Law affects almost every part of our society and lawyers act as the main link between the system and society. It is a discipline wit long tradition and constant change. Law has always been considered a noble and respectable profession in India because of the power, prestige, and dignity. The career in its diversity has been advancing continuously with the advancement of science & technology wherein the law graduates are involved as legal consultants, advocates or lawyers.
Legal Education has been neglected area traditionally, but now it has become the first choice of young generations. Students appearing in IITs and Medical are now opting for National law Universities & Top Private law Schools looking at the grown & scope of Legal Industry & Profession after Liberalisation era. Nevertheless, quality of law graduates has great impact on the quality of judiciary bar and bench.
Quality Legal Education in India is need of the hour as to nurture the new generation of lawyers must be in accordance with today's societal needs and in this hyper-competitive global environment. After NLS Bangalore, the national law schools like Hyderabad, Kolkata, Bhopal, and Jodhpur have all contributed a lot toward promoting excellence in legal education and research. Moreover, at present, there are more than 20 National law Schools except for the handfuls. Entry in these top law schools is open through the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) conducted every year in the month of May. Some law schools are also accepting Law School Admission Test (LSAT) scores. The demand for legal education is increasing among students and is evident from every year increase of around 10,000 students in enrolments for CLAT. This year around 45000 students completed for 3000 seats.
"The law schools in India are now in the race to provide global standards in legal education to the budding lawyers and justify the demand of market in evolving world" - Amit Kashyap
The demand for law graduates is increasing in all spheres of the world because of globalization. The advent of new millennium coincided with the change in the outlook of India Business had a direct impact on Legal Industry which has grown a tremendous rate and has become truly global who have potential to pay huge salaries to law graduates. Many Law graduates from National law Schools & top Law colleges in India have started their own law firms and consultancies competing for international law firms. Many law graduates from India go abroad for higher studies as well to increase their specialties.
The Growing Demand
Now, foreign firms are hunting for Indian lawyers with dual-qualifications (qualification to work in India and abroad). The demand for Indian lawyers is also increasing at international level due to increasing economic size of the country and International business growth with India. Moreover, the exponential growth of Indian corporate houses, increasing entrepreneurial activities in India & expansion of e-business has also increased the demand of India Corporate Lawyers. The developments like AI, IT & BioTech has increased the need for specialization in the legal Industry and thus legal industry in response to this is also evolving and expanding continuously.
The law schools in India are now in the race to provide global standards in legal education to the budding lawyers and justify the demand of market in evolving world. Law firms and senior advocates are looking forward to hiring candidates who have clear potential to attract clients. The Industry is paying very high salaries ranging from 10 Lakhs to 35 lakhs for fresh law graduated having perfect blend of core competencies like good communications skills, strong logical and analytical skills, an eye for detail and confidence. Law schools thus are concentrating on practical training and clinical legal education. There are abundant opportunities available after passing out from top law school apart from practising in courts like working with corporate firms, government department ministries, becoming a judge, a public prosecutor, media reporter, legal researcher, international law consultant, entrepreneurs advisor, transactions lawyers, real estate lawyer and so on.
A huge range of specialization options has also emerged for lawyers and is being offered by top law schools in India, like, as International Taxation Law, Cyber Law, Environment Law, Sports Management Law, IPR, Aviation Law and Mergers & Acquisitions Law, Space Law, Financial Regulations, Sports law and many more. There is continuous demand rise for law graduates from top law schools in sectors like banking, financial services and insurance or BFSI firms, along with pharmaceuticals, IT, FMCG, engineering, infrastructure and energy companies. Even if the person don't work under any obligation have doors of court open for legal practice which itself makes anyone stand out of the crowd. If one is academically motivated, could also join a reputed legal publishing house or go into teaching, research or join politics. After all, every top politician of the country is a lawyer.
Amit Kashyap
An MBA, LLM in Financial laws from National Law University, Jodhpur, Amit Kashyap holds the position of Chairperson (Placement Committee), Director (Centre for Corporate Law Studies) and Assistant Professor for Law at Nirma University. He also possesses a Diploma in International Economic Law from The University of Barcelona. Besides an experienced faculty, he is a startup consultant with a demonstrated history of working in the industry, Premier Law schools, and B-Schools.
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