Law Courses

The LLM course is a postgraduate law degree that helps undergraduate students and law professionals to have a specialization in a specific legal category. While lawyers who have passed the undergraduate or Bachelor of Law, LL.B, degree are eligible to appeal to the courts and take cases once they get themselves registered as an advocate, having a specialization helps them have a more concrete understanding of all the legal aspects of a specific sector. You also need to have certain skills and academic qualifications for pursuing the master of legislative laws course For instance, if you have an LLM degree in cybercrime, you will be able to tackle all cybercrime-related cases with knowledge of all the penal code sections LL.M. would aid in the appropriate interpretation of laws, thus giving an edge to the advocate.

An advanced degree is highly recommended because people who wish to practice law should be able to understand all the aspects of a certain legal discipline. Apart from this, the major benefits of obtaining an LLM degree are:

• Expanding legal knowledge: When opting for an advanced law degree, you get a chance to know more about a certain field of law and study all the past cases. It enables you to work on your chosen discipline with more authority. For instance, if you have done specialization in property law, you will be able to guide your clients with more knowledge about all the legal aspects of buying, selling, or maintaining a property. You can help your clients reach a level of understanding so they can make the correct decision, legally.
• Expanding network: When you attain proficiency in a specific legal area, you can easily get clients who seek help in that field. Also, when you help a client dedicatedly, it adds to your professional promotion. This further helps you expand your network along with attracting more clients.
• Gaining recognition: Being a competent lawyer will help you fight your cases better and with confidence. Specialization also helps you get more clients and when you win cases, you become known in the legal circle as well as in the client’s network.
• Increasing earning: With an advanced degree, you get to know the nitty-gritty of law and the legal proceedings. Based on your vast legal knowledge and expertise, you can quote a higher fee per counselling session with your clients. Even if you work for a law firm, you can get a higher salary and a higher position depending on your specialization.

LLM is a postgraduate degree that can be pursued through different modes. Here, we have listed down the same:

1. Full Time (1 Year, 2 Year LLM, etc.)

The need to become a global citizen is on a rise, especially after the lockdown. Companies adopted the online working model to prevent the business from shutting down. Schools and colleges opted for online teaching and examinations to help students continue their academic years without a break in studies. The scope for global connectivity from one’s own home has become a reality that is implemented on a larger scale. 

The same goes for the online LLM course. The acceptability of online courses has increased and many universities are offering online LLM courses along with specializations. The main benefits of opting for online classes are:

• Flexible schedule: Online courses are curated to help the students learn a subject at their own pace. As this mode of education is primarily self-taught, you don’t need to attend regular classes. You simply need to finish your coursework on time and submit the projects that are assigned to you.
• Easy to manage the tuition fees: Most online classes are designed to allow professionals to work and study simultaneously. As you work and earn, you can even pay for your tuition without having to rely on loans.
• Good support system: When opting for the online course, you are also getting access to a strong support system in the form of fellow students and professors who are not limited to the class hours. This support system is crucial as you balance work and education.
• Global exposure: Many foreign universities offer online learning via distance learning mode. If you enrol in an international college, you also get to meet people from across the world. This will help you with your social skills and for a lawyer, social skills are essential for getting and retaining clients.
• More networking scope: There is no single specialization when it comes to law. Many disciplines overlap and you might have similar classes even if the specialization differs. This helps with expanding your network.

• Analytical thinking skills: Just reading the case brief is not enough. You must have the ability to read between the lines, find out any inconsistencies, and then work on exploiting those points in your favour.

• Oratory and presentation skills: Lawyers are great orators. Being the person responsible for upholding the law, lawyers need to be great orators so that they can appeal to the people and the judge/magistrate. A case is not won just on the basis of facts and evidence. Your presentation and delivery will ultimately help you win the case. 

• Debate skills: In a court of law, you are representing your client. Another lawyer will be representing their client. Now, either one of them is lying, that is a fact. What is left to be determined is to know which party is lying. As a lawyer, you have to present facts and counter those presented by the opposing lawyer to win. This requires you to have the skills of a debater. This means you should not just stay calm but also catch on to any arbitrary point and develop your argument on that basis.

• Language skills: Being able to speak well is incomplete without having proper language skills. Each word, even though it might be synonymous, has a different meaning concerning usage. Knowing the correct word usage and grammar skills are essential to placing an argument.

• Research skills: When handling a case, you need to do the research thoroughly. This includes referencing past cases with similar trials and the judgment as well. Drawing upon the points of similarities and differences from related precedents. You also need to perform some extensive research work and know what will help your client win.

2. Eligibility

3. LLM Course Admission 2022

The admission process has started and tests are to be conducted by June. To appear for the tests, you need to register for them by visiting the website of the university you’re applying for. In order to clear the tests, you need to be academically prepared. Study question banks and also go through case studies and interviews as questions might also be posed from those sessions.  

4. LLM Course Entrance Exams

The postgraduate degree requires you to clear the entrance examinations that the Bar Council deems fit for further education. The examination dates are announced by May and forms are also available from the website. These exams are:

• CLAT or Common Law Admission Test
• AILET or All India Law Entrance Test
• IPU CET or Indraprastha University Common Entrance Test
• DU LLM or Delhi University LLM Entrance Test
• LSAT or Law School Admission Test
• TS PGLCET
• AP PGLCET
  

4. LLM Course Without Entrance

The LLM syllabus depends on the college you are enrolling in and the specialization you have opted for. But, many subjects have some commonalities. The main syllabus for the LLM degree comprises the following topics:

First Year Syllabus comprising Semester I and Semester II:

• Law and Social Transformation in India

• Jurisprudence

• Constitutionalism

• Legal Research and Methodology

• Practical Training

• Dissertation I

• Research Methodology-II

• Administrative Law

• Finance Law

• Law and Technology

• Law of Crimes

• Specialization Subject

LLM Course Subjects

As mentioned above, LLM is a specialization-oriented course. Here, lawyers choose a specific topic or law type that they want to have in-depth knowledge of for the sake of career progression. But, there are a few subjects that are common to all the specializations. These are known as core subjects and they are as follows:

There are various specialization options available for a master's in law degree. But some of them may not be very useful when you take into consideration the factors like the location from where you want to work, the law firm you aim to join, and the socio-political status of your city and/or country. Hence, you should carefully consider your options before choosing a specialization. Here, we have listed down the most popular specializations based on job demand and professional growth:

1. LLM in Cyber Law

• Cybercrime and Related Concepts
• International Legal Regime Relating to E-Commerce
• Definition of E-commerce
• Introduction to the Cyber World and Cyber Law
• Digital Signature
• Regulation of CyberSpace – Introducing Cyber Law
• The Internet and Online Resources
• Computer Software and Related IPR Issues
• International Legal Regime
• Introduction to Computer Crime and Cybercrimes

• rtation Research

2. LLM in Corporate Law

Businesses and startups are the major elements that constitute the economy of a country. A corporation is usually treated as a separate entity and is considered to have rights that an individual has as per the constitution. The LLM in corporate law is a popular specialization that provides law students with corporate dealings along with the legal aspect of all the corporate work. The main tasks of a corporate lawyer are dealing with clients on behalf of the corporation, overseeing mergers and acquisitions, and operating the corporation’s legal framework.

The LLM in corporate law courses includes:

• Company Law
• Derivatives in Legal Context
• Commercial Banking
• International Trust law
• Corporate social responsibility
• Insurance laws
• Capital market laws
• Corporate legal framework
• Philosophy of law
• European procurement law
• Foreign trade policies
• Research work

3. LLM in Human Rights Law

When a child is born, they have certain rights that are inherently theirs. These are known as human rights and these rights are globally the same. The right to dignity, the right to education, the right to employment, and the overall right to live altogether forms the human rights laws. The current era is predominated by social injustice and communal clashes and this gives rise to the need for more human rights lawyers. The LLM in human rights law helps students understand the fundamental aspect of human rights and how they can help protect those rights.

The LLM in human rights course includes:

• Concept of Human Rights

• Dialectics of Human Rights

• Concept & Classification of Rights

• Concept of Human Duties

• Emerging Concept of Human Rights

• Human Rights & Criminal Justice

• International Obligation

• Human Duties, Responsibilities & its Effectuation

• Constitutional Governance of Human Rights in India

• Jurisprudence & Human Rights: Legal Philosophical perspectives

• Extension Activities & Educational Tours

• Refugee Law

• People’s Rights to Self-determination

• International Humanitarian Law

• Human Rights and International & Regional Perspectives: Implementation Mechanism

• Dissertation Research

4. LLM in Intellectual Property and Technology Law (IPTL)

The Master of Laws (LLM) in Intellectual property and technology law (IPTL)  is a graduate degree program that concedes to the demand for literate and skilled intellectual property experts who have already acquired a basic law degree. IPTL is a law specialization wherein creative, as well as commercial work of individuals, is safeguarded. Intellectual property and technology law is a field of law that deals with legal rights related to unique work and inventions. The utilization of innovative products, creative works, and designs is governed by laws relating to intellectual property and technology. To enable individuals who develop or invent things to genuinely profit from their work, Intellectual property and Technology laws were created. 

The LLM in IPTL courses includes:

• Introduction to intellectual property and technology. 
• Utilization of creative works and designs. 
• Study of primary areas of intellectual property.
• Copyright law.
• Patent law.
• Trademark law.
• Unfair competition law.
• Intellectual property rights.
• Role of intellectual property and technology in finance.
•  Study of contemporary issues.

5. LLM in Dispute Resolution Law

The LLM in Dispute Resolution is considered the premier program in dispute resolution and offers students the most flexibility in their dispute resolution education. It's specially developed for law and non-law graduates who wish to attain a master's qualification in law while expanding a deep understanding of different mediation and arbitration techniques and practices. The program is embedded in the dispute resolution concept which implies you will study a programme that integrates a broad range of interdisciplinary practice and opportunities for individualized study and skills growth. 

The LLM in dispute resolution courses includes:

• A deep study of dispute resolution theory
• Meditation law
• Arbitration law
• Negotiation law.
• Collaborative law.
• Early neutral evaluation. 
• Private judging.
• Traditional dispute resolution.
• Alternate dispute resolution.
• Hybrid methods of dispute resolution

Law plays a vital role in regulating societies and the way people act, work and live. Without law in place, human rights may be violated and there would be no way to ensure justice. A lawyer acts as an agent between a common citizen and the judicial system. But, just a bachelor’s degree does not encompass the entirety of the legal world. The Penal Code CPC and CrPC respectively for Civil and Criminal cases has hundreds of sections and subsections. Memorizing each is a hard task. For an undergraduate degree holder, referencing all kinds of legal terminologies becomes a challenge. But, when they have a specialization in a specific type of law, the work becomes easy.

When you have a master’s degree in law, you become knowledgeable about that particular discipline. For instance, a business lawyer will have a thorough knowledge of all business-related legal cases and terminologies that will help them win cases. This need for specialization increases as companies increase and people across the globe resort to taking legal help. The limited number of lawyers makes cases pile up. Lawyers also act as educators for civil rights and constitutional rights. All these are essential in the coming years.

The primary employers of lawyers with a postgraduate degree are companies looking to strengthen their cybersecurity frameworks, multinational companies dealing with various countries, UN organizations, and even major government organizations like those dealing with coal or energy.

In order to do an LLM course in India, you need to complete the undergraduate law program. Here, the school subject doesn’t impact your admission. You can even pursue law with a science background or a commerce background. Getting an LLM degree depends on clearing the common entrance examination. Being a course-specific degree, you have to study a single discipline and that means you will be getting in-depth knowledge about the same. This requires patience from the student’s end. But, what else can help you more in completing your law postgraduate degree is having a strong sense of justice, a keen eye for details, and the ability to memorize complex legal jargon along with the section numbers. Above all, you must enjoy law as a subject and care for justice.

The LLM course is gaining popularity in India as the current generation wants to attain specialization for landing a higher paying job and to enjoy their profession from an intellectual angle. 

1. Mumbai
Being the entertainment capital of the country, Mumbai offers great opportunities to postgraduates in the entertainment industry. Students who have done specialization in the corporate law field also have plenty of job opportunities once they get the LLM degree. You can also opt for specializations like intellectual property law or criminal law. Some of the top colleges and universities for LLM are:

1. Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai

2. Shreemati Nathibai Damodar Thackersey Women's University

3. Maharashtra National Law University

4. University of Mumbai

5. Kirit P. Mehta School of Law

2. Delhi

The capital of the country, Delhi has some of the best colleges and universities in the country. The cost of living here is within the budget and you can enjoy the typical Delhi lifestyle no matter where your hometown is. Supreme Court is situated in Delhi along with the High Court and District Courts. There are many job options after you have completed your LLM and some of the top specializations are criminal law, cyber law, property law, and entertainment law. Some of the top colleges and universities for LLM are:

1. Jindal Global Law School
   

2. National Law University

3. Faculty of Law, Jamia Millia Islamia

4. Indian Law Institute - ILI

5. Faculty of Law University of Delhi

6. Campus Law Center, University of Delhi

Kolkata is not only the city of joy but also the city of law. The universities in Kolkata offer top education and students graduating from Kolkata even land jobs abroad. The city has some historical monuments and the current development makes the city a prime hub for people holding law degrees in business or property settlements. Some of the top colleges and universities are:

1. Faculty of Law, University of Calcutta
2. Sarsuna Law College
3. Surendranath Law College
4. Amity University, Kolkata
5. West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences

Chennai is another popular city for studying for a postgraduate law degree. The city with its amalgamation of culture and modern lifestyle offers students the security and freedom that a law student requires. Some of the top universities and colleges are:
Dr Ambedkar Government Law College, Chennai

1. SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai
2. Vellore Institute of Technology, Chennai, VIT University
3. University of Madras
4. Chettinad School of Law
   

Being the IT hub of the country, there are various startups and IT hubs that operate from Bangalore. There is a great demand for both corporate law and cyber law. Hence, having a specialization degree in either will help you land a great job at one of the top tech companies. Some of the top universities and colleges are:

1. National Law School of India University
2. School of Law, Christ University
3. Azim Premji University
4. School of Law, Presidency University, Bangalore
5. M.S. Ramaiah College of Law
   

6. Hyderabad

Hyderabad is developing to become the second IT hub of the company. Apart from the tech spaces, Hyderabad is also home to many companies and industries like pharmaceuticals, tourism, textile, and manufacturing. All these industries deal with various legal aspects related to corporate law, cyber security, and even human rights. Some of the top universities and colleges are:

1. Nalsar University of Law

2. Osmania University

3. Pendekanti Law College

4. ICFAI Law School

5. Mahindra University

7. Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad offers beautiful city life with a mix of tradition and modernity. The city is the textile capital of the country and is home to some top universities. The city is also known for its diamond cutting industry. Ahmedabad is also redefining itself as a tech space and many IT hubs are present in the city. The LLM in corporate and business laws has great scope in terms of career prospects in Ahmedabad. Some of the top colleges and universities are:

1. I.M. Nanavati Law College

2. Institute of Law, Nirma University

3. Sir L.A. Shah Law College

4. Motilal Nehru Law College

5. Sabarmati University

8. Pune

Pune is a beautiful city with pleasant weather throughout the year. The city is historically important and has seen many battles fought and won by the Marathas. But, Pune is now emerging to be one of the best research and automobile sectors in the country. The city is also famous for its IT hubs and research institutes. Some of the top colleges and universities are:

1. Symbiosis Law School, Symbiosis International, Pune
2. ILS Law College
3. Vishwakarma University
4. Yashwantrao Chavan Law College
5. Savitribai Phule Pune University

Law is a tricky subject. Each state has its own legal regulations and requirements. What is considered a minor offence in one country may be considered a major criminal offence in another. All these differences make students think more than twice before opting for a legal degree from foreign universities. There is also a course duration difference between countries and the acceptability of the degree in other countries. But, there are many options and benefits of studying LLM abroad.

1. More diverse career options: Offering degrees in multiple and untapped legal fields makes many foreign law degrees more appealing. For example, environmental law is considered to be taught best at the University of California. So, if you wish to pursue a career in environmental law and work for various UN organizations, getting a degree for the same from California, US will be advisable. 

2. Greater income: In terms of income, the average salary of a fresh law graduate is higher in countries like the UK, Canada, and Australia than it is in India. This is primarily due to the way the courses in those countries are developed. The LLM course is more practical and case-oriented than just theories. 

3. Working on an international scale: Having an international law college name on your resume makes you eligible to apply to any law firm across the globe. You can even work for multinational corporations and tech firms given you have the required specializations. 

4. Understanding some best practices to apply to your organisation, that helps in bringing international perspectives which helps in the growth of the organisation.
   

In India, the post-graduate LLM program is undergoing rapid expansion. Despite having the world's largest legal population, India has a higher demand for highly skilled lawyers. LLM Colleges in India are better equipped to meet this need.

Once you complete the master in law degree, you will have so many opportunities in terms of getting into the type of law firm you prefer or even holding a top position in NGOs or businesses. Apart from these, you can also prepare to become a Judge or a legal advisor in any government office.

Once you complete your LLM degree, you are recognized as an authority in your specific legal specialization. The starting package for a fresh LLM graduate is much higher when compared to a basic LLB graduate. Since specialization also plays a role in determining the salary, you need to opt for the ideal specialization for which you are confident. But, more than the salary, an LLM degree should primarily be pursued when you have the intellectual capability and interest in that specific legal field. If you are confident about information technology law, you should follow that rather than pursuing corporate law because specialization means you need to study that subject thoroughly. Without an interest in that field, you cannot gain much momentum and expertise. This will, in retrospect, affect your income. 

The scope in terms of specialization in LLM is far greater in foreign universities than it is in India. Apart from a few traditional law fields, most of the legal education related to the various law disciplines is provided as generalized courses. The lack of practical knowledge can be a detrimental factor to your future career path.  Their curriculum is more practical and you get trained better in handling international issues. Apart from this, the salary compensation of having a degree from countries like the USA or the UK is also higher than in India.

For more information on law-related salaries abroad, visit our law salaries abroad page.