How to become a lawyer in India – Lawyers are considered an indispensable force in the field of law and legislature.
The duties of lawyers include providing legal services to individuals in solving law-related issues and queries.
Lawyers are powerful spokespersons of law who enjoy prestige and respect in social circles. The high earning potential of lawyers also makes this career popular among young law aspirants of India.
There are various streams in the field of law including lawyers dealing with Civil, Criminal, corporate, family, and financial cases.
Successful lawyers can always depend upon a variety of unique professions such as law college lecturers and law consultants.
Read more about Careers
Eligibility criteria for Lawyer
There are two important ways through which law aspirants could make their dream of becoming a lawyer. The career path of a lawyer is given below.
| Career Path | Details related to the career path |
| Class 12 | No restriction in the selection of a specific stream Subjects of Humanities stream is generally preferred Subjects such as political science, economics, and history give foundation to further legal studies. |
| Graduation | 5 Years Integrated LLB Program This integrated program can be pursued after the completion of Class 12 Admission to this course is based on various entrance examinations such as CLAT Minimum 50% marks in Class 12 examination is necessary to apply for this program 3 Years LLB Program Pursue any bachelor’s degree under law after completing class 12 LLB can be pursued after completing any graduation degree Minimum 50% marks in graduation are necessary to apply for this program There is no age bar for applying for this course |
| Correspondence courses and Distance learning law programs | Various correspondence courses and distance learning programs are offered by various universities across India These programs lack validness for they are not recognized by the Bar Council of India. |
Selection Process for Law institutes
It will be an ever-cherished dream for every law aspirant to get admission in a reputed law institute. To get inducted into such an institute one must pass entrance examinations with flying colours.
There are various entrance examinations conducted for filling seats of law colleges for both integrated LLB Programs and LLB Programs. Some of them are listed below.
Entrance Examinations for 5year Integrated LLB Program
| Name of the Exam | Details of the exam |
| Common-Law Admission Test (CLAT) | Entrance for securing admission to 18 national Law Universities rooted in India Computer-based examination of Two Hours duration Topics of the exam include English Comprehension, General knowledge and Current Affairs, Legal Aptitude, Numerical Ability and Logical Reasoning. What is CLAT |
| All India Law Entrance Test (AILET) | Entrance test conducted by National Law University (Delhi) Provides admission to integrated BA. L.L.B (Hons.) Topics of the exam include English Comprehension, General knowledge, Legal Aptitude, Elementary Mathematics, and Logical Reasoning. |
| Law School Admission Test (LSAT) | Various reputed law institutions such as Alliance School of Law, Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law (IIT Kharagpur), Jindal Global Law School, and Faculty of Law (SRM University) accept the scores of LSAT This entrance test mainly focuses on topics such as English comprehension and logical and Analytical Reasoning. This test developed by the Law School Admission Council is of three and a half hours duration. |
| Symbiosis Entrance Test (SET) | This entrance test is conducted by Symbiosis International University Topics of the exam include Reading Comprehension, Analytical Reasoning, Logical Reasoning, Legal Reasoning, and General Knowledge. |
Entrance Examinations for 3 years LLB Program
| Name of the Entrance Examination | Details of the examination |
| Delhi University LLB Examination (DU L.L.B) | This Graduate -Level Entrance Examination is conducted by the Faculty of Law, Delhi University Topics of the exam include English Language and Comprehension, General Knowledge, and Current Affairs, Numerical Ability, Logical and Analytical Reasoning, and Legal Awareness and Aptitude |
| Law School Admission Test (LSAT | This test developed by the Law School Admission Council is of three and a half hours duration. Scores of this entrance examination are accepted for both Integrated law programs and 3 years LLB Programs This entrance test sections focus on questions from English comprehension, Logical and Analytical Reasoning. |
| Maharashtra Common Entrance Test (MH-CET) | MH-CET is an annual entrance examination conducted by the Government of Maharashtra Admission to the Law colleges of Maharashtra including the prestigious Government Law College is processed is with the scores of this test |
| Banaras Hindu University LLB Entrance Examination (BHU L.L.B) | Entrance examination conducted by the famous Banaras Hindu University for 3 Years LLB Programs Questions from sections like English Comprehension, Reasoning and Mental Ability, General Awareness and Current Affairs, and Common Legal Knowledge are given focus. |
Top 30 Law Colleges in India
| Sl No. | Name of the Law College |
| 1 | National Law School of India University, Bangalore |
| 2 | National Law University, New Delhi |
| 3 | NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad |
| 4 | Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur |
| 5 | National Law University, Jodhpur |
| 6 | The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata |
| 7 | Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar |
| 8 | Symbiosis Law School, Pune |
| 9 | Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi |
| 10 | Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Patiala |
| 11 | Dr Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow |
| 12 | Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Bhubaneswar |
| 13 | Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh |
| 14 | National Law University, Cuttack |
| 15 | Panjab University, Chandigarh |
| 16 | National Law University and Judicial Academy, Guwahati |
| 17 | National Law Institute University, Bhopal |
| 18 | Indian Law Institute, New Delhi |
| 19 | Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi |
| 20 | Christ University, Bangalore |
| 21 | Jindal Global Law School, Sonipat |
| 22 | Army Institute of Law, Mohali |
| 23 | Institute of Law, Nirma University, Ahmedabad |
| 24 | Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur |
| 25 | School of Law, Christ University, Bangalore |
| 26 | Azim Premji University, Bangalore |
| 27 | ICFAI Law School, Hyderabad |
| 28 | Faculty of Law, University of Delhi, Delhi |
| 29 | School of Law, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun |
| 30 | IMS Law College, Noida |
The difference between LLB, BA LLB, and LLM
| LLB (Bachelor of Laws) | Undergraduate Law degree. It is one of the basic requirements for becoming a lawyer and practice law (after undergoing a legal training course). Degree with a course completion duration of 3 Years. |
| BA LLB (Bachelor of Arts – Bachelor of Legislative Law) | Integrated degree combining Arts and Law subjects. Degree with a course completion duration of 5 Years. |
| LLM (Master of Laws) | Postgraduation Law Degree. Specialization in the legal areas as per the interest of individuals. LLM Degree is not mandatory for a professional lawyer. The minimum eligibility qualification for pursuing LLM is LLB or its equivalent degrees. Degree with a course completion duration of 2 Years. |
Salary of Lawyers in India
The salary of Lawyers differs with the area of specializations and experience in the field.
The average estimate of the salary of Lawyers in India is given below.
| Salary Structure | Minimum range of Salary (In LPA) | Maximum range of salary (In LPA) |
| Salary for Corporate Lawyers (Less Experienced) | 5 LPA to 10 LPA | 18 LPA to 20 LPA |
| Salary of an experienced corporate Lawyers | 25 LPA to 30 LPA | 55 LPA to 60 LPA |
| Salary of Criminal lawyer (Less Experienced) | 6 LPA to 8 LPA | 16 LPA to 18 LPA |
| Salary of an experienced Criminal lawyer (Less Experienced) | 23 LPA to 28 LPA | 53 LPA to 58 LPA |