A lawyers’ work routine can not only supplement but also complement preparation for one of the world’s most-failed exams, while failure, even if undeserved, can be a boon. So reads a page in the book of NLSIU Bangalore 2007 graduate Gitanjali Brandon, who secured rank 6, the highest ever for any national law university graduate, at the UPSC civil services exam 2011.
The former Amarchand Mangaldas Mumbai associate will now join the Indian Foreign Services (IFS).
But before that, she has traditional UPSC topper rites to perform: keeping a tirade of media and government officer engagements. She came here via a profession that has given her “just so much”, she says. “Law has played a big role in shaping my need to do this.”
The Beginning: A life mostly legal
“In law school, I never gave writing this exam a serious thought,” reflects Brandon who adds that nevertheless she did have a constant inclination to join the United Nations or another government organisation.
Active participation in NLS’ law and society committee was one of many ways in which she channelled her interests centred on international trade and environment law and development issues during law school. Co-founding the Indian Journal of International Economic Law was another notable endeavour.
Her debating prowess was reflected in her Worlds, All-Asians debate, and NLS adjudication performances that reinforced her suitability for diplomacy as a career option.
However, at the end of final year at law school, she headed to Amarchand Mumbai as a capital markets associate.
“I got a PPO [pre placement offer] from Amarchand Mumbai while I was interning with them in my final year; they wanted to recruit me in the capital markets department. At that point I was not 100 per cent clear,” she recounts. “It was a steep learning curve and an excellent opportunity, so I thought why not, and I’ll take it from there. While working, it was extremely interesting and challenging.”
But staying confined to a single practice area for the next 20 years in a “9 to 5, or rather, 9 to 12 job”, she jokes, and making partner, was not the plan. Instead, saving money, pursuing a masters' degree and ending up with a research organisation, a think tank, or in legal academia, was more like it.
And then the subconscious card played itself.
Sitting on the window sill
A civil servant father, a social scientist mother, and a peer group full of NLS graduates from the World Bank, the Red Cross Society, Amnesty International and the United Nations had their own influence on Brandon.
Conversations growing up were public-service oriented, and the thrill of globally representing a billion-strong country was appealing in itself.
“I thought I’d much rather contribute actively to India’s foreign policy instead of just writing papers and critiques from afar, which of course have their own importance,” explains the diplomat-to-be.
The fancy of appearing for the exam finally hit her. She put in her papers at Amarchand in August 2008, and returned home to Jaipur to start preparation.
Of UPSC and other engagements
Ironically, a new work profile – becoming “independent legal consultant” - kicked off her study “leave”.
“I couldn’t possibly be studying all the time, and couldn’t be confined to a room or a house. I would be so bored out of my mind. I really needed to be working, and preparation was not possible with a 16 to 17 hour law firm job. But you can’t put your life on hold just because you are taking this exam,” she declares.
For two years she prepared for the civils and assisted pro bono with research and drafting work for advocates, civil service organisations and even the UNICEF hunger project.
Even after the mains exam of 2011, she interned with the Delhi-based Centre for Equity Studies headed by former IAS Shri Harsh Mander, currently member of the prime minister's advisory council, and helped in preparing policy briefs
But she stopped short of accepting the Bhopal-based National Judicial Academy law associate position she was offered, in the interest of her exam prep.
Of consistency and (avoidable) caffeine
Are the famous tales of the wise UPSC aspirant who spaced his 15 hours of daily study prep only with healthy eating and timely sleeping breaks, tall or true?
Brandon is quick to dismiss the “15 hours” capsule as a dangerous myth, but she warns, in the same breath, against inconsistency and indiscipline.
“Even when I was starting out, I was overawed by the fact that all these toppers say that they prepare for 15 hours daily. But that is humanly impossible,” she maintains. “What I really did wrong was, that I used to let things pile up for three to four weeks in between, and then would have panic attacks, even as little as two months away from the exams.”
Brandon got away with three to four hours of prep a day, and on some days not even that. Consistency, and not quantity, she holds is the key in these exams which have seen a marked changed in their approach over the last four years.
“The UPSC is not asking textbook-ish questions anymore. Examiners want good administrators, who really understand the letter and spirit of things,” she notes.
“This exam is not so much a sprint as a marathon race. It is almost a two-year long process and it is advisable to keep your motivation levels up, preferably form study groups and divide the work, and take care of your health.”
“Motivation does tend to lag, but it is better to be consistent than depend too much on caffeine.”
Strategic planning
She recommends a steady diet of national dailies, news magazines, law commission reports and case law digests to keep abreast of domestic and international developments.
Reading landmark decisions and smart use of online resources, notably, Legal Resource India, Law and Other Things, Legally India, do away with the requirement for taking coaching classes for optional subjects, she explains.
For the interview she has a special warning for lawyers. “Unlike engineers, lawyers would not be forgiven for not being articulate and able to make out their case well, and that has little to do with language and diction.”
Shining through dark times
Only 12 marks first separated Brandon from the destiny which was not hers.
In 2011, Brandon had made her second attempt at cracking the civils, having failed the first time after a score of 15 out of a total 200 marks in a 2010 mains essay paper which finally contributed to excluding her from the interview list by 12 marks.
The former law journal editor recounts reporting back at the time, to her parents, that that particular essay was the best of all her answers. She remembers discussing it at length with an NUJS Kolkata friend and fellow examinee, who had written an almost identical essay.
The NUJS pal cleared the civils that year and is now in the income tax services, while Brandon’s representation to the examination board, as to an obvious clerical error in evaluation was rejected.
Were the representation accepted, Brandon estimates she would have gone on to hold close to rank 100.
The IFS, which was her resolute aim, accepts only around the top 50 ranks.
“This exam is like a small microcosm of life. It is best to take it on your chin,” she reflects today.
Of plan B
True to form, Brandon the lawyer had done her own cost-benefit analysis and prepared her very own list of pros and cons before taking the plunge of risking a cushy and lucrative corporate law job for this examination.
Foremost, she was counting on her NLS resume adorned with good internships to land her a top LLM admission to help break into law and policy. Alternatively, she was willing to take seniority cuts to return to the corporate law scene. Her independent legal consultancy experience was going to come in handy here.
If all else failed, she would take recourse to her lifelong accompaniment – her advocates’ enrolment card, and litigate “for basic bread and butter”.
“Friends, acquaintances, and even people from my extended family had warned me of the dicey and unpredictable nature of the step I was taking. But for me too it was not an overnight decision.”
Life post-law
Failure and fallbacks behind her, Brandon’s goals for the future are set.
While hoping to specialise in energy diplomacy and international trade law and also eyeing a chance to be India’s cultural ambassador, she is simultaneously keen to employ her legal training in the civil services.
She wants to publish books and papers on legal developments, undertake legal scholarships and bring a practitioner’s skill to the bureaucratic table.
“Undoubtedly, your training in law really equips you to read between the lines, read the fine print, and be able to put forth very very logically consistent arguments. It is a great skill for a diplomat to have,” she notes.
A penny for every believer
The diplomat-in-the-making admits that what she has chosen is not as lucrative as what she has left behind, but she is compensated by the feeling of following a passion, and being exposed to “unparalleled opportunities” to interact with “the best of minds” while at it.
Brandon’s list of NLS graduates who have left behind lucrative legal careers to sit for this exam and go on to crack it includes 1998's Srikar, who is presently special secretary to UIDAI chairman Nandan Nilekani, Abu Nathen George and Aparna Ray, both in the IFS, and Ashutosh Salil and Cyril Darlong Diengdoh in the IAS.
Apart from these, she mentions six to seven high performers from her junior batches at NLS, who are presently preparing to sit for the exam.
“I know there’s just a trickle at this time,” she says but adds, “I would really like that people interested in international issues give a serious thought to joining the civil services. It is an unparalleled platform for being actually able to impact directly and help bring a lot of change.”
As for the raison d’etre for lawyers to join the services, she believes that the very presence of law among the core subjects at the training, speaks for itself.
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Yup. It was ludicrous and shocking! No one ever gets such low marks, even if they've written utter drivel. And, I thought that that was my best paper. So it was extremely disturbing. But there was not much to be done, but to move on from there and look forward :)
Wasn't he the one who also cracked CAT and made to IIM- Calcutta?
this is surely emanating from the typical topper rite! naming the coaching centre who publishes a picture as being instrumental in the preparation!
Brandon..Congratulations!
But I think you could have done without the LI reference! (Or was it the editors input :-) )
@LI- No offence but LI is definitely not UPSC prep material!
Hi Scooter,
Valid point mate. Never used LI as 'UPSC prep material', more as a forum to stay in touch with what's new in the legal arena- law schools, firms and the like.
Just a correction though. The correct name of the IAS in question is Shri Harsh Mander and not Mandal.
Thank you for pointing out.
The name has now been corrected.
Best wishes,
Prachi
Hi Anon,
Nope, had a lot of things on my plate other than UPSC prep in the time period that you've mentioned. And also, most people actually do not drop out after the first attempt at all..Shena Aggarwal, Rank 1 this year was also CPMT Topper and an AIIMS grad- this was her third attempt, I can direct you to the blogs and interviews of several ex-IIT/IIM/Doctors/Lawyers who've gone on to devote more time than I have and while doing simply this, to boot (unlike me). All NLS grads mentioned in the article (but one) had taken more than one attempt at the exam. If you do want to know, perhaps you could lose the Anon tag and send me your email address. :)
Son, why don't you take 4 attempts and get me a rank 6.. or even 600. Your statement speaks volumes about your knowledge of UPSC exams and preparation. You have no idea what it takes to even reach the interview stage, forget getting through.
I would like to know wch two subjects did u choose for mains??
Hi Carol,
I took Law and Sociology as my optionals.
Gitanjali
Gitanjali,
Do you think your decision to take law as a subject reaped its benefits. Did law school prepare you enough to tackle it at the UPSC level?
Frankly this is awful writing... Kian you need to pull up your socks.
There is a limit to insanity. U just hopped over that line, my friend. Do you know that even IIM-A grads sit for UPSC exams? As per you they shouldn't as they can join BCG, Morgan Stanley, Investment banks and earn millions.
Do you know that IPS/IRS take up UPSC exams all over again so that they can qualify for IAS/IFS? Do you even know what does IFS/IAS stand for?
Babu-cracy?? You should read up articles on how much difference does a sincere IAS make to a district. They are the people who get electricity, roads, water and work for all round development of your native village.
There is a limit to insanity.
One, these five year law courses at the top law schools are structured very differently from rote learning which is what the upsc is all about. A little bit of study is all it takes to perform reasonably well in most law papers. After 5 yrs of that stuff acclimatising to a UPSC style paper and prep takes a lot of recalibration, which is why plenty of intelligent lawyers either dont bother or cant clear the UPSC. The fact that there are just 5-6 grads from NLS out of maybe 1100+ alumni demonstrates my point.
Second, UPSC requires an additional subject apart from law. It's usually history or pol science. These are at BA Pass levels of prep and again, not easy for a typical law schoolite for whom its a completely new subject, notwitstanding the first/second trimester pitiful pol science paper.
Third, the amount of prep needed is considerable. The investment in time is huge. Its impossible to do that while working in a law firm or even a a junior to a senior counsel. With a prof degree from NLSIU or NALSAR or NUJS, the path to a successful career in law is open for the taking. I would not give all that up for a slight chance at an IFS/IAS job howsoever inviting, but thats just me speaking. If I was that keen on getting an IAS job, I would have tried for St Stephens or Hindu College, camped in Delhi for 3 years and crammed throughout.
Ya, ya I know plenty of trolls will say this is sour grapes but its not. I did think about the UPSC once, but I admitted to myself that a law school path pretty much foreclosed that option and its not necessarily a loss for me. Focussing on core competencies is to me more important than trying for something new. Thats why I find it silly when law school grads talk big about going to McKinsey and doing an MBA.
Congratulations to Gitanjali. I am sure it is a case of hard work being rewarded.
UPSC is about immense passion and zeal. It is absolutely a personal choice and I would say it takes a lot of courage to quit a lucrative job and prepare for UPSC. More than anything, it is mentally very tough. No other course grad or post grad "prepares" you for UPSC. Be it law grad or Sanskrit grad, both would be on same footing. An engineer or doctor or lawyer has to take the prelims exam which is common and consists of logical reasoning and general knowledge, and not restricted to that. They can ask you anything and everything under the sun. That is what makes it such a difficult exam.
If at all a person clears prelims is he/she eligible for Mains. A person who is an engineer cannot choose two subjects from his engineering degree, same is for medical students and lawyers. Everyone has to study a new subject due to combination restrictions. We lawyers as social scientist have an advantage of taking up Public Ad or Sociology as an optional subject.
Again to reinstate, it is about personal goals/dedication/interst if a person would want to go for UPSC or MBA.
One question which I have in my mind is regarding your choice of Sociology over Pub. ad, as most of people prefer later. What was the reason behind selecting sociology?
Firstly, take a break, dud. Secondly, research on what does an IFS do? Thirdly, Imagine if you were held hostage in Congo by rebels, guess who would be there to help you in first place? Yes my friend that would be our Indian embassy at Congo (and IFS is not restricted to that).
Apart from IAS/IPS, even IFS people "practically help our country"
There are a lot of people who appear for UPSC after preparing for one year (or even two in some cases) just because they don't want to 'waste' their attempt. If they get through, it is said the guy cracked UPSC in the first attempt.
Also, there are a lot of people who appear for UPSC just after completing their graduation or during their post grad (without much preparation) just to get hang of things.
What is important is how many years does a person invest for CSE? (Irrespective whether it is his/her first attempt or not). Basically my understanding is that most of the people require at least two years of hard work to get through, mostly that is.
Regards,
PR
Hi Gitanjali, many congratulations for cracking the UPSC exams. However, I would like to let u know that since the days of Nehru our foreign policy sucked. Hardworking IFS officers had made innumerable recommendations to the Ext Affairs Ministry but the Govt. did not give any serious thought on such ideas. Even today, our government is bowing to US hypocrisy by cutting down Iranian oil imports. We make bilateral agreements with China accepting clauses mostly favouring China. So, to cut the long story short, ultimately the decision making depends on the Ministry and IFS officers do not have much option but to remain silent. I wish they could really make the difference.
Please don't get me wrong but I believe the politicians do not give the IFS officers their due respect and continue to ignore their suggestions.
LI could have covered that story.
Congratulations kid. And all the best. I am sure you can count on the likes of Aparna, etc to be helpful / supportive as needed.
Good going, lady.. the journey has but just begun. Hope you stay strong throughout!
Cheers
Now after so many years I am inspired to take Civil Services examination, thanks to her.
Congo Gitanjali we are all proud of you!!!
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