List of Careers

A lawyer’s resume has to have the most significant features which highlight his/her strengths in the most positive light. However, as is true for all resumes, a lawyer’s resume too should not indulge in hyperbolic statements and giving false information.

Like all resumes, a lawyer’s resume should begin with a short paragraph highlighting his/her legal profile succinctly, giving his/her specialisation if any and then proceed towards listing the most recent achievements first. These may be either work experience or educational profile, depending upon whether the lawyer is a fresh graduate or not. In either case, the recent experience should come first.

In the work experience section, the lawyer should mention work history, giving details of the organisation s/he worked with, in what capacity, what area of legal practice s/he covered, period of experience etc. special care should be taken to present the area of legal practice to match the nature of job the lawyer is applying for. This is the most important feature in this section that the employer will be interested in.

Below this section, the lawyer may make a special sub-section where s/he may highlight in points any significant cases s/he may have successfully represented. This will add strength to the resume.

If the lawyer is a fresh graduate, s/he may detail in the work experience section any summer work, volunteer service or internship s/he may have taken during the course of study. Any special mention of the legal ability of the student will add strength to this section.

The next most important section is the educational profile. Here, it must be noted that the prestige of the institution plays as much value in securing a job as the educational achievements during educational years. This is especially so in the Western countries. In the developing countries, a good academic record is what is sought rather than the name of the institution and a lot depends upon the way the person handles the interview. Because of this, especially in the West, a lawyer must mention if s/he graduated from a prestigious institution.

Normally, the law degrees, undergraduate degree and any specialisation taken in graduate study or otherwise should be highlighted. If the candidate received honours, high grades, a high rank etc, s/he should mention it here. The lawyer should highlight the specific courses s/he took which are particularly relevant for the job applied for and if s/he fared well in those courses.

The candidate must mention when s/he received the license for legal practice and from where. If any special awards were received or any special recognition was ascribed to the lawyer at any point of time, it must be mentioned in the last section. Moreover, what extra qualifications the lawyer has, such as knowledge of several languages, experience of working with different types of groups or communities, experience of working in different environments etc., should also be mentioned in the end. The resume of an experienced lawyer however, should focus more on the achievements made during legal practice career rather than during student days.

a career in business law is highly remunerative. A business lawyer works with business firms and multinational corporate organisations as their business legal adviser. His/her job is to advise about the legalities of business issues, litigation cases, profit making ventures, salaries, government policies regarding industrial operation, issues arising out of business transactions, customer service and product liability etc. lawyers who establish their reputation in the field of corporate legal practice earn a lot of money because of the support they provide to the large business establishments.

A business lawyer can be employed with a corporate house, can have a private practice, can work with government enterprises as their advisers, can work with international trade regulating organisations or can work with the government policy making departments which deal with corporate functioning.

Normally, a business lawyer has to have an undergraduate background in business management, industrial relations, economics, commerce, accountancy, international trade and global economy etc. This training has to be followed with a degree in law. In order to go for more specialised jobs such as government policy advising and international business policy advising, it helps to obtain a graduate experience in public policy, global economics etc. Like all lawyers, a business lawyer too has to get a license before embarking upon a legal practice.

Because business legal practice is such a competitive field especially in industrialised countries, a student aiming to be a business lawyer has to have exceptional academic credentials preferably from well-known business and law institutions. This gives the student an advantage in securing the best legal opportunities in the first few years of legal career.

A business lawyer has to be familiar with all aspects of laws of the land related to corporate functioning, consumer rights, product liability, taxation etc. Apart from this, a business lawyer also needs to know about the business-related laws of other countries with whom the business houses of his/her own countries deal in business. Besides, there are international trading and commerce laws and government policies related to corporate functioning, which a business lawyer has to be familiar with.

Thus, a business lawyer has to be interested in continuously reading about new developments that keep on taking place in the field of country-specific and global economics-related laws. At the same time, while dealing with intricacies of cases, s/he also has to be engaged in research related to the various aspects of the case. When a business lawyer reaches a senior level, s/he employs assistants to do this research or can outsource this work abroad.

However, at the beginning of career, s/he has to engage in this kind of work. A business lawyer not only has to be good at advocating a business-related case, but also has to be a good strategist and a good analyst in order to provide the best benefit to the industry s/he is representing. A keen ability to read the various aspects of a situation enables a business lawyer to help a business-related case in the best manner possible.

An environmental lawyer combines a sound knowledge of environmental concerns with an expertise in law. In India an environmental lawyer is not a competitive profession, but in the West and in international organisations such as multinational NGOs, UN departments and multinational companies it can be a highly remunerative professional and also a satisfying one.

An environmental lawyer most commonly works for the general public, associated with an environmental NGO, to argue for the ecological damages caused to the people by various commercial products, government policies or ecological imbalances taking place in the nature. Some of them may also work for the conservation of wildlife with an international organisation working in this area. Issues may include pollution-causing factors, industrialisation and its wrong planning, traffic pollution, depleting water and energy resources, faulty government planning, harmful industrial practices etc.

On the other hand, the government departments and the corporate organisations also require environmental lawyers to argue on their behalf in environmental litigation cases. Hence, an environmental lawyer can also work for the governemnt or the corporate houses.

Because of the nature of environmental legal practice, an environemental lawyer needs to have a sound knowledge of environemental concerns, their changing debates, the scientific and social aspects involved in examining the environmental cases, government and corporate policies and the country-specific as well as the international laws involved. Environemental lawyers can specialise in various areas of environemental issues such as wildlife, industrial hazards, governmental ecological policies etc.

The high level of specialisation needed to pursue this career demands that an environemental lawyer has multiple specializations. Thus, a person aiming to become an environemental lawyer can have a bachelor’s in political science or public policy, a Master’s in environemental studies and a law degree. Or, alternatively, a bachelor’s in environemental science followed by a Master’s in international environemental policy combined with a law degree can help a person to become a successful environemental lawyer. Essentially, an environemental lawyer has to be familiar with policy making, environemental issues and legal aspects. An environemental lawyer also has to be interested in research related to environemental aspects and legal issues, apart from possessing the essential skills of a lawyer. Those who want to go for corporate sector or wildlife conservation should acquire the relevant expertise in these areas. Careers in environemental law require an excellent academic record, since this is a competitive, especially at the international level. The NGO sector also requires the environemental lawyer to be strong in advocacy skills to speak for the issues the NGO is arguing for or against.

Those who would like to PhD in environemental law or environemental policy can go into teaching this subject at universities, apart from advocating for environemental issues for the environemental organisations. This can give them a double career. An environemental lawyer has to be prepared to travel across the globe and work in diverse environments. Apart from being interested in advocy, they have to be committed to the environemental issues at heart.

Legal Process Outsourcing involving legal research required to process a legal case and drafting legal documents for cases being represented in a different country. These countries outsource the research and drafting work to another country for a lower cost work, in order to save cost in their own organisation’s work. Especially during recession, a lot of legal processes were outsourced to save costs in a falling economy in the Western countries.

India is the greatest beneficiary of this type of outsourcing. The prime reasons are the availability of English speaking professionals educated in the US and UK, who are willing to work at a lower rate in India for a Western legal firm. Besides, Indian legal system borrows from the British, American and the Australian systems to a large extent. Hence, during recession, India emerged as the greatest beneficiary of Legal Process Outsourcing jobs (LPO) and registered a growth of 40-60%. Especially Gurgaon and Bangalore have become major centres for LPO.

Apart from India, China, Japan, Russia, Phillippines, Latin America, Israel and South Africa also engage in receiving LPO jobs. However, India leads the LPO sector at the moment.

In order to work for the LPO sector, a law graduate not only has to have a basic law degree, s/he has to be familiar with the laws of the major Western countries such as the US, the UK, Australia, Canada etc. besides, s/he has to be familiar with the social, economic and political situations in these countries in order to be able to the research work related to legal cases properly. With some time investment in acquainting oneself with these aspects, a law graduate can easily benefit from the growing LPO sector in the developing countries.

Apart from the obvious advantages, LPO sector has been criticised for the possibility of breach of confidentiality between the client and the legal firm or practitioner. Another concern has been raised in the field of the legal ethical standards which may vary from country to country. There has been some discussion in the US about setting up a global legal ethical practice standard, which all LPO companies across the world have to maintain.

In the developed countries which are engaging in outsourcing legal work, there has been great dissatisfaction amongst the new law graduates. This is because they feel they are losing jobs and are unable to find jobs because legal work is being outsourced to other countries. This has raised tensions between the local population and the immigrants. The host population is gradually turning against the immigrant population which in their minds represents the people who have taken away their jobs. Hence, in the long run, LPO is not necessarily beneficial for either the host country or the country that receives the LPO jobs. At the most this can only be a short-term solution to a declining economy. It can’t be a long-term practice to be followed by the Western countries. They have to reverse this practice and begin retaining their jobs within their countries, once the economy begins to rise.

Immigration law is especially important in countries which accept foreigners as permanent residents, long-term workers and citizens. In these countries, immigration lawyers are in much demand and earn a lot of money from their practice. In other countries, it is used mostly in cases of refugee immigrants and temporary foreign workers. India falls in the latter category, while most developed countries fall in the former category. In these countries, the scope for immigration law practice is well-expanded and includes many kinds of areas.

An immigration lawyer in the West can diversify into specializations such as law enforcement, police service, criminal justice, business law and immigration policy. It means that s/he has to acquire knowledge of these disciplines apart from having a law degree. These countries also have a great demand for immigration lawyers because of the constant flow of immigrants into the country and the need to handle their specific requirements.

An immigration lawyer in immigration-host countries can have a legal practice, go into law-enforcement areas, can work for an immigration department handling license, exam or inspection of immigrants, can work for the immigration and customs office, apart from teaching immigration law at universities and colleges. They can also join the intelligence department or border patrol police to keep track of illegal immigration. They earn a good salary in Western countries.

In order to become an immigration lawyer, one has to acquire expertise in the immigration law of the country, apart from having a general law degree. Thus, after getting an LLB, a person can get a certificate, diploma, or graduate degree in immigration law to add to the basic law degree. Most universities in the immigration-host countries, which offer a law degree, also offer a course in immigration law. Usually, these courses are regular full-time. Online courses are rare in this field.

Those who want to go into teaching immigration law at the university or college level have to get a PhD in public policy or any other Social Science with a focus on immigration or immigration law. The law degree and the higher qualifications should be obtained from a well-known accredited university. Studying in a place where one has the opportunity to interact with a lot of immigrants from different countries is an added advantage. This gives one the opportunity to understand the diverse worldviews of these immigrants and handle their issues better later when one begins to practise immigration law.

In immigrant-host countries, it is important to be familiar with the immigration law even if one doesn’t specialise in this area. This is because eventually a lawyer will have to represent some immigrants and handle their cases. This is especially so if one specializes in employment law. Hence, knowledge of immigration law is essential for all legal practitioners in such countries. There are lawyers who have established firms to handle especially immigration cases and their services are in high demand because of the number of people wanting to immigrate.

Maritime law is a widely sought-after discipline, especially in countries with expanded maritime activities such as the UK and Greece. A maritime lawyer has a diverse range of services to render in these countries. These may include advising clients for injury during maritime activities, loss of goods during loading and unloading ships, issues related to oil drilling and oil shipping, matters related to the naval activities and many more.

Countries with extensive maritime activities have advanced courses in maritime law for people who may want to join this profession. A maritime lawyer has to be conversant in all aspect of maritime activities, the sea law of the country and also of the International Maritime Organization and the international trading and maritime-related laws. Usually, after the student completes an LLB, s/he can opt for an LLM in Maritime Law at a well-recognised institute of Maritime Legal Studies.

While opting for a Masters in Maritime Law, the student should ensure that it is not just part of a regular LLM. Rather, it should be a specialised department in Maritime Law with a strong team of experts who can give personal attention to each student. A regular LLM with just a few options of Maritime legal courses don’t equip the student to serve in this profession properly.

A Maritime Lawyer can join a shipyard, a merchandise ship, work for an on-land department dealing with maritime activities, for an international organization dealing with Maritime issues, be on the government policy-making board formulating the policies for maritime activities of the countries and many more. It helps to decide during LLM what career path one wants to choose and if any extra skills are required to go into that path. For example, joining a policy-making department would require some additional expertise in government policy. Joining an international organization would require knowledge of international trade and maritime laws and so on. It helps to acquire these skills while studying for an LLM or immediately after LLM. Some of these careers may require the candidate to qualify in an eligibility exam and special preparation may be needed to prepare for the exam. The student should become familiar with these requirements and be well-prepared for them.

A career in Maritime Law requires the student to be interested in carrying out research related to maritime activities. Besides, the person should be in excellent health and should not suffer from sea-sickness and other health problems.

A Maritime Lawyer may have to go on long-term travel or even sailing. S/he should be prepared for this. Being aware of the demands of this career enables the person to serve in the profession efficiently and avoid difficulties.

In India, Maritime Law is a new discipline and there are not many institutions offering this course, despite the fact that India has a long coastline and it engages in significant naval and merchant navy activities. Indian Institute of Maritime Law, Cochin is a prime institute of Maritime Law studies in India.

An environmental lawyer combines a sound knowledge of environmental concerns with an expertise in law. In India an environmental lawyer is not a competitive profession, but in the West and in international organisations such as multinational NGOs, UN departments and multinational companies it can be a highly remunerative professional and also a satisfying one.

An environmental lawyer most commonly works for the general public, associated with an environmental NGO, to argue for the ecological damages caused to the people by various commercial products, government policies or ecological imbalances taking place in the nature. Some of them may also work for the conservation of wildlife with an international organisation working in this area. Issues may include pollution-causing factors, industrialisation and its wrong planning, traffic pollution, depleting water and energy resources, faulty government planning, harmful industrial practices etc.

On the other hand, the government departments and the corporate organisations also require environmental lawyers to argue on their behalf in environmental litigation cases. Hence, an environmental lawyer can also work for the government or the corporate houses.

Because of the nature of environmental legal practice, an environmental lawyer needs to have a sound knowledge of environmental concerns, their changing debates, the scientific and social aspects involved in examining the environmental cases, government and corporate policies and the country-specific as well as the international laws involved. Environmental lawyers can specialise in various areas of environmental issues such as wildlife, industrial hazards, governmental ecological policies etc.

The high level of specialisation needed to pursue this career demands that an environmental lawyer has multiple specializations. Thus, a person aiming to become an environemental lawyer can have a bachelor’s in political science or public policy, a Master’s in environemental studies and a law degree. Or, alternatively, a bachelor’s in environemental science followed by a Master’s in international environmental policy combined with a law degree can help a person to become a successful environmental lawyer. Essentially, an environemental lawyer has to be familiar with policy making, environemental issues and legal aspects. An environmental lawyer also has to be interested in research related to environemental aspects and legal issues, apart from possessing the essential skills of a lawyer. Those who want to go for corporate sector or wildlife conservation should acquire the relevant expertise in these areas. Careers in environemental law require an excellent academic record, since this is a competitive, especially at the international level. The NGO sector also requires the environemental lawyer to be strong in advocacy skills to speak for the issues the NGO is arguing for or against.

Those who would like to PhD in environemental law or environemental policy can go into teaching this subject at universities, apart from advocating for environemental issues for the environemental organisations. This can give them a double career. An environemental lawyer has to be prepared to travel across the globe and work in diverse environments. Apart from being interested in advice, they have to be committed to the environemental issues at heart.

Law enforcement can lead to different types of professions, requiring different types of professional skills. Following are some of the major career paths the task of law enforcement can take -

Legal Counsel

These are lawyers of different categories, barristers and legal firms employing advocates. They prepare legal documents, provide legal advice and argue on behalf of the client in the courtroom. This is the main career path chosen by the people who study the law. According to the filed of law they go into, they specialise in different disciplines.

Magistrates and judges

These people preside over court cases, listen to both sides of arguments, examine evidences present for and against the accused and finally, deliver the legal decision regarding a court case, acquitting or sentencing the accused, ordering financial compensation, maintenance or any other option as the case may be. Many of the judges have also served as lawyers before joining the judiciary. Like the lawyers, they need to be thoroughly conversant with all aspects of the law of the land and also are required to be impartial in their delivery of legal decision. As magistrates in different levels of the court, they are part of the government, but are required to pronounce decisions against the government if the need arises. In this sense, they are different from the lawyer, who is executed to defend his/her client.

Police and Intelligence Officials

Every country has a police force to maintain law and order situation. Police personnel can enforce the law properly only if they have a sound knowledge of the law. Although it’s not essential for the police personnel to have a law degree, acquiring a legal degree or becoming familiar with the law helps them immensely. Hence, it is advisable for them to obtain a law degree. Every country also has at least one intelligence wing of professionals who gather information about misconducts and criminal activities in and outside the country which may destabilise the proper functioning of the country. They too gain by having a sound legal knowledge, so that they can identify and plan against illegal and harmful activities correctly. Smaller countries like India have only one or two intelligence departments, but powerful countries such as the US have several departments working in different types of intelligence work. Professionals working for these departments are required to specialise in the particular type of legal area they are dealing with.

Political Representatives of the Government

Having a sound knowledge of the law helps one to be a successful political leader. It is not surprising that many political leaders across the world have been lawyers. Their knowledge of law and their oratory skills helps them to establish themselves as political leaders. When in government, it also helps them in conducting the administrative affairs and the policy-making of statesmanship.

Forensic Experts

Forensic psychologists are used by the government to test the mental condition of an accused in court. Expertise in scientific areas combined with legal knowledge is used to obtain scientific evidence in a criminal case or civil case.

The study and practice of law is intellectually an exciting activity. The most basic requirements of the legal profession are reasoning, analytical, and communication skills. Many people are drawn to it with the desire of being able to bring about a social change, setting new dimensions in legal interpretations and defending basic human rights. Thus, a legal profession can make a positive impact on the lives of people. Besides, if a lawyer is successful, he or she may even command prestige and high income in life.

The ground realities of working in the legal profession, however, should be fully understood by a young aspirant before embarking in this direction. Days can be very long and monotonous and may even take up weekend time. Legal work can require spending considerable time in tedious research and repetitive administrative tasks. Depending on the type of law practiced and the location, salaries may be low. This is especially true for entry level positions and also for lawyers who are not able to make a wide clientele for themselves.

Broadly speaking, those working as solicitors will be working as part of a firm or under the same Barrister. On the other hand, barristers are all self-employed and independent. They have also made a name for themselves and have achieved a senior level in legal practice.

Most lawyers start out by working with small firms, drawing up legal cases for clients, helping them to draft wills, complaint cases for claiming compensations, filing litigation cases etc. There are large firms which employ layers who have gained some experience and are equipped to help large companies, media organizations, political clients. These lawyers are highly qualified and earn a lot of money. Finally there are specialised niches in law catered to by lawyers who have earned a specialization in the concerned niche apart from a law degree. Thus, an environmental lawyer may have a degree in environmental law apart from a general law degree, or a degree in international environment apart from a law degree.

Lawyers may specialise in social work, environment, international policy development, divorce law, personal injury claims, immigration law etc. these lawyers need to have a thorough understanding of the area they specialize in apart from having a knowledge of the law of the land. Such lawyers establish their own legal firms, work for international organizations such as the various branches of the UN, work for the NGOs or for the Corporate sector. They command a lot of prestige, influence and earn a high level of income because of their specialization.

In order to succeed in this highly competitive field, a candidate has to have an idea of what career path he or she wants to choose within the field of law, which are the additional specialisation skills s/he needs to acquire, and which institutions to go to in order to acquire these skills. A well-chalked out career path can make a successful lawyer, while a poorly planned degree in law can ruin the person.

There are different types of legal practice in which a lawyer engages requiring different types of legal knowledge and abilities. Following are some of the main categories of legal practice -

Private practitioner

Lawyers, who engage in private practice counsel the litigants on legal matters, prepare their legal documents and argue on their behalf in court cases. They need to establish a reputation of effective counsels and the ability to win court cases. Their clientele depends upon legal success they achieve in the courtroom. In the West, they also engage in advertising themselves in public in order to attract clients. This practice is not popular in India, where private legal counsels build their reputation steadily and gain clients. Some private counsels also function as Corporate Lawyers and represent the corporate houses in legal cases.

Government Lawyer

In criminal cases, the government is the main litigant against the accused. In such cases, there has to be a government counsel who advises and argues on behalf of the government in court to prove that the accused is guilty and the government has enough verifiable evidence to prove this. Apart from this, the accused has to have a lawyer to argue on his/her behalf. In case the accused is not able to acquire the legal services of a lawyer, in countries such as India, it is the responsibility of the government to provide the accused with a lawyer who can defend the accused and argue for his/her innocence. This is a government lawyer and has to be paid for his/her services by the government. There is a third category of government lawyer, who works for different government departments and represents these departments in court in case litigations are filed against the department.

Public Interest Litigation Lawyer

A PIL is filed on behalf of the citizens in the country against government employees, the representatives of the government or a government department. Usually, the charge is of failing to carry out duties which harm a general body of citizens or the whole country. A public interest litigation lawyer should be able to understand the nature of misdemeanour, inefficiency or injustices prevailing in the government body and should be able to argue how these practices are unconstitutional, harm the citizens and encroach upon their rights as citizens.