I'm doing that already, got a few responses but employers are always hesitant to offer us something because they think we will leave early in search of better opportunities or would be difficult to work with (since there is a perception that we are snobbish and have attitude issues, which is a huge generalization).

1. No. I can't afford to pursue litigation.

2. I am willing to switch careers, infact already doing that, but I don't want to get into more degrees because I am already 25.

3. UPSC isn't an option for me. I can attempt CAT, but that would mean 2 more years of grind, I will be 28 when I would graduate from B-school and I really need to start earning because I don't come from privilege.

4. I don't have quotas, I'm a woman so I don't know if that counts.

Usually before, but sometimes even after, an offer letter is rolled out, a third party steps in to do background checks. They mostly look at whether you have any past criminal record and your employment history (internships don’t count). I know plenty of people whose offers were withdrawn or never came through after negative feedback from a previous employer. Law firm partners take peer feedback very seriously that’s often what really counts.

Short answer - yes.

Why? Long answer - social media yes , but also some degree of resilience was expected from you.

Parents and teachers and other elders didn’t coddle you and would severely discipline you if you were in the wrong. That made you less fragile.

With many of these things there is a social contagion element. Once one person self harmed in my university 5 people self harmed who never would have otherwise.

There’s also - even if you had a depressive episode you didn’t make that part of your identity. Eventually you would want to snap out of it and go do things. And people would let you- the kid who self harmed is a partner at a t1 now- no one still thinks of him in that way.

We also didn’t have phones so much. So you looked at other peoples faces and went on walks and runs for fun and played sports and started the school drama club or whatever and got drunk and did stupid things without ever wondering about what would be on the internet tomorrow. You could actually blow off steam. Literally looking at peoples faces rather than looking at phones the first thing in the morning and the last thing at night is a better start and end to your day.

And we had longer attention spans. You could get lost reading a book or lost playing an epic video game and get into some sort of meditative state.

We were also kinder to each other. We’d discuss politics , disagree , and then go out and get chai and cigs and be friends nevertheless. One could even date folks who were on opposite political spectrums. It made for a less harsh environment. It turns out having that kind of free speech is central to and not separate from human dignity.

Not even politics - even if you had personal drama with someone or someone said something that offended you - you’d eventually in a week or two forgive them. You didn’t carry anger with you and they didn’t carry shame.

And you’d let yourself be influenced. I am particularly prone to be excessively online. But once a day or something some classmate would come to my door or something and tell me to get out of my bed, shut off laptop and go explore the city or go do debate club or go do football or something and I would. I wouldn’t think they were being judgmental and be wounded. You would accept influence from those around you.

And you looked out for each other. Like you paid attention and took care of each other. Classmates of mine have woken me up to make sure I get to class, offered to write projects so I would graduate, checked in on me and took me home when I was home sick, one day I walked into my room to find a piece of cake courtesy of - not even a friend, just a friendly batchmate who saw I was going through something tough. We were just less - alone.

Even relationships, when you’re poor students who have to explain where every 500 goes to your parents your idea of a relationship becomes about providing emotional support to each other, and not necessarily to play out all these gender roles etc.

You also had more agency. Yes you had to explain how you spent money but I was at least trusted to decide for myself what career, what law school, what to do when there. My parents never even came to college until it was graduation time and they would be mortified to speak to any professor. It was good training to grow up to be an adult. Now parents are much more involved because students aren’t entering with the same life management skills.

There was still job stress. The market be more saturated now but back then there was less structure to things and many folks took risks to start their own thing. But you didn’t give up after one failure. It was expected that you’d fail, even if you didn’t get T1- you’ll do something worthwhile- you’ll clerk for a judge for a while and become a litigator later. You’ll work for a T3 law firm and build resume, you’ll write government exams. Life was long and your career would rebound. You had skills , you would find some place to use them.

I can keep going on and on.

So- it is phones and social media. It is also how you were raised and how you treat each other and how you treat yourselves.

Why only Nepal Z? Who knows maybe the former CJI will do a Lord Taluk. After all Yunus across the border seems very inspired by Lord Taluk.

Other historical or recent student led protests that can serve as inspiration or caution are ones in US (Civil Rights, Vietnam War) South Korea, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and most recently Indonesia.

I am a BO'27 (4th yr) from a T2 NLU, and a batch ranker (among Top 10). I have done 2 different T1 internships till now, and a 3rd one is lined up for December through RCC. The issue is that the internships I have done in T1s were Gen Corp related and the teams had hardly given me enough work, careless mentors/associates, unapproachable partners and ultimately been rejected callbacks despite doing all the work diligently before the posted deadline.

I have been extremely unlucky, whereas my batchmates with equal grades have been able to secure callbacks or extensions at least. I don't even see myself get into a good team or mentor in the coming T1 internship. Seeing the BO26 of my university struggle makes me anxious about my own future. I really wanna know what to do if this coming internship is the same as previous two?

Have experience of more than a year at Tier 1 law firm. Thinking about exploring Public Policy filed, have few questions in mind:

1. What is the scope and growth while working in PP (Legal & Regulatory) ? Any idea about they pay and pay growth in Big 4 or Think Tanks/Corporates?

2. Is is possible to switch back to law firms from public policy ?

TIA!

1. While negotiating your salary after an interview with a law firm, have you ever realized that you settled on the lower end compared to what others in the same team were being paid, and later regretted working for less despite doing equal work?
2. Has any partner ever told you that you could have asked for more during salary negotiations?
3. How do salary negotiations usually take place in law firms?
4. Can you renegotiate your salary after joining as a fresher?
5. How should I approach salary negotiation, and what key points should I keep in mind?

The team is known to have strong matters, but that seems to be the only real positive. Beyond the quality of work, the feedback isn’t great—long hours, difficult seniors, unrealistic expectations, and heavy internal politics is prominent. Of course, take this with a pinch of salt since much of it is second-hand, but overall the general perception hasn’t been very favorable.

Is a career in litigation in a Tier-2/Tier-3 city in India a good career option for someone with a 3-year LLB? Would like any insights/practical experience regarding the same. If there is anyone who has built a successful practice from scratch in a Tier-2/Tier-3 city, kindly share your experience. Regards.

I have been forwarding my CV to him and other partner in his team but they don’t even bother to respond as courtesy. Not asking them to schedule an interview on my asking but they can at least respond and say whether or not they are looking to hire. I’m sure they are not that busy

Adding to this, even if you work hard and get a Callback, they will not let you schedule a callback. For example, people who have been recommended for a callback are being asked to pick a month after March 2026. NLU's do not have vacations before June, which is again very close to Day Zero. There is a height of incompetency and arbitrariness, and then there are SAM HRs who will just not let you get hired.

Ask yourself these questions and make a strategy:

- Can I afford to work with a litigator for minimal pay? For how long?

- Am I willing to switch careers?

- Am I good enough in maths to attempt CAT/GMAT? Can I mug up a lot and do well in UPSC?

- Am I eligible for any quotas, like caste or EWS? If yes, where can I maximise my chances?

Or were they facing the same amount of it (if not more) but kept it hidden because society was more conservative then?

And if they were facing less, why was it so? Because India was less overpopulated and there was less competition for grades and jobs? Because there was no social media and culture wars?

Rahul’s chances in 2029 are at 40%, but his chances in 2034 are probably at 70%. It’s 2034 that we need to look at. By that time, Sibal, AMS etc will be retired. The first few batches of NLSIU will take their place.

But don’t rule out non-NLU nepo kids taking some prime slots.

Honestly, they don’t have to do anything. In a few years, NLS will eventually collapse given its massive batch sizes. And once Messiah leaves, so will half the faculty he recruited. But the quality dilution with domicile quota and huge batches will permanently impair the institution’s brand.

I have interned with her. Team is super healthy, closely-knit, they do M&A and international taxation. Can't comment on work life as I was there only for two weeks. Everything the team does required pretty solid application of mind and skill, so recruitment at junior levels might be difficult unless there's a visible interest in tax.

Smaller law firms and boutiques! Show an interest in that practice area - eg. litigation, arbitration, securities regulation, venture capital work. Reach out through LinkedIn or common connections who can put you in touch with an associate or partner there. Dont waste time reaching to HR, they dont make hiring decisions.

Might be office specific, but one thing I loved about my time at Khaitan Mumbai was not having to worry about being fired for low billable hours if it was a slow period. Partners were very candid about enjoying this period as downtime because there might be a flood of work later. Talk to an SA/PA in the team and if you are still concerned about being underutilized you might be able to seek work from another team.

Just interned at K&S Partners and have to say that it was quite an experience. Interns are given a room in a corner of the firm, which is pretty much a classroom with 4 walls. You aren't introduced to your mentors or other advocates, but just left in the room with the email ID of the mentor. Takes a few days for the mentors to reply, so you are just free in the first few days. Had to batter the mentor to get any work for the entire month, and he kept on ghosting me. Met him in person a handful of times, but the majority of communication happened through Teams, simple because the advocates had 3 days of work from home ▮▮▮

And in the cafeteria, I heard associates ranting to each other as well about the lack of any work, which really cemented the picture. The only good thing was that my mentor actually took time to explain things to me in detail when and if he had any work to give to me. Overall i could tell he was a nice person, so i am assuming that the people at the firm arent a problem, but the structure and work is non existent.

If you are looking for a stress free life, which a few of my co-interns did, then this is heaven. If you want to work and practice law, then please avoid.

“It is advisable to forgive the wrongdoer, but not to forget the wrongdoing. The wrong which has been committed against the appellant may not be investigated on technical grounds, but it must not be forgotten,” the bench said.

Interestingly, the faculty member's legal team had an NUJS-Chicago grad (Rishad Chadhury) and the VC's legal team had an NUJS grad (Kunal Chatterji, who regularly represents the WB govt in cases and has been appearing in many cases on behalf of NUJS).

https://www.livelaw.in/amp/top-stories/supreme-court-holds-nujs-facultys-sexual-harassment-complaint-against-vc-time-barred-but-directs-vc-to-mention-judgment-in-his-resume-303753

https://www.barandbench.com/news/supreme-court-dismisses-nujs-faculty-members-posh-complaint-against-vice-chancellor-but

I am a student and have heard from my seniors about the policy teams in law firms. The work sounds interesting to me, but I am curious about the pay across different firms.

I want to know about the compensation for people working in the policy teams at firms like SAM, CAM, Saraf (including other law firms), policy-focused firms like Vidhi and Ikigai and in-house roles.
How does the pay compare to that of the general corporate team of a T1?

I’ve tried searching online, but found very limited information about policy team salaries.

I would really appreciate any insights, as this would not only help me but also other students considering this career path.

Hello everyone,

I’m a 4th-year student from a T3 NLU. I’ve received confirmation of my internship with Nishith Desai Associates for July 2026 at their Bengaluru office with the Labour & Employment team. During my interview, I had expressed interest in the Delhi office. When I followed up with HR, I was informed that the L&E team primarily sits in Bengaluru, but that I would still be introduced to the team if I intern at Delhi or any other office.

For those who have interned at NDA Delhi or Bengaluru, could you please share your insights on which office would be better in terms of quality of work and chances of securing a PPO?

Thanks in advance!

Hello everyone,

I’m a 4th-year student from a T3 NLU. I’ve received confirmation of my internship with Nishith Desai Associates for July 2026 at their Bengaluru office with the Labour & Employment team. During my interview, I had expressed interest in the Delhi office. When I followed up with HR, I was informed that the L&E team primarily sits in Bengaluru, but that I would still be introduced to the team if I intern at Delhi or any other office.

For those who have interned at NDA Delhi or Bengaluru, could you please share your insights on which office would be better in terms of quality of work and chances of securing a PPO?

Thanks in advance!

I have a PQE of 1 year, I've done my LLM from a tier 1 school, undergrad was from a private uni.

I'm currently working as an in-house lawyer at a startup and want to switch soon. My goal is to work at law firms and I've been sending applications through emails but with no luck, yet. How do I approach the application process?

In the meantime, I've also been applying for in-house positions, with preference for banks and companies with good repute. If there are any openings at your org, please lmk.

I found an LPO in Hyderabad recruiting and referred a friend. He was recruited into the immigration department.

His work involves speaking to guys who come to the UK without visas by sea or through smugglers. They need to prepare documentation for filing an asylum application. They need to research (including case laws of UK Immigration Tribunals) and link the facts with publicly available data to support the asylum case. You will report to solicitors in the UK.

The clients include guys fleeing Afghanistan from Taliban atrocities, women activists from Iran, Mynamar, etc.

You will also need to write exams for the Law Society UK accreditation: https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/career-advice/individual-accreditations/immigration-and-asylum-law-accreditation/how-to-apply (the company trains you and pays for the exam; with the first exam on Trainee Casework Assistant, followed by Casework Assistant, Caseworker, and Senior Caseworker)

This is a good start if you want to do Human Rights work, considering you will learn UK and European laws and also get accreditation from the Law Society UK (assuming you pass the exams)

The job advertorial: https://www.verticobpo.in/assets/img/others/job-advert-02.png