Navigating the High Court of Kerala: GLC Ernakulam and PCL Foundation Launch Clinical Practice Course

Launch of the Certificate Course at Government Law College, Ernakulam

Bridging Classroom Theory and Courtroom Reality

The Legal Aid Clinic of Government Law College (GLC), Ernakulam, in academic collaboration with the Project Complete Lawyer (PCL) Foundation, inaugurated a clinical certificate course titled “Navigating the High Court: A Clinical Course on Practice and Procedure”. Conceived around the pioneering educational vision of late Prof. (Dr.) N.R. Madhava Menon, the course is structured to convert law graduates into practice-ready professionals before they step into the bar.

The inaugural ceremony featured a distinguished dais including:

• Hon’ble Mr. Justice Dr. A.K. Jayasankaran Nambiar, Judge, High Court of Kerala (Inaugural Address)
• Dr. A. Mini Paul, Principal, Government Law College, Ernakulam (Presidential Address)
• Adv. Johnson Gomez, President, Project Complete Lawyer Foundation (Keynote Address)
• Dr. Joby Bhaskaran, Assistant Professor & Faculty Coordinator, Legal Aid Clinic
• Naomi Rohan & Abhinav Anil, 3rd-Year LLB Students (VIT School of Law, Chennai) and Co-authors of The Unwritten Conundrum

Keynote Address: Transforming Legal Aid into Practice Incubators

Delivering the keynote address, Adv. Johnson Gomez drew a parallel between medical and legal training: just as every medical college requires an attached hospital for clinical residency, every law college must house an active legal aid clinic that operates like a full-fledged law firm.

“Don’t teach them law in the law college; teach them to find the law, interpret it, and identify the correct forum for redressal.” — Adv. Johnson Gomez

Adv. Gomez highlighted the concept of the “Golden Hour”—the vulnerable 1 to 2-year window immediately following graduation when fresh advocates face acute financial and professional strain. By demystifying everyday court mechanics—such as reading the High Court roster, drafting writ petitions (especially mandamus), managing cause lists, and filing bail applications—young practitioners can achieve early professional sustainability without dropping out of the bar.

The Student Perspective: Deconstructing the “Unwritten Conundrum”

Co-authors Naomi Rohan and Abhinav Anil shared reflections from their internship that birthed the book The Unwritten Conundrum: Cracking an Implicit Code. They recounted how moving past passive case-reading allowed them to map the Kerala High Court’s internal geography—from court halls 1A to 8B, registry desks, and tapal branches to client counseling dynamics.

Inaugural Address: Asking “Why” and Confronting Institutional Rigidity

In his keynote inaugural address, Justice Dr. A.K. Jayasankaran Nambiar cited Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. (“The life of the law has not been logic; it has been experience”) and Mark Twain to urge students to look beyond rigid degree requirements.

Justice Nambiar underscored:

• The Societal Duty of Law Students: Proactively countering misinformation surrounding the justice delivery system.
• Reimagining Legal Aid: Shifting from mere courtroom litigation assistance to proactive pre-litigation counseling and legal awareness that eliminates disputes driven solely by ego.
• Challenging Archaic Systems: Young lawyers must enter courts unburdened by mental baggage, constantly asking “why” archaic filing and administrative mechanisms persist in an era of digitization.
• Dynamic Legal Principles: Law and constitutional interpretation are not static relics; they must organically evolve to meet modern societal needs.