The way I see it, you should see a therapist and I do not mean that in negative way.
I think maybe due to lack of financial incentives you do not feel motivated to work as you do not see growth where you are so you feel demotivated. Also, you may not be enjoying the kind of work you are doing, combined with lack of connections with anyone at a place where you spend 9-10 hours at may zone you out.
You may have ADHD, but understand this, you are the captain of your own ship, you gotta understand the rewards that will come from your hardwork. That may motivate you.

I was in the same boat until a year ago. Every single thing you described was basically me, my entire life.

Then I got diagnosed with ADHD. Suddenly, everything made sense and I learnt what was actually going on. Over the past year, medications and therapy has helped me become more functional.

I am not claiming you have ADHD for sure, but it is a worthwhile thing to consider. Regardless, please see a psychiatrist (not a psychologist) who can actually diagnose you.

Good luck OP. I promise you things will get better.

About the four questions you are asking. Can only offer my own, personal perspective - this may or may not apply to you. I also agree with the other person who said you should speak to a therapist about it, to be sure.

1. Is this common in early years of litigation?

I'm six years into litigation & no, I have not felt this way, except for occasionally feeling burnt out or wanting to procrastinate over a weekend or so.

2. Do people become serious over time?

Time changes people, but to become serious or to loosen up would also be a matter of deliberate personal choice, I believe.

3. Discipline without motivation — just force yourself to do it over & over, I suppose. I might be wrong. But this is the only answer I've got.

4. Whether you lack work ethic or genuinely don't like litigation — do you feel similarly demotivated/disinterested towards other things? Do you feel inclined to do other things? I knew people who were passionate about other things & they gave up law to take those up full time.

😦😦

The legal issue is simple:

1. Whether natural justice is being followed

2. Whether natural justice can be waived in some cases

3. Whether GCs, being a numerical minority in colleges post 50% reservation, can face discrimination also.

But the complex question is the electoral politics. In India, 30% UCs vote for BJP and 18% Muslims vote for Congress/opposition. This makes the 50% SC/ST/OBC vote a swing vote. The BJP has swayed enough of them to win (especially non-Yadav OBCs and EBC/Mahadalits). To secure this vote further it enacted these rules. But the GCs felt it was a witch-hunt against them. So a battle between two competing voting blocs.

The big winner could be Rahul Gandhi and the Congress. I firmly believe that Rahul will be the next PM. Modi is finished.

Has anyone here served as a tribunal secretary for ad-hoc/institutional arbitrations? What is the general screening process? How did the opportunity come about? Is it possible without having to shell out 20k+ for those Tribunal Secretary training programmes? Please do share your experience, thanks!

But then again I think it would be difficult for me to get a job in T1 firms right now as I am from a no-name boutique firm. A lot of people have told me that my best shot is T2 or T3 firms. Is that true? My current salary is 50k/month which is too low for Mumbai. I am not able to manage my expenses with my current salary. So that is one of the main reasons why I want to shift to a better firm with better work and salary.

Unpopular opinion, but it needs to be said: legal journalism in India is becoming a bigger joke by the day. The space is increasingly being eclipsed by fan-girls asking Koffee with Karan–style questions, desperately attempting to extract “honest opinions” from lawyers—of all people—about judges, personal philosophies, and individuals.

Anyone who has spent any serious time in this profession knows a simple truth: lawyers do not speak their minds on camera. They have perceptions to protect.

That’s one end of the spectrum. On the other are “party-goers”—cringe to the absolute core, capable of putting even Orry to shame. IYKYK.

To all the self-styled “legal journalists” peddling this nonsense in the name of journalism—you know who you are—stop it. Forthwith. The profession already has enough cringe to contend with on LinkedIn and Instagram. With Delhi Bar Council elections around the corner, the self-promotional garbage is unbearable as it is. Don’t add to it.

The Laxman Rekha must end at Law Chakra’s highly dramatized, crass narration of court proceedings—rife with tacky AI and sound effects—and go no further! That said, I’d be lying if I didn’t admit it’s my guilty pleasure when I’m on the can at 7AM!

Hi everyone,

I’m a 2025 law graduate from Tamil Nadu. Right after college, I joined a US immigration law firm, where I currently work. While the exposure has been good, I’m planning to transition back to Indian law within the next year, since I don’t want to stay too long in a niche that may become irrelevant for Indian practice.

During law school, I did multiple internships in IP/media law (both advisory and litigation side), and I’m now seriously considering Technology, Media & Telecom (TMT) as my long-term practice area in India.

Before making the switch, I want to prepare myself better by doing TMT-focused internships, preferably remote/virtual, alongside my current role.

I had a few questions and would really appreciate guidance from seniors and practitioners here:

1. 1. Do Indian firms (especially TMT/media teams) take remote interns, particularly graduates or recent graduates?
2. 2. Are there any specific firms / boutiques / teams I should be targeting for TMT internships?
3. 3. Is transitioning into TMT at this stage a sound career decision given my background (US immigration + IP/media internships)?
4. 4. Realistically speaking, if I build strong TMT-specific skills, are firms actually hiring lateral juniors in this space?

Any insight on how to position myself better, what skills to focus on, or mistakes to avoid would be extremely helpful.

Thanks in advance!

Have opportunities for the Batch of 2026 in competition law genuinely dried up, or are law firms increasingly reluctant to hire freshers for entry-level roles? Additionally, which firms are currently most likely to offer assessment-based internship opportunities in competition law?

Legal500 and C&P are fairly genuine.

It is rare, but not unheard of, for very junior associates to be ranked. I had a friend who experienced this many years ago while still an associate. Typically, such associates are not formally nominated by their firms. Instead, when rankings researchers seek feedback directly from clients for the partners (who nominated such referees), the client may independently mention associates if they are particularly satisfied with their work or for whatever reason. Where the feedback is strong and positive, the associate may be ranked. In short, when an associate is ranked, it usually reflects either exceptional capability or a strong relationship with the referee.

My friend who was ranked, was an exceptional dude. He later on moved to a white shoe law firm.

Hi, OP here! Thank you for your insight. I wanted to also ask if they are only offering virtual internships right now, since mine is in August and I had the mail saying virtual onboarding. I genuinely did want to be in office in person, so I was hoping to write to them if it was possible to make it offline.

Please stop this “tier this, tier that” nonsense. It’s irrelevant.

C&M is arguably the only firm in India that genuinely specialises in competition and company law disputes—disputes being the operative word. The only other firm that once fit this profile was Gaggar. However, the main man, Mr Gaggar, is now a designated Senior Advocate, and it’s unclear what remains of the firm as a disputes practice.

Specialist firms have existed in India far longer than we like to admit. Anand & Anand is a specialist Tier-1 firm in the IP space. Hon’ble Ms Justice Pratibha M. Singh ran a specialist IP practice prior to her elevation. Vinod Dhall ran a specialist practice in the competition law advisory space. Obhan pre-merger was a Patients first firm.

On salaries: as a disputes-first firm, C&M’s junior-level compensation will never compete with Trilegal, SAM, CAM, or Khaitan at the A0/A1 level. That said, there is significantly greater scope to negotiate a larger share of the spoils for “business you originate as an equity partner”, compared to a large, full-service Tier-1 firm. The reason is simple. This is a semi-family-n-feins -run firm—lean, tightly structured, and without the insane operational overheads of firms like the aforementioned T1’s. Which, quite plainly, leaves more to go around…

Let’s have more intelligent conversations going forward. Please!

Request anyone to please share their review of the International Arbitration & Dispute Resolution [LLM (IADR)] course at National University of Singapore (NUS).

Further, if anyone can shed some light on the Double Degree Programme - NUS Master of Laws (International Arbitration and Dispute Resolution) (LLM (IADR)) & University of Geneva LLM in International Dispute Settlement (MIDS).

Can someone work at Singapore law firms, or at any other place after completing their LLM from NUS, if they have done their 5 year law course from India?

If you’ve been following the news, you’ll know that Mercedes has announced there will be no change in car prices in India. Over 90% of what it sells here is manufactured domestically. The depreciation of the rupee has neatly erased whatever marginal gains this trade deal was expected to deliver. What may still emerge, however, are better value propositions.

Which brings us to a basic life rule. Do not buy a German luxury car unless you earn at least ₹1 crore post tax annually and have at least another crore parked safely as savings. Anything else is fiscal vanity. A German car on EMI with no real savings isn’t aspiration—it’s poor judgment. Forget what bankers, neighbours, or Instagram think. By day two, even you won’t respect yourself when you see that car sitting in your parking lot.

I can only speak to NY - hours are bad, and probably as bad as India or worse. I do M&A, so its probably the worst in terms of wlb in NY but i do have friends in other practice groups that have a much more relaxed lifestyle and get paid the same obv -- I've heard UK firms in london have better balance but no first hand experience. Don't move for work life balance..

Why do people in PE/M&A teams of most law firms doing mostly very basic SSAs and SHAs have such a snobbish tone? The best PE and M&A works is done by 1-2 teams in any law firm. Rest everyone is doing run-of-the-mill work. Not a comment on this team but it is not even worth discussing.

Can someone please explain me, how well does tier 1 firm's litigation teams get paid? and how do they compare with traditional firm practice in litigation like Mulla&Mulla or Karanjawala & Co. or Crawford Bayley & Co.

Which ones are better? Can someone explain me pros and cons of both sides??

Senior advocate Indira Jaising, on student groups protesting UGC equity rules and demanding its rollback, says, "The petition was filed in 2019 because we found the 2012 regulations were inadequate. I am a bit surprised by the reaction. It appears to be a very 'upper caste' reaction to the efforts of the SC, ST, and OBC communities to deal with issues of discrimination. So, it is certainly very disturbing. I am unable to say too much about it because the matter is still pending in court, but hopefully, the SC will deal with this issue in a rational manner. We also think that the regulations are a bit inadequate..."

https://x.com/PTI_News/status/2016104815361994988

Good topic for discussion in international law class!

https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/talibans-new-law-legalises-slavery-in-afghanistan-makes-mullahs-immune-10897166

https://www.firstpost.com/explainers/how-talibans-new-criminal-code-legalises-slavery-grants-clerics-immunity-13973157.html

Could you please tell more about IP transactional work in KCO and CAM and is the remuneration higher than the other team members who are doing IP litigation or prosecution work? What do the partners in these firms in Delhi look for when they hire at a 3-4 PQE level because at boutique firms people aren’t exposed to transactions.