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I work for a magic circle firm in Dubai, am of Indian origin. If you want to succeed, you will have to work hard and long hours wherever you work, but quality of life is superb and the pay is more than the UK/US (as there is no income tax).
I am a citizen of India and a law graduate with a year exp in a local firm , I'd like to work in an international law firm and would like to understand the road map , should I get an llm from uae or a licence or internship
1. Chances of landing a job are moderate to high if there is US/UK LLM. Not impossible but very difficult with Indian degree/bar admission alone.
2. Keep in mind the preference for Arabic speaking lawyers, both by law firms and MNCs. Although there are organizations hiring non-Arabic speakers, the recent trend is quite discouraging.
3. With same qualifications (assuming you have a US/UK LLM), Indian lawyers are not paid the same as compared to Western and regional nationalities.
4. RE-relocation: If you plan to return to India, Indian law firms and MNCs will likely not take your Middle East experience into account as, simply put, India is a different ball-game. Transactional lawyers solely focusing on M&A type of work may be exception to this but that's really a small percentage of the whole lot. Remember, when you return to India, the Indian law firm or MNC/Indian company will expect you to take a big cut from Middle East salary (also, not to forget income tax).
5. Dubai in particular is very expensive city, including health care and education if you are relocating with family.
6. In a nutshell, it is a good place for a short stint probably while you are still a bachelor.
Note: relocating on spouse's sponsorship visa and financial assistance, is a different scenario - I have known many lawyers who in my judgement have taken up jobs in Middle East without preference for sector/law firm or in-house, to keep themselves occupied.
I haven't seen Indians that successful. Some kerala mallu people do compliances work and other grunt work for local firms and companies.
International firms, they prefer to hire whites in Dubai more than London. Because dubai is already fully indian. Adding an additional Indian or Pakistani doesn't add international acclaim.