Making a firm career choice for a high-school graduate is more of a parents’ job, however, it hardly happened in his case. One of the leading advocates of Nepal, Semanta Dahal, 33, has been associated with Abhinawa Law Chambers (ALC), Kathmandu for years now.
My City’s Sonam Lama caught up with Semanta to get a view of how invigorating his journey has been in the legal field.

How has the experience in legal field been so far?

I think it has been a great experience. At an early age, I got an opportunity to advice the government on major transactions, which was quite a big exposure to enhance my learning process. Furthermore, I cherished the honor to work as an advisor to the government on various aspects of Nepali laws and regulations. I studied LLB at National School of India in 2008 and LLM in University of Nottingham in 2010. International schooling helped me in the initial days as I set my foot in the Nepali legal field.

What inspired you to take up law as a career?

It was only after the completion of my higher secondary education I decided to make a career in law. At that point of time, Nepal was under the state of emergency and many heated discussions on constitutional and political issues took place. One of the early inspirations that I garnered was when I found myself fully drawn to those arguments on political issues. Moreover, the constant motivation from my family, primarily from my father, has added up to that inspiration.

What challenges do you find in Nepali legal field?

Practicing in a court has its own challenges to deal with. Since studying law is a different experience from practicing in the court, it is only through the hands-on experiences that you actually get a better understanding of legal practices. Having acknowledged all these setbacks, I believe all of these can be tackled once you gain a better insight on your work process.

Has the scope of law improved over the decades?

The legal field has definitely been thriving. Since the market has begun to grow and work has simultaneously started to get diverse in the legal field, it has improved over times. Comparatively, there are numerous transactions happening on a daily basis now, and with the rise in investors, there are myriad number of projects coming in. Moreover, the widening scope of law has also been contributing to boost Nepal’s economy.

Would you like to convey any message to the readers?

I believe people should be able to perform their best on whatever they study. Even though you find yourself in a quandary while making a career choice, there always remains a better option if you actually work your best or even if you choose to experience other work fields. Nonetheless, you need to make sure that you do some good courses and hone your skills through constant practice.