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LAW

Foot soldiers of legal system

Law is ubiquitous. Law governs every aspect of life, be it personal, private, public or professional. Social relations are complicated. So is the law. Legal assistance is required all the time. That is the reason legal professionals are in demand more than ever. Law is becoming popular among millennials in India. In US it is one of the highest paying professions.

At present our country does not meet even 50 per cent of the total requirement of legal professionals. The rising demand needs more supply of lawyers

Versha Vahini

Law is ubiquitous. Law governs every aspect of life, be it personal, private, public or professional. Social relations are complicated. So is the law. Legal assistance is required all the time. That is the reason legal professionals are in demand more than ever. Law is becoming popular among millennials in India. In US it is one of the highest paying professions.

There was a time when law was picked up by those who had a lawyer in the family. This was true in a scenario when this profession was confined to the practice of law in courts only. But the times have changed. Legal practice is transcending the boundaries of the courtrooms. The role of the courts, still, is to decide the lis but the domain of law is snowballing. Law is touching our lives, every time, everywhere. It is protective, preventive, facilitative and rehabilitative. Law is a powerful tool to govern the society and social relations of every kind and nature. Legal professionals are involved in guiding and leading the people and business ventures to flourish. Legal professionals are omnipresent. And not without a reason!

Skills required

Advocates are the officers of the courts. Their role is to help courts in administration of justice. They are also expected to help people with the procedure and other legal issues.

To become a lawyer one need not have any special, inherent qualities. All that is required to become a winning lawyer is to develop logical reasoning, capacity for lateral thinking, critical analysis, keen observation, eye for details, articulation and communication skills. One also needs to have the knowledge of law, governance system, social, behavioural and economic aspects of life. The knowledge and requisite skills can be acquired through education, training and hard work. Discipline is the way to destiny. Law is a public profession and human interaction is all inexorable. A lawyer must also develop certain personal traits such as high level of perseverance, sensitivity, loyalty and above all — passion and compassion.

Course of law

Students who want to take up law as a career, need to join LLB courses, offered by law colleges and universities, as a regular student. Before joining law, students are generally unaware of as to what they are going to study. For many, law remains enigmatic till the time they start studying. Some students carry the impression of law and courts as shown in movies and media. Others believe it to be something like civics or political science. Students have different notions about law and lawyer’s profession.

Students interested in law as career, can pursue a three-year or a five-year law programme. Five-year programmes are more popular than three-year courses. Three- year programmes can be pursued after graduation in any stream whereas admission in five-year courses is after Class XII.

Five-year programmes are offered by law colleges, universities and National Law Universities. Private law colleges follow their own criteria for admission. Some offer admission on the basis of marks obtained in qualifying exam i.e. Class XII, while others conduct entrance exams. The more prominent ones give admission on the basis of Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) score.

A course generally has a combination of core and elective subjects.

While core subjects provide foundation of legal knowledge and include compulsory study of subjects like Jurisprudence (Legal Theory), Constitution, Interpretation of Statutes, substantive laws like the study of basic principles of the IPC, Indian Evidence Act; and the procedural aspects dealt in the Codes of Civil Procedure and the Criminal Procedure.

Elective subjects pave way for the area of specialisation that one would like to pursue. The choice of subjects depend on one’s objective to pursue law. International Business, International Marketing, International Finance, International Trade Law, Corporate Law, and Intellectual Property Rights, Cyber Law, Environment Law etc. are some of the choices available.

Institutions

Legal education in India is regulated by the Bar Council of India (BCI), a professional body, which prescribes the syllabus and other parameters for the legal education and legal profession. Ultimately, it is the BCI, through its state units that enrolls eligible students permitting them to practice law.

Currently, there are 19 National Law Universities (NLUs) offering five-year law programme across the country. They offer admission through CLAT except NLU Delhi, which conducts its own entrance exam, usually on the first Sunday of May. CLAT is conducted on second Sunday of May each year. CLAT is a computer-based test, which is conducted on designated centers throughout the country. Besides NLUs and government universities, there are many good private law colleges which offer quality legal education.

In Chandigarh, Panjab University, with excellent library facilities, qualified law faculty and moderate fee structure, continues to be the first choice for legal education. It offers both the three-year course after graduation and five-year integrated course after Class XII.

In Punjab, apart from the departments of law at Punjabi University, Patiala, and Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar (offering admission in both the streams), Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law at Patiala and Army Institute of Law at Mohali (both residential institutions providing only a five-year integrated course) are acclaimed as the top rank institutes. Besides these, several private universities are also offering law programmes.

The departments of law of Kurukshetra University at Kurukshetra and MDU, Rohtak (providing admissions in both the streams) are the acknowledged law institutions of Haryana for graduate as well as postgraduate studies. Jindal Global Law School (JGLS), Jindal Global University, Sonepat, Haryana, has also earned a name in the list of noted institutes.

The Faculty of Law, University of Jammu at Jammu and Faculty of Law, University of Kashmir at Srinagar, are the well-known centers of legal education in J&K.

Career options

The LLB degree enables one to appear for the Bar Exam conducted by the BCI. Once cleared, one may apply for the license to practice law in the courts anywhere in the country. LLB also opens doors to career options in legal departments in business corporations, government departments, media houses, banks and insurance companies. Depending upon the area of interest, one may also go for law firms, legal advisers, pro-bono work, consultancy, research, legal rapporteur, to legal services in defence and for higher education etc. Students wanting a lucrative corporate career are advised to focus on commercial & IPR laws and maintain good CGPA though out the course. Insolvency & bankruptcy, competition law, mergers & acquisitions, corporate governance, commercial arbitration, civil aviation, maritime laws etc., are in high demand today. The pay package in a law firm may depend upon one’s merit, talent and knowledge-base.

Fee and scholarships

Fees of five-year LLB programmes vary from institution to institution. The tuition fee ranges between Rs 20,000 and Rs 2 lakh per annum, depending upon the quality of education, facilities and infrastructure. There are many public and private universities that offer scholarships to meritorious students and also on merit-cum-means basis. Apart from this, bank loans can also be availed.

The writer is Head of Department, Faculty of Law, Manav Rachna University, Faridabad

Who is an advocate?

Advocate, in India, means someone who has an LLB degree and who is registered as advocate with the Bar Council. Advocates are the only class who are authorised to practice law as a matter of right. What does it mean? It means only advocates are permitted to represent the parties and their interests in the court, with authority. Though a person can argue one’s own case with the permission of the court, as it was shown in the movie Rustam but one cannot argue others’ case unless she/he is an advocate.

Tips to choose law school

These tips will help you to select a law school of your dreams: Infrastructure (classrooms and library), teachers’ qualifications, specialisations offered, sports’ facilities, extra and co-curricular activities, distance from home and others.

Specialisations and contemporary avenues

Specialisation helps students focus on their area of interests and expertise. In the past, fewer specialisations were available in the field of civil or criminal or public policy. Now there are many interesting and contemporary areas of specialisation, such as cyber law, Intellectual Property Rights law, commercial arbitration, mediation, admiralty law, health law, insolvency and bankruptcy, banking and insurance laws, environmental law, consumer protection advocacy etc., for the students to opt for.

BBA LLB (Hons)

This course is of five-year duration and is taught over 10 semesters. It aims to prepare corporate lawyers, who have an in-depth knowledge and an understanding of the nuances of corporate laws and regulatory affairs. It comes with specialisation in corporate law/international trade & investment law/ banking, finance & insurance laws. Students from commerce stream can take up this course after clearing an entrance test by the universities offering this course.

Diploma in Cyber Law

Cyber law is also referred to as Information and Communications Technology law and covers electronic commerce, electronic governance, intellectual property, cybercrimes, telecommunications, data protection and privacy. Diploma in Cyber Law is a one- year postgraduate course involving issues related to the internet, communication technology, technological and electronic elements including hardware, software, computer and information systems, and their resolution.

BSc LLB

This is an undergraduate course which imparts integrated knowledge of science and law. The course includes topics like legal method, law of contract, family law, business law etc. Applicants should have passed Class XII with a minimum of 45 per cent marks in aggregate. Some of universities take their own entrance exam for admission to this course. The tuition fee ranges from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 7 lakh per annum depending upon the university where the student pursues the course.

Distance education

Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) provides cost-effective quality legal education by offering socially relevant and market-driven advanced post-graduate diplomas, certificates, doctoral degrees in various law-related subject areas.

IGNOU offers following diploma and certificate courses:

Doctor of Philosophy in Law (PhD in Law)
Post-Graduate Diploma in Intellectual Property Rights (PGDIPR)
Post Graduate Diploma in Environmental Law (PGDENLW )
Post Graduate Diploma in Criminal Justice (PGDCJ )
Post Graduate Certificate in Cyber Law (PGCCL)
Post-Graduate Certificate in Patent Practice (PGCPP)
Diploma in Paralegal Practice (DIPP)
Certificate in Consumer Protection (CCP)
Certificate in Human Rights (CHR)
Certificate in International Humanitarian Law (CIHL )
Certificate in Anti Human Trafficking (CAHT )
Certificate Programme on Co-operation, Co-operative Law and Business Laws (CCLBL )
Awareness Course on Intellectual Property Rights (AIPR)