Becoming a Lawyer does not happen overnight! Most often, students who want to pursue a legal profession ask this question, How long does it take to complete a law degree? they think that they have enough time, money, and energy to complete their law school. But someone has rightly said that “Success is the result of hard work”.
Becoming a lawyer generally take three or five years. Nonetheless, time can vary based on an individual’s career goals and law degree type. A longer study period might be necessary for becoming a legal scholar or consultant. If you’re considering a legal career, be aware that there is no quickest route to becoming a Lawyer or Attorney. Everything has to be done correctly – there are no tricks or hacks. You’ll need to complete a number of steps along the way to becoming a successful lawyer. Here’s an overview of the steps and their typical duration.
Steps:
- Choose any degree after class 10th
- Complete a Bachelor’s Degree Program
- Key Entrance Exam for LL.B. Programmes
- Choose your specialization
- Internships
- Enrolment with state bar chamber/council
Choose any degree after class 10th
The study of law is not restricted to any particular stream, and students from all academic disciplines can pursue this career. Humanities and Commerce are the most popular streams for students who wish to pursue law immediately after finishing their 12th grade.
Political Science, Legal Studies, Economics, History, and Psychology are popular subjects for students seeking a law degree. In addition to forming a foundation for the subjects in Law Schools, these subjects provide an insight into the legal system of our country to school students.
Complete a Bachelor’s Degree Program
To be in a legal profession, students need to complete their bachelor’s degree. A bachelor’s degree is the minimum requirement or a stepping stone to becoming a Lawyer or completing a law degree, and it usually takes three years to complete in India. There are two types of Bachelor’s degrees offered in India:
Bachelor of Law – LL.B.
In India, Indian universities confer Bachelor of Laws degrees after completing three years of study. All law schools offer a standard LL.B. degree program that provides students with the required bar preparation. You can only pursue LL.B. after graduating in any field.
Top Institutes for 3-year LL.B. Programme
- Faculty of Law, University of Delhi, New Delhi
- Jindal Global Law School, OP Jindal Global University, Sonipat
- Faculty of Law, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi
- Government Law College, Mumbai
- ILS Law College, Pune
Integrated Honours Degree
Most of these degrees are given by autonomous law schools with a five-year duration. This five-year program combines the LL.B. degree with a bachelor’s degree from another academic program, such as a Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Business Administration, Bachelor of Commerce, or Bachelor of Social Work.
In the first two years of these programs, students study subjects related to the additional non-law bachelor’s degree in addition to standard legal subjects such as torts, contracts, and constitutional law, such as social sciences for the Bachelor of Arts and a combination of physical, life, and applied sciences for the Bachelor of Science. There are three years of legal study in all of these programs.
Best Law School for 5 years of integrated Law studies
- National Law School of India University, Bangalore
- Nalsar University of Law, Hyderabad
- West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata
- National Law University, New Delhi
- NLU, Jodhpur
- NLU- National Law University, Bhopal
- Gujrat National Law University, Gandhinagar
- Jindal Global Law School, Sonipat
- Symbiosis Law School, Pune
Key Entrance Exam for LL.B. Programmes
Common-Law Admission Test (CLAT) is an entrance test administered at the national level for 22 National Law Universities (NLUs) in India. Private and self-finance law schools in India also use the scores for admissions.
Choose your specialization
After getting into the Law school of your choice and based on your scores in entrance exams also, the next step is to study of course. If a student has opted for a 3-year LL.B. Degree then they have the option to choose their specializations from the start of the course and they will study their specializations only. But if a student has opted 5-year integrated Law degree then they had to study their non-law subjects with law subjects. and in their 3rd year of Law school, they have to choose their specialization as per their choices and interest. The specialization that one law student can choose are:
- Intellectual Property Rights
- Criminal Law
- Constitutional Law
- International Law
- Civil Law
- Tax Law
- Labour Law
- Corporate Law
- Real-estate Law
- Patent Law
- Media Law
- Competition Law
After choosing your best-suited specialization, work hard to achieve success in that. Build your CV very nicely. Always remember Law school is not just about reading stuff and always being in books. Law school is about thinking in a broader perspective and to widen your horizons and self-growth. For that Law, schools provide many Extra-curricular activities also like, Moot-court competitions, Negotiation Competitions, Arbitration & Mediation Competitions, Parliamentary Debate Competitions, Debate competitions, Researching, Drafting, Internships.
Internships
According to the Bar Council of India (BCI), it is mandatory for a law student to complete their Internship, for 3-year law students it is mandatory to complete a 12-week internship and for 5-year law students it is mandatory to complete a 20-week internship.
Likewise, internships are a significant part of your law degree as they will teach you practical knowledge and how the actual procedure of law works. Internships in NGOs, under High-court or Supreme court lawyers, or under practicing advocates, Corporate firms, IPR firms, Law firms, etc.
Enrolment with state bar chamber/council
In order to become a legal counselor/lawyer, you must enlist yourself as a lawyer in any state bar association controlled by the Advocates Act 1961. In addition, there is no uniform procedure for enlisting in State Bar Councils. As a matter of fact, to become a lawyer in India, you must pass the All India Bar Examination (AIBE). Upon passing the test, you are given the authentication of training or a certificate of practice by the Bar Council of India. The test assesses your ability to explain the law and your understanding of it.
Upon completion of an LLB, you can either begin practicing or continue studying. LLM courses will allow you to get inside and out knowledge in your field of interest.
“Do not look at Law as a means of making money. Look at Law as an instrument for securing justice to people.”
– Prashant Bhushan, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India
Moreover, there is a significant difference between an Advocate and a Lawyer.
“All Advocates are Lawyers but not all Lawyers are Advocates”.
Advocates are persons who fight cases in court and are members of the Bar Council of India, whereas Lawyers provide legal advice to businesses, firms, companies, or individuals, but do not represent them in court. In India, there are no enrolled members of the Bar Council of India for attorneys who have completed L.L.B degrees.