By Farhan Hoque[1]

Co-founder of Apple computers, Steve Jobs once said that the only way to do great work is to love what you do and you must have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. Some people are afraid of dreaming and nurturing the same for a bright future while the others do nothing but keep on dreaming only. Passionate dreamers dare to make their dreams true through incessant hard work and perseverance.  They dream, they work, they fail, they fall; but they again rise; rise to climb any mountains like Everest and reach at the top of it in life. Second category describes us the best.

Like students of any other discipline, law students also often find it difficult to come to terms with some questions like what we are going to do after graduation, or perhaps what my fellow students are thinking about future days. We were also no different in this case. We thought what can be done to widen the scope the legal professions in Bangladesh; how effectively we can prepare ourselves to face the challenges of competitive world of profession. It is always good to be armed before getting crucified on the battle ground! From such an urge of getting united, sharing ideas and experiences, a group of law students came together and formed an association called Bangladesh Law Students Association (BDLSA) in 2013. Motto was: let’s rise and shine!

Since long, it was just a dream as law students did not have any platform which could help them articulate and practically realize their thoughts and ideas in a befitting manner.  Admittedly, organization for law students is not a unique idea. There are several prominent organizations like International Law Students Organizations (ISLA), Asian Law Students Organization (ALSA) etc. In Bangladesh, however, there were no such organizations to unite all Bangladeshi law students under a single umbrella. That is why we wanted to launch a fully professional and apolitical organization which will hook up all the law students across the country in a string which will ultimately work for professional development, benefit our own legal system, and make network in home and abroad.

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Founding Members of BDLSA

To be very honest, the journey was not smooth all the way long. Firstly, we discussed the matter with other fellow law students of the University of Dhaka. We got positive responses which inspired us to make an approach to other institutions as well. So far, we have reached 15-16 law schools of Bangladesh, and established our friendly network. Since the day of establishment, the number is increasing day by day.

The aim of BDLSA is to take preparation for establishing equality, justice and rule of law in its fullest sense, in every sphere of national life as well as facilitating a group of prudent and honest law professionals for the future Bangladesh.

For the purpose of materializing the aims and objectives of the organization a five-point work plan has already been adopted:

  • Establishment of communication and harmony: This organization shall work for establishment of harmony and communication among the law students of all institutions and the renowned law professionals of Bangladesh.
  • Development of the standard of legal education: For the purpose of development of the standard of legal education, this organization shall work for creating mutual co-operation, exchanging of experiences and providing guidelines among the law institutions and legal experts of the country.
  • Protection of reasonable interest of law students: This organization shall consider different issues of reasonable interest of law students of Bangladesh and shall provide direct and indirect assistance thereby.
  • Establishment of values and social justice: This organization shall inspire and encourage its members to participate in the struggle for establishment of ethical values and social justice.
  • Assistance in skill development of law students: In order to building up proficient law professionals, this organization shall arrange various professional trainings and shall effectively participate in national and international training programs.

Last but not the least, BDLSA has already organized its First National Legal Essay Competition in 2013, and now it is going to organize the first ever National Law Students Conference 2015. On this auspicious moment, I express gratitude to honorable guests, distinguished speakers, energetic participants, editorial team members, volunteers and all the law students for being a part of it.

We aspire to organize Legal Film Festival, National Moot Court Competition, and International Law Students Summit in future. Apart from that, regular learning sessions, workshops, seminars will be taking place in the days to come. We cordially expect active co-operation of all in our earnest endeavors. Let’s rise and shine for future!

Visit our website – www.bdlsa.org

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[1] Farhan Hoque is one of the co-founders of Bangladesh Law Students’ Association (BDLSA). Besides doing his LLM in University of Dhaka, he is currently serving as the deputy coordinator at BDLSA. He can be reached at: farhanhoque@outlook.com