LSAT—India 2020 Results are out

LSAC-Global also announces Shamnad Basheer Access to Justice Scholarship and Toppers Scholarship Winners

New Delhi: The Law School Admission Council (LSAC) announced the results of the LSAT—India administered in July 2020. Candidates can access their score card from Discover Law India website by logging into their LSAT—India registration application. Due to the restrictions posed by COVID-19, LSAT—India was administered in remote proctored online mode, providing a safe and effective way for students to earn their scores and continue their legal education journey.

A total of 5,667 students successfully took the LSAT—India this year between 19-29 July where main testing event was conducted between 19-22 July with three back up days to help candidates take the test if they were unable to appear due to personal or technical reasons. The LSAT—India is accepted by 22 law schools in India.

Along with announcing the successful completion of testing, LSAC Global also announced the winners of the two scholarships: The Topper Scholarship which is awarded annually to the test taker who receives the highest score on the LSAT—India and the Shamnad Basheer Access to Justice Scholarship for the winning entry in an essay competition.

Shivansh Sinha from Bangalore and Shailja Beria from Kolkata are the toppers this year with 99.96 percentile.

Shivansh said, “LSAT gives a tremendous opportunity to excel in law education and beyond. Noting the same, I was extremely delighted to be able to do so well in such a prestigious exam with a format aligned with international standards” and Shailja said “Scoring the maximum percentile and attaining all India rank one was a dream come true. It has been overwhelming with wishes pouring in from all quarters. I’m grateful to my family and teachers for their constant support and guidance. The study material available on the LSAC website was the key to my success. Despite the unprecedented situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, LSAT—India was conducted seamlessly and appearing for LSAT—India 2020 has been an overall enriching experience” on receiving the news of being the winners for this year.

The winner for this year’s Shamnad Basheer Access to Justice essay competition scholarship is Kiara Dsouza. “We received 175 essays, each of which presented thoughtful and well-argued perspectives, but Kiara’s entry stood out due to its skilful presentation of a comprehensive viewpoint through researched references,” said Yusuf Abdul-Kareem, Vice President of Emerging Markets at LSAC.

“When I received a call informing me that my entry for The Diversity Essay Scholarship had scored the highest points and won, I was ecstatic. I remember researching the topic for about a week, reading and re-reading what I had written. The intriguing topic is what got me writing the essay. The issue of diversity in the legal class is indeed of great importance and when I started reading more about the topic I couldn’t stop. I probably wouldn’t have given this a second thought if the topic wasn’t so captivating. The way LSAT – India conducts these events (including the recently home proctored exam) is amazing. There is no ambiguity in the instructions given and the mode of communication is user friendly. This scholarship and my LSAT scores have motivated me to continue to pursue a career in the legal field” Kiara said.

The Shamnad Basheer Access to Justice Scholarship was instituted by LSAC Global for this academic year to honour the memory of the extraordinary visionary and influential lawyer- Professor Dr. Shamnad Basheer. Professor Basheer initiated ground-breaking efforts to increase the diversity in the legal profession by establishing IDIA (Increasing Diversity by Increasing Access to Legal Education), a non-profit organisation that empowers under-represented and marginalised groups in India by providing them access to quality legal education.

The essays were judged based on originality, relevance to topic, comprehensiveness, structure, analysis, understanding, interpretation, and conclusions regarding diversity in the legal profession. The esteemed judges were drawn from the faculty of the LSAC Global Law Alliance Colleges:

· Prof. Dr. Manimuthu Gandhi, Dean- VIT School of Law, Vellore Institute of Technology

· Prof. Dr. Sridhar Acharyulu, Acting Dean, School of Law, Bennett University

· Prof. Ajay Thomas, Director, Faculty of Law, Manav Rachna University

· Prof. Dr. Jyotsna Yagnik, Pro Vice Chancellor and Dean of School of Law & Justice, Adamas University

· Prof. Dr. Vijay Kumar Singh. Dean, School of Law, University of Petroleum & Energy Studies

· Ms. Kritika Padode Bhandari, Advocate and Co-Founder Vijaybhoomi University

“We applaud Kiara, Shivansh and Shailja on their accomplishments, and extend our sincere appreciation to all the participants for submitting their essays,” said Yusuf Abdul-Kareem, Vice President of Emerging Markets at LSAC. “We want to congratulate all of the students who successfully completed the LSAT—India, and wish them great success in their legal education. They have shown great commitment and determination during this very challenging year, and we know they have very bright futures.”

Each scholarship entitles the winners to receive an award of upto ₹4 lakhs which will cover their tuition and boarding / hostel fees for the first year of a law programme at any LSAC Global Law Alliance college. Any unutilised amount from the first year can be rolled over to the subsequent year.

Through these scholarships, LSAC Global India (LSAG) looks forward to opening doors and providing increased opportunities for talented students and law school aspirants in India thus carrying on Law School Admission Council’s (LSAC) mission to promote diversity, access, and equity in legal education.