This article is written by Uzair Ahmad Khan, Student, Teerthankar Mahaveer University, Moradabad.

Introduction

As we all know, Law is a very fascinating and vast field to make a career in, you may find various sector within the field to start your career. But the problem is whether you are pursuing 5 years integrated law course or you are pursuing 3-year law course, every final year law student is stuck with the question what they are going to do after completing their law?

What’s in the mind of a final year law student?

Generally, there are two things which are stuck in the mind of final year law student and that are Confusion and Fear of not getting the job. Let’s discuss this topic further.

Why there is too much Confusion?

There can be ample reasons for such confusion. Let’s discuss some of the reasons for that

• No proper guidance from the beginning

The primary reason due to which most law students are confused is that they don’t get proper guidance from the beginning by their teachers. Due to this, the final year students feel like they are stuck and starts questioning whether they choose the right career option or not.

• Too many options to choose from

The secondary reason due to which most law students are confused is that there are too many options available to them such as in-house counsel, litigation, judiciary, academics, and many more. This sometimes creates ambiguity and students unable to figure out which particular area would be suitable for them.

Fear of not getting the job

Another thing that stuck in the mind of every final year student is the fear of not earning or getting the job after completing their graduation. However, this is true most of the law graduates unable to get a job or starts earning very few bucks this is because the law colleges don’t teach the practical skills that required to survive in the world of law practice.

What should final year law students do to overcome confusion and fear of not getting a job?

Every law student either a final year or 1st year should start investing daily on learning apart from their academics schedule because if you want extraordinary results than you have to do extraordinary things.

It can be various skills which you can learn side by side during your final year and some of the most important skills that can be learned with time are follows as-

Contract Drafting

Contract drafting is one of the most important essential skill set to learn for lawyers and law students as well. The reason is that lawyers have to draft petitions, applications, opinions, and variety of contracts in a day to day life

However, law colleges are not teaching drafting skills like litigation related drafting or contract to draft, then from where law students should learn such skill?

There are two ways by which a student can learn contract drafting, first is by doing an internship under the senior lawyer and learn from him or one may do a contract drafting course to learn the practical aspects of the subject matter.

Drafting skill is literally the bread and butter of all lawyers. It makes a huge impact in the formative years for a lawyer.

Researching Skills

Another important skill which every final year law student learn is how to do effective legal research because whether you like it or not legal research is a part of lawyering.

This skill can be learned by practicing daily legal research on different topics. A student who wants to master this skill should do a long legal research internship such as Vidhi center for legal policy, TERI etc.

Ability to write effectively

Students either a final year or 1st year should develop a habit of writing.

Writing quality legal articles daily which can be published on the blog help the students to get the job or offer him more opportunities.

For example, if any student has an interest in arbitration and wants to grab a job in an arbitration firm then it will be advisable to him to write more and more about arbitration burning topics and make them published on a renowned blog.

Because when his or her article gets published on a renowned blog then it will be read by a number of peoples from lawyers to clients who were seeking an answer of their question in that article and then they will ask the writer to give opinions on different or even offer the job to work with them.

Time Management

Time management is very essential whether it is in litigation practice or corporate it helps in achieving the said deadlines. An effective lawyer is one who knows how to manage time.

So, it is advisable to every law student to master the skill of time management because there is no typical day for a lawyer. Probably the days are dynamic and one probably has to run all over the place trying to manage numerous expectations. Usually, the day involves long phone calls, document reviews, long meetings, and travel as well as looking after a less glamorous administrative spot.

How to know where to go?

Almost, every final year the last student has a question in mind whether they go for litigation or in the Corporate sector and make a career in it. To know the answer to this question the student must involve in long term internships in different fields during their final year.

Litigation Vs Corporate

Choosing between litigation and the corporate field is very difficult because the practice area you choose can have a major impact on your future. You should choose your career depending on your personality.

Some people never really want to go to the court or want to keep it as minimal as possible. Whereas some people enjoy the court proceedings, as they love to argue in court and gets happy with the tension and stress that gets from litigation.

Pros of litigation

1. People doing litigation have the liberty to make their own choice, set fees and choose their own practice area.
2. Litigators deals with practical problems of his client like problems what people generally face at large.
3. Litigators are self-employed they don’t have to worry about the low economic condition.
4. Gets an impressive degree and authority over others.

Cons of litigation

1. It takes time to build a career in litigation.
2. Work hard to convince clients to have faith in you and give you their case.
3. No money in the beginning.
4. Overburden with the work given by senior advocate.

Pros of Corporate Sector

1. It gives a hefty sum of money from the beginning.
2. Don’t need to build a business from the top, all you need to do is just work and give your best.
3. There is assurance of a job in the corporate sector and even if you are removed from a job you get a reasonable time to search a new one.
4. Corporate lawyer gets a good knowledge of current business trends and business laws.

Cons of Corporate Sector

1. Forced to work under strict guidelines.
2. During low economic condition, it is difficult to get a job.
3. Have to work insane hours and under immense pressure.
4. A desk job with a fixed place.

Fields of Corporate sector

• Corporate Structuring

It is reorganizing the structure of the organization in order to make it more profitable and efficient. The work of a commercial lawyer is to ensure that the restructuring of business is done with compliance of all corporate laws and regulations

• Insolvency and Bankruptcy

The bankruptcy lawyer is tasked with the responsibility of conducting evaluation and analysis of financial documents and also assist the entity during the filing process.

• Compliance

This includes being an in-house counsel or a law officer to a company to ensure that there is compliance of rules by the company and its employees. The lawyer can act as a counselor for private companies, counselor for public companies and counselor for business start-ups and joint ventures.

• Corporate Litigation

Corporate litigation includes managing business disputes and steps taken to avoid litigation as well as actually litigating. The functions of corporate lawyer include managing corporate tax compliance, tort issues and as a tax advocate includes responsibilities such as income tax advisors, tax appeal advisors etc.

• Intellectual property rights

IP lawyers have to litigate in matters of intellectual property and represents clients in courts. Basically the role of lawyers to deal with everything legal in intellectual property.

• Banking and Finance

Corporate lawyers can also practice in the area of banking and finance it includes syndicated lending, acquisition finance, and debt restructuring. Institutions include public and private sector banks, multinationals, non- banking financial institutions and financial institutions.

• Real estate

Real estate lawyers advise some of India’s largest real estate focused funds and real estate companies in investments, property acquisitions, leases, and sales. The large percentage of corporate lawyers are engaged in the real estate sector.

Conclusion

If you are still unable to decide which field is suitable for you and which skill set you to need to develop then you can also visit here to get proper career counseling. Choosing a career can be difficult for final year law grads but there are plenty of opportunities for those who willing to put in the required efforts along with focus and smart work.