Hi, I am interested in exploring the practice area of B&F, however, i have never worked in it or have studied it properly. Can you please help me with a thorough guide on how to get started and what to read, any trick/way to learn faster, etc? Also, keep in mind that I need to learn the basics of banking law at first.
[Mod: Comment merged with previous relevant thread]
Why will any fresher lawyer having an option to choose should go for something like Banking Finance to begin with. If you are joininng top law firm as a fresher go for General Corporate and M&A teams only. Banking Finance is something that can be added as specialisation later. Going forward in future it will be difficult to achieve billong targets. M&A works and foreign clients will be good in terms of billing and more diverse experience. If I had a choice when I started I would have always started with General Corporate M&A work and later added few more related specialisations
We cannot predict this as a lot of the documentation work that should have been automated has not been automated.AI tech has developed by leaps and bounds and things that took a decade to develop are happening within months.We can never predict the future.But don't believe people who say that that the tech to automate a lot of the documentation work will take decades.That is simply not true as the tech exits and far reaching changes in this decade is a possibility only fools will deny as the reality does not suit them.
I was planning on entering M&A practice and have done all my Internships in the past year in M&A teams. The knowledge that I have about M&A and related transactions is far superior than other practice area. If majority of the work is going to be automated, and considering that I land a job in transactions team in 2022-23, would I end up jobless by the end of the decade? I would be very grateful if someone could help me out with this, as I have no time to shift my preferred practice area.
Seriously, B&F will be automated. There is so much scope for automation in practice areas like banking , venture capital deals and even ECM. Technology is rapidly taking over and there will be a drastic change in the employment scenario in law firms in the next 5-7 years.So much of the documentation work will definitely be automated. Remember, most of the top 10 companies in the year 2010 are no longer there and massive tech disruption has made so many industries completely redundant.
Gen Corp/ M&A teams in some law firms are already conducting trials for AI related to contract drafting/ firm templates etc. (as far as I'm aware). AI is certainly going to replace a lot of documentation and drafting done by corp lawyers in the near future.
Agree. B&F (which is primarily Project Financing in corporate law firms) is heavily documentation oriented. Its more or less the same standard templates (mortgage, loan agreement, pledge, guarantee etc) with hardly any customisations required. Its churning out these templates by making changes from the term sheet in some clauses. After a particular point of time, it becomes very monotonous. Of course, it becomes more challenging if it is structured finance, international financing or large consortiums comprising foreign banks also....but those are too few. The bread and butter transactions nowadays are renewable financing documentation which is heavily templatised. Will get boring after a few years unless you are doing transactions which are not so standardised or require much structuring advice from tax/FEMA angle or NPA management or work related to IBC. Else, it is volume driven and you become great if you can churn out the documentation in the shortest time and know the compliance requirements.
Quite interesting that you say B&F will become redundant in a decade due to AI. What are your views on practice areas such as Gen Corp/ M&A and others? Do you think these will also be replaced and the only thing worth pursuing is tech laws?
Having been a B&F lawyer for more than 7 years let me tell you that B&F clients don't pay enough. Most matters are fixed fee so you will have to do several matters to meet your annual target. That means having to be available at all times and saying bye-bye to sleep.
There are roughly 8-9 main finance agreements which are bulky. Proof-reading these documents is an ardous task. The loan agreement or the debenture trust deed itself runs into 150-200 pages. There's also some 20 odd compliance documents which are to be prepared for every matter. The turn-around time is very little. The client may come to you asking to complete the entire deal in 5 days (this happens a lot during quarter ends). Stress levels are always always high in a B&F team.
The applicable laws keep changing as RBI issues guidelines every fortnight. Building clientele is also very difficult in this space as there are only a handful of banks and financial institution and each of them already have tie-ups with law firm partners who deliver within insane timelines at a very low cost.
If you're still interested, please remember that you have to forget your Christmas and New Year's holiday season. There is no Diwali or Dussehra. March is a complete nightmare. I have seen my colleagues having metldowns in office.
So I'd say do something different. Learn about technology, data protection laws, cyber laws or media laws. That's the future. B&F law will be completely overtaken by AI softwares in the near future. Don;t opt for something which will be redundant in a decade.
While this covers most of the stuff you need to read up on, read up on IBC and insolvency law developments as well - a fair number of banking teams do insolvency and restructuring work.
The ECB master directions and SEBI Issue and Listing of Debt Securities Regulations are also something that you will probably work with at some point, so might as well get a sense of that.
You need to have your basics in order though, so definitely start with point 3 of the previous comment and also make sure you understand your debt securities and money market instruments well. Familiarise yourself with the RBI website, it will become your best friend.
Strongly agree with the previous comment on hectic quarter ends and FY end - March is death month for most banking teams. But don't be discouraged, banking is a really interesting field to work in imo. And if you get a team with good people to work with - nothing like it.
@FR: Appreciate the enthusiasm. Great to see this new crop of enthusiastic lawyers - someone enquired about M&A resources a couple of days back. Good on you guys!
Before suggesting any topics/ resources, I do have some general advice/ warning. B&F practice tends to be (notoriously) volume driven - as an Associate, this means that you will find yourself pulling late/all-nighters more often than not. In most Tier-1 firms it is common to find even senior members pull insane hours, especially heading into quarter and FY ends (essentially, at least 1/3 or even 1/2 of the year is going to be intense). This will often come at the cost of your social and personal life - you will find it hard to stick to any given schedule outside of the workplace and your holidays would be peppered with calls from the team. Efficiency at the workplace will be rewarded with more work - there's no escaping long hours.
While I understand the urge to be productive, 'Associate'/'2.0's advice is valuable. There's nothing that you will not learn on the job - however, contrary to what 2.0 claims, you'll have to teach yourself a significant part of it. Make the best of your time now - maybe learn a language, pick up a hobby or just chill with your folks/ friends. If you are bent on being productive in the traditional sense, maybe learn more about personal finance or explore a field outside the law you probably considered while in school - you never know, may want to revisit it one day. If you seek to pursue higher education a couple of years down the line, maybe spend this time reading about colleges/ processes/ scholarships - will help you plan the next 3-4 years of your life/ mould your CV in that direction.
While I am sharing this list of introductory B&F topics/ reading list, I hope you prioritise spending your time on more important things. 1. NDA's debt funding in India series - gives a very good overview of the general fund raising landscape. 2. Understand D/E ratio (look up on investopedia) and learn to read Financial Statements - understand what each line-item represents. 3. Brush up on ToPA (mortgage, charge) - Prof. Sarathi, Contract Act (pledge, guarantee) - Avtar Singh, Companies Act (Private Placement, 180-186) - Ramaiah. 4. RBI's Master Circular on Loans and Advances (last one came around 2015) and the Master Directions - Interest Rates on Advances. While without any transactional context, it may seem like a long read, these circulars actually present a very good overview of what domestic banking entails. While no point trying to remember the contents, you will encounter various terms leading to a B&F rabbit hole and you could choose to understand the concepts as you please. If super-enthusiastic, could also glance through the RBI NBFC Master Directions - would advise against it. 5. Cross-border: NDA's article on offshore funding routes. Understand FEMA classification of debt & non-debt instruments. 6. Restructuring: RBI's framework for resolution of stressed assets and blog posts covering the subject of how the 2018 circular was challenged, SC's findings and current position. 7. Understand basics of SARFAESI (s. 3, 7, 13, 17), IBC and Trusts Act.
Thanks for the advice....but there is no “last few months of college”. Just Covid and lockdown. Can’t travel even if I want to. Might as well do something productive sitting at home.
Why do you even want to read now, they will teach you everything. Most of my friends in Banking and finance did not have any idea about the same when they joined, but are doing fine now. Also, you are going to work equally hard and for similar long duration even if you know the stuff beforehand which you are supposed to do. Might as well enjoy the last few months of college while you can
Banking and Finance is a niche area of law which isn't taught well in colleges. Tried searching for resources from APLMA, but their website can be accessed only by members. Looking forward to any advice for an incoming associate (at a Tier 1 firm, if that matters) on how to get a good grasp of the financial world and understand the complexities of structured finance, cross border lending etc. Would be grateful if seniors could mention specific websites/ topics to read up on. Tips to adjust to law firm life would also help.
Banking Finance Oversimplified - Part 1: Overview
https://www.legallyindia.com/convos/topic/277270-banking-finance-oversimplified-part-1
Banking Finance Oversimplified - Part 2: ECBs
https://www.legallyindia.com/convos/topic/278146-banking-finance-oversimplified-part-2-ecbs
[Mod: Comment merged with previous relevant thread]
I would be very grateful if someone could help me out with this, as I have no time to shift my preferred practice area.
There are roughly 8-9 main finance agreements which are bulky. Proof-reading these documents is an ardous task. The loan agreement or the debenture trust deed itself runs into 150-200 pages. There's also some 20 odd compliance documents which are to be prepared for every matter. The turn-around time is very little. The client may come to you asking to complete the entire deal in 5 days (this happens a lot during quarter ends). Stress levels are always always high in a B&F team.
The applicable laws keep changing as RBI issues guidelines every fortnight. Building clientele is also very difficult in this space as there are only a handful of banks and financial institution and each of them already have tie-ups with law firm partners who deliver within insane timelines at a very low cost.
If you're still interested, please remember that you have to forget your Christmas and New Year's holiday season. There is no Diwali or Dussehra. March is a complete nightmare. I have seen my colleagues having metldowns in office.
So I'd say do something different. Learn about technology, data protection laws, cyber laws or media laws. That's the future. B&F law will be completely overtaken by AI softwares in the near future. Don;t opt for something which will be redundant in a decade.
The ECB master directions and SEBI Issue and Listing of Debt Securities Regulations are also something that you will probably work with at some point, so might as well get a sense of that.
You need to have your basics in order though, so definitely start with point 3 of the previous comment and also make sure you understand your debt securities and money market instruments well. Familiarise yourself with the RBI website, it will become your best friend.
Strongly agree with the previous comment on hectic quarter ends and FY end - March is death month for most banking teams. But don't be discouraged, banking is a really interesting field to work in imo. And if you get a team with good people to work with - nothing like it.
All the best! :)
Before suggesting any topics/ resources, I do have some general advice/ warning. B&F practice tends to be (notoriously) volume driven - as an Associate, this means that you will find yourself pulling late/all-nighters more often than not. In most Tier-1 firms it is common to find even senior members pull insane hours, especially heading into quarter and FY ends (essentially, at least 1/3 or even 1/2 of the year is going to be intense). This will often come at the cost of your social and personal life - you will find it hard to stick to any given schedule outside of the workplace and your holidays would be peppered with calls from the team. Efficiency at the workplace will be rewarded with more work - there's no escaping long hours.
While I understand the urge to be productive, 'Associate'/'2.0's advice is valuable. There's nothing that you will not learn on the job - however, contrary to what 2.0 claims, you'll have to teach yourself a significant part of it. Make the best of your time now - maybe learn a language, pick up a hobby or just chill with your folks/ friends. If you are bent on being productive in the traditional sense, maybe learn more about personal finance or explore a field outside the law you probably considered while in school - you never know, may want to revisit it one day. If you seek to pursue higher education a couple of years down the line, maybe spend this time reading about colleges/ processes/ scholarships - will help you plan the next 3-4 years of your life/ mould your CV in that direction.
While I am sharing this list of introductory B&F topics/ reading list, I hope you prioritise spending your time on more important things.
1. NDA's debt funding in India series - gives a very good overview of the general fund raising landscape.
2. Understand D/E ratio (look up on investopedia) and learn to read Financial Statements - understand what each line-item represents.
3. Brush up on ToPA (mortgage, charge) - Prof. Sarathi, Contract Act (pledge, guarantee) - Avtar Singh, Companies Act (Private Placement, 180-186) - Ramaiah.
4. RBI's Master Circular on Loans and Advances (last one came around 2015) and the Master Directions - Interest Rates on Advances. While without any transactional context, it may seem like a long read, these circulars actually present a very good overview of what domestic banking entails. While no point trying to remember the contents, you will encounter various terms leading to a B&F rabbit hole and you could choose to understand the concepts as you please. If super-enthusiastic, could also glance through the RBI NBFC Master Directions - would advise against it.
5. Cross-border: NDA's article on offshore funding routes. Understand FEMA classification of debt & non-debt instruments.
6. Restructuring: RBI's framework for resolution of stressed assets and blog posts covering the subject of how the 2018 circular was challenged, SC's findings and current position.
7. Understand basics of SARFAESI (s. 3, 7, 13, 17), IBC and Trusts Act.
Goodluck!
@Kian: These threads are a very good idea.
Can’t travel even if I want to. Might as well do something productive sitting at home.