When I was travelling in a bus, I listened to this conversation by two students namely Meghana and Rahul
Meghana: Rahul, why did you choose to study law after class 12?
Rahul: I want to become an advocate and argue in the High courts and Supreme Court.
Meghana: I don’t think law is your cup of tea. You have to wear a black coat and shout in the courts
There are many people like Meghana who think that law as a career is just about wearing a black coat and gown and shouting aloud in the courts. Most of them are unaware about the benefits of studying law and various career options in law. This blog is an attempt to help law aspirants understand the importance and various career options in law.
Why to choose Law?
I would like to bring your attention to a legal maxim called Ignorantia facti excusat , Ignorantia juris non-excusat. This maxim translates to ‘Ignorance of fact is an excuse but ignorance of law is not an excuse.
There is another legal maxim called vigilantibus non dormientibus jura subveniunt which literally translates to ‘The law assists only those who are vigilant, and not those who sleep over their rights.’
Law as a career has a variety of opportunities, huge amounts of money, social status, independence and influence. Lawyers have a great demand in the market with the increasing number of companies, crimes and civil cases. Law is not only useful for lawyers but also for people working in other professions and also common man. Law is everywhere from cradle to grave.
Career opportunities in Law:
1) Litigation/Practice:
Litigation is one of the oldest career options in Law. Litigation lawyers are those who argue in the courts in civil, criminal, corporate and other matters. This has a wider scope and competition as well. Some leading advocates earn crores of rupees per day. Some of them are Ram Jethmalani (Late), Kapil Sibal, Harish Salve, Salman Khurshid etc..
2) Corporate Law:
Ever heard of law firms? Just like IT(Information Technology) companies provide IT services, law firms provide legal services. Law firms recruit qualified lawyers and these lawyers for a single law firm. They provide legal advice to clients, drafting, vetting, negotiating contracts, advising businesses about their legal rights etc. Top law firms in India are Amarchand and Mangaldas, Luthra and Luthra, Trilegal, Kaithan and Co etc..
3) Judiciary:
Do you want to become a judge? You can’t become a judge unless you are a lawyer. In order to become a judge of lower court (the lowest position being Junior Civil judge) one has to qualify the Judicial Services Examination, for which a degree in law is mandatory. Judicial services is one of the most sought-after examinations for a fresh law graduate aspiring to become a judge. Most of the syllabus in Judicial services examination is covered in 5 year and 3-year law courses. You can also become a judge of the High court/s and also the supreme court for which there are certain constitutional provisions and judicial precedents.
You are a law aspirant, right? Refer to Articles 217, 124, First Judges case, Second Judges case, Third Judges case and Fourth Judges case. This will help you understand the prerequisites to become a judge of the High Court/s and the Supreme Court of India.
4) Legal Academics and Research:
Are you interested in teaching and research? Law has a great scope for academics and research. India is in a very desperate need of legal academicians and researchers. After completing an undergraduate course in law, you can go abroad for masters in law. Some of the reputed institutes abroad like Harvard, Oxford and Yale law schools offers scholarships for students pursuing research and academics
5) Legal Journalism:
Legal Journalism is one of the emerging career options in law. There are some news agencies and websites which deal only with legal issues. Some of them are Bar and Bench, Live Law, SCC online, iPleaders, Legally india. These companies require people who can understand, comprehend and interpret various laws and legal issues. Not only these channels but general TV channels require a separate team of people who can read and report legal news, supreme court judgments, important legislations etc..
6) Emerging career options in law:
After the globalisation of Indian Economy, Technology lawyers, IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) lawyers are gaining huge demand in the market. With the rise of social media and internet-based companies technology lawyers are the need of the hour. They are engaged in the work of drafting privacy policies, ensuring that the agencies are complying with the legislations in that particular location etc.
7) Law Graduation and Civil Services Preparation:
Are you aspiring to become an IAS or IPS? Do you want to prepare for the Civil services examination conducted by UPSC (Union Public Service Commission)? If your answer is YES, law and civil services is a deadly combination. In Fact, law optional is one of the optionals which has a very high success rate and generally law optional is taken by law graduates. Do you know most of the syllabus in the civil services exam is covered in Law graduation? General Studies Paper-2 in the main examination deals with Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International Relations. All these subjects will be covered in law graduation under the subjects of Constitutional and Administrative law and International law. General Studies Paper-3 has the subjects of Environment-Ecology and also Disaster Management apart from other subjects. The Environment Protection Act, Disaster Management Act and other environmental laws are covered at a greater depth in law graduation. Most of the syllabus of the Political Science and International Relations optional is covered in law graduation. According to the current pattern of UPSC CSE, a well-read law graduate has at least 32% advantage over other aspirants.
Are you planning to pursue law after class 12?
If you are planning to pursue law graduation, right after class 12, CLAT Brains has got you covered not only with CLAT, AILET, SLAT and other law entrances preparation but also overall skills required to become a lawyer. Apart from training for law entrances, we conduct quiz competitions, teach writing skills and teach constitution in depth. We make our classes more interactive by discussing real life cases with our students.
