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Updated on 22nd February, 2024 , 10 min read
Becoming a lawyer is one of the most rewarding career options in India, both in terms of job satisfaction and potential salary. As per the Bar Council of India, there are approximately 12 lakh registered lawyers, 950 law schools, and 4-5 lakh law students in the Indian legal profession. In India, every year, around 60,000–70,000 law graduates enter the legal profession.
For those who dream of becoming lawyers, this article acts as a career guide. Eligibility criteria to become a lawyer begin with students achieving at least 60% marks or an equivalent CGPA in Class 12 board exams. After 12th, students must appear for law entrance exams like CLAT, LSAT, and AILET to get admission into one of the top law colleges in India such as NLSIU Bangalore, NLU Delhi, NALSAR University Hyderabad, IIT Kharagpur, etc.
Law courses to become a lawyer include LLB, BA LLB, BBA LLB, and BCom LLB After an undergraduate or integrated law degree, students can opt for Master of Law courses like LLM or LLD. As per the chosen specialization, aspirants can start practicing the legal profession. It must be noted that candidates must clear the All India Bar Examination (AIBE) to practice law in India.
Related Articles: 5 Best Lawyers in India
Industry type | Law, Legal Profession |
Eligibility Criteria | 10+2 (any stream) with a minimum of 60% aggregate marks Qualify law entrance exams |
Admission Process | Based on Merit and Entrance exams |
Specializations | Civil, Criminal, Corporate, Tax, etc |
Average Starting Salary | INR 4-6 LPA |
Highest Salary | INR 80 lakhs to 1 crore |
Job Opportunities |
Further Reading: Difference Between Lawyer and Advocate
A lawyer is a qualified and licensed practitioner who drafts legal documents to administer, prosecute, or defend judicial action. Basically, lawyers are responsible for offering solutions to the legal problems of their clients. As per their specialization, lawyers deal with a wide range of cases including divorce, property disputes, matrimonial problems, and criminal offenses. They are compensated for the cases that they fight.
Using legal knowledge, lawyers assist clients in understanding and addressing legal issues. Although lawyers have different roles and responsibilities as per their area of expertise, most lawyers work with the following roles and responsibilities:
Also Read: Judge Salary in India
Students must fulfill the following eligibility criteria to become a lawyer:
Must Read: All about LLB Entrance Exams
Check out the Top Law Colleges in your City:
Check out the Top Law Colleges in your State:
See Also: Top Government Law Colleges in India
The table below mentions the different specializations that students can choose in the domain of law:
Civil Law | Criminal Law
| Corporate Law
|
Human Rights Law
| Family law
| Consumer Protection law
|
Intellectual property law
| Environment law
| Real Estate Law
|
Tax law
| Administrative law
| Labor law
|
Cyberlaw
| Animal rights Law
| Mergers and Acquisition Law
|
Read More: Difference Between Civil Law and Corporate Law.
To become a lawyer in India, students are required to complete a few academic qualifications. Aspirants can select and pursue law degrees to build a career in law. The law courses are as follows:
LLB or Bachelor of Law is a 3-year undergraduate degree for students who want to pursue a career in law. Students can apply for LLB after the 12th or after completing graduation in any discipline. LLB educates aspirants about the law in general.
After completing 12th, students also have the option to pursue an integrated law course like BA LLB, BBA LLB, or BCom LLB. This is a 5-year course that combines a bachelor's in law with a bachelor's degree in any stream from arts to science.
LLM, or Latin Legum Magister, which means Master of Law, is a 2-year postgraduate course in law. This PG program educates and trains law aspirants in a particular specialization according to their interests and preferences. LLM enhances the chances of better job prospects as a lawyer.
Check out: Top LLM Colleges in India
To become a lawyer in India, aspirants must complete 12th, pursue undergraduate/integrated law courses, and clear the All India Bar Examination (AIBE). Only those candidates who have passed AIBE can practice law in India.
After the 12th, students must take entrance exams and law courses to become a lawyer:
In this section, we have elaborated on the step-by-step process to become a lawyer in India:
Step 1: Complete Higher Secondary Education
It is important to pass your higher secondary education (10+2) from an accredited school education board to be eligible to pursue a bachelor's degree in law. Students with any stream can opt for law undergraduate courses.
Step 2: Apply for a Bachelor or Integrated Course in Law
After passing out of school, students must apply for a bachelor's or integrated degree course in the field of law to become lawyers. The Bachelor's in Law (LLB) is a 3-year UG course. Other options include integrated courses in law such as BA LLB, BBA LLB, BCom LLB, and BSc LLB. All of these are 5-year courses, and these programs allow students to choose a specialization.
Step 3: Register, Appear, and Clear Law Entrance Exam
Most colleges and universities grant admission into law courses based on the entrance exams. Yet, there are a few colleges that allot seats based on merit.
Popular law entrance exams to get admission to law colleges are:
Step 4: Apply to Law Schools
You can start applying to law schools as soon as you obtain your results from the legal entrance exam. Most students submit applications to many law schools, giving them a variety of possibilities. You must supply official documents, law entrance exam results, letters of recommendation, and additional information with each application you submit.
Step 5: Complete a Degree in Law
After getting admitted into a college, students have to study and pass wide range of subjects in law like civil law, criminal law, family law, tax laws, etc. It must be noted that the students must pass all the subjects to become law graduates and appear for the Bar Council Examination.
Step 6: Pursue Law Internships
A lawyer is a practice-based profession, and internships play a vital role in providing students with knowledge of practical legal proceedings in India. Students can intern under advocates or participate in moot discussions or legal aid to learn about law practices and the legal system.
Step 7: Register with the State Bar Council
After a bachelor's or integrated degree, law aspirants must register with the State Bar Council to appear for the AIBE exam to become lawyers. Candidates have to pay the fees and documents to obtain the provisional certificate that will permit them to practice before the Court of Law.
Step 8: Clear All India Bar Examination (AIBE)
As per the guidelines issued by the Government of India, law aspirants must clear the AIBE exam to become lawyers and practice before the court. AIBE is conducted on an annual basis, and provisional registration is a mandatory step to sit for the exam.
Step 9: Practice Law and Gain Experience
After passing the AIBE exam, candidates get the license to practice law and officially become lawyers in the court of law. To acquire experience, candidates can join any private or government firm or even start their own law firm.
Engineers already have the undergraduate degree; they can directly opt for a three-year Bachelor of Law (LLB) program instead of a five-year integrated course. This will save a lot of time for you to practice and gain experience.
Eligibility Criteria: Students must have a BTech/BE degree with a minimum of 45–50% aggregate from a recognized university/college.
Mentioned below is the step-by-step procedure to become a lawyer after engineering:
Candidates can opt to become lawyers after commerce by applying for a 5-year integrated course. This includes an undergraduate degree as well as a Bachelor of Law degree.
Eligibility Criteria: Students must have completed 10+2 with a minimum of 50–60% aggregate from a recognized board.
Mentioned below is the step-by-step procedure to become a lawyer after commerce:
Becoming a lawyer has its advantages as well as disadvantages. We have compiled a list of pros and cons about law as a career to help you make an informed career decision:
Pros | Cons |
One of the highest-paid professionals. | Long working hours |
Enjoy esteem, power, and respect | Work under strict deadlines and stress |
Have the opportunity to work for justice in the society | Highly competitive labor market |
Can earn extra income as advisors, professors, speakers, etc. | Deal with a lot of information and facts on a daily basis. |
Multiple specializations to choose from. |
|
Intellectual and challenging profession |
|
Students must prepare well for law entrance exams to get admission into a reputable college. It is important to choose the right books and resource material to clear the exams. Here, we have listed the best books to help you in your preparation for becoming a lawyer:
Mentioned below are the skills required to become a lawyer in India:
An advocate is a category under the term lawyer. An advocate is used for those lawyers who can conduct a case on behalf of their clients. Here is the difference between an advocate and a lawyer in tabular form:
Advocate | Lawyer |
Has cleared the bar exam | Has not cleared the bar exam |
Can represent clients in court | Cannot represent clients in court |
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By - Nikita Parmar 2023-11-04 08:11:48 , 7 min readHow to Become a Pilot after 12th: In India, Courses, Exams, Fees, Salary 2023
By - Nikita Parmar 2023-08-25 09:48:44 , 11 min readIt takes approximately 6-7 years to become a lawyer in India. Different countries have diverse requirements to become a lawyer with shorter law schools, practical courses and undergraduate law education.
How to Become a Lawyer: 1. Students must pass 10+2 with a minimum 60% aggregate score or equivalent CGPA. 2. Students must clear entrance exams like CLAT, LSAT, AILET. 3. Aspirants must complete bachelor’s or integrated course in law. 4. Candidates must clear AIBE exam to practice law
Lawyers are one of the highest paid professionals with high earning potential. They enjoy prestige and power leading to success and respect. Lawyers get the chance to help people and work for justice in the country.
In India, a lawyer earns anywhere between INR 3,00,000 and INR 5,00,000. The specialisation and experience of a lawyer will determine their compensation. As lawyers gain experience and expertise in a particular specialization, they can charge compensations as high as INR 5,00,000 to 1 crore.
Yes, you can. Students after 12th with science, commerce, arts stream can apply for graduation in law to become a lawyer.
After completing 12th, students must apply for law entrance exams like CLAT, LSAT, etc. Based on the entrance exam score, they can get admissions into LLB, BA LLB, BBA LLB, BCom LLB or BSc LLB. After graduating, they can apply for All India Bar Examination (AIBE) and clear the exam to start practising as a lawyer.
LLB subjects include constitutional law, human rights law, international trade law, tax laws, family laws, real estate laws, etc.
As per the Bar Council of India (BCI), the maximum age for general category students to pursue Bachelor of Law Course is 20 years, and for SC/ST category, the age limit is 22 years.
To prepare for the bar exam, students prepare a proper study schedule. They should find good resource material as per the syllabus and study well to clear the exam.
Corporate lawyers are considered the highest paid in India. Amon others, Tax attorneys and patent lawyers are also paid well in the legal profession.
Law schools are hard as compared to other colleges and universities in terms of workload, stress, and commitment. However, with dedication and determination, law is an attainable subject as almost 60,000-70,000 lawyers graduate every year in India.
There many top law firms that pay handsome salaries to their employees. Tier 1 Law firms pay as high as 10-17 LPA salary packets to fresh graduates, which can rise to 80 lakhs to 1 crore.
Topmost lawyers in India are Ram Jethmalani, Soli Sorabjee, Fali S Nariman, Mukul Rohtagi. and Ashok Desai.
Students can take up and study law courses like LLB, BA LLB, BBA LLB, BCom LLB, etc to become a lawyer. To get admission in law schools, students must clear entrance exams like CLAT, LSAT, AILET, etc.
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