Careers Counsel

Uber Technologies general counsel (GC) Salle Yoo and Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas regional managing partner Pallavi Shroff reflected on their journey as women in the legal profession, at NLU Delhi on Thursday. NLUD was hosting a Townhall question and answer (Q&A) session titled UberDIALOGUES, on the launch of its annual three-day cultural fest Kairos.

Bishen Jeswant, who left a well-paid corporate law job a year ago to start reporting about cricket, shares some of his experiences and thoughts in changing careers.

How does a business lawyer or strategic advisor add value to his client? How can these skills be demonstrated in an interview by a fresher or a lateral hire or in a client meeting? Legal entrepreneur Abhyudaya Agarwal discusses strategies.

Legally India’s resident agony aunt and uncle answer a concerned mother’s queries about whether her son’s potential career choice of law is a good one, or whether it would leave him a broken shell of a man.

In an effort to eradicate bad cover letters and job applications, we will occasionally be featuring the worst of the emails and approaches we receive. All identifiable details have been redacted or replaced. Please forward any other gems and we will select the best of the worst. Comments are welcome.

Subject: Hi

Hello....
M glad2knw dat U R in ma Linkedin ntwrk.....actually v R of same profession,m doing ma law in business laws from NLU [Harvard] and ofcourse U R too from similar background.....may b it can be helpfull for ny future legal upcuming events for both of us.....so frankly speaking I just want to b in contact wid U and like2add U on Facebook too plzz add me dare....here is ma ID of FB with ma contact no....
[…]@gmail.com
Mob.no: 00000000000(call me if necessary)
Will b waiting4ur response

Dear Aunty & Uncle. I am a fourth year from a lesser-known law school in Delhi, which has no placement committee, and my parents have no legal background. How can I get a corporate law job?

Aunty and Uncle are taking a break this week, but Legally India editor Kian Ganz shares his opinion in today’s Mint on whether there is any point for an Indian lawyer to do an LLM abroad. Also covered is Gap Yah, pathology and how a Harvard LLM can make you more attractive to the opposite sex.

Click through to read the rest.

Dear Aunty & Uncle. I just started at a reputed firm and the senior associate sitting next to me watches pornography on his work computer.

Dear Aunty & Uncle. I want to start a law firm. Please advise.

Dear Aunty & Uncle. The salaried partner who supervises me is stopping me from progressing in my career. He is competent but I know that I am better than he is technically. But he treats me like a dumb doll, which I’m not. He doesn’t allow me to meet clients and always shields me from the equity partners and barely lets me talk in meetings. What can I do?

Yours, National Law School Victim

Dear Aunty & Uncle. I am at the Delhi office of [a third-tier law firm] doing general corporate commercial work. I graduated four years ago from a reputed law school. I know I am good enough to join [a first or second-tier firm] that does more corporate transactional work. Please revert back.

Three life lessons and the top eight tips to help you bag those law firm and advocate internships.

We asked Careers Counsel what they do with a stack of CVs and cover letters sitting on their desks.

One partner calls them "covering letters that make life easier: one look and you don't look again!" Since sometimes the best instruction is (bad) example, Careers Counsel has compiled some of the worst real life cover letters. If your current cover letter looks anything like these, change it. Now!

Dear Careers Counsel, how do I write the perfect cover letter to swing that high-paying law firm job?

Question: I am a law third year law student. How do I write a good CV to get a job with a law firm after graduation?