Bright minds pursuing law today: Justice Mishra

Bhubaneswar: The legal profession offered several career options to the students of law at present, but the real legal minds would always prefer to join the bar, Chairman of the Odisha Human Rights Commission Justice Bira Kishore Mishra said on Saturday.
“There was a time when students joined a course in law just to get a degree or because they had no other option, but many bright minds were pursuing a career in law today,” he said while speaking at the orientation programme for a new batch of law students at the SOA University here.
Justice Mishra, a former judge of the Orissa High Court, urged the students to labour hard, be curious about their profession and remain focused to be successful legal practitioners. Though other avenues were available, it was better for them to join the bar or the judicial service, he said.
Senior lawyer in the Orissa High Court Sourya Sundar Das and President of the Bhubaneswar Bar Association Jahidur Rehman were the guests of honour while D P Ray, former Vice-Chancellor of OUAT and currently Principal Advisor to the President of SOA, presided over the programme.
The students have joined the five year integrated BA, LL.B, BBA, LL.B and one year LL.M courses at the SOA National Institute of Law (SNIL), a constituent of the SOA University.
Das advised the students to study judgments of different courts as well as law journals to keep themselves updated about the recent developments in the legal world. “Your integrity should remain above board,” he said.
Rehman said the students should develop their skills in writing and speaking while pointing out that research remained the most important aspect of the legal profession.
Jayadev Pati, Dean of SNIL, introduced the guests while Prof. Prabir Kumar Patnaik proposed a vote of thanks.