How To Write A Legal Research Paper | Shrutanjaya Bhardwaj | Ep. 1 |

[@dhruvbhatnagar4180]

Interesting discussion, I was particularly intrigued by the part on blogs v. full length journal articles. The guest mentioned that journal articles are a more meaningful and intensive form of academic writing than blogs, which is mostly true. But here's my humble opinion on this topic: 1/ The circumstances of writers significantly influence the form of their writing. Practitioners, especially those working in top law firms, may often find themselves severely constrained for time and consequently unable to put in the effort required to write a full length journal article. Shorter blogs, may therefore, be a space where they can share their unique insights on contemporary legal issues since they require relatively less rigorous levels of academic engagement. Law students, on the other hand, are free to opt for either form of writing since they aren't so severely constrained for time, and as stated by the guest, could aim for journal publications to deepen their understanding of the law. 2/ Journal articles, especially those which present comparative analysis, require access to high quality academic writings. These may not be readily available online, and are usually behind paywalls or require subscriptions to databases like JSTOR, etc to access them. Once again practitioners, who don't have university support or surplus income to finance subscriptions, are at a disadvantage. This is especially true for young independent litigators many of whom, unfortunately, do not even make enough money for a dignified living let alone luxuries like subscriptions to academic databases. This is not to say that all journal articles need to rely on academic writings behind paywalls, but often to demonstrate that a thorough examination of existing academic literature has been conducted to journal editors, this might be required. This is why high quality blogs, which encourage reliance on publicly available materials to supplement and shape arguments, may be the more accessible form of academic engagement for such practitioners. 3/ Without commenting on the criterion which influence hiring decisions for freshers, I can safely state that for lateral hiring, especially to law firms, the single most important factor is relevant work experience -- not journal articles, not blogs, not moots, but work experience. Teams you join at that level are most (and sometimes exclusively) interested in gauging your proficiency at executing the work assignments which they might send your way once you join. 4/ Lastly, while I am no expert on foreign LLMs, I believe the relevance of journal articles in your application varies across the universities you apply to. For instance, Columbia's website clearly mentions that the lack of journal publications would not be construed negatively for admission purposes, and that practical work experience to them matters more. Applicants would therefore be well-advised to carefully read the selection criterion on the websites of the universities they wish to apply to for LLM.

[@LetterOfLaw]

Thanks for such an insightful comment, Dhruv. These are some very interesting points. Thank you so much for highlighting them. Really glad you watched the episode and interacted with the conversation! Thank you so much!

[@arasharma3807]

hello can we talk

[@vridhikashyap7808]

Very insightful! Can't wait to watch more episodes from this series.

[@LetterOfLaw]

Thanks a lot, Vridhi! :)

[@nandanaharikrishnan2335]

Hey Letter of Law, Being a student who's just going to enroll at law school and was utterly confused, watching all your videos has been clearing my sky of doubt clouds. Appreciate these works a lot, while waiting for the new research series video. Thanks a ton!

[@LetterOfLaw]

Thank you so much for such a wonderful comment! Glad to learn that our videos have helped you. We will be coming out with more videos to this series soon. Stay tuned and all the best! :)

[@nandanaharikrishnan2335]

@@LetterOfLaw 🙏😊Thank you..!

[@samarthnayar4139]

Wonderful insights. It was a delight to hear Shrutanjaya!

[@LetterOfLaw]

Glad you enjoyed the episode, Samarth!

[@sahityabhatt5629]

Very insightful :)))

[@chirkankshitbulani4342]

The session was very helpful. Thank you.

[@akshayakishor9853]

Realy a good piece of discussion. Very insightful for legal researchers.

[@LetterOfLaw]

Thanks, Akshaya! Glad you enjoyed the discussion. :)

[@sakshamgami4028]

Great video! Theres a lot to learn from this

[@LetterOfLaw]

Thank you so much, Saksham! Glad it was helpful.

[@siddharthsengupta7972]

Here is the problem with journals- absolutely no one reads them.

[@joyravikondipudi7154]

How to access it many colleges are lack in resources for latest journals making available

[@vidyarthtiwari1367]

Nice one,hey do you remember me? Vidyarth Tiwari Fellow St Marian

[@sarthakbhardwaj3945]

Hey, Vidhyarth! Of course, I do. :)

[@vidyarthtiwari1367]

@@sarthakbhardwaj3945 hey ,I connected with you on LinkedIn

[@anirudhr6975]

Very informative

[@LetterOfLaw]

Thanks a lot!

[@saurabhkumarambashta9535]

Bharadwaj sir is our professor in DU of jurisprudence we all are very lucky.

[@LetterOfLaw]

You are indeed very lucky! It must be such a wonderful experience being taught by him!

[@gaurif40]

I find it very useful

[@LetterOfLaw]

Thank you so much. Glad you found it useful!

[@aayushisharma7972]

really inspiring!!!

[@LetterOfLaw]

Thank you so much, Aayushi!

[@darksul6677]

Akshat sir, when will part 2 be uploaded?

[@LetterOfLaw]

Hey! We will be releasing the second episode of our legal writing series in the first week of April. By the way, the name of the guest is Shrutanjaya and the host is Sarthak. You perhaps got it wrong with the name! :)