Please excuse me if I sound naive or childish in my assessment of things or my line of questioning, insecurity has left me feeling anxious and hopeless.

It's been a couple weeks since the results came out and I have been in a state of emotional numbness since. Nevertheless, I will most probably be getting HNLU (a good college, I believe). However, I can't help myself shake that "not good enough" feeling. The idea of "top 6 = respect+secure future" has been drilled so deep into my mind that I feel like I have let myself and my family down by being unable to get into a Tier-1 NLU. I feel a sense of inferiority within me whenever I see someone from a Tier-1 NLU. Even though, this was my 2nd attempt and logically, I think there isn't so much that I can improve, I still find myself contemplating taking a partial drop. However, that leads to its own set of problems like "will I be able to manage my college and CLAT in such a way that even if unsuccessful, I would be able to carry on with my college as if nothing ever happened?", "will I even be able to improve my rank?", etc.

I worry whether I should even continue down this path or just look into some other field altogether. Upon some introspection, it seems like I think that the difference between say, NLIU, and HNLU is so vast that it is best to just re-attempt. I don't know what to do at this point. Maybe I can genuinely do better or maybe it's actually the college that I deserve, but whatever it is, the unpredictability of CLAT just worsens the situation. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

P.S. - I have heard at some places that there is a pay disparity in jobs just because you're from a Tier- 2/3 NLU, is this actually true?

Except I haven't. I come from a lower middle class, where I have fought for everything. I have never done unpaid internships, not did I had the luxury to move to different cities like my classmates (because shit is expensive). I get the message that you are trying to convey. that I need to learn to be grateful for what I have because in relation to so many in our country I am in a better position. But does that take away my moral angst at everything I have gone through? Can a man not grieve and curse his fate? Why should the fact that someone has it worse than me discount my experience and my pain?

I have done my fair share of introspections: The may be's you talk about, I have thought about those too, and no you don't sound harsh at all. Yes, things are unfair but that does not discount my experience or my grief. Some of the people who got placements in my law school are not people 'who know their stuff well', (call me petty all you want but they were just lucky on that day). it's also that sometimes teams don't hire for technical knowledge alone, they probably also look for stupid things like 'culture fit'. People can rationalize all they want, but the truth of the matter is this should matter the least, if these places claim to be about merit and merit alone.

I hope this isn't taken the wrong way, but unfortunately for you, you are not the judge of someone's caliber. The interviewer is, and the ugly truth is that, they might have had something the interviewer was looking for. A lot of people terrible on paper, can be incredibly in real life. There is no telling what works and what doesn't, but there is no point punching below.

That said, while T1s have closed their hiring, there can always be team specific vacancy. If you are from a T1 that allows you to intern during the semester break I would recommend that you reach out to your past partners and request an assessment internship for a longer period, especially since you've mentioned you have performed well.

If the partner is unwilling or unable to accomodate for an assessment internship, you can explain your situation and (if you are on good terms and they are happy with your work) request them to recommend you for vacancies in other teams or even firms.

If you are not on good terms with your partner, or haven't ever interacted with your partner, loop in your college rcc and request them to reach out to the hr and partner. From what I understand a few T1 college rcc already do this.

If you are from one of those T1s that don't let you intern during the semester. Repeat the above but for a placement interview.

I would also recommend applying to tier 2 firms and a lot of boutique firms which are at the top of their game for their specific niche. You can later try for a lateral shift to a tier 1 firm.

All the best!

You've pulled plenty of strings in your life as well, you're just oblivious to them. You are studying in a rather expensive uni most probably funded by your parents. You were doing (unpaid) internships, which too were funded by your parents.You were also provided with the education that enabled you to enter a tier 1 law school, funded by your parents. These are strings you're taking for granted, which most in our country (with a per capital income of 2.5 k usd pa) would die for. Look around, you'll see plenty of kids many of whom could significantly be more talented than you, working odd jobs to feed their families. Privilege is only visible when it's on the other side. So count your blessings, stop being miserable, take accountability for your shortcomings, strive to overcome them, and achieve whatever it is you're striving to achieve. All the best!

May sound harsh, but you need to hear it:

1. Law is a field of connections. If you have connections and don’t use them, you’d be an idiot. It’s not a field as idealistic as you want it to be. It may seem unfair that someone gets opportunities via connections, but connections are an asset. And you need to know how to leverage your assets in this field. The good part about connections? You can make your own. It doesn’t need to be a parent putting in a good word. Approach people you interned under, college alumni since you’re apparently in a great college, even LinkedIn. Build connections, that’s one of the only sure shot ways to survive in this field.

2. Competence beats everything else. If you’re competent, a team or a firm will make space for you. Sure, you may have great internships on your CV, but ask yourself why the team didn’t hire you despite that. Maybe you didn’t know basics, maybe your work quality wasn’t good enough, maybe the team didn’t see the interest they expected, maybe you didn’t converse with them enough: a million things could have happened which made them feel you weren’t good enough. And this goes beyond grades and college and connections. I know people who started law school 5-6 years after high school and now have jobs in T-1s, people who are known troublemakers in their colleges yet got PPOs from, people who know far lesser stuff than I do yet about a field of law, yet got campus placements. Yk what they all have in common? They’re pretty good at what they do. You can improve on this. Take a sheet of paper and write down the feedback you received from each internship. Maybe even ask anyone you’re still on good terms with in the team you interned at for honest feedback, not the whole we don’t have vacancy stuff. Work on it, and continue trying to get other internships and opportunities. If you’re competent, something will work out for sure. It may not be what you want, but it will be something.

ATB!

Similar situation, but I’m not giving up yet. I’ve done call-backs at good firms and good teams, so even if it’s not going to work out, I’ll keep trying. I’ve reached out to pretty much all SAs/ PAs and Partners I’ve worked under for referrals. Cold emailing Partners on a daily basis. I know that something will work out, just not what yet.

You have two options: first is either keep blaming your college or circumstances (which seems to be what you’re doing.) It’s not good though, as it won’t lead you anywhere. I may not be in a position to say this, but you’ve got to be way tougher than this if you want to survive in this field. Connections and competence aside, law as a field, especially with the rise of AI, needs grit to thrive in and you don’t seem to have that from your post. Maybe you relied too much on your college or maybe you thought things would automatically work out- but they don’t. You have to strive and work to make things happen, sometimes way more than others. It’s unfair, yes, but sometimes inevitable.

Second, you start working to make things happen. Sure, it may not be what you want: maybe you’ll end up in a T-2 or T-3 and grumble, but at least you’ll have something good. Look into options: you have firms, judicial clerkships, in-house opportunities, LLMs. You can do a number of things to survive and make your situation better. The only question is if you’ll do it or not.

Maybe you won’t end up with anything in 2026 either. That’s fine. What’s not fine is not trying.

My perspective as a law firm journeyman:

1. Lateral hirings boil down to two things- luck and timing.

2. Most important- information. Keep your eyes and ears open for potential openings. Ask your friends to inform you about potential resignations in the team. Apply directly to partner as soon as you have wind of it.

3. Helps to have friends. Ask your friend to put in a word. Usually helps (a lot).

4. Other than 2-3, the usual route- through recruiters. Tougher owing to the sheer number of applicants for a potential role.

Best of luck.

ours give 3 month and my pregnancy journey is where giving a slight accommodation has become a war. High risk and i need to beg my boss to let me go for my injections - beg to leave at 6:30 aswell.

Female partners who do this are just going through something. Take what is yours, they may affect your growth but after some time, people will be forced to accept the norm. these partners come in personally cause they know can't say it out loud.

All men partners keep making babies as they can work and it doesn't affect the work (sad that they are that uninvolved). Its a big congratulations there but people really forget the changes in the body and the time it takes to keep a human safe. If both men and women raised a kid - the father would also have to be home on time - some days if not everyday and maternity leave would just be a lot easier in these nuclear set ups. Work can pause and always be managed. For people who say this put a burden on them for other people's work - are just stupid. it's better to not respond and just say will let you know. i rather believe these people should be names and shamed.

As a female lawyer, having a kid, with a high-risk pregnancy - having a kid is not as difficult as explaining my partner that i need to follow a schedule and go home on time while i will keep working. my partner has asked me to find another team whenever i have an accommodation. this is as a senior. Everyone in the firm seems human but my partner! With 3 months maternity - it sucks as post partum needs to be fast tracked and when you leave by 6:30 with a big tummy - people stare. The idiocracy in sitting in office and not understanding. if only men were pregnant. Never had so much stress with work than i have explaining people why i need a WFH as I'm puking but working. Can't explain that existence is tough a few days. Empathy is 0. kudos to all women who have done this and with such men/ partners!

Your professor should not be calling you uneducated, even though you are in fact in a relationship in which he is supposed to be educating you, not the other way around. It sounds like you went looking to provoke so that you could then malign the professor to everyone. You can't change impulsive professors but if you are interested in learning from them instead of performing politics (even if that is what they are doing), then you can ask questions that come from genuine curiosity, not a desire to make points. You could have asked him how to compare islamic fundamentalism and hindu fundamentalism and why some people blame one while others blame the other. College is not an NDTV debate. You have an opportunity to learn, but no one can force you.

Your professors should not be ridiculing you but we don't know the context. Did you go and try to start debating him without an appointment? What was your tone? Maybe you should think about your own motivations in starting the exchange. A good education changes how you see the world. Sometimes it shows you that you are right about certain things. But if you are afraid of being wrong and want to attack instead of learning, then you will not learn. It is not your job to decide what the professor should or should not do. It is your job to decide whether you can have the kind of conversation that will allow you to learn as much as possible from him.

I am in academia. One of the best advice a now-retired professor gave me was - if your first instinct is to belittle the person asking the question, by perhaps saying something along the lines of - oh, do you not even know this; this is so easy; go read some more before coming to talk to me; among other kinds of dissmive remarks, you are the problem. In such scenarios, it is very likely that you are unclear or cannot explain your position in simple terms, which is your duty and responsibility as a professor. I personally do not know how much this applies to your scenario, but I wanted to share his advice.

Nothing new. Some professors used to be like that during my law school days too. These professors are like normal human beings (some are good and some are bad). You must stay away from bad ones as much as possible. There is no point in arguing or trying to impress these people (unless it is for the sake of grades).

Manmeet Sir is great. Task master but very good and hands on from what I’ve heard and seen in the team. Not sure about the Junior Partners since I never worked with them. There is no separate team or pool. All the associates work with all partners (Manmeet Sir plus 2 JP). Not sure about the Mumbai Partner and team. I think they work separately on matters with Manmeet Sir.

got a rank of 55X this year and planning to join bsc llb at nujs instead of hnlu and other tier 2 colleges, if i don’t get any tier1.

i have done my fair share of research.

1. there is a single placement cell for both BA LLB and BSc LLB. yes a batch hasn’t graduated till now but BSc LLB students get good internships if their CV is good (words of a senior who is pursuing BSc LLB there not mine)

2. Accommodation are 1/2 km away and there are buses operating all around the day to take you to and fro. the academic campus is the same from this year apparently.

3. According to seniors, while there was some discrimination in the first batch, it has reduced if not almost finished. There are no differences in opportunities and both BA and BSc students take part in all the activities equally. also apparently the new vc is pro bsc (?)

4. you have got to think about that.

Hi thankyou for such a detailed explanation although i know you are from a law background but what are your thoughts about the masters in public policy course in nlsiu? Shd i be prioritising other colleges like TISS or shd nlsiu be my priority given that higher academic rigour is my demand from a college and im not as much intrested in getting a “magical campus life”

The earlier comment reflects the position at NLU Delhi 7-8 years ago. Please examine the quality of faculty and coursework at NLSIU and NLU Delhi in the present academic year to get a sense of what things will be like in 2026-2027. On current form, NLSIU is miles ahead when it comes to the depth of instruction, choice of readings and accountability enforced through the assessment cycles. A good barometer is the academic excellence and professional commitment of the teachers who are delivering the core courses for LL.M. students at NLSIU. Our batch had Rahul Hemrajani for Research Methods and Legal Writing, Sidharth Chauhan for Comparative Public Law and Governance followed by Prof. N.S. Nigam for Law & Justice In A Globalising World. Please do your homework and ask current LL.M. students at both institutions.

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.

She is not preferred by the senior partner. She is being taken advantage of. They are taking advantage of her insecurities and loneliness. They very well know that the other partners who have a social and personal life are more talented and hence less insecure and won’t accept toxicity nor will they spread any toxicity. If she’s very bitter it’s because at some point even she has been treated that way and she doesn’t know how to heal from that trauma.

First of all, it's shameful that the Hyderabad court passed an ex parte order without hearing Netflix and even more shameful that the High Court lobbed it back to the lower court and it took 5 years for the stay to be lifted. What a JOKE of a legal system.

Coming to the episode, for me two things stand out:

- It basically shows that Hyderabad's rise as an IT capital was based on a complete lie.

- When Sucheta Dalal cals Satyam a "lala company". This expression is repeatedly used on LI to describe certain Indian law firms. Same mentality?

Nuh uhh They haven't banned parents what has been told is " we cannot accommodate parents of all five batches so parents are not allowed HOWEVER parents of GOLD MEDALISTS are certainly Welcome" trust me I wish I was kidding but these are the exact instructions that have been given