What a lovely place to be when you think nothing wrong can happen in a tier 1 law firm and everything is wrong here. Zero inclusiveness, lawyers themselves are treated differently, business services team is treated as second class citizens and zero accountability (like the current government).

Promotions are politically aligned (internal politics), no value of their own words or promises.

▮▮▮!

What you are doing is the precise definition of ad hominem. If you've got any issue with what the spokesperson has been saying and God knows there are plenty of such issues, then by all means criticise those. Her background is of no relevance in that context. Humans are not dogs that 'pedigree' will be prioritised over all.

Lets face the facts, to whoever is reading this. AI has disrupted all other fields, and law firms are nearing the finish line. I expect recruitments to come to almost zero by 2030 in the coming years except for single digit hirings from top NLUs like NLS, NALSAR and GNLU. Rest all law colleges are cooked. Hold me to my words, by 2030 its happening

Hi everyone, this is my First time posting here, I've been applying to law firms for a few weeks now, I though it might be a good idea to visit the firms and drop my CV physically. Does anyone have any opinions if this is a good or a bad idea. Also, I'm specifically talking about law firms based in delhi, please let me know if this would work or not.

But SQE is actually rigid and has a lower pass percentage so it makes sense for them to make it steep afterwards. I mean we also have/had firms who paid for clearing that bare minimum level AIBE. However, that is not to say that I disagree with your point in here and to make it worse since the market is closed off for India everywhere it's highly difficult to crossover to there unless one has contacts (yes I did not include foreign LLM deliberately because there's no guarantee through that).

No doubt, it is the most happening thing. At least two people have got the Rhodes scholarships explicitly saying they are interested in intersectional sociolegal research.

But isn’t it becoming tried to death now? Aren’t law school essays looking like humanities essays? Aren’t law students better of researching on conventional legal topics, like how laws governing contract, company, law, and so on be reformed?

What an abject abandonment of a statutory mandate. A country of cowards regulated by bigger cowards.

https://www.newindianexpress.com/business/2026/Jul/26/avoiding-suo-motu-cases-unless-nobody-is-willing-to-come-forward-cci

We now have to read about competition law sponsored by Amazon from NLU Delhi.

Incredible.

Now that A0s have been inducted by a lot of firms, I implore the LI community to update the compensation megathread with the year of update, that a lot of us still use and which seems to stick around (also convenient to refer to). It'd be super helpful for the future batches!

Pasting here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ltk2xnERP1OWklq60BEsJFhl3eSuQX7nQEdo_v37ggs/edit?gid=1214652949#gid=1214652949

Sidenote, for our 2026 batch of A0s, would be great if we could also discuss breakups for this year here - lot of confusion on KCO for example, which apparently continues to be the highest paymaster (no increase though?) but has restructured the AIBE bonus to be a joining bonus. How true is this? Are there any other firms that have also restructured or increased their pay for any location?

what's the issue if they have backed out 2 days before day zero? All firms are lowering down their fresher intake, Saraf is not an exception. How did pushing students to apply on time mess with other applications?

Firms back out from hiring all the time, this is especially the case in more senior levels.

I came across a similar post and realised I have the exact same question, so thanks to the OP there.

I'm starting at a law firm soon, and I'm weirdly anxious about whether I have the right wardrobe for the job. I interned there during the winter, and everyone looked incredibly put together with tailored coats, blazers, boots, elegant sweaters. I never felt particularly out of place then because winter dressing is a bit more forgiving, and you can layer almost anything under a nice coat or blazer.

But now I'm joining in the middle of summer after most of the freshers have already joined, and I have no idea what people actually wear day to day. Looking at the firm's website and LinkedIn doesn't help because half the photos are from court or formal events, where everyone is in a blazer anyway. Do people actually wear blazers year-round, even in this heat, or is that just for client meetings and photographs?

I'm also wondering about women's workwear in general. Is it common to wear kurtas with straight pants, or do most women stick to Western office wear? I'm worried I'll end up looking underdressed even if I'm dressed appropriately.

Am I overthinking it, or is there an unspoken dress code that everyone just seems to know?

The OP’s question was not if Indian grads have it better at US law firms but in general whether law firms there pay higher on an adjusted basis.

On CAM v Nixon - if we’re not taking relative standing of the firms into consideration why don’t we compare Veritas with Kirkland as well? Neither is a fair comparison and you know it.

And no a TYPICAL first year in the US does not have 4-6 years of non-legal experience. Most of them do not work beyond 1-2 years before joining law school. Many of them have no prior work experience at all (though that would only be around 15-20%)

PR team asli id se aao. Stay number one because of the relation to one number. That's it. Remove that from the equation and then see how the house tumbles. If the gen Z protest has taught us one thing, it's that rotting institutions have had their hey days. The ones that will survive are the ones that take their head out of the sand and face the winds of change. Fiefdoms are over. Merit and entrepreneurship is the new mantra.

Realise this. Accept this.

As someone who’s worked in NY and in India there is no doubt the US firms pay a lot more on an apples to apples comparison. The rents in NY are high yes (approx 30-35% of post tax pay) but isn’t the proportion the same if not higher in Mumbai? You may say everyday things like groceries and all are more expensive (and thats true) but do you not realise those form a relatively smaller part of the average monthly expense for high paid professionals like law firm associates (both in India and in US). Outside of rent the biggest expenses tend to be discretionary purchases where the PPP difference almost entirely fades away.

I get your anxiety its really something else. All the new joinees had an orientation week and you could easily tell who made and effort and who didn't! But I wonder how much it matters? Someone told me that female bosses care less about how their male juniors dress and others say every boss cares because you represent them. On a fresher budget I'm still wearing my intern clothes because I feel bad to not use these boring black and white clothes even though I can see all the men in my team are far more sophisticated with their ties and what nots.

Hi all

I recently completed my masters from a University up North, for a good fortune, and having a good enough capacity to recreate/ reenact a landmark judgment's hearing. That's all the necessary deets for the name. Graduated from MU, want to live here as I belong to the city

What's the IP non-litigation hiring scene for freshers looking like? I have been applying but really not hearing back from anyone. Is Mumbai the right option for non-lit IP, or do I need to broaden my cities? I truly thought it was more of Delhi for lit and Mumbai for non-litigation, but am I missing something out here? This is getting really tiring for me, those having proper advice and any inside info or the trends, please pitch in.

Mods, please bump this

There is plenty of kissing going around here too. Including female seniors who push for particular male interns as an SA and now having made partner, have him bumped to SA over other deserving candidates.

Ultimately long story short in this age, its their business, but what should grind peoples gears is the conflict of interest. If you really like someone, quit and continue. Otherwise its just an professional ick for all those around you.

If the govt really has "dirt" on CJS honchos, why isn't it producing the same before the Parliament? We know quite a bit about Dipke. Yes, he was with AAP previously and follows Ambedkarite politics. So what? The ruling regime has so many turncoats and scamsters (as alleged by Pradhan Sevak himself) but all these folks no longer face legal action.

But we know very little about SD and others other than the flood of fluffy pieces and their polar opposites. Can anyone enlighten?

Saraf has officially communicated our RCC that they would not be coming for campus hirings this year. Have learnt that this is not specific to NLS, but that NALSAR and NUJS have been told the same.

What's annoying is the lack of professionalism on their part. Our RCC had been trying so hard to get in touch with them over the past few days. Regular follow-ups, pushing students to apply in time (which messed with their other applications) only to hear they have BACKED OUT 2 DAYS BEFORE DAY ZERO. Absolutely ridiculous. If you cannot afford hirings, why waste both our time and yours. We have banners printed with their names on it ffs. There is a lot of prep that goes in from both the candidates and the RCC towards a potential recruiter. A firm might be going broke, but its not like they come to know about it overnight. The least they could have done is informed us beforehand so that we could have tried getting other firms on board and also let candidates manage their applications accordingly.

All our batchmates are so anxious now, and it has made the RCC's life tougher as well. Extremely disappointing and unprofessional from a firm that tries to arbitrarily impose so much rigour upon its associates. Things are clearly bad there, ▮▮▮

Look, I am not a snob. I wish the girl well and there's no shame if she worked for LawBeat. I also accept that Sanya is completely pro-BJP. ▮▮▮. The CJP should have scouted NLU grads and chosen someone more experienced ▮▮▮ An NLSIU-Ivy League grad with good court or law firm experience would have really helped the image of the party.

https://x.com/LegalTalwar/status/2082157280641102308

https://x.com/whattalawyer/status/2070744551049060646

https://lawbeat.in/author-info/186/ratna-singh

It matters where you live in the US. All of BigLaw in the US pays the same scale. So, an associate living in Chicago, Philly, Miami, Houston, etc. and earning the typical Cravath/Milbank scale saves a LOT LOT more than ones working in NYC and living in the city (triple taxation).

As is pretty common knowledge by now, the job market in the UK is shitty RN. The idea you had was acted on (with a twist) by two law students who took two things to the London offices of some of the firms which are the biggest names in commercial law - including magic circle and Amlaw20 law firms. They took their CVs and Crispy Cream doughnuts to the offices and gave both to partners. Jonathan Ames, the legal stories editor of the London Times (a historically conservative newspaper), covered their little attempt to stand out quite sympathetically. Maybe give something like that a shot!? (To note, apparently the attempt of these two women to stand out was not viewed with disapproval, as you might believe at first.)

Working out and being fit will do wonders for starters as clothes naturally look better on a defined body. Try getting pants fully custom made, makes all the difference imo. Get the cloth and go to a competent tailor. Make sure the pant break is exactly on top of the shoes, i.e right at the ankle. This makes all the difference.

Buy good quality shirts, white and powder blue in colour — I prefer from Raymond and Arrow. Get them tailored as well, maybe a pleat to cover the excess fabric. Ensure they are always properly ironed and clean. If you wanna fold your sleeves, there's a method where instead of multiple foldes you just do one long one, that also makes it look tidy.

Use good formal oxford shoes that are regularly polished. Black and dark tan should be enough, witch matching belts if possible. Fornal socks matching the colour or either the pants or the shoes. A good metal watch can help as well.

All this can be for a fairly moderate amount as well. Just ensure they are made for your body.

Hi everyone,

I have been working as a Law Researcher at the Delhi High Court for the past 1.5+ years and now looking to move to a Tier 1 law firm.

During this time..i have worked on matters involving criminal law, white collar crimes, corporate criminal liability, Section 138 NI Act, and IBC.

I am keen to join a firm with a strong white collar/criminal litigation practice. Would really appreciate any suggestions on firms I should look at or teams that are hiring.

Thanks in advance!

The highest paying Indian law firm for freshers is CAM/KCO at 21-22LPA - highest paying among magic circle is Clifford Chance/Freshfields/Links at 76LPA (this is pre SQE - trainee salary). Now, if we were to compute PPP as against the most expensive city in India (Mumbai) and the most expensive city in the UK (London) - the math is that the London trainee earns about 3.5 times more on the face of it.

Approximate PPP adjustment

A reasonable way economists think about this is that the UK price level is roughly 2.3–2.8× India’s (depending on the basket of goods and methodology).

Using a midpoint of 2.5×:

- London trainee:
- ₹76 lakh nominal
- PPP-adjusted purchasing power ≈ ₹30–31 lakh in India

Compared with:

- CAM/KCO fresher:
- ₹22 lakh

The effective purchasing-power gap becomes:

31 ÷ 22 ≈ 1.4×

So after accounting for local prices, the London trainee is closer to 40% better off, not 245% better off.

(ChatGPT did the math)

But really, when the London trainee becomes a NQ solicitor - the difference is steep. And even accounting for PPP, Indian law firm pay is abysmally low compared to UK/US/even Singapore counterparts.

This has aged horribly since MNLU Mumbai is overloaded with admin and logistical issues. You will barely feel the location advantage. The batches live in hostels which are like roughly half an hour away from each other, the student culture has worsened because of this. The professors keep changing like every semester or sometimes during the semester. So I would suggest you to opt people to give a chance to other NLUs.

nonsense. us first year grads are typically 27-30 years old and have 4-6 years of (non legal) work experience under their belt. by the time a lawyer is 27 -30 in a good firm in India, should be earning between 40 - 50L. The question is whether 200k at 50% taxation and NY rents and cost of living is comparable to 40-50L in Delhi with delhi costs of living. the objective answer is that 40-50L is a lot more.

even if one were to go a step below to a slightly lesser paymaster at 30-40L, still better than NY.

so cost is not the ideal comparison. independance, prestige, quality of work etc. ought to be the difference (but even that is changing - r u saying a leading M&A partner at CAM has less prestige than an M&A partner at Nixon Peabody? nonsense) , and on the other side there is racism, tougher market, visa etc.

Add the cost of that LLM although it seems to be a fun break year

I studied law in the UK at the undergraduate level and have some brief thoughts on what you have asked:

1. Re: Dubai work. I've seen graduates of UK unis getting middle east training contracts in the global law firms. Indeed, one of my best friends from my uni LLB cohort got a Dentons Dubai TC.

2. Would suggest avoiding Middlesex University. It ain't a brand name in the UK, it ain't gonna help you in Dubai either.

I have been working at a boutique firm for the past 2 years. I feel so drained out and exhausted as I have no work life balance. I want to resign and get job somewhere else. But then I am scared to resign without a back up. I want a break for a few months and then resume somewhere else. But everyone is saying that it's a stupid idea to do so.