“A small story based on an incident that changed Debopriya’s life”

DEBOPRIYA : Oh mom! Look how our fellow men, the Kashmiri Pandits, are suffering in the valley! I wish they had received some fair justice!
MOM : Oh yes darling! Why don’t you try to serve for the humankind? You would too be able to provide a fair justice to them!
DEBOPRIYA : Mum what and how can I do for them?
MOM : Simple, become a lawyer and fight for their rights!
DEBOPRIYA : Yeah mom! You’re right! Thanks for showing me the right path! Love you mum!
MOM : Love you too my dear! Hope you achieve your success, Gob bless you my child!

**Debopriya cracked her CLAT exams from Ram Manohar Lohia National Law University, Lucknow. Now, she’s practicing law in the High Court of Allahabad, under the supervision of her Senior Advocate. **

Now you must be definitely pondering over the term CLAT and might be making guesses with its relationship with “Law “. To give you a sigh of relief, I will tell you what CLAT means and how is it going to help you in making your career.

CLAT – its expanded form is Common Law Admission Test, that is conducted annually by the 22 Law Universities (National Law Universities).

Eligibility –

1. For LLB – a candidate must have secured minimum marks required in 12th standard, as per the category to which he/she belongs:
   • For General /OBC /Specially Abled Persons (SAP) and other categories- minimum 45% marks are required.
   • For SC/ST Category – minimum 40% marks are required.
2. For LLM – aspirants appearing for CLAT LLM course should have secured a minimum percentage in qualifying examinations, such as LL.B/ BA LL.B/ any other equivalent exam. The marks again varies as per candidates category to which he/she belongs-
   • For General /OBC /Specially Abled Persons (SAP) and other categories: minimum 50% marks are required.
   • For SC/ ST category – minimum 45% marks are required.

CLAT as a career option and opportunities:-

Surely, CLAT is a good career option with vast amount of opportunities. For instance, think about a situation wherein you want to provide a fair justice to the innocent victims, but you’re unable to do so as you don’t have law degree. So, if you positively crack the CLAT exams, you would be able to become a lawyer in the near future. The following are the benefits of CLAT as a career option –
• LITIGATION- only a law degree is not sufficient to judge your calibers. In order to practice law in the courts, you should learn the basics under the supervision of Senior Advocates. Before joining the court, you have to clear a Bar Exam. Now, litigation offers you employment in both public and private sectors. You are free to choose any field of law, such as Constitution, crime, family law, tax etc.
• JUDICIAL/CIVIL SERVICE- this is one of the interesting jobs one can pursue after acquiring law degree. If you want a government job, you can opt for State Judicial Service Examination conduct by the State High Courts. Besides this, one may also opt for cracking Civil Services conduct by the UPSC.
• LAW FIRMS- you can also work in various renowned law firms that are basically big business groups, dedicated towards practicing law.
• CORPORATE COUNSEL- as a graduate, you can work with company or corporate entity as an in-house counsel, giving legal advices related to business.
• INTERNSHIPS-in order to gain some experiences about functioning of legal matters in the court, you should enroll yourself as an intern while you are pursuing your law studies. This will give a outline about how legal documents are documented.
• PROFESSOR- a law professor is a job that remain open for all those who are aspiring to teach law in colleges or universities.
• CLERK- as a legal clerk, one has to work as a legal assistant in various courts and under various judges.

What are you now waiting for? If you have fire in your belly, then of course go for CLAT and achieve a high flying success. All the best!