My journey with The NorthCap University

Since a very young age, I felt remarkably inspired by law. Witnessing my father dealing with law and order state of affairs, and serve the society every day, evoked a sense of awe and respect for the field. Raised in an environment where law was central to most consultations, the development of a legal aptitude was perhaps in-the-making long before I consciously pursued legal education. The key reasons that crystallised my plan to study law included: the incalculability of the law and its applicability in our day-to-day lives, along with the constant learning prospects. These aspects continue to motivate me in my legal field till date.

My journey with The NorthCap University (NCU) began back in 2016, and there’s been no looking back. During my graduation period which was from 2016 - 2021 , I’ve been handling litigation matters and currently specialising in technology laws at Tygar Law Corporate. The interest to learn about a assortment of laws has taken me from running across various court rooms in India to gaining international court exposure, assisting law firms, and finally, finding an exciting job placement at Kher & Kher Law Offices , all credit goes to SPA Team of the University.

Through five years of studying law at NCU, I observed a mini revolution in the development of effective pedagogy. Today, because of the vision of the Vice Chancellor, Prof. H.B Raghavendra, together with the hard work put in by the faculty, students and administration, NCU has achieved some incredible milestones for such a young university. I am honored to call this University my alma mater.

I hold great respect for all the faculty members who made conscious efforts to transition from conventional ways of teaching to encouraging students to develop higher order thinking. Be it core arts and law subjects or the wide range of electives that were offered to us, we were constantly moving ahead on the learning curve. The cooperative learning environment extended by Prof. Archana Sarma (Criminal Law), Prof. Pallavi Bajpai (International Commercial Arbitration), Prof. Vaiji Raghunathan (Advance Contract Drafting), Prof. Priyanki Gupta (IBC Law), and Prof. Pushpesh Pant (Media & Sports Law) amongst many other brilliant faculty members instilled in me a deep and lifelong appreciation. During my time at NCU, I received a gamut of unique academic exposures including being a part of research centres at University, attending various Legal Aid Camps, Moot Court Competitions and National Client Consultation Competitions, a member of the Editorial Board of NCU Law Journal and various other National Conferences.

As our faculties encouraged us to intern from the very first year of law school, it gave us a prospect as students of law to a get an acumen into what it truly feels like to be a lawyer. I usually opted for non-normative internship opportunities that I am convinced helped me in bringing a transformational change and opened my mind to explore different legal fields. Although my role as an intern with respect to handling matters was narrow, the experiences were helpful in ratifying my interest in law.

An exciting opportunity came my way when NCU School of Law collaborated with the District Legal Services Authority for a Cyber Security Week and I considered myself really lucky to be selected. It was one of the most enriching experiences to represent NCU/India and to work with outstanding members of the DLSA Authority including Shri. Pardeep Chaudhary, who continues to be my mentor and source of inspiration.

NCU introduced me to some of the best peers possible, in the most conducive culture. A big thanks to each and every student of the Class of 2016 for being truly remarkable! I think the culture amongst students at NCU is very positive and the value of “we” is commendable.

It was the little things as much as the big moments that made memories of law school utterly unforgettable. I remember one night before exams, some really talented students took night sessions to revise the courses for the benefit of all. Absolutely everyone from the batch used to be there. It reflected an empowering culture amongst students that prevails across NCU. Another cherished memory is from a time when I was elected as the President of Legal Aid Society and the society planned to organise ‘Legal Aid Camp’ for the first time outside Campus. We sent out a mail requesting for volunteers and around 150 students from across all the batches and schools of NCU came together and helped the society organise the event. These incidents continue to have a deep impact in my life. So, to ambitious young budding lawyers, I would say: all of us have a surreptitious superpower—our mindset. An individual with a growth mindset can principally have the power to stretch and stick to a situation even when it’s challenging, which I feel is extremely important and valuable for a lawyer.

During graduation, I started working with some of the most hardworking litigators in Delhi. It was a noteworthy learning experience working alongside Mr. Narinder Hooda. I was also retained by Y.P Associates, which provided a very valuable organisational experience. Consequently, I switched to independent practice where I was empanelled with innumerable real estate and tech companies. Working as a part of litigation and corporate teams and then an attempt at independent practice has cumulatively helped me in identifying, analysing, drafting and challenging key legal issues in a thorough manner.

The decision to work as an in-house counsel came in furtherance of my interest to explore a variety of laws. I didn’t want to resist myself to one certain field of law and was convinced that an in-house role is more suitable for me. After several months of looking for opportunities and applying at various organisations, my job application was acknowledged by Kher & Kher Associates.

I am elatedly looking forward to this new voyage!

Amardeep Chahal
16llb007, Batch (2016 – 2021)
The NorthCap University Gurugram