How to Become a Lawyer in India?

Step 1 – Choose any Stream after Class 10th

There is no specific stream required to pursue a degree in law, and students from all streams can go for this career. Generally, students who want to pursue law right after their 12th take up Humanities or Commerce streams. Some of the popular subjects for students aspiring for Law are Political Science, Legal Studies, Economics, History and Psychology. These subjects are recommended because they help form a base for the subjects taught in Law schools and some of these are beneficial in providing an insight to school students about the legal system of our country. 

Step – 2

Step 2 – Pursue a Bachelor’s Degree in Law (L.L.B)

The next step in your journey to becoming a lawyer is to pursue a graduate degree in Law (L.L.B). You can pursue this either right after class 12th or after your graduation in any other subject.

 Route 1: Pursuing Law After Class 12th  (5-Year L.L.B Program)

If you are determined to pursue a career in Law, you should enrol yourself into a 5-year integrated program. 5-Year L.L.B degrees teach you basic graduation subjects along with the subjects of Law, with the most common course combinations offered being  B.A L.L.B (Hons), B.Sc L.L.B (Hons), BBA L.L.B (Hons) and B.Com L.L.B (Hons). The benefits of 5-year programs are that you get an exposure to Law subjects early on (alongside your graduation), giving you greater insights into the core subjects of Law, and you also save a year of study as compared to Law after graduation. 

Top Institutes for 5-year L.L.B Programs

• 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
• National Law University, Jodhpur
• National Law University, Bhopal
• Gujrat National Law University, Gandhinagar
• Jindal Global Law School, Sonipat
• Symbiosis Law School, Pune

Key Entrance Exams for 5-Year L.L.B Programs

The top institutes in Law accept admission into their 5-year integrated program based on the scores of entrance exams. Different law institutes accept scores from different entrances. Some of the top undergraduate entrance examinations for Law are:

• Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) – It is a two-hour, computer-based, standardized test for admission to 18 prominent National Law Universities in India. It covers objective-type questions relating to elementary Mathematics, English with Comprehension, General knowledge, Current Affairs, Legal Aptitude and Logical Reasoning.
• All India Law Entrance Test (AILET) – This test is conducted by National Law University (Delhi) for providing admission to its integrated BA. L.L.B (Hons.) and includes sections like English, General Knowledge, Legal Aptitude, Reasoning and Numerical Ability.
• Law School Admission Test (LSAT) – It is a standardized test with a duration of 3 hours 30 minutes, designed to assess reading comprehension, Logical and Analytical Reasoning proficiencies. These test scores are accepted by Jindal Global Law School, Alliance School of Law, Faculty of Law (SRM University), Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law (IIT Kharagpur), amongst others.
• Symbiosis Entrance Test (SET) – Symbiosis International University conducts this test for admission to its undergraduate law programs. It consists of sections like Logical Reasoning, Legal Reasoning, Analytical Reasoning, Reading Comprehension and General Knowledge.

Route 2: Pursuing Law After Graduation  (3-Year L.L.B Program)

There are times when students do graduation in some other subject but realize later that they want to take up Law as a career.  In such a case, you can still go on to pursue a degree in Law, through a 3-year L.L.B course right after your graduation. The only difference between a 3-year L.L.B and 5-year L.L.B program is that in the former you only study core Law subjects, while the latter also teaches basic subjects of graduation along with the core subjects of Law. 

Top Institutes for 3-Year L.L.B Programs

1. Faculty of Law, University of Delhi, New Delhi
2. Jindal Global Law School, OP Jindal Global University, Sonipat
3. Faculty of law, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi
4. Government Law College, Mumbai
5. ILS Law College, Pune

Key Entrance Exams for 3-Year L.L.B Programs

The entrance exams that you need to give for securing your admission in a 3-year L.L.B program are:

• DU L.L.B- This exam is conducted by the Faculty of Law, Delhi University. It consists of sections like English Language and Comprehension, Current Affairs, General Knowledge, Quantitative Aptitude, Analytical & Logical Reasoning and Legal Awareness & Aptitude.
• LSAT– This test is accepted by Jindal Global Law School, OP Jindal Global University, Sonipat for admission to their 3-Year L.L.B Programs. It consists of sections like Analytical Reasoning, Logical Reasoning, and Reading Comprehension. (Note– This test is accepted by law schools for admission to their 5 years as well as 3-year programs)
• MH CET- It is conducted for admission to the Law colleges of Maharashtra including the well-renowned Government Law College. It tests the students on their Legal Aptitude, General Knowledge & Current Affairs, English and Logical & Analytical Reasoning.
• BHU L.L.B– It is conducted by the Banaras Hindu University for admission to its 3-year LL.B Program. It contains sections like English Comprehension, General Awareness & Current Affairs, Aptitude & Mental Ability and Common Legal Knowledge.