A career in law does not entail just practising as a lawyer in a court. A law graduate can seek career opportunities in many other fields including the corporate sector. Considering this vast scope, changes have been brought in the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT), the common entrance examinations for admissions to 22 law universities including the National University of Advanced Legal Studies (NUALS) in Kochi.
In all 3,000 seats are available at all law universities across India. However, on an average 50,000 candidates appear for CLAT-UG entrance annually. (National Law University, Delhi, conducts a separate test named All-India Law Entrance Test (AILET) for admissions to law courses there.)
Till last year, CLAT was in the objective type format. From this year onwards, the students will have to write answers to the questions after reading the passages. The questions may not be direct ones. This was to get a better understanding of the analytical skills of students.
Details of the examinations
• CLAT-UG 2020 Examination is scheduled to be held on May 10.
• The last date for submitting the application on the website www.consortiumofnlus.ac.in is March 31.
• The duration of the examinations is 2 hours with 150 Multiple-Choice Questions.
• One mark each for each question and a negative marking of quarter mark for each wrong answer.
Subject areas with weightage
English Language: 28-32 questions, or roughly 20 percent of the paper
Current Affairs, including General Knowledge: 35-39 questions, or roughly 25 percent of the paper
Legal Reasoning: 35-39 questions, or roughly 25 percent of the paper
Logical Reasoning: 28-32 or roughly 20 percent of the paper
Quantitative Techniques: 13-17 questions, or roughly 10 percent of the paper.
Mock test facilities have been arranged on the CLAT website. Those who register early will have the opportunity to write more mock tests.
Admission
Admission will be on merit-cum-preference basis. That meant the preference you give for choosing the university will be important in determining the admissions to the course. Each mark you loose may have a major impact on your rank.
CLAT–PG
Those with an LL.B Degree or an equivalent examination with a minimum of 50 percent of marks or its equivalent grade in case of candidates belonging to General categories and 45 percent of marks or its equivalent grade in case of candidates belonging to SC/ST categories are eligible for applying for CLAT-PG examinations.
Duration of the CLAT-PG examinations is 2 hours with the total marks being 150 marks. Till last year the examinations were for 200 marks. Of the questions 100 will be multiple-choice with one mark for each question.
There will be two essay questions each of 25 marks for a total of 50 marks. There should be at least 800 words per essay.
Only candidates who secure 40 percent marks in the objective section will qualify for the evaluation of their answers in the descriptive section. This will be 35 percent in the case of SC, ST, and Physically disabled candidates.
No change in AILET
AILET: All-India Law Entrance Test (AILET) is conducted by National Law University, Delhi (NLU, Delhi) to offer admission to eligible candidates in law courses of the university. There is no change in the format for this entrance test.
Out of the 123 undergraduate standard merit seats, 55 seats are reserved for students of Delhi and the same number for national merit. The rest are shared between foreign nationals, natives of Jammu and Kashmir and those who migrated from Jammu and Kashmir. More details can be had from the website nludelhi.ac.in
Preparing for law entrance
Knowledge of Law: The candidates should have a knowledge on the Constitution of India and Indian Criminal Laws.
General Knowledge: Should follow newspapers and other media for getting the latest information.
Using the time well: You should first attempt to answer questions of English Language and General Knowledge part of the examination. Do not spent more time on answering questions on Logical Reasoning and Mathematics.