Career Prospect in the Study of Law

Career prospects in the Study of Law

1. Introduction-
Legal Profession is one of the most lucrative and ever growing demand professions in the world at present. It is one of the most adventurous as well as an exciting career. Lawyers are held in high esteem all over the world, and there remains the faith that when all else fails, one can still take recourse to the legal system. In our daily life in one way or other we may come across situations where legal advice is required. In such situation we need the advice of legal professionals who analyse and interpret law properly.
A lawyer is an individual licensed by the state to engage in the practice of law and advice clients on legal matters. Lawyers counsel clients about their legal rights and suggest course of action in a particular matter. They also advise clients and draw up legal documents, such as wills and contracts and conduct negotiations on legal matters, and may represent clients in court and tribunal proceedings, etc.
Besides becoming a lawyer in the Court, there are numerous other opportunities a law graduate can pursue as an option which is discussed below.
| |

2. Scope, prospects and career options:

a. Course Details

There are two main entrance options to join the study of law. One can either pursue a three-year law course (LLB) after graduation in any discipline or a five-year course after twelfth standard examinations, leading to a BA LLB (Hons). LLB course is sponsored by the Bar Council of India. Generally, eligibility for LLB is on the basis of marks scored at the graduation examinations. However, there are some Universities that conduct entrance tests too. Certain institutions like National Law School in Bangalore conduct an All India Entrance examination. The BA LLB programme usually covers practical training including court attendance, hands on training at legal aid centres and research projects. To be able to practise, it is mandatory to put in a year’s internship. This may be done during the course of the final year. After LLB if one wishes to pursue higher studies, LLM course is offered. The duration of LLm course is for 2 (two) years.

In addition to LL.B. degree, many universities and institutes also offer other diploma courses in several disciplines of law, where a student can pursue a course in a limited subject specialised course. There are various branches of specialisation in law like civil law, criminal law, corporate law, income tax law, international law, labour law, constitutional law, and patent law etc, etc.

b. Career Options:
Generally students who pursue law choose to practice in the Courts or work in the Law Firms. If one wishes to become an Advocate and practice law as a profession in India, he/she should enrol with the local State Central Bar council. An application for admission as an advocate shall be made in the prescribed form to the State Bar Council within whose jurisdiction the applicant proposes to practice. The Bar Council of India and the State Bar Councils forms a self contained code of law for legal professionals practicing in India. i. Government Services
Lawyers are appointed in central services (Indian legal service) through UPSC on grounds of their experience in the field. Posts covered under Indian legal service are Law officers, Assistant Advisors, Dy. Legal Advisors and Legal Advisors.
State legal service appoints lawyers through SPSC exams in senior position in State police/Revenue/Judicial Departments. The basic qualification is degree in law, besides a degree in Arts / Science / Commerce / Agriculture. Average age limit is between 21 to 30 years.
In the judiciary, the posts are that of the Magistrate, District and Sessions Judge, Sub-Magistrate, Public Prosecutor, Solicitors, Attorney General, Advocate General, Notary and Oath Commissioner. There are also legal secretaries appointed in assemblies, law inspectors, legal officers in banks, judicial members of income tax, sales tax and excise departments, government advocates and staff in the registrar of companies' office. The examination for these posts takes place periodically & is advertised as and when the vacancies occur. ii. Other opportunities:
Lawyer can also work as legal counsel and legal advisers for government departments, firms, organizations and families. They can work as trustees of various trusts, as teachers, law reporters, company secretary and so on. Opportunities exist in the defence services too. Additional qualification along with law degree offers scope for a wide range of employment opportunities.
They also can work with legal consultancy firms dealing with tax, excise, patent, labour and environmental laws. They also can work as trustees of various trusts, law reporters in media industries. Besides Lawyers have also ample career options in Law schools and colleges as a teacher/professor. In addition to this Lawyers also can join politics because they have large public contacts. These non-profit organisations like NGOs are need the service of Lawyers. International agencies like UNO, ILO, and ICJ also employ Lawyers of good reputation and track records. iii. Some of the other emerging options for law graduates are:
International Law firms Indian Law Firms, Consulting and Advisory Companies, Corporate Legal Departments, Legal Process Outsourcing (L.P.O.) Companies, NGOs and Global Organizations, Higher Education in World’s Best Universities. iv. Corporate Law (on high demand):

With the businesses growing in size and with a large number of new business enterprises opening shop each year; corporate lawyers are on a very high demand all over the world. Corporate law defines the rules of the game for “business corporations”. Corporate lawyers come into play whenever any of the parties involved cries foul – which happens very often. Corporate lawyers advise their corporate clients; argue their cases in court; draw up business contracts for them and so on.

c. Legal career as a non lawyer (new emerging areas):

i. Legal Nurse Consultant
According to CareerBuilder.com, legal nurse consulting is one of the ten hottest careers today. Legal nurse consultants advise attorneys in medically-related issues of the law.

ii. Litigation Support Professional
The Litigation Support Professional (LSP) combines the legal knowledge of paralegals with the technical skills of IT professionals.

iii. Paralegal
Paralegals (also called legal assistants) rank among one of the fastest growing professions in today’s' economy as overburdened attorneys delegate an ever-widening scope of tasks, voted as one of the 20 top jobs in America by CNN. Money, opportunities in the paralegal field are expanding as clients seek to reduce the cost of legal services. Paralegal compensation is also rising as paralegals assume higher-level responsibilities, assume larger management roles and operate with greater professional autonomy.

iv. Trial Consultant
With the advancement in technology even legal profession is evolving along with it to gain advantage in the courtroom. Drawing on the fields of psychology, sociology and the law, trial consultants employ legal technology to help a jury understand complex concepts and help attorneys communicate important themes.

v. Mediator
Mediators (also known as an arbitrators or conciliators) settle legal disputes outside the courtroom. As the field of alternative dispute resolution expands, mediators are growing in number and popularity.

vi. Jury Consultant
In high-stakes jury trials, lawyers rely on jury consultants to gain a winning edge. Jury consultants provide insight into juror behaviour and help attorneys craft arguments and trial themes that will persuade juries. Jury consultants also use empirical data to predict juror predispositions and provide invaluable assistance in voir dire and the jury selection process. Jury consultants have grown in popularity due to highly publicized trials including the O.J. Simpson, Scott Peterson and Martha Stewart trials.

vii. Legal Secretary
Increased demand for legal services has sparked opportunities for legal secretaries (also called administrative assistants) in law firms and corporate legal departments across the country. Advances in law office technology and organizational restructuring have allowed legal secretaries to assume greater responsibilities.

viii. Court Reporter
Court reporters, also known as stenographers, record court testimony, speeches, statements and legal proceedings to create a verbatim written transcript of the spoken word. Using special stenographic equipment, court reporters transcribe at rates exceeding 200 words per minute. Court reporters also perform broadcast captioning and real-time reporting for webcasts.

3. Conclusion

Who should pursue law as a career?

It is always best to identify an inborn gift/talent at childhood. If you are parents and your child is interested in law you may need to know and help your child choose an informed profession/career choice.

If your child talks confidently and speaks well, he could consider going in for advocacy. It will no doubt take time for your child to build up independent credibility and to establish his practice, but such quality can be the sign to choose Law as a career. This can be a very lucrative line, though it requires hard work and dedication.
“Academic excellence is not the main thing behind the success in this profession. Professional competence acquired through experience and practice with efficient lawyers is the main yardstick of success”.

Institutes Offering

The top law colleges in the country are: i. National Law School of India University ii. Symbiosis Law College, Pune iii. Government Law College, Mumbai iv. Bangalore; Gujarat National Law University (GNLU); v. National Law University, Jodhpur; vi. NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad; vii. National Law Institute University (NLIU), Bhopal; viii. Faculty of Law, University of Delhi; ix. Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi; x. National University of Juridical Sciences (NUJS), Kolkata; xi. ILS Law College, Pune; xii. Amity Law School , Delhi; xiii. Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh; xiv. Hidayatullah National Law University (HNLU), Raipur and xv. Dr. Ambedkar Law University, Chennai.