Thomas Jefferson said “The Study of Law is useful in a variety of points of view. It qualifies a man to be useful to himself, to his neighbors, and the public.” Preparing for a career in law indeed prepares an individual to be a leader and passionate about human beings, offering a life-changing experience.
To make a career in law in India, one needs to pursue BA/LLB or BBA/LLB courses after completing high school education. After that, one can join a firm, start practicing law or sit for LLM courses in the country to get the required skill set.
A law aspirant can become a Corporate Lawyer, Litigator, Administrative Officer (Law), or Specialist Officer (Law) in the banking and insurance sector, Public Prosecutor, Criminologist, Solicitor, Paralegal, or a Law Professor.
A career in law surely offers opportunity and growth, along with awareness of rights and duties. Although competitive, time-consuming, and demanding, it is a high-paying, diversified and prestigious job.
The average salary of a junior lawyer is around 2-3 lakhs per annum while for a corporate lawyer, it may extend to 7 lakhs per annum.
The top colleges for a career in law are as follows:
1. NLSIU Bangalore
National Law School of India University, Bangalore, Karnataka is the first National Law University in the country with the Chief Justice of India as its School Chancellor. The rank #1 law university as per NIRF 2020 offers a five-year integrated BA/LLB undergraduate course with a mix of social science and legal subjects which, upon completion, qualifies the students to sit for the bar to practice law. The university also offers LLM, M. Phil, LLD/Ph.D., MA in Public Policy Programme. The admission to the university is through CLAT scores with the admission probability of a candidate being 0.00078%. The total fee for the undergraduate course is around 15 lakhs and the median salary of placed students is around 12-16 lakhs per annum.
2. NALSAR Hyderabad
The National Academy of Legal Studies and Research University of Law (NALSAR), Hyderabad or National Law University Hyderabad is a public university, ranked at #3 in the field of law by NIRF. It offers a five-year integrated BA/LLB (Hons) undergraduate course, a one-year LLM course, Ph.D., and MBA, and PG Diploma programs. Admission to the university is only through valid CLAT scores and the fee for undergraduate programs is around 11 lakhs. The university also offers scholarships to students based on their annual family income and merit. The median CTC was 16.5 lakhs while 75 LLB and 45 LLM students got placed in the 2020 Placement Season of the university.
3. NUJS Kolkata
The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata, was established by West Bengal Government in 1999. The university has been ranked #8 in the field of law by NIRF. The university offers a five-year integrated BA/LLB (Hons) course, LLM, M.Phil (Law), LLD/Ph.D. courses. The annual fee of the undergraduate course is 2.5 lakhs. Talking about the placement season, the institute provides almost 100% placement with the highest CTC of 22 lakhs per annum.
4. NLIU Bhopal
National Law Institute University Bhopal was established in 1997. The university is being ranked at #11 in the field of law by NIRF, while it is been ranked at #6 by The Week The university provides a five-year undergraduate course in BA/LLB; LLM in Business Law, Constitutional and Administrative Law, Criminal Laws, Human Rights and Intellectual and Business Laws; PG Diploma; MSc and Ph.D. program. The admission to undergraduate and postgraduate courses are through CLAT. 67 out of 84 students got placed with the highest package of 18 lakhs per annum.
5. NLU Jodhpur
National Law University Jodhpur is one of the top five NLUs in the country in Jodhpur, Rajasthan. The 55-acre campus has more than 20 research centers for the students. The university offers a five-year integrated BA/LLB course through CLAT with an annual fee of around 2.5 lakhs. It also offers MBA, LLM, and Ph.D. courses. Talking about placements, in 2020, out of 101 students 61 registered for the placement season out of which 38 got jobs and 23 have already received a pre-placement offer.
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6. NLU Delhi
National Law University is a state-law university and one of the leading ones in 23 NLU all over the country. Established in 2008, the university is continuously being ranked #2 in the top legal universities list from 2019 by NIRF. It offers BA/LLB (Hons.), LLM, LLM (Pro), Ph.D., and PG Diploma programs in Law. Admission to the university is offered to candidates with a valid AILET score. For the general category, the closing cut-off is 72.75. The annual fee for the undergraduate program is around 1.5 lakhs and the median CTC for them is 18 lakhs per annum.
7. MNLU Mumbai
Maharashtra National Law University, Mumbai was established in 2014, yet is a much-recognized one among the 23 NLUs of the country. The university provides BA/LLB five-year integrated course, LLM (Professional), LLM (Investment and Security Laws), Litigation Lawyering and Law Firm Management, a course on Crime Investigation, Medical Jurisprudence, and Forensic Science, Ph.D. The admission to the undergraduate course is by valid CLAT scores. All the programs are full-time and residential.
8. NUALS Kochi
The National University of Advanced Legal Studies Kochi was established by the Kerala State Legislature. The state university is being ranked #17 in the field of law by NIRF. It offers a five-year undergraduate BA/LLB course whose admissions are through CLAT. It also offers PG Diploma in Cyber Law, PG Diploma in Medical Law and Ethics, LLM Constitutional and Administrative Law, LLM International Trade Law, and Ph.D. Law. The fee of undergraduate courses is 9.52 lakhs while for PG Diploma is 18,500 and for LLM is 1.38 lakhs.
9. CNLU Patna
Chanakya National Law University in Patna is an autonomous law school established in 2006 which has been ranked at #11 in the field of law by NIRF. The university provides an undergraduate course in BA/LLB and one in BBA/LLB. LLM, LLD, and Ph.D. courses are also available. The admission to undergraduate courses is through CLAT while for postgraduate courses, the university itself conducts an entrance test. For admission in Ph.D. programs, candidates are judged based on their interviews and presentation conducted by the authorities of the university.
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10. RMLNLU Lucknow
Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow is a public law school established in 2005 in Uttar Pradesh. The university has been ranked 14 by NIRF in the legal field. It provides a five-year integrated undergraduate course in BA/LLB (Hons) through CLAT. The total fee of the course is approximately INR 5.5 lakhs.
11. RGNUL Patiala
The Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law Patiala was established in 2006 and has been ranked #7 in the field of law. The university provides a five-year undergraduate course in BA/LLB whose admissions are through Common Law Entrance Test. The admission to the LLM course provided by the university is also through CLAT, while for the Ph.D. program, a written test and interview are being conducted by the university. The median package for BA/LLB graduates is around 7 lakhs per annum while for LLM graduates is around 5 lakhs per annum.
12. HNLU Raipur
Hidayatullah National Law University was established by the Government of Chhatisgarh in 2003. The university has been ranked 20th in the field of law. It offers BA/LLB (Hons), LLM, and Ph.D. (Law). The admissions for the five-year undergraduate course are offered through CLAT. For the postgraduate course, students are admitted through CLAT PG.
Here we gave you an information about The top colleges for a career in law.
By: Inder Chawla
