Hi All,

I am an SA (Disputes) at a Tier 2/Tier 3 pan India law firm and normally a very optimistic person. However, given the state of things, I believe there is a duty on me (and anyone else associated with this field) to let the current law students/ upcoming freshers know of the harsh reality that is already hitting / will hit even more in the near future.

FRESHER HIRING IS ALREADY/ WILL GO DOWN TO NEAR ZERO IN THE COMING MONTHS

At law firms in general, the consensus is that we need to leverage AI to do the grunt work faster and in a smoother manner. This means that the job profile of freshers is just not there anymore.

Think of it cost wise. A claude pro account at an enterprise level costs about 5 to 10k a month and gives you a very decent amount of tokens which refresh every 5 hours. It can give you a first draft, go through documents, pull out research, even do formatting all in 10 mins. A fresher making about 70-80k a month in a tier 2/tier 3 firm will require training, constant oversight and 1 full day to produce a draft which will not even be half as decent as what Claude gave you. Think of it from the business perspective, why would the law firm hire a fresher for 80k instead of giving the existing team access to Claude?

This is not just speculation. At just my office, we hired 19 freshers from the 2024 batch, 16 from the 2025 batch and only 3 from the 2026 batch. The management has also made it clear that there is a fresher hiring freeze for the foreseeable future. It is not as if there are no hirings, there are a lot of open positions but no Partner wants to hire anyone below 2 to 3 years of solid experience because that work is now done by Claude at 1/10th the time and price with 5x the quality.

To all law students/freshers, this is the harsh reality.

Every month I see so many interns join, with quite a few of them asking for assessment internships and call backs. A lot of them are genuinely nice candidates who would have probably gotten a PPO if it was 2 or 3 years ago but right now no one wants a fresher at all. I am not trying to discourage anyone but just telling the truth. For those in the final years of college already, I guess there is no turning around unless you want to change streams so please try your luck especially with chambers for disputes. However, law students in early years or those in school thinking of taking law and pursuing a career in a law firm, guys please understand that the world has moved on very rapidly. By the time you finish law there may not be any jobs left for your experience range. So please think of it in advance and decide accordingly.

Regards,

A former fresher and a well-wisher.

I fear I have put myself in a box and ruined my chances. I am currently in my Fifth year, and most of my internships have been in IPR. I don't see firms hiring now and I'm pretty scared of my chances now. My last two internships have been at IP Boutique firms, and before that at KCO and LKS. I fear it's too late to shift to another interest area, and would preferably want to get a job. I do have a lot of anxiety about just the general hiring environment and any chances at it, or if I should go for an LLM etc, and the future in general. Any guidance will do.

Two views among liberals:

1. View one: Sharjeel deserves due process, but he is an anti-liberal Islamist, so don’t simp over him.

2. View two: He deserved due process AND his views are valid.

View one is the prevailing majority sentiment among liberals post the op-ed, but Gautam Bhatia has expressed view 2, which is a dissenting minority view among liberals. Saket Gokhale and Mujib Mashal have also leaned towards view 2.

https://x.com/gautambhatia88/status/2112689187791294951

I read up everything there is on the topic and then I start working. My partner has been quite understanding and she doesn't say anything since I get the work done. Is it going to be a huge issue when I switch? Please guide me on what I can do about this. I am planning to go through the entire companies act, basics of contracts etc. Is there anything else I have to do?

1. It is tough to get clients for yourself for an independent practice.

2. It takes time to establish a practice and there are uncertainties over income.

Some people require the peace of mind that comes with a predictable monthly income. Not everyone has the same risk appetite, due to a variety of reasons. Not branching out to one's own practice is not a testament to competence.

To be honest Partners like Sh…n Ar…n, who got promoted without credibility for playing Pubg with juniors, its a great place to work, as you can simply join his gang and take salary for playing video games and the best part is no body will go against you in team Bobby, so easy money rolling in guys.

Do gays walk and talk differently? If yes, why? The talking part is a li'l bit understandable if it's related to voice, but why walk differently? Can't one be gay and still walk like a man? Why should gays walk like eunuchs? I always thought being gay is related to sexual preference and has nothing to do with walking or talking.

I've done this. Loving it also. They like me too. Lots of learning afresh. This is where the law meets the "frying pan". You need that mindset.

Your law firm experience helps with organization. You have seen better organization. They have seen more legal precision. So if you come hoity toity towards them, you will fail. Embrace the learning and unlearning.

Bad opinions cost slowly and is salvagable. Bad orders cost immediately, difficult to overturn. A lot of people make this decision. If you go in house, you need to be super commerical. You cannot really overrule business. If you go to a chamber, your north star is the bench and keeping them happy day in day out. You need them on your side more than you need your clients.

Its a real Y shaped junction in your career. Pick one. Stick to it.

I graduated in 2023 and working at a Tier-2 law firm in M&A. I have now received an offer from AZB & Partners , offering significant hike over my current compensation.

But I know that AZB's existing associates are paid considerably more than the compensation being offered to me.

I want to know how does AZB typically handle compensation parity for lateral hires? Will my compensation will be aligned with the firm's existing associate pay scale in appraisal cycle, or is there a possibility that I could continue earning less than my peers over the long term because I joined at a lower compensation level?

Does the firm periodically revise compensation for lateral hires to bring them in line with similarly experienced associates?

Also let me know how the lateral hiring works at other tier 1 law firms when associate joins from a tier 2 law firm.

That’s not the point. I want dalit students to compete for the same jobs. I’d have no problem with that. But look - if you write an exam - you either know the answers or you don’t. The teacher would be lying to you and not doing their job and denying you a chance to improve - If they gave you free marks based on your gender or caste. That’s all it is.

There’s thousands of people outside nls who apply for the same jobs. It will be unfair to them for NLS to inflate grades.

This is correct. Most do not survive the team even the bright ones. Some have left law completely after this. No working style as such. Most teams in KCO also do not want to work with them because of their annoying weekend deadlines. Urgent deadlines are the norm on things that are not really urgent. Hope you figure the rest by yourself and stay away from them.

Just because the best student from school struggles in college doesn’t mean the college is unforgiving or cruel. I was the best student at my school - I barely scraped by in college . And that’s because I didn’t prioritise studies. Instead I got dragged into drama often, spent too much time pitying myself and being sad. And too much time figuring out social dynamics.

Honestly the academic work at s is about what it should be. It isn’t a high standard that even geniuses will fail. It’s a slightly higher standard than the rest of the colleges because new admin cares enough to enforce rules. And they expect some degree of consistency of effort from students.

Its not salary. I already am at an SA pay level, and beyond this, money does not make much difference. Reason for switch is its nearly impossible to become world class in tech in India and the route to the USA is more or less closed now. And I have long admired the work of lawyers. There are both push and pull factors.

Hi, I got selected this year as a Litigation fellow, my experience has been quite so so.

The process is not about connections, it's about how well you write your application and how decently you perform in the interview. They pay stipends regularly, and organise certain programs each month, can be a guest lecture or a fellow discussion program where each fellow turn by turn presents any particular case that they've worked on or any contemporary issue that catches their eye. These programs are generally on sundays only, and other than that one has to give a monthly report of what all have they worked on in that particular time frame (without disclosing any details).

Giving up the breif this way is not something new for Gopal Shankarnarayanan. He did the same during the famous CBI Vs CBI case in 2018. Gopal Shankarnarayanan (was not having senior gown then) was appearing for the then CBI Director Alok Verma. Gopal mentioned the matter without informing Fali Nariman who was the Senior appearing in that matter and Gopal was the briefing counsel.

Next he did it before Justice Arun Mishra. If one watches the video, it is Katju who took way the Mike but Gopal was just standing and not arguing at that time.

The reason of withdrawing from hs appearance is not as being portrayed

Make a conscious choice but live with the consequences. Is your EP progressive? Some of them can hold antiquated thoughts that may hold you back or make you "lesser" in their eyes. I get your point about not being your true self, wearing a mask etc., but that's the norm for everyone in a law firm, no one is encouraged to be their true self at work .

Now a counter statement by 400+ students and researchers at different foreign universities. Can’t see the list if signatories, but almost certainly there will be lawyers.

https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/spare-india-from-anarchy-400-indian-origin-academics-from-mit-oxford-condemn-protests-12207523

Coming out is not really about broadcasting my orientation. Straight people don’t have to identify as straight.

It is about being safe with people knowing my identity. Am I safe in the current environment to be seen holding my boyfriend’s hand in public? Can I invite him as my significant other at social events at the firm where partners may be invited? Will my promotions be withheld? Will I be treated as a freak? I don’t know of any openly gay partners at T1s. There must be plenty of closeted ones, I am sure. That thought is scary.

A professor at Symbiosis Law School’s Nagpur campus has been placed on leave pending an inquiry into allegations that he sent inappropriate messages to female students and urged them to follow Islam and read the Quran.

The university has set up a high-level committee to investigate the allegations, including claims about his conduct at his previous workplace, Symbiosis Law School in Hyderabad. No FIR had been registered till Sunday, police said.

A student’s father approached the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) after his daughter showed him messages allegedly sent by the professor, VHP members told The Indian Express. The organisation then raised the issue with the college administration and met the Nagpur Police Commissioner.

https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/symbiosis-nagpur-professor-placed-on-leave-religious-allegations-vhp-complaint-10926629/

At a first glance, nothing is surprising in the administration of a law school whose management is led by someone whom the HR knows self-discloses in parties and proudly states that he does not even possess an UGC affirmed undergraduate management degree, and who has in the past been regularly accused of sexual harassment allegations by female colleagues across various teams (who mysteriously leave the university or transfer to other departments). He consistently fought with able administrators like Sreejith, Karan, Khagesh, Tanvee, Jasmeet, Prateek, Maneka, Aakriti and Sawmiya, being in the limelight for the greatest insubordination acts of all time and systemically attempting to dismantle Sreejith's effective administration, while making false accusations against the previous Executive Dean and Karan. Yet he is reappointed as Director of law school management with a self-disclosed and regularly boasted about 'massive' salary package that not even most full professors at Jindal can necessarily boast of. The fingers should be pointed not at the Executive Dean, but at those who administer day-to-day activities for the Executive Dean with full impunity from the higher ups.

Not going to write a lot but the organisation of the BR Sawhney Nalsar was honestly quite something this time (or maybe it is so every time). It was almost as if the Organising Committee was discovering the logistics of organising a moot court competition along with the participants. Participants were left to manage their own travel arrangements and figure things out themselves. There was no dependable point of contact to make things easier for participants. You were left trying to figure out whom to approach, where to get information and whether the information you had received was even final. Everything was communicated in the final moment, and the kids who were managing, acted like bosses as they had the authority to disqualify if we didnt succumb to their demands. Do better next time before you call yourself the largest moot court competition in India.

There will be no more Kirkland partners, King's Counsel designation holders in the top chambers in England, Rhodes Scholars, Tarunabh Khaitans/Dev Ghanjees/Shyamkrishna Balganeshes of next generation, vac schemes, TCs or even T925 Indian law firm placements for NLSIU if what you suggest comes to pass. NLSIU may as well shut its doors, and its students, faculty, administration and management take a trip to the U.S., buy some Enfield rifles in one of the places there where it is super-easy to get guns (even super-easy than normal in the U.S., I mean) and then they can gather in a hotel lounge and just put bullets through their brains. The point of this exercise is that it is as intellectually hard as possible to make the cut. Kindness does not mean lowering the intellectual standards. Kindness means being honest when people don't live up to those, and trying to help them live up to them. But to lower the standards themselves is just totally bad. I hope with all my heart that this never happens, and that you are never put in charge in any way, shape or form, of anything to do with higher education in any country. Cathleen Stock, the former British philosophy professor, has made it clear in remarks re: the Jason Arday scandal why kindness in HE is such a bad idea. Either listen to her and absorb, or leave HE altogether.

Law study Kar li, but not practicing.

Ye soch ke khud par doubt kiya.

Now I am not practising laws but writing.

Feeling like privileged.

Worked with government on assistant director, deputy director roles.

Worked with UN.

But left that side and joined Big 4.

Yaha literally govt k liye act banaya hai.

Passed by state assembly.

Another passed in cabinet and under submission to MHA and Partliament.

Proud moment for a law graduate from a rural law college

Moderator, this has got to be somebody who is practically collapsing with laughter with every comment they post and every blood vessel of right-thinking people they've led down the garden path of assuming they are having a serious discussion here. Please introduce a tag such as "expression of view so outlandish that it is likely to be a joke". You'll find a one-word summary for that which is better than "trollish", but you get the general idea...

I have mailed the hr for a January internship in the month of June and after couple of follow ups the reply I have recieved is "Thank you for your interest in Phoenix Legal.

Please note that internship applications are reviewed periodically as part of our selection process. We have retained a copy of your profile in our records and will be in touch should your application be shortlisted for a suitable internship opportunity"

Indian protests are no different. CJP started as a student movement and then moved to 'vote chori' allegations which the opposition has been claiming since long (especially when they lose elections). If Jantar Mantar protests were allowed, it would have resulted in anarchy and Government knew the plan very well. The agenda was 'regime change' and CJP, Rathi and left ecosystem movement has nothing to do with students. Pls publish this response.