Law as a career – Introduction

Law Practice Employment News

Law has turned out into one of those professions that command respect and status in the society along with good earning potential depending on one’s ability. As lawyers and judges are working in law enforcement which is one of the most important pillars for a democratic country, they have a respectable position in the common man‘s view. As society is becoming more and more complex with globalization and liberalization of policies, the profession of law is also molding to meet the international standards and legal issues.

Right now there are 5 lakh lawyers in India and every year 15 thousand new lawyers are entering into this field increasing the number of lawyers in the country. Advocates are playing a vital role on behalf of the society in fighting for the constitutional and judiciary rights of the Indian citizens offering their valuable services to the people. Those who have done a degree in law course and others, who have relevant exposure in the same field, have plenty of job opportunities in both private and public sectors in India. However, the choice of whether to take up a job or do their own Legal practice depends on the individual interest of the person.


Job opportunities with LAW Degrees

Legal practitioners/ lawyers/ legal advisors
Lawyers can offer their assistance in legal matters to the corporate sectors, companies, individuals or even to families seeking their legal advice. They can also work as trustees to the trust boards, law journalists or even as company secretaries. By doing additional courses related to law, job opportunities would become multifold for the lawyers. So those who wish to become an advocate or have a career in the legal field should mandatorily have a law degree in our country. Moreover those who would like to practice as lawyers should get themselves registered in the central or state bar council of India according to the 1961 advocates act. They should also become eligible by passing out in the bar council of India entrance test that has been introduced recently else they couldn’t register their names as lawyers in the bar council. In which ever court one wish to practice as a lawyer, they should apply in a specified format for admission to that specific state’s bar council.

Government services
Those lawyers who have relevant qualifications shall be taken for the national legal services in different government posts. They shall also be taken as legal advisors for the government’s legal related service requirements. Based on the ability of the candidates they may also be taken as secretaries for the Indian government. Eligible lawyers may also be appointed as legislative councils in the legislative departments related for the official languages like Hindi and other recognized local languages. In the state level too, these positions are filled with officers who are experts in the law subject. However the qualifications required for this position may change from state to state. Advocates and legal advisors are also considered for their legal services in different ministries both in the central and state governments. The posts in those ministries are filled through the UPSC or state public service commission exams. Those who have a degree in law are only considered for these posts besides having a prior degree in arts,

In Science, commerce and other fields
Posts for law commission members, government advocates, public prosecutors, solicitors, attorney general, advocate general, income tax, sales tax and excise department shall all be filled based on the rules and vacancies when they occur. Fresh graduates in law shall usually be considered for the posts of non-gazetted assistants just like the assistants in the government secretariat. They may also be appointed as commissioned officers in the legal branch of Indian army, navy or air force.They can conduct courts for enquiry and have the right to punish those who have not obliged the rules or law.

Judiciary

Judiciary
Posts such as magistrate / munsif or sub-judge like lower grade positions in the judiciary are filled through the public service commission or under the supervision of the high court. Candidates applying for these positions should have a law degree along with any other degree in commerce/ arts or science etc. The age limit to apply for these positions is 35 years and for some candidates who come under special category have a relaxation in the age limit. These officers also have an opportunity to get promotion as district or session court judges and based on their qualification and ability they may also be promoted as Supreme Court or high court judges. Usually in the past those who have been practicing as lawyers used to be appointed as the district and sessions judges, but now many states are conducting entrance exam through state commissions or high courts to select the candidates for the above specified positions.

Teaching Field for LAW Graduates
Those who have good qualifications like LL.M or PhD in law courses can work as faculty in the law universities or institutions that give training to the law students. As private institutions are increasing in this stream there are more opportunities for the visiting professors. Universities are giving more priority to professors who are having good reputation in the teaching field.

Those who have a good grip on legal courses and law subject along with a flavor in writing articles can actually show their talent in writing academic books, editing, publishing law papers or even reviewing law related legal issues.

Legal Outsourcing
If the firms offering legal services are availing the same law services from other firms it is known as legal outsourcing. If the firm is seeking legal services from other countries it is then called as off shoring and our country has bright future in offering these legal outsourcing services by the year 2015 with more than 75 thousand employee services required for this sector as per the research studies. As of now India has not fully optimized job opportunities in the legal outsourcing sector as there are right now just 12 thousand employees offering their services in this sector. The drawback of our country in this sector is due to poor reputation in offering data security and also rules like Indian lawyers need to qualify in the foreign bar exam to work in the legal outsourcing sector.

Income and Earning
The income in this field depends on the sector chosen by the law graduates. Those who are working in government organizations or in government recognized organizations the remunerations shall be according to the pay scales of the government. After the 6th pay commission being approved by the government those working as government employees are entitled to earn income from 20 thousand to 1 lakh rupees per month based on their job and work. Right now multinational companies and other legal related institutions are conducting campus selections to tap talented candidates and are offering salary packages of three to four lakh rupees per annum to the selected candidates. At the same time those who have started their own private practice may initial have to struggle but later on can make good money once they get good reputation in the industry.

Details of the LLB Courses
Those who wish to study law course should first have a degree in any stream and then can join in the three years LL.B (bachelor of law) or else after intermediate (10+2) can join in the five years BA, LL.B honors course.
Usually based on the marks in degree one can get admission into LL.B course, but some universities and national law schools are conducting entrance exam for admissions into their institutions. Apart from LL.B many universities and institutions are also offering various other diploma courses related to the law field.

In BA, LL.B (honors) there shall be practical training on court rules, court legal issues, seminars, meetings on law related subjects and other programs as part of course.

PG course LL.B (Master of Law) is offered with a 2 years’ time duration. Those who have done LL.B degree are eligible to do the LL.B post graduation course. Those who have done their PG in LL.B can still do their PhD LL.D in the law course.

Common Law Admission Test (CLAT)
According to the market demand for lawyers the requirement of new universities along with the traditional universities is increasing to bring out more experts in the legal field. Based on this there are 11 national law universities which have been started across the country. To join in these organizations to pursue law courses students all over India need to write entrance exams for each national law university till 2007 facing lot of troubles and inconvenience. By understanding this inconvenience faced by the students, 7 national law universities have decided to conduct a common entrance test for admissions into their universities. As a result CLAT (common law admission test) has been conducted in 2008 and as it has become successful, four more national law universities have also come under the CLAT entrance examination for admission process into their universities.