Law as a career - Courses and Job Opportunities

By Professor (Dr.) Ram Niwas Sharma

Students interested to study and pursue a career in law can know here all about the opportunities, scope and more. 

Law aspirants have a perception that the profession is only about lawyers and judges, but it is not the case. There is an ever increasing demand for knowledgeable and hardworking professionals in the stream from these conventional career paths to corporate lawyers, teachers, researchers and journalists. The Law graduates are indirectly helping the people to modify their behavior by punishing those who do wrongful activities

India is known for the works of great lawyers including, Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya, Dadabhai Naoroji, Motilal Nehru and others due to their great contributions in the National freedom struggle alongside law practice. This article entails reasons on why the law is a noble profession and diverse career options for aspirants.                                                   

In India, Legal profession is considered noble and respectable sort of similar to medical profession. The individual needing help with legal work including, family, business, property, crime etc. require lawyers to represent them in court proceedings. The lawyers need to perform such services for livelihood, as well as help in proper conduct of behavior in Society. Therefore, the scope of law as a career is recommendable and prevalent. A student pursuing law can take up the following careers with just a bachelor’s or the masters degree.

Mostly the Universities offer the five-year integrated law degrees - BA LLB and BBA LLB courses. Where BBA LLB covers Business and Management subjects along with subjects of Law, and BA LLB covers subjects of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences along with core law subjects. The career opportunities for both courses are almost the same. But if a student wants to further specialize in fields of Corporate Laws, Business Laws, etc. then by pursuing BBA LLB, the student will get an edge over a student of BA LLB because the former will have a better foundation and understanding of the concept of management. On the other hand, if a student wants specialize in the field of taxation, accounting, etc. then it is better for a student to pursue BA LLB first and then pursue an additional course like ICWAI, CA, CS, etc.

Thus, there is no significant difference between BBA LLB and BA LLB courses. A student pursuing any of these courses should look at what subjects you are interested in and pursue that course, as it will make your entire course more fruitful.

A Lawyer: From client servicing, consultation and legal paper work to representing the clients in court proceedings. Whether prosecution or defense, in both trials as well as appellate courts lawyers provides services to their clients. They perform paralegal functions including, drafting of legal papers, performing legal research, and assist their senior counsels as and when required.

Compliance analyst: A lawyer as an analyst is to ensure good governance, risk management and compliance of the company or firm they work for with the laws of the land. A legal compliance analyst for a firm ensures that all the policies, rules, and bylaws are according to the Indian constitution and legal regulations for operating of business.

Career in Indian Judiciary: Lawyering is the fast & ever growing profession. It is undergoing through sea changes with the change of time and requirements. The law has expanded to Corporate Law, Litigation, etc. Indian Judiciary is that the structured system to affect the issues within the society. It provides plethora of opportunities to the judicial aspirants to help in serve the nation. Therefore, fresh law graduates aspire to adorn the three organs of the government i.e. the legislature, Executive and Judiciary. All other graduates may occupy the upper offices of legislature and executive but not within the judiciary. Therefore, a Law degree can open the door to a good sort of careers that any other degree will not.

Judiciary is the third pillar of our democracy. Judges are liable for administrating, interpreting and applying laws and the provision of the Constitution.

To become a judge, aspirants have to appear and qualify the Judicial Services exams as conducted by the Public Service Commission of a state. The judiciary aspirants should hold a postgraduate degree in law from any recognized university or institution and, must be enrolled with the state bar council as per the regulations of the Bar Council of India (BCI).

Arbitrator: Arbitrator, also known as a mediator who ensures that the disputes between parties at National and International level are settled in a smooth and amicable manner. He guides them, and persuade them for out of court settlements.

Researcher: He is a court reporter, who sits in the courtroom and assists the Judges. They have to make a note of every word spoken during a proceeding. They transcribe the legal proceedings in court and every other aspect until the end of a dispute.

Civil Services: Another excellent career option for law graduates is to be a part of the government. They can, by clearing the UPSC exams, become civil servants and help in effective administration and management of the country.

Help change the world: Lawyers are in a unique position to help individuals, groups, and organizations to deal with their legal problems and to ensure that they help them to obtain justice, equity and fairness in the given circumstances. We can say by reforming laws, the lawyers can help in changing the world.

Dr. Ram Niwas Sharma is Professor & Dean, School of Law, IMS Unison University, Dehradun. After his LLB graduation from Jodhpur University, he was enrolled as an Advocate in Rajasthan High Court, Jodhpur. With more than 35 years of teaching experience, he has occupied the post of Vice Chancellor at IASE Deemed University, Sardarshahr, authored more than nine books, presented research papers in more than 70 National Seminars as well as, than 45 published research papers in various national and international journals.