Law” is the one of the most fundamental parts of our constitution. And law education is the only legal education in India that students can pursue and those who manage to clear this degree are designated with the post of a “Lawyer”. In this article, find information about law courses after 12th in India.
The degree of law in India is currently offered by many universities and at various academic levels.
The Law degree started in India in the year 1987 as a three-year programme granted under the Advocate Act, 1961. Note the BCI (Bar Council of India) is the chief regulatory body of our Law education.
The “Law Commission of India” decided to set up a University for Law Education to raise the academic standard of the legal profession in India in the year 1985. After that, the first law University in India got formed in Bangalore, which was named as the “National Law School of India University” commonly known as the “NLS”. That was the time when the first LLB degree was started in India.
On September 2012, the UGC established the LLM one-year course in India.
Law Courses after 12th
Law is regarded as one of the most prestigious courses after 12th. In India, students can take up the legal degree once they’ve completed a graduation degree in any discipline. These are the law courses after 12th available in India.
Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) – 3 years
LLB is one of the most commonly opted for law courses after 12th, and its duration is 3 years.
- Integrated undergraduate degrees – B.A. LL.B., B.Sc. LL.B., BBA LLB, B.Com LL.B – 5 years
If you want to take up the integrated course, then you can get admission to the 5-year integrated programme after the completion of 10+2 exams.
Master of Laws (LL.M.) – one/two years
LLM is basically the master degree in legal education with the option of one or two-year duration. It was started in India before 2012.
- Master of Business Law
The MBL is the master degree in legal education that offers a specialization in business law and comes with the option of one or two-year duration.
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
This is a great prospect for PhD after the completion of legal education. Majority of highly-reputed autonomous institutions provide the PhD programmes.
- Integrated MBL-LLM/ MBA-LLM – 3 years
If you wish to do the integrated course with a specialization in business, then opt for the MBL-LLM or MBA-LLM. It is a 3-year degree programme that can be done after the completion of the LLB.
Admission in Law Education
Students, who want to get admission in law, have to give the CLAT 2019 (Common Law Admission Test). CLAT gets organized for giving admission to the National Law Universities (NLUs) and a variety of other institutions. Through this test, students are admitted in Integrated L.L.B and L.L.M courses.
Students can opt for law courses with any stream (Science stream/ Commerce stream / Arts stream) in 12th.
BCI offers “Certificate of Practice” to candidates once they complete LL.B. For practicing in the profession of law and get a certificate, it is compulsory for applicants to qualify the All India Bar Examination (AIBE 2019).
Students who want to take up law courses from foreign Universities/institutions can apply for LSAT 2019. The admission in the Jindal Law Global School is done through the LSAT (Law School Admission Test) that is conducted by the Law School Admission Council, USA.
There are many private and autonomous universities that conduct their own admission test. Here are some popular law entrance exams to take up law courses after 12th and higher studies:
- AILET 2019
- AP LAWCET 2019
- TS LAWCET 2019
- DU LLB 2019
- MH CET Law 2019
- IPU CET Law 2019
- Allahabad University (LAT) 2019
List of Top Universities in India
Take a look at the top universities in India that offer legal education:
- The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata
- National Law University, Jodhpur, Jodhpur
- Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar
- Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Patiala
- Ram Manohar Lohia National Law University, Lucknow
- Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur
- National University of Advanced Legal Studies, Kochi
- Chanakya National Law University, Patna
- National Law University Odisha
- National Law University, Delhi, New Delhi
- Damodaram Sanjivayya National Law University, Visakhapatnam
- National University of Study and Research in Law, Ranchi
- National Law School and Judicial Academy, Assam, Guwahati
- Tamil Nadu National Law School, Srirangam
- Maharashtra National Law School, Nagpur
Apart from these, a lot of universities and institutions offer Online Law Courses for working professionals.
Jobs/Career in Law
As we know, law is quite respected as a career option. It is a reliable and sincere field. Freshers would have to initially work under a reputed legal firm or lawyer during the start of their career.
India has an enormous demand for expert lawyers as per a recent the survey done by the Bar Council of India. Only 20% of the Indian law students are eligible to work in court.
If you are a law student, then you can be a public prosecutor, solicitor general or a part of private legal firms after getting some experience. You can also give the exam conducted by the Public Service Commissions and become a Judge.
Today, lawyers also work in ministry, government departments and various legal advice organizations.
Even if you decide to work abroad, there are good prospects in the UK and the US as the law of India is quite similar to the law of the UK.
Here are some of the designations of lawyers:
- Criminal Lawyer
- Civil Litigation Lawyer
- Legal Analyst
- Document Drafting Lawyer
- Legal Journalist
- Legal Advisor
- Government Lawyer
- Judge
Salary in the Law Field
The salary is one of the best parts of this profession. There is absolutely no limit if you are a good lawyer and practicing individually.
Once the course is complete, while you are working under the experts, you can earn around Rs. 5000 to 20000 per month as a stipend.
Once you start working individually in court, you can earn around Rs. 20000 to 50000 per month at the start.
Top Recruiters
- Amarchand Mangaldas
- AZB & Partners
- J Sagar Associates
- Khaitan & Co
- Luthra & Luthra
- Trilegal
- Desai & Diwanji
- Singhania & Partners
- Titus & Co
- Wadia Ghandy & Co
- Lakshmi Kumaran & Sridharan
- Economic Laws Practice
- Vaish & Associates
Books & Study Material
There are many law books available especially for undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral level law courses.
- Introduction to the Constitution of India by D.D. Basu
- Public Administration by M Laxmikanth
- Indian Constitutional Law by M.P. Jain
- Criminal Law – Incorporating the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 by P.S.A. Pillai
- Manual of Labour Laws by Waseem Ahmad Qureshi
- Development of the concept of Human Rights Under International Law by Dr. Vijay Chitnis
- Private Security and The Law by Charles Nameth
