How To Become A Lawyer In India

How To Become A Lawyer in India

Types of Lawyer & their average salary

The best part of being a lawyer is that once you have completed studying law, you can specialize in various areas in India and make it a career.

A few of them, along with their average salaries, are as follows:

1. Civil Law:
   In this area of specialization, a lawyer deals with the private affairs of citizens. For example, it would include issues related to marriage and property ownership.
   
   Depending on the qualification and experience, a civil lawyer in India can earn up to 4 to 5 lakhs per year.
    
   
2. Real Estate Law: 
   This area of law involves a lawyer dealing with issues dealing with the buying and selling of land.
   
   It is, in simple words, a law that governs how people in India acquire property. In terms of salary, a real estate lawyer in India can earn, on average, Rs 1 to Rs 2 lakh per year.
    
   
3. Corporate Law: 
   It governs the rights of individuals employed in companies, organizations, and businesses, which is the primary job of a corporate lawyer.
   
   The average salary of a lawyer in India ranges from between Rs 1 lakh to Rs 7 lakh per year.
    
   
4. Criminal Law: 
   A criminal lawyer deals with all crime-related issues in Indian society. Depending on the experience, a lawyer specializing in crime can easily earn up to Rs 3.60 lakhs to 10 lakhs per year.
    
   
5. Administrative Law: 
   All the legal activities involving the executive branch agencies of the government are dealt with by an administrative lawyer.
   
   In India, an administrative lawyer can expect to earn a salary of Rs 2 to Rs 30 lakhs.
    
   
6. Tax Law: 
   It is a tax lawyer that deals with all related legal issues surrounding taxation in India.
   
   An average salary that a tax lawyer can expect to draw is about Rs 3 lakh to Rs 4 lakh per year. 

How to Become a Lawyer? 

Now, suppose you are passionate about serving the citizens of India by fighting for justice, who believe in the motto of the country,

'Satyamev Jayate' (Truth Alone Triumphs), and are not just interested in the possibility of making money.

In that case, a career in law might be perfect for you. However, if you want to become a lawyer, you need to understand.

So, here is presenting a step-by-step guide on How to Become a Lawyer? 

Steps to becoming a Lawyer:

The journey to becoming a lawyer is long in duration and is filled with challenges, like in all other professions. However, you need to take about six major steps to become a lawyer. 

Step 1: Pursuing the right stream after completing class 12th:

In reality, you need to pursue a particular stream to study law. However, those students who realize early in life that,

Their true calling is to become a lawyer opt for Humanities or Commerce stream as soon as they complete class 10th.

Some beneficial subjects that you can choose to study from in Arts if you want to be a lawyer include Political Science, Economics, History, Psychology, and Legal Studies.

Exploring these recommendations is advisable if you're a lawyer since they have subjects taught in law schools.

They also include study modules that provide you with essential insights into the Indian legal system, thereby creating a foundation upon which you build to become a lawyer.
 

Step 2: Sit for a Law Entrance Examination:

If you want to become a lawyer, most colleges offering the L.L.B. degree course post completion of class 12th will provide your admission based only on the results of law entrance that you will need to sit.

Many of these exams comprise objective multiple-choice questions that test candidates on attributes,

Such as logical reasoning, general knowledge, English comprehension, Current Affairs and Legal Aptitude.
 

Step 3: Applying for admission to a Law School:

After taking a Law Entrance Exam and receiving your results, you need to begin applying for admission to a law college.

You need to apply to several colleges to get a few options to choose from eventually.

Therefore, you need to ensure that you submit your official educational documents, entrance exam test scores, letters of recommendation, and additional information during the application process.

It would help if you kept in mind that many colleges look to only students with high scores on the entrance exam, excellent letters of recommendation, and who participated in extracurricular activities.

In addition, completing an internship at a local courthouse or firm and submitting proof can also help you gain admission to a reputed law college.


Step 4: Successful Completion of the BA LLB degree:

After getting admission into law college, you will get the opportunity to study a few subjects, such as political science, sociology, economics etc., which you would study during your undergraduate.

However, during the 3 or 5-year L.L.B. degree course, you will also have to study Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, and family law. Furthermore,

To become a law graduate, you must pass all subjects in the final year.
 

Step 5: Take the All India Bar Examination and score a pass:

Once you become a law graduate, as per government guidelines, you need to clear the All India Bar Examination (AIBE) exam to be eligible to practice as a lawyer.

This examination is conducted by the Bar Council of India once every year, and prior registration is compulsory for all candidates.

For example, suppose you graduated in law during the 2009-2010 academic year or post it.

In that case, you must enrol as an advocate with a State Bar Council to be eligible for the All India Bar Examination.
 

Step 6: Look to acquire experience:

Finally, once you have cleared the AIBE examination, you officially get the license to begin practising as a lawyer in India.

The next best step is to work in a legal firm as an associate advocate or start practising as a lawyer independently

Eligibility Criteria: 

You need to fulfil the eligibility criteria to pursue a 3 or 5-year L.L.B. degree course and become a practising lawyer. They are as follows: 

1. Completing Secondary School Certificate and Higher Secondary School education through open or,
   
   Distance schooling with a minimum percentage of 45% for general category, 42% for O.B.C., and 40% for SC/ST.
   
   For the L.L.B. course, you will need to have a bachelor's degree completed in 3 to 4 years in any field obtained from a recognized university;
   
   For an L.L.M. course, you need to have a recognized L.L.B. degree from a recognized university and preferably with some experience in law, and finally, for L.L.D.
   
   You need to have a PhD degree from a recognized university with at least 6-10 years of work experience. 
   
   
2. Need to pass la entrance examinations that are university-specific. These include DU LLB, MH-CET, and even a national level exam such as CLAT is an option.
    
3. If you intend to study law abroad, you need to either qualify for the LNAT or LSAT exam, depending on the requirements of your university needs.
   
   It is crucial that you also take the language proficiency exams such as IELTS or TOEFL and get scores that your university requires.
   
   Additionally, you will also need to possess a Statement of Purpose or S.O.P., and some educational institutions may even ask for Letters of Recommendation (L.O.R.).

Exam to clear for Lawyer: 

It would help if you cleared specific examinations to become a lawyer via a 3-year BA LLB course and a 5-year L.L.B. course. They are as follows:

1. Exams for 5-year L.L.B. course:

• Common-Law Admission Test (CLAT):
  
  This examination is conducted by 18 top National Universities in India.
   
• All India Law Entrance Test (AILET):
  
  This examination is conducted by National Law University in Delhi.
   
• Law School Admission Test (LSAT):
  
  This examination is accepted by institutions such as Jindal Global Law School, Alliance School of Law,
  
  Faculty of Law (S.R.M. University), Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law (I.I.T. Kharagpur)
  
  
• Symbiosis Entrance Test (S.E.T.):
  
  This examination is conducted explicitly by Symbiosis International University.

2. Exams for 3-year L.L.B. course:

• D.U. L.L.B.: 
  
  This exam is conducted by the Faculty of Law at Delhi University.
   
  
• LSAT: 
  
  This exam is set and accepted at the Jindal Global Law School, OP Jindal Global University.
   
  
• M.H. C.E.T.: 
  
  This examination is set for all Law colleges of Maharashtra, including the famous Government Law College.
   
  
• B.H.U. L.L.B.:
  
  This examination is conducted at Banaras Hindu University for students interested in getting admission to its 3-years L.L.B. program. 

Guide to explain the steps for how to prepare for the L.L.B. course entrance exam

To help you understand how to prepare for the entrance examinations of the 3-year L.L.B. and 5-year L.L.B. courses, here is presenting to you a guide:

Exams for 5-year LLB course: 

• Common-Law Admission Test (CLAT):
  
  To pass this examination with flying colours, all you need to do is prepare well for mathematics, English comprehension, General Knowledge, Current Affairs, Legal Aptitude, and Logical Reasoning.
   
  
• All India Law Entrance Test (AILET):
  
  To get a good rank in this exam and get into the L.L.B. course, you need to focus on English, Mathematics, General Knowledge, Legal Aptitude, and Reasoning.
  
  
• Law School Admission Test (LSAT):
  
  For this examination, all you need to do to get marks that help you get into an L.L.B. course is focus on English reading comprehension, Logical, and Analytical reasoning.
  
  
• Symbiosis Entrance Test (SET):
  
  Logical, Legal, Analytical Reasoning, Reading Comprehension, and General Knowledge is study modules that you need to focus on to pass this exam with a score that will get you into an L.L.B. course. 

Exams for 3-year L.L.B. course: 

• D.U. L.L.B.:
  
  For cracking this exam to get a score that enables you to enrol in an L.L.B. course, you need to focus your efforts on studying English Language and,
  
  Comprehension, Current Affairs, General Knowledge, Quantitative Aptitude, Analytical & Logical Reasoning and Legal Awareness & Aptitude components very well.
   
  
• LSAT: 
  
  In this exam, you need to study the components of Reason, which include Logical and Analytical,
  
  And English Reading Comprehension well, to do well and get the score required to acquire an L.L.B. admission.
   
  
• M.H. C.E.T.:
  
  Legal Aptitude, General Knowledge & Current Affairs, English and Logical & Analytical Reasoning are components you need to ace to get admission in an L.L.B. course in Maharashtra
  .
  
• B.H.U. To get admission in an L.L.B. course,
  
  you must study English Comprehension, General Awareness & Current Affairs & Aptitude & Mental Ability and Common Legal Knowledge study modules. 

L.L.B. Entrance Exam Pattern Explanation:

The L.L.B. Entrance exam pattern for the 3-Year L.L.B. and 5-Year L.L.B. are as follows: 

• Common-Law Admission Test (CLAT):
  
  It is conducted offline and comprises objective-type questions. The language used is English, and there are 150 questions for CLAT UG,
  
  And 120 questions for CLAT LLM. There is a +1 mark for every correct answer and -0.25 for every wrong answer.
   
• All India Law Entrance Test (AILET): 
  
  This examination mode is offline and is divided into two sections, A and B. Section A consists of two parts, 1 and 2, comprising 50 questions each. Section B consists of 2 descriptive questions.
   
• Law School Admission Test (LSAT): 
  
  This exam is offline. It has two parts, with the first comprising 35 minutes of multiple-choice questions and the second part consisting of 35 minutes of uncensored LSAT writing sample.
   
• Symbiosis Entrance Test (S.E.T.): 
  
  The S.E.T. exam mode online, and the total duration is an hour or 60 minutes. The questions are in multiple-choice question format in the examination pattern, also known as MCQs.
   
• D.U. L.L.B.: 
  
  This examination is set by the Delhi University Faculty, which comprises a set of 100 multiple choice objective type answers. It is continued annually in an online mode.
   
• M.H. C.E.T.: 
  
  The duration of this exam is 180 minutes and has in it two sections divided into 90 minutes. The questions are in Multiple Choice format with a total number of 150 and 200 marks, with 100 marks for each section.
   
• B.H.U. L.L.B.: 
  
  This exam is set in an online mode for 2 hours. The questions are in the form of a Multiple Choice format. The total number is 150, and the marking scheme includes four marks for a positive answer and -1 for a negative response. 

Expert advice or review: 

Many of you who want to study law might wonder what is to be done after completing a law degree.

You might think that the next step would be to start practising as a lawyer in court. However, that is not true, and there are more opportunities in law that you can also explore.

Some of them are as follows: 

• Corporate Counsel.
  
  
• Law Firm Lawyer.
  
  
• Litigating Lawyer.
  
  
• Social Work Lawyer.
  
  
• Publishing and Media Lawyer.
  
  
• Indian Legal Services Lawyer.
  
  
• You can even become a Professor of Law. 

So, the best advice for anyone looking to choose law as a profession is to keep your mind open and flexible because,

There are many options in the field of law that you can specialize in and make it a blooming career. 

Conclusion

Overall, there is no doubt that making a career for yourself in Law in India is very appealing and lucrative.

However, there are a few Pros and Cons to it that you need to understand before making any firm decisions. They are as follows:

Pros:

1. This profession allows you to connect and help people.
   
   
2. It is intellectually challenging, and therefore you learn a lot.
   
   
3. Studying law will enable you to make a career as a lawyer and in many other fields.

Cons:

1. This profession of law is very stressful.
   
   
2. Too much information to handle at one time.
   
   
3. Due to the increase in Law Schools in India, the competition in the job market is on the rise. 

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How to become a lawyer in India after the 12th?

 Yes, you become a lawyer after the 12th and do that, you need to do the following: 

1. On completing class 12th, you need to take a law entrance exam.
   
2. Once you successfully pass the examination, you need to apply to a law school.
   
3. Once you find an educational institution providing studies in law, you need to complete your Bachelor's Degree in Law.
   
4. To acquire a law degree, you need to sit for and pass the All India Bar Exam or AIBE to officially practice as a lawyer in court.
   
5. Finally, you need to either gain experience by working in a firm as Associate Advocate or become a full-time independent lawyer. 

2. What qualifications do you need to be a lawyer?

 To be a lawyer, you must first complete an undergraduate course such as BA LLB, BCom, BSc L.L.B. etc. 

Once you graduate with a Law degree, you need to give the All India Bar Exam or AIBE exam. 

After passing this stiff examination, you will be allowed to officially practise as a lawyer in court.

In case you are not passionate about being a lawyer, and you have a Law Degree, in such a case, you need not worry since there are more options in the field you can choose.

3. Can someone become a lawyer at 30?

It is, in fact, never too late to become a lawyer in life. None exists today regarding age limits in courses such as L.L.B. or L.L.M. Thanks to the Bar Council of India, which withdrew the age barrier. 

4. How do I prepare for the bar exam?

You can take a few steps to prepare well for the Bar exam. They are:

1. You need to fully understand the AIBE syllabus and pattern of the entrance exam. 
2. Plan and schedule an exam for yourself.
3. Select the suitable study material that includes books for your preparation.
4. Focus on exam subjects carrying maximum marks.
5. Test yourself with mock AIBE exams.
6. Revise thoroughly before taking the final AIBE exams.

5. How long does it take to become a lawyer?

Irrespective of where you go to law school, it takes approximately six to seven years to become a lawyer.