What is LL.B.?
Legum Baccalaureus or LL.B. is a three-year Bachelor of Law degree that is offered to aspirants by many renowned law colleges in India. However, candidates can pursue this particular law course only if they possess a graduation degree. The three-year LL.B. course offered at all law colleges of India is regulated and closely supervised by the Bar Council of India (BCI).
This three-year law course is structured in such a way that the core curriculum is divided into six semesters. Candidates are awarded the degree only when they complete all the semesters of this three-year LL.B. course.
As part of an LL.B. degree offered at most popular law colleges in India, candidates need to take part in regular theory classes, moot courts, internships as well as tutorial work.
Popular Law Specializations
- Company Law
- Business Law
- Corporate Law
- Criminal Law
Three-year LL.B. Eligibility Criteria
Candidates who want to pursue the LL.B. course should fulfill certain requirements in order to be eligible. Below are the eligibility criteria for three-year LL.B. courses as mentioned by BCI:
- Candidates need to be graduates i.e. they should have passed a bachelor degree of three-years or four-years duration in any subject/ discipline in order to pursue an LL.B. course.
- Apart from this, some colleges also fix a minimum percentage requirement that candidates need to fulfil in order to secure admission in the three-year LL.B. course offered by them. The (minimum) percentage requirement for General category candidates ranges from 45% to 55% and that for SC/ST category candidates it ranges between 35% to 45%.
Top LL.B. Entrance Exams
Although some colleges offer admission to candidates on the basis of merit, however, the majority of the popular law colleges/ universities in India offer admission to aspirants on the basis of either national-level law entrance exams or on the basis of an entrance exam conducted by them. Some major popular law entrance exams that candidates can consider giving in order to secure admission in LL.B. course include CLAT and LSAT. Apart from these, top private law colleges like Asian Law College (ALC) in Noida also conduct their own entrance exams for admission into LL.B. courses.
LLB Skill set
LL.B. is a popular course offered as part of the law stream. Law as a career choice is extremely demanding and requires aspirants to be thorough with their subject and be willing to work long hours. Thus, candidates wanting to join this field need to possess the below-mentioned skill set:
- Fluency and clarity of speech
- Confidence
- Objectivity
- Interest in Research
- Intellect
- Integrity
- Convincing power
- Ability to assimilate as well as analyze facts
- Ability to argue on a topic
- Interest in detail
- Persuasiveness
- Good judgement of situation/people
- Mental and physical stamina
- Good presentation skills
Three-year LL.B. Subjects & Syllabus
The syllabus taught as part of an LL.B. course varies from college to college. However, some common topics that are taught in an LL.B. course are listed below:
- Labour Law
- Family Law
- Criminal Law
- Professional Ethics
- Law of Torts & Consumer Protection Act
- Constitutional Law
- Law of Evidence
- Arbitration, Conciliation & Alternative
- Human Rights & International Law
- Environmental Law
- Property Law
- Jurisprudence
- Legal Aids
- Law of Contract
- Civil Procedure Code
- Interpretation of Statutes
- Legal Writing
- Administrative Law
- Code of Criminal Procedure
- Company Law
- Land Laws (including ceiling & other local laws)
- Investment & Securities Law/ Law of Taxation/ Co-operative Law/ Banking Law including the Negotiable Instruments Act
- Optional Papers- Contract/ Trust/ Women & Law/ Criminology/ International Economics Law
- Intellectual Property Law/Comparative Law/ Law of Insurance/ Conflict of Laws
Three-year LL.B. Jobs & Career Opportunities
There is a plethora of job opportunities available to candidates after they complete an LL.B. degree. Candidates are informed that if they want to practice law in India then they need to clear All India Bar Exam (AIBE) that is conducted by BCI. On clearing the AIBE exam, lawyers are awarded a ‘Certificate of Practice’ which is mandatory for practicing the profession as an advocate in India.
Some popular job profiles that candidates can pursue after securing an LL.B. degree are as mentioned below:
Lawyer: This job profile requires one to advise and represent clients in civil as well as criminal cases. Lawyers generally present cases in the court of law and take part in all proceedings and hearings.
Legal Advisor: Aspiring candidates opting to work in this job profile are also lawyers who specialize in a specific field of law. Legal advisors are usually hired by governments as well as large organizations/ companies. The primary task of a legal advisor is to protect their clients from any legal implications or consequences.
In – House Counesl: This job profile needs one to serve within the organization as their legal counsel and can be seen as first legal interface of any dispute or problem. The in-house counsel are often responsible for providing brief to the advocates who appear in courts on behalf of the company. The Job bestows lot of responsibility on the concerned professional .
Judicial services : The law graduates who want to enter into Judicial services can do so after completing their graduation in law and taking up the judicial services examination which is as of now conductd state wise either by Public Servie commission of that state or by concerned High Court of that state.
Teacher or Lecturer: After completion of LL.B. degree and a post graduation in Law (LLM), aspiring candidates can take up teachig of law at the college or university level. The academic journey starts with the post of Assistant Professor and for which apart from post graduation in law the candidate need to qualify NET ( National Eligibiliy Test ) which is conducted by University Grant Commission ( UGC) .
LLB Top Recruiters
Some of the top legal firms that are known to hire law graduates are listed below:
- Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A Shroff & Co.
- AZB & Partners
- Khaitan & CO
- J Sagar Associates
- Luthra & Luthra Law Offices
- Trilegal
- S&R Associates
- Economic Laws Practice
- Desai & Diwanji
- Talwar Thakore & Associates