Importance and Responsibilities attached with the job of an Advocate

There was a time in pre independent India where Advocacy was considered to be a royal profession among the Indians. At that time law was considered more as a passion rather then as a profession .This can be proved by the fact that most of the eminent personality of the pre independent India holds a law degree. Even “Father of the Nation” Mahatma Gandhi was a lawyer by profession, after taking his name there left no need of counting the names of other famous freedom fighters. Of course after independence advocacy lost it top position to other professions like engineering and medical but it is sure that this profession was never out of the passion among the young Indians. After being pushed away from the glamorous world of other profession for some time, this profession is once again gaining its lost ground with the globalization and needs of the society in emerging scenario of free economy and open world trade activities. This profession is not only providing challenges in once life but also financial and social gains attached with it are also taken care of.

But to be a lawyer requires lots of dedication and hard work. The job of an advocate demands intensive training as he is the one on which some time life and death of an innocent person depends. On the other side he is the one who can be responsible for not booking a guilty person who can be dangerous for the society if given another chance to be free in the society. For this one should have discipline, sense of responsibility, commitment and self-confidence. The job requires a lot of hard work, stamina, alertness of mind, and above all honesty towards the society.

To discharge his duties with commitment he requires a lot of knowledge of the law of the land and plenty of experience in more then one area of human behavior and psychology.


Eligibility to be an Advocate

1. Educational Qualification

To be eligible for becoming an Advocate one should be a graduate in any discipline.

For joining 3 years L.LB course being run by various universities and law colleges.
OR
10+2 for joining an integrated course of 5 years of BA.L.LB.

Process to be an Advocate

To be an Advocate one has to follow the below given steps:-

Step 1

To become an Advocate, one has to first possess a degree in L.LB. To get the L.LB degree the eligible candidate has to undertake an entrance test conducted by Law departments of various universities of the India or the independent law schools/ Institutions. CLAT (Common Law Admission Test) being one of the most sort after ways to get into law career.

CLAT is conducted every year to admit students into 5 year integrated B.A L.LB Degree Course in top ten of the national law schools.

CLAT consists of questions from the topics such as:

1. Legal Aptitude
2. Logical Reasoning
3. English including Comprehension
4. General Knowledge/Current Affairs
5. Elementary Mathematics

Step 2

Once degree in hand and after the successful completion of the course every graduate has to complete the mandatory internship as per the norms of the institutions.

Step3

As a last step to enter the profession as a practicing lawyer, one has to enroll himself/herself as an advocate in any of the State Bar Council regulated by the Advocates Act,1961. After that they are allowed to enroll and practice in any court in any part of the country


Various Options in Legal Carrier

1.After registering in any of the country’s Bar council lawyers can adopt private practice to advise clients    on their legal rights.
2.They can work for the Government, both Central and State, or local authorities.
3.Get themselves employed by business houses to aid, advice and represent their legal interests in the courts of Law.


Remunerations after becoming a successful Advocate

Financial success of a lawyer involving in private practice depends upon his experience and knowledge of the individual. As far as legal advisors to the corporate sector are concerned they can get as much as Rs 50,000 per month and can reach as high as the CEO of the company they are working for. Salaries of the Government lawyers are also considerably good with all kind of other emoluments provided to any first class officer in any other Government department. One can say that in today’s scenario Advocates are enjoying both financial as well as social status comparable to any other profession.