All of the above are good suggestions for litigation. Public speaking to large crowds as a skill is barely used in law firms btw. So long as you are comfortable and confident in your knowledge of the law, can think and express yourself clearly in writing or in one-on-one/ small groups, are diligent in research, you will be seen as a great hire for several roles whether at a firm, in house or maybe even a non law role. Don't put yourself down too much. A lot of confidence also comes from solid knowledge backing up whatever you're saying! Faffing is appreciated in the real world faaaar less than in law schools :) lastly don't underestimate the usefulness of being a well educated lawyer fluent in your mother tongue!! It can open up doors not accessible to metro kids who only speak & write English

Been there, faced that. Trust me, all this would seem trivial in a couple of years. Because if English speaking skills are all that, I would aspire to be more like my call center cousin Janardan (Jordan by night) who beguiles those sweet, trusting American nanas into revealing their SSNs.

But I feel you, it seems soul-crushing right now. Most likely, your apprehensions are twin-fold: at professional and personal level (I may be presuming things and imposing my experience onto yours, but bear with me).

Professional: First off, like I implied, Good Spoken English ≠ Good Lawyer. But given how shallow things tend to get, understandable why it's a reason for worry. Start off with being very good with academics. Develop an understanding of your texts and the law that's above par. Ace your exams. That's a sure shot way to win regard of your peers, including the big city ones, boosting your self-confidence. As for speaking skills, as you read more, your vocab gets enriched automatically. You can join your local Toastmasters chapter, converse more in English (no matter the mistakes, that girl from Sobo will not lay in bed thinking how you mispronounced awry), watch more content in English. These habits get internalized and before long, you will talk English, walk English. :)

Personal: cz you feel judged, you feel you aren't moving with the 'it' crowd, you fear missing on the 'cool experiences' that this 'elite' section will partake in etc. But trust me you, you would not want those experiences by pretending someone you are not. Pro tip for surviving law school is just being yourself. You will attract people with similar wavelengths, be they from small town or big. Remember, superficial commonalities like throwing pop culture references or bragging about your favorite sushi from that upscale eatery can only get friendships so far. Hard to believe but even in this day and age, lifelong friendships are rooted in virtues like loyalty, empathy and such. You can of course, broaden your horizons- pick new hobbies, travel, intern at unconventional places. But only to add aspects to your personality, not to just 'fit-in'.

And 10 years down the line, as you look back on life, with a great career with great (or even mediocre) English speaking skills, you would not want to change a thing, not a thing, about your small town childhood/upbringing.

Do not let issues of pronunciation, limited vocabulary, or limited fluency (verbal) bog you down. The intent of this post is to help you see why this will not be a challenge (for the coming few years) and assure you that there is

In the initial years of your law firm, the only expectation from associates is to churn out agreement drafts, opinions, memos and emails which are:

1) sound in law, backed by solid legal research;

2) SIMPLY written without use of unnecessary words like wherefore etc and other fancy/archaic words;

3) presented with a logical flow; and

4) properly formatted.

If you have all this, then no matter - small town background, halting spoken English, etc. don't really matter. At least, till you're an SA.

Now here comes the fun part, Partners and PAs (if they're lucky enough to have a professional Partner invested in their growth), like to hog client calls, negotiations and all other external non-verbal communications, to the exclusion of others. Therefore, you're spoken English won't really be tested for the longest time. Which, theoretically, gives you ame time to up your game on that front (if you're so inclined).

A word to the wise - your spoken English is definitely an asset, but it's peripheral in value at best. No amount of vocabulary, accent (fake?) or gift of the gab can compensate for abject lack of legal skills and knowledge.

Let me give you an anecdote - I was working on a deal 3 years ago opposite a partner from a firm in Delhi (the one imploding now) and in the initial negotiation call I came away feeling really impressed by her accent and the way she spoke. I had been just staffed on the matter so I had no way to gauge her technical and legal soundness on the call. As the matter progressed, she kept up with the accent and it was clearer with each call that her knowledge was superficial at best and non existent at worst. This was painfully clear to our clients (high powered - eat their lawyer for lunch - PE folks) who would mute themselves and laugh at her in our conference room. The situation became so bad that my Partner, a normal without accent English speaker, was clearly dominating the negotiations and the counter party client used to cringe at their counsel's negotiations.

Moral of the story: all that glitters isn't gold. Have faith, don't compromise on your legal skills and if you feel so strongly, work on your spoken English (trust me you have time).