First-ever Law Career Festival held at Faculty of Law, Dhaka University

Faculty of Law, University of Dhaka, in collaboration with Bangladesh Law Association (BLA), organised a Law Career Festival at the premises of the Faculty itself on 5 November 2022. The day-long event began with an inauguration ceremony conducted by Mohammad Golam Sarwar (Assistant Professor, Department of Law, University of Dhaka) and Shirin Sultana (Assistant Professor, Department of Law, University of Dhaka). Dhaka University Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr. Md. Akhtaruzzaman, in his inauguration speech, mentioned that in order to nourish different skills required by students in this current era of rapid globalisation, collaboration between academia and industry can play an important role and for that purpose a 'Student Promotion and Support Unit' has already been established in Dhaka University. Chief Justice of Bangladesh, Mr. Justice Hasan Foez Siddique was the chief guest of the event. In his speech, he opined that in order to make progress in the legal arena, it is crucial to gain the trust of the people through consistent dedication and honesty. Professor Dr. Asif Nazrul, Chairman, Department of Law, University, gave the welcome speech; while Professor Dr. Shima Zaman, Dean (Acting), Faculty of Law, University of Dhaka, chaired the opening session of the event.

One of the main attractions of the event were the two separate panel discussions participated by numerous esteemed guests. Dr. Naim Ahmed (Advocate, Supreme Court of Bangladesh), Shabnaaz Zahreen (Child Protection Specialist, UNICEF Bangladesh), Mohammad Mahfuzur Rahman Al Mamun (SP, Munshiganj District), Dihider Masum Kabir (Advocate, Supreme Court of Bangladesh), Ahsanul Karim (Senior Advocate,  Supreme Court of Bangladesh), Dr. Borhan Uddin Khan (Professor, Department of Law, University of Dhaka), Justice Fahmida Quader (Honorable Justice, High Court Division, Supreme Court of Bangladesh) were panelists in the in the first panel discussion. The second panel discussion included Shahidul Alam Jhinuk (Inspector General of Registration, and Senior District Judge), Dr. Khaled H. Chowdhury (Advocate, Appellate Division, Supreme Court of Bangladesh), Advocate AKM Afzal Ul-Munir (President,  Bangladesh Law Association), Nobonita Chowdhury (Director, Gender, Justice and Diversity (GJD) and Preventing Violence Against Women Initiative, BRAC), Md. Moshiur Rahman (Joint Director, Bangladesh Bank), and Keshob Roy Chowdhury (Additional District Judge, Dhaka).

Assistant Professors in Law, namely Mohammad Golam Sarwar, Shirin Sultana and ABM Ashrafuzzaman moderated the panel discussions. When asked about the goal of this career festival, Mohammad Golam Sarwar remarked that the event was mainly aimed to make the law students aware of various career prospects available to better decide and plan their future accordingly.

Different national and multinational companies including Monstar Lab Inc., Marico Bangladesh, Banglalink, Unilever Bangladesh and law firms like Mahbub & Company, Rahman & Rabbi, MNA Barristers & Advocates, Vertex Chambers, A.S & Associates, Farooq & Associates, Syed Ishtiaq Ahmed & Associates, Ahammad, Jonaed & Partners (AJP), I. H. Khan & Associates, KRLF Advocates and Barristers, and Sattar & Co. were present at the event and offered students jobs and internship opportunities.

Stalls were also set up by UNDP, ILO and UNODC and different NGOs, such as BLAST, Ain O Salish Kendra, and Poriborton Kori. There was a stall dedicated to providing guidelines regarding pursuing higher studies abroad by Dhaka University-cum-Cambridge University alumni, namely Emraan Azad (Assistant Professor in Law, Bangladesh University of Professionals), and Moniruz Zaman (Lecturer in Law, Bangladesh University of Professionals). London College of Legal Studies (LCLS) South also set up a stall to interact with the students regarding their course plans and benefits. Furthermore, representatives from Bangladesh Bar Council, Bangladesh Securities & Exchange Commission, the US Institute of Diplomacy and Human Rights, were also present in the festival to provide relevant information.

Law students both current and former ones found the event very useful in order to look for internship and/or job opportunities in the country. The Law Career Festival was the first career festival organised by the Faculty of Law, University of Dhaka. Visitors earnestly expressed their request to arrange such events regularly in future.

Event covered by Rafid Azad Saumik, Law Desk Intern, The Daily Star.