Law education is one of the oldest academic fields in the world which has not only created global leaders, but also lead the whole world to maintain peace and harmony. You must have heard about world leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Barack Obama, Nelson Mandela, Tony Blair, Hillary Clinton, Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, Tony Abbott, Abraham Lincoln, Fidel Castro, Michel Temer and so on. There are some commonalities among these world leaders, apart from their leadership role. Interestingly, they all have studied law. Yes, with the changing paradigm, a career in law is very fascinating and considered an elite profession nowadays. Add to that the growing demand for opportunities. At the same time, a career in law is very prestigious, intellectually challenging, internationally recognised and financially rewarding. An education in law may not catapult you to the top position immediately but acquired knowledge, dynamic legal skills and your fascination with the profession would definitely prepare you for a better position with a decent life.
Traditionally, in countries like India, law as education was less preferred because of limited scope and with the only option being practicing litigation. But times have changed. The statement, “You can do anything with a law degree…”, has become true as careers in law open up a plethora of possibilities and opportunities in every sector. Therefore, if you are aspiring for a law degree or pursuing a law degree, read these quick benefits of studying law:
Combination of law with other disciplines: Presently, law programmes such as BA LLB, BBA LLB, BCom LLB and BSc LLB enable students across disciplines to combine their legal studies with business, management, commerce, social sciences and sciences. As a result, it leaves an open choice for specialisation and helps aspirants in building a strong foundation for further studies in their respective chosen field.
Opportunity to build a strong foundation of skill sets, critical thinking and analytical skills: The above-designed law programmes help aspirants acquire knowledge and skills that are part of the curriculum. Further, the programme involves aspirants in various situations or problems to find out the best solution by applying their critical and analytical thinking.
Involvement in the system and improvement through law: On the completion of the law programme, aspirants can bring in the change and improve the existing system. Studying law empowers you to utilise your skillset with domain knowledge to stand for others and protect their rights and responsibilities.
Gain reputation, financial stability and admiration: A career in law can take you to the top of the world and help students become leaders, industrialists, international practitioners, academicians or social workers who are highly respected in society. However, the aspirants need to profess and maintain continuous dedication in this field with requisite skills to gain financial stability, reputation and constant growth.
Boost your confidence, communication and face the world: By studying law you empower yourself. This makes aspirants self-confident, able in arguments and discussions and sharpen other requisite abilities such as advanced communication skills, problem-solving ability, critical thinking and a leadership attitude to deal with any situation.
Loads of career options: The aspirants can have as many options as they wish for via legal education. Starting from lawyers, academia, media professional, corporate and industry, social work, politics, law firms, NGOs and other international fields are open for law graduates. Apart from this, aspirants can think of government jobs such as the judiciary, public service commission, law officers in banks and PSUs, law officers in the defense sector, government lawyers, advisors and so on.
Law education might be a time-consuming programme because of its length and vast area of study, but it augments confidence, professionalism, thinking ability, intellectual stimulation and is rewarding in many ways. Persons with sound legal knowledge and skills can lead governments, politics, business houses, international positions, media houses, civic activities, non-profit organisations and so on. Through legal education, you can bring about change in a diverse way such as help those without a voice, guide your client or colleague, participate in politics to bring change in society or advise and govern corporate houses with legal skill sets and personal accomplishment. With such demands and benefits of law programmes, it asks for few years of proper attention and dedication to learning. The vast syllabus and standards demand constant efforts and involvement in the learning process that can make you a winner in this field.
Law education was never restricted to lawyers or within courtrooms, its aura is everywhere starting from the life of individuals, every corner of society and corporate dealings to international relations. There is no doubt that studying law is to ‘restore justice’ but ‘justice’ can be interpreted in several ways and law aspirants have to wisely interpret it to create a better society.
Dr Biranchi Narayan P Panda is an Assistant Professor (Law) at Xavier Law School (XLS), XIM University. Views expressed are his own
