Graduate of a well-known law school here. I am using the term 'well-known' not describing how good or bad it was because the public perception is divided on that and I don't want anyone to taint their opinion on basis of that. It was not amongst NLS, NUJS, and NALSAR so did not have a brand name strong enough to get doors open on just the basis of the brand name. I am not sure if this holds true for the top 3 too but anyways my law school for a fact doesn't have that kind of pull. So, here are some of the things I know for a fact work and you can make use of them:-
1) Find a connection - Yes, it is hard but a lot of times you are overthinking it. Start with your law school faculty, if you have a good repo with them, see if they can help you out. Some of their batchmates would be in law firms and they can easily help you out on that front. If they don't, think creatively. In my case, one of our tenants used to work at a Big4 and he wrote the email to the HR of the Big4's best friend law firm and that worked. Even he wasn't sure (he was not in a very high position) it will work but it worked. Make searches for connect on LinkedIn but don't make it the final stop. Time to reconnect with that Mausaji working at MNC or that uncle running the electronics store (he knows the procurement guy at these companies who could get you in). Think hard and see what can be done.
2) Show a Genuine Interest and do Cold Outreach - If money is the only factor due to which you want to join a law firm, that is fine but you need to come up with ways to show that you really want to be part of the law firm. Start writing your own blog on updates. Try to contribute to reputed places such as https://indiacorplaw.in . Start reading corp law updates on Mondaq, Vantage Asia, B&B, Law Firm Updates etc. and be active on Linkedin. Start adding Partners, PA etc on LinkedIn and sharing actively. You can see your post view stats by designation and once you feel that on a consistent basis your posts are read by a lot of law firm partners, start reaching out to your first connection partners asking for LinkedIn. By this point, there is a good chance they have read your material, and if you have done even a half-decent job, this substantially increases your chances of getting an offer.
3) Networking Opportunities - Subscribe to them and follow them on LinkedIn if they have a page. Be on the lookout for any webinar, or another form of network. Attend these events, ask intelligent questions and shamelessly ask for an internship. Yes, I know it is difficult to put you out there but that is what it is needed. There is almost a biblical guilt in turning down a law student so most would ask you to apply to HR. Do that but cc the partner in the thread and even though the email is addressed to HR, your audience is the partner. So speak about you had met and the partner had asked you to apply and so on. People appreciate persistence even if not all of them a lot many do. Also, use the various law firm rankings and find practice leaders and follow them on social media. These people tend to do more of such events so higher chances of interacting with them.
4) Dog with a Bone Approach - For some of my friends this has worked, they have gone to the place where they want to intern and waited for hours, and did this on repeat for a couple of days till someone with authority (not the HR) agreed to meet them and then landed an internship. This works better with Judges and Senior Advocates than law firms but then again your mileage may vary.
5) Apply to startup law firms - LI often reports (not all) but a lot of time law firm partners split up and set up their own shop. These places are much more receptive to interns and also you get some quality work too. Even though these setups do not qualify as tier I law firms, if you make a good impression, the partner would be happy to recommend you to a law firm.
6) Research - I know for a fact that at least one of the best IP law firms in India hire interns on a first come first serve basis. They might take interns through referrals and contacts but the point is they take a lot of interns who just want to intern there. Be on the lookout for such firms.
6) Exercise Caution - Don't trust your batchmates who tell you they got in any of the Big6/7/8 firms just by writing to HR. That never happens and that is a fact. They are not just telling you the truth. I have applied to these firms 18 months before and still, they turned me down, and I am doing great by every metric.
OP here. Had sent this to a junior from law school on Whatsapp. Did not edit before posting it here except for adding one para. Now that I see so many errors in this, I am feeling rather embarrassed.
This is actually a lot of help. People with such insights, even approachable and helpful ones either can't find the time to post such tips or can't remember to do it among the 100 other things on their to-do list. I think I can speak for others when I say I'd much rather come across such tips with obvious grammatical or contextual mistakes than not come across them at all.
It was not amongst NLS, NUJS, and NALSAR so did not have a brand name strong enough to get doors open on just the basis of the brand name. I am not sure if this holds true for the top 3 too but anyways my law school for a fact doesn't have that kind of pull. So, here are some of the things I know for a fact work and you can make use of them:-
1) Find a connection - Yes, it is hard but a lot of times you are overthinking it. Start with your law school faculty, if you have a good repo with them, see if they can help you out. Some of their batchmates would be in law firms and they can easily help you out on that front. If they don't, think creatively. In my case, one of our tenants used to work at a Big4 and he wrote the email to the HR of the Big4's best friend law firm and that worked. Even he wasn't sure (he was not in a very high position) it will work but it worked. Make searches for connect on LinkedIn but don't make it the final stop. Time to reconnect with that Mausaji working at MNC or that uncle running the electronics store (he knows the procurement guy at these companies who could get you in). Think hard and see what can be done.
2) Show a Genuine Interest and do Cold Outreach - If money is the only factor due to which you want to join a law firm, that is fine but you need to come up with ways to show that you really want to be part of the law firm. Start writing your own blog on updates. Try to contribute to reputed places such as https://indiacorplaw.in . Start reading corp law updates on Mondaq, Vantage Asia, B&B, Law Firm Updates etc. and be active on Linkedin. Start adding Partners, PA etc on LinkedIn and sharing actively. You can see your post view stats by designation and once you feel that on a consistent basis your posts are read by a lot of law firm partners, start reaching out to your first connection partners asking for LinkedIn. By this point, there is a good chance they have read your material, and if you have done even a half-decent job, this substantially increases your chances of getting an offer.
3) Networking Opportunities - Subscribe to them and follow them on LinkedIn if they have a page. Be on the lookout for any webinar, or another form of network. Attend these events, ask intelligent questions and shamelessly ask for an internship. Yes, I know it is difficult to put you out there but that is what it is needed. There is almost a biblical guilt in turning down a law student so most would ask you to apply to HR. Do that but cc the partner in the thread and even though the email is addressed to HR, your audience is the partner. So speak about you had met and the partner had asked you to apply and so on. People appreciate persistence even if not all of them a lot many do. Also, use the various law firm rankings and find practice leaders and follow them on social media. These people tend to do more of such events so higher chances of interacting with them.
4) Dog with a Bone Approach - For some of my friends this has worked, they have gone to the place where they want to intern and waited for hours, and did this on repeat for a couple of days till someone with authority (not the HR) agreed to meet them and then landed an internship. This works better with Judges and Senior Advocates than law firms but then again your mileage may vary.
5) Apply to startup law firms - LI often reports (not all) but a lot of time law firm partners split up and set up their own shop. These places are much more receptive to interns and also you get some quality work too. Even though these setups do not qualify as tier I law firms, if you make a good impression, the partner would be happy to recommend you to a law firm.
6) Research - I know for a fact that at least one of the best IP law firms in India hire interns on a first come first serve basis. They might take interns through referrals and contacts but the point is they take a lot of interns who just want to intern there. Be on the lookout for such firms.
6) Exercise Caution - Don't trust your batchmates who tell you they got in any of the Big6/7/8 firms just by writing to HR. That never happens and that is a fact. They are not just telling you the truth. I have applied to these firms 18 months before and still, they turned me down, and I am doing great by every metric.