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With classes shifting online due to the pandemic, it has become increasingly difficult for juniors in college to approach seniors for guidance. Most juniors are not getting the guidance and are turning to folks who are charging them for drafting something as simple as a Cover Letter or a mock interview.
As much as I want to help, I alone cannot mentor each of them one-on-one. Thus, I am planning to create an informal network of seniors who work in law firms (A0/A1/A2/ SA1) who can guide juniors still in college about the internship and recruitment process, and be better prepared for law firm life in general. Each senior will be paired with only one junior (Don’t want to overburden anyone). Your seniors were there when you needed them, maybe it’s your time to pay it forward.
If you’re interested, leave a like or comment. If enough people like this post, maybe we can make this a reality. I will respond later with more details. Cheers.
Who is an eligible mentor?
Anyone who has been working in a law firm. (A0s/ A1s /A2s etc)
What is expected of a mentor?
I understand your time is precious and you may not have time to talk to your mentee everyday. Just 2 hours per week for mentorship will do.
As a pilot project, we will first pair one mentor and another mentee for a duration of one month.
You don’t have to worry about logistics. I will handle that.
Comment here if you have any queries.
Once we have a minimum of at least 10 mentors sign up for this, we can go live and seek applications for this semi-formal mentorship. The broad plan is to also get a diverse pool of mentors so that we can pair them up with mentees who may have similar backgrounds.
I agree with ‘bro’ that in your first year you don’t require one-on-one mentoring. It’s too soon to be thinking about a Corp job. The mentees for this program will mostly be from 3rd year up. (same cutoff as most law firms)
But at the same time I understand even in first year, you might want to know if a law firm job is the ‘Promised Land’ most people try to reach. Until now, most of the information about ‘a regular day in corp job’ has been coming via meme pages or anonymous comments on LegallyIndia, which can be a bit misleading. Not to mention, asking people on LinkedIn can seem scary. To address this gap, I am planning to start an Instagram page (read: network effect) where we can post Insta stories of actual lawyers talking about their day in a law firm. It will be open for everyone to view in the story highlights, and we might even let juniors ask the mentors some questions in real time.
If this sounds good, and you wish to be a mentor, please drop a mail at lawfirmready@gmail.com. I promise it will be worth your time.
Enjoy your time in law school - they were some of the best years of my life (till now). Make friends, get wasted on licit and illicit intoxicants, do things which will seems ridiculously dumb later on, explore relationships (both platonic and romantic), try to ask yourself what makes you tick and what will give you long term satisfaction - don't be passive and let anyone else decide this for you.
Experience life in law school - you'll get a job. Everyone ultimately gets a job. Don't drink the law firm kool aid and don't let anyone tell you that getting a job in a law firm will mean that you've made good use of your time in law school. I sucked donkey ball at academics and it did take me maybe 2 years to catch up to people who had good grades in law school, but I decadently wasted time in college. That's something you'll not be able to do for many decades after college. Remember: if you don't get a job straight out of law school, you can always get something after a year or so, once you're potty trained at your first job.
Focus on studies only to the extent that your grades are half decent and try to get a general sense of the laws you study - contract, companies act, interpretation of statutes, (ideally but this isn't necessary) tax, etc. If you're interested, then IPR, international law, and other "niche" subjects. Learn to navigate the websites of critical regulators (RBI, MCA, SEBI, etc.). Don't sweat it out too much and don't become one of those LinkedIn humble braggarts. There's time in life for that - once you're a partner.
And listen to "Wear Sunscreen" by Baz Luhrmann.
Many people are reaching out to be mentors for this initiative. We have had people from AZB, KCO, SAM reach out to us to be mentors. Did not expect the response considering this was an anonymous thread. It's good to know there are good people out there who are willing to give back. We hope to up and running soon.
lawfirmready@gmail.com
@OP & @kian if you are here pls post mail to those mentors