I left ELP a few years ago and consider myself a well-wisher of all the lawyers there, save for the two ▮▮▮ Co-Founders and one of the ▮▮▮ Co-Heads. I think the most logical thing for the non TnT partners to do would be to leave and set up a law firm without the two ▮▮▮ Co-Founders who control the equity and have little billings. I know of atleast one relatively new law firm (whose name starts with an ▮▮▮, founded by an ex-AZB lawyer, whose first name starts with an ▮▮▮) which has VC funding. You could also get VC funding and start your own firm. Or, make the law firm asset light and make it a fully WFH law firm. Follow the 3L model – all partners are equity and make more than what they and their teams take home.

Chaps, please think out of the box. Don’t let the two ▮▮▮ ruin your careers. They almost ruined mine. Don’t wait to hit rock-bottom before you exit.

1) is taken out of context and if you don’t know that you probably shouldn’t be talking about any politics. 2) I don’t support it but the guy did withdraw the order within a few hours. Asking people if they’re brain dead for not agreeing with you isn’t very kind.

As for which ideology allows speech like that - the same that allows you to call people brain dead. It’s called liberalism.

Yeah. And if he’d done any of that he’d be an oppressive tyrant who didn’t allow students a voice / agency no ?

There’s just no winning with some people.

Sudhir is so removed from this controversy you might as well blame him for everything in the world at this point. Why is there inflation ? Sudhir. Why is there global warming ? Sudhir. Why are movies bad lately ? Sudhir. Why are there too many ads on the internet ? Sudhir. Why is my coffee too hot ? You guessed it - Sudhir.

Cause certain Nalsar alumni currently working in NLS administration clarified what the admins role and constraints had been. Bhatia and others venting their personal frustrations on Sudhir is typical of the fact free way in which they operate. And Sudhir - being the one honest and hardworking guy in Indian academia - is the Internets eternal punching bag whether he deserves it or not ( he typically doesn’t)

Poster above is ridiculous - why should Sudhir take responsibility for other people being ridiculous ?

Thanks for sharing and your feedback. We actually had to archive the old LI 'site' and its articles and posts for maintenance, security and performance reasons, and for removing some old links and content from the homepage which wasn't really relevant anymore (hopefully nothing has been lost - the random historical articles are a (perhaps bad :) human idea, meant to give access to some of the historical archives, some of which may be interesting).

Apologies for any inconvenience in any case, and we have added a 'start new conversation' button for you now - that was a good point, we had missed this.

The homepage at https //www.legallyindia.com/ should not be fundamentally different to what it was before, and is now mirroring what appears on the actual conversations homepage at https://www.legallyindia.com/convos/home (without the menus and filtering buttons and the like).

This 'convos' area of the site, has not changed though and is expected to be the main way of interacting with these forums. Ultimately, we are considering making the actual convos homepage ( https://www.legallyindia.com/convos/home ) the actual home page at https://www.legallyindia.com/ .

However, we are not yet 100% sure whether there is functionality or the layout in the old home-homepage that people would miss, so we are taking it step by step, so more feedback would always be welcome.

Would you and others be ok if convos/ became the home-homepage?

As an equity partner of the firm, I'm genuinely hurt. Since everyone is sharing their thoughts, I'll share mine too.

What hurts the most is not the decision itself, but the way it unfolded. We should have heard it from the firm's leadership, not from outsiders. The silence has been disappointing.

ELP has been a great firm and it's painful to see it reach this point. This wasn't a firm built only by RS and VN; it was built by many exceptional lawyers over the years. Back in 2008, it genuinely looked like it could become what Trilegal eventually became.

Much has been written about M.P. and less I say, the better. In these times, ELP needed a strong and pragmatic leader.

As for TNT:

RJ has the books and the client relationships. Time will tell if he can go one level up and what will the power equation in the new firm.

The trade practice, in my view, has never lived up to the stature it claims. I struggle to recall many marquee trade investigations where ELP was genuinely at the forefront, except recent Saudi investigation. There has certainly been plenty of visibility through webinars, but that is not the same thing as market-leading practice. Doing climate change webinars all the time, writing 'Customs' on bio doesn't really mean you are thought leader. The number of phishing scams that happen, any other IT head would have been fired.

On NS, I have reservations whether he could become a partner in any other firm ALONE. Jaa-kheer-kha.

Let's hope they are together - I have my doubts though.

I am a 2026 graduate working at a T1. While my life at the moment is chill and am grateful for the opportunity, I know by the end of my first or second year at this firm, I am gonna dislike law firm culture as a whole despite its high payment.

Before anyone recommends, no I am not desiring of pursuing an MBA or LLM or other higher education pursuits.

I was contemplating giving SEBI/RBI legal officer exams since they start with a high payment. If not, then maybe after some years of slogging, join some in-house/bank as an in-house counsel.

Please give me suggestions on the above 2 choices and if there are any other options? Please note: Money matters a LOT for me but WLB will he my prime concern down the line.

Good workplace for anyone serious about building a career in law. The quality of work is excellent, and the experience gained here adds significant value to your profile. Like any top-tier firm, the workload can be high during busy periods, but the learning makes it worthwhile.

none of these achievements matter for an MBA. MBA profiles look different, and also really prioritise work experience, unless you go through CAT. Even in CAT, if you have 4+ years of experience, it's better at the interview stage. Try getting a job in a startup first, and then apply for an MBA

Is it just me or is the new homepage (which is quite obviously AI coded) for LegallyIndia worse than the previous one? For starters, it took me a few days to figure out how to even post because for some reason the Start New Conversation button no longer shows up on the main page??

Then the random articles and snippets at the bottom of the page are clearly just AI trying to make sense of whatever was in an admittedly historic code repository?

Can we have a poll to see if we can revert to the previous page? I fully agree that a revamp would do well, but a half-hearted AI slop attempt should not be shipped when it impacts functionality to this extent.

Can the statement text be copy-pasted here please? I am blind and have never really bothered creating an Instagram account partially because of its accessibility issues and partly because Insta's content is so visual mostly that it felt like too much bother. Sorry for the inconvenience, therefore, and thanks in advance.

Was this her brain child? Its similar in nature to policies at 3L of delaying bonus payouts and also the increment portions.

May be very soon S&R will also change the fixed and bonus split ratio in the pay. Right now the split is favourable to the lawyers as the fixed component is more.

Or do those who join law firms discard them? And only those in academia or NGO careers stick with them? Along with a section of court lawyers, like Menaka Guruswamy and Sanjoy Ghose?

Asking because I rarely see the likes of Ashwath Rau or Akshay Jaitly speaking up on political issues. I assume they were left-wing in college, like the majority of NLSIU students are?

I'll give you this, at least you're transparent about your professional motives. However, you're the sort of junior lawyer NO firm or chamber of any worth wants in its ranks.

You evidently don't want to be a lawyer if you want to start your career with studying for competitive exams on the side. Cramming for competitive exams on Saturdays while you spend the rest of the week masquerading as a lawyer isn't going to help with exam prep or with your legal career. There's a reason why sensible people take a year off to study, even those with financial constraints. Also, you're taking up space that could've been occupied by someone who is genuinely interested in a career in law.

From the firm's / chamber's perspective: Why would they want to invest a couple of years of training and compensation in someone who has their focus divided and is likely to run off to take a punt at a competitive exam?

Sudhir could have at least stood up for the student and gave out a statement as to what has happened instead of bowing down to the so-called Modi Govt and cancelling the convocation. Arghya and Gautam Bhatia were absolutely correct in their assessment of the situation.

Sudhir actually had an easy path of postponing the convocation. He could have scheduled it later after Surya Kant retired.

Chronic health issues (both mental and physical), bad luck after bad luck and zero converts on DayZ. On top of that I didn't get many chances to intern post DayZ so yeah there is that. I also happened to get teams that were either disengaged and had no intent to mentor and teach, or were hostile and toxic. Surprisingly, I learnt the most in the latter teams workwise despite the toxic environment. I have been trying to get full time roles since then but zero luck-I managed to get an assessment, got good feedback but they are not hiring as the vacancies got filled within two weeks of me joining. I am not particularly keen on litigation as a career choice because a) I am a woman and it's tough out there for us in that field and b) there is not guarantee that if I slog it out for a decade that I will make decent money.

do I need to be very knowledgeable on B&F technicals to get a call-back, or just hard-working and willing to learn? I have prior experience in mapping term sheets and creating due diligence reports for project finance, but do not have a lot of technical knowledge in the field. Would this be enough for an assessment though?

Hey i am a fifth-year law student with a keen interest in tax laws IP law, disputes and, general corporate law. Not being from a tier 1 law college, paving my way through last year is becoming very tedious to be thruth full i have no clear path right now. But i want to focus on tax and open to other above-mentioned areas. I would really love some some good recommendations for tax firms where i can intern long term and aim for a ppo or similarfor any of the above areas. I am based in pune but open to wokrin gin Mumbai, Bangalore , Hyderabad,

Also i have only 3 month to prepare for CLAT PG should i go for it ?

I have two nagging worries and am sharing them here. Please let me have your views.

Like most Associates at ELP, after collecting the withheld portion of my bonus, I will probably scoot – provided, I get a decent job before that.

FIRST WORRY: What if, after announcing a split in the next few weeks, which will be effective from say, October 1st, the new law firm (SAN Sword Law) which will house Lit, Corp, RE, Employment etc., doesn’t pay me my bonus on Diwali? What if, after splitting monies amongst the departing partners and sharing the spoils from the ELP brand sale, there isn’t enough to pay the 60% bonus that has been withheld?

SECOND WORRY: What if, on October 1st or even earlier, I am asked to sign a new contract with SAN Sword Law which has a number of restrictive clauses? E.g. a 2 year lock-in? A requirement to spend 2 hours a day training an AI on “how to do what I do”??

MY PLAN: Immediately after the split is announced (say on Sept 7th during the 25th anniversary dinner party), I will write to HR and ask for an email confirmation that my 60% is safe in an escrow account. If the split is to be effective from October 1st, I will request that the 60% withheld amount should be paid to me on or before Sept 30th. Logic? When the bonus was announced in April, I was told that if I put in my papers before I received my withheld 60%, I would forfeit the 60%, even if I am still with ELP during Diwali. Now the shoe is on the other foot. If ELP ceases to exist or if ELP is undergoing a vertical split or if the entity that has to pay me my 60% during Diwali is not the general partnership named ELP that exists now and has my money, I want my 60% to be paid to me before the split becomes effective. If not, I will sue ELP immediately. Not that my retainer contract says this, but because it sounds fair and equitable to me.

I also want the interest on the withheld 60% to be paid. Logic? My retainer contract does not have a clause saying the withheld bonus amount will be paid without interest. It is silent and so, equity demands that I get the interest.

I may also demand interest on withheld bonus for the past years. Logic? If I can claim interest for 2026 and I win, then it means I should have been given the interest that was accumulated on my withheld 60% for the past n years. What do I have to lose?

Two questions for the wider audience:

1. Summary Suit under Order XXXVII or an ordinary civil suit?

2. Civil court or commercial court (assuming the claim + interest due is above Rs. 4 lakh)

If I am filing a suit, I will post an update here and also create a Sub Redditt. If anyone wants to join me, you are welcome. We can do it together!

Satyameva Jayade!

"This is about leading with values. Leaders who make students understand why the Chancellor has the right to attend a convocation and be treated with respect."

"What is clear to me from all perspectives is an absolute and complete failure of the NLS leadership to let the situation come to this pass. If it enjoyed a better standing with its students, it would have impressed upon them why the Chancellor is entitled to attend the convocation and duty bound to do so. "

Kehna kya chahte ho? That Sudhir is bad because he couldn't get the CJI to attend? Isn't the whole point that the students were aganst the CJI attending?

\

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/arghya-sengupta-23ba5393_my-convocation-at-nlsiu-bangalore-in-2008-share-7498678030354231296-azu2/

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/arghya-sengupta-23ba5393_since-my-post-expressing-my-dismay-at-nls-share-7499146010670211072-NVsn/

This echoes the overwhelming pro-reservation sentiment across NLUs, which see reflected on LI.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DctBDAZmmm6/

Hi everyone. I am a Non-NLU student who is in his 10th semester. I am technically from Batch of 2026 but due to Covid induced weird schedule of my University, my batch would have our final exams in October, get our results in November and get our official degree documents by December first week.

I have never seen another person in a similar situation, so I would like to get some advice from people currently working in a law firm , in this matter.

I have always kept a mental target of getting hired in 2027, the earlier the better but even if I get hired in middle of 2027, it's fine..

I currently have Internship experiences at T1 and T2 firms, and I am open to working as an assessment intern, paralegal, trainee associate, etc if it eventually.. directly or indirectly helps me get a job at a good lawfirm.

I wanted to what would be a good step for me to take, and also which week and month after December 1 2026, would be the best time for office campus hiring?

Thanks to everyone in advance!

Hii, I am a law student and I am trying to get an internship at CMS IndusLaw law and I have sent my application on the email I'd which is on its website but they have never reverted back. I would be really grateful if anyone could share the active email ID on which I can apply for Mumbai or Bengaluru office

Genuine question for others running boutique or mid-size practices in India: has anyone else noticed T1 firms pricing mid-market deals at levels that don't seem commercially rational? I recently came across a five-figure invoice for work that would typically run well into six figures on a deal of that size. Doesn't feel like a one-off. I get the logic: loss-leader pricing to lock in a relationship; associate leverage a large firm can absorb but a boutique can't; deal-count metrics that matter more than margin on any single mandate. What I keep coming back to: does this actually serve the market? Compressed fee expectations don't stay contained to the firm doing the undercutting; they reset what clients expect everyone else in that segment to charge, including firms without the bench to subsidise pricing this way.

Curious whether others in the mid-market space are seeing the same pattern, and how you're responding

Quite unprecedented for one college student body to be commenting on the internal affairs of another college, but this is obviously a matter of national interest. Importantly, the statement give Sudhir a clean chit. Perhaps Gautam Bhatia and others should apologise for fasely accusing Sudhir of being a sell-out to the establishment?

https://www.barandbench.com/Law-School/nalsar-sbc-says-it-was-not-nlsiu-administration-that-demanded-students-to-publicly-invite-cji

In my team at a so called tier 1 - one EP has no book of his own even after 2-3 years of becoming an EP- he was considered to be decent at execution until his own senior EP left thus exposing this junior EP. Still not fired despite no demonstrated book of business and deteriorating quality of work. Second EP has demonstrated bad quality of work and a mediocre book of Business- but his own- he is thriving. The salaried partners in this team are pressured, humiliated etc if they don’t bring enough business - most of them are way better at execution and also client building and retention as compared to these two EPs- yet none of the salaried partners have a road map to the next level and are treated like associates.