Hi JA,
All students who graduate this year can get enrolled with the Bar Council as Advocates, once University provides them with provisional pass certificate. Now these students who get placed in law firms start working right from May or June, because they are law graduates and are eligible to work as retainers in firms (without appearing for AIBE).
You can be an advocate when you are registered with the Bar Council. People in Corporate law firms need not even appear for AIBE as they do not have to do court related work, but it is advisable that all law grads should appear for AIBE in case they want to join litigation in future.
Understand what an AIBE does. It allows you to appear and plead in Court of Law. If you have not cleared the exam and haven’t received the ‘Certificate of Practice’, you cannot appear as an advocate in Court. Also keep in mind that a new guy is not allowed to plead in Court, the senior guy does. Therefore, till AIBE you will be doing practically everything including research, drafting, working on cases, witnessing Court proceedings etc. If you are in a Corporate firm, you don’t even have to bother about AIBE, just get enrolled as an Advocate. But AIBE is cakewalk, why not appear for it.
To cut short, don’t worry about AIBE as of now. The firm/advocate would grant you leave, you can fly down to Guwahati to take the exam. You can start working as an associate before AIBE. If you join litigation, you will start arguing only after clearing AIBE.
Lastly, If you join any company as in house counsel, being a law graduate would suffice.
Regards,
PR