Law (LLB)
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PUC Arts · pathway 24 of 50
Law (LLB)
BA LLB · 5 Years (Integrated)
You might like this if you enjoy Law, society & government Language & writing
The road
- 1 Year SSLC — Class 10
- 2 Years PUC — Arts
- Exam year CLAT / AILET
- 5 Years (Integrated) BA LLB
Where it goes after that
Work
- Advocate
- Corporate Lawyer
- Senior Advocate
- Partner in a law firm
Study further
- LLM (1Y)
- PhD Law
- LLM → PhD in Law
Government
- Public Prosecutor
- Judicial Services (Civil Judge)
Your own
- Independent legal practice
- Law firm
Where to study it
In Karnataka · by district
Outside Karnataka: NALSAR Hyderabad · NLU Delhi
A shortlist of well-regarded places, not every college. The full list for any year is the KEA seat matrix at cetonline.karnataka.gov.in.
- Specialise in
- Criminal Law · Corporate Law · Constitutional Law · IPR Law
- Who can apply
- Passed Class 12 with at least 45% (40% for SC/ST) for the 5-year integrated LLB. There is no age limit for CLAT.
Inside Law (LLB)
4 of the specialisations you can take within this course — what each one teaches, who it suits, and what you can choose once it is done.
Criminal Law
The law that decides what counts as a crime, what the state must prove before it can punish anyone, and what protections a person keeps while it tries. It is the part of law most people picture — the police station, the charge sheet, the witness box — and the part where a mistake costs someone their liberty.
What you would actually study
- Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita — the criminal code that has replaced the Indian Penal Code, defining offences and punishments
- Criminal Procedure — how a case travels from the first information report through arrest, bail, trial and appeal
- Law of Evidence — what a court may accept as proof, and what it must ignore
- Constitutional Law — the rights of an accused person under Articles 20, 21 and 22
- Jurisprudence — why we punish at all, and what makes a law just
- Criminology and Penology — the causes of crime, and what prisons are supposed to achieve
- Drafting, Pleading and Conveyancing, and Moot Court — the practical papers where you learn to write and argue a case
What the work is like
A criminal practice is built in trial courts, not in offices: long waits, adjournments, bail applications, cross-examination and a great deal of client handling under stress. The early years are spent watching a senior and doing the paperwork.
It suits you if
Students who can think on their feet, who hold their nerve when questioned, and who can act for a client whose story they find difficult. Reading stamina matters more than dramatic speaking.
The honest part
The courtroom you have seen on screen is not the courtroom you will work in. Criminal practice at the start is slow, poorly paid and entirely dependent on finding a senior who will actually teach you, and an independent practice takes years to build. It also asks you to defend people you may dislike, which is a professional duty, not a moral failing.
Finished this. What can you choose next?
- Enrol with the State Bar Council and clear the All India Bar Examination, which is what lets you practise
- Junior to a senior advocate in criminal practice — the standard apprenticeship
- Judicial services, entered through the state judiciary examination
- Public prosecutor and government pleader posts
- LLM in criminal law, then teaching or research
- Legal roles with police, prisons, legal aid and human rights organisations
Corporate Law
The law of how businesses are formed, funded, run, bought, sold and wound up. When a company raises money, signs a contract, merges with another or cannot pay its lenders, corporate lawyers write the documents and manage the risk. Almost none of it happens in a courtroom.
What you would actually study
- Law of Contract — the foundation, since nearly all commercial law is contract in some form
- Company Law — how a company is incorporated, governed and held accountable under the Companies Act
- Securities Regulation — the rules governing shares, public issues and stock exchanges
- Insolvency and Bankruptcy — what happens when a company cannot pay, and who gets paid first
- Competition Law — the limits on mergers, market power and anti-competitive agreements
- Taxation — direct and indirect tax as it applies to business
- Labour and Industrial Law — the employer side of employment
- Drafting and Negotiation — the practical papers, because this branch of law is written rather than spoken
What the work is like
Long hours reading and drafting documents, negotiating clauses, and doing due diligence — checking every contract and liability a company holds before a deal closes. Detailed, deadline-driven office work with real money resting on precision.
It suits you if
Students who are meticulous, who can read a hundred pages without skipping, and who are comfortable being the person who spots the problem everyone else missed. Commercial curiosity helps as much as legal skill.
The honest part
This is the best-paid corner of law and the most crowded gateway: the leading firms recruit heavily from a small number of national law schools, and the internships you do during the degree matter more than your final marks. If you are not at one of those colleges the route in runs through in-house legal teams, compliance and smaller firms — genuine careers, entered patiently rather than at a campus interview.
Finished this. What can you choose next?
- Bar Council enrolment and the All India Bar Examination, which every practising route needs
- A law firm, in the corporate, banking or transactions team
- In-house counsel or compliance with a company, bank or startup
- Company Secretary qualification alongside the degree, a common and useful pairing
- LLM in corporate or commercial law, then specialised practice or teaching
- Judicial services, which the commercial subjects also prepare you for
Constitutional Law
The study of the document that sets the rules for everything else — what the government may do, what it may not, what rights every person holds against it, and who decides when the answer is disputed. Every other law in India has to survive a test against this one.
What you would actually study
- Constitutional Law — fundamental rights, directive principles, and the structure of the Union and the states
- Constitutional Governance — separation of powers, emergency provisions and the amending power
- Administrative Law — the limits on the power of officials, boards and tribunals
- Interpretation of Statutes — how a court decides what a law actually means
- Human Rights Law — domestic protections and the international instruments India has signed
- Public International Law — the rules between states, which constitutional courts increasingly refer to
- Case law study — landmark judgements are the real syllabus here, and there is no substitute for reading them whole
What the work is like
Constitutional work sits in the High Courts and the Supreme Court, in legal research, and in policy and legislative drafting. It is heavy on written argument and precedent, and matters move slowly, sometimes over years.
It suits you if
Students who like principled argument, who read judgements for interest rather than only for marks, and who are patient enough to work on a case that may outlast their own enthusiasm for it.
The honest part
Constitutional practice is prestigious and very thin at the entry level — there are few jobs that are purely constitutional, and most advocates arrive at it after years of general litigation. Treat it as a specialisation you grow into, and build a broader practice first.
Finished this. What can you choose next?
- Bar Council enrolment and the All India Bar Examination
- Litigation with a senior in the High Court, which is where this work lives
- Judicial services, entered through the state judiciary examination
- LLM in constitutional law, then teaching or a PhD
- Legal research at a policy or public interest organisation
- Legislative drafting and research support to elected representatives
IPR Law
The law of owning things you cannot hold — a song, a brand name, an invention, a piece of software, a design, a story. It decides who may copy what, for how long, and what happens when someone copies anyway. As more of the economy becomes ideas, this branch keeps growing.
What you would actually study
- Copyright Law — protection for writing, music, film, art and software
- Trade Marks — brand names and logos, and how confusion between them is judged
- Patent Law — protection for inventions, and what the law refuses to patent
- Designs and Geographical Indications — product shape, and origin marks such as Mysore silk
- Law of Contract and Licensing — since most intellectual property earns money through licensing rather than litigation
- Information Technology Law — the online side, including intermediary liability and data
- International Intellectual Property — the treaties, including TRIPS, that make national rights work across borders
What the work is like
Filing and prosecuting applications at the registries, drafting licence agreements, sending and answering infringement notices, and litigating when negotiation fails. A large part of the job is careful searching — checking what already exists before a client spends money.
It suits you if
Students who are precise with language, since an intellectual property claim is won or lost on wording, and who are curious about creative or technical fields as well as about law.
The honest part
One rule surprises law students. As the law stands, registering as a patent agent in India requires a degree in science, engineering or technology together with the patent agent examination — a law degree alone is not enough. A BA LLB graduate can litigate patent disputes and can practise fully in trade marks, copyright and designs, but the drafting and filing side of patents is closed without the science background. Plan around that early.
Finished this. What can you choose next?
- Bar Council enrolment and the All India Bar Examination
- An intellectual property firm, or the IP team inside a larger law firm
- In-house intellectual property work with media, pharmaceutical or technology companies
- LLM in intellectual property law, then specialised practice or teaching
- Trade mark and copyright practice of your own, which is reachable earlier than most litigation practice
- Policy and research work on intellectual property, access to medicines and technology regulation