A human rights lawyer is a legal professional who focuses on protecting and promoting human rights and advocating for individuals and groups whose rights have been violated. A human rights lawyer is responsible for a wide range of duties such as drafting crucial legal documents, negotiating challenging agreements, researching legal issues and representing clients in the court. Many aspirants are prepared to enter the profession as the need for human rights attorneys is growing throughout the world. 

A good human rights lawyer has the capacity for critical and analytical thought, persuasive argumentation, strong deductive reasoning and effective communication. Human rights mainly include the rights to having a dignified existence regardless of caste, race, religion or socioeconomic status, whether one is rich or poor, white, black, brown or red. These rights cover civil, political, economic, social and other human rights as well as economic and social freedom. Powerful and demonised individuals and groups occasionally violate these rights all over the world.

For Bachelor’s

• Students must successfully complete their 10+2 in any stream with an overall mark average of 50% from an approved board.
• A Bachelor's degree in law (LL.B) or a Bachelor of Arts in Human Rights or a related field is a common starting point for individuals interested in becoming a human rights lawyer.

For Masters

• Candidates must have graduated with aggregate of 55% marks from an accredited university to be admitted in postgraduate programmes.
• Seekers must have an LLB or an equivalent degree from an esteemed university to be admitted to an LLM programme.

The main objectives of studying human rights law is to give students a thorough understanding of the subject and to improve their ability to uphold human rights. There are numerous job profiles in the area of human rights law study that can be used to carry out this task. 

• Professor
• Journalist
• Social Worker
• Researcher
• Government Lawyer
• Author
• Solicitor
• Barrister
• Social and Human Service Assistants 

The leading companies that employ human rights lawyers belong to the below-mentioned employment sectors or industries: 

• Private practice
• Supreme Court
• High Courts
• Colleges
• Institutes
• Universities
• NGOs
• Media Houses
• National Human Rights Commission
• National Commission for Women
• Real Estate Companies

Many companies employ human rights attorneys to provide legal services to settle disputes involving human rights cases. The top firms seeking human rights attorneys are as follows:

• Human Rights Law Network
• Managium Juris
• Path Legal
• Amnesty International India
• Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI)
• SS Global Law Firm
• Taneja Law Office
• People's Union for Civil Liberties
• Child Rights and You

A human rights lawyer's salary in India varies according to factors such as the size, type of organisation for which they work, their level of experience and their location.

The scope for human rights lawyers is broad and diverse, as they work to protect and promote the rights and freedom of individuals as well as marginalised communities.

• The human rights lawyers represent individuals and organisations in human rights cases, both domestically and internationally and work to ensure that the rights of their clients are protected and upheld.
• These lawyers engage in advocacy work, raising awareness of human rights issues and working to influence government policy along with legislation to protect human rights.
• They can work for humanitarian and development organisations such as the United Nations and NGOs, where they may be involved in designing and implementing human rights programs, monitoring human rights situations and providing technical assistance to human rights defenders.
• Such lawyers may work for international human rights bodies such as the United Nations, regional human rights courts and tribunals.

The benefits of a human rights law study include: 

• Human rights lawyers have the opportunity to make a meaningful and lasting impact on the lives of individuals and communities by working to protect and promote their rights and freedom.
• The scope for human rights lawyers is broad and diverse. Furthermore, they can work in a range of settings including litigation, advocacy, humanitarian, development organisations and international human rights bodies.
• Human rights law is an interdisciplinary field that draws on law, political science, sociology and other disciplines. Human rights lawyers also work in an international context, which provides opportunities to work on human rights issues in a global context and engage with human rights practitioners as well as scholars from around the world.
• Pursuing a career as a human rights lawyer can be personally rewarding, as human rights lawyers have the opportunity to work on issues they are passionate about and make a positive difference in the world.

The drawbacks of  being a human rights lawyer include: 

• These lawyers often deal with emotionally and mentally taxing cases, which can lead to burnout and stress.
• The human rights law is often underfunded and many human rights lawyers struggle to make ends meet.
• In some countries, human rights lawyers face physical danger and persecution for their work.
• Despite their best efforts, human rights lawyers may not always be able to bring about the change they desire, due to the political and legal obstacles.
• The demanding nature of the work and the emotional stress that comes with it can put strain on personal relationships.
• Human rights lawyers may face resistance and opposition from those who oppose their cause including government and other institutions.