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Can someone who's been in this position before please help out? Whats supposed to be the way ahead? Would surely help a lot.
Rant Over. Happy New Year to everyone, but not to those who got where they are because the odds were in their favour or those who got stuff simply because they pulled some strings somewhere.
EDIT requested (see below): To mod: Can you please edit my post to say 2026 will be my breakthrough year and I will find the best opportunity out there. On contemplation and support from the Legally India, I realised that I am being too negative and pessimistic about things. Could you edit my post to thank the community and correct the folly that I committed- putting negativity into universe and expecting good things in return.
Thank you for those who have clarified that this response was not warranted.
Would also like to personally respond to this.
Almost every second year associate in any law firm starts understanding what you have shared. However, not everyone has the luxury of not earning after college. No heat to the lucky ones. Happy for them.
I, for example, wasn't as lucky. This job helped me to get my parents' surgeries done (running to around 25 lacs), get my sister married, got myself married, got my house renovate, bought a house.. Now, could I have waited and worked in litigation? Yes, I could have. But my parents couldn't, my sister couldn't.
So I'll reiterate for your ready reference, what are the salary structures expected for 1st year salaried partners?
Nevertheless, at least some reforms have been accepted.
Kindly get in touch with my Secretary.
She will provide you with my detailed charge list.
Very informative and apt.
Myself, LIPSA RANI BHUYAN and
I completed my BA-LLB from Guru Govind Singh Indraprastha University and enrolled in BCD and cleared AIBE and recently i am searching for law firm
Any leads?
▮▮▮.
The lesson is brutally simple. This is India. Truth offers no protection without power. Evidence is meaningless without cover. And the profession operates less like a meritocracy than a cartel. Cross it unprepared, and it will crush you.
Be relaxed and not so desperate for an internship.
If you have the skillset and know your law, you should be fine.
a. Coming to specialisation. It does not matter. If you want to apply for a corporate job, they won't care about your LL.M. Law firms won't hire you because you have a specialisation in corporate law. Unless you are specifically interested in a specialisation, it does not matter.
b. That said, if you end up not clearing your judicial services exam (which remains a possibility). You will use this master's as a gateway to Indian legal academia. Interestingly, Indian legal academia does not consider domestic LLMs to be of much repute (funny, eh?). From what I have realised during your LLMs, you try to convince a professor (who won't be, because they will all know that you will pursue government services after this) to hire you as an RA. Trust me, the entry barriers to this market are much higher than actual monopolies.
c. If you end up getting a job in academia, know this: you will have two papers - bread and butter (that you do for earning a living) and your specialisation (that you do for yourself). A common specialisation, as much as you might want to think otherwise, makes your competition tougher. Advertisements for AP might not mention these specialisations, or you end up competing with so many others who do. So a general LLM works better in the long run.
d. However, a specialisation might actually open a door for a future master's in a good foreign university after a few years of work. I hope this helps.
Bottom LINE: NLUD for you. Don't specialise.
a. LL.Ms are not considered of primary importance. And, while it has something to do with so many other things (like CLAT LLB being more competitive, etc.), it is primarily because your footprint in the university will be for less than a year.
b. That being said, few universities took good care of their LL.Ms like NLU Delhi took. The undergrads were much more welcoming, integration was not a problem, the public law cohort was led by a solid group of professors like Aparna, Mrinal, Niraj (Kumar), etc., who were awesome. Trust me, the time is so short, you might not end up learning anything at all, but being in that environment, seeing larger-than-life profs was truly inspiring for me (a big reason why I ended up in academia was my experience at NLUD).
c. That said, most good profs have left NLUD and their private or public law isn't as good as it used to be.
d. Coming to your point specifically, let us consider your end goal to be the judicial services (as you mentioned). Will it be efficient to uproot everything (reading hours and hours of bare acts, judgment writing, etc.) and go to Bangalore and then again within the blink of an eye come back to Delhi? Logistically, NLUD makes more sense. They still continue to hold the policy that boys wont be given on campus housing. So that way you are not obliged to stay on campus. You save money.
e. Let us come to what is taught. LLMs, if done right, will seldom teach you your bare acts. It will reach deep down to theory and philosophy of which ever area you wish to specialise in. Knowing the group that teaches in NLSIU, it will be a complete detour from your judiciary goals.
f. I, of course, am taking nothing away from teachers at NLUD. Some in comparative public law will give you a run for your money. However, it will be far more manageable than NLSIU.
I had done a deal with them around a year ago they seemed decent enough
I am thinking from perspective of taxation and growth. From what I have gathered based on interactions with my inhouse friends, it's not a paper pushing job especially the ones that pay you 20 + and more. You do research, transactions, brief seniors like any other in dispute team etc. and so on. But 30% tax is a lot, compare to no tax up till 75 lakhs.
Should I therefore switch to some tier 2/3 law firms with good WLB. My worry is that it is difficult to shift to a reputed inhouse at a later stage from a tier 2/3 law firm, than from an existing reputed inhouse brand. Thanks.
Calling on anyone who knows the details on this to shed some light. Let's put this forum to good use.
Like always, one can expect the Partners to forget about it until 3 days before the deadline, and completely ruin whatever Christmas break the Associates get.
Who even reads this?
It has completely disappeared from the scene now. What happened to it?
If only he put in so much thought to revive the economy (as is his job)
NN's recent CFA (0-3 PQE) for Tri Blr was received w a lot of excitement, but I'm unsure about if there have been any calls for interviews as of yet. Any concrete updates someone can share?
To the young crop of ambitious final year law students and junior associates: you are not compensated for brilliance; you are compensated for Availability.
### 1. The Compensation Cap is Real and Low
You have entered the highest-paying legal segment in India, and yet:
- The highest starting pay for a graduate lawyer in India (even at T-1, Corporate, Big City, <20 LPA) is less than what Investment Bankers and top Software Engineers from top colleges start with.
- Achieving a few Cr/annum income the standard for successful business folks in Delhi/Mumbai/Bangalore is a pipe dream for most lawyers.
### 2. The Partner’s Job is Sales, Not Law
Partners are glorified salespeople running a service desk. Their entire job is a ruthless balancing act:
- - Client's insane hours expectations.
- - Insane turnaround times.
- - Constantly cost-cutting so the deal doesn't move to SAM, AZB, Trilegal, JSA over a few lakh difference.
- Your expertise is a commodity in this system.
###
### 3. Your Expertise is Generic
After 4-5 years in "sophisticated" deal work, you are not an expert in anything genuinely proprietary. The work is so generic that your true, portable skillset is limited to:
- - Work ethic (ability to pull all nighters and work weekends without boundaries).
- - Document management (administration which is simply handled by good software in most global corporates).
- Not a specialized, high-value practice that clients can't get elsewhere for less.
###
### 4. The In-House Pivot is a Concession, Not a Gain
Taking a pay-cut for an in-house role is the de facto escape route, but we need to call it what it is: a significant surrender of earning potential without the equity, perks, or real work-life balance enjoyed by in-house counsel abroad.
###
### 5. The Golden Handcuffs are tighter in expensive cities like Mumbai
Look around at the SAs, PAs, and Counsel who stay past the point of no return:
- They are either Mumbai-based locals who don't bear the full brunt of rent and have a family support system.
- Or they are settled with spouse/kids and are entirely dependent on the firm's consistent paycheck. They cannot afford a sabbatical, a pivot, or the freedom to explore a better life elsewhere. This is why they stay.
---
-
My Advice to the A0s and A1s:
-----------------------------
Work Intentionally From Day One. Your goal is not partnership; your goal is optionality.
- Assess what portable skills (e.g., specific regulatory knowledge, commercial negotiation) you are gaining that can be applied outside the firm.
- The sacrifice (health, family, sleep, hobbies) only makes sense if it rapidly accelerates you to a position of financial independence and career choice, not just a slightly bigger bonus.
The percentage of people who choose litigation and become successful like that is far, far lower than the percentage of people who choose law firms and make partner. Moreover, the lit people either undergo a lot of hardship financially to begin with or else have a privileged background. People joining good law firms can start earning decently from day one and also support their families. These are all good enough reasons to choose one over the other. However, your adulation of one group is also over the board. Very few lawyers do anything consciously to 'shape' the law, most of them are trying to represent their clients to the best of their ability and cater to their needs and wants, that's all. A good professional can do well in both. Neither should ideally go after 'fame' or headlines, that's not the role of a lawyer.
It’s disgusting that professors have such intolerance towards students who disagree with their viewpoint and who are not their groupies.
She is also a co-founder of a creative/photography production unit called Atelier 11. Beyond her artistic pursuits, Aviva is also a former national-level football player.
https://www.news18.com/india/priyanka-gandhis-son-raihan-vadra-gets-engaged-to-girlfriend-aviva-report-ws-l-9799413.html
Congratulations!! 🤗💐❤️ And it means that if Raihan lives up to the family tradition, a Jindal grad could be the future First Lady! 😍
IFKYK
there it says that JGLS students 'must complete 62 credits at Cornell over two years.'
so JGLS students have to spend 2 years in Cornell, however, the JGLS website https://jgu.edu.in/cpgls/special-pathways/ says that the JD + BA-LLB is 6 years combo, so do they spend 4 years in Jindal? if yes, how does the Indian law degree work? as BCI rules clearly state that after +12 there must be five years of classes for an undergraduate qualifying degree in law. They made this clear a number of times esp in relation to foreign degree qualifications (where undergraduate after +12 is for 3 years, like in the UK)
my maths doesn't seem add up, can someone from JGLS clarify please
Bottom line is that I would choose 50lakhs- 1Cr per annum in my 30s than 10Crs in my 60s. In terms of shaping the law, do you think all loopholes are plugged only when a big case comes up? We find loopholes every day, and the regulators try to plug them. We also work with the Government and the regulators and push policy changes. We actually bring value to our clients when we save a debt-ridden company or save Crores of taxes.
https://x.com/jayantsr29/status/1005142116618498049
He has also tweeted a very offensive anti-Brahmin cartoon. I am not sharing it, but you can see it if you go through his tweets.
Fact is a fact and LI should not exercise selective censorship.
I really appreciate it.
1. Looked down upon by almost everyone - like it or not; there is a unsaid hierarchy in law where sc lawyers>hc lawyers>dist court lawyers. Tribunal lawyers stand at the very bottom
2. V less scope of senior designation - regardless wof what judgements say, this is true. Experienced it. Ask anyone around.. you dont practice in hc/sc - hardly any chance of getting semior gown
3. Very specialised - while it can be a plus, but all your eggs are in one basket being the tribunal..sc/hc lawyers who primiarly practice in hc and occassiomaly in other fora do better in this regard
As for 80 percent of legal work being done thru AI ...true, entire documents can be drafted by AI, they can clearly replicate the drafts of great books like tejoriwala, d'souza, or atkins, but then sir, someone has to correct it and all. Court work will.not go away. Lawyers are still needed. Substantial work will go yes. But still human level supervision would be needed. Useless clerical law firm work like mergers etc can go to Ai, but litigation not so easily and soon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVKHx241Nzc
https://www.financialexpress.com/jobs-career/education-pms-economic-advisor-sanjeev-sanyal-calls-upsc-pursuit-a-complete-waste-of-time-why-he-said-so-4091750/
1. You’re not prepped enough: if you don’t know stuff, it’s inevitable you feel nervous. The only way to get over this is to actually prepare. For GenCorp, have a good understanding of the Companies Act, and Contract Act, including any caveats or special conditions. Transfer of Property Act is a bonus. The section numbers are ideal to know, but as long as you know the concept well it should still be fine.
2. You’re well prepared but not used to interviews: I think at this point this situation should have gotten better, but if not and you feel you’re prepared enough, I’d suggest making a one page summary of each of your interviews and questions so far from memory and see if there’s a common topic you messed up and work on it. You should also aim to practice answers in front of a mirror or have a friend or two take a few mock interviews. Another advice is to pretend you’re teaching the topic to someone else, so you become used to verbalising the things you know.
3. You’re over-prepared and take too much pressure: if you’re over-prepared, even the simplest question can throw you off since you think you should know each and everything. Here, instead of an exercise, you just need a mindset shift: understand that you don’t know everything and it’s fine, in fact it is expected of you to not know everything and fumble a few times. There’s nothing else to do about it- as long as you make peace with the fact that it’s okay to be incorrect, you’ll be able to remain calm and not feel the pressure to say and do everything correctly and not make it such a huge deal in your head (I know the past rejections make it difficult, but you just have to shift this mindset.) Also, remember they don’t want you to be perfect- they’re not assessing you on how much you know, but on how calm you are under pressure and how quickly you can adapt. In most of my interviews, there were technical questions which stumped me and someone I didn’t even know the basics. So whenever I didn’t know anything, I asked my interviewer to tell me what it was. Every time (yes, each and every time), they told me the concept and asked me to apply it or answer the question again with this additional knowledge, which I then did. It’s okay to not know things, it’s not okay to not want to know things and it’s the latter you should focus on.
All the best, I’m sure you’ll ace the next one!
- Does the Delhi and Noida team really not hire freshers?
- Hiring at the Mumbai office?
1. very true. grades are highly arbitrary (or in nls lingo- arbit) due to extreme sectional disparity. also, 'moderation' at nls is fucked. btw, 'moderation' is a mathematical formula that places students along the bell curve. the bell curve is quite steep, meaning that a few do very well, many do just well enough, and many more do poorly (for example. out of 200, 5-6 students will get an O, 10-15 will get an A+, 40-50 will get A, so on and so forth). so yes, batch rankings may be a problem, and you need to be willing to engage in relentless, ruthless competition with your batchmates if you want to come to NLS and have a good batch rank.
2. campus is tiny- there are no common/social spaces, 50% or more is under construction, and it is just one straight line (like someone else mentioned). the last is the biggest problem- you can literally walk from the start of the campus (gate zero) till its end (gate four) and see everything there is to see. there is no campus life whatsoever, cause everyone is too busy studying or abusing substances.
also- keep in mind that this is a campus meant for 400 people (5 batches of 80 each) and now currently has 1200+. so we are three times over maximum capacity (this has led to worsening living conditions for those lucky enough to be on campus. many have been provided accommodation outside campus as there is not enough space in the hostels). but i cant lie, the hostel life is amazing, very fun, and the community is super tight knit. but the tight knitedness of the community is also fading due to the above reasons.
all in all, i went to nalsar for trilaterals last year- so i have stayed on both campuses. NALSAR's campus and campus life is much much much better. not even comparable to NLS.
3. yes, it will make it more difficult. but those same students will be competing for ur jobs even if ur in nalsar so honestly this is a misplaced concern imo.
4. yes. not much personal time or time for a robust social life. you'll have friends ofc, but pls forget whatever fantastical college life you have otherwise imagined for yourself. most time will be spent in class, or studying. this is, of course, only if academics are a priority for you. many choose not to succumb to the academic pressure and study all the time (these are, unfortunately, the people who get backlogs or year losses). the bottomline is that within 3 months you are expected to do 4 courses (each course having enough syllabus for a 6 month semester, being taught in 2.5 months or less). these 4 courses each have class participation, term papers, mid terms, in-class assignments, end terms, and many other evaluation components that keep you occupied throughout the trimester. in addition to this, if you decide to do moot courts (you should) or other extracurriculars, there goes the rest of your time. so yes, the NLS trimester is a constant and unforgiving demand on your time.
based on the above considerations, and even generally, let me tell very unequivocally that you will have a better college life in NALSAR. The campus life is better, the community is better, the NALSAR campus itself is vast and beautiful. their hostels are also nice. there will be far lesser academic pressure, and you will still get similar opportunities with internships and moots.
but let me tell you something else as well- others on this thread have touched upon this, when they spoke about the superiority of the NLS faculty. which is- the quality of education you will receive in NLS is unparalleled within India (the only real competitor here being Jindal, because they can afford to pay the biggest scholars a lot of money). yes, the trimester system is hectic. yes, it is hard to have a good batch rank. yes, the academic rigour is stifling. but pressure makes diamonds, and that is the principal value that the NLS system provides. it moulds you into a competent and capable law student and future professional.
there is a palpable, not ostensible, difference between an NLS grad and a NALSAR grad. not because NLS students are better than NALSAR students, but rather because the NLS academic system is more effective at producing advocates capable of studying and synthesising large amounts of legal information under high pressure, within tight timelines. this does not mean that there are no NALSAR students that are WAY more competent than NLS students (surely there are), but rather that, on average, the NLS student is more competent than his counterparts from other NLUs.
so my advice to you being this- what makes NALSAR better than NLS is precisely what makes it worse (and vice versa). the decision that YOU have to make is what you value, both in the short term (next 5 years of college) and also long term (next 10-25 years). i honestly wish i had gone to NALSAR, cause I am someone who would thrive better in a chiller, calmer environment. the rigour of NLS has made me anxious and depressive. but at the same time, I have never felt smarter and sharper in my life. that being said, I would still choose going to NALSAR if i were given the choice again, simply because my values are different (i don't value success at all costs. i would rather have had a nice, chill 5 years of college)
Can someone suggest the best law firms in Bangalore where I can learn the nuances of litigation to the core with proper mentorship and guidance?
1. Working past 9pm is failure, not a flex. Look, there will be genuine emergencies. Deals close, courts have deadlines, shit happens. But if you're consistently working past 9pm, either you're terrible at managing your time or someone's taking advantage of you. Neither is something to be proud of. I've seen too many associates wear their all-nighters like medals. It's not impressive, it's concerning. The best lawyers I know are efficient and have boundaries. The ones bragging about working till 3am are either disorganized or have nothing else going on in their lives. Don't become that person.
2. You need to push back sometimes. This is hard when you're junior but it's essential. Some seniors will test you with unreasonable demands - draft needed by morning when they've sat on it for a week, "urgent" calls at 11pm that could've been an email. You have to learn when to push back. Not rudely, but firmly. "I can get this to you by tomorrow afternoon" instead of scrambling at midnight. Most bullies respect people who stand their ground. The ones who don't aren't worth working for anyway. Obviously pick your battles, but don't be a doormat.
3. Don't skip meals. If you're regularly skipping lunch or dinner to meet deadlines, you're doing something wrong. Either your planning is off or your senior is unreasonable. Your body isn't optional. I've seen associates genuinely proud of not eating all day to finish a draft. That's also not impressive and your body will begin showing signs of discontent very soon, some of it irreversible. Any senior who expects you to skip meals for work is a bad senior. Period. Tell them you need 30 minutes to eat. The draft will survive.
4. It's okay to do the bare minimum sometimes. Yes I said it. As long as your work ethic is solid overall, there will be days/weeks where you phone it in. God knows I do. Not every deal deserves your soul. Not every partner deserves 110% effort. Learn to identify which matters actually need your A-game and which ones just need competent work. Save your energy for things that matter to YOU - your health, your relationships, your life outside work.
5. Remember what this job actually is Here's something that took me years to accept - our work isn't that important. If every law firm shut down tomorrow, would the world be worse off? Probably not. We're not doctors, we're not teachers, we're not building anything. We help companies move money around and we draft documents. That's it. The money's good and the work can be interesting, but it's not your identity. I've watched too many talented people get consumed by this job, sacrifice their health and relationships, and for what? To make partner at 35 instead of 38? Law firms are golden handcuffs. Biglaw can be valuable experience and the money helps. Just don't lose yourself in it. Set boundaries early, push back when needed, and remember there's an entire life outside those glass towers. The documents will get done either way.
So NLUJ has a great reputation, their moot/journal culture is legit impressive. But since you're still figuring out what you want from law, I think GNLU might actually be better for you. The relaxed academics at GNLU aren't just about chilling (though that's ofc a bonus lol). You get actual time to explore stuff - internships during semester, moots, startups, whatever. I knew people who used that bandwidth to figure out what they genuinely liked instead of just grinding through coursework. The culture is also just less stressful? People aren't constantly competing in an unhealthy way.
My batchmates who ended up in top firms or good roles weren't necessarily the ones with perfect grades. They were the ones who used the flexibility to build real skills and network properly. GNLU gives you that space. NLUJ's intense schedule works if you thrive under pressure and know your path. But if you're still exploring, that intensity can be counterproductive. You'll spend all your energy keeping up with classes and tests instead of actually figuring out what interests you.
Employment wise - GNLU's corp outcomes are really strong now. The gap with NLUJ has narrowed a lot. Yeah they might have an edge in some international placements but unless you're sure about that, doesn't matter much. Honestly, if you're self driven and want freedom to explore, go for GNLU. City's great, and you won't graduate completely burnt out.
Today, the ▮▮▮ is working abroad as a financial lawyer, boasting on LinkedIn about advising offshore entities - tax evasion by another name! And this guy used to rant against “neoliberalism” in college and criticise Nehru for not being socialist enough and for not aligning with Mao. 🙄
infrastructure wise we're definitely better than most other nlus. library's good, hostel facilities are okayish, campus is well maintained. ofc there's minor flaws here and there but nothing major to complain about compared to what I've heard from friends in other nlus. Gandhinagar as a city is really clean and safe which is a huge plus. It's for sure not as happening as delhi or bangalore but it's peaceful and you can focus on academics/internships without too many distractions. Employability is at an all time high right now. Placement stats have been pretty solid, lots of good firms coming in, and alumni network is getting stronger. So if you're worried about job prospects after graduation, gnlu's in a decent place rn
Manifesting that job in 2030, when I know I am a better lawyers and can contribute better to my organisation than I am doing currently.
Anyway, even if they don’t comply with BCI rules, you have children of senior ministers in this law school, while politicians across party lines dance at the owner’s daughter’s wedding. 🤣🤣🤣 Who will dare to act against them?
May I know the reason why you are making the switch.