How to become a Lawyer? Learn Complete Process Step-by-Step
How to become a lawyer: Do you want to become a lawyer but do not know how to become a lawyer like most students? Or like some students who do not have complete knowledge of what has to be done to become a lawyer.
Now you do not need to take any tension, you have come to the right place, and you will be given complete information. Here you will get all the information about legal practice like where to start, what is the future of legal practice, whether should you practice law, and many more things every student who wants to become a lawyer should know.
After reading this article, you will know everything about this career like what to do to become a lawyer, what to do to become a lawyer, and what to do to do law. Before choosing any career, it is very important to know about it. So that you have confidence about your career, what you are going to do and what you are doing. In this article on how to become a lawyer, you will get all this information…
What is a lawyer, what does it mean?
If you think that a lawyer is one who fights for justice in court. Although you are right, but it is not completely correct, it is a bit incomplete, and being a lawyer is more than that.
In today’s modern world, a Lawyer is not just one who fights cases in District Court, High Court, or Supreme Court. This would have been true a few decades back. There are many career options available for a lawyer, he works in many organizations. A lawyer can be an expert in many legal matters such as business, society, the environment, the internet, etc.
In general, a lawyer is a person who has a degree in Law.
After completing the law degree, you can become a lawyer, become a legal advisor to the government and many more, which you will get to read and know further in this article on how to become a lawyer.
In Hindi, Lawyer, Advocate, Solicitor, Attorney are all called Vakil / Vakil. However, there is a difference between all these and the way of working of all these legal experts is different.
All these have different meaning in law. A very thin line has been drawn in all these synonyms, which makes all these words different.
In short words, I would say that: Today’s lawyer does not work only in the courtroom, he has many options. It depends on him in which field he wants to go. You have been given information about all the fields in this article on how to become a lawyer.
“All lawyers are lawyers but not all lawyers are lawyers”
Skill Sets to become a Lawyer
Lawyer is one of the high profile career options. You need to develop some important skills to become a competent lawyer. These following qualities should be inside a lawyer
- Memorization power
- Communication and interpersonal skill (How to interact with others and come to present your side)
- Time management
- Judgment and Decision Making (Ability to take the right decision)
- Active Listening
- Logical and Analytical
- Critical thinking
- General awareness (Keeping information about what is happening in the society around you)
- Instant thinking
- English
- Writing
If you do not have most of the skills mentioned above, then it does not matter, you can develop all these skills with time.
Education required to become a lawyer
There are two paths to become a lawyer in India. Under the Indian education system, you have two different ways to become a lawyer. You can become a lawyer by choosing any one of the paths mentioned below.
- 5 years of LLB program
- 3 years of LLB program
So let’s see which path is good for you to become a lawyer
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How to become Lawyer Path – 1
Education 1 [Mandatory]: High School
To make a career in law, you have to pass senior secondary high school (10+2) from any stream (Arts / Commerce / Science) and also make your percentage equal to or more than the prescribed percentage to study law. have to keep
Don’t worry you only need to get 45% in your 12th standard. This percentage is determined by many law universities and colleges. Meaning that if you want to become a lawyer, then you must have 45 percent marks in class 12th.
However, the minimum percentage/division is determined by each college and university on its own for admission. In this article on how to become a lawyer, you have been told the names of the best Law Colleges in India, which you can know below.
Education 2 [Mandatory]: 5 years LLB (Under Graduation)
You can choose any one of the following programs to start a career in Law. The duration of all the courses is 5 years.
- Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws (BA.LLB)
- Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws (B.Com LLB)
- Bachelor of Social Work and Bachelor of Laws (BSW LLB)
- Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Laws (B.Sc. LLB)
- Bachelor of Business Administration and Bachelor of Laws (BBA.LLB)
- Bachelor of Science in Law (BSL)
When you take admission for 5 years Law Programs. So here you will not only get LLB degree, but along with that you will also get additional information about subjects like business, social science, environment, etc. In these 5 years, you will master a specific area of law, in whatever subject you are interested.
LLB academic program which is completed in 5 years is generally called Integrated LLB.
Education 3 [Optional]: LLM (Master of Laws)
Post graduation in law is optional, it is up to you. If you want to study further in law, then you can do masters. In general, Masters is a better option for those students who want to become a professor in a college or university in future and want to do research in the subject of law.
If your aim is to become a lawyer and work in court or other institutions, rather than doing research and studying in law colleges, then bachelor’s degree (LLB) is sufficient for you.
However, if you want to pursue Masters of Law and want to gain more comprehensive knowledge in the field of law, it will certainly be beneficial for your career growth. Because getting some extra knowledge has always been a good option, to get better opportunities and to build your good reputation (image) in front of others.
If you want to increase your knowledge then you should take admission for LLM. But if you just want to work as a lawyer, then the knowledge you have acquired during LLB will enable you to become a lawyer and practice law.
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How to become Lawyer Path – 2
Education 1 [Mandatory]: High School
Senior Secondary High School (12th standard) from any stream (Art/Commerce/Science)
Education 2 [Mandatory]: Under Graduation Degree
You must have a graduation (Bachelor degree) degree, it doesn’t matter what subjects you had in graduation and what subjects you have studied.
To get admission in any law college which conducts 3 years LLB program, it is mandatory for you to be a graduate in any subject.
If you have done B.Tech (Engineering) and now your mind is to become a lawyer or you want to make a career in law, then definitely read this article: After Engineering Law, Cyber and Internet Lawyer – in Hindi
Education 3 [Mandatory]: 3 years LLB
3 years LLB is mostly done by those students who fail to decide their career first and they do not know what to do in life. This LLB program is another boon for all those students to choose their favorite career ie to become a lawyer.
If you are also included in those students, then do not take tension, you are not the only person who has failed to choose the right and desired career. There are many lawyers in the world who first graduated in some other subject and then studied to become a lawyer.
It does not mean at all that your bachelor’s degree which you did after 12th class will be completely wasted and it was a waste of time. Of course, you will get the benefit of your graduation studies.
Unlike the 5-year LLB integrated program, in 3-year LLB programs, you have to study only about law, for 3 years.
Education 4 [Optional]: Post graduation- LLM (Master of Laws) and PhD
It is not mandatory to do your LLM or PhD, it completely depends on your desire.
So now a question comes in mind that which path to choose to become a lawyer?
The answer is very simple, if you are still a student of class 12th and your goal is to become a lawyer. Means if you know that I want to study only and only to become a lawyer, then you should follow Path-1 to become a lawyer.
If for some reason you are not able to choose the first path (Path-1) of how to become a lawyer, then the second option is to become a lawyer. On the other hand, a graduation other than law student will have to choose a 3-year LLB program if he wants to become a lawyer.
Do you know?
L.L.B is a Latin (Latin: foreign language spoken in Italy and other European countries) word which means Legum Baccalaureus. Which we call Bachelor of laws (B.L) and Bachelor of Legislative Law (LL.B) in English.
Does a lawyer need to know English? Importance of English in Law
In one word the answer is ‘Yes’. A lawyer must know English. Because all our court proceedings are done in English.
And as you know how much influence English has in India. If you do not know English, it is understood that you do not have knowledge, whereas it is not true. So if you want to make a career in law, then you must have knowledge of English.
This does not mean that you should know hi-fi English only then you can make a career in law. With time you can improve your English.
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How long does it take to become a Lawyer?
There is a doubt in the mind of many students as to how much time it takes to become a lawyer. So friends, its correct answer depends on your decision.
Meaning, the time taken to become a lawyer will depend on which career path (one of [1] and [2]) you choose to become a lawyer.
[1] If you take admission in 5 years LLB Integrated Program then it will take you exactly 5 years to become a lawyer. This 5 years time which will take to become a lawyer will be counted from your senior secondary high school. Total 5 years of time.
[2] And if you are among those students who have failed to choose their right career before and you have done your graduation in some other subjects. And now you feel that law is a very good career option for me.
In this career path, it will take you 3 more years to become a lawyer, after graduation. This means that it will take you 6 to 7 years to become a lawyer, after passing senior secondary high school (10+2). Total 7 ± 1 years of time.
What will you get to learn or study in LLB (Bachelor of Laws)
As you might be guessing, we have to read about Law. Yes, you are absolutely right, in the course of college, you have to read only about law.
But you will not know that what kind of Laws you will read about in your academics. In the syllabus of LLB, you have to read about many types of Laws.
Such as Criminal Law, Human Rights Law, Constitutional Law, Family Law, Banking Law, Company Law, Environmental Law, International Trade and Business Law, Intellectual Property (Intellectual Property) Law, Information Technology Law, Law of Taxation, Insurance (Insurance) Law, Administrative (Administrative) Law, Humanitarian and Refugee (Humanitarian and Refugee) Law, Labor and Industrial Laws, Law relating to women and children.
Apart from the laws mentioned above, you will get to learn and read all these in your 5 year L.L.B program
- Evolution, culture, structure and functioning of human society. You will get to learn how social relations and social interactions work in society to solve a case.
- Along with law books, you also need to read about the history of India to some extent. And you will know the history of legal and constitutional laws.
- What is Tort? and the jurisdictional law system for Tort.
- Indian Legal System, Legal Methods and Legal Research.
- About Evidence like how it is made and what are the laws of Evidence. Evidence plays an important role in the judiciary, so it is very important for you to have knowledge about it.
- Production, Distribution and Consumption of Goods and Services (Economics)
- The study of crime and the various methods used in crime (Criminology)
- Legal Writing
How to take admission in Law College’s (LLB admission procedure)
Many Entrance Exams are conducted all over India by different Law Universities. Career Jano lists out some of the popular entrance exams that will get you admission in the best and best law colleges in India.
Means if you want admission in India’s best top most law colleges so that you can become a good lawyer then you have to give these following entrance exams. You can’t run away from them.
Separate entrance exams are conducted by the universities for class 12th students and graduated students.
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Topmost Law Entrance Exams for the 12th-grade students [5 years LLB]
- CLAT
- AILET
- SET
- LSAT India
- AMU
- AP LAWCET
- JMI
Law Entrance Exam for the graduate candidates [3 years LLB]
- LSAT India
- DU LLB
- AP LAWCET
- BHU-UET
Topmost and Finest Law Colleges/Universities in India
These following law colleges are counted among the best law colleges in India. If you want to become a good lawyer then these law colleges are going to help you a lot in achieving your goal
- NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad
- National Law School of India University, Bangalore
- National Law Institute University, Bhopal
- National Law University, Jodhpur
- Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar
- National Law University, Delhi
- Faculty of Law, University of Delhi, Delhi
- Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Patiala
- Jindal Global Law School, Sonipat
- National University of Advanced Legal Studies, Kochi
- Symbiosis Law School, Pune
- Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi
- Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh
- WB National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata
- National University of Advanced Legal Studies, Kochi
In which places do lawyers work?
Most of the law students have this question in their mind that where they can work after finally completing their law degree or in which places they can apply for jobs. Or only court is the only option to make a career in law.
This question of yours is very natural, and it is important to know every student who dreams of becoming a lawyer. These are some of the places where lawyers generally prefer to work after completing LLB…
- law firms
- Judiciary
- Government Legislative Department
- Ministry of Law and Justice
- Department of legal affairs
- Military (Army/Navy/Air Force)
- Banks (Private + Public)
- Financial Institution
- Corporates and industries
- NGO (Non-Governmental Organization)
- university lecturer
Apart from not working in these institutions, you can also start your own business. Most of the lawyers start their own law firm and give advice and solution to their clients regarding the problems related to law.
To open a law firm, you should have at least 5 to 10 years of working experience, because after working for so long, your identity is known in many places and you have a lot of clients who want to join you.
Job options after doing LLB?
After completing your Law degree, you can choose any of the following career paths and specialize in any one field.
- Advocate in Court
- corporate lawyer
- cyber lawyer
- environmental lawyer
- Legal advisor
- Family and Divorce lawyer
- military lawyer
- International lawyer (Legal Process Outsourcing)
- Law Clerk / Judicial Clerk
- Public Prosecutor
- Chief Legal Officers
- Tax Attorneys
- Immigration Lawyer
- Intellectual Property/Real estate Lawyer
- Patent and copyright lawyer
As you can see, there are so many job options available with a law graduate. So now it would be wrong for you to say that a lawyer is the one who fights cases in the courtroom. You have many options other than becoming a lawyer in the court.
Due to having so many job options, sometimes it becomes confusing for the students as to which career path to choose after completing the law degree. You can choose any of these job options, according to your interest and priority.
Many lawyers work in 2 to 3 fields at the same time, you can also do it when you get experience.
Career Options after becoming a Lawyer
Either you can set your career by working in the career option mentioned above, and if you do not do it, then tension not you have other career options that you can do after completing law studies.
Civil Services: You can prepare for India’s highly respected and admired service exam (IAS- Indian Administrative Service). People with law are the perfect combination for a highly respected job like IS.
Because you have already mastered law, and if after that you contribute in services like IS, then many problems of our country like India will be solved and you will contribute a lot in the development of the country.
Judiciary: After doing LLB, many students prepare for Judiciary. You can also be one of those students. Becoming a judge of a court is not less than an achievement in itself. To achieve this feat, many law students prefer to prepare for the judiciary. Judiciary is one of the 4 important pillars of democracy.
Master of Laws (LLM): Professor
You can be a master in legal law system. So if you want to read more about law then you can take admission in master degree program. Generally, LLM is of 1 or 2 years, depending on which college you are taking admission in. You can also go abroad to do masters in law.
LLM is mostly done by those students who are interested in teaching. If you also want to become a professor in law college and enjoy teaching law to students, then you must take admission for LLM after LLB.
What do Lawyer do (Lawyer Job Description)
As you have seen, a lawyer can be a part of various workplaces, public and private sector. A lawyer has many career options to choose from. Therefore, your job duties will completely depend on the place where you want to use your knowledge of law (Law Practice).
Otherwise, the place where you will be employed. No matter which career option you choose in law, one thing will never change is the interaction with your clients. You will always be in touch with the clients.
What is the scope of law in future?
Becoming a lawyer is one of the most exciting and interesting career options today and will continue to be in the future as well. And it would not be wrong to say that law is an evergreen career option and the need for people who follow this career will always be there in future as well.
The society always needs someone who has the knowledge of Judiciary and knows all the tricks of the law, which is not known to any common man.
Who doesn’t need a lawyer? All of us at least once in our lifetime fall into such a difficult situation that one has to take legal advice from someone or the other to solve that difficult situation. And then we have no better option than to take legal advice which is reliable. And in the end you will knock on the door of a lawyer.
India’s economy is one of the largest economies in the world, as there are many businesses running in India and to run the business properly and efficiently; Every business person needs legal advice to pursue his business in a legal way.
As you know, nowadays it is the era of digitalization, thus all the business transactions are done online (in most of the cases) through internet. And because of the Internet, the number of transactions with foreign companies is also increasing, which means the number of crimes is also increasing. Internet comes under cyber law.
If a business person wants to further his business and wants to achieve success in business, then he has to follow the legal process. And when the word law comes into the picture, legal experts (lawyers) also come into the picture. Expert lawyers in the field of business law are called corporate lawyers, which is a very good career option after law.
So if you want to become a lawyer in your life and want to make a career in law, then definitely this career option will be a great career option for you, its demand will never end. You can be sure to choose this career.
Lawyer’s Salary?
It depends on many things like where you are working, how much legal understanding you have. Still, on an average, after completing a law degree, your starting salary will be between ₹ 13,000 to ₹ 25,000 for a fresher.
I hope that in this article on how to become a lawyer, you must have got all the information you were looking for. If you have any other question then you can ask by commenting below.
