Jobs & career outcomes
Career options for LLMs can include legal advisors and corporate counsels playing important roles in managing contracts, ensuring regulatory compliance, safeguarding intellectual property and mitigating legal risks for different companies. It can also include litigators, arbitrators, and mediators, particularly in the growing fields of commercial and international dispute resolution. LLM degree serves as an important catalyst for career advancement in Law allowing the law students to gain expertise in specialised legal domains.LLM salaries after completing the course can vary on the basis of experience levels, position and skills. For example legal advisors can earn from INR 5 to INR 8 LPA while corporate counsels may see salary that is ranging from INR 6 to INR 12 LPA. Academic and research positions generally offers salaries in the range of INR 4 to INR 9 LPA. Associates in top tier law firms may demand higher salaries between INR 10 to INR 18 LPA. The income of independent litigators and arbitrators is more variable increasing substantially with experience and a growing client base.
Top recruiters for LLM students such as Amarchand & Mangaldas, AZB & Partners, Trilegal and Khaitan & Co. Major corporations like Infosys, Reliance and Tata Group along with leading banks such as ICICI and HDFC to hire legal experts within their in house legal teams. In the public sector opportunities exist with bodies like the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), the Ministry of Law and Justice and Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) such as ONGC and SAIL.
LLM Salary in India
LLM is a two-year postgraduate course in law, also known as Master of Laws. It is designed to master over a particular specialisation of law. It helps in enhancing knowledge on a particular area of law so that candidates are able to conduct research on their particular area of specialisation. This course is pursued after completing three-year or five-year LLB.
Professionals and recent graduates who are interested in pursuing a particular area under law seek admission to this course. It is an undeniable fact that a candidate studies more than 30 different law papers across a span of three years or five years of law school. LLM offers expertise in one particular field of law, which provides the platform to make a mark in a niche area of law. Some of the top fields popular amongst candidates are Civil Law, Criminal Law, Intellectual Property Law, Corporate Law, Company Law, Cyber Law, Environment Law, etc.
Average Annual LLM Salary in India
Entry-level positions in both sectors may start at the lower end of these ranges. Moreover, salary increases with experience in both government and private sectors. Senior roles can command significantly higher packages.
Below is the salary idea in both sectors for LLM graduates:
| Sector | Average Annual Salary |
|---|---|
| Government | INR 4 LPA - INR 15 LPA |
| Private | INR 6 LPA - INR 18 LPA |