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Stop wasting time doing an LLM when you could have one-two year more experience !
you have no knowledge about the stuff being talked about here.
The faculty, the RCC, the day zero firms etc they do not take LLMs seriously from an industry perspective. If you wanna go into academics it is good. I can confirm that it is the same story in NALSAR and NUJS.
I am sorry but the law firms, HRs and MNCs, they all think like this. Hard work can always pay off and people from Allahabad University are also partners in law firms. But that is because of HARDWORK. A LLM tag from NLS will not get you that. But yeah a Harvard/Standford LLM is respected in law firms. It will not make you a partner straight up. But yes you will be respected for that. A few interns will be your fanboys/fangirls :P
Singapore: https://www.khaitanco.com/people/abhimanyu-bhattacharya
Germany: https://www.nls.ac.in/faculty/ajar-rab/
Foreign LLM's are not just useful in Germany. Also useful in PRC China, Korea, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, France and many other places around the world - students from these countries go to west/us to get a Masters degree.
Why not that much India?
India is still not integrated to the world. It's a poor country with little international transactions (compared to others) Except a few top big & Botique ones. No one else even deals with foreign clients.
In China, many big Firms proudly write (LLM - NYU or Harvard) on thier despite the fact that they only Chinese law aspects in China. It's because foreign clients prefer having someone with a US/Europe experience (work or LLM)
Practically it's useless (let's say if you are doing only Chinese regulatory work) but looks attractive for Foreign clients.
Maybe this demand for Indians with Foreign LLM's will increase over the years when India itself becomes bigger.
Would appreciate some views on this!
- In some countries a foreign LLMs are highly valued. Germany is an example that comes to mind. India is not such a country.
- In India, what matters most is where you did your BALLB from, plus your work ex. Unfortunately, we have an NLU/non-NLU caste system. This is furthered by lazy HR managers who find it easy to sort CVs on this basis. Plus. HR people generally like imposing hierarchies and making some people feel inferior. After a while, only your work ex matters, not your college.
- An LLM is seen more of an incremental addition, e.g. if you pursued a specialist course or made global connections that may be helpful down the line. Or perhaps a useful asset to show off in meetings with foreign clients. e.g. "Meet my associate Amit, who studied in London" may sound more impressive than "Meet my associate Amit, who studied in Bhopal".
- Keep in mind that 95% of partners do not have foreign LLMs. The 5% that do will probably look upon it favourably. The ones that don't will probably ignore it at best or make judgements at worst (e.g. rich kid went to NY/London/Singapore to party). Reasons like "I went to XYZ university abroad to deepen my knowledge and attend lectures by good faculty" is not good enough for the second type of partner. You may well be speaking to a GLC/DU alum who never attended a single lecture in his life and instead was a "lifelong intern". He/she fails to understand the value of an intellectually stimulating lecture, or writing a research essay supervised by a top academic, when one can learn by interning under a lawyer. He/she may even ask you: "Why do an LLM if you don't want to join academics?"
- The QS Law Ranking is a reliable indicator for selecting colleges, but certain ranks are questionable. It's best to stick with "safe" brand names if one is returning to India. These would be:
UK:Oxbridge/LSE/KCL/UCL/QM/Edinburgh/Warwick etc.
US: Harvard/Stanford/Yale/Columbia/Berkeley/Cornell/Chicago/Duke/Georgetown/Northwestern/GW etc.
Apart from the US and UK, the colleges below are very good, but not so familiar among partners and HR managers in India. Or rather, known only among a small circle.
Australia: Melbourne/Sydney/UNSW/Queensland/ANU
Singapore: NUS
Germany: RKU aka Heidelberg/HU aka Berlin/LMU aka Munich/GU aka Frankfurt/Hamburg Uni/Bucerius Law School
Sweden: Stockholm/Lund/Uppsala
France: Sciences Po
Switzerland: Graduate Institute Geneva
Netherlands: Leiden, Amsterdam
Bottomline: If you choose to do an LLM abroad, be confident about your choice and do what you want to do in life. If you are sensitive and hurt by judgmental comments from HR managers and partners, you will not succeed in any profession. Give your 100% whichever university you go to and be proud of that university and your degree. Also, there is nothing wrong in having a good time in NY or London or Berlin. Go to bars, concerts, etc. You won't get the opportunity ever again.