Trust me everyone is going through something or the other similar to you. Everyone feels inadequate, but just hang in there, things will get better with time. You are not supposed to know EVERYTHING now. Learning is a process, its takes time. It'll get better. I'm a 5th year law student with no job or idea as to what I'm gonna do next year. I know so many people (Including myself) who would kill to be in the position you are in now as a Corporate associates in T-3.

At every stage in life we face problems like this that makes it seem like its the most difficult thing we've had to endure. I'm in the stage before you where I'm constantly looking for jobs, after this I'll get to where you are. Its all a cycle, but the good thing is, it passes with time. Difficulties pass with time making way for new ones. Hang in there, you are not alone.

If the internet in its modern form and Legally India specifically had existed in 1988, LI was then visited by people from around the world and some Harvard Law School graduate had described the (then) new NLSIU as a "HLS wannabe", would that comment have been marked trollish?

Try to use the time out productively when they are not giving you work to educate yourself and learn more about your preferred area of law (which looks good when partners see you sitting around). (And when no one is looking, you can use the time to look for jobs).

And perhaps its not you, but it's them?

Hi sir!

I'm a lawyer with 2 years PQE (Core litigation + Corporate).
I have a long term plan of having an independent corporate non litigation practice. As of now I'm working at a good tier 2 firm under a great mentor. Could you please give some tips as to how you'd like me to plan out the next few years? Any tips that you'd give me which you feel would've been helpful had you known at a younger age?

If you're comfortable sharing, as an independent corporate non litigation lawyer, what is the work that you majorly do? Because I've heard from a lot of people that as an independent lawyer you get more of gen corp work and less of transactions work.

Would love to know your story! Thank you :)

law is seen as an emancipation profession in India and there is far more dalit and muslim lawyers today than upper caste lawyers

your entire comment is based on pure assumptions and anecdotes. You are cherry picking examples of branhmin judges to come to a preferred conclusion. Even in Kolkata, brahmin lawyers and judges were exceedingly rare considering 30-35% of bengali population would be brahmin. They have always preferred sciences, academia, IT as their area of focus.

Honestly, it feels like▮▮▮ ▮▮▮ ▮▮▮. Look at their faculty: not one PhD, only a handful of LLMs, and many non-lawyers—politicians and general Bangalore celebrities. Who advertises guest speakers alongside faculty? If NLS did that, the web page wouldn't end. It's by practicing lawyers for practicing lawyers—well, sorry to say, many practicing lawyers don't have the ability to teach many law subjects. You cannot spend your whole life working on check bouncing disputes and then try and teach contracts or banking. The skills aren't transferrable. Just like someone cannot teach constitutional law all their lives and then litigate a patent dispute in courts. I don't even know how this works with UGC guidelines.

And 4 lakh 50 thousand fees? That's exorbitant, considering it's an unproven concept. When Jindal was just starting out, they admitted most students for free. I know because they found my number somehow when I was offered admission to an NLU in 2015, called me up, and offered me free schooling.

All well and good to try and become NLS- good ambition. but Dr. Madhava Menon knew what he was doing. He was an accomplished academic who had been around for years. Until they get one of those- I think this will just be some weird fantasy fulfillment for people who wanted to be academics but didnt pursue it. If theyre serious about legal education they should get people who are serious about legal education. Not people who are role playing in their free time.

Exactly. Remember the common thread for everyone: LLM and PhD, meaning you will have to put in several years' worth of study. So think carefully about whether you want this.

1. For UK specifically remember this also. There are different types of academic employment contracts at British universities: so-called 'T&R' (Teaching and Research) and 'T&S' (Teaching and Scholarship) contracts. The latter involves more teaching load, more marking, more grunt admin etc, with very little scope for promotions, while the former usually aportions the workload as follows: 40% teaching, 40% research and 20% admin (marking, faculty committees and so on) (you will notice that T&S contracts don't have much research expectation). For the T&R contract, a PhD is usually required as an entry level criteria, not just for promotions (so even for the most junior starting rung of the academic ladder, if you wanted a T&R contract, you'd need a PhD). A T&S contract, in addition to not having any major research expectations, has a few other things about it: it doesn't necessarily require a PhD, but at many unis, people are usually employed on such contracts on a maternity cover basis (you know, a regular torts tutor is gonna have a kid, they need someone for eight months to cover those responsibilities, they take someone needing a gap year for financials between master's and PhD and get shot of that one at the end of the year). That very significant negative feature means that they would rather take someone who could teach the 'core modules' which the regulators of the profession (the SRA or Solicitors' Regulation Authority for solicitors and the Bar Standards Board or BSB for barristers) have agreed should be the required foundation subjects of study to obtain a law degree (in other words, someone who has done an English law degree or qualified as an English lawyer). So regarding the work experience part, if UK is your intended destination, you might want to try and qualify as a solicitor maybe? Perhaps by doing a lateral move to a London law firm and working there for a few years before doing anything else. Remember: you may see some very senior faculty at UK unis without PhDs. Don't go by that. They entered the British academic job market in a very different day and age, when expectations were more flexible and people were more open to the idea that non-PhD holders could produce high quality intellectual work too (and when the emphasis on research output and 'quality' of such output was much less).

2. Can't speak much about Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, but would imagine that expectations are largely similar.

3. I know you said no U.S., but I will just say what I know about that just in case it might help (if not you, then someone else). U.S. is even more tricky in some senses. Their foundation or qualifying law degrees (the JD) are 'terminal degrees' (i.e., usually done as the final degree in someone's educational career or in combination with a PhD in something else). Now they have LLM degrees and doctorates in law called SJDs or JSDs, but these are primarily graduate law degrees designed for foreign students who, having done their qualifying law degree overseas, want exposure to U.S. legal training (the expectation is that those people will use their U.S. studies to teach and research abroad). They hardly ever hire graduates of their own SJD/JSD programmes, even though they have rigorous entry procedures and SJD/JSD candidates at the very good U.S. law schools (Harvard, Yale etc) usually get some American teaching experience. For the foreigner with qualifying and/or even further law degrees from abroad, the best way to get into U.S. academia is to debase oneself to the extent of bowing to the inevitable and going for a JD (maybe a combination of a good Indian BALLB + UK LLM + second UK master's (like Oxford MPhil, if you are solid enough to get in) might work in your favour, for the academic market when you graduate from a JD, but for JD admission purpose as well, in terms of profile). That is one option, but often U.S. faculty have PhDs in other fields before they do their JDs. Considering that piculiarity, think about this option for entry to U.S. academia (obviously going for it depends on your own interests as well as the very high selection barrier for it). If you are the jurisprudence type (always a good type to be if you want to work in the U.S.), then the PhD in Jurisprudence and Social Policy (JSP) programme that Berkeley California offers is a good option. It is a very long PhD programme (usually about five to seven (at most) years), where they give you extensive training in many subjects, from science to philosophy to history to economics, before examining you in a specific 'field' and making you write a 'dissertation' (what in other countries would be a 'thesis') in the final years of your JSP studies. The coursework is so varied and long because they assume that the 'undergraduate training' received by everyone on the programme is shit. JSP, BTW, is not one of those primarily-designed-for-foreign students type of PhDs (you look on their website and see their language, you'll get what I mean). Often a JSP can be combined with a JD. This combination is extremely formidable and definitely has much more promising prospects for teaching in the U.S. than the typical LLM + SJD combinations (many JSP graduates from my vague memory who are foreign graduates have taught in U.S. universities after graduation). It might sound too good to be true, but the funding for this is pretty substantial too! Funding is a definite positive of U.S. over UK, where the Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) scholarship, which requires you to do a minimal amount of teaching to instruct undergrad students (again one where some unis express preference for UK law graduates because undergraduate UK law students obviously need to learn core modules mainly) is one of the only available options in terms of funding. This is because UK unis are not in the best financial situations currently, as a result of the government's stupid policy implemented over a number of years of keeping undergraduate tuition fees 'capped', i.e., artificially suppressed at, until this year, the amount of £9,250/year (now going up to £9,500/year). The trouble with this fee suppression mechanism has been that the £9,250 amount was implemented as the tuition fee 'cap' in 2012 and hasn't changed, and the raising by £250 is done by the recent Labour government, which doesn't have the balls to raise it by inflation amount because of political backlash. This has meant that many UK unis are actually making losses, and consequently, that their openness to giving funding is limited at best. The U.S. is much better in comparison for a variety of reasons.

However, obviously JSP will not work for everyone. The LLM + SJD combination might work for helping you obtain U.S. work experience (in a law firm setting), which, if you do a lot of, might eventually lead to entry into their academic market becoming a possibility.

Sorry about the long answer, just saying what I know. Hope this helps.

Bro just join vips, christ isn't worth that much. And please work on yourself in terms of vocabulary and general turnout if you have T1 expectations. Rest all can be done, college only comes into play if its T1 NLUs or certain top tier pvt colleges. Baaki sab same hai for recruiters and your best (read:only) shot is a ppo.

Guideline 1.2 of the UGC Guidelines on Student Entitlements gives the students assurance that the 'mode & frequency of evaluation' won't be changed at the detriment of students. Additionally, it is a legitimate expectation of students that the pattern of examination will continue to be so during the entire course. However, in less than past 2 years, the exam policy has been changed by the administration twice. The first time, they removed mid sems giving a justification that such continuous evaluation is detrimental to mental health of students. The students were against it, considering the end sems answer sheets aren't shown to students, and the marking of projects and vivas is entirely in the hands of faculties. Now, on 1 Jan 2025, the admin goes back on its word and brings back continuous evaluation, with a bizarre element of 'tutorial evaluation'. It means that the tutorial classes will be evaluated. This policy was announced without even specifying how these tutorials can be evaluated. Oxford has been conducting tutorials since 15th century, and hasn't evaluated them. None of the NLUs or any institute implementing system of tutorials evaluated, according to the data collected by the Student Council of NLUO for this. Now, 40% of your marksheet is left at the whims of faculties, and you have no way to ensure that the rest 60% was marked fairly. People in 4th & 5th year have to deal with another element of evaluation when they are already preparing for competitive exams. No one in the student body signed up for this. When asked to engage in discussion as to why this decision was taken, the administration says it affects their mental health so they won't be engaging with the students. Or they come up with excuses like there are vacant seats in student council so they won't be engaging with it. When the same administration is asked to take into consideration the mental health of students, they say "if you have fragile mental health don't join the college." (The mail can be accessed here : https://www.instagram.com/p/DFHRYvKPP-R/?igsh=bXM1ZHZjMDZlOGto)

The work culture is fairly decent. They take only a selected number of interns since the space is cramped. The hiring process is usually done through internships based on the partners' reviews. I have no idea about the salary, but I would like to know since I reached out for an internship in dispute resolution recently

U cn do nothing. Ask said Asso if u can take him out 4 a drink n suck up to him / her. Tho it is strange dat a lowly asso has d power to “cancel” ur internship cert. Assos don’t even have d authority to tell a client wot 2 do. How dey vl cancel ur certificate beta? Sumting is nt adding up in ur story.

Try interning with companies early on in your law school. Develop a general understanding of business and get a grasp on companies act, M&A, IPR.

Do certifications if necessary but a PG is not a must.

Although I would advise you to experience multiple opportunities in law before zeroing down

Hi, I am at my wits end. I decided to go for law after my entrances based on science due to many problems and motivation to pursue law. My parents didn’t at all wanted me to go for a drop year because a year wasted is a lot, but they came around when cuet results came out and they saw that I was capable enough to get into a decent college at DU so I might get into a good nlu.

I had already made up my mind that to go wrong in my own way is better than to go right in someone else’s.

But during the actual clat, everything that I had hoped I had overcome cam back in my mind. All the mediocre thoughts and meaningless comparisons and hopelessness after a minor mistake in omr.

This all resulted in my mediocre performance with 5 digit rank.

I am at this moment waitlisted for sls noida and Pune but I have no hopes for either due to the waitlist number.

I have kiit

India - LLM+NET+PhD (mandatory for promotions)

Abroad - LLM+Work Exp+PhD (Higher chances if you have one)

If you want to teach abroad, it's better you do your higher studies abroad. Follow academics who have taken this route, many from the top NLUs are now teaching in Ox+US.

Be transperant. Bandwidth estimation is a bitch but you need to learn it. yes you may be frowned upon for giving no bandwidth as a reason for not taking up work (no matter how absurd that is because you can't do good work if you don't have the bandwidth) but in the long run it will help as you will slowly build a reputation for taking on what you can and delivering it well (provided you do deliver a good work product that ends up saving the senior's time in review). I have suffered immensely and still continue to suffer as an SA2 because I just can't say no. But I do respect it when my juniors say no for geniune reasons like no bandwidth (even though there is nothing I can do about it at times because pressure is coming from the top)

However give a geniune estimate for your bandwidth and over the long run people will realise that you are geniune. As you grow you will know that it's easy to see who is having bandwidth and who isn't, so beyond a point you can't fool anyone. I have seen even the generally harsh partners who appreciate if you can give them geniune bandwidth estimate because it helps them staff matters better.

That said, the unfortunate reality is somebody who slogs takes on more work and always says yes may be looked upon like a "better" and "hard working" resource. So you'll need to manage your expectations in the short term.

However I can't see how this will not be beneficial in the long run.

Tell them you can take the new work but list what you already have on your plate and how much time those things will take. Then ask them to help you prioritize what to do first and how much time to spend on it. Either they'll get the hint or help you de-prioritize something for which they had set an arbitrary deadline.

Genuine advice dedo

Hi guyss really genuine advice dedo sab

BACKGROUND-

So basically i’m not financially stable zyada and i live in delhi so I’m getting VIPS DELHI and i can try for CHRIST UNI as well (jiski application fees is 8000,i can handle but if only worth it).

But ab meri itni fattne lgi h na competitive exam se kya hi btau (gave clat,ailet and slat (got selected in nagpur but not worth for 40L) ) .

So is it worth going for Christ Uni ( my goal is to work in t1 firms , a lil ambitious ik but yes) or i can go with vips as well ( i have connections in legal field as well i live in delhi so will participate in alottt of competitions (moot and etc) easy bhi padhega kyuki father is not well)

Aur christ k liye i will have to (sell a property (only thing our family has)and buy a new one cheaper than the old one.

So is it reallyyyy worth going for Christ or if i work harder i can do well on my own (get in t1 firms) in VIPS as well?

Also i have heard christ is way too hard (attendance,uniform,entrance time, clg m canteen m baat nhi krskte, internships nhi krdete voh , curriculum bahut alg h paper bahut hi alg aate usse jo padhate h and hectic schedule ) whereas in vips i can do internships freely in delhi (jo ki mera ghr bhi h)

So please give me an answer (jitne log de skte ho dedo) maa baap ko pareshaan nhi krna chahtiii 🙏🙏(dropper hu)

Sorry but this is very bad. I assume you must be around 29. Wake up and smell the coffee… you guys and girls are working 55-60 hours a week for such level of savings. You will tell me salaries will increase but so will your costs - marriage, kids, schools. Find a way to get richer, ethically and legally.

Cycle of toxicity. Your strategy is precisely right to combat it. Nobody is coping or thriving in this situation. Modify your strategy based on the following suggestions:

1. For non-toxic people: If situation is really bad, then be blunt. If not, be a little more indirect. Something like, "Considering all I have on my intray at this time, I feel ABC could do a much better job of this more efficiently than I could. Therefore, why not consult him? If there's anything else I can help you with, please do let me know". Thanks!".

2. For toxic people: Repeat step 1 as above, always giving benefit of doubt. If it doesn't work, then go for the nuclear option (but only use in the most desperate situation where nothing else is left): "You are a toxic piece of shit, you think you can get over your personal insecurities by making other peoples' lives hell. Try a taste of your own medicine you worthless, useless fart. Now fuck off and suck your dick. I wish your mother had swallowed/your dad had restricted his activities to pleasuring himself under the sheets".

The worst scam in the Indian legal industry is the distribution of awards to lawyers, including the ludicrous “30 under 30.” These awards are sponsored by law firms that pay money for nominations. Typically, the awardees come from tier 1 law firms. The selection standards and panel are opaque; no one knows how the selections are made. If you are a lawyer from a tier 1 law firm and you have paid the money, you are likely to receive an award. As a conscientious lawyer, one should never accept such an award. It’s understandable that a Bollywood star might accept an award after paying for it, even though it holds no real value and does not truly represent excellence. However, lawyers should hold themselves to higher standards. You have the right to ask questions and seek justifications. If you are nominated as a “30 under 30” lawyer, consider whether lawyers from smaller firms or independent practitioners might have been overlooked because they couldn’t afford the nomination fee. Knowing that these awards are essentially bought, a principled lawyer should refuse to accept them,

Tax lawyer here (A3 at T1). Firstly, what subject to “presumptive tax regime”? you’re not gonna make the amount in first year that you’ll have to think of choosing which regime to go under to get 100% refund. Even if you join start of June, you still are paid for 10months (without bonus) before end of FY, so just file ITR 4 and be happy.

Secondly, if your retainer is 12LPA payable at equal amounts over 12 months, your monthly retainer would be 1L. 10% will deducted as TDS from this and you’ll get 90k credited in your account.

To simplify. Any person earning 14LPA (inclusive of bonus) as retainer in law firm will have to pay 0 tax under the new tax regime. For people earning more than 14LPA , if they opt for old tax regime, they'll get 50% deduction on deemed expense and subsequently they can claim other deduction to bring it below 5Lakh and pay 0 tax.

Hey, A0 at a tier 1 team. Wanted to ask, what's the work timings and pay scale of my peers and team , toxicity wise. 10 Months PQE in capital markets

For me, the team is very good and learning is lot. Work is there, but limited and generally weekends are free. Pay is around 15/16 LPA. Working on around 10 deals here and there, witnessing some of them since kick-off.

Comments?

This question comes up every year around this time. I mean no offense, but rather, if you could possibly Google search "legally india tax filing for associates" you might get a response. A few months, or roughly a year ago, someone had posted a very detailed and helpful reply. If at all you can find it, do check it out.

P.S. Save the said reply if you can. Don't be like me, I'm left searching for it, despite have read it earlier, smh

BCI Rules allows for advocates to take up a role as a Director in a company (non-executive). Can a lawyer working in a tier firm become a director in a company? there maybe many situations such as family business etc where they must become a director. Will this be allowed? should it be disclosed? while witching jobs will this prevent the lawyer from getting a job?

I've recently joined a 3 year LLb program at ILS. I see people from top NLUs who have a future laid out because of hard work in their schooling days. I'm very happy for them and all, but I'd like to know how to make it to top rungs of the ladder (i.e SAM, CAM, Trilegal etc) in spite of not being from a top NLU anyway.

Any advice is much appreciated.

Hi folx,

Usually we see threads about the lifestyles of the T1 firm lawyers in Bombay, but not so many about those in Delhi. So here's one to start. Where do they hang out, live, travel, shop and so on?

I'll start - I'm at a T1 in its corporate practice. My PA used to rent in GK2, and my Partner has his own flat in Hauz Khas. Khan Market is a preferred hang out, shopping is mostly at the South Delhi/Gurgaon malls.

Hey! I wanted some insights on the litigation scene in Bangalore, specifically whether it would be viable to move to Bangalore from a small town.

I'm currently in my final year (3 years) and was considering Bangalore as an option for practice. While working in my hometown would make more sense financially, there is simply no growth. Seniors refuse to give meaningful work while juniors remain juniors for years on a depressingly low salary (3-5k to start out with). Plus I would really like to move out for personal reasons. Professors and some advocates I've talked to recommend moving to Bangalore for the learning opportunity but I'm worried I won't be able to survive there. Campus placements are not a thing for me but we do get a few offices from Banglore looking for juniors.

I'd love some insights from litigators in Bangalore
1. What's the culture like? What should I know before making a decision?
2. Honest salaries?
3. What do seniors expect from their juniors?
4. How to find a good senior!!

Also, if anyone has any leads on vacancies, good offices or other work please drop a few recs! : )

Isn’t is more expensive than in first world countries?How can people afford to live in Mumbai at this rate???

https://www.ndtv.com/entertainment/amitabh-bachchan-sells-oshiwara-duplex-apartment-for-rs-83-crore-earns-168-percent-profit-7522283#pfrom=home-ndtv_lateststories

https://www.news18.com/business/after-70-hour-work-week-remark-narayana-murthy-says-no-one-can-demand-long-hours-at-work-9196284.html

Meanwhile, Durex has trolled the L&T CEO.

https://www.news18.com/short-news/

Hey,

As mentioned in the title, I am an Associate (A0) working as a corporate lawyer at a Tier 3 law firm. I am constantly anxious about my work. I always feel like I am not enough and worry that I will be fired because I am not doing enough. On top of this, I have been getting less work, and there are times when I don’t really have anything to do. Whenever I do get work, I’m unable to perform to the best of my ability because I keep thinking that I'm not good enough. What should I do to overcome these feelings? How can I make this anxiety go away? Any advice would be helpful.

Could you please tell do your friends go to NALSAR university after 15 day coursework or just visit to meet guide occassionally. I just want to know is it compulsory to stay at the University during PhD even after 15 day coursework as NALSAR don't have part-time PhD

Thanks in advance

Hey Guys,

Can anyone shed some light on Antares Legal M&A, PE/VC team, Gurgaon office:

1. How is the work culture?

2. What is the hiring process and are they hiring?

4. What is the salary range (currently) for entry-level associates in the M&A and PE/VC team?

I have been working with a T-1 law firm from A0. Currently at SA1.

Total savings max 30L (no major family responsibilities)

How would you see this amount as savings in the given context. Please share your savings so that we can get an idea as to how other people are managing their expenses.

Instead of a part time PhD, the best is to join a full time PhD and after 9 months, 6 months of coursework, 3 months of prep and presenting to the RAC and getting an approval, you'll be free. Moreover they'd expect you to finish the PhD in 3 years. On the other hand a part timer can go upto 6 years, especially since administration and faculty Don't really push you to complete the process quicker. So take a full time PhD, and after 9 months get back to work.

No. It has to do with the fact that the True Print is digitally protected so that people cannot tamper with it. You can open a Manu PDF on Adobe Pro or most professional PDF apps and directly edit the text. The True Print is protected so this does not happen. To get it to OCR you need to first remove this protection. What you do is you open it in your PDF Reader App and press the Print Button (not the export as) and then save it as a PDF using your PCs PDF Printer Driver. The PDF output of that will have the digital protection stripped from it and you can do as you please.

Hi, I am a final-year law student with a keen interest in Taxation Law. I have applied to several places but haven't received much traction, likely due to the importance of connections in this field, which I currently lack. If you know of any decent boutique law firms offering a reasonable pay structure in Mumbai, Pune, or Delhi, I would greatly appreciate your suggestions.

while doing PhD from NLU especially NALSAR, do i need to stay at the university during whole duration of the PhD or can I come to practice in court after completing the coursework and just be in touch with guide regularly and don't go to NALSAR daily because I am practicing at delhi

How will billing be calculated then? Based on billable hours? Targets for associates are around 1500 billable hours for a FY. 45 lakhs would be around 500 billable hours (9000 per hour charges) - which can increased to around 700-800 (even if around 30% hours are rationalised).