Courtroom drama and more pursuing a legal career in india

Courtroom Drama and More: Pursuing a Legal Career in India

If you have patience and logical skills, Law is one of the best professions for you if you aren’t keen on pursuing the Science stream. Moreover, patent laws and corporate laws are gaining popularity in the legal circle.

By Snehal Naik 19th Jan, 2017 | 02:18 pm

It is generally assumed that lawyers can either specialise in civil or criminal laws. But, with the great corporate push that India has been receiving, lawyers today are not confined to courtrooms but are making their presence felt in various corporate houses, law firms, litigation, administrative services and law agencies. Patent laws and corporate laws are gaining popularity in the legal circle. In fact, if you are not studying Science, we’d say that Law is the best career option for you.

Choosing Law as a Profession

Whether it is driving on the streets, buying something, making investments, getting a job, renting or buying a house, there are laws governing everything. It is believed that lawyers are always working around finding loopholes in the legal system. But to be one up with the law one needs to know the law. Legal profession in India is one of the largest in the world, with over 1.4 million enrolled advocates nationwide. It is not compulsory to belong to a family of lawyers to become a lawyer. Yet, it is true that first generation lawyers face quite a few struggles early in their career. Becoming a lawyer involves a great deal of patience and logical skills. Some of the traits that can help you flourish as a legal professional are:

-- Quick responsiveness
-- Good oratory skills
-- Being a keen listener
-- Adaptive and attentive mind
-- Out of the hat thinking ability
-- Logical reasoning capability
-- Patience
-- Excellent communication skills

Law Courses to Pursue

You can choose to do a three-year LLB program or a five-year integrated BA LLB course. The three-year course is pursued after graduation while the five-year course is pursued ideally after Class XII. The LLB course is regulated by the Bar Council of India, which sets rules and regulations on legal practices in the country. One can do any specialisation at the LLM, MPhil, or the PhD level.

Law Entrance Exams

Law entrance exams are conducted on a national, state or university level for admission to various undergraduate and postgraduate law courses. Some of the popular law entrance exams conducted are:

Law School Admission Test (LSAT): A standardised test of reading and verbal reasoning skills designed by the USA–based Law School Admission Council (LSAC) for use by law schools in India.

All India Law Entrance Test (AILET): Faculty of Law, University of Delhi conducts a separate law entrance exam for admissions to various law courses namely LLB and LLM courses.

Symbiosis Entrance Test (SET): SET is a common written test conducted for admission to undergraduate law programs offered by various institutes under Symbiosis International University.

ULSAT- UPES Law Studies Aptitude Test commonly known as ULSAT is conducted by the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES). The competitive entrance test is conducted to grant admission to Bachelor of Laws (BA LLB) and LLB in Corporate Laws, Cyber Laws and Intellectual Property Rights.

Banaras Hindu University Undergraduate Entrance Test (BHU UET): Conducted by Banaras Hindu University for students who are seeking to pursue under-graduate courses in Commerce, Education, Science, Arts and Law.

Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) Law Entrance Exam: Conducted by AMU for admissions to five-year integrated law programmes (BA LLB).

Army Institute of Law (AIL) Entrance Test: Conducted by Army Institute of LAW located in Mohali to invite admissions for integrated BA LLB and LLM courses. The test is conducted and coordinated by The Punjabi University, Patiala.

Bharati Vidyapeeth common entrance test (BVP CET): A paper-pencil entrance exam conducted for admissions to various undergraduate law admissions to LLB, BA LLB and BBA LLB in the four affiliated colleges of the University.

Common Law Admission Test (CLAT): A centralised admission test for admission to 17 prominent National Law Universities (NLUs) in India.

Studying law doesn’t mean that you only become a lawyer. Just as medicine and engineering have specialities, you can choose your own legal career. The study of law involves case-based learning where theory is combined with practice. So, even as a law student, you are always ready for some courtroom drama as you are already experiencing mock courtroom sessions, moot competitions and pro bono societies. Finally, our legal system is so complex that it requires a team of skilled professionals to provide quality and cost effective services. So if you are responsive and a good orator with patience and logical skills, Law is just the profession for you.