Career Opportunities for LLB Graduates

By Nikita Anand

In past few years, law as a profession has become one of the most sought after career choice. With advent of National Law Schools and many Internationally recognised private law colleges, students now have world class education within their reach. Law graduates have a lot of options when it comes to deciding the career path. The general perception of older generation "LLB karke log vakalat hi karte hain" has now changed with the expansion of career opportunities.

This article throws light upon the variety of career opportunities available to a law graduate.

Litigation

This is the most commonly known career option for Law graduates. According to Cambridge Dictionary Litigation means ‘the process of taking a matter to a court of law so that judgement could be made’. The people who represent clients in the court of law are known as Advocates. Advocates represent clients in the District Court, High Court and the Supreme Court. Apart from these three venues, lawyers practice in Commissions, Tribunals, Special Courts etc. Lawyers are indispensable part of society. Without advocates to represent them, people will find themselves lost in the maze of legal channels.  

After completing Law graduation, a person can register himself with the Bar Council of any of the states. He /she has to furnish the required documents such as university marksheets, Id proof, etc. In order to appear before law courts in India, now it is mandatory to clear the All India Bar Exam (AIBE).

Judiciary

Judiciary is one of the most respected professions in our country. Judges are the decision makers in civil and criminal matters. A law graduate can prepare for competitive exams for Judiciary which take place every year. Once, they qualify the exam, they are appointed as Judicial Magistrates. States hold their own judicial entrance exam in which candidates may appear. There are generally three stages in such exams – Preliminary round, Main exam and Interview. Law graduation is mandatory to appear as a candidate in Judicial services exam.

Law Firm

A law firm is a group of lawyers working together as a part of an organisation. Each of the lawyers is allotted different work so that complex cases could be dealt with. The lawyers in the firm may specialise in different areas of law. Banks and big Companies, hire law firms when lot of paperwork needs to be prepared. Project Finance, Taxation, Shipping, Real Estate, Capital Markets, Intellectual Property Rights etc are some of the areas dealt by law firms.

Legal Process Outsourcing

Legal Process Outsourcing units are commonly referred to as LPOs. Lawyers in countries like UK, US, Singapore etc, charge a lot of money for legal tasks. In order to cut costs and get work done inexpensively, companies/law firms in the above mentioned countries outsource their work to India. LPOs in India do the legal documentation and send it back to the client. This is a comparatively new career option for law graduates. Legal Process Outsourcing will generate many employment opportunities for lawyers in the coming years.

Corporate

Almost all successful Companies in India prefer to have lawyers on their payroll.  Large Corporations maintain a separate legal department which handles all its law related requirements. It could be documentation, compliance, court related work etc.  A law graduate can work as a in-house counsel for such companies. Good knowledge of Company law is a must for this career choice.

Civil Services

Many law graduates appear for the Civil Services Exam (UPSC) and clear it successfully. As ‘Law’ is one of optional subjects of the UPSC examination, law graduates find it easier to crack because they already have in depth knowledge of the subject.

JAG branch

JAG stands for Judge Advocate General. This is a branch in the Indian Army which consists of legally qualified Military officers. The head of this branch of Army is the Judge Advocate General. He is the Judicial Chief of the Army. The JAG officers assist the Army with Court martials and military law. Graduates who wish to serve the nation can apply to the JAG branch whenever vacancies are announced for the same.

Academics

Law graduates can join the academia and pursue professions such as a law professor or researchers. In order to do so, they have to specialize in any of the areas of law by pursuing masters (LLM) and PhD. With increase in number of law colleges, there is an ever increasing demand for law teachers. This has generated a lot of opportunities for lawyers who wish to guide the young legal minds in the country.

Publishing

This is a relatively new area in the field of law. Lawyers who like to write may join law publishers as researchers, editors or authors for law books. Also, those who have a flair for online presence, can run their own websites and publish content on the internet. There is also scope for managing legal databases.

Social Work

Lawyers with inclination towards working for betterment of society can opt to work for NGOs. There are many organisations which require lawyers to assist them with welfare of the public. They file public interest litigation (PIL) in the Supreme Court to bring changes in the socio-legal set up. There are NGOs who assist marginalised sections of society with free legal aid so that they get better access to justice.

Think Tanks

Think tanks are organisations which work on policies and their implementation. Think tanks hire researchers and visionaries who work on policies relating to politics,society, economics, etc. They are the brains behind legislative and policy oriented changes taking place in the country. This is an exciting field of work for law graduates.

About the Author:

Nikita Anand is Managing Editor, Mightylaws.in. She has done BA LLB from National Law Institute University, Bhopal. She believes that increasing legal awareness is the key to ensure social justice and simplification of law is the means to achieve it.

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