A Career in Criminal Law Courses Admission Jobs and Salary: As the name suggests Criminal law deals with the handling of crime-related cases. As Charles Dickens said if there are no bad people there would be no good lawyers. Criminal lawyers work for defending their clients in their cases. They collect all the necessary paperwork and proof to defend their clients. Criminal lawyer works in a variety of lawsuits. Let’s discuss the career in criminal law courses, admission, jobs and salary in this field.
Who is a Criminal Lawyer
After completing the graduation in law when students opt to specialize in crimes then they are called a criminal lawyer. The criminal lawyer handles a variety of cases including sexual harassment, assault, crimes related to property, drug charges, domestic abuses and some petty crimes like fraud, corruption and money laundering. A criminal lawyer is also known as a public defender for its services.
The criminal lawyer has to collect a great amount of evidence to prove the innocence of their clients. So lawyers should have a keen eye for details and facts. All those people who are accused of committing a crime are handled by a criminal lawyer. They handle all the work from trials and bail to appeals of the accused person.
Responsibilities of a Criminal Lawyer
The responsibilities of criminal lawyers vary from client to client. Their main function is to defend their clients and prove them not guilty of their crimes. Some of the responsibilities of a criminal lawyer are :
- Providing the client with proper legal advice about the procedure from their arrest to hearing. They guide their clients according to their lawsuits. Criminal Lawyer guides their clients about their about the course of action of their trial. They also provide their clients with proper legal advice.
- They provide counselling sessions to them to understand them better. It is essential for a criminal lawyer to understand the mental state of a client before proceeding with the trial.
- And of course, criminal lawyers represent their clients in court and fight on their behalf.
How to Become a Criminal Lawyer?
Criminal law is a specialisation that is pursued after the completion of graduation. The interested candidates go for the master’s degree after the completion of their graduation in L.L.B. Steps to become a criminal lawyer are as follows:
- Completing 12th
- Appear for the CLAT UG entrance exam
- Pursue L.L.B(Bachelor of Legislative Law) or B.A.-L.L.B (Bachelor Of Arts Bachelor of Legislative Law) which is for 3 years or 5 years.
- Candidates have to pass a Certificate of Practice from the All India Bar Exam(AIBE).
- After completing the graduation students can go for a master’s degree in criminal law which is L.L.M. (Master of Legislative Law Criminal Law). They can sit for the CLAT PG exam for government seats.
Those who are interested in becoming a criminal lawyer should keep in mind that this field requires good communication and research skills. Criminal Lawyers have to be excellent in presenting thoughts and points in front of the court to defend the client. They must develop excellent research skills. Doing research will be a part of the job. The person should also be able to have a fluid language and good interaction with others.
Courses for Criminal Lawyer
As we discussed earlier to become a criminal lawyer one should have a graduation of 3 years or 5 years from a recognised university. After completing graduation one has to go for the master’s degree in criminal law. Some most famous post-graduate courses in criminal law in India are as follows:
- L.L.M in Criminal Law – This postgraduate course is of one year.
- L.L.M in Criminal Law and Criminology – This postgraduate course is of one year.
- PG Diploma in Criminal Justice – This course can vary from 1 year to 3 years.
- L.L.M in Criminal Law and Commercial Law – This postgraduate course is of one year.
- Master of Arts in Criminal Justice – This course is for 2 years.
- Master of Arts in Criminology -This course is for 2 years.
Besides this interested candidates can also upward diploma courses after their graduation. Diploma in Criminal Law and Diploma in Criminology and Penology are two famous diploma courses in India.
While pursuing a master’s in criminal law students are given the choice of specialisation in the field some of the specializations of criminal law are domestic violence, sexual abuse, cyber crime, criminology and forensic science, criminal trial and criminal appeal, crime against women, human rights, bail, anti-hijacking matters, anti-terrorist matters, murder, kidnapping, criminal appeal, robbery and theft.
Process of Admission in Criminal Law
Students who are interested in taking criminal law as a master’s first have to complete 3 years or 5 years graduation course from a recognised university. Students can go for an L.L.B. that is a Bachelor of Legislative Law after completing their graduation or they can directly take admission in 5 years school that is B.A.-L.L.B.
The entrance exam for admission to criminal law is the Master’s Common Law Admission Test (CLAT). This is one of the most famous and renowned entrance examinations in India. Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) is organised by National Law University to offer admission to them.
Besides this, some of the universities offer their own examination to take admission in master’s programs like the All India Law Entrance Test which is organised by National Law University Delhi, Law School Admission Test, All India Bar Examination.
Top Government and Private Universities
Any interested candidate can pursue a master’s from the top 17 National Law Universities which according to their latest ranking are:
- National Law School of India University, Bangalore
- National Law University, Delhi
- National Academy of legal study and Research University of Law, Hyderabad
- The West Bengal National University of judicial sciences, Kolkata
- Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar
- National Law University, Jodhpur
- National Law University, Bhopal
- Dr Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow
- Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Patiala
- National University of Study and Research in Law, Ranchi
- National Law University and Judicial Academy, Assam
- National Law University Odisha, Cuttack
- Chanakya National Law University, Patna
- National University of Advanced Legal Studies, Kochi
- Damodaram Sanjivayya National Law University, Visakhapatnam
- The Tamilnadu National Law School, Tiruchirapalli
- Maharashtra Law University, Mumbai
- Maharashtra National Law University, Nagpur
- Maharashtra National Law University, Aurangabad
- Himachal Pradesh National Law University, Shimla
- Dharmashastra National Law University, Jabalpur
- Dr BR Ambedkar National University Sonipat, Haryana
- Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur
Some top private law colleges according to NIRF 2022 ranking are:
- Symbiosis Law School, Pune
- Shiksha’O’ Anusandhan
- KIIT School of Law
- Lovely Professional University
- Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Science
- School of Law, Christ University
- School of Law, SASTRA
- School of Law, UPES
- Army Institute of Law, Mohali
- Amity University, Gurugram, Haryana
- ICFAI Law School
Career and Salary in Criminal Law
Criminal law is one of the most sorted specialisations in the field of law due to the increase in the rate of criminal cases there is always demand for a lawyer so we can say that there are ample opportunities for a person who is interested in taking law as his or her career.
As we have discussed earlier the job of a criminal lawyer is to different his or her client. They act as their guide as well as provide them with proper legal advice. They can also work for public defender services.
Fresh graduate student starts their career by helping or working under a professional and famous criminal lawyer. After gaining some experience they can start their own practice. If they want they can also join some legal firm.
A criminal lawyer can also work as a government advocate and pleader. And if they want they can also become lecturers in law universities.
The salary of a criminal lawyer varies from person to person. Some of the famous criminal lawyer’s salary is extremely high. The salary of a criminal lawyer to t depends upon the case Heer she is dealing with all the clients they are handling. In the starting a practicing lawyer can earn around Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 per month.
FAQs
What is a Criminal Lawyer?
As the name suggests Criminal law deals with the handling of crime-related cases. After completing the graduation in law when students opt to specialize in crimes then they are called a criminal lawyer. The criminal lawyer handles a variety of cases including sexual harassment, assault, crimes related to property, drug charges, domestic abuses and some petty crimes like fraud, corruption and money laundering. A criminal lawyer is also known as a public defender for its services.
How to Become a Criminal Lawyer?
Criminal law is a specialisation that is pursued after the completion of graduation. The interested candidates go for the master’s degree after the completion of their graduation in LLB. Steps to become a criminal lawyer are after completing class 12th students have to appear for the CLAT UG examination they can take admitted in a 3 years program or a 5 years program. After completing the graduation students can go for masters in criminal law through CLAT PG examination.
Through which entrance exam we can take part in Law Universities of India?
The entrance exam for admission in criminal law is Common Law Admission Test (CLAT). This is one of the most famous and renowned entrance examinations in India. Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) is organised by National Law University to offer admission to them. Besides this, some of the universities offer their own examination to take admission in master’s programs like the All India Law Entrance Test which is organised by National Law University Delhi, Law School Admission Test, All India Bar Examination.
