In this article, Sudarshna Thapa of Law College Dehradun, Uttaranchal University discusses Job Opportunities for law students after Graduation.

Introduction

For the law graduates, choosing a right career in law is an important task which they have to achieve in any manner. “If you are a law graduate and you don’t want to choose your career as a lawyer, then it’s not the time to get worried about this”. Litigation is a traditional option but not the only one. Due to this, it becomes a more critical situation for the student to choose either of becoming a lawyer or something else.

Job Opportunities for law students after Graduation

Law is globally a challenging career which is a system of rules and regulations. But as a profession, it encompasses various fields. Students could go through in litigation. But this concept has changed now. They can also make their career in patent laws and corporate laws, etc. A law degree not only opens the career as a lawyer but also gives the option in various sectors such as corporate management, administration services, and legal services.

Here are some career option for Law Graduates in the following manner:

Litigation

For a law graduate, the traditional career path is practicing in a court. To become a lawyer graduates have to clear an exam which is conduct by Bar Council of India. It is held twice in every year. It is an open book exam which is based on analytical skills and basic knowledge of the law.

• Eligibility for Bar Council Exam

Students must have a law degree from any recognized University of India. Candidates should be enrolled as an advocate under section 24 of Advocate Act, 1961.

• Area of practice in litigation

There are two fields in practice: Civil law and Criminal law.

A lawyer may specialize in a particular field such as the constitution, land laws, family law etc.

• Civil Litigation Lawyer: He/She specializes in civil laws e.g. taxation laws, excise laws.
• Criminal Litigation Lawyer: He/She specializes in criminal laws e.g. CrPC, IPC, Evidence Act and various other penal laws.

A young lawyer and a law student is needed to prepare himself for the litigation. Online Legal Courses can help on this. LawSikho provides online law courses for the education of litigation process. To learn the course of Criminal Litigation and Trial Advocacy visit https://onlinecourses.nujs.edu/courses/criminal-law-litigation-trial-advocacy/

The certificate of the course has been awarded by NUJS.

• How to increase your chances of excelling in litigation by preparing yourself in law school?

Law School is the main institution from where you learn a lot. Basic learnings of law and starting grade of law are only taught by your law school. Today various activities are conducted by law schools to make the student eligible for taking up part in competitive lines and also make the student strong in litigation.

Internships

Internships have become an integral part of the law programme. Practical Knowledge is more beneficial than theoretical knowledge. If your interest is in litigation, it will be beneficial for to do the internship in different courts. You may send your CV to different lawyers or firms for an internship

It seems difficult for the first time when you entered the courtroom or district court. Legal training provided where you come to know about legal proceedings of the cases, cross-examination etc. You also prepare yourselves in legal drafting and so on. Doing Internships in every vacation will make you practically responsible.

Moot Courts

It is a mock court in which law students argue imaginary cases for practice. It is an extracurricular activity which is conducted by every law colleges. Students participate in moots which involves legal drafting, oral arguments. Moot Court is very helpful for the students to become more comfortable with the arguments and expressing towards the Judges. Every year many National Moot Court Competitions is organized by various Universities in India. So whoever wants to make their career in litigation then the moot court is the great opportunity to shaping up.

To learn mooting rapidly and to become a mooting champion. You can make yourself champion in mooting within 3 months. Online courses like this provide you the guidance to do well in mooting without the need to wait for years to gain experience.

Corporate Law Firms

A career in the corporate sector is one of the great things. It plays an important role in drafting, vetting, negotiating contracts, monitoring compliances with legal rules and legal disputes. It is a study of the interaction between the shareholders, director, employees, creditors, community, and environment.

• Transactional Lawyer

A transactional lawyer is one who has knowledge of certain areas which can deal with Bankruptcy, Intellectual Property Rights, Contract Laws, Company Laws, Tax Laws and Securities Laws, etc. He is the legal advisor of the Organization who deals with all the legal matters. He is the one who works for the company and represents their entities. A corporate lawyer can also practice as a legal advisor, advocates, solicitors, etc privately.

• Eligibility to become a Transactional Lawyer

A corporate lawyer must have a law degree and also always updated with various information which is issued by the government. An aspiring corporate lawyer should have completed their undergraduate programmes majors in business, economic and finance. He should have knowledge of current issues in business world and companies.

Law Firm

A law firm is a partnership between lawyers who have come together to offer their expertise works to clients under one name. Partners share their profits, liabilities and also engage other lawyers to work with them as associates. Major law firms have two departments:

1. Corporate Department
2. Litigation Department

• Corporate Department

This department deals with the matters of companies. It advises Companies on the corporate deals such as important inter-company agreements, investment in India by foreign clients, acquisition of companies and etc.

• Litigation Department

This department deals with the matters of firms clients in which they are involved. In this, there is interaction with lawyers and it feels like a court practice.

Internships

Internship plays a major role to set up the attitude of a law student for corporate. If you are looking a career in corporate then the preparation for the corporate personality should be started from the beginning. You have to attach your CV for an internship before two months of joining the internship in firms or corporate sector. You can’t expect too much as you are a fresher. So you must start from the beginning. Internships in corporate sector would make you ultimate in legal research, legal drafting, pleadings, communication skills, personality etc.

Lawctopus is useful to find out new internships opportunities and you can also get notifications on corporate, law firms, government job posts for the law students. Here you can also read about internships experiences of other students.

Ace your Internship

Students who are appearing internships in the corporate law firms are expecting more to get jobs in the future. For this, you have to perform in an extraordinary manner to get the jobs offer. An internship is the one way which can be converted into a job. Ace your internship with online course through which you can build yourself into a person whom a law firm seeks out, visit https://courses.lawsikho.com/courses/how-to-get-top-law-internships-and-get-PPO/

Career in Law Firm for Law Graduates

There are three standout qualities required by everyone who wants to succeed in legal jobs i.e., Leadership, Team Spirit, and Tenancy. Working in a law firm is a desk job involving long hours work. Growth inside the company is a quick and one may become a partner in the law firm in as few as seven or ten years from joining.

Here are some lists of legal positions in Law Firms are:

• Arbitrator
• Paralegal
• Attorney
• Case Manager
• Jury Consultant
• Legal Analyst
• Legal Assistant
• Legal Services Director
• Law Firm Administrator

Emerging Options for the Lawyers

Other emerging options for the lawyers are:

• Intellectual Property Rights
• Cyber Laws
• Consumer Law
• Family Law
• Taxation Law

Government Services

UPSC Civil Services Exams [1]

Civil Services is one of the great opportunity to serve the nation. Civil Servants has given the responsibility to promote social welfare. The career in Civil Services provides the individual with wide powers.The Union Public Services Commission is India’s central recruitment agency. As per the Article 320 of the Indian Constitution, UPSC conduct the examinations for appointments to the services of the union. All India Service examination is conducted by UPSC which consists of Group ‘A’ and Group ‘B’ of central services. This can be a good Job Opportunities for law students after Graduation.

As we know UPSC is the service of public policy so rather than another individual, a law student has more capability to handle the service of public policy. A law student is the one who knows all legal rules of the country and laws related to the past and current issues. So the Civil Services are the best services which can be served by a law graduate.

Series of Civil Services

The series of Civil Services are divided into two groups:

• Group A services

The following services under Group ‘A’ are:

• Indian Administrative Service (IAS)
• Indian Foreign Service (IAS)
• Indian Police Service (IPS)
• Indian P & T Accounts & Finance Service
• Indian Audit and Accounts Service (IAAS)
• Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Central Excise)
• Indian Defence Accounts Service (IDAS)
• Indian Revenue Service (CBEC) (IRS-Customs)
• Indian Ordnance Factories Service (IOFS)
• Indian Postal Service
• Indian Civil Accounts Service (ICAS)
• Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS)
• Indian Railway Accounts Service (IRAS)
• Indian Railway Personnel Service
• Indian Railway Protection Force (Assistant Security Commissioner)
• Indian Defence Estates Service
• Indian Information Service (IIS)
• Indian Trade Service, Group ‘A’ (Gr. III)
• Indian Corporate Law Service (ICLS)

Group B Services

• Armed Forces Headquarters Civil Service (Section Officer’s Grade)
• Delhi, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu, and Dadra & Nagar Haveli Civil Service
• Pondicherry Civil Service
• Pondicherry Police Service
• Delhi Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu, and Dadra & Nagar Haveli Police Service

Eligibility for UPSC examinations

• As per section 3 of the University Grants Commission, the candidate must have bachelor’s degree in Arts/ Commerce/ Science/ Law from any recognized University.
• Candidates who are in final year are also eligible for the examinations.
• The minimum age of the candidate is 21 year and shall not be older than 32 years as on 1st August of the year in which candidate is applying.
• For General Category = 32 years (if physically handicapped= 42 years) with maximum 6 attempts and for physically handicapped 9 attempts.
• For SC/ST = 37 years (if physically handicapped= 47 years) with unlimited attempts.
• For OBC = 35 years (if physically handicapped= 45 years) with 9 attempts.

Benefits to the Law Graduates for appearing in the UPSC exams

• Law is an edge to clear civil service exams. In civil service exams, mainly questions are based on Indian Political and Constitution so it becomes easy for a law student to clear the exams.
• There is an emphasis on administrative law and constitutional law in Prelims (GS Paper-I) of UPSC exams. In mains, exam questions are mainly asked by Law of Torts, Law of Crimes, Mercantile Law and Contemporary legal developments. So it becomes beneficial for a law student to score good rank in the exam.

Judiciary

The role of Judiciary is very important in India. Supreme Court is the apex court of India. Judiciary is the guardian of fundamental rights and ensures the constitutional provisions. The position of Judge is the highest and most respected in the judicial system of India. A Judge always works on new techniques and strategies for the development of the society. Most of the law student see themselves as a Judge in the future. It can be fulfilled if you have the ability to work hard for the nation. This can be a good Job Opportunities for law students after Graduation.

Eligibility to become a Judge

Judicial Service Examination is conducted annually by the Public Service Commision of the respective state.

• To qualify the exam one must have a degree in law from a recognized University.
• One must have enrolled as an advocate with the membership in the State Bar Council of India.
• The age for appearing the exam may vary from state to state.

About Examination

Judicial Service Examination is held in two stages:

1. Judicial Service Preliminary Examination = Objective type questions
2. Judicial Service Main Examination = Written exam

Minimum qualifying marks in the exam are:

• For General = It is 60%
• For reserved category = It is 55% (SC, ST and physically handicapped)

The candidate who got 40% marks in each written paper and 50% marks in aggregate shall be called for a viva-voce test. The marks of viva-voce shall be added to the marks of the main exam (written exam).The candidate who has qualified in the Judicial Service Examination are eligible for the post of the Judge. This can be a good Job Opportunities for law students after Graduation.

Appointment of Judges

• District Courts: In a state, there are various judicial districts which are presided over by a District and Session Judge. A judge of the District Court is the highest judicial authority below the High Court. The Judges of the District Courts are appointed by the Governor of the State with the consultation of the Chief Justice of High Court.Central or State Government appoints Magistrates in consultation with the Chief Justice of the High Court of the concerned states.

Army JAG Officer [2]

Choosing a career in the Indian Army is one of the pride services for the nation. For the law student, Army JAG recruitment is held twice in a year. The post of Judge Advocate General in India is held by legal and chief Judicial of the Army.

Eligibility

• One must be an Indian Citizen.
• The age limit for JAG post = 21 to 27 years
• One must have minimum 55% aggregate marks in LLB/B.A. LLB./BBA LL.B.) Candidate must be eligible for registration with Bar Council of India/State.He must be from recognized University.
• 10 vacancy for men and 4 for women.

Selection Procedure

• On the basis of academic performance, candidates are shortlisted by the Recruiting Directorate, Integrated Headquarter of MOD (Army).
• After that shortlisted candidates will be sent to the SSB centers.
• Those who pass all the stages of SSB will be sent for the medical examination.

Training

• The candidates who will be selected in the final merit list will be called for training in Officers Training Academy, Chennai.
• Cadets will be granted commission in the rank of lieutenant after 49 weeks of training.
• No candidate can marry during the training, nor allowed to live with parents or guardian.

Career in Indian Air Force [3]

Choosing a career in Indian Air Force is like to handle the difficulties and facing the challenges. There are three branches of Air Force: Ground Duty Branch, Flying Branch, and Technical Branch.

Law Graduates are only eligible for Ground Duty Branch. Ground Branch Officers have work to manage the resources of Air Force.

This is consists of:

1. Administrative Branch
2. Logistic Branch
3. Meteorology Branch
4. Education Branch
5. Accounts Branch

1. Administrative Branch

Duties of Officers under this branch are Air Traffic Control and Flight Control.

Eligibility for Administrative Branch

• A citizen must be Indian.
• Both men and women can apply for this post.
• Candidate must be of 21 to 23 years of age.
• The age must be 20 to 25 years in case of postgraduates including 5 years integrated LLB.
• In case of 3 years law graduate, the age limit will be one year more than the 5 years of LLB.
• A degree of post-graduation or a graduation degree with 60% is mandatory.
• Candidate below 25 must be unmarried.

1. Logistics Branch

The officers has the responsibility to manage the I.A.F. resources.

Eligibility for Logistics Branch

• In case of graduates, age must be 20 to 23 years.
• In case of LLB. of 5 years integrated course./ Post Graduates, the age must be 20 to 25 years.
• In case of 3 years law graduates, age must be 20 to 26 years.
• Indian nationality.
• Both men and women can apply.
• Graduation degree with minimum 60%. Post Graduation degree or equivalent diploma with minimum 50% marks.

1. Education Branch

An officer performs the duty of the study and educational requirements of the Air Force employees.

Eligibility for Education Branch

• In case of postgraduates age must be 20 to 25 years and in case of M.Ed and Ph.D. age must be 20 to 27 years.
• Candidate must be an Indian citizen.
• Both men and women can apply.
• Post Graduation degree with minimum 50% aggregate.

Law Graduates are only applicable for Administrative and Logistics Branch.

Educational Branch is applicable for Post Graduates only.

AFCAT Exam

On the basis of AFCAT examination candidates are shortlisted for SSB. It is conducted twice in a year. It posses mainly three branches:

1. Ground Duty Branches
2. Flying Branch
3. Technical Branch

PSUs [4]

Law graduates who have applied for CLAT for LLM are eligible for PSUs (Public Sector Units). On the basis score of CLAT and merit list, the candidate will be called for interviews and special tests.

PSU Companies hiring through CLAT

• Oil India Limited (OIL)
• Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL)
• Oil And Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC)
• Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL)
• National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC)
• Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL)

Other Government posts

There are various other government posts in which law graduates may apply are:

1. Legal advisors in Department of Legal Affairs.
2. Legislative Counsel in Legislative Department.
3. Appointment of Law Officers/ Legal Advisors in almost all the ministries/ departments/ undertakings of the Government of India and State Government of India.
4. Post of Assistance in the Secretariat, such as Legal Assistants, Legal/ Judicial Translators etc.
5. Government secretaries in assemblies.
6. Staff in higher/ lower judiciary/ Quasi-Judicial Institutions.
7. Judicial member in CAT.
8. Government Advocates, Public Prosecutors, solicitors.
9. Attorney General of India.
10. Advocate General.
11. Notaries and Oath Commissioners etc.

Career as a Professor in Universities and Colleges

Law graduates can also be heading towards their career as a professor in the Universities. One shall hold the degree of LL.M., Ph.D. degrees for the post of a professor. There is a responsibility to take up the jobs to provide law study to the students in Universities.

Journalism and Broadcasting

In Law Schools, students are trained for the value of language. Drafting the basic documents, pleading in a perfect manner is the good quality of an intelligent law student. After that when one becomes a lawyer then his creativity with language made the legal work more complex. Some lawyers find themselves to work into the journalism. Whatever we learn, all are from our law school. It is a plus point for any law student who has fluency and commands over the communication skills. A lawyer can practice journalism and broadcasting. There are few jobs available in journalism as legal correspondents. National newspapers have specific journalists to report on high legal cases and also make the views on legal articles. If you want to move towards media and journalism then choices are endless. One can be a news anchor, legal correspondent etc. It can be a bright future to work with the core of Journalism.

Legal Content Writer

Law Firms has open the posts for a content writer. A content writer is the one who highlights the management and marketing of the firms through his writing skills. Much reputed management is now hiring Legal Content Writer. Big Law Firms usually pay high salaries to the content writer up to INR 50,000 to INR 1 Lakh. So if you have the ability to research and writing, then the legal content writer is the best opportunity for any law graduates. Legal blogs writing is the more gaining method to secure the knowledge and also to share the views on the internet with other connected lawyers and people. This can be a good Job Opportunities for law students after Graduation.This can be a good Job Opportunities for law students after Graduation.

Confident in taking Law as a Career – You can do these even before taking CLAT

It is very difficult for a school student who is studying in class 11th and 12th to choose the best career after school. Different students have different choices. But those who want to choose their career in law are still in confuse for the selection of best law colleges. Usually, relatives or other known people prefer them to take admission in private law colleges. But to make your career on the highest peak you first have to make your foundation strong.

You can prepare for Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) exam and do 5 years integrated course of law from one of the 16 National Law Universities (NLUs) in India. These are regarded as best law colleges in India. If you are already graduate then you can do 3 years course of LLB.

CLAT plays an important role in making a career in Law

By cracking the CLAT exam you can get entry into the best national law college like NLSIU Bangalore, NALSAR Hyderabad, NLU Jodhpur, NUJS Kolkata, GNLU Gandhinagar, etc.

Admission to best college means bright future. It’s like new learnings are waiting for you. Grab all the knowledge.

Here what you should do for preparation of CLAT

For clearing the exam you must have a competitive attitude. First, you have to handle your mental strength. The desire for success should be greater than your fear.

General Knowledge and Current Affairs

50 questions are coming from this section in an examination. You must have to increase your knowledge and capacity. Go through the current news and should have to start reading newspapers, monthly magazines, G.K. updates. Especially past CLAT papers will be more helpful.

Legal Aptitude

There are 50 questions from this section. It is the most interesting area. Questions consist of legal principles and facts. Questions mainly come from the legal areas like Law of Torts, Law of Contracts and Criminal Law and legal G.K.

You must have to go through with detailed study to score good marks.

English

This section consists of 40 questions where candidate’s proficiency in English, based on vocabulary, grammar, comprehension is tested. Reading a newspaper daily will be beneficial to improve the vocabulary skills.

Logical Reasoning

There are 40 questions consist of this section. It is given to test the candidate’s ability to identify the patterns and to rectify illogical arguments. This includes questions from the logical sequence, deductions or syllogism, analogies, odd man out, statements and assumptions.

Mathematics

This section comprises of 20 questions which include mathematics up to class 10th.like percentage, profit & loss, probability, compound interest, etc. Old aptitude knowledge shall be tested under this section.

For the Online CLAT preparation course visit

https://courses.lawsikho.com/courses/online-course-clat-legal-aptitude-reasoning-GK/

Conclusion

Legal Careers are competitive in nature. Work Experience makes the commitment to a law career. For achieving a successful law career, you must have the confidence to apply, seeking and acting upon the feedback.

 

LawSikho has created a telegram group for exchanging legal knowledge, referrals and various opportunities. You can click on this link and join:

https://t.me/joinchat/J_0YrBa4IBSHdpuTfQO_sA

 

References

[1] To know more about UPSC visit http://www.upsc.gov.in/ [Date and Time of visit the site- 17/02/2018 at 2:00PM]

[2] For further information on Army JAG Officer visit joinindianarmy.nic.in [Date and Time of visit the site- 17/02/2018 at 3:15PM]

[3] To know more about the AFCAT exam visit https://afcat.cdac.in/AFCAT/ [Date and Time of visit the site- 18/02/2018 at 11:45AM]

[4] PSU recruitment through CLAT

https://exams.collegedunia.com/clat/psu-recruitment