In the mad rush of gaining recognition and growth in the pool of immensely hard working professionals, students often tend to adopt the sheep-herd philosophy and do not open their minds to other career options. In the past, a BE+MBA or a CA (Chartered Accountant) or any other professional course offered wonderful career options to students. However, one of the most underrated career options is the one in Law. Let’s look at the importance of a law degree and the options available to students today.

What is a Law degree?

In India, a student can pursue a law degree after finishing an undergraduate course in any discipline or enroll for an integrated undergraduate course. Wiki Then of course there are Masters and Doctorates that can be pursued for the academically inclined. There is no upper age limit for studying law and the course is designed to expose a student to the various aspects of law.

How does it compare with the other career options?

In the last couple of decades, India has witnessed an accelerated growth due to better financial reforms, globalization and digitization of businesses. While this has made the world a smaller place, it has also given rise to an exponentially growing need of lawyers who can offer their legal expertise in corporate or government matters. Specialized and super-specialized law professionals are laying down the foundation of an economy with a plethora of options for law students. Businesses have also started realizing the importance of having a legal professional on board and are slowly but steadily hiring young lawyers at lucrative salaries.

Coming to the most important aspect that students must consider – law is still not a highly sought after degree. This means that while you will be competing with other students who are passionate about the subject, you won’t need to get bogged down by the numbers. As compared to engineers or CAs, lawyers are a minority which increases the chances of finding a good placement offer. Here are some more benefits that come with a law degree:

• It helps you master the art of combining theory and practice – a skill that will be handy during your professional career.
• Your repertoire of skills gets enhanced by the addition of the following skills which are needed in almost all industries:
  • Research
  • Analysis
  • Decoding complex concepts
  • Presentation
  • Written communication
• Law is one of the oldest and highly respected professions in the world. Your employer, friends and family will start looking up to you.
• It helps you understand your legal rights and stand up against any encroachment on them.
• It can make your conversations in parties and social gatherings fun!

What is the future of a law career?

Traditionally, based on the expertise expected from the lawyer, a student would specialize in any of the following options:

These are just a few of the options that were available to students earlier. However, as mentioned above, due to better financial reforms, globalization and digitization of businesses, a specialization which is expected to be in high demand in the coming years is Intellectual Property Law.

Intellectual property law governs the intellectual properties created by the human intellect and prevents unauthorized use by others. This can include patents, copyrights and other intangible assets. An Intellectual Property lawyer would thus be responsible for drafting applications and other paperwork, coordinating with the authorities whenever necessary, ensuring that the client receives the right to his intellectual property and defending the same in case of unauthorized use. A young legal professional can join a law firm or a corporate or work under the guidance of an experienced IP lawyer to gain exposure and experience before starting independent practice.

What makes it promising is the surge in the demand of innovation in all industries. Be it pharmaceuticals or automobiles or entertainment, organizations are increasing their focus of innovating and creating value for their consumers. This has led to a sudden increase in the creation of intellectual properties and a subsequent need to obtain the rights and protect them.

Regardless of the specialization chosen by you – which should depend on your aptitude and preference – a law degree, unlike most professional degrees, is not confined to an industry or a job role. Lawyers are needed for absolutely every critical function of an organization – either for their legal expertise or the skills learnt during their study.

As an ending note

Studying law involves a lot of hard work and determination but the fruits of this labor are truly sweet. Banks, PSUs, MNCs, Government…the list of organizations looking for lawyers is endless. The world certainly needs more lawyers (the good ones that is)!