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What does a legal Advisor do
Legal advisors are usually lawyers who provide legal advice and services to individuals or organizations. They specialize in a specific field of law and help the client prevent any legal implications or consequences. They are generally hired by individuals or corporations. Government offices also hire a legal advisor to counsel police chiefs and other law enforcement managers.
Some of the responsibilities of legal advisors are:
- Legal Advisors provide legal guidance on issues like disputes, policies, employment, and contracts.
- Legal Advisors read and review all the legal documents that the company receives or produces.
- Legal Advisors analyze and interpret the contracts.
- Legal Advisors negotiate with the opposing parties to solve the disputes, oversee a contract signing, etc.
- Legal Advisors research the legal procedures and laws with any such comparable cases, before advising the client.
- Legal Advisors have skills like legal document review, contract negotiation, litigation case management, legal compliance, legal research, etc.
A legal advisor who holds enough experience can get promoted to the position of legal manager, legal counsel. Usually, legal advisors do not require to clear the bar exams, but if they clear the exam then they can work as a legal counsel, prosecutor, etc and many other options would open for them.
Steps to Follow
To pursue a career as a legal advisor, the candidates will have to complete their qualification in the field of law and go through a series of tests. Once they have a law degree, they can apply to various law firms to build a career as a legal advisor. Some of these steps have been explained below:
- Decision Making: Students can decide to take up this career immediately after completion of class 12th. They will have to make an early decision so that they can prepare for exams like CLAT to get admission into undergraduate law courses in the top law colleges. The candidates can also choose to shift into this career after completion of graduation. Anyone who holds a bachelor’s degree in any field can decide to go for a 3 year LLB after graduation and then build a career as a legal adviser.
- Subject Choices: To pursue this career, they should have studied law. Law can be studied by candidates from any background. Candidates who have completed 10+2 from Science, Commerce, or Arts can apply for the integrated LLB. The candidates who have completed their graduation in any field except law can go for a 3-year LLB program. The candidates can specialize in any of the law fields like international law, Corporate Law, Business Law, Criminal Law, etc.
- Entrance Exam Preparation: The most common entrance exam the candidates should prepare for is CLAT. For those who are interested in building a career in the field of law after 10+2, then CLAT is the exam for them. It offered admission into 14 NLUs. Once the candidates have decided that they have to prepare for CLAT, then they should start early. Join a coaching class if possible, so that the preparations become easier along with the 10+2 studies. Refer to the previous year’s question papers and sample papers. Do a regular practice at least 2 hours daily.
- Selecting Correct Colleges: To choose the right law college, the candidates should check through the following factors such as Ranking, Facilities, Course, Fee, Placement, Review
- After Qualifying Exam: Once the candidates have qualified for an exam like CLAT, they can apply to various law institutes using the CLAT scores. Institutes have their own cut-off list. The candidates can apply to the institute where they have cleared the cut-off. The candidates will be shortlisted based on their CAT scores and previous academic scores. The shortlisted candidates will be called for group discussion and a personal interview round. Finally, they will be selected based on their CLAT scores and their performance in personal interviews and group discussion.
Types of Legal Advisors
Legal Advisors are basically lawyers, who specialize in a specific area of law and provide legal counsel to huge corporations and organizations. They could be involved in labor or contract disputes, compensation issues, harassment suits, or other such workplace conflicts. The lawyers are categorized based on the area they specialize in. Some of them has been explained below:
Trademark and Patent Attorney
- They are lawyers who work for companies and ensure that the company patents adhere to standard protocols and are defended against infringement.
- They represent their client before the patent office during examination and oppositions.
- They are different from other lawyers as they only focus on the elements of the invention, and they handle all the related procedures like drafting, filing, and prosecuting patent applications.
- They also provide their opinion on the freedom to operate for financial gain through the inventions.
- The average salary of a Patent legal advisor is around INR 8,16,483 per annum. The entry-level salary in this post is around INR 7 lakh per annum, but with experience of 5 – 6 years, an employee can earn around INR 12 lakh to 18 lakh per annum.
Corporate Lawyer
- They offer legal advice related to the formation, operation, and governance of a corporation.
- They help establish new corporations and provide advice related to corporate mergers, acquisitions, and other large-scale strategic deals.
- They represent a corporate entity, not their shareholders or employees.
- Their work is basically to help the corporation avoid litigation. They usually deal with contracts, mergers & acquisitions, corporate governance, venture capital, and securities.
- They help their clients while preparing a contract, signing a contract, in business transactions, claim liability, the advisability of prosecuting, or legal rights and obligations.
- Like other lawyers, they do not visit a courtroom, They usually work in the office environment.
- Their average salary ranges from INR 7,11,445 per annum. After an experience of 1 – 4 years, they can earn an average salary of 6 lakh per annum, and with 5 – 9 years of experience, they can earn around INR 12 lakh per annum.
Tax Lawyer
- They work with businesses or individuals and advise on their tax-related issues such as filing a tax return.
- They guide their clients through complex tax laws.
- They help businesses save substantial sums of money by taking advantage of allowed deductions.
- They also help the companies or individuals at the time of audit by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
- They advise clients on situations like buying and selling a business, starting a business, owning a business overseas, leaving money or property to heirs, etc.
- They usually work for bigger corporations and they are known to be the richest lawyers.
- The average salary of a tax consultant in India is INR 5,17,388 per annum. This increases based on their experience and skills.
Business Lawyer
- They provide legal advice to business owners on issues that affect the businesses like business transactions, taxation, intellectual property rights, etc.
- They assist businesses to establish their company’s structure, objective, policies, and procedures for their business operations.
- They also help their clients register their company, prepare contracts, help with disputed contracts and breaches of contracts, resolving business issues and claims, compliance & risk management, real estate and property disputes, etc.
- Business lawyers differ from corporate lawyers as they help individuals build and manage a business in a legal way.
- They earn similar to business lawyers around INR 7 lakh per annum. This could increase with experience and go up to 12 lakh per annum.
Contract Lawyer
- They draft and review contracts for their clients and ensure that the client’s rights are protected.
- They provide them advice related to the contracts and help the clients negotiate contracts and sometimes deal with contractual disputes.
- Contracts are usually complex documents and consulting a contract lawyer ensures safeguard against complications, errors, and misunderstandings. They also assist in preventing legal issues that arise from a poorly written contract.
- They usually work in law firms and charge on an hourly basis. Some of the companies hire such lawyers since businesses deal with a lot of contracts.
- They earn an average salary of INR 4,17,000 per annum.
How to Become a Legal Advisor in India
Legal advisors are lawyers who provide legal advice and services to the organization and its employees. They are usually employed by large companies and government organizations.
To build a career as a legal advisor, the candidates should have at least a bachelor’s degree with some training experience. For this, they will have to go through certain exams like CLAT to get admission into the best college and best education.
- School Level Preparation: At the school level, the candidate can choose any stream. They can complete their higher secondary school with Science, Commerce, or Arts. But along with that, they will have to prepare for CLAT if they want to start their career in the field of law. This is where they will have to start their preparation.
How to Become a Lawyer After 12th
Some of the crucial ways that can be followed in order to become a Legal Advisor After 12th are listed below,
- UG Preparation: The candidates who have completed their 5 year LLB after 10+2 can apply to companies to gain some experience. The candidates who have completed their bachelor’s from any other field and want to start a career in law will have to prepare for LLB. To take admission into the 3 year LLB course, they will have to prepare for entrance exams like MH CET Law, TS LAWCET, AP LAWCET, DU LLB, PU LLB, SLS AIAT, etc
- PG Preparation: Usually, PG is not a necessary requirement for a legal advisor, but they are obviously beneficial. To take up a PG course, the candidates will have to again clear certain entrance exams like CLAT PG.
Law Courses
The courses that the candidates can pursue to build a career as a legal advisor has been mentioned below:
LLB
LLB is a 3-year UG degree in law that can be pursued after completion of graduation. It is a field that deals with legal studies in the areas of contract law, criminal law, constitutional & administrative law, EU Law, land law, equity & trust law, etc.
LLB Admission Process
- The admission into the LLB course is based on institute-level entrance exams.
- There are various state-level entrance examinations like MH CET Law, TS LAWCET, AP LAWCET, etc. There are also institute-level entrance exams like DU LLB, PU LLB, SLS AIAT, etc.
- Some institutes like KSLU offer direct admission based on previous academic records.
- The NLUs do not offer a 3-year LLB course.
Entrance Exam: MH CET Law is one of the important entrance exams for a 3-year LLB. It is conducted by the Government of Maharashtra and offers around 15,000 seats for 3 year LLB in the law institutes available in Maharashtra.
The important dates about MH CET Law have been mentioned in the table below:
| Particulars | Details |
|---|---|
| Application Date | February 10, 2022 – April 15, 2022 |
| Admit Card Release Date | July 2022 |
| Date of exam | August 5 – August 11, 2022 (PCM Group) August 12 – August 20, 2022 (PCB Group) |
| Date of Result | October 2022 |
| Counseling | November 2022 |
Eligibility Criteria: To appear for the MH CET Law exam, the candidates should have the following eligibility criteria:
- Domicile – 85% of the seats are reserved for the candidates with Maharashtra domicile and only 15% seats for the people from other states.
- Age Limit – There is no maximum age limit.
- Educational qualification – They should have completed graduation in any discipline from a recognized university.
- Minimum marks – They should have scored a minimum aggregate of 45% at the bachelor level. The reserved categories can have 40% marks.
BA LLB
BA LLB is a 5 years professional integrated law course pursued by students who aspire to become a lawyer, an advocate, a legal practitioner or simply want to make a career in law or judiciary.
Admission Process: The admission into the BA LLB courses is based on entrance examinations. There are national and state-level entrance exams that are conducted for admission into the BA LLB. Also, there are few institutes that conduct their own entrance exam.
Entrance Exam: The most popular exam for BA LLB is CLAT. It is a national-level entrance examination conducted by the CLAT Consortium for admission into the 22 NLUs. Along with NLUs other law institutes also refer to the scores of CLAT.
The important dates about CLAT exam have been mentioned in the table below:
| Particulars | Details |
|---|---|
| Application Date | – |
| Admit Card Release Date | – |
| Date of exam | June 19, 2022 |
| Date of Result | June 24, 2022 |
Eligibility Criteria: To appear for the UG CLAT exam, the candidates should fulfill the following eligibility criteria:
- Educational Qualification – They should have passed 10+2 or equivalent from a recognized board.
- Minimum marks – They should have a minimum aggregate of 45% in 10+2. The reserved category candidates should have a minimum aggregate of 40%.
- Age limit – There is no age limit for appearing for the exam
PG Diploma in Law
PG Diploma in Law is a one-year diploma course that can be pursued after completion of LLB. It offers specialization in areas like cyber law, business law, taxation law, etc. This course is offered by limited colleges only.
Admission Process: The admission to the PG Diploma course is either based on merit or through the entrance exam. The process of evaluation differs for every college, followed by a group discussion and a personal interview.
Entrance Exam: AILET is one of the exams that offer admission in PG Diploma in Law. It is a university-level entrance exam conducted by the NLU Delhi.
The important dates of AILET have been mentioned in the table below:
| Particulars | Details |
|---|---|
| Application Date | January 8, 2022 – May 25, 2022 |
| Admit Card Release Date | June 16, 2022 |
| Date of exam | June 26, 2022 |
| Date of Result | July 1, 2022 |
Eligibility Criteria
- The candidate should have completed LLB.
- They should have a minimum aggregate of 55% in LLB. The reserved category candidates have been given a 5% relaxation.
LLM
LLM is a 2-year postgraduate program in law that deals with specializations in International Law, Corporate Law, Business Law, Criminal Law, etc.
LLM Admission Process
The admission into the LLM courses is mainly based on national or university-level entrance exams. There are a few institutes that also conduct admissions based on merit i.e, they evaluate the students based on the marks scored in LLB.
LLM Entrance Exam
| Entrance Exams | Registration Dates | Exam Dates |
|---|---|---|
CLAT PG | – | June 19, 2022 |
| AILET | January 8, 2022 – May 25, 2022 | June 26, 2022 |
| IPU CET | March 4, 2022 – May 31, 2022 | June 18 – June 19 (UG and B.Ed) June 23 – June 25, 2022 (PG and Ph.D.) |
| BHU UET | February, 2022 | May, 2022 |
Eligibility Criteria: To appear for CLAT PG, the candidates should fulfill the following eligibility criteria:
- They should have completed LLB or an equivalent qualification.
- They should have a minimum aggregate of 50% in their LLB. The reserved category candidates can have a minimum of 45%.
How to Become a Legal Advisor in Abroad
The laws differ for every country, therefore the requirements for building a career as a legal advisor differ. The requirements to become a legal advisor in some of the countries abroad like the US, UK, Australia, and Canada are explained below. All the law colleges in these four countries are among the top-ranked law colleges in the world.
UK
There are many routes to become a legal advisor in the UK. The candidates can take this career with a university degree, a college degree, or an apprenticeship. The requirements are mentioned below:
Admission Process
The candidates should have any of the following educational qualifications to start a career as a legal advisor:
- University degree – An undergraduate degree in law or a postgraduate degree like Graduate Diploma in Law.
- College degree – A level 3 professional Diploma in Law and Practice or a Level 6 Professional Higher Diploma in Law and Practice.
- Apprenticeship – Chartered legal executive higher apprenticeship.
Top Colleges
Some of the top law colleges in the UK are mentioned in the table below:
| Institute Name | Average Annual Course Fee |
|---|---|
| University of Oxford | Euros 48,600 |
| University of Cambridge | Euros 44,500 |
| London School of Economics and Political Science | Euros 34,800 |
| King’s College London | Euros 39,700 |
| University College London | Euros 25,600 |
| University of Edinburgh | Euros 29,500 |
| Queen Mary, University of London | Euros 26,600 |
| Durham University | Euros 22,300 |
| University of Manchester | Euros 26,400 |
| University of Glasgow | Euros 28,400 |
US
To become a legal advisor in the UK, the candidates should have certain qualifications and experiences. All their requirements have been mentioned below:
Admission Process
To work as a legal advisor in the US, the candidates should have the following:
- They should have completed a bachelor’s degree in any field.
- They should qualify for the LSAT exam to get admission into the law school
- They should join a law school and complete their bachelor’s in Juris doctor of legal studies.
- They will have to get additional specialty training in any of the law areas.
- Then they should join a company as a legal advisor and gain experience.
Top Colleges
Some of the top law colleges in the US are mentioned in the table below:
| Institute Name | Average Annual Fees |
|---|---|
| The University of Chicago | USD 57,800 |
| Yale University | USD 67,100 |
| Harvard University | USD 65,900 |
| University of California | USD 66,500 |
| University of Michigan | USD 64,500 |
| Columbia University | USD 72,400 |
| University of Pennsylvania | USD 56,800 |
| Northwestern University | USD 71,700 |
| Michigan State University | USD 28,300 |
| Washington University | USD 56,800 |
Courses available
The law courses available in the US, that can help build a career as a legal advisor are:
- BA in Legal Studies
- BSc in Legal Studies
- LLB in Law and Society
- LLM
Canada
The educational requirements and experiences required to become a legal advisor in Canada are explained below:
Admission Process
To start a career as a legal advisor in Canada, the candidates should have the following education qualification:
- An undergraduate pre-law degree (BA or BS in law)
- LLB or Juris Doctor Program
The law graduates usually have to qualify for their bar exams to get a license to work as a legal advisor or a lawyer.
Top Colleges
Some of the top law colleges in Canada are mentioned in the table below:
| Institute Name | Average Annual Fees |
|---|---|
| University of Toronto | CAD 33,900 |
| Mcgill University | CAD 19,600 |
| University of British Columbia | CAD 7,100 |
| York University | CAD 33,400 |
| University of Montreal | CAD 19,600 |
| Dalhousie University | CAD 13,000 |
| Laval University | CAD 11,100 |
| Queen’s University | CAD 9,700 |
| University of Ottawa | CAD 19,700 |
| The University of Quebec at Montreal | CAD 13,500 |
Courses available
The courses available in Canada to become a legal advisor are:
- BA Law
- BS Law
- LLB
- Juris Doctor (JD)
- LLM
Australia
All the requirements for becoming a legal advisor in Australia has been mentioned below:
Admission Process
To build a career as a legal advisor in Australia, the candidates should fulfill the following educational qualifications:
- They should have completed a law degree i.e, LLB or Juris Doctor.
- They should have completed an approved practical legal training by taking a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice or supervised traineeship at the firm.
Top Colleges
Some of the top law colleges in Australia are mentioned in the table below:
| Institute Name | Average Course Fee |
|---|---|
| University of New South Wales | AUD 31,600 |
| Australian National University | AUD 29,500 |
| University of Queensland | AUD 29,200 |
| University of Technology | AUD 22,800 |
| University of Wollongong | AUD 21,600 |
| University of Western Australia | AUD 25,700 |
| James Cook University | AUD 21,500 |
| University of South Australia | AUD 25,100 |
| Queensland University of Technology | AUD 20,900 |
| Deakin University | AUD 21,800 |
Courses available
Some of the courses that are helpful to become a legal advisor in Australia are mentioned in the table below:
- LLB in Business Law
- LLB in Law and Society
- Graduate Diploma in Law
- Masters of Law
- Masters of Resources and International Commercial Law
Benefits of Career as a Legal Advisor
Some of the benefits in the career as a legal advisor has been explained below:
Salary: The legal advisor in India earns an average salary of INR 38,000 per month. The minimum salary is expected to be around INR 18,600 and the highest salary is around INR 59,300 per month.
Job Security: Long-term stability is lacking in the legal industry. It has been seen that 78% of the entry-level associates departed within 5 years. Also becoming partners with the law firms may take about 10.5 years but this does not guarantee security.
Positive Impact of the career: Some of the benefits of working as a legal advisor has been explained below:
- Variety of Career Options – Once the candidate has cleared their bar exam, then they apply for a variety of posts. They can either work for the community as a criminal prosecutor or a criminal defense lawyer. They can work for private organizations from real estate to corporate, etc.
- Start a business – After gaining a sufficient amount of experience by working as a legal advisor for individuals and organizations, the candidate can start their own law firm.
- Build contacts – The legal advisors deal with the individuals or organizations and advise them and help them out of their problems. Their work helps them build trust among the clients and later these clients can be resourceful.
- Ability to help others – There are innocent people who have been framed wrongly. These people are unable to come out of these problems because they do not have any legal knowledge. In such cases, legal advisors can help them deal with the problem.
Higher Studies: A candidate who is working as a legal advisor can choose to go for higher studies for better job opportunities. Higher studies will also make them more hireable in the eyes of employers. They can go for postgraduate courses like LLM or a PG Diploma in law, followed by M.Phil Law or LLD.
Unique Experiences: Some of the unique experiences a legal advisor could have are:
- They have to deal with a variety of clients and every client is not easy to handle.
- They make a lot of useful contacts.
- They have lots of resources as they help a lot of clients and who trust them.
Skills Required for Legal Advisors
Some of the skills that the legal advisors should have are tabulated below:
| Understanding of financial practices and concepts | Reviewing, creating, and negotiating legal documents like agreements, contracts, etc |
| Aware of all the corporate policies and practices | Ability to resolve conflicts and ensure compliance |
| Judgment and decision making | Social Perceptiveness |
| Critical Thinking | System Analysis |
Salary of Legal Advisor in India
There are various factors that affect the salary of a legal advisor. Based on the organization they work, their gender, experience, location, etc may affect their salary.
Average Annual Salary
The salary differs based on the type of organization the legal advisor works. Government organizations are expected to pay a higher salary than private law firms or corporate organizations.
| Name of Organisation | Average Monthly Salary |
|---|---|
| Govt | INR 32,700 |
| Private | INR 31,000 |
Specialization Wise
The legal advisors usually specialize in specific law areas. Some of the areas like the corporate and the law are among the highest paying specializations in law.
| Specializations | Annual Salary |
|---|---|
| Patent Attorney | INR 8.16 L |
| Corporate Lawyer | INR 7.11 L |
| Tax Consultant | INR 5.17 L |
| Contract Lawyer | INR 4.70 L |
| Criminal Lawyer | INR 4.55 L |
Gender Wise Salary
Gender also matters in a few industries. Though even in the legal industry the males are expected to have a higher salary than females.
| Gender | Salary Per Month |
|---|---|
| Male | INR 39,700 |
| Female | INR 35,400 |
Experience Wise
experience plays a major role in every industry. The experience helps to get a higher salary and helps in the promotion. More experience, more the salary.
| Experience | Salary Per Month |
|---|---|
| 0 – 2 years | INR 22,100 |
| 2 – 5 years | INR 28,400 |
| 5 – 10 years | INR 39,200 |
| 10 – 15 years | INR 48,500 |
| 15 – 20 years | INR 52,000 |
| 20+ years | INR 55,400 |
After the Legal Advisor
Higher Education
If a candidate is working as a legal advisor only with an LLB degree, then they have an option for higher studies. Some of the options for them are:
- LLM: It is a master’s degree program in law that can be pursued after completion of LLB. The course is of 2 years and can be specialized in areas of International Law, Corporate Law, Business Law, Criminal Law, etc.
- PG Diploma in Law: It is a post-graduate diploma of 1 year. It can be pursued after the completion of a bachelor’s degree. The course deals with handling the real-life situations of the world.
- Ph.D. in Legal Studies: It is a 3-year research-based program in law that can be pursued after completion of M.Phil in Law/ LLM.
Start Job
The work of a legal advisor is almost similar to a lawyer. They usually spend their time working in the office and meeting clients. Some of the responsibilities that they handle are:
- Draft and negotiate the contracts
- Ensure compliance with corporate law
- Provide counsel for employee and management conflicts.
