From being unsure about which career option to choose to having the opportunity to work with Hon’ble Justice (Retd.) C.K. Thakker, Former Judge, Supreme Court of India; Mr. M.R. Bhatt, Senior Counsel, High Court of Gujarat and Wadia Ghandy and Co., Ahmedabad, Vineet Sheth’s law school experience and his story is one that resonates with many aspirants!
Tell us a bit about yourself.
Hello everyone! My name is Vineet Prakash Sheth. I completed my schooling in the year 2012 from Rajkot. Fortunately, in that same year, I was able to crack Common Law Entrance Examination (CLAT) and secured admission in Gujarat National Law University, (GNLU) Gandhinagar. Thereafter, I graduated from GNLU in the year 2017.
Subsequently, I had an opportunity to work with Hon’ble Mr. Justice (Retd.) C.K. Thakker, Former Judge, Supreme Court of India; Mr. M.R. Bhatt, Senior Counsel, High Court of Gujarat and Wadia Ghandy and Co., Ahmedabad and finally, I am now practicing as Independent Legal Practitioner from before various Courts, Tribunals and Fora in the State of Gujarat.
How did you start your CLAT journey?
Frankly speaking, appearing for CLAT and securing admission in GNLU never crossed my mind till January, 2012 (the same year when I appeared and cracked CLAT). Rather, it is only by process of exclusion that I eventually decided to pursue law and appear for CLAT.
As I had a very little time to prepare and crack the examination and therefore, I decided to channelize my resources and time firstly, by boosting my General Knowledge which used to be larger component of the paper pattern at that point in time and secondly, by solving past papers as that was the only option left for me to prepare for other components of the paper pattern. By doing so, I tried creating an opportunity to glance through all the subjects and also boost my General Knowledge.
How were your initial years in law school?
My batch was microcosm of culture in a true sense. Culturally, my batchmates largely represented the entire length, width and breadth of the Indian geography and therefore, it was truly an eye-opening experience.
Academically, I was never excellent, rather I was always decent and an average student. During my academic years, I really liked writing research papers on different themes such as politics, economics, etc. and which resulted into around 7-8 research papers authored by me at the end of five years.
What motivated you to pursue law as a career?
As I said earlier, I never thought of pursuing law till fag end of my school life and it was never my motivation. Rather, it was only by process of exclusion that I decided to apply for CLAT and pursue law. But, upon joining this stream, the most fascinating part which I found in the field of law is the scale of dynamism.
At times, it gives me the impression that the knowledge of any other field is as important as the knowledge of law for any lawyer. Just to give an example, it is very important for a lawyer to have a knowledge of mercantile practices while drafting an agreement or practicing corporate law.
Similarly, it is also important to have knowledge of literature to give finishing touch to your arguments. Hence, in the latter period, I have realized to have knowledge of other fields as well to succeed in this field.
What were your top 3 sources of information for CLAT? Did you prepare for CLAT all by yourself?
My top 3 resources while preparing for CLAT were Manorama Yearbook, Competition Success Review and a few national newspapers. And to add one more, past years CLAT papers.
What would you say sets apart your #CLATStory from others?
As I had appeared for CLAT more than a decade ago and hence, it would be difficult to say what sets apart my story from others. But, I would like to add a point that the most important part in your preparation is self discipline.
One cannot think of achieving anything without self discipline and therefore, it is essential for each and every aspirant to maintain a proper and balanced schedule so as to ensure that they cover the entire syllabus of the examination while being left with ample time to take mocks.
Any advice you’d like to pass on to law school aspirants and law students?
It is not important how many resources and time you have at your disposal. Rather, it is more important as to how you channelize and utilize the resources and time that you have at your disposal.
This interview is a part of our series #MyCLATStory where we interview law students and legal professionals.
Click here to submit your #CLATStory
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Ruchika Mohapatra
Contributing author
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