Who is a Human Rights Lawyer?
The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened ~ John F. Kennedy
In a career as a human rights lawyer, individuals defend human rights and hold belligerent groups, states and companies accountable in a court of law if they have committed human rights violations and abuses. We, all are entitled to several rights from our birth. These rights include living a dignified life no matter which caste, race, religion, or economic background you belong to, whether you are poor or rich, whether you are white, black, brown or red. These rights include political rights, civil rights, economic rights, social rights and other human rights.
These rights are violated around the world from time to time by powerful and vilified groups and individuals. Students need to pursue LLB (Bachelor of Legislative Law), and LL.M (Master of Legislative Law) to opt for careers in human rights and social justice. In this article, we will discuss the details of human rights lawyer's career path, such as human rights lawyer salary in India, what do human rights lawyers do, how to become a human rights lawyer in India, and how long does it take to become a Human Rights lawyer.
Human Rights Lawyer in a Nutshell
Individuals in the human rights lawyer career path are legal professionals responsible for advocating for people whose inherent dignity has been violated and who have suffered a lot of injustice. They take cases to defend the human rights of minorities, vulnerable populations, the LGBTQI community, indigenous people and others.
Quick Facts for Human Rights Lawyer
Average Salary in India
₹66666.5Industry
LawSuitable for
Male, Female, OthersAny Special Needs
YesSuitable for - Male, Female, Others
A career as a human rights lawyer is suitable for everyone regardless of gender. Anyone having the required skill sets and education can become a human rights lawyer.
Any Special Needs - Yes
A career as human rights lawyer is suitable for individuals with special needs. Individuals can work as legal advisor and find desk-based jobs in legal firms and corporate companies.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents for Human Rights Lawyer
- What is the role of Human Rights Lawyer?
- What is the workplace/work environment of Human Rights Lawyer like?
- How to become a Human Rights Lawyer?
- What are the skills and qualities required to become a/an Human Rights Lawyer?
- Which certifications and internships can be helpful in becoming Human Rights Lawyer?
- Career path progression for Human Rights Lawyer
- Human Rights Lawyer Jobs and Salaries
What is the role of Human Rights Lawyer?
Individuals who opt for a career as a human rights lawyer draft important legal documents, negotiate difficult settlements and advocate for human rights violation cases in courts. He or she performs research on legal cases and the court’s judgements. It is the responsibility of the advocates for human rights to protect the inherited dignity of individuals. He or she may work for non-profit organisations or human rights watch.
Advocate
A human rights lawyer is responsible for advocating cases in the court concerning the harm to an individual’s inherited dignity, violation of civil rights or human rights.
Interview
A human rights lawyer's job requires to interview his or her client to know the extent of the matter, and what kind of violations have been done to him or her. A human rights lawyer gathers the information to advocate the case in court by interviewing people involved in the case.
Documentation
A human rights lawyer's work responsibilities involve the documentation of legal contracts or court proceedings. Those who work with legal firms, corporate offices, and NPOs are usually required to spend most of their time researching and documenting.
Investigation
A human rights lawyer is responsible for investigating the case. He or she has to provide strong evidence in the case. A human rights lawyer is required to ensure the facts are accurate to be presented in a court of law. Are you searching for how to become human rights lawyer in India? Scroll and read the article.
What is the workplace/work environment of Human Rights Lawyer like?
A career as a human rights lawyer provides employment opportunities at human rights courts, legal firms, corporate companies, media houses, non-profitable organisations, human rights organisations or human rights watches. The work environment of a human rights lawyer is similar to that of other specialised lawyers. He or she spends most of the hours in research, reading, drafting and documentation work. Careers in human rights and social justice are all about research through computer databases, the internet, and books available in the library.
Travel Dependency - Likely
Individuals who opt for a career as a human rights lawyer may often require travel to meet clients and appear in courts on behalf of their clients. Travelling requirements often depend on the location of the court. Human rights defenders may also require to travel to collect evidence or information to protect the human rights of their clients.
Employment Shifts - Full Time, Part Time, Hourly Basis, Work From Home
There are no specific fixed shifts in a career as a human rights lawyer. Those who work with a legal firm may have a fixed schedule. There are extended work hours involved in research and documentation for a human rights defender.
Employment Nature - Contractual, Permanent
In a career as human rights lawyer, individuals can find employment on both bases contractual and permanent. He or she may work with NPOs, human rights watch and other organisations on a contractual basis for fixed cases or duration.
Work Place - Office, Work From Home, Law Firm, Human Rights Court
Individuals who opt for a career as a human rights lawyer may work for human rights courts as well as non-governmental organisations or human rights watch. He or she may also find opportunities in law firms, companies and chambers that function for protecting the human rights of minorities.
Geographical Area - Urban, Rural, Semi-urban
The advocates for human rights are usually located in developed areas that come under an urban geographical location. Human rights courts are usually located in urban cities. There is the least scope for human rights defenders in rural areas.
Time Pressure - Likely
There is extreme time pressure in a career as a human rights lawyer. He or she is required to deadlines and appear in court on the scheduled time and date.
Overtime
Individuals who opt for a career as human rights lawyers get involved in working extended hours. It requires investigating, collecting information, research and documentation of legal papers and proceedings of the court.
Work Hours - 40
The work hours of human rights lawyers are often extended. There is no fixed shift. The work pressure may often result in working odd hours. Careers in human rights and social justice come with the sole responsibility to provide justice to the victim by the law. In a career as human rights lawyer, an individual's work hours vary depending on the case and the time it demands research, collection of evidence and documentation.
How to become a Human Rights Lawyer?
If you are someone who helps people to safeguard their fundamental rights or human rights then you must opt for a career as a Human Rights Lawyer. If you are willing to become a Human Rights Lawyer and looking for the details on how to become a Human Rights Lawyer in India then we have mentioned below some of the steps for you to know how to become a Human Rights Lawyer in India.
If you are searching for how long does it take to become a Human Rights lawyer or how to become a Human Rights Lawyer in India then you must first know what are the skills required to become a Human Rights Lawyer. Below, we have mentioned some of the soft skills and hard skills required to become a Human Rights Lawyer in India.
Some of the soft skills that are required to become a Human Rights Lawyer are communication skills, critical thinking, analytical skills, organisational skills and attention to detail.
Interpersonal skills
Debating, Persuasion
Negotiation Skills
Public speaking
Presentation skills
Resilience
Apart from the soft skills you are also required to possess some hard skills to become a Human Rights Lawyer in India such as legal research, litigation, contract review and appeals.
Research and writing
Project management
Legal advice
Client management
Ms Office
Powerpoint
What are the skills and qualities required to become a/an Human Rights Lawyer?
There are several requirements to opt for careers in human rights and social justice. We have mentioned below some skills required in the human rights lawyer career path.
Communication Skills: The advocates for human rights must be proficient at communicating. He or she must be able to clearly speak in order to advocate and defend human rights cases in court. Proficiency in writing is also crucial to preparing legal documents.
Debating and Negotiation Skills: As a human rights lawyer, you’ll be required to negotiate and debate in the courts to defend civil rights or human rights cases. It requires to be factually correct to hold accountable states, companies or belligerent groups for violations of human rights.
Research Skills: A human rights lawyer requires to research previous similar cases. It gives an idea of possible outcomes of the court’s judgement and what kind of evidence should be present in the court to support the case and make it strong against the opposition.
Ability to Work Under Pressure: Individuals who opt for a career as a human rights lawyer require to work extended hours. On average most advocates for human rights work more than 40 hours. He or she must be able to work under tight deadlines.
Resilience: A career as a human rights lawyer requires to emphasise on people. It requires understanding their emotional breakdown, suffering, and the extent of trauma or depression they have caused due to poor treatment done by other groups.
Popular Online Law Courses and Certifications
Which certifications and internships can be helpful in becoming Human Rights Lawyer?
We have provided below certification courses that aspiring individuals may opt to upgrade their skills and knowledge for a career as human rights lawyers.
Internship Availability - Yes
Are you searching for how to become human rights lawyer? Internships play a crucial role in acquiring a full-time job. Individuals can opt for internships during their semester break or after the completion of an LLB programme. One can opt for LLM in human rights specialisation and start working under an established human rights lawyer. A human rights law intern's work involves research, drafting and documentation.
Career Path Progression for Human Rights Lawyer
Junior Human Rights Lawyer: A junior human rights lawyer stays involved in research, reading and documentation. He or she generally possesses experience of one to four years in the industry.
Senior Human Rights Lawyer: A senior human rights lawyer defends human rights cases in courts. He or she defends the human rights of refugees, minorities, LGBTQI, indigenous people and others.
Human Rights Lawyer Jobs and Salaries
Senior Human Rights Lawyer
Average Monthly Salary:₹100000
Job Description
A senior human rights lawyer is responsible for advocating cases in the court of law on behalf of victims of abuse, civil rights violations or persecution.
Salary Description
A senior human rights lawyer could earn more than Rs. 1,200,000 per annum. It could be more depending on the location and the experience of the individual.
Junior Human Rights Lawyer
Average Monthly Salary:₹33333
Job Description
A junior human rights lawyer stays involved in research and documentation work. He or she deals with cases of violation of human rights or civil rights.
Salary Description
On average, a human rights lawyer who is just starting could earn more than Rs. 400,000 per annum.
What is the job outlook for Human Rights Lawyer?
Violations of human rights have become a global problem. The cases of genocide and ethnic terror in the middle east have shaken the world. There are millions of cases of human trafficking of men, women and children. They are forced into labour, prostitution and exploited terrifically. Religious and racial discrimination has been a common practice in several places around the world. Forced ethnic conversion and torture are being done on minorities to a greater extent.
Such constant scenarios have resulted in high demand for human rights lawyer to prosecute and hold accountable state, companies and belligerent groups in the court of law who has been involved in such practice. Advocating for human rights is one of the dignified careers. It provides individuals with the utmost respect and a sense of responsibility. Careers in human rights and social justice come with various perks and benefits including a good salary. There are no fixed working hours for human rights jobs.
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Frequently Asked Questions for Human Rights Lawyer
The top recruiters of human rights lawyers are Child Relief and You, Amnesty International India, People’s Union for Civil Liberties, Human Rights Law Network and Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative.
The top employers of human rights lawyers are United Nations, non-profitable organisations, non-governmental organisations, human rights watch, legal firms and corporate companies.
We have provided below a list of human rights law institutes are
There are various other career options for human rights lawyer such as professor, social worker, legal advisor, human rights defender, journalist, researcher, solicitor and barrister.
To become a Human Rights Lawyer, it will take around seven to 8 years after you complete your 10+2. You must opt for a formal degree and clear the bar exam and gain work experience.
