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Bachelor of Arts & Bachelor of Legislative Law (B.A. LL.B.) Course Admissions 2024 - 2025 Academic Year
Pursuing a degree in law can be one of the most demanding and fulfilling ventures one could undertake in his lifetime. It is one of the most traditional professions in the world. In this section of Indiastudychannel.com describes more about the scope and traits of B.A.LL.B. degree course.B.A. LL.B. stands for Bachelor of Arts & Bachelor of Legislative Law. Anyone who has ever been into legal troubles knows the importance of legal education and the value of a lawyer. Law is considered to be the most difficult career choice and is a profession equally respected as the medical profession. The amount of reading that a law student has to do is so much that no other discipline can be compared with it.
A student willing to become a lawyer needs to have a degree in law and pass the bar exams. The latter would not be important however in all circumstances. The last two decades have seen the advent of National Law Universities in India and the advancement of the most popular entrance test, which is CLAT. There runs a perception among the common people that becoming a lawyer is a very difficult job, given the kind of struggle people need to do in the initial years of their professional life. No doubt there is a huge competition in this field, however, the advent of NLUs and especially of CLAT has been the reason of a constant increase in the number of students willing to join this field every year. And people have started taking this profession much more seriously after the quality of legal education improved by many notches with the advent of NLUs. The B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) is a course which allows law students to equip themselves with the necessary faculties to argue in the court of law. Together with studies, students with the will to become a good lawyer also take part in a number of extra-curricular activities such as participating in national as well as international level Moot Court Competitions, Legal Essay Competition, Judgment Writing Competitions, Arbitration and Mediation Competitions, and so much more. Life at a National Law University is so different than any other university/college that it cannot be simply expressed in word. It is not just about academia. Making the best of B.A. LL.B. requires a constant push and self-motivation among the candidates.
Duration for B.A. LL.B. Course - The B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) course is a 5-year course. There is a difference between LL.B. which is a rather older course and B.A. LL.B. (Hons.). While the former is a three-year course, the latter is a five-year course. The bigger difference between the two courses is the subjects the students study while pursuing these courses as well as the approach that is taken.
In these five years, the first three years of a law student is invested in getting introduced with various law subjects. Subjects such as contract law, constitution, criminal law, etc. are taught across two semesters. Other subjects that students generally study in the first three years are Company Law, Intellectual Property Law, Property Law, etc. However, the difference between LL.B. and B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) manifests in the arts subjects that students study in the latter course. To understand the law, it is important that we understand how the law was formed and many other aspects of the law such as why witnesses behave differently in court, ethics, the role society plays in the formation of law etc. For these reasons, students are introduced to many Arts subject while pursuing this course. They include Psychology, Philosophy, Political Science, International Relations, Legal History, Legal English and Economics.
The last two years of a law student pursuing the 5-year law course is invested in specializing any of the Hons. Subjects. The popular Hons. Subjects that students can opt for, are Corporate Law, Criminal law, International Trade Law, Constitutional Law, Intellectual Property Law, etc.
During the entire 5 year course, law students intern during their semester breaks at various law firms, companies, NGOs, judges, advocates etc. A constant need to gain work experience makes the field of law a very difficult and a highly competitive one.
Cost of Study for B.A. LL.B. Course - It must be noted that legal education is somewhat costly. Despite clearing the national level tests such as CLAT and AILET and getting into the premier NLUs, a lot of money is invested in earning a degree in law. The total fee for the five years that students pay at NUSRL, the costliest National Law University in India is about 11 lakhs. The amount is lesser with other NLUs such as NALSAR and NLS. There are however other universities such as ILS Pune and GLC Mumbai which charge much lesser fee compared to the NLUs. It might come as a start surprise to those who are not aware of National Law Universities and private law universities that the cost of legal education at private law colleges is often much less when compared to NLUs. A note must be taken that there is a huge difference in the quality of education imparted at NLUs and private institutions.
Admission Procedure for B.A. LL.B. Course - While some law universities like GLC Mumbai and ILS Pune take admission on the basis of marks that a candidate scored in his plus two exams. However, if one is willing to get into the premier national law universities, one needs to take the Common Law Admission Test which is popularly abbreviated as CLAT. However, National Law University, Delhi conducts its own entrance test which is called AILET. Other good private law colleges are Symbiosis, Alliance, Amity, etc.
Career Prospects for B.A. LL.B. Course - Many people believe that the only option available to a law student after graduating is joining the bar and becoming a litigating lawyer or may be learned under the supervision of a practicing and experienced lawyer and thereafter doing the former. But this is not true, at all. A B.A. LL.B. graduate is faced with a lot of options. A law student after graduating can prepare and attempt the judiciary exams by qualifying which one can become a judge in the lower courts. Another famous choice of law students is attempting the civil services exam conducted by the UPSC. Apart from this, as it happens at engineering colleges, at NLUs too, various companies come and recruit via campus placements. A student can join a corporate firm with handsome pay packages or may even join a corporation and become an in house counsel. Legal consultation and legal process outsourcing industry is also doing good. Apart from this, a law graduate can become a mediator or arbitrator. There are many clerical jobs for law students too.
Higher study opportunities in B.A. LL.B. Course - Students willing to further their studies in law after graduating, opt for LL.M. which is the master counterpart of B.A. LL.B. And after the NLU culture has cultivated in India, a lot of people are opting to do their LLM from abroad. And if the idea of studying abroad sends shivers down your spine, do know that there are scholarship schemes to take care of them.