Lawyer - How to become a Lawyer

Lawyer is a professional apt to interpret the law through actions and words for the protection of the legal rights of his client- an individual, a business concern or an idea- in the court of law. In a sense a lawyer is considered as the custodian of the law of land. Lawyer as a career has also been the first choice of elite class from a long time. It was considered as such a cherished career among the elite people that every other famous personality from the past whether it is Mahatma Gandhi or M. L Nehru were Lawyers by profession. Globalization and increase in demand of lawyers in practically all walk of life whether it is Business organization, Private life or Legal rights the craze of becoming lawyers have increased many folds in the general masses too.

Lawyer as a profession not only provides challenging life to its takers but also provide great opportunities to get good financial and social gains.

To become a competent lawyer, it requires a lot of hard work dedication and determination to excel. Job of a lawyer demands an in depth knowledge of the legal structure of the country and intensive training. Thus to become a successful lawyer the aspiring candidates of should have discipline, sense of responsibility, commitment and self-confidence besides loads of training and knowledge about the field of his interest.  The job requires a lot of hard work, stamina, alertness of mind, knowledge of  human behavior and psychology and above all honesty towards the society.  

Eligibility to become a Lawyer

1. Educational Qualification

To be eligible for becoming a Lawyer 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.

How to become a Lawyer?

To become a Lawyer the aspiring candidates have to follow the below given steps:

Step 1

To become a Lawyer, the aspiring candidate has to first possess a degree in L.LB. To get admission to some reputed law colleges for getting 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

However some institute also admits candidates on basis of marks obtained by them in the qualifying classes.

Step 2

After completing and Class room courses of LLB every Law 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.

However Law graduates can also opt for higher studies like L.LM or Ph.D to get in depth knowledge and specific qualification in their area of interest.  

Types of lawyers

As the horizon of legal system is quite vast the practicing lawyers can choose their area of field - as given below- according to their interest and expertise.

Type of Lawyers can be broadly classified in two main categories.

1. Criminal Lawyers
2. Civil Lawyers

• Civil Lawyers only deals with various kinds of domestic and civil disputes like frauds etc. Anything that is not formally classified as a crime is dealt with by civil lawyer.
• Criminal Lawyer deals with all affairs involving criminal cases like murder etc. Anything that is deemed a crime is overseen by a criminal lawyer.

Although there are two main types of  lawyer but considering the vast sphere of legal system Lawyers can be further classified according to their field of interest as Business Lawyer,  Car Accident Lawyer, Celebrex Lawyer, Child Support Lawyer, Compensation Lawyer, Corporate Lawyer, Credit Lawyer, Debt Lawyer, Defense Lawyer, Divorce Lawyer, Employment Lawyer, Environmental Lawyer,  Family Lawyer, Fraud Lawyer, Health Insurance Lawyer,  Immigration Lawyer, Intellectual Property Lawyer International Lawyer, Labor and Unemployment Lawyers, Patent Lawyer, Real Estate Lawyers, Social Security Lawyer, Tax Fraud Lawyer to name some of them.

Lawyer Job Opportunities

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.

Lawyer Salary

Salary of a lawyer in Government Service is fairly good and it keeps on increasing with time and experience as and when the government pay commission is revised. Whereas financial success of a lawyer involving in private practice depends upon his experience and knowledge of the individual. As far as lawyers working legal advisors to the corporate sector are concerned they can get as high as Rs. 50,000 per month.