It’s ALL About Specialsation

FIVE AREAS GAINING POPULARITY TODAY

Law is a vast realm in which there are multiple fields, many of which require specialisation. At the same time, a student must keep in mind that the ‘core’ areas of law such as jurisprudence, constitutional law, Code of Civil Procedure (CPC), Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), Indian Penal Code (IPC), evidence, contract law, torts and property law are such that without a stronghold in these ‘basics’, any attempt to ‘specialise’ will fall flat. CORPORATE LAW Students need to develop the knack, temperament to slog for long hours and learning to work within short deadlines. In a law school, one must build strong English-speaking and writing skills along with legal research and drafting skills. A company secretary course, for instance, while doing law can prove to be handy. Salary at top firms such as Trilegal, Luthra and Luthra and Khaitan are `15 lakh per year with only 200 to 400 job openings annually. Pay packages for the in-house counsel in a company is slightly lesser. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND TECHNOLOGY LAW Intellectual Property (IP) law firms tend to divide their practice areas in distinct fields such as patents, which require a degree in science or engineering or at least keen interest in these subjects. Trademarks involve a lot of filing which tends to get boring and copyrights has less business and more cases. A technology lawyer has to deal with issues such as defamation, stalking, domain name disputes and data theft. To develop an interest in these areas, one can follow industry websites such as SpicyIP.com and pursue add-on courses offered by organisations such as the Indian Law Institute (ILI) and Asiwan School of Cyber Laws (ASCL). However, salaries at IP law firms are comparatively lower than those at corporate firms.

ALTERNATE DISPUTE RESOLUTION

Mechanisms of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) such as arbitration, mediation, and conciliation are becoming increasingly popular. Students wishing to specialise in these fields should get into ‘Under-40’ groups of international bodies such as the International Centre for Alternative Dispute Resolution (ICADR) which train, accredit, enlist and empanel members. Those interested in mediation can do a 40-hour mediation course offered by organisations such as the Indian Institute of Arbitration and Mediation (IIAM) and Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA). A fresher as an arbitrator can charge around `3,000 per sitting.

TAX LAW

If you don’t turn away from numbers, tax law could be your wand to wield. It’s not surprising that many chartered accountants nowadays are adding an LLB degree to their repertoire. Students wishing to specialise in tax laws must keep up-to-date with recent developments.

HUMAN RIGHTS LAW

Many NGOs and think tanks do research, advocacy and litigation-related work on issues connected with human rights abuse. Prominent bodies with good internship programmes include Human Rights Law Network (HRNL), People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and National Commission for Women (NCW) to name a few. Also, NLSIU Bangalore’s Centre for Child and the Law (CCL), and NALSAR’s Hyderabad’s Centre for Disability provide good research-based internships. The starting salary in these vary between `10,000 and `20,000 monthly.