In this article, Sukanya Das discusses What should law aspirants do when they cannot clear CLAT or other law entrance exams.

Starting with few interesting facts and figures about the legal education sector in India.

• With over 3.73 lakh people graduating from law schools every year from 1200 law schools all over India it is important to understand that not all of them graduated from an NLU or a high-rank Private Law University.
• Out of the output of law graduates 40% end up becoming lawyers.
• There are only 2300 seats in CLAT and the resulting number of lawyers being 1.5 lakh means you needn’t be disheartened. Legal studies do not begin and end at these entrance exams.

Best Law Schools in India and their admission process

CLAT is the most sought-after law entrance examination in India. The most elite National Law Universities take part in the organising CLAT and the entrance test is the gateway for these top-notch law universities in India.

It is attempted by students who wish to be a part of some of the top law universities In India, namely the top NLUs. More and more students have been appearing for this exam with every passing year. As per official records with a growth of 5% a total of 4.5 Lakh students applied and of it, 85% of the students appeared.

Now, after having prepared for CLAT and not getting an NLU is not something to be worried about, because without failure no one has ever found success. Even though the path you started off on reached a dead end, there are still many alternate paths that can help you realise your dream to become a lawyer.

Following are a few options you can explore if you couldn’t clear the CLAT exam and neither do you wish to graduate from a private law university.

Explore Professions related to Law

Professional programs are available that help you enter the arena of legal studies, company policies as well as arbitration.

Company Secretary

One such program is Company Secretary (CS). These post holders work as the chief advisor to the board of directors of a company, they also advise them on good governance practices, on negotiating as well as on arbitration issues. All in all, they handle a big gamut of activities. They hold enormous knowledge pertaining to Company Law.

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The most appealing part of this job is that you don’t require to have a Law degree to be a part of this professional field. Under the professional program of Company secretary, all you need to do is clear a couple of stages i.e. the Foundation Program, Executive Program and Professional Program, which has to be followed up with a one-year internship.

This can be pursued after class 12th alongside any other regular degree program like the above-mentioned programs under B.A. or B. Com. which also happens to be the most popular choice.

There are a plethora of options to pick from in professions related to law. If you are one of those people who are very passionate about the law but missed the chance to become a lawyer, worry not, any profession falling within the arena which is related to law is always open for you.

Opt for a 3-Year L.L.B. Degree Instead

A five-year degree is not the only way to become a Lawyer. You can achieve the same dream after a normal UG degree as well, through a three year L. L.B. degree after having completed your graduation. If you didn’t get through CLAT, then you can take a look at a few other degree programs which can help you create a base for the pursuit of law as a career at a later stage.

For instance, if you are very interested in Law then B.A. in Political Science is a great option for getting introduced to law studies. The subject helps in figuring out how government policies are shaped and helps you understand the political background of the country where from the subject of law itself stemmed.

Other options like B.B.A, B.Com are helpful too especially for students wanting to pursue law in the Corporate sector. There are a plethora of options to look from, so don’t be disheartened if you could not get through CLAT. There is way more to this profession than this exam.

Consider other Entrance Exams

Although the CLAT exam is conducted for getting admission into 18 of the renowned National Law Schools, but they aren’t the only ones that bring out great lawyers in India. Neither does not clearing LSAT mean that your dream of becoming a lawyer won’t be realised because you cannot afford the hefty amount of tuition fees you’ve to pay in order to study in some private university or international universities.

There are other institutions that are not only well known in the legal sphere for its good outcomes but also for their reasonable education charges such as BLAT (Banaras Hindu University Law Admission Test), IPU CET LLB ( Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University Common Entrance Test).

Another reason why you should appear for these entrance exams is also that these are relatively easier than CLAT and their intake of seats is also higher than that of institutes under CLAT exam.

A cost-benefit analysis needs to be done and weighed carefully especially when there are risks of failure and disaster which need to be accounted for along with things like tuition. Those costs can and should be minimized like any other investment. If the costs outweigh possible benefits, then you should look for further options which better suit your convenience.

Take a Drop Year

This should be your last resort since there are always options open other than sitting at home and preparing for CLAT all over again. A three-year law degree course is always available and deemed to be better, I wouldn’t always recommend this option but nonetheless, the option still is open if Law is where your heart truly is set, then go ahead.

Although, the decision to take a drop year must be taken reasonably and after having done careful consideration. It is a basic human tendency to feel that they can do something right if given another chance, similarly a lot of students might feel that they can crack the exam if they take another drop year but a lot of them end up wasting a huge chunk of that year. Before taking a drop year, you should properly evaluate your current performance and other factors like by how much marks did you miss out the cut-off score and your level of perseverance to study the exact same things wholeheartedly for another year.

If the answer is affirmative then go ahead. But make sure you work on your shortcomings and develop a proper plan for the coming year and learn from your mistakes from the previous year.

Consider a Career Change

What was the reason behind you wanting to pursue law in the first place? Was it because of your parents or your friends or some innate strong passion for the subject truly coming from within?

Sometimes a lot of us tread down a career path without giving it a proper thought or evaluating all our options first which might also be true for Law. It is very much possible that you could be doing well in a different career path which is better suited for you.

Exploring other fields is a very good option for example for somebody with good communication skills, research skills, and decision-making capacity, they could easily feel that they are meant to be a lawyer but limiting oneself to that field is not a judicious decision. Fields such as Public Relations, Sales Marketing, Social Work or even careers that are in relation with counseling could be excellent as an option for you.

There are ‘n’ number of options for you to pick as a career that utilise the wide arena of skill-set that you possess. That may help you do better at a different profession apart from law. It is never too late to start fresh if something is not working out for you. It is always advisable to keep an open mind for career options since you never know what mind end up working out for you. Worst case scenario, you try again until you succeed, in terms of career shifting or trying in the very same career path.

Conclusion

People go to law schools with a major dream of getting into the legal profession, more often than not to become a lawyer. Although a lot of such people don’t really realise what they are signing up for. A lawyer’s job is all very glorified on the face of it, however, the reality is that most of what lawyers do is transactional work i.e. their primary job is to draft documents for other people which include wills, letters of agreement, memoranda, contracts, wills etc. keeping that in mind your dream of becoming a Lawyer may be on thin ice right now, but it doesn’t mean it cannot be saved! Carefully weigh your options to see if Law is the right career path for you, or if it’s something else entirely. Whichever option you choose from above, be sure that it is the right one for you. And if you are unsure in any way at all, talking to career counselors always helps.

All the best!