Answering purely on the financially rewarding part:
Assuming you take a year or two off after law school to prepare for CAT or get work experience, and subsequently you go for a 2 year MBA program at the top IIMs, at the age of 26-27 you graduate from the IIM with a top consulting job (say McKinsey, BCG etc.) then you will start with a salary of 24 - 36 lacs.
At 4 years PQE at a law firm, if you become an SA you will be earning approx. 30 lacs. At 3 years PQE (A3), you will be earning approx. 22-25 lacs.
Also, keep in mind that salaries at IIMs and IITs are generally inflated (https://bit.ly/3gOqAuO). A "40 lacs package at Microsoft" by a top IIT student actually means some 20 lacs of cash at the end of the year. In case of law firms, a 30 lacs package assuming average bonus will pay you at least 25 lacs.
Further, remember that you have lost out on 2 years of salary + paid 25 lacs as course fees during your MBA. So, that's a set back of about 40 lacs even though you are graduating with roughly the same salary.
So, yes - few years after graduation, the ROI of (NLU + top law firm job) is definitely better than ROI of (IIM + top consulting job). If you plan to quit the corporate life within 5-10 years and live a peaceful life - a top law firm job makes more sense.
BUT, the benefits of a top MBA over law will kick in after that. Top equity partners (not including promoter/founding partner level equity) make somewhere in the range of 5-7 crores. Fresh equity partners fall in the range of 2-4 crores. And mind you, this comes after 20 years of PQE.
On the other hand, if you leverage your MBA properly, join the right companies, make the right transitions, you can end up as a CEO after 20 years of PQE. In which case, only the sky/negotiation is the limit in terms of your salary. Plus, the range of career options at your disposable will be too vast as compared to a lawyer.
So, yes an MBA will be more beneficial if you look at a 20-30 year career horizon. The caveats are of course - not everyone who graduates from an IIM becomes a CEO or a millionaire. It is a risk you will have to take. And you will have to keep yourself at the top of your game even into your late 50s.
On the other hand, a law firm job will give you great returns for a decently rich and smooth life. Your career and salary transition will be mostly linear without many big rises or falls.
Assuming you take a year or two off after law school to prepare for CAT or get work experience, and subsequently you go for a 2 year MBA program at the top IIMs, at the age of 26-27 you graduate from the IIM with a top consulting job (say McKinsey, BCG etc.) then you will start with a salary of 24 - 36 lacs.
At 4 years PQE at a law firm, if you become an SA you will be earning approx. 30 lacs.
At 3 years PQE (A3), you will be earning approx. 22-25 lacs.
Also, keep in mind that salaries at IIMs and IITs are generally inflated (https://bit.ly/3gOqAuO). A "40 lacs package at Microsoft" by a top IIT student actually means some 20 lacs of cash at the end of the year. In case of law firms, a 30 lacs package assuming average bonus will pay you at least 25 lacs.
Further, remember that you have lost out on 2 years of salary + paid 25 lacs as course fees during your MBA. So, that's a set back of about 40 lacs even though you are graduating with roughly the same salary.
So, yes - few years after graduation, the ROI of (NLU + top law firm job) is definitely better than ROI of (IIM + top consulting job). If you plan to quit the corporate life within 5-10 years and live a peaceful life - a top law firm job makes more sense.
BUT, the benefits of a top MBA over law will kick in after that. Top equity partners (not including promoter/founding partner level equity) make somewhere in the range of 5-7 crores. Fresh equity partners fall in the range of 2-4 crores. And mind you, this comes after 20 years of PQE.
On the other hand, if you leverage your MBA properly, join the right companies, make the right transitions, you can end up as a CEO after 20 years of PQE. In which case, only the sky/negotiation is the limit in terms of your salary. Plus, the range of career options at your disposable will be too vast as compared to a lawyer.
So, yes an MBA will be more beneficial if you look at a 20-30 year career horizon. The caveats are of course - not everyone who graduates from an IIM becomes a CEO or a millionaire. It is a risk you will have to take. And you will have to keep yourself at the top of your game even into your late 50s.
On the other hand, a law firm job will give you great returns for a decently rich and smooth life. Your career and salary transition will be mostly linear without many big rises or falls.