With the growing craze among the students to stand apart from the crowd and opt for a different career, the legal profession has become one of the fastest and the most profitable career in the recent times. There are a number of questions that bother the minds of students regarding law as a career… The probable job opportunities, some top colleges and universities, the examination criteria and a few misconceptions that refrain students from opting for law as a career and moving forward in this field. Let’s get a close look and try to find the answer to all these queries.

 At a very early stage, a candidate can apply for 5 years BA LLB  course offered by many top ranked Colleges all over india after their 10+2. The national level entrance examination CLAT, basically tests the student’s general English, aptitude, logical reasoning, etc.

If one wants to move forward in this field then he/she needs to have a membership in one of the local State Central Bar councils, all of which require an undergraduate law degree (LL.B., which is a minimum of three years of study ). The candidate must submit the application to the State Bar Council of India within the jurisdiction of which the applicant wishes to practice.

But this time period of three years might be different if you want to pursue the degree from far off countries. In December 2010, a motion came into effect which stated that all the law students who have graduated recently and even those who have previously cleared their law graduation but are somehow not registered with the state bar council, must sit for the bar examination. They will be allowed to practice in the courts and the tribunals in India only after clearing this exam.

Why should someone opt for a legal profession?

Before proceeding further, it’s very Important for a student to realize whether he/she is interested in law or not.

With this another question arises and that is how should a student know about their interest. So let us take this question first and then we shall move towards the options we have in this field.

Basically, this field will open your gates to deal with legal works and cases including bundles of documentations and paper work. It is important for students to realize their field of interest.

There is an old saying which goes like ‘If you have three friends ensure that one amongst them is a lawyer, other the doctor and the third one a banker.” Because any single day you may require to seek help from either of the three.

You can manage  to step into many fields like successful lawyer, politician, producer, manager, journalist or even a police officer; a law degree equips you for almost any profession that requires intellectual strength along with a practical approach. Most importantly, law is a professional course which helps a student to learn many skills like critical analysis, researches, drafts, arguments and sharing the thoughts and ideas.

So now as you know the importance of law and why a student should have a look in this field, let us look into the plethora of opportunities available for a student.

Career opportunities

Advocate

An advocate practices law in the legal courts of justice. An advocate represents someone (an individual, a group or an organization) in the court room. They deal with true facts and evidences, cross examine witnesses and finally conclude that why the court should give the verdict in favour of or against someone.

Magistrate

A magistrate is a lawyer who is not a judge but who is authorized to hear and make a decision in certain types of cases. A Magistrate is a civil officer with power to administer and enforce law.

NOTE:- In order to be a magistrate it’s important to  have a minimum Graduate Law Degree (LLB), after which you become eligible to appear for competitive exams.

Attorney General

The Attorney General is the Highest legal officer of the Union Government and is appointed by the President of India. The attorney general gives advice on all legal matters which are assigned to him by the President. He appears before the Supreme Court and various High Courts in cases involving the Government of India. He is entitled to audience in all courts of the country & can take part in the proceedings of the Parliament & its committees, But

1.He is not entitled to the right to vote.

2.He is also allowed to take up private practice; provided the other party is not the State. Because of this, he is not paid any salary but a retainer to be determined by the President.

NOTE:- To be an Attorney General, a person should be qualified to be appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court.

Company Secretary

He/She is the most important link connecting the shareholders, regulatory agencies and the board of directors. He/she also acts as the registrar of the company performing important secretarial functions like filing company returns with the Registrar of Companies and other authorities.

Legal Advisors

A Legal Advisor works in the legal departments of organizations. Legal advisors work as  consultants for a firm and suggest appropriate course of action in business and personal matters. They also check deeds, issue writs, collect information for affidavits and draft legal documents.

Solicitor

Solicitors explain the cases of his clients to the advocates. Solicitors never need to appear in a court directly. A Solicitor takes up cases related to his field of expertise.

Advocate General

Advocate Generals are analogous to Attorney Generals at the State level. Advocate Generals take up cases that are significant to a particular state and work with local District Attorney’s offices in the prosecution of these cases.

Notary/Oath Commissioner

A Notary or an Oath Commissioner is appointed on application to Central/State government to draw, verify, authenticate, certify and attest the execution of any document with legal validity.

NOTE:- A Notary must have an experience of at least 10 years in the profession of law.

District Attorney

A District Attorney is usually an elected official. Depending upon the size of the District, District Attorneys may have multiple branches that focus upon different types of crime such as domestic violence, homicide and a lot more.

Teacher

People having good command over teaching can pursue  LL.M or even doctorate and have any job in any of the university or institutions with the law courses.

Author

If someone has keen interest in a particular field, he/she can write books or even produce journals and legal commentaries related to that field. Moreover, he/she can also have a detailed analysis of the researches.

LPO – Legal Process Outsourcing 

In Legal Process Outsourcing, vendors or in-house departments of organizations outsource legal work from off-shore areas.

Top most Institutions

Topmost institutions offering courses in law are as follows:

1. National Law School Of India, Bangalore
2. National Law University, New Delhi
3. NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad
4. Rajiv Gandhi School Of Intellectual Property Law, Indian Institute Of Technology, Kharagpur
5. National Law University, Jodhpur

The fee for LLB 3 years course involves lesser expenses in the range of 20,000 INR to 50,000 INR. But 5 years of BA LLB costs a little more i.e. approximately 3,00,000 INR. As such, there are no scholarship opportunities provided by most of the law colleges. So a student must first confirm this from the respective college authorities.

Misconceptions

Now you have gained ample amount of knowledge on the career options and the top most Universities relate to the field of law, but still there are a number of perceptions in the mind of a student that need to be cleared.

 Students usually think that they have to choose either civil or criminal law after obtaining a degree.

Moreover once students own a legal degree, they make a conception that law is safe. Is it right to state that law is safe? Absolutely NO! The reason is quite simple. There are abundant number of lawyers chasing for really less number of jobs. Likely, Many colleges and universities try not to talk much about it on a wider range. There are bulk of students who are struggling with a tight job market. So it’s very important to know that hard-work along with smart work and consistency is a key to success for all the fields.

Then there is one more very common myth among the students i.e, when you enter and have a law degree then the probability of being rich is extremely high.

It’s not correct because firstly you are subsidizing those who graduated before you. When you end up landing in a private sector then somehow the seniority system restrains your mobility in the upwards direction. Secondly, when you have or are having your education in this firm, then the fee is quite high. Unfortunately a student lands up in going for a student loan and after having the degree, a student feels dissatisfied with the position offered but the salary is in good figures. This somehow makes a student hold to that job even at a low position.

One more common thought a law student has is that the law is alluring.

It is actually right to say that things when seen from the far point looks beautiful but when you step inside, reality hits hard. It is a disillusion which usually pops up in the developing minds of the teenagers. Working on land records, public utilization rate, plea bargaining a drunken driving charge or solving and answering the piles of documentaries  is not at all alluring.

And the final myth which is very common amongst the students is that they can save the world.

Undoubtedly when you step into this law World, you have the licence to a few things that may help you in saving the people of this world from a number of problems but you need to keep in mind that

Firstly there are a number of lawyers who are willing to do the same so this will automatically increase the level of competition but the main point is that the number of positions are very less which increases the competition level even more.

We discussed much about the students who want to pursue their career in this field but what about those who are looking out for some internships or work in this field?

First and the foremost thing to keep in mind is that practical knowledge can never be gained through books or videos. So basically, an applicant should Focus more on practical training in courts which will help him in getting more chances in law firms with professional and highly experienced lawyers. Though many of the Colleges impart practical legal education to final year students, it is the students who have to step forward and take an initiative in practicing more. Candidates who get their degrees from top universities get attractive job offers within the campus. Many of them even opt to start their own practice. All the law graduates who wish to register themselves in the courts have to register themselves in the Bar Council of India (BCI)

A report by Cheena Kachroo for IHOIK education desk