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Can someone please give me a little idea about the packages that different teams offer in these firms? I am really clueless, if I start interning at these firms I won’t be coming back. Everyone says the packages vary a lot even a broad idea would work for me.
Any other insights as to getting internships, jobs, teams or work culture in these firms would also help
Big 4 work culture is competitive but not as cut-throat as in big league law firms - so if you consider yourself a star or want to have fast growth then big 4 is not your place.
As far as pay goes, depends on which city you live in. There are minor differences. Plus, you will be a salaried employee, which means a large chunk of your salary gets deducted towards tax and PF. So, what you get in hand may not be fancy like law firm salaries. Fresher salaries may be Rs.9-10 lacs before tax.
If you are joining a Big4 to work alongside CAs say in tax, I would caution you against it. While we lawyers especially those from NLUs have a very high opinion about ourselves, even first rank-gold medal kids from the topmost law schools in the country are wayyyyy behind in terms of knowledge, understanding of the law or preparedness to work. After a 3 year articleship and the CA exams, even the most average CA fresher who worked with a decent small time chartered accountant, knows much more than you do! So, unless you are willing to be humiliated, be astounded by your severe lack of knowledge, and be humble to accept that you are not a gift of god because you graduated from a NLU, do not go to a Big4.
Having said that if you do manage to get a foothold and determined to go ahead, you can be assured that it's a much, much better learning experience because you are likely to get a stronger grip of the law, especially tax, company law, FEMA, GST etc. And, you will definitely develop excellent excel and accountancy skills, which most lawyers lack.
Alternatively, consider Big4 best friend law firms which i've heard have the typical law firm culture.
As far as work hours go, it really depends on the kind of team/partner you work with. Some days can be really as bad as law firm hours, especially if you are involved in say tax return filing, M&A etc.