With two million graduates every year, there is increasing demand for international law training in India, writes Rita Dev

Over the past decade, much has been written about the rise of developing and emerging markets and their contribution to our 21st century world. In August this year, Min Zhu, the deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), talked about emerging and developing economies' new role as drivers of global economic growth and the importance of financial reform for these economies.

As an Indian by birth, I am obviously fascinated by the changing status of India along with the so-called BRIC countries. Economic liberalisation by the Indian Government in the 1990s acted as a catalyst for the country to enter a new era of development that has propelled it onto the world stage. Entrepreneurial spirit coupled with a large, educated population has been the driving force enabling India's rise as a global player.


Education

Education has always enjoyed an important position in the Indian psyche. Cliched perhaps, but families will forego food and possessions to educate their children so the next generation can access opportunities not enjoyed by their parents. Theirs is a raw belief in hard work and determination's ability to change their children's lot in life.

a-o-s-ifcc-studentsIndia produces some two million graduates every year, of whom a large number are law graduates. While most of these law graduates have traditionally pursued careers in the judiciary, private family run practices and the public sector, increasing numbers over the last decade have sought positions in the private and commercial sectors. A privileged few have been able to study abroad, whether it be through family means or through scholarships to American and European education institutions.

The birth of the national law schools in India from the late 1980s, though, has provided an opportunity for law graduates to take centre stage at home by taking up diverse legal careers – from Indian trial courts, high courts and supreme courts to independent law firms, UN organisations, the World Bank or the IMF.

Today, as India assumes an increasingly important role on the world stage, many more Indian law students are hungry for knowledge and understanding of finance and corporate law in other jurisdictions that facilitate the country's growth. Many see continued economic liberalisation as inevitable and want to understand other jurisdictions' law so they can be part of the next stage in India's globalisation. Many more simply want exposure to the international elements of finance and corporate law which are the global benchmark.

An opportunity to address this desire from Indian undergraduates arose in 2007 with the creation of Allen & Overy's (A&O) International Finance Course (IFC). The objective is to bring international legal education to India and, for that, it is believed to be the first of its kind.


The IFC opportunity

Piloted in 2008 at the National Law School of India in Bangalore, the annual course ran for the fourth time in 2011. In order to give undergraduates from the top Indian law schools an equal opportunity to attend, the course takes place at a different university each year. This year it took place at the National Academy of Legal Studies and Research (NALSAR) University of Law in Hyderabad. Taking on board a desire from undergraduates to learn about corporate, as well as finance, law, the course was expanded and renamed the International Finance & Corporate Course (IFCC) to reflect the additional corporate law content. The course is a week long and is aimed at fourth year students. This year, over 100 students from Hyderebad, Jodhpur, Bangalore and Kolkata attended.

It focuses on international finance and corporate law as well as building students' understanding of the practicalities of a legal transaction, particularly within banking, corporate and international capital markets. The aim is to give students a good understanding of the theoretical and practical aspects of international law that, until this course, has only been available outside India.

The course is delivered by leading practitioners from A&O and leading Indian law firm Trilegal, which have both helped design and develop the programme. The teaching day is divided into lectures and workshops. In the morning, students attend lectures that go through legal principles. In the afternoon, they work on practical exercises and interactive case studies. These exercises are popular with the students and improve their confidence, reasoning skills and enthusiasm for debate. The course ends with a multiple-choice test paper. As we would expect, the test scores are always very impressive.

What is striking is the demand for the course and the content it covers. This year, due to heavy demand from Indian students and the popularity of the course in previous years, a one-day international finance programme was run at the National Law University in Jodhpur. In a sign of the Indian undergraduates' determination to attend, students travelled across the state despite heavy rain, transport strikes, and the fact that the programme was being run before the start of term.


The future

Feedback from students who have completed the IFCC (pictured) over the last three years suggests the course content is not only relevant to their needs but has enabled them to make more informed decisions when considering both further study and career choices. It has largely been positively received, with the majority of students attending having scored the course 'very good' or 'excellent'.

The principals and vice chancellors at the institutions where the course has been run to date point to the increasing challenges of accommodating all those who want to attend from across the country, making competition for places very keen.

We are committed to running the programme each year alongside Trilegal, and hope to continue to develop it so the Indian student population is able to gain the understanding of international finance and corporate law that they seek.

As India's growth story continues and its middle-class population swells, increasing numbers of young and talented Indian graduates will crave an understanding of international law. The enthusiasm, intelligence and humour with which the IFCC alumni in India have embraced the programme leads me to believe that many of them will rightfully claim their place on the world stage in the not-too-distant future.

Rita Dev is the global head of training, banking at Allen & Overy.