How to become a Cyber Lawyer (Cyber Law expert) [Step-by-Step]

 

Cyber Law is one of the fascinating career options for law students. Cyber is the term related to computers, Information Technology (IT) network. As we know the IT sector is growing like fire, therefore, societies are moving towards digitization and I don’t think so it’s going to end any time soon.

To be part of this fast-growing industry will always be a good option. And if we combine cyber world with the law (Cyber + Law), it becomes quite interesting and fascinating career pathway to follow. 

So let’s start to know How to become a Cyber lawyer and how to be part of this fascinating career option.

 

How to become a Cyber Lawyer (Cyber Law expert) [Step-by-Step] Procedure

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[Step 1] High School (10+2)

This is the first step in moving towards most of the career option. Therefore you have to pass your senior secondary high school (12^th) for the sake of becoming a Cyber lawyer. It does not matter which site (Arts/Commerce/Science) you had in your 12^th board examination.

Most of the students think that cyber (internet) related to the technology so in order to become a cyber lawyer you should have a science background. This is just a simple misconception among many students. Thus there are no such requirements that you must have science-related subjects in your 12^th standard.

[Step 2] Take the law schools entrance examination

Prepare for the law entrance exams to get admission in India’s topmost and finest law colleges. There are various entrance exams conducted across India by each and every state universities. Though some exams are common, which act as a gateway to get admission in various law colleges.

CLAT and AILET are the most popular entrance exam among the law aspirants. So it would be a good choice for you to get prepared for these two exams.

[Step 3] Become a lawyer

In order to become a lawyer, you must have a degree of LLB (Bachelor of Law) form a well-known university.

There are two separate education pathways to become a lawyer, click here to get detailed information.

[Step 4] Postgraduate Diploma / LLM (Masters of law) in Cyber Law

After completing your law degree you have to specialize in Cyber Law. For that, you can join diploma program organised by many reputed universities in India.

You can also do the LLM in cyber law, if available in the same college, where you are studying LLB then you can join master’s program after finishing your bachelor’s degree.

The vast majority of cyber lawyer preferred to undergone with postgraduate diploma programs. Because of two reasons…

[1] In the present scenario India have very few colleges, who is offering LLM in criminal law.

[2] Diploma programs usually take time of 6 months to 1 years, so the duration is less as compare to LLM degree program (1 to 2 years).

Scroll down below to know the colleges offering the diploma program in Cyber Law

 

[Step 5] Register at BAR Council

To practice your academic theory of law into the real-life scenario (courtroom) you need a certificate/Identity card, which ensures you have the capability to practice law in the court.

According to Indian advocate Act, 1961 to get the certification for practice in the court premises you have to register your name in the Bar Council of India.

Register at BAR Council of that respective state, where you want to practice law. Know the procedure to enrol in Bar Council of Delhi

 [Step 6] Junior Assistant

After enrolling in the Bar Council of India as an advocate who specializes in a particular field of law (Cyber Law). You can work with the criminal law expert or senior criminal lawyer as an assistant advocate. The experience you got during your training/internship period would help you to get clear the next hurdle (Step 7) with ease.

[Step 7] All India Bar Examination (AIBE)

This is the final step you can proudly say about yourself that you are a lawyer, who can practice his law studies into the Indian court. For this remarkable day, you should have to pass AIBE exam, which is conducted by Bar Council of India.

Click here to get the AIBE exam related information. After passing the AIBE exam you will get a certificate that shows you are eligible to practice. And you officially become a member of the Bar Council of India or the respective state BAR.

[Step 8] Cyber Lawyer

At that step, you have been an authorized cyber lawyer so now you can participate in litigations and file the case related cybercrime. Rather than practice in court premises, you can also give your services to the big multinational companies.

So after becoming a cyber lawyer you can work for the government and private sector or work in both sectors at the same time.  

Note: After completing postgraduate diploma degree in Cyber Law; If you want to work for the IT industry or want to join some law firms or any private institution rather than going into court litigations then you don’t have to follow the further steps after 4th. Thus you don’t have to enrol yourself in the BAR Council of India or any respective BAR council.

Also, check these related career options:

How to become a Court Judge

How to become a Corporate Lawyer

If you are a B. Tech graduate then you can follow an alternative way. The above mention steps are the conventional way of becoming a cyber lawyer that most of the students follow. Because you have a technical background so you can follow another pathway to become a Cyber lawyer or cyber law expert.

 

How to become a Cyber lawyer after B. Tech [Internet lawyer] Complete Procedure

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[Step 1] High School (12^th)/ Diploma

You should have been passed your 12^th class from science stream. (Or) you could go for diploma in computer science related field after the 10^th standard.

So you have to choose either of one certificate to reach the second step, it could be senior secondary high school certificate or diploma certificate.

[Step 2] Engineering Entrance Exam

Prepare for the entrance exam to get admission in India’s reputed engineering colleges. However, if your motive is to become a lawyer then you can also go to any private colleges (Approved by AICTE).

[Step 3] B. Tech (Bachelor of Technology)

Make sure you select IT (Information Technology) branch at the time of counselling. Rather than IT, you can also select any computer related engineering branch such as Computer Science Engineering, Electronics and Communication Engineering etc.

B. Tech is 4 years professional degree program. If you are going after 12th it will take straight four years (8 semesters) & for the diploma students, B. Tech is 3 years (6 semesters) program. After diploma, you will get a lateral entry direct in the 2nd year of any respective branch of engineering.

Other than engineering you can also go for these two technical programs, BCA (Bachelor in Computer Application), B.Sc. in computer science. These courses cut your step 2 and also saves your time to reach the final destination (Cyber lawyer), the duration of these courses is 3 years.

[Step 4] Entrance exam to get admission in Law College

After B. Tech you can participate in these following entrance exam…

• LSAT India
• DU LLB
• AP LAWCET
• BHU-UET

Click on the name of entrance exam to check the latest eligibility criteria to appear.

[Step 5] LLB (Bachelor of Legislative Law)

In the conventional way of becoming a Cyber lawyer, LLB degree program duration is 5 years (10 semesters); & after graduation, it is 3 years (6 semesters) program.

After B. Tech you have to spend 3 more years to become a lawyer.

[Step 6] BAR Council Member

Enrol yourself at the Bar Council of the respective state and get the membership of BAR 

[Step 7] Cyber Lawyer/ Cyber Law Expert

Now you can practice your all law knowledge in the courtroom to get the justice by filing the case on behalf of the clients related to cyberspace. You can also litigate in the court for any criminal and civil matters other than Cyber Crimes.

The time duration of becoming a Cyber lawyer by following regular method

 5 to 7 years (after 12^th)

Time duration to become a Cyber lawyer (B. Tech)

7 to 8 years (after 12^th)

Which are the colleges offering a Diploma in Cyber Law?

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These are the following top colleges, where you can apply for the diploma course

• Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar
• The Indian Law Institute, New Delhi
• Symbiosis Center for Distance Learning
• Asian School of Cyber Laws
• Central India College of Law, Nagpur
• Faculty of Law, Banaras Hindu University

Admission for diploma courses based on the merit (percentage) you got in your bachelor’s degree and first come, first served basis.

 

What are the Skills set required for a Cyber lawyer? 

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If you are going to become a Cyber lawyer/ Cyber Law expert these are following skills set you must have…

• Web Technology
• Networking [OSI Model, TCP/IP suite, Digital Certificates]
• Operating System [Windows, Mac, Linux]
• Computer, mobiles, tablets
• Electronic Evidence
• Computer forensics
• Logical and Analytical
• Judgment and Decision Making
• Critical Thinking
• General awareness

You can develop above mentioned technical skills set by undergoing these two well-recognised courses. Recommended certification after becoming a lawyer

[1] CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker) Click Here to know about CEH certification

[2] CCNA R&S (Cisco Certified Network Associate Routing & Switching (CCNA) / CompTIA Network+

Know about CCNA and Network+, & why you should get these certifications?

These certifications are well known IT certifications all around the globe, you can do these certifications while doing LLB.

 

What will you learn in Cyber Law Diploma program? 

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• Introduction of basics and regulatory framework of cyber world
• Information Technology (IT) Act
• Electronic records
• Digital Signatures Certificates and Certifying Authorities
• E-Commerce
• What are the Laws of Cyber Space?
• Law of Cyber Crimes in India
• Cyber Crimes and their effect on the Society
• Introduction to Legal System
• Intellectual Property Rights in Cyber World
• Dissertation/ Research Work/ Demonstration of Techno-Legal Aspects of Cyber Cases.

 

What does a Cyber lawyer do? (Job Description)

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Today’s Cyber Security is a major concern and the biggest threat for every country, so it’s a Cyber lawyer responsibility to fight back the Cyber Criminals by using his/her education of law in the courtroom.  

Advice and guide the companies about the legal laws related to Cyber Space.

A cyber lawyer deals with the case related to software piracy, hacking, cracking of software, credit card frauds, malfunction viruses, cyber attacks & threats, Intellectual Property, pornography, Copyrights & Trademarks, mail bombs, bug exploits, and other internet scams.

Perform actions (prosecute) on behalf of the clients at the courtroom

Analyse the electronic evidence you get from the clients. To collect the reliable and solid evidence a Cyber lawyer have to perform various investigations methods such as E-Mail investigation, E-Mail tracking, IP Tracking, Cyber Forensics investigation, recovery of E-Mail & hard drive, decrypt password & messages, and Cyber Crime Investigations.

 

Difference between Cyber lawyer and Advocate (litigation lawyer)

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Advocate

Advocate is someone who specializes in a particular field of law that is called litigation and participant in the court legal system and procedure.

An advocate is an expert in criminal and civil matters of the society. His/her mastery on the court litigations.

Related: How to become an Advocate

Cyber Lawyer

A cyber lawyer expertise in handling the criminal matters on the Cyber Space (Internet world/Virtual world). Among other careers option in law, cyber law is the nearest to the technology, so being a Cyber lawyer means you are a tech-savvy person, which is quite fascinating.  

 

Cyber Lawyer Career Scope

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In the starting days of the internet, when it started developing (during 1950 to 1990) then you don’t have to worry about Cyber Law because at that time there is no law and order defined by any country government regard to crimes over the internet.

And from that initial stage of the internet to the present stage it’s spreading like air on the environment. And the result in front of us, we cannot expect our life without internet, it becomes a part of our daily life which makes everything accessible ease with just one click.    

The spreading of the internet with such lightning speed is a huge concern for the government because every good thing also has bad aspect. Every day we read in the newspaper/ on the television about the various cyber-crimes. 

Therefore cyberspace (internet) needs to be in law and order, where some of the rules apply so that we can penalise fraudster over the internet. So the government defined some sorts of rules and regulation for the cyberspace.

The internet is still in developing stage, thus you can assume what will be the future of the internet. Billions of people connected to the internet and every day millions become a victim of cybercrime.

If we talk about businesses, every growing business is connecting to the internet. And the transaction of these businesses is in huge amount. So to make this transaction safe then we need some rules and regulations.

So if anything over the internet goes wrong we have some defined laws, which we can use to defend our self and penalised the culprit. And to file the case regarding cyber world crimes we need someone who is in litigation and expert in cyber law i.e. Cybercrime victims will have to come to the Cyber lawyer to report the crime against him or his/her company for the further process of prosecuting the Cybercriminal.

Watch this video of Pavan Duggal about the future scope of Cyber Law. He is an advocate in Supreme Court of India and Cyber Law expert.

So if you are choosing Cyber Law as a career option after completing graduation in law then definitely your career is bright ahead. Day by day the requirement of cyber law experts going to increase as the crime over to the internet consequently growing.

Cyber Law is one of best career option among many other lawyer career path, thus it could be a great career option to opt after completing a bachelor of laws (LLB).  

 

Hope you got your answers related to Cyber Law Career path and now you know, How to become a Cyber Lawyer. If any doubt regarding this career option you can ask in the comment section below!