Law Education in India

Law / Legal Education is the education gained by individuals to become legal professionals or practitioners. The degree obtained by an individual in this stream can also be useful in some other fields like in business, academic or in politics also.

Unlike other forms of professional education such as Medicine and Engineering, Law Education is both professional as well as liberal. It aims at the acquisition of professional skills, if taken as a professional education. But it can aim at value-oriented, socio-cultural education if it is considered as a liberal education.

The main difference between Law and other social science subjects is that legal studies are multi-disciplinary in character. In many law subjects, a scientific background is not only necessary, but is essential. Similarly, in many legal subjects, knowledge of finance and accounts has become essential. Law is concerned with governance and therefore, legal education must be developed upon a sound basis of multi-disciplinary education.

India, owing to its rapid development in professional education, has also provided Law as a hot career option to its aspirants. The various Law schools and universities in India offer several academic programs in Law. The course may be of 5 years, 3 years or of 2 years of duration. One can also pursue 1 year or even 6 months Diploma courses to gain specialized knowledge in the field.

BCI - The Bar Council of India

The Bar Council of India (BCI) is a statutory body, constituted by Government of India under Advocates Act 1961 with the main objective of controlling and governing the working of all immediate subsidiary state-level bar councils besides laying down the standards of professional conduct and etiquette.

Though it comes under the purview of Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India, it is a corporate body having perpetual succession and a common seal, with power to acquire and hold property, both movable and immovable, and to contract, and may by the name by which it is known sue and be sued.

Law Careers - What Careers to opt for?

The Legal profession has today become one of the fastest growing professions all over the world. Besides being lucrative, it is an adventurous and exciting career. Lawyers are held in high esteem in every society. There is a growing demand for Law Professionals everywhere due to the changing economic and social scenario all over the world.

Some of the fields in which a Lawyer can apply to are as follows

• Advocate
• Advocate General
• Attorney General
• Author
• Company Secretary
• District Attorney
• Legal Advisors
• Legal Process Outsourcing (LPO)
• Magistrate
• Notary / Oath Commissioner
• Public Prosecutors
• Solicitor
• Teacher

Law Courses in India

Law courses in India are increasingly gaining popularity among students both at the undergraduate and at the postgraduate level. Law programs are now among the top ten programs in India. You can either enroll for a five-year B.A.LL.B course straight after your 10+2 or join a three year LLB course after graduation.


A variety of Research Programs are also available in the field of Law.

Indian Scenario of Legal Education

Much of the dilemma concerning legal education in India is based on the confusion centring on such a kind of professional and liberal education. Law as a subject has always been interesting like one studies History, Political Science, or Economics. The recipient of education shall certainly become transformed and knowledgeable after studying law as a subject.

In India, the transformation of legal education into a professional career has been made possible owing to the continuous endeavor of National Law Schools and several other Indian universities which offer academic programs in Law. The efforts of Bar Council of India and University Grants Commission are also worth noting.

India, for the last few years, was lacking with a proper policy on Law education. There is complete chaos in the education owing to the presence of a number of regulatory authorities. If we consider professional side, then Bar Council of India (BCI) plays an important role in promoting and standardizing professional legal education in India. On the other hand, University Grants Commission, the apex body which regulates and standardizes university education, is also responsible for legal education in India.

However, in recent years, there has been significant development in the legal education in the country. From 2008 onwards the seven national law schools in the country have decided to conduct a Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) for admission to their undergraduate and post graduate programs. This can be treated as a milestone in the development of legal education in the country with collaborative efforts from the seven law schools towards bringing more expediency in the admission process.

In India, almost all law schools and universities offer undergraduate and postgraduate programs in Law. The program may be three years LLB. course or two years LLM. course. However, the recent development of the five-year integrated LL.B course in the curriculum is highly sought after among students and parents.  The course has demonstrated its superiority in legal education wherever it was honestly implemented.