Guys/gals, let's spill all the cringe/ostentatious Diwali stuff you witnessed/heard about this year in corporate law circles.

I'll (T1 SA/Gen Corp) start - saw a junior associate blow so much money on an Omega watch, I was silently lolling. The kid must have burned at least 6 months savings. A colleague spent more than a month's salary on a handbag. My (non-equity) partner flew off to Seychelles with his family, his instagram has been insufferable. A PA in another team bought an SUV, he's a nice guy to be honest. Top level partner had a muted Diwali apparently, trouble in paradise trying to keep both the (soon-to-be divorced) wife and the much younger girlfriend/soon-to-be fiance happy.

No matter how much I dread it, when it comes to offering a competative career, in house, companies or litigation does not come close to the swankiness, the drive the hustle and showbiz of law firms It's like. Even if I'm getting good jobs in in - house , I would rather stick at firms coz it's just the cream of the crop.Is this thinking right or do I need to see a therapist?

I want to prepare for Gujarat judiciary, but looking at such news
https://www.legallyindia.com/convos/topic/267590-gujarat-judicial-service-2023-civil-judge-only-113-out-of-7130-candidates-qualified-for-prelims-against-212-vacancies#comment-267590

and the above news is somewhere shocking.
So, GJS is that much ▮▮▮? Any hardworking person can't qualify such papers, on the basis of studies? Please answer if you know such aspects of GJS.

dont know why mods have marked this as trollish but yes, the job market is really bad. our economy is in depression and our govt. is in denial. not just for lawyers, even in private engineering colleges placements have reduced by 30-70% and yes, even the few good jobs in the legal field are kept only for the NLUs. dont know why the obsession, the NLU students ive met are all very average in knowledge and intelligence, seems to be artificial hype or the lack of an alternative brand name.

Associate - no car-Uber/swift/i20

Senior Associate - Nexon/Creta/Seltos

PA (high spenders)- A4/3 series/top of the line Skoda

PA (conservative) - HyCross (if you can get your hands on one)/2 cars - one Civic/Verna and one Creta/Seltos

Salaried Partner - Q5/GLA/X5

Equity Partner - E-class/XC90/5 series

Rainmaker Equity - Land Rover (Evoque/Defender)/S-class/7 series/A8

Founder/Family Partners- no idea, I see them around in the same sedan class as Rainmaker Equity; maybe they keep the bigger beasts at home/for pleasure.

Should LLB be more systematised with stringent entry criteria like in MBBS,CA,CS as nowadays every other private college is producing vakil sahab which not only degrades profession but also disturbs the demand and supply in market making it too overcrowded.

Comment down

This is a controversial topic abroad and has even led to litigation. Some universities are totally cool with it. Some allow it on condition that it is disclosed to the admin and if conflict of interest in grading is avoided. Some prohibit it outright and may even discipline professors, which is controversial as both are consenting adults and there's absolutely no illegality in it. In fact, Abhijit Mukherjee was originally Esther Duflo's supervisor. They later dated, co-wrote an acclaimed book, got married and won a Nobel Prize together! Furthermore, we live in an age where age gap matters less and less in relationships and Gen Z doesn't see it as a big deal, e.g. Nickyanka, Ralia, Hiddleswift and even Jahua (Jai-Mahua).

But what's the scene in Indian law schools though? I am aware of a very old case where a young JGLS faculty was seeing a master's student from the international relations school, but this was done absolutely openly and was made official on social media. Everyone was cool with it as the student was from a totally different department and there was no age gap (not that age matters).

What about NLUs though?

It depends,

Do you have financial liabilities (wife/kids/old parents)

Who will fund your LLB? Also your life during these 3 years.

These are the problems.

By the age of 32 Litigation people who started at 24 are beginning to settle down. In Litigation it takes 4 to 5 years to settle down financially. If you have any liability that's over. So by the time you settle down it will be 40s. Till that you won't have any money.

About corporate -

Firstly most corporate law firms hire from 5 year programs. Not even LLMs in NLU's. So even if you go to NLS for 3 year LLB you won't have value of a traditional 5 year degree program and hiring prospects won't be good.

Many people come to NLU's for LLM thinking they will get NLU tag. No they don't ever get that. Because most alumni doesn't even consider llm students as alumni.

Also it will be awkward for the SA/PAs to mentor you as they will be 32 max.

Also as a junior in any law firm you will make mistakes you will get yelled or scolded at badly (not justifying this behavior) But if a lae firm hire you as a junior how will they yell at you. It will be awkward to yell at an older man for bad work. They won't be very comfortable hiring you. They prefer youngsters whom are easy to train or maybe yell/abuse.

And in law firms initial years are gruelling even though pay is good. Even after a few years it is still grueling but you still have some control over your time when you become senior.

Forget managing a family as A0 TO A3. Only after you become SA/PA you have some time. That's why people in law firms get married after initial 3-4 years.

If you have a family, initial years would be very hard on them as you won't be able to dedicate anything to them.

But don't be discouraged. People take LLB even at the age of 60s. So..

Jindal's tie-up with Cornell expired last year and the following US colleges have this pathway:

Maurer School of Law, Indiana University

Texas A&M Law School

School of Law, Seattle University

University of Calgary, Canada

Cardozo Law School, USA

There are many women with better physical stamina and fighting ability than many men. They are still entitled to the protection because contrary to your belief, it's not about physical weakness. Trans people have similar body parts too and they too get abused and assaulted in the same fashion. If you don't get that, then that's your problem, not anyone else's.

Honest Response as an alumni:

The place was OK when I joined. There was no library building, the campus had just shifted but the VC at that time promised it will be in top 3 in 5 years. Now, after more than a decade, "mid" or "mediocre" is the term I'd use for it. The interference from KLA, VCs with little to no vision, lethargy, lack of academic appointments (uni had 9 permanent faculties) are some of the factors that have ensured that the college hasn't grown. The placements have been going good for past 2-3 years, but the college as such, isn't worth it. It's as good as Christ now, which wasn't the case a few years back.

Hello, went to one of the top 4-5 NLU and have been currently working with I-PAC since July. I graduated in 2021, I spent some time traveling and then finally sat at home for a good year and half and prepared for UPSC, even passed the prelims once but nothing good came out of it. I would really like to come back to delhi(home) and practice law. Since I have been so detached from law, I only seek some advice from those who are already practicing in Delhi. What sort of offices should I consider applying to? would be immensely helpful if you can even suggest specific names. Should I try my luck at a tier 1 disputes firm? would it even be worth it or if I am better off working in a chamber? Should I apply in a standing counsel's office? I am sorry if these questions seem a bit juvie or trivial to you lot but sitting at home and detached from law for that long would do that to you. Any help or insights would be greatly appreciated.

To be very honest, high fees shouldn’t be an excuse for you to not opt for JD. First GET IN. Do you know how difficult it is for people to get into JD programmes in Js? Crack the lsat and you will receive several generous based grants amongst the T-15 law schools. Most of the people didn’t couldn’t even crack Clat, and they are lecturing you about JD? Two people from NUJS have done this and some from NLS. Only they could because they were able enough. Rest were happy to sing their praises but ofc they all had excuses.

For basic ideas: - https://www.hotcoursesabroad.com/india/find-your-course/how-to-choose-the-right-course/6-vital-facts-for-international-students-eyeing-american-law-courses/

There is another course in Northwestern University which provides accelerated JD. Again you need to have an amazing Lsat score to even knock the doors for this programme. This has been substantially discussed in LI as well but ofc the mediocrity showcased here won’t let you know that.

Some threads that can help you:-

https://www.legallyindia.com/convos/topic/261752-jd-vs-llm-vs-mba-a-mega-thread-is-demanded

https://www.law.northwestern.edu/academics/degree-programs/jds/jd2/#:~:text=Northwestern%20Law%20is%20one%20of,for%20their%20foreign%20law%20degree.

One problem that you may face is the visa issue. So tailor your interview accordingly. Indian students apart from not being to crack lsat, faced another issue and that’s VISA.

Also LSAT as an exam is said to be (in American standards) more competitive/rigorous than GMAT. I hope this helped.

I hope this is sarcasm. Dr SR doesn't take more than 15 classes a semester for securities Law and same for TRC. They don't complete syllabus and haven't updated syllabus since time immemorial. Also Ig you're missing quality teaching since I think you haven't been taught by Faisal, Anirban, Sandeep

Wow. I agree you won’t need to show evidence because you’re males and males are believed in our society as opposed to females. But when you say “ you haven’t needed to show any evidence in order to enjoy the fruits of other peoples labour” you seek to erase the entire history of the womens rights movement. Educate yourself.

Building on other peoples work is not the same as co-opting their struggles for your own purposes. The latter strips the oppressed group of their victories and repurposes any gains made in law to serve another groups interests. That’s what you’re doing by suggesting that gendered laws for sexual harassment should be replaced by gender neutral laws because of some vague notion of “ progress”.

You don’t get to unilaterally decide what “progress” is. As righteously as you might believe in gender woo woo and some received wisdom about what progress looks like - you still might be very wrong. Decent progressive people do disagree with you and they do get to do that.

In Telangana the current controversy is not about hiking the amount of reservation but about including Muslims and certain castes in the definition of SC and ST. So the percentage of reservation at NALSAR is unlikely to go up, rather only the eligibility of certain people may change. The fellow who is campaigning for 80% reservation at NALSAR (Sravan Dasoju) is a former Congress leader who has now joined BRS, but even then he is a bit player with no real influence.

Lol, so you’re a girl? Well, I guess that makes sense considering you think that Reddit DMs are a sign of getting “hit on”. Extrapolating that my personal life is equated to one comment I made on this site is quite immature but that’s the norm from your end. And good for you that you have a BF who fulfils your need for validation. I really don’t need lessons on relationships from you, but judging by your own responses, I would say you have self-image issues as well.

Please don’t go by all this 20-50% gross salary rule of thumb by finfluencers. It’s important to drive a nice car, if you want to move up in the corporate world.

My suggestion to OP would be to consider the bmw 3-series sedan, it’s a proper luxury car and sporty. For a PA, it shows both cool factor and serious car owner factor. Imagine driving up in that to pick up your date :)

PS: the 3-series is what I have my eye on, once I cross 50LPA at my T1. Only doubt will be whether I want to pick up the 330i petrol or the 320Ld diesel.

I can go to the gym all day and every day and most men will still have a massive advantage over me. Men have bigger bodies , bigger heart sizes bigger lungs bigger limbs more muscle mass.

Do you really think if going to the gym and working out would have solved rape and assault women would not have done it already? Would you rather be raped or be lazy ?

There simply are biological sex based differences in strength and speed and a range of other things. That makes women vulnerable. Try as we might we cannot fight off our attackers all the time. Ignoring this truth because it makes you uncomfortable is putting women at danger.

The material reality of our sexed bodies also refers simply to the fact that we have sexed bodies. We have breasts and we have buttocks and we have vaginas and men can and do grab at what they want to show dominance. The material reality of our sexed bodies also means that we may get pregnant because of sexual assault. We may get STDs. Do you need me to walk you through anatomy some more ?

You’re not building. You’re tearing down. Women absolutely have shown evidence of the harms they suffer. That’s how any legal change happens. What exactly do you think Bhanwari and Vishakha and Nirbhaya and me too we’re about ? Do you think we protested and organised and worked on laws and cases for funsies?. Women don’t get to decide what protections you have - but they do get to defend the protections they have.

You are definitely from NLUD then. You should apply to foreign firms or the chambers of the barristers. You can also try the ICJ or the UN offices. Those are really the only places where students from our university should intern in. Leave the rest of the desi places for the other NLUs with lesser pedigree.

Have there been any offers made this year to Indian students? I've been rejected from a few places so I'm curious. To those who did secure it, more power to you! I can't even get past the initial stages, let alone an AC.

If you have any tips for the rest of us, do let us know!

PS: Am from a Tier II NLU

Bhai 25k mein basics toh cover ho jaenge but don't expect any luxury in this budget.

Sharing mein flat lelo. Thoda dhoondhna padega roommates wagerah ka scene lekin it is doable. Chose student-friendly areas over other prominent areas. Laxmi Nagar, Rajinder Nagar, other East Delhi areas side try kar sakte ho.

Use metro to travel everywhere. And the distance between the station to office could be covered by foot or by those sharing E-Rickshaws.

Groceries ko sharing mein loge toh kharcha kam aaega and learn to cook beforehand so that you can save money that you'd spend on a cook. Subah hi khaana bana lena warna if necessary toh sab milkar cook hire kar lena ek.

Total budget :22.5k (Assuming 10% TDS)

Rent: 7-8k (Could even be lesser in some East Delhi places)

Groceries: 5k/ per person (Shared with roommates)

Cook: 2k/ per person (Two time, shared with roommates. Optional)

Travel: 2k (Metro Recharge and Rickshaw)

Remainder: 5.5k (Mobile Recharge, Internet, Zomato/Swiggy, Old Monk, Savings).

Baaki main rent and groceries ka hi kharcha hoga jo aise aaram se nikal jaega. Bache kuche paiso ka air purifier lelena shuruat mein. Delhi aaoge toh fefde jalaane se behtar hai EMI pe lelo ya second hand market mein dekhlo.

I'm from a tier one NLU with stellar placements. 4th year, and at this point I have contacts strong enough to get me an internship practically anywhere. Suggest me good places to intern, especially ones that would have a lot of CV value. No troll replies, I poured in my heart and soul to build professional contacts - no nepo kid