How to become best criminal lawyer
Introduction:
When its prosecuting a criminal of a crime or defending a person accused of a crime, criminal lawyers or criminal attorneys play a pivotal rule in our society and in administration of justice.
Quoting a famous quote from Charles Dickens:
“If there are no bad people, there would be no good lawyers”
Criminal lawyers can either work to represent an individual or even state charged with crime. It is however their job to defend their client’s legal interest, no matter what side they are on. Overall, they govern the acts that are considered to be harmful otherwise. This could be in correlation to preserve property or moral welfare. The administration define penalties against such acts, to help people realise the consequences. This article discussed the steps to become a good criminal lawyers, their roles, responsibilities and career growth.
Duties of a criminal lawyer:
- Recognizing and collecting witnesses
- Organize meeting with those witnesses
- Investigate evidences and crime scenes
- Layout the plan of action for the case
- Constructing strong defences
- Drafting, filling and rebutting appeals
Criminal lawyers often work for public without charging any payment or simple work ‘pro bono’ cases. Cases could be high profile which puts them directly into the spotlight and may lead to attend interviews and participate into public speaking
Steps to become a good criminal lawyer:
1. Prepare for entrance exams after higher secondary : Prepare for law entrance exams after or during the end of the secondary education is highly crucial. Only thing to take care of is to maintain an aggregate of 50–60% marks in the 12th standard examinations as it is the minimum score require to appear in such competitive exams. Some of the important law exams to keep an eye out for are:
A. CLAT (Common Law Admission Test): It is a national level entrance exam for admissions to undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) law programs offered by 22 National Law Universities around the country.
B. LSAT (Law School Admission Test): It is a standardized test administered by the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) for prospective law school candidates. The test is an integral part of the law school admission process in the united states, Canada, the university of Melbourne, Australia and a growing number of other countries.
C. AILET (All India Entrance Test): It is conducted by National Law University, Delhi (NLU Delhi) for admission undergraduate, postgraduate and doctorate level law course. This is a national level entrance exam conducted for admission in law programs at NLU Delhi.
D. SET (Symbiosis Entrance Test): It is a university level exam conducted by Symbiosis University, to admit students for UG and integrated courses programs. Admission will be offered in field of law, management, computer studies, economics, etc. The SET exam is conducted every year in online mode across various cities of the country.
E. Delhi University Law Entrance Exam: National Testing Agency (NTA) conducts the DU LLB Entrance Exam for admission to three-year LLB courses offered at Campus Law Centre, Law Centre-1 and Law Centre-2 of Delhi University. The exam is conducted at the national level at more than 18 test cities across india.
2. Acquire a undergraduate law degree: This is a pivotal step in the process, to get a bachelor’s in law from an accredited college or university. It leaves two pathway option, that is, to either pursue an LLB degree entirely based on legal studies or a BA LLB degree, an integrated course including arts subjects along with the law. After the graduation, one is free to start self practice or to work in a legal firm.
3. Clear the bar exam: After the graduation, the clearance of a bar council exam of a distinct jurisdiction, to be allowed to practice in high court or supreme court cases. This is known as the All India Bar Examination or AIBE which is a national level exam conducted by the Bar Council of India (BCI) for law graduates who want to practice in a court of law. Both 3 year LLB and 5 year LLB graduates are eligible to appear in the AIBE exam.
4. Time for a master’s degree: The next step into the learning pathway of law is to purpose a postgraduate or a master’s degree in criminal law. The one and only option is here is the LLM (Master of Law) degree, the only masters degree in law. Postgraduate courses offer scope for specialization in criminal law.
5. One option to success: One of the pathway option in order to take the law studies forward is to pursue a PHD or a doctorate in law. A doctorate usually requires a completion of dissertation. LLD or doctor of law is a specialized law degree that is of 3 years duration. LLD program includes course work and the maximum duration within which aspirants can complete this course is six years. Candidates can pursue their LLD if they have completed their LLM/PHD in law from recognized university.
6. The alternative: Gain some work experience either along the way with the studies or after it, one should try gaining some work experience under the supervision of an established lawyer or in a legal firm. Field experience and specializations are pivotal for leading a successful and rewarding career in criminal law.
Timeline for a criminal law making: After the completion of a secondary education, it could take anywhere between 3 to 13 years. Along with the study time frame, one need to dedicate time for the bar exam as well as to gain some work experience. Time frame based on different courses are:
1. LLB (Bachelor’s degree in Law): 3 years of completion
2. BA LLB (Integrated Bachelor’s degree with Arts and Law): 5 years of completion
3. LLM (Master’s degree in Law): 1–2 years of completion
4. PHD ( Doctorate in Law): 6 years of completion
Types of a Criminal Lawyer:
1. Government Advocate: Government Advocate means an advocate appointed by the government to conduct cases or appeals, other than criminal cases and appeals in the High Court for and on behalf of the state includes an Additional Government Advocate. The government lawyer of Government of India is known as Attorney General of India and the government lawyer of the state is known as Advocate General.
2. Public Prosecutor: Public Prosecutor is a person that has been appointed either by the Central Government or the State Government to represent cases on behalf of the State in criminal trials. The main role of the public prosecutor is to serve the ends of justice in the best interests of the public. The work of public prosecutor begins once the police have done its investigation and filed the charge sheet in the court.
3. Criminal Law Practitioner: Criminal Law practitioners formally address important issues in criminal law. They are responsible for the periodic evolution of legal frameworks to improve usability for lawyers, judiciary and students.
Conclusion: As challenging and demanding the career of a criminal lawyer may sounds, with proper pathway and steady career choices it can be a successful criminal attorney. With following the above steps and making timely and smart choices one could easily achieve great heights in the field of criminal law.
