Hi, I'm gonna graduate this year from law school. I really like the Data Privacy work I've been doing and I think related fields of TMT and IP would be beneficial for this. I'm currently interning at a consulting firm and while I like the work it just feels today that I would end up being worried about more of the pre rather than the laws and action. this feels more business oriented and not law. I genuinely feel confused and at a loss. Would love some guidance on the same.

pros -

FRee lunch every Saturday!!!!

You get to leave after all partners leave

Hardly any work most times

Cons-

Unprofessional office environments

Partners vape through and through the office meetings

Delayed salaries nd bonuses

Salary cut for every mistake u make, they dont forget this

PS - I am from a t1 college and work here !

Hi, wanted to check if anyone knows when AZB Delhi usually sends out internship confirmations. I’ve heard different things — some say around 15 days before, others say about a month prior. I need to sort out PG/accommodation bookings, so just wanted to know the usual timeline. Thanks!

I second this point on the shift from pure compliance to more advisory/structuring work in DP at firms.

I’m currently working with a Data Privacy team, with prior PQE in general compliance, and actively looking to move to Tier 1 teams. At the moment, I assist A1s in making our clients DPDP-compliant, including drafting various website policies and related documentation.

Would really appreciate your help with any pointers on relevant teams/partners (city-wise) that are actually doing this kind of work, and who might be worth reaching out to. Thank you.

Thanks for this really helpful context, especially now with the DPDP rules notified and visibly more DP work on the ground.

I’m currently working with a Data Privacy team, with prior PQE in gen corp/compliance, and actively looking to move to a Tier 1 firm.

Would really appreciate your help with any pointers on relevant teams/partners (city-wise) I could reach out to, and also a more practical sense of how things are actually playing out right now. Thank you.

Don't write it here. Put your head above the water, go on LinkedIn and write openly and publicly. A faculty trade union at one of the UK unis a couple of years ago got outraged by some paycuts happening that their VC communicated by sending an email from his iPhone. They used the hashtag #iPhoneVandalism to talk about those happenings. Similarly, again in the UK context about four years ago, I once saw some student LinkedIn post when professors were on strike due to bad pay and working conditions, using the hashtag #FatcatVC. Get inspiration from such work and do something similar. It may brand you as a troublemaker for a while, but not forever. At the same time, it may actually help to fix issues.

Guys, there's frivolity and then there's frivolity. I am literally embarrassed at you people. Your politics, even your obssessions, are so damn childish. If you are a representative sample of law students of India, the rest of us should be hanging our heads in shame when comparing you to law students of other countries.

An institution that claims to uphold and teach the protection of rights is itself blatantly violating students’ rights in multiple ways.

The Registrar of HNLU had earlier indicated that taking more than three members would not be an issue during the SBA board meeting - a rare occasion when the Vice Chancellor interacts with students, though often only to speak at length without meaningful engagement. However, just two days before the end-semester exams, the administration abruptly decided to enforce the member cap. Poor hnlu kids after winning so many moots this year, this is what they are getting in return from admin.

This repeated pattern of last-minute decisions seems designed to leave students with no real opportunity to question or resist.

Furthermore, when the Student Body President raised a reasonable request to reshuffle faculty convenors to ensure smoother functioning of committees, the response from faculty members was unexpectedly hostile. They all started aggressively yelling on sba members like they are some criminals and the concern here is that this has been the case since forever. Whenever anyone goes to admin for even a small work, they would 1st enjoy bullying the kids.

It’s becoming increasingly clear that HNLU students seriously need to take a stand and address these ongoing issues.

The quality of professors, on the other hand, is something they cannot be worried about because obviously, why would a national law university focus on the quality of education? We have professors give marks for students who are no longer studying in this university, teach (One cannot call that teaching) from ipleaders, Law Bhoomi articles as reading material, asking questions about the subject is considered a nuisance; marks are almost never based on the actual content. I can count the professors who actually teach subjects that they know about. Students came to HNLU hoping that it would help them advance in their careers, and professors and admin has made it their motive to ensure no student can do well in life. If someone in HNLU achieves something, it is never because of the university, and always despite the university. But guess who will be first in line to take credit for something they never did.

CL appears to have serious issues with culture, accountability and professionalism — juniors are expected to work to very high standards, but the approach to mistakes, pay and basic fairness comes across as punitive rather than professional. Senior conduct also appears to fall short of the standards expected in a professional workplace. Not recommended for anyone seeking a stable, respectful or growth-oriented environment. P.S. Prospective candidates should do their own diligence, including speaking to former juniors and reviewing public discussions online before joining.

HNLU has possibly the worst admin. The reign of certain profs at the top will inevitably lead to the downfall of this university. The proctorial board follows no due process, and when questions are raised; were met with nothing but empty assurances that are soon broken by an Order of the proctorial board with an extremely unreasonable monetary penalty. This admin thrives off leeching onto students money - and the worst part is, there is absolutely no clarity as to where this money goes. Last time a president-nominate tried to ask these questions, he was slapped with disciplinary actions and eventually his admit card was withheld forcing him to fold.

About the MCC rules, it's almost as if the faculty convener is keeping close track of what happens on LI - sudden praise of the university mooting culture and bam release rules that will make mooting so so much more difficult. 3 member Vis teams don't stand a slightest chance against 15 member contingents that actually make a citation - oh and mind you, this rule was notified just a week or two after the HNLU contingent (6 member team) placed as runners up at Vis east - for the first ever time!

This institution needs a full fledged cleanse where professors that put their egos above student welfare are ousted. There are so so so many things wrong with how things are done in HNLU - I really wish someone reading this can suggest a way for us to report this to authorities that can look into it. I know firsthand of people that have considered ICC and UGC complaints - but the fear of career ending consequences is what stops them. Every day of living in HNLU is not too far from living in hell.

I have studied abroad and the only person who harrassed me was another fellow Indian / Desi. Given how much Indians (who know each other and see each other everyday, like colleagues) comment about each other unnecessarily regarding things like background, region, language, class, caste, being called a Pajeet once in the US by a redneck you'll never met again is actually much better

Dont know about pay but the practice is primarily with tax laws and commercial laws.
Bhat sir is an amazing arguing counsel and watching him argue is a treat and since he is an AAG, work is predominantly in the High Court of Karnataka.
Along with this, he essentially still handles AZB Blr's disputes practice even though not officially, so lots of disputes work of that kind.
Its a team of three people and they're all professional and nice to work with.

Even equity partners have to hide relationships that dont conform to firm policy in my firm, especially those within a reporting line. EPs must uphold firm values, if firm policy is to be strong.

Example 1: My firm JSA has strong rules regarding things like this to prevent upsetting teams, unlike some other firms which open allow office dalliances, to cut attrition.

No Golden handcuffs of a different kind.

Example 2: In JSA if Partner married inside, one left. The corporate head in mumbai married someone inside who was an SA and then the SA / wife, left the firm 'as per' policy.

Internal liasons are frowned upon in JSA.

Example 3: In JSA newly hired teams who had family in the team could not be onboarded together. These things would never be permitted in a strong HR environment.

Star teams does not offset the firm policy

Ultimately, things like these matter for team cohesion in the long run. Firms like JSA thrive because these are rigorously implemented and we do not have these issues.

Exactly. He's calling 14 LPA an "average salary", whereas I dream of earning anything close to that kind of salary! I'm also looking for a job in data privacy after having done a foreign LLM in tech law. In fact, I made a whole post about it. I hope I get a job soon. Switching from litigation to data privacy is proving to be hard for me.

Men too find the women who prevaricate when the question of double standards come up equally repulsive. I am glad most men aren't anybodys fools anymore. Everyone sees these sermons as the self serving garbage that it is and tosses it in the mental dustbin.

Having to read what is just dressed up victimhood when what fuels this is just simple craven ambition with zero accountability when in power - gives most of us a headache. Just another poor excuse of an argument.

Listen - we noticed how how you systematically pushed the conversation towards women's discrimination in a thread that began with women engaging in questionable conduct. Its a classic but its sure getting old.

Your response has been nothing short of cover up and another ignonimous look away. Most of us are tired of this uninteligent shtick. Too bad it barely works and glad some women here called it out.

You should be politician, but then I guess you probably are where you stand right now.

I'm not sure how relevant this would be to you, but I'm a 27 year old soon to graduate from a 5-year program from an NLU. I've received a PPO from a T-1 firm and had a considerable gap after high school prior to starting college. I did not face any difficulty in the hiring process, nor did I face any ego issues that others speak of even though people my age and younger were SAs. Maybe I lucked out with the teams or was secure enough to know that my late entry into law was not a reflection of my competence, but no one ever cared about my age while I was interning across multiple T-1s, T-2s and boutique firms. I also know of someone who started a law degree at 26-27 (so graduated at 30 approx.) and recently became an SA at a T-1 as well.

All I'm saying is, if you are someone affected by working under younger people in-charge (nothing wrong with it) or have issues with putting in the long-hours due to your age, you will not get hired. Not because of anything else, but simply because you are not compatible with a law firm life anymore. If you are willing to work regardless and are okay with working under those junior to you, I'd say no harm in trying. You may not make partner, but even with the advent of AI, law firms remain in need of work horses.

You sound like someone who has made up their mind and is only looking for reassurance to validate the said choice. So based on my experience, I'd suggest that you should go for it, since at present you sound quite stuck. Its up to you to decide if you're okay with making this choice or remaining where you are.

Also, at the risk of repeating what others have already said, your background in economics and political science won't do much for you if a career at a law firm is what you're looking for. Law firm work, at least on the transactions side, is largely about due diligence, legal research, and drafting, in that order. So the only way to learn these skills is to intern, since even law schools rarely teach these skills well. Hope it works out for you!

Being home is one thing and actual working hours are another. If you live far (esp if you are a woman), or have family commitments etc many will let you leave. But what happens after that and how many calls you need to take, emails or texts to respond to, things you need to work on and send out, availability online - I don't think NDA has a hard stop at 6.30, no chance

HNLU's administration has had one goal this entire semester: make things worse for students, make life at the esteemed uni insufferable.

This past month, the admin has decided that the best way for a uni to represent in a moot is to have the minimum number of members. Under the guise of reimbursement, they have decided that any moot, national or international, would have the least number of members required. You will soon see HNLU at Vis with three people because, well that's the golden number to moot successfully.

All of this so that they don't have to reimburse the entire team. Now, reimbursement has always been for 3 members only, no matter what moot. However, now to "protect the uni's image", instead of - I dont know- supporting students in their endeavours, they will send the exact number of people they will reimburse.

What this clearly and embarrassingly depicts is the lack of awareness and knowledge of this administration. While everything is money, sometimes it feels like most of this has to come out of their individual pockets. What is more embarrassing is that HNLU boasts of receiving Rs.100 lakhs every year solely for moots and conferences.

Where is this money going? We will never know.

But what we do know is happening, in a campus where basic amenities are often ignored, is the inauguration of the "Inner Circle", a faculty only area. A circle whose outer circles keep getting renovated and inaugurated.

Moreover, HNLU - State as per Article 12 - has suddenly found the urge to look into the attendance schematics of students I. e. 2 days before the end semester examinations. While the DHC judgement on attendance stays, what is the HNLU's creative solution to disturb students, you may ask? Fill undertakings where you waive your rights away. You have to note down your reason and sign that it would be a conditional permission and that you can never claim equity, right, or relief. All of this two days before the exams actually start.

We haven't received our admit cards for the exams, but have been notified about all the changes at a point where our hands are tied.

Now I wish this is where things ended, but students have also been honoured with proctorial proceedings for having a plate from the mess, calling the ambulance, and many more😌

Further, our hostel wardens have also made it their mission to visit us at 3 AM in our rooms and break windows if we do not wake up to them knocking. Our dear Registrar has also highlighted that wardens do not have to apologise for breaking windows of students rooms.

Seems like Administration has a clear plan towards how this esteemed educational institution will function.

What is actually going on with the HNLU administration?

Rules are just being made out of nowhere. No explanation, no logic, nothing.

On one hand, they’ve capped the number of people who can be part of any national or international moot at 3. This very clearly shows they have no idea how mooting works at all. They have also asked students not to seek sponsorship from outside for moots.

On the other hand, they are busy inaugurating things: new research centres, new faculty chambers, a café inside the academic block called Inner Circle, and extra seating called Outer Circle, again inside the academic block.

All of this, when the WiFi does not work.

At the same time, there has been a sudden increase in surveillance and restrictions on students.

The library, which is the only place with proper AC, shuts at 11:30 pm. Even during exams, we cannot access it beyond that. This is a residential campus. And then people are getting emails asking them to justify and pay fines for entering their own hostel late at night. Not the campus, the hostel, while already being inside the campus.

Why is all of this happening? Mind you, this is only the tip of the iceberg. Please feel free to elaborate on what else has been going on.

How is the administration getting this much discretion?

Can someone please explain?

Tier 1 NLU Grad

I am expecting a job offer from a boutique firm with offices in Delhi & Mumbai called Curiam Legal.

I would appreciate if I can get some advice whether I should accept the same or not. Also, please feel free to add to the pros and cons list below. It would really help me decide.

Pros:

1. Decent paycheck for a 2 year old firm with 7-10 employees.

2. Partners and most associates are from tier 1 colleges.

3. Has a decent mix of work.

The bad:

1. They penalise mistakes in the form of deductions from salary. From what I have heard or read, salary is deducted for arriving late to the office, making typos etc.

2. Most of the work is insurance related advisory, and thereby, mundane (at least to me!).

3. Disputes work is exceptionally limited.

4. Exceptionally high attrition rate does not augur well for the reputation that they already have.

5. ▮▮▮

P.S.: Most of the information has been gathered through various threads on legallyindia.com

Please study the cause lists carefully. Samiksha is conservatively earning two to three times more than any disputes partner at SR from sarkari/PSU briefs and other sources. To be clear, she is where she is not only because of substantial privilege that generates such referrals, but also because she is an exceptionally hard working attorney.

There is no denying his prominence, nor his status as a preferred choice before the NCLAT and NCLT. I, however, harbour serious misgivings about the foundations of this reputation. Anyone seeking clarity would do well to observe his arguments in the courtroom through the VC links available on the NCLT and NCLAT causelists. What presents itself is less a display of legal acumen and more a spectacle of speaking over opposing counsel and advancing convenient falsehoods in the pursuit of interim relief. If such conduct is now considered the hallmark of effective advocacy, then the man is indeed stellar. He appears unhinged; and if the system has failed to recognise that his word is far from gospel, given the manner in which he conducts his affairs in court, then it is not merely the individual that warrants concern—it is the system itself that stands revealed as deeply compromised and fundamentally flawed.

Both these tribunals are, in their functioning, a poor reflection of the Modi Sarkar. Spend a week in these forums and one quickly realises that the Companies Act and its accompanying rules are effectively toothless, rarely—if ever—invoked with meaningful consequence against fraud and corporate malfeasance. Relegating corporate disputes to these forums amounts, in effect, to granting bad actors a free pass to run companies in whatever manner they deem fit, with little fear of consequence.

They are managed & take instructions from Mumbai bro, double AA who just helps to get rid of people to show they have reduced costs, meagre or disproportionate bonuses, reduced or no MPD etc ! Increments over years have also been paltry ! And much more…

Joke is on the leadership for being delusional as always, having all wrong kind of advisors !

When you don’t learn, life will keep teaching you till you learn !

Basically I mean those of you who went to college in the 2000s and 2010s. Today in your 30s and 40s, married with kids probably. Here are my questions:

- Was the academic pressure as high as today, or was it less?

- Was the crowd in your law school more elite than today, given that there was less reservation and most students were from big cities (unlike today)?

- What was the dating and hookup scene like?

- Were mental health problems as commonplace as today?

- Was there less inclusivity of LGBTQIA++ people?

- How did you do research and write projects with primitive internet and no AI tools?

- How did you have fun on campus?

There generally now is resistance across all tiers with hiring kids from JGLS. Having the (mis)fortune of working with some of your alumni from the 2021-24 batches, the blame squarely lies with their lack of professionalism and entitlement (not all but definitely a majority) which has contributed to ruining the school's reputation. My peers and I have found them to be egoistic, lackadaisical, careless, snooty - the list goes on.

IMO - the graduating batches from JGLS have a bit of an uphill task ahead of them to shake their alumi's sterotypes. Again - my sample size is not very large and I am speaking from the experience of a small circle of T1 PAs in Bangalore. May be the comments section will validate my experience or help me think otherwise!

Hi all. Currently a Data Privacy Assessment Intern at a Tier 1.5 in Kolkata. Have 1-year PQE in gen corp. I quit to pursue LL.M. (NLU) in privacy. Trying to gauge the pay (fixed + variable) for someone with 1 PQE + LL.M. + relevant experience, if taken on for data privacy work. What are the recent numbers looking like?

Also, while this assessment internship is ongoing, would appreciate any pointers on specific partners / teams (city-wise) at Tier 1 firms who are currently hiring, or may be open to hiring for privacy, AI compliance, or allied work.

Your candid inputs, ballpark figures / recent experiences would help a lot.

Mr. Amit Anand Tiwari, First-Gen Lawyer, born and bought up in Gorakhpur, did Law from CLC, No Backing in Delhi.Had a great AOR practice, Became AAG for state of TN IN 2021, Got Designated as a Senior by SC in 2024 at the age of 45. An inspiration for a lot litigants coming from Hindi Heartland and broke into Delhi Litigation Scene without any godfather. A true Gem of a person.

Hello, as someone who is about to enter their 4th year (Tier 1 nlu- not top 3) with v v average grades and first corp internship lined up at a boutique firm this summers, can someone please guide me how do I get an internship there? I have applied there twice but they keep sending rejection mails 😭

ITNA CONFIDENCE SE YOU HAVE WRITTEN "children of law firm owners, Senior advocates, rich businessmen and CEOs, IAS officers and politicians" without knowing jackshit. Spent five years there and incidence of finding such people is not as high as you are making it out to be.

Then why not shift abroad or start you own venture if you do not have family obligations. Don't stick yourself into something as obscure as law at this age. You might as well end-up wasting up 3 years of your life with no fruitful outcome, if your sole purpose is to look for corporate jobs. 3 years into the profession, I myslef am finding it difficult to switch batch into core law-firm domain, having not started that well after college. My two cents, if if you go ahead, don't overly rely on corproate law jobs post graduation.

Ha, ha..........that way courts have given up on the consortium on a smooth conduct of CLAT. Every year, they mess up.

And now the NLUs have become a place to perish. Let's not get there. This is not a trivial matter.
https://theleaflet.in/leaflet-reports/they-have-not-come-here-to-die-an-epidemic-of-student-suicides-plagues-indias-national-law-universities

You will not get hired. A primary reason why law firms are willing to pay 23-24 year olds large salaries is the expectation (some bosses say it outright, few imply it) that the associates will work through the night, and sometimes 2 or 3 days with barely any sleep. Post 30, you don’t have the health to squander away even if you’re willing to. This is particularly true at the “tier-1” firms.

Another comment here accurately describes hurdles from a partnership PoV but that assumes people think that far into the future - which no one does when hiring a fresher. The other thing that’s relevant is that a 34 year old has lived live a fair bit and will be presumed to not put up with the garbage behaviour many partners engage in. Young adults who’ve never made money before are much likely to put up with that kind of behaviour.

Additionally, while most law firm partners lack emotional awareness, they also will know that hiring you will be a recipe for friction that will likely be unavoidable - a 27 / 28 / 29 year old SA or PA will direct your life more than you can think right now. Call you at 10 or 11 PM asking for a draft by noon the next day. No matter how much one denies it, egos will come into play when you work the hours law firms do.

I won’t bring up the reductions in hiring due to perceived efficiencies from AI - and yes, they have begun no matter what people tell you. Legora and Harvey aren’t cheap. The money has to come from somewhere.

All of these factors can only be overridden or dispensed away if you get a good partner who is open to unconventional thinking about how lives are lived - and law firm partners like that are exceedingly rare. So, this comes down to the question - are you willing to spend 3 years going you law school when your only chance of success will require immense luck, in this context.

Also, your diplomas and understanding of economic theory will not help your cause. Law firms don’t care about that stuff, much. I’m sorry if my phrasing is a bit blunt. This is not to discourage you or downplay your achievements, knowledge and lived experiences - which I am sure will be more rich and will have helped build more character that most law firm ghouls have. This is an honest opinion of someone who is over 30, and has experienced multiple firms including having a say in hiring exercises.