I am not from a top 5 NLU, although I am from a decently reputed university. I am reaching my fourth year and haven’t really done any internships due to the pandemic and all my applications were either not replied or rejected. I don’t know the insides of a law firm. I remember when I was giving CLAT how motivated I was about law and everything. I did pretty good in college and was moving with the flow. I thought my university had good placements but like most of you, when I arrived, i got to know the dark truth. I am clueless as my dad who took an education loan to fund my education sits beside me and tells me how he plans to repay the debt along with me because “i am a bright kid and I’ll get placed at a nice place”. Now that I look at myself, even I realise that with no practical knowledge, I would be an asset to no firm. I realise that I might not just have a job after two years. I think of it everyday. I text people on linkedin and other places but no one really helps and that’s understandable. I think stress is making me bald and giving me dark circles too. People fight a lot and if you could treat each other better but a lot of you are really sweet too.
I don’t know how to cope with this feeling. There must be others like me. How do you deal with this feeling? How do you deal with rejections on a daily basis? How do you feel about your parents who think you’ll be getting a 12lpa soon? How do you deal with everything? I want to come out as a stronger person
Assuming you are from a decently reputed university (falling as low as DSNLU or Nirma/Christ), lets plan out your future step by step:
Academics
If nothing is working for you, make the most basic thing work. Focus here, and get in top five-ten in the university if possible. Traditionally and even in future, I do not see better proof of grit and diligence than being excellent at academics at a decently reputed university. Being good at academics is baseline key to success. For example: let us assume you have a terrible contracts professor or the curriculum is bad - a student who wishes to do well would go to the e-library, read from additional sources plus scrounge the internet for good resources and structure your thoughts well. This is killing two birds with one stone - aceing your academics with ease and clearing your basic understandings.
[i]Do not underestimate this, do not underestimate the time required to do this properly and do not like 95% of law students underestimate the importance of consistency and grit.[/I]
Outside Academics
You need to prove three skills outside your academic achievements: (i) communication; and (ii) networking.
Communication refers to your writing and speaking skills, i.e. write articles, blogs on leading blogs like Indiacorplaw, Oxford Business Law Blog, etc. I do not particularly give weightage to academic writing, because that may not expose your thoughts to a wider audience. Identify your focus area - lets assume it is corporate law, start browsing business new websites and start writing 500-1000 word updates on the latest news item (maybe for mediocre or even low grade blogs/or the best audience - yourself)/alternatively to match your academic targets, just write a updated essay on whatever you discussed in class and latest jurisprudence on the matter. Keep a watch a law firm updates (NDA, CAM, SAM, etc.), to understand how to write, the style of writing and update your writing structure. At the beginning, aim to write 10-15 pieces (small and big) each month. [I built my personal online commentary through this, I often see myself referring back to my class notes - I spent max 3-4 hours, since it was personal - I plagiarised giving weight to understanding > credentials, but I had no loans.] For oral communication, you may identify speaking opportunities within group, classes, debate tournaments, or if nothing else, moots. (Moots is always on expense of time - which you are lacking. It is an excellent learning activity, but not the key to success. I suggest that you do not get distracted by the excitement and lose valuable months).
Communication will automatically help you build research skills (as you think about each word you put out to the world); articulation (key to being a lawyer and negotiator); and often in networking (as you have credentials of being well published - even if it is 100 of 250 words post). Practice will make you perfect and often help with academics automatically.
Networking: I use this term in the most balanced way possible, and not necessarily only for work, skill, reasons. Within law school life, you needs balance, and relationships with seniors, juniors and batchmates are key. Help everyone selflessly, connect people, party with people, hang out with people, build groups, play amongus with interested batch mates, sports!, but be among people. These people are going to be your seniors in firms, your clients, your referrals, your mentors, and your guides. In addition, identify lawyers active on social media, that you look up to and observe the content being put out, keep a track. If you follow communication above, lawyers who connected with you might have already come across your posts and (probably are already impressed).
Internships and Jobs
There are two ways to go about it, (i) excel and go for the tier 1, easy to get in with top law school and they look favorably on top rankers;(ii) realise your interest (writing/communication above helps), identify and reach out to professionals working independently or in boutique setups (please let them be top lawyers, well known and good pedigree with good mandates - legallyindia is a good start to find for corp) or starting out.
For (i) - lot depends on your college; for (ii) lot depends on your zeal and hustle. (ii) is also easy to secure, with less noise and competition. Once you have a step in a practice area, it is not rocket science to elevate to tier 1 (if that is your intention/goal/dream), or you may love the job and seeing your talent, you may be offered equivalent pay with better work life.
Know this - everybody who is hardworking, good, finds a job. Actually - everyone who wants to work for someone else, gets to work for someone else. Internship or no internship, moot or no moot, no research paper - if you know your basics, are articulate, you will score a job easily.
Please use resources like 'worldwise' for this - not the course, the resource on the website of worldwise is enough.
For you and your dad - on loans
Clarify to your parents upfront - the news is misleading, outside top five, people don't get guaranteed 12 LPA jobs. (difficult even in top three). Tell them you are doing your best, and loan is not going to be a concern (in ANY case - law degree is rewarding).
Legal profession, is highly rewarding to good talents who are consistent, hard working and can go to the extra mile. Even a person starting out at 40K in tier three in Mumbai, if talented can make 1L by the end of his 2nd year in practice (if he wants to sacrifice life balance). Your loan of 30 lakh (assuming you are in JGLS or alike) will look mediocre and tensions small. Worst case scenario - you apply to 60 places, get rejected with no job for six month (highly and extremely unlikely - will happen only if you don't compromise on 12LPA standards), your degree will allow you to pivot - to legal tech, content writing, teaching, LLP, public policy advocacy, etc. among hundred other options.
You will only need - positive mindset, confidence and hustling to succeed.
I am graduating this year from a non-top 5/6 NLU college which has not done well with campus placements (only 7 students were placed through the college RCC - less than 5% of the total batch). However, many of my batchmates who were interested in the law firm scene have been able to get themselves offers from pretty good places. Some also realized that this was not their cup of tea and chose to pursue other alternatives and are doing equally well. After several internships at firms both top tier and some not, I was able to get an offer in my final semester from a great team at a growing law firm.
I completely understand how you feel right now. You might not feel like it but you are strong enough to overcome these feelings of anxiety which all of us have somewhat experienced. Don't be morose, keep applying - apply to firms and partners showing your interest in their practice areas. If you want it bad enough, opportunities will come your way. Be sincere and diligent - that will be enough for you to get your foot in the door.
And who says you even have to like law firms - your experience at internships might make you want to pursue other stuff. Law firms are not the all important be-all-end-all avenue the rat race might make them to seem. There are enough other opportunities where you can do equally well, if not more. I'm sure you're parents will also understand if you dialogue with them.
A friend shared this with me -
For there is always light If we are brave enough to see it If we are brave enough to be it
1. Read as much as you can. Read whatever comes to your hand. Pay more focus on things which people miss. Read website T&Cs, Press Releases, Public apologies, the fine lines, and the bylines. It will give you an idea as to how to communicate. Professional writing is very easy to pick up if you are habitual of reading such drab. It is a skill which is highly valued and comes extremely handy.
2. Talk. Every opportunity that you get. Retort. More you talk, more will you be prepared to talk your way out of or into situations. Gift of gab is not just nature's gift. It can also be cultivated. Being able to talk fluently will open a lot of doors for you. It is especially useful to further your career. You will land more clients as a lawyer, lawyers and students will respect you as judges, people will listen to you more in general.
3. Write. A fluent speaker will not always be a good writer. Donald Trump is a great speaker, have you ever seen him write? Modi / RaGa have great speech writers, can they deliver it like Modi? Writing is very important. you may not always get an opportunity to speak up in a professional setting. More often than not, your written work would almost always reach more places. Learn to write so well that it catches everyone's eyes.
4. Learn to understand the situation. Don't tinker if you can't afford. If something is being done in one way, till you can afford such things going south, stick to the tried and tested method. Everyone knows that latin terms and ancient english is replaceable in law firm drafts / transaction documents. While some have discarded it, many haven't. As long as you are with someone who wants things to be done in a particular manner, learn to do it in that manner, unless you can afford to leave [Leave and find your own space]. If you are in a corporate team you will be required to proofread. understand what proofreading means. It is not about improving, it is only about correcting.
5. Speak up. If you want something, ask for it. If you want an internship, call the HR after mailing them in case of no positive reply. Ask them about how you can secure an internship. If they tell you no slots available, mail again for some other slot. Slots are available available. Ensure that you have an error free and well formatted CV and cover letter for application. See templates available on Harvard's website. I guess Lawctopus had some too when I was in college. There are plenty of other websites which have templates. Just Google. Talk to your seniors about how to go about things. Reach out to your college seniors who are known to be helpful. There is no shame in asking for help.
6. Research. Learn how to research. Best advise for life. Learn about keywords, search tools etc. Learn how to and where to use Near, And, or, "", -, +, site:, filetype: etc. Learn navigating through websites, looking for things on websites. Learn how to use keywords so that you never get more than 2-3 Google search result pages. It will make you a rockstar researcher.
Expand your horizons and have an open mind. Be professional, be courteous and stay humble. Easy to brag after a win, but with every win, the level increases and it gets more difficult to maintain your reputation as the person who can find it.
Intern wherever you can once. At max twice. Never for more than 8 weeks in total. If they want to hire you, they will. Don't waste your time hoping that an A0 or A1 will get you a job. People below SA level in a law firm don't have that pull.
Once you start interning, try to establish your presence. Be subtle and humble. Don't be known for your flashiness. Build a good rapport. 1 week before your internship, seek time to talk to a senior with whom you have a good rapport. Tell them that you want a job and want to work at the firm / with the team. If you are good, you will get an interview for sure from places like SAM, CAM etc. if you are from a decent college. If you are from some unknown / private college, you need to work twice as hard.
I don’t know how to cope with this feeling. There must be others like me. How do you deal with this feeling? How do you deal with rejections on a daily basis? How do you feel about your parents who think you’ll be getting a 12lpa soon? How do you deal with everything? I want to come out as a stronger person
Assuming you are from a decently reputed university (falling as low as DSNLU or Nirma/Christ), lets plan out your future step by step:
Academics
If nothing is working for you, make the most basic thing work. Focus here, and get in top five-ten in the university if possible. Traditionally and even in future, I do not see better proof of grit and diligence than being excellent at academics at a decently reputed university. Being good at academics is baseline key to success. For example: let us assume you have a terrible contracts professor or the curriculum is bad - a student who wishes to do well would go to the e-library, read from additional sources plus scrounge the internet for good resources and structure your thoughts well. This is killing two birds with one stone - aceing your academics with ease and clearing your basic understandings.
[i]Do not underestimate this, do not underestimate the time required to do this properly and do not like 95% of law students underestimate the importance of consistency and grit.[/I]
Outside Academics
You need to prove three skills outside your academic achievements: (i) communication; and (ii) networking.
Communication refers to your writing and speaking skills, i.e. write articles, blogs on leading blogs like Indiacorplaw, Oxford Business Law Blog, etc. I do not particularly give weightage to academic writing, because that may not expose your thoughts to a wider audience. Identify your focus area - lets assume it is corporate law, start browsing business new websites and start writing 500-1000 word updates on the latest news item (maybe for mediocre or even low grade blogs/or the best audience - yourself)/alternatively to match your academic targets, just write a updated essay on whatever you discussed in class and latest jurisprudence on the matter. Keep a watch a law firm updates (NDA, CAM, SAM, etc.), to understand how to write, the style of writing and update your writing structure. At the beginning, aim to write 10-15 pieces (small and big) each month. [I built my personal online commentary through this, I often see myself referring back to my class notes - I spent max 3-4 hours, since it was personal - I plagiarised giving weight to understanding > credentials, but I had no loans.] For oral communication, you may identify speaking opportunities within group, classes, debate tournaments, or if nothing else, moots. (Moots is always on expense of time - which you are lacking. It is an excellent learning activity, but not the key to success. I suggest that you do not get distracted by the excitement and lose valuable months).
Communication will automatically help you build research skills (as you think about each word you put out to the world); articulation (key to being a lawyer and negotiator); and often in networking (as you have credentials of being well published - even if it is 100 of 250 words post). Practice will make you perfect and often help with academics automatically.
Networking: I use this term in the most balanced way possible, and not necessarily only for work, skill, reasons. Within law school life, you needs balance, and relationships with seniors, juniors and batchmates are key. Help everyone selflessly, connect people, party with people, hang out with people, build groups, play amongus with interested batch mates, sports!, but be among people. These people are going to be your seniors in firms, your clients, your referrals, your mentors, and your guides. In addition, identify lawyers active on social media, that you look up to and observe the content being put out, keep a track. If you follow communication above, lawyers who connected with you might have already come across your posts and (probably are already impressed).
Internships and Jobs
There are two ways to go about it, (i) excel and go for the tier 1, easy to get in with top law school and they look favorably on top rankers;(ii) realise your interest (writing/communication above helps), identify and reach out to professionals working independently or in boutique setups (please let them be top lawyers, well known and good pedigree with good mandates - legallyindia is a good start to find for corp) or starting out.
For (i) - lot depends on your college; for (ii) lot depends on your zeal and hustle. (ii) is also easy to secure, with less noise and competition. Once you have a step in a practice area, it is not rocket science to elevate to tier 1 (if that is your intention/goal/dream), or you may love the job and seeing your talent, you may be offered equivalent pay with better work life.
Know this - everybody who is hardworking, good, finds a job. Actually - everyone who wants to work for someone else, gets to work for someone else. Internship or no internship, moot or no moot, no research paper - if you know your basics, are articulate, you will score a job easily.
Please use resources like 'worldwise' for this - not the course, the resource on the website of worldwise is enough.
For you and your dad - on loans
Clarify to your parents upfront - the news is misleading, outside top five, people don't get guaranteed 12 LPA jobs. (difficult even in top three). Tell them you are doing your best, and loan is not going to be a concern (in ANY case - law degree is rewarding).
Legal profession, is highly rewarding to good talents who are consistent, hard working and can go to the extra mile. Even a person starting out at 40K in tier three in Mumbai, if talented can make 1L by the end of his 2nd year in practice (if he wants to sacrifice life balance). Your loan of 30 lakh (assuming you are in JGLS or alike) will look mediocre and tensions small. Worst case scenario - you apply to 60 places, get rejected with no job for six month (highly and extremely unlikely - will happen only if you don't compromise on 12LPA standards), your degree will allow you to pivot - to legal tech, content writing, teaching, LLP, public policy advocacy, etc. among hundred other options.
You will only need - positive mindset, confidence and hustling to succeed.
I am graduating this year from a non-top 5/6 NLU college which has not done well with campus placements (only 7 students were placed through the college RCC - less than 5% of the total batch). However, many of my batchmates who were interested in the law firm scene have been able to get themselves offers from pretty good places. Some also realized that this was not their cup of tea and chose to pursue other alternatives and are doing equally well. After several internships at firms both top tier and some not, I was able to get an offer in my final semester from a great team at a growing law firm.
I completely understand how you feel right now. You might not feel like it but you are strong enough to overcome these feelings of anxiety which all of us have somewhat experienced. Don't be morose, keep applying - apply to firms and partners showing your interest in their practice areas. If you want it bad enough, opportunities will come your way. Be sincere and diligent - that will be enough for you to get your foot in the door.
And who says you even have to like law firms - your experience at internships might make you want to pursue other stuff. Law firms are not the all important be-all-end-all avenue the rat race might make them to seem. There are enough other opportunities where you can do equally well, if not more. I'm sure you're parents will also understand if you dialogue with them.
A friend shared this with me -
For there is always light
If we are brave enough to see it
If we are brave enough to be it
Best of luck!
All I can say is:
1. Read as much as you can. Read whatever comes to your hand. Pay more focus on things which people miss. Read website T&Cs, Press Releases, Public apologies, the fine lines, and the bylines. It will give you an idea as to how to communicate. Professional writing is very easy to pick up if you are habitual of reading such drab. It is a skill which is highly valued and comes extremely handy.
2. Talk. Every opportunity that you get. Retort. More you talk, more will you be prepared to talk your way out of or into situations. Gift of gab is not just nature's gift. It can also be cultivated. Being able to talk fluently will open a lot of doors for you. It is especially useful to further your career. You will land more clients as a lawyer, lawyers and students will respect you as judges, people will listen to you more in general.
3. Write. A fluent speaker will not always be a good writer. Donald Trump is a great speaker, have you ever seen him write? Modi / RaGa have great speech writers, can they deliver it like Modi? Writing is very important. you may not always get an opportunity to speak up in a professional setting. More often than not, your written work would almost always reach more places. Learn to write so well that it catches everyone's eyes.
4. Learn to understand the situation. Don't tinker if you can't afford. If something is being done in one way, till you can afford such things going south, stick to the tried and tested method. Everyone knows that latin terms and ancient english is replaceable in law firm drafts / transaction documents. While some have discarded it, many haven't. As long as you are with someone who wants things to be done in a particular manner, learn to do it in that manner, unless you can afford to leave [Leave and find your own space]. If you are in a corporate team you will be required to proofread. understand what proofreading means. It is not about improving, it is only about correcting.
5. Speak up. If you want something, ask for it. If you want an internship, call the HR after mailing them in case of no positive reply. Ask them about how you can secure an internship. If they tell you no slots available, mail again for some other slot. Slots are available available. Ensure that you have an error free and well formatted CV and cover letter for application. See templates available on Harvard's website. I guess Lawctopus had some too when I was in college. There are plenty of other websites which have templates. Just Google. Talk to your seniors about how to go about things. Reach out to your college seniors who are known to be helpful. There is no shame in asking for help.
6. Research. Learn how to research. Best advise for life. Learn about keywords, search tools etc. Learn how to and where to use Near, And, or, "", -, +, site:, filetype: etc. Learn navigating through websites, looking for things on websites. Learn how to use keywords so that you never get more than 2-3 Google search result pages. It will make you a rockstar researcher.
Expand your horizons and have an open mind. Be professional, be courteous and stay humble. Easy to brag after a win, but with every win, the level increases and it gets more difficult to maintain your reputation as the person who can find it.
Intern wherever you can once. At max twice. Never for more than 8 weeks in total. If they want to hire you, they will. Don't waste your time hoping that an A0 or A1 will get you a job. People below SA level in a law firm don't have that pull.
Once you start interning, try to establish your presence. Be subtle and humble. Don't be known for your flashiness. Build a good rapport. 1 week before your internship, seek time to talk to a senior with whom you have a good rapport. Tell them that you want a job and want to work at the firm / with the team. If you are good, you will get an interview for sure from places like SAM, CAM etc. if you are from a decent college. If you are from some unknown / private college, you need to work twice as hard.
Good luck!
towards the end o