Reading all the comments, I notice people missing the point completely. LL.M is a Masters degree, a masters degree was and is never supposed to get you a job anywhere, it's actually a path way towards an M.Phil and a PhD. It's narrowing your focus down to specific areas of your field. M.Phil is now redundant, and with the new UGC guidelines where some people may pursue PhD directly from UG I believe masters would also be redundant. Having said that, I always tell people around me that don't do a masters unless and untill you want to go into academia or research or policy institutions.

It will be a mix of projects, real estate and advisory for everything in between. Don't think Ahm is a prudent market for other law firms since ICUL and CAM already have it in the chokehold to be very honest. Moreover, recruitment in Ahmedabad is typically kids of businessmen or promoter families who can get in mandates/ regulatory approvals (which is CAM's mantra) and less to do with merit.

Far better than other service how look by an exmple -

1. My friends brother in RJS posted just next to his home district.

2. His in-hand pay right now is somewhere around Rs.1.08 - 1.10 lpm with official quarter + two orderly servent + one car his owm + other perks

3. Except minor tax deductions & minor household items he didn't have much other expenses coz he get all eatble (he is vegan) items from his home.

4. So he save alot and recently purcahse a beautiful home in Mumbai (plan to upgrade in ADJ cadre) + whenever vacation hit he either found travel to foreign or some hotspot tourist spot of india.

Now this is a common life for many judicial officers especially who get posted in village type areas

I am a non-NLU product. I got my start in the High Court earning zilch, then on to a small law firm earning a lower middle class salary, then on to an MNC earning an upper middle class salary , then on to my present WFH gig earning an upper class salary and developing expensive habits like foreign holidays and golf :) My savings reached 4 crore mainly because of my investments. My mom is a financial wiz and managed all my investments. I got huge returns. Also, single and no kids.

Why is LI full of CAM haters? People here seem to have some kind of special hatred for CAM, a firm which has been the #1 choice for most NLU toppers. We are undisputedly tier-one across all practice areas. If we were anywhere as bad as the self-proclaimed pundits on LI claim to be, so many students in T1 NLUs wouldn't have been dying to intern with us.

You go, boy/girl. Nothing wrong it spending your hard earned money as you see fit. That what meritocracy is about. That fellow who called you a nepo baby on an anonymous blog can smile to himself about his wit, while he's standing in a crowded local at 8 pm to get to his downmarket suburb flat. Meanwhile you can just hail an uber/office cab to get you home in 20 minutes, to a nice hot meal/order out and reach a nice apartment well maintained by the cook/cleaner you can afford.

Then wonder, who is really winning?

The thing with SAM is that nothing is transparent wrt internships, callbacks and PPOs. More nepo kids who are connected to the client/partners will be hired on priority basis and then they will go for campus. Have very less expectations my friend. The real merit shines at KCO due to their 1 internship policy, best of luck!

M&A: Anagram, Desai & Diwanji, Veritas

PE/VC: Rajaram, Bombay Law Chambers, Majmudar

GC: SAMVAD, Krishnamurthy, Argus

ECM: CrawfordB, Rajani, IndusLaw

DCM: SNG, TT&A, JSA

B&F: Juris Corp, Wadia Ghandy, Link Legal

Aviation: BTG Advaya, Sarin, RNC

Projects: HSA, Link Legal, Phoenix Legal

Real Estate: Federal & Co, Dhaval Vussonji, Wadia Ghandy

TMT: Naik & Naik, Ikigai, Spice Route Legal

IPR: Saikrishna, RK Dewan, Lall & Sethi

Funds: Stratage, Begur, ICUL

IBC: PSL, Dhir & Dhir, DSK Legal

Disputes: P&A, Rashmikant, Mulla & Mulla

FinReg: MDP, Regstreet, FINSEC

White Collar: Parinam, MZM Legal, Bharucha

Shipping: Brus Chambers, ZBA, Bose & Mitra

Employment: ALMT, Kochhar, NDA

International Trade: Sarvada, Clasis, ELP

Competition: Gaggar, Chandhiok, DMD

Insurance: Tuli, NDA, CSL Chambers

Direct Tax: NDA, LKS, ELP, Vaish, BMR

Indirect Tax: NDA, LKS, ELP, Vaish, BMR

If your criteria are placements and overall development as a law student, then NUALS is the logically better option. You would also be able to rub shoulders with students from several different states and grow as a person in NUALS. Don't just opt for Delhi since you're from Delhi. Try to experience something outside your hometown for five years. It will be worth it in the long run. Kochi is a wonderful city to live in.

Also, NUALS has some really good law faculty and a solid Alumni Base. Given that it is a younger NLU, with the oldest Alumni only reaching their late 30s now, NUALS Alumni have done really well for themselves given the comparatively fewer resources they had. Also as the batch strength is smaller, the Alumni Network is very well-connected and active.

If you have financial burdens, then choose DU. NLUs are too expensive and you can generally only recoup the fees you spent in NLUs fast if you join law firms/in-house corporate sector.

There are several Alumni from NUALS in Delhi doing well in the Delhi HC and Supreme Court as Advocates on Record too if you are looking for litigation.

Some of the best and smartest people I've met are from NUALS, and they challenged each other to perform better.

I'm not saying that DU does not have these features in some way or the other, but NUALS offers much more than just an NLU Tag.

Assuming but not admitting that no confidential details are given to interns, are you trying to say that interns are only called for some charity purpose and whatever research work done on specific proposition, often related to the case, are not useful and save your time? I appreciate your goal of gatekeeping and not allowing interns from smaller towns/villages and belonging to humble background to grow and expect performance-based stipend. You would expressly specify that the internship opportunity is only for the forth and final year law student of a prominent law school, having good research, communication and hundreds of other skills along with the zeal to work hard; and you would not give them performance-based stipend allowing them at least to meet their minimum expenses and argue that there was no work which saved your time. I do not even wish to comment on using interns for content creation and other clerical work.

I remember when I was about to join my job as a banking and finance associate, I had reached out to several people as to what should I know or read up before entering the profession, and I usually got the standard response of:

“Don’t worry. You will learn on the job.”

While it is true that most of the drafting work, and even the experience of how to manage a due diligence comes from working on a live deal, there are actually a few things which I could have done before joining the job. I feel this would have made my transition in the first few months much easier.

You see – when we learn something new, we usually have a reference framework basis which we learn the new thing. Let’s say you are trying to learn how to speak in Gujarati. Intuitively, your brain will try to link it with your previous experience of the words you normally use in Hindi, and how certain words are spoken differently in Gujarati. On the contrary, if you suddenly move to a new country (let’s say China) where everyone speaks a very different language and they have foreign concepts such as tones while speaking, you will constantly struggle to say even basic words.

Joining a banking finance team (or any other niche practice area) straight out of college feels a lot like that because the supposed “reference framework” you have built up by studying in college doesn’t help. You are basically starting from scratch, and without a background in finance and deals moving quickly, the initial months can become painful. So hopefully the following tips should help you build a reference framework and ease your transition into the finance world:

LEVEL: BEGINNER

1. News: Interest in business developments:

Assuming you are starting from the absolutely beginning, I think a good place to start is read financial news/ newsletter so you can develop some interest in finance. Websites like ‘TheCapTable’, ‘Bloomberg’ and ‘The Ken’ usually have paywalls, so I would recommend websites like ‘Finshots’ – they publish only 1 story a day, so it’s easier to keep up.

For example, ed-tech company Byjus is currently in a legal dispute with BCCI over sponsorship revenue. A while back, Finshots had come out with an article on Byju defaulting on its loan repayment:

https://finshots.in/archive/byjus-refuses-to-repay-its-1-2-billion-loan/

[This is a good introduction to concepts like Term loan, rating agency, LIBOR]

2. LinkedIn: Following deal alerts

Before you understand what documents are involved in legal work, it is important to follow deal alerts to understand broadly what kind of work is done by law firms. My suggestion:

Follow TT&A on LinkedIn.

Wait, why not other firms like KCO, SAM etc. which are also working in the debt space? Sure, you can (and you should) follow other firms, but personally I feel that since firms like TT&A are boutique firms working in the debt space, every other update on their LinkedIn page deals with some banking related work. Whereas with other full service law firms, since they post on variety of practice areas, your LinkedIn feed will be filled with various other updates, and you may miss the relevant alert.

Information overload is real.

3. LinkedIn: Subscribe to news reporters, not newspapers

Initially, I would read newspapers to stay up-to-date with any news related to banking. But this was a rookie mistake. You see, unlike M&A/ PE work where newspapers often cover funding raises or mergers between companies, or even capital markets work where newspapers regularly cover IPO news of newly listed companies, in relation to banking finance work, there is hardly any coverage of companies availing loans or issuing debentures. This is because these things are extremely confidential and companies wouldn’t want the public to know about their funding actions. Occasionally, news coverage does happen when companies default on loans and are about to be dragged into insolvency, or if there is some government project financing work. But apart from this, there is generally no coverage.

Instead, I would suggest - follow these news reporters on LinkedIn. They work with the top financial newspapers and only post when they have something relevant to share:

Krishna Merchant – IFR/ also posts on Twitter

Tamal Bandyopadhyay – Business standard

Sangita Mehta – Economic Times

Ira Dugal – Reuters News

Paula Seligson – Bloomberg

This is going to help you stay up-to-date with market dynamics and also anticipate what kind of deals your firm will be working on. While some of the articles may be behind paywalls, the news reporters often give descriptions while posting on Twitter/ LinkedIn.

4. Follow clients on LinkedIn

There are several banks, financial institutions and private credit funds which are clients for these banking deals. You can easily figure them out by going through deal alerts of various law firms on LinkedIn. For banks, I wouldn’t recommend following them on LinkedIn as their pages mostly reply to customer grievances.

But since we are in the ‘golden age of private credit’, you can follow private credit funds and their higher level employees. The top management often post their thoughts on LinkedIn. Edelweiss is a big name in this space.

Note: On a day-to-day basis, lawyers don’t refer to the above sources. But if you are starting out as an A0, the above sources will help you understand the important context within which the deals take place.

LEVEL: INTERMEDIATE

Here are some tips which will complement the work done in law firms. The following points don’t involve the actual hard work done in law firms, but gives you a window into the kind of work you can expect:

1. Invest in IPOs, stocks

Investing in IPOs is as simple as downloading the Kite app by Zerodha. Trading in stocks is an easy way to get a sense of the stock market, and it is as simple as swiping to buy/sell a stock on Kite. By actually investing in stocks yourself, you will yourself take the initiative to read offer documents, read up about the securities market, develop a basis understanding of primary/ secondary market, and understand the role of depository participants.

This way, when you have to review Form 39 while working on a live transaction, you won’t be wondering what is CDSL, NSDL, NeSL.

Read more about CDSL: https://finshots.in/markets/cdsl-is-rich-thanks-to-the-stock-market-boom/

Additionally, as lawyers, we have to work on the PAS-4 form which is filed during debenture issuance. The offer letter/ shelf prospectus for an IPO has similar language and reading such documents beforehand will make the transition easier. No need to read all 500+ pages, just glace through them once.

2. Cursory review of DTDs on the BSE website

This bit is specifically for banking work involving debenture issuance. Although you may not have access to the confidential documents being drafted by law firms, there are several DTDs available on the BSE website. Now, the obvious question arises that without any background in banking practice, which DTD is a good precedent.

Here is a sample of a Debenture Trust Deed for ‘secured, listed, redeemable non-convertible debentures’. It is only 44 pages so for a beginner, it should be relatively easy to review this. Although the DTDs we work in law firms are usually 200+ pages and have more complex concepts and structures, as a starting point, this can be a good base to familiarize yourself how a DTD draft is structured.

Sample debenture trust deed:

https://www.bseindia.com/corporates/download/11459/PPDI_Prior/DTD%20AKCFL%2028052021%20signed_20210528185955.pdf

For example, in Recital B of the document, there is reference to shareholder resolution passed under Section 180(1)(a) and 180(1)(c). Recital B also has reference to Section 42 (deals with private placement of securities) and Section 71 (deals with Debentures). Going back to the Companies Act, and just reading up these sections definitely helps.

As an A0, while you won’t have to draft the DTD as it will be too complicated, you may have to draft these resolutions and also update the items as part of conditions precedent checklist. So it helps to know when Section 180 is applicable during debenture issuance and when it is not. [This para will make more sense if you have already done one transaction]

Another executed debenture trust deed (with stamp duty):

https://www.bseindia.com/corporates/download/9576/Debenture%20Trust%20Deed/Pragati%208%20-%20EFSL%20-%20Executed%20DTD_20230724174245.pdf

3. Invest in bonds

If investing in stock markets, and hoping for 100% returns via IPOs gives you a kick, here’s another avenue to boost your savings - ‘WintWealth’. WintWealth runs a platform which allows you to invest in FDs and bonds, and they also run a blog which discuss concepts related to debentures.

You can choose to invest in bonds to get an investor perspective on debenture issuance, or simply follow their blog. While I wouldn’t use the blog as a legal source, their blog does a good job in breaking down concepts. Such as this article on market-linked debentures:

https://www.wintwealth.com/blog/bonds-vs-market-linked-debentures/

LEVEL: ADVANCED

I suppose this will happen when you are working under a partner/ experienced lawyer.

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That’s all for today!

XOXO
Dalal Street Attorney

____________________________________________________

If you are new here, check out the introduction to banking finance I wrote a while back on LI:

https://www.legallyindia.com/convos/topic/277270-banking-finance-oversimplified-part-1

For more information, you can find all my posts at one place here:

https://dalalstreetattorney.wordpress.com/2023/10/11/banking-finance-oversimplified-part-1-overview/

No. This is not worth it for a talented and hard working youngster. If you want to just coast in an average lifestyle with a 1lkh-2lkh salary. Sure go ahead. You won't get more than this. Plus the mediocrity surrounding you in class & in staff would definitely make it irritating. Therefore if you're one of those that isn't very ambitious, then definitely go for it. If you are ambitious and only want to pursue academia, then try abroad. As someone had said in a previous thread, it's passion over paisa in this field.

Whether it's a prescribed reading from a course, an article you stumbled on while researching for a project or maybe a book you read.

I am going to reveal my 10 second attention span by saying that I don't really remember any readings from college except maybe Speluncean Explorers. Looking forward to reading your picks.

lol are u kidding me? partners can't buy these cars because of financial constraints as monthly maintenance and servicing costs lakhs and it would cause a huge dent in their monthly income as a partner's monthly fixed income is only 3-4 lakhs with 30% tax as presumptive taxation benefit is not applicable post 50 lakhs salary. So yes, they cannot buy it because they cannot afford it. Just simple as that. And the partners driving Range Rovers and SUVs are only the rainmaking partners. Only a few drive that. Other than that equity partners at best drive entry level audi, bmw etc.

We're moderating what's always been moderated: stuff that's reported as untrue, unprovable, potentially defamatory, toxic, abusive and trollish. Perhaps more readers are reporting such comments or more readers perhaps are posting these. Suffice it to say, it's a deliberate decision made for good reason, and your post provides no arguments or reasons to do otherwise.

I second this.. i had a wonderful chat with him over lunch during my internship.. i discussed about my interest areas, he told me about opportunities in my interest area, we spoke about law school placement pressures, his infrastructure practice etc. etc. All this when i wasn't even interning in his team.

With the current government at the helm, things are only going to get worse over time sadly. Stuff like how the Vedas were crucial for Chandrayaan's success or adding Ramayan or Mahabharat to the educational curriculum while getting rid of the periodic table and theory of evolution speaks volumes about where we are headed towards as a nation.

I'm from a T1 NLU (not NLUD GNLU NLUJ) fourth year, average grades, no moot achievements, some publications, have past T1 internships and have multiple offline internships upcoming at lala firms (2 now but gonna be 3 in all likelihood). They are all in my preferred practice area (gencorp M&A). Apart from all these T1s, I had done some litigation internships in my second and third year. No small firm internships.

Now, I am thinking of applying to some T2/T3 firms that offer online internships, as I can do max 3 offline ones before placements. It would be mostly for experience. Would it be worth doing so, at this state, on the top of everything that I already have?

Hi friends Mera exam hai undergrad entrance Clat 2024 on 3rd December 2pm-4pm it is an entrance for top law colleges in the country.I am 22 years old.i went to kota in 2018 after my class 10th when I was just 16 years of age for JEE PREPARATION COACHING ..cleared 12th in 2020 but failed miserably at jee mains ..took a drop year again for jee 2021 but failed .came to know about IPMAT IIM INDORE exam preparation uski bhi ki lekin wo bhi nhi hua..then I had 2 options to set for a local college with some bcom or bsc but I wanted to be at a better place then came to know about clat started preparing for it in August 2022 ..got AIR 8599 which is not good enough to get a college ..again dropped for clat 2023 this time AIR 10130 miserable from last time..now after a lot of discussion in mind I decided to give it again one last time..just 48 hours from now..what are your tips for me

Have seen a trend of law firm partners in Delhi driving fancy cars. While sighting a Ferrari or a Lamborghini is rare, think it’s mostly because it doesn’t make practical sense for partners with families to own one and not due to financial constraints.

Though Porsche SUVs (Prashant Gupta from SAM drives a Macan) and Jaguar SUVs/Range Rovers are common, very few partners have a proper sports car (Naval Chopra has two Porsches but he doesn’t count)