Hello fellow readers,

I have three years of experience in data protection (work includes GDPR, DPDPA and other similar laws) in India and have worked with top-tier clients in this space. Since my law school days, I have aspired to work in Europe; however, I do not plan to pursue a foreign LLM, at this point of time.

I have seen some seniors, across different practice areas such as capital markets and M&A, move to foreign law firms after four to six years of experience; however, most of these transitions were to offices within Asia (say, Singapore or Dubai).

I would be grateful for guidance on whether it is realistically possible to enter a European law firm in the data protection/tech regulatory space without completing a foreign LLM. If yes, then how and if no, then how do I go about it?

Even if you or someone you know has made a similar move in another niche practice area (say, IPR, taxation, etc.) without an LLM, I would really appreciate you sharing those experiences, as they may be helpful for others exploring similar career paths.

Thank you in advance.

Are there any jobs with decent pay in Rajasthan for someone from a good law school who wants to reside in their home state? I can barely find any. I have a profile suitable for both commercial disputes and transactional work. I would appreciate responses only from those with concrete information about such opportunities. I am not seeking advice on whether I should move to Rajasthan or not.

Hey,

Was trying to read the other threads on ILTP, but everything seems to be moderated.

Question: I am an A2 in a tier 1 with an offer from ILTP. What are the things I should know? is the pay cut worth it? is the work life balance better?

Is there more peace of mind there? any comment would be helpful!

Contrary to this & the other comment saying it's better to intern at a T-1/T-2 than a chamber — if you want to get into litigation, chambers naturally offer an advantage and it is a fact of this profession that most chambers do NOT have the concept of salary slips, written contracts, etc. Some do, yes. Most of the ones that do are reputable, yes. That does not mean the ones who don't are not good places to be at, or that you should avoid them altogether (because, naturally, there's an opportunity cost involved).

A lot of counsel & senior counsel do not have such formal arrangements with their associates. Just ask around. To simply brush those offices aside is disingenuous.

And, if you try to "absolutely insist on getting these documents as mandatory obligation of the employer" (side-note: they're not your employer), they would simply scoff & rescind the offer. They do not want a smartass in the chamber. They want someone who can work, who can assist them, and in the process learn something for their own. Most of the litigating lawyers (including many successful, designated seniors) are not going to appreciate any indication from your end of thinking of them as your "employer", where they have any duty to provide you any documentation.

As for the OP — buddy, file your ITRs, show your bank statements. Most seniors - at least in Delhi - are also happy to give you certificates stating that you were associated with their office for such-and-such period. It's common. Tell them you're applying for a panel/employment/whatever and it's a requirement for that, and they would be happy to provide it to you.

Hi. I'm not aware of your specific circumstances, but please know that in most organizations of decent repute, they absolutely do provide requisite documentation. Please do not treat this as normal, and you must absolutely insist on getting these documents as a mandatory obligation of the employer.

You should always insist on formal confirmation of offer, an email works. For payment of salary, use you bank account statement. As a lawyer, always keep a record of your employment and salary in some way even if it may not be as some formal letter or salary slip. When I had to move from a litigation firm to a tier 1, I didn’t have a formal confirmation of offer from the litigation firm but I had the foresight then to record an email saying that as discussed I will be joining on xyz date.

AI will only make execution easier (at least for the first few decades). The choices and liability will still fall upon humans. And because AI will streamline execution throughout multiple economic sectors and will cut down time to complete a lot of tasks, naturally the sheer volume of economic activity will pile up. In the long run this shall make up for a decent enough job market.

Long story short, even though execution time for completing deals will shorten up the number of deals will increase. Therefore, unemployment due to AI should not be on your bucket list to lose sleep over.

hi so i did a callback internship at tri, got great feedback and had a great repo with the team i was an intern with, presentation was good as well but when i inquired about hiring post this, i was told that the team was not looking to hire anyone rn due to some internal restraints. Along with this, I was told that they would still like to share my CV with their HR team in case some other team in the practice wishes to hire. What do I make of this? How exactly do these internal referrals work in Trilegal? Do they actually convert or is this just a way to placate someone? Any insight on this would be appreciated!!!

No. The point is sometimes it's very subjective as to what gets selected. You may be a good candidate but your proposal may be lacking. Your proposla may be good but you may not have a guide for your subject.

I also agree that there should be more transparency, but I have known people without any jugaad or sources who have got it.

It's true. You better of connecting with your local MLA, MP or even judges. They'd help you secure a seat better than all the mumbo jumbo of written and interview. I know plenty who didn't clear the net yet got in a "part time" PhD through connections. This includes so called top NLUs and central universities.

No connections means No selection. Simple as that. People prefer their own people. An average student who has done his bachelors and masters in the same university is preferred over an above average student from different university simply because they know them better. It's like betting on a known fool than an unknown genius. Moreover, an average student would listen more to the advisors, a smarter student would want to work more and majority professors are lazy as fk. They don't want to be bothered with mentoring. Moreover if you don't have a reservation then high chances that you'd only get in by being a 1%, like getting 99.9 in NET to balance out the abysmal low scores of interview. Best bet is to move abroad for higher studies since there they would at least respect your hustle to bring something new. Go to shodharthi and look at the recent research phd in law, majority are the same tried and trodden topics that we researched a decade ago, or two if we compare to international standards. In short, academia is only for getting a steady income job with less hassle than litigation. If you genuinely want to do good research, go abroad.

Is it true that NLUs only allow their own cohert or known students to clear the PhD admission process? I saw that most NLUs do not publish the final marks. They just come out with a list of names of selected individuals. I have even seen JRF candidates not being selected. Few NLUs even have final semester students being selected, how's that possible? Can anyone help me crack this interview without connections ???? I desperately need to start a PhD this year to get a promotion in academia.

Context below. I saw the chat screenshots. If I assume it is NOT fabricated, then it’s clearly taken from a chat on an iPhone. How is it possible for someone to gain access to such sensitive data? Are RAW or IB or BJP IT Cell using sophisticated hacking tools to spy on citizens? I thought iPhones are tough to hack into?

https://m.economictimes.com/news/new-updates/mahua-moitra-files-fir-over-fabricated-leaked-chats-circulating-on-x-and-other-social-media-platforms/amp_articleshow/127981742.cms

https://english.mathrubhumi.com/amp/news/india/mahua-moitra-files-fir-over-fabricated-leaked-chats-with-prashant-kishor-on-social-media-fo1f27u2

I mean I like her work on Sukanya Shantha, but do you ever wonder if these academics who have been rewarded over and over in academia for making things about their identity have any incentive to question their priors ?

Is this carceral approach going to help ? Is it not ? Would a caste neutral law actually work better ? Civil rights act in the US worked and it got buy in because of its neutrality. It was a principled position. What does it mean for obcs to be a protected category when caste atrocities are committed by OBCs ?

Maybe it’s a grift going on , or maybe it’s just indoctrination. But if your whole deal in life is to fight for caste equality- why would you dismiss out of hand earnest arguments about legal design that are supported by empirical evidence ? Why would you not take the project seriously enough to genuinely engage with your opponents rather than only talk to people who already agree with you ?

I am from a mediocre private university, which places maybe 2% of the batch through RCC and 10-15% overall land jobs before graduating and I got in without contacts or cold emailing so not true at all. Your CV needs to stand out and be much better to compensate the difference in law school pedigree.

I see it every day on forums like this: talented young lawyers and students asking into the void: "How do I move into VC?" "How do I get into a Strategy role?" "Is an MBA the only way out?"

The advice you get is often "the blind leading the blind" or geared toward staying on the traditional treadmill.

If you’ve spent years mastering the law but feel like you’re being sidelined as "Technical Support" while the MBAs make the big decisions, you are facing the Specialist’s Trap. I want to give back to this community by helping a few of you break out of it.

The Reality: Law schools train us to be excellent "Risk Detectors." We find why things won't work. The Opportunity: Business leaders pay for "Value Creators." They need people who find ways to make things work despite the risk.

When you try to pivot, your legal CV actually works against you. It screams "Compliance" when it needs to scream "Commercial."

I’m launching a weekend pilot: The Strategic Pivot Lab.

I’ve made this transition myself—from Law (NALSAR/UChicago) to building strategic deal. I’m testing a new framework to help lawyers translate their technical skills into business assets.

I am looking for 3-4 people for a 45-minute structured session to:

1. Audit your Narrative: Identify exactly where you sound like a "Safe Pair of Hands" instead of a "Growth Driver."
2. Deconstruct your CV: Strip away the legalese and rebuild your experience around commercial outcomes and deal logic.
3. The "Imposter" Fix: How to hold your own in a room full of business leaders without feeling like you’re just there to check the fine print.

This is a free, pro-bono initiative. I’m not selling a course; I’m giving back by stress-testing my framework with real-world profiles from this community.

Stop scrolling message boards and start rebuilding your narrative. Apply here:https://prashantroy.com/pivot-lab

The most surprising thing about this is that most of the folks in these firms living such brutal lives are rich kids and come from lot of wealth. In many cases, they might be inheriting as much as they would earn in their lifetime. There are various reasons why they do this- a) many think its temporary and hope for a better life as inhouse counsels b) many come from families where their parents used to work long hours so the environment makes them think its no big deal.

c) peer pressure- you see folks around you managing the system and work without struggling as much as you do; hence, you want to prove yourself and work harder.

d) some inner desire to prove yourself

e) Money (both in short run and long run). Tax benefits in short run and the money as you earn in the long run as a partner attracts lot of folks as well especially those who are upper middle class (by this I mean folks who can afford jindal nlu fees but not anything more).

What surprised me most was middle class and upper middle class folks saying no to this life and looking instead for govt jobs and inhouse counsel jobs but folks who are above them willing to grill long hours.