Career Opportunities in Law
Legal profession is one of the oldest and noble professions. As our laws are so complex, the work of Lawyers and Judges is very significant. The profession of law is held in high esteem and its members have played an enviable role in public life. Moreover, as the society is getting more civic conscious and aware about the legal framework, the jobs in Law are also gaining popularity and high scope. Public service is the foremost and primary aim of legal profession. A lawyer is an individual licensed by the state to engage in the practice of law and advice clients on legal matters.
Legal profession offers excellent openings to those individuals who are equipped with the requisite professional qualities, skills and competencies. Lawyers act as both advocates and advisors on behalf of their clients. Gone are the days when a simple law graduate would visualize a bleak career prospects. There is a sea change in the legal field with wide expansion of the governmental and corporate functions and growth of commercial transactions, leading to increasing litigation.
Lawyers in private practice usually work for long and irregular hours meeting clients, researching and reading about new developments, drafting contracts and agreements or preparing briefs (particularly when their cases are being tried in court). On the other hand, their salaried counterparts in the Judicial Service or those in corporate sector tend to have saner and more structured work schedules.
Course Details :
One can either pursue a three year law course after graduation in any discipline or a five-year course after 10 + 2 standard examinations, leading to a BA LLB (Hons). 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. For the five year course, the premier institution is the National Law School in Bangalore. For admission to this, an All India Entrance examination is held. The five year course usually covers practical training too.
This includes court attendance, hands on training at legal aid centres and research projects. For specialisation in a single focused branch, there are short diploma courses in labour and labour welfare, taxation and so on. To be able to practice, it is mandatory to put in a year’s internship. This may be done during the course of the final year. P.G. Programmes in law (LLM) are of 2 years duration & eligibility is LLB degree. 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.
Employment Opportunities
Lawyers can find employment opportunities in public and private sector organizations. Most Lawyers prefer to become an advocate and practice law as a profession. For that they have to enroll with the Local / State / Central Bar Council. Central / State Government jobs are also open to Lawyers. They can be appointed as Judges of various courts, as Attorney and Solicitor General, as Public Prosecutor and also in Defense, Tax and Labour departments. Moreover Lawyer can also work as legal counsel and legal advisers for firms, organizations and families. They also can be appointed as Company Secretaries in various firms.
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 collages 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.
Remuneration :
An articled clerk or apprentice usually gets a stipend of Rs.2,200/-. Private practitioners get good packets. For those in government service, it could be in the Rs.2,000/- to Rs.4,000/- range. When a person gets appointed as sub-judge, he begins at Rs.5,500/- plus the benefits and benefits that all government employees are entitled to. The earnings of lawyers working privately as advocate or advisor depends upon the number and nature of their clients.
Other Career Opportunities