Law is a profession whose scope is forever expanding as fresh legislations and rules come into force from time to time. From the traditional jobs of teaching and practising law to newer avenues in NGOs, legal firms and corporate houses, its prospects have widened rapidly over the years, writes Radhika Thapar

FROM daily regulations affecting the common man to major legislations governing the life of nations, law plays a pivotal role in various spheres of society. That is why law is a profession whose scope is forever expanding as fresh legislations and rules get enacted from time to time. From the traditional jobs of teaching and practicing law to newer avenues in NGOs, legal firms, corporate houses and government bodies, its prospects have grown over the years.

An LL.B course can be pursued at two different levels —after senior secondary or after graduation. Those who pursue this course after senior secondary get a BA LL.B degree while those pursuing law after graduation get the usual LL.B degree.

However, an LL.B. course makes you a law graduate, not a lawyer. A law graduate has to register with the Bar Council to become eligible for practice. The Indian Advocates Act, 1961, spells out the term 'advocate' to mean authoritative legal professionals in the country. As per this Act, only advocates are entitled to practice law.

To make a mark in this field one must possess good knowledge of law, excellent communication skills, power of reasoning and a general awareness of developments in society.

To teach law, a master's degree is a must. The scope for teaching law too has widened with more and more law institutes coming up. Many law professors have also earned a big name and money by writing books. Today, the start for a law teacher is around Rs 15,000 and it can go up to Rs 30,000 in a couple of years.

"To be a teacher of law is in itself a challenging job. Since the concepts of law keep on changing, the job of a teacher is not static. One has to constantly update oneself about new issues and changes," says Geeta Joshi, a Lecturer in the Law Department, Panjab University, Chandigarh.

The Department of Legal Affairs in the Union Ministry of Law and Justice provides for the Indian Legal Service, under which candidates are selected through the UPSC for various posts. The posts covered under the Indian Legal Service are those of Law Officer, Legal Assistant, Deputy Legal Advisor, Legal Advisor and the like.

Law graduates can also enter the judicial services of their state through an exam held by the State Public Service Commision. Besides, state governments also recruit legal professionals like public prosecutors/ district attorneys through competitive examinations. The labour wings of the state governments too employ graduates specializing in labour law.

Though teaching and practice retain their charm, a variety of other employment avenues are now available to law graduates. Even as traditional fields like taxation, labour, civil and criminal law are still popular, more and more legal professionals are venturing into upcoming areas like environmental law, corporate law, human rights, intellectual property rights, etc.

"New legislation in branches like environment, trademark, copyright, corporate law, arbitrary actions of government agencies, etc are bound to generate new types of claims by the people for adjudication by courts of law. So far, lawyers have mostly been confining their work to traditional dispute areas. The new areas will open floodgates for new entrants into the legal profession," says Prof. V.K. Bansal of the Deptatment of Law, PU.

Following are some of the fields of law whose scope is expanding rapidly:

In this era of Net explosion, when computers have become the storehouses of information and a prime source of communication, it is very important to safeguard data. In order to protect the information stored in computers, the Information Technology Act, 2000, has made certain cyber crimes punishable by law. These include hacking, source code attack, obscenity, failure to comply with controller's directions, breach of privacy, making available digital signatures for fraudulent purposes and the like. It has also proposed a separate cyber tribunal wherein cyber law experts can adjudicate the proceedings.

Corporate law is another area which has seen a major boom in recent years. With the coming of multinationals and the proliferation of the corporate culture, there has been a spurt in the demand for legal experts to handle matters pertaining to the Companies Act, intellectual property rights (IPR), labour issues, etc

Many big business houses and companies have started keeping their own solicitors and legal experts to deal with the legalities involved in mergers, collaborations, agreements and undertakings, to frame internal rules and regulations and handle labour laws, etc. Every company has its own criteria for recruiting legal professionals but experience is given a lot of weightage. A beginner employed by a company gets a start of Rs 8000-Rs 10,000 per month.

A rapidly growing field of law, intellectual property broadly covers two areas.

The first is copyright and patents. A patent or copyright confers certain rights on the owner of intellectual property — be it a literary work, a product or invention — to guard against its misuse by others.

The second area relates to trademark. In order to avoid confusion and deception over the identification of a particular product, law provides for trademarks as a protection against unfair competition.

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) registers such rights. Today, 171 states perform the role of promoting the protection of intellectual property and India is one of them.

Immigration companies too are increasingly employing lawyers well conversant with the immigration rules and regulations of various countries. The services of legal experts in this field are required to represent these companies in case of rejection of cases, inquires related to immigration and to deal with complaints registered against or by them.

Environmental law deals with various issues pertaining to the ecological system. With the threat to our ecology mounting each day, environmental law has taken centrestage. Various public interest litigations have been filed by lawyers to save environment, be it with regard to the Bhopal gas tragedy, the Taj corridor controversy, cleaning of the Ganga waters and the like.

"Since the Supreme Court has started enforcing strictly different environmental statutes, there is enough scope for law graduates to advise new industrial houses about environmental matters because no developmental activity can be undertaken if it is in conflict with the environment. The emphasis on sustainable development and the application of 'polluter pays principle' and 'precautionary principle' by the judiciary has enhanced the scope of lawyers who deal with environmental issues," says Prof. P.S. Jaswal of the Law Department, PU.

Human rights is an issue of great social concern, especially in cases of blatant state oppression or atrocities being committed by the authorities. The growing awareness about human rights violations necessitates action and intervention by activists and lawyers. With a number of social service organisations and NGOs working to uphold the human rights of the underprivileged and oppressed sections of society, the demand for lawyers specialising in this field has risen manifold.

"Human rights is an internationally recognised and much sought after field. In the coming years, the state is bound to provide new measures for the protection of human rights and redressal in case of violation. With the appointment of human rights officers and opening of human right courts in every district, not only will there be better protection of human rights but also new vistas will open up for legal professionals," says Professor Bansal.

Law graduates having a flair for writing and reporting can become legal correspondents or alternatively, pursue a career in creative writing like John Grisham and Stanley Gardner. The publishers of law journals and court judgements too require legal editors for their editorial work, etc.

The legal profession thus offers immense diversity. The choice is yours to make.