Dr. Angshuman Hazarika
Assistant Professor, IIM Ranchi
The traditional image of a lawyer is as a person who earns his bread and butter through practice in a court of law. With the development of the economy and the legal industry, many avenues have opened up for lawyers including those interested in the field of academics. In this blog post, we discuss the potential options for law students and legal professionals who wish to build a career as an academician or legal researcher, although in many cases both these professions go hand in hand.
It is key to understand that a career in academics and research does not merely mean working as an educator in a college or a University and interested professionals may pursue a career in different sectors. In fact, research is a key activity for any legal professional and good lawyers are frequently expert researchers and distinguished academicians. So to make our scope clear, this blog is focused on a person who is not working as a practicing lawyer but wishes to pursue a career where research and/or teaching forms the core of the profession. Now that we set the groundwork, let us move ahead and learn about the key sectors where a legal professional may work with research and/or academics as the core of their work profile.
As a full-time researcher or knowledge management professional in for-profit ventures
Unknown to many, law firms, consulting firms, and many large corporate houses hire legal professionals to work as full-time researchers who are entrusted with the duty that the organization is up to date with the latest developments in their sector of interest. The core part of their duty is to identify the latest developments in the field of law such as new legislation, important judgments, and recent publications that discuss key issues of interest for the organization. In some organizations, the duty also extends to preparing concise notes of the developments which may be circulated among the interested employees and clients so that they are not required to dedicate their valuable time to read an entire judgment or research publication. Considering the work done by the researchers involves finding and disseminating knowledge of important developments, they are known as knowledge managers and their work as knowledge management.
Professionals who are good at research and presenting information in a concise but clear manner are in high demand in India and across the world and command very good salaries. If you are interested to work as a Knowledge Manager, a bachelor’s degree in law may suffice, but your employers may desire that you have knowledge about legal research platforms and a knack of writing and publishing.
As a researcher in not-for-profit ventures
The term not-for-profit used here has a wide scope and seeks to go beyond the popular position of a research associate in a Non-Governmental Organization. We include Universities, Specialized research centers within educational institutions, think tanks, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as not-for-profit entities. Among these entities, if you work in a University or an educational institution, your work as a researcher may be frequently blended with teaching or other academic responsibilities. Researchers working in think tanks and NGOs are generally expected to work on the subject of interest of the organization while Universities and research institutes may provide greater flexibility in terms of the subject area of research. Frequently, young researchers and teaching assistants in Universities also work in parallel towards an academic degree which is in most cases a doctoral degree.
Working as a researcher in a non-profit venture may be academically enriching and provides valuable experience towards building a future career as a full-time legal research professional or academician. Many research institutes and think tanks are at the forefront of legal research and professionals emerging from these organisations are considered a valuable asset to any future employer. Students interested to join as a researcher may be expected to have a Master’s Degree or a Bachelor’s Degree supplemented by a few years of work experience. A small compromise for any professional in this sector may be that remuneration in this sector is frequently lower than what is offered at a for-profit venture such as a law firm.
As an academician
A university professor or a research fellow in an educational institution is the most common image which is attached to a person who chose a career as a researcher or academic. Much in line with this perception, most of the persons who chose a career in research and academics frequently work in a University or other educational institution. A primary reason for this development may be the stable work profile merged with career growth opportunities and the option to pursue independent research.
Full-time academicians or researchers in Universities or other educational institutions are generally well paid both in India and abroad. A beginner who joins this sector generally starts as a Junior Research Fellow (JRF) who pursues a Doctoral Degree in a University. In India, to qualify as a JRF, a student has to secure high marks in an examination called the National Eligibility Test (NET) which is conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA). Qualifying the NET also makes a person eligible to join as an Assistant Professor in a College or University in India, although this is expected to change soon with the requirement of a Doctoral Degree being mandatory. Research Fellows in India are generally paid by the UGC if they have qualified the JRF or by the University depending on its internal policies.
To pursue a full-time career as an academician, a Master’s Degree would be an essential requirement and frequently educational institutions also desire a Doctoral Degree as the minimum qualification. It must be kept in mind that full-time positions in public Universities and government-run or funded educational institutions are limited and highly competitive.
Professionals working as practicing advocates may choose to work in their leisure time as an academician and across the globe, many leading industry professionals have also built a name as academicians through regular participation in academic seminars and conferences blended with classroom teaching.
Legal Research Professional for the Government
The government regularly appoints Legal Research Professionals in the Legislative Department of the Ministry of Law and Justice and also in the Indian Parliament. A number of government bodies and departments such as the Election Commission of India, the Competition Commission of India, the National Human Rights Commission, the Niti Aayog and the National Company Law Tribunal regularly appoint research associates with a background in law to assist in their functioning.
The positions in the government institutions and departments are highly regarded and come with good salaries and the general perks and benefits associated with a government job. Students expecting to be selected for such a position require a strong academic background and may also be required to pass a rigorous selection process consisting of written tests and/or interviews.
Academic Qualifications necessary for a career in research and teaching
The minimum academic qualifications vary in the profession which is sought to be pursued. As discussed above, while for a career as a Knowledge Management Professional in a law firm or corporate house, a Bachelor’s degree in law may suffice, a career as a full-time academician in a University may require you to complete at the very minimum a Master’s Degree while professionals with Doctoral Degrees are increasingly preferred.
Obtaining higher degrees abroad
A preferred path for many students looking forward to a career as an academician is to pursue a Master’s degree or a Doctoral degree abroad. While such a degree may provide unmatched benefits in terms of access to world-class faculty and exposure, students need to keep a few key points in mind before flying abroad:
- Keep an eye on your finances
A degree abroad may involve a significant financial burden and students are generally recommended to ensure that they have their finances in place before they move to study abroad. You need to account for emergencies that may emerge during your course of study and need to consider that costs sometimes overshoot the budget due to factors such as forex rate fluctuations and change in living costs.
- Apply for scholarships and grants
While this may seem like repeating common knowledge, the benefits of having a full (or at the very least a partial scholarship) cannot be emphasized enough. While educational loans may seem like the most convenient option to fulfill your dreams, it must be kept in mind that as with any other borrowings, they must be repaid and hence may be a severe strain on your finances for a significant period after you obtain your degree. It may even be considered to delay your travel by some time and obtain work experience in case you believe that it will strengthen your application for a scholarship. It is particularly important that you have your long term finances in place particularly for a Doctoral Degree since it involves a long term commitment and any financing issues which emerge in between this period may affect your entire plan.
- Keep yourself updated with the latest regulations
An often ignored area for most students who pursue a degree abroad is the recognition of the degree by future employers. It is a parameter that has to be kept in mind particularly by those who wish to pursue a career as an academician in a state-funded educational institution in India in the future.
At the moment, the University Grants Commission (UGC) prescribes the minimum educational qualifications for appointment of Assistant Professors, Associate Professors and Professors in Indian Universities through the UGC Regulations on Minimum Qualifications for Appointment of Teachers and Other Academic Staff in Universities and Colleges and Measures for the Maintenance of Standards in Higher Education, 2018. According to these regulations, students who have obtained their Doctoral Degree from “from a foreign university/institution with a ranking among top 500 in the World University Ranking (at any time) by any one of the following: (i) Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) (ii) the Times Higher Education (THE) or (iii) the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) of the Shanghai Jiao Tong University (Shanghai)” are considered eligible to apply for the position of Assistant Professor without clearing the NET examination. Considering this, students may be advised to select a University within the rankings to ensure that their degree is recognised by a future employer.
- Selecting a Professor or an Institution for a Doctoral degree
Considering that pursuing a Doctoral degree involves a dedicated long term commitment, it is very essential that a student has a free discussion with his future research supervisor to ensure that their vision for research is aligned. This may mean an application to multiple Universities and potential supervisors and long discussions before coming to a decision. In my personal opinion and while I would love to know the opinion of others, till the time the University is within the top 500 rankings, it is acceptable to consider any of them according to your preference, but it would be preferable to have a research supervisor with whom you share a common research outlook and feel comfortable to work with. This is particularly important since a Doctoral student would work with a supervisor at the very minimum for three years and it would be preferred that at the end of the program they achieve the common goal which would make the research fruitful.
Build a habit of publishing
Well written academic pieces in reputed journals are a key differentiating factor for potential employers between candidates and students willing to pursue a career in academics may do well to build a habit of research and publication. It must, however, be ensured that the journals selected for publication are peer-reviewed and included in databases such as SCOPUS or Web of Science (WoS). While mere inclusion of a journal in these databases is no certification of their reputation or quality, it is considered that a journal which has been included by them adhere to minimum research and publication standards. As an added incentive for considering these journals, as per the latest regulations, journals in these databases are also considered for the shortlisting process for faculty positions.
Through this blog post, we have tried to touch upon the common questions which may emerge in the mind of a law student willing to pursue a career as an academician or a researcher. Please feel free to let us know your feedback and also inform us if you wish to learn about a particular issue that we have covered in this blog post in detail and we will try to have a detailed write up on the issue.
