The journey of Indian Law Schools from Institutionalized mediocrity to becoming centers of excellence in professional higher education has been fast. In just a decade or so law has emerged as a sought after career option for thousands of students out there.

In India, there are 16 premier National Law Universities established or State Law Universities set up by Governments of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, each set up under a separate Act of State Legislature. We also have Departments or Faculties or Schools of Law in the Central, State, Deemed or Private Universities. Further, there are hundreds of aided and unaided, government and private law colleges affiliated to these universities.

The LLB Course is available in two formats for two different audiences – 5 year integrated LLB for class 12 pass outs and 3 year LLB course for graduates from any stream offering another chance to all those who missed out opportunity to pursue law post 12th class.

Like any other 12th class pass out, I was unsure about my career choices as well post 12th class and ended up in the commerce field doing Bachelors in Commerce(B.Com) which also enlightened me on the scope and perimeters of laws established in our country which got me hooked and booked.

That’s when I decided to take up law post my graduation and pursue the 3 year LLB course which was a advantage for me since I was well acquainted with the ethics and tactics of management and business thanks to my choices.

The 5 year LLB course is suitable for students who prefer and have a knack for a legal career right from the start. Most of the top universities like National Law Universities, Symbiosis Law School and Amity Law School offer this course exclusively. To make my point obvious, in my experience I feel mentally it’s much easier to go through 6 semesters than 10(5year course has 10 semesters).

And once you opt for the 3 year LLB course, one gets the chance to soak up the best of both worlds i.e., you have the experience of two degrees and two college’s which the 5 year course would fail in providing.

The subjects and the provisions covered in both the courses are almost the same which include intellectual property rights, criminal law, international law, family law etc. except in the 5 year course the students start with the basics depending upon the course they have opted for like B.A LLB, BBA LLB, B.COM LLB, while in the 3 year course the subjects covers the advance level of the subjects in the course.

The opportunities and the legal presence in our country has undergone a strategic change over the few decades, now-a-days the law aspirants not only figure themselves in the courts but mark their presence in various corporate houses, law firms, law agencies, litigation and administrative services and many more.

So here is the time to make it large, law is a responsible profession and matured graduates taking up law after their first degree is as good as it gets! So, I firmly believe three years on law after graduation is not a bad option at all.

This is to all the law aspirants out there, no room for regrets for you even if you’ve already attended one convocation party.

Lawyered!

Article is written by Shreya Jain, a student of ILS Pune