor(s). MDPI and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content.
Copyright: This open access article is published under a Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license, which permit the free download, distribution, and reuse, provided that the author and preprint are cited in any reuse.
Prerpints.org logo

Preprints.org is a free preprint server supported by MDPI in Basel, Switzerland.

facebook logotwitter logolinkedin logo
bsky
MDPI Initiatives
Important Links
Subscribe

Disclaimer

Terms of Use

Privacy Policy

Privacy Settings

© 2025 MDPI (Basel, Switzerland) unless otherwise stated