Understand Law before jumping into it!

The field of law is vast and the judiciary has many roles. There are certain things you should understand before you plunge into a career in law.

Understand This!  Lawyers v/s Advocates

“All Advocates are Lawyers but not all Lawyers are Advocates”.

To explain this statement further, an Advocate is a person who fights cases in court and is registered with the Bar Council of India, whereas a Lawyer is someone who provides legal advice to businesses, firms, companies or individuals, but cannot represent their cases in court. Lawyers are graduates in L.L.B but are not enrolled with the Bar Council of India. 

 How to become an Advocate in India?

If you wish to practice in courts, you can follow the following steps:

Step 1- Secure a graduate degree in Law.

You must have completed your graduation with either a 5-year integrated degree or a 3-year L.L.B degree to be eligible for becoming an Advocate in India.

Step 2- Gain practical work experience through Internships.

Every Law graduate is required to have done an internship under a senior advocate or a law firm, as prescribed by the specific institution from where they are pursuing their graduation. Generally, the duration of the internship is a minimum of one month and you can intern even during your graduation or after completing it. An individual can also do 2-3 internships under different advocates or firms in order to gain a diverse knowledge of the field.

Step 3- Enroll with the State Bar Council.

The next step is to enroll yourself with the State Bar Council and clear the All India Bar Examination conducted by the Bar Council of India. Once this exam is cleared, you get a certificate of practice through which you are eligible to practice law in court.

 Specializations in Law

In case you are thinking of going into research and publishing or the education sector, a specialization would help you enhance your knowledge. To specialise in a particular field of Law, you need to pursue a Master’s degree in Law (L.L.M). Some of the common specializations that lawyers opt for are:

• Civil Law- It is also known as the common law which is entitled to every person. It deals with disputes between individuals in areas like violation of their rights, breach of contracts among parties, property and family law.

• Criminal Law- Criminal Law relates to cases regarding criminal offences. A Criminal Lawyer researches in detail the background of the case and also needs to interact with the clients, police, and witnesses to collect actual facts and evidence in order to defend their client.

• Tax Law- This field deals with the study of various tax policies of a nation and focuses mainly on different types of taxes, such as income tax, real tax, estate tax, franchises, problems of inheritance, etc.

• Intellectual Property Law– An IPR Lawyer counsels their clients on the protection of their intangible property like inventions, literary & artistic works, symbols, names, images and designs used in business, etc.

• Corporate Law- Corporate Law essentially involves studying acts and laws that apply to a company. Corporate lawyers advise companies on their legal rights, obligations, and privileges and also deal with employment law issues, contract disputes, the protection the intellectual property rights of the company, etc.

• Environmental Law-  This field focuses on laws that help to protect the environment by regulating the impact of human activities on the environment relating to land, air, water, conservation of wildlife, etc.

 Top Institutes for L.L.M in India

1. National Law School of India University, Bangalore

2. Faculty of Law, University of Delhi, New Delhi

3. NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad

4. West Bengal University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata

5. National Law Institute University, Bhopal

 Scope of Law in India

Some of you might think that after securing a degree in Law, the next step is to practice in courts. But this is not the case. There are many other opportunities in Law that you can undertake in addition to becoming an advocate, such as:

• Corporate Counsel– A lawyer can provide in-house legal counsel to their corporate clients relating to their business matters. The basic work of a corporate lawyer is to draft and negotiate contracts, handle legal disputes and ensure that everything is within the prescribed rules and regulations of the company and the government.

• Law Firms- Law Firms are well-organized firms consisting of several lawyers or advocates working together as one entity. These firms provide legal advice to their clients and provide them with all possible actions that could prevent any penalty imposed on them.

• Litigation- A Litigating Lawyer or an Advocate represents his/her client’s case in court. In order to practice in court, you need to enroll yourself with the state bar council and clear the All India Bar Examination.

• Social Work- Many law graduates join NGOs to work for social causes such as environmental protection, gender concerns, caste discrimination, working conditions of laborers, etc. You can even work with international organizations such as the UN or with international tribunals like International Court of Justice, International Criminal Court, International Labor Organization etc

• Legal Publishing and Media- Many well-renowned lawyers also work as editors for print media like newspapers, journals and electronic media like news channels, where they put their writing skills to use and pass on their legal knowledge to the public. Legal Journalism involves reporting on legal proceedings held in court to the public.

• Indian Legal Services- Law graduates who have cleared the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) or State Public Service Commission (SPSC) Examination can provide legal service in the Department of Legal Affairs, Legislative Council in the Legislative Department or the Department of Justice of the Indian government.

• Professor- After gaining some experience as an advocate or in any other field of law, you can teach at law schools and make your career in the education sector, with the combination of both theoretical and practical knowledge of this sphere.

 Pros and Cons of a Career in Law

Law as a profession is very lucrative and appealing, but it also has certain advantages and disadvantages.

 Pros

• Helping People- This profession provides an opportunity for those who want to fight for the people and help them in seeking justice for any wrong acts done to them.

• Intellectual Challenge- Not only for an advocate but for a legal counsellor also, Law is a mentally stimulating profession. Lawyers need to carry out extensive research for each case to find all the possible information, as even a small detail can change the direction of a case.

• Wide Range of Career Options- As already mentioned above, you get a wide range of career options to choose from. You can get into consultancy services, start your own Law firm, become an advocate, become a law professor etc.

 Cons

• High Stress- This profession can be quite stressful when you have pending cases and short deadlines.

• Dealing with a lot of Information- Each case requires thorough research and due-diligence, which also amounts to a lot of information that you need to deal with on a daily basis, in addition to longer working hours than average.

• Rising Competition- As the number of law schools is increasing, the number of Law graduates is also on a rise. This has led to an increase in competition and you need to prove your worth to be the best.

After going through this blog, we are sure that you’ll now have a good idea about what a Career in Law entails and what it demands. No doubt the entire process is going to be exhaustive, but the end results are going to be worth the efforts!

- Dr Rupali Shah