The legal field is fast emerging as an area of interest for students. Since 1980s with national law colleges and universities coming into existence, the students had started opting for legal field, but the momentum and pace was not as the same as it gained since 2008. But now, the legal field has gained a new lease of life, a new momentum, a new meaning and scope.

With the introduction of the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) in 2008, the standard of entrance examination, taken for admission at Law Colleges in India, has gone very high because now the legal field has thrown open innumerable avenues for law graduates. The first and foremost benefit of CLAT and five year LL.B is that it saves one year of the students because earlier the students would need to pursue 3 year LL.B after 3 years of graduation.

National Law College and Universities, which provide admission to students through CLAT, have formulated new syllabi, new techniques to equip the students with the latest legal developments, legal niceties and technicalities of law in the wake of demand of law graduates in the private sector to function in various capacities like legal advisors, managers, arbitrators, liaisoning officers and field officers. The students at National Law Colleges and Universities get so much exposure that they become not only well-versed in law but quite dexterous in the interpretation of law according to the demands of time and circumstances. Now, a law graduate has number of avenues. Being a law graduate practice at HC, SC and lower court is always his/her own prerogative and a matter of temperament.

Judicial services is another very dignified and esteemed avenue especially for girls and that is why girls are outnumbering and outshining the boys in law entrance examinations and judicial services examinations. The avenues thrown open by private sectors are massive.

But qualifying CLAT is not an easy task. CLAT examination mainly consists of 5 components – 1. Legal Awareness / Legal Reasoning, 2. GK 3. Test of English Language, 4. Mathematical Ability 5. Logical Ability.

As far as Legal Awareness is concerned, it is entirely and altogether new to all the candidates: be anyone from Humanities, Commerce and Science back ground. It is meant to check the candidates’ basic legal acumen. It consists of 6 parts – 1. Legal Terms and Maxims, 2. Civil Law, 3. Criminal Law, 4. Constitutional Law. 5. Law of Torts 6. Public International Law.

Constitutional Law is the most important ingredient because without sound grounding in Constitutional Law, one cannot master the other laws. Legal terms is the backbone of Legal Awareness because if one is not aware of hairline differences between accused, guilty or convict, cognizable or non-cognizable offences, Mensrea, caveat emptor and venditor, void, voidable or void ab initio, one cannot understand the problems of law and solve them. In civil and criminal laws, one must be aware with the basics and need not to go in depth.

The test of English Language demands clarity of fundamentals of English Grammar and Composition, and test of vocabulary.

Vocabulary building consists of ten verticals: words and their meanings, their usage, synonyms, antonyms, idioms and phrases, one word substitution, word formation, specific words, spelling of words and their MCQs.

The grammar part again consists of ten verticals: parts of speech (number/gender form of noun, degrees of comparison (adjective), prepositions, conjunctions and other cases). Then without the understanding of TENSES, VOICE, NARRATION, one cannot be comfortable in composition. The right understanding of modals, determiners, non-finites is quite indispensable. Having the knowledge of common errors is one of the utmost necessities to qualify any competitive exam. Once one gets acquainted with these two aspects then reading comprehension, sentence completion, sentence correction and other ancillary verticals can be of no problem for the candidates.

Mathematical and Logical Ability is meant to check your basic IQ level and your speed. It requires mastery over matric level mathematical formulas, their applications, tricks and short cuts to solve the problems within stipulated time limit.

GK has no limit. But the focus should be on History, Polity, Geography, Science, General Awareness and Current Affairs.

Things to know:

By A.P. Bhardwaj

A.P. Bhardwaj is the author of Pearson’s Legal Awareness And Legal Reasoning, Legal Aptitude Workbook, General English and forthcoming CLAT Solved Papers

Tagged in MAT MAT test pattern MAT exam AIMA MAT exam structure

Like us on :