What does a career in law look like?

A career in law is a rewarding one, both financially and in terms of personal fulfillment. Our judicial system’s intricacies and various aspects have resulted in hundreds of professional opportunities. Legal professionals’ roles in the ever-changing legal system range from attorneys, judges, and paralegals to legal consultants, academics, and government employees.

The legal profession has grown dramatically in recent years, resulting in an increase in a wide spectrum of legal roles. With the rapid growth in monetary rewards associated with legal professions and chances, it is currently one of the most profitable industries in the labour market.

To pursue these jobs, however, one must first get a professional legal degree, such as an LLB/B.A.LL.B/BB.A.LL., etc. Graduates and undergraduates can take LLB courses for three or five years, respectively. This article aims to explain the scope and method for entering various legal routes after completing your professional graduate degree from a 3-year or 5-year programme, in both the public and commercial sectors.

The Increasing Preference for Law as a Career

To become a lawyer before 1987, you had to enter B.A. or B. After graduating from high school, you can pursue a legal degree by enrolling in an LLB programme.

Previously, there was no admission test; however, after 1987, Prof N.R.Madhav Menon purchased the notion of combining B.A. and LLB to develop a distinct legal degree programme, i.e., BA LLB (Hons).
This new 5-year degree was originally presented at NLSIU Bangalore, the country’s premier legal school.

The Public Sector:

1. Civil Services: The Union Public Service Commission administers the examination for Civil Services India, which comprises the Indian Administrative Service, Police Services, and Forest Services, among other things. This is an excellent opportunity for law students to pursue government positions after completing their LLB.

2. Assistant Public Prosecutor/Public Prosecutors: The state government chooses advocates to represent itself in criminal proceedings, who are known as Assistant Public Prosecutors/Public Prosecutors. To pursue this professional path, students must pass the State Public Service Commission test.

3. Judicial Services: After earning their graduate degree, one might choose to become a judge/magistrate in the lower judiciary. To pursue a career in the judiciary, one must take a judicial service test administered by each state individually.

4. Central investigating agencies including the CBI, FBI, ED, and various state investigative agencies recruit individuals for their legal departments through a rigorous competitive test and selection procedure. Candidates who want to work in these professions can seek openings on the agencies’ websites/official notifications and apply for these exams.

5. Armed Forces (Judge Advocate General): If a law student wants to pursue a career in the Defense services and join the armed forces. They might choose for the role of ‘Judge Advocate General’. JAG is a position in the Indian Army held by a major who serves as the Army’s legal and judicial officer.

6. PSUs (Public Sector Undertakings): PSU entities are owned by the government of India, states, or companies. Careers at PSUs can be found through individual examinations or through CLAT-PG results, if relevant as eligibility criterion. ONGC (Oil and Natural Gas Corporation) and POWERGRID (Power Grid Corporation Of India Limited) are two well-known companies.
Later, several other legal schools adopted the same 5-year BA LLB degree model. There are currently both 3-year and 5-year law degrees available, however relatively few people pursue a law degree after completing a BA.

The Private Sector:

1. Law Firms and Corporate Houses: Law firms and corporate houses are businesses founded by individuals or groups of legal partners to offer legal services to their clients. Corporate organizations are the most sought-after work opportunities nowadays due to the great salaries they provide. After graduation, one can begin working with corporate businesses in the field of their choice, such as corporate litigation, arbitration, technology and media communication, cyber law, and so on.

2. Paralegal/Legal Support Professional: A paralegal is a legal assistant who works with associates in law firms or corporations. Their primary responsibilities include scheduling meetings, producing trial materials, and communicating with clients. During their initial term, an individual might begin with this role to learn practical legal expertise.

3. In-house Counsels/Private Companies: Every private firm has its own legal department and employs in-house counsel to manage legal problems. One can work for national and international organizations as a legal counselor, associate, legal manager, research fellow, and so on.

4. Legal Academics/Educator: As a full-time professor/lecturer at educational universities and law colleges, you can work. To pursue this option, one must first finish a master’s degree in law and then enroll in a PhD programme in law.

5. Litigation: After earning their graduate degree, students are entitled to join the Bar Council of their respective states and subsequently take the All-India Bar Examination, which is administered by the All-India Bar Council. After passing the examination, one may practice in any court in India. Students may pick any area of law to begin their practice, such as Criminal Law, Civil Law, Matrimonial Law, and so on, or they may join litigation companies to gain practical experience in the subject.

6. Legal Advisor: A legal advisor/solicitor is a professional who develops legal documents and advises clients. One can begin their business by soliciting clients, and most of the time, passing the bar council test is not required, unless you need to appear in court on behalf of the client.

7. Banking and Insurance Sector: Banks and insurance firms have legal departments and hire law officers after an examination process. Without prior legal experience, one may apply for these tests directly after graduation and work as an administrative officer (Law) or specialist officer (Law) in both private and public sector banks such as IBPS, SBI, and others.

What abilities would be useful in a legal career?

To be successful in a legal career, you’ll need a diverse set of talents. Depending on the sort of position you want, you could need:

• Excellent written communication abilities to assist you in reading, interpreting, writing, and reporting on legal documents such as court proceedings and contracts.
• Verbal communication abilities can assist you in questioning witnesses, presenting a case in court, or communicating with clients in any context.
• Interpersonal abilities can aid in the development of trust and connections with clients or corporate team members.
• Strong analytical and logical thinking skills can aid you in making sense of material.
• Legal research abilities are required to locate facts, data, and evidence to support your work.
• Time management abilities can assist you in meeting deadlines and juggling several tasks and commitments.