Don't understand why young A0s and A1s get brainwashed by reading all this nonsense. The firm pays you handsomely in exchange for the hard work you do. If you hate it so much, you are free to leave. Even international firms function thr way we do.
The argument being is not about lack of choice, or that Indian firms alone are toxic. International firms have check and balances, people are trained in management from as early as A0, because they work with summer associates and vacation scheme students. The firms continues to invest in training. Having experienced both systems, I can safely tell you that I am glad I came to experience the Indian system as part of an exchange and realised how horrible it was and decided never to return to India. For the curious ones, I am an Indian lawyer, who now lives and works overseas, and yes, in a law firm.
Are you really telling that foreign firms have any work life balance?
They maybe more structured and professional. And the high pay doesn't make any sense because of high cost of living and a 40 to 50 % tax.
Which market are you working in? Almost all firms across all Markets make you work upto 12 hours on an average day. Deal closing weeks even abroad your office is home.
Even in the country with the lowest working hours (Germany & France) Corporate Lawyers simply work more than 80 hours a week. Double than an other profession.
Work hours do not change much. But toxicity is less, professionalism is more, and frankly, people act more sensitively and do not treat others as disposable. I've seen associates in tier one Indian firms being asked for briefing and updates over phone even after they have informed about having been hospitalised.
Bhai/behen, rehne de please. Asking for legitimate rights at workplace is not propaganda. Just because an A0 gets 15 Lakhs, that does not mean that all the qualitative problems they face at work are justified. What's the cost of toxic and brutal behaviour? 1 L per month?
Don't understand why young A0s and A1s get brainwashed by reading all this nonsense.
In case the concept of causation has eluded you - people aren't being brainwashed by reading this stuff. This article exists precisely because people are being compelled to speak up against the toxicity of law firms.
True that. The fact that this article refers to the 'teachings' of Marx and Foucault, and how it calls 12-14 hours 'vicious', and how it makes incendiary remarks, directed at law firms specifically needs some serious consideration. This article also describes that in a "neo liberal" society, 'transactions', ' competitive' and 'billable' are toxic! Toxic! This article was published after our Hon. Chief Justice criticised the employement criteria of Big law firms publicly at a party, and possible written by a wierd, immature associate who expected free 'money' at his job. If billing long hours for a proportionately higher pay is "excruciating work culture", I fail to understand what an ideal work culture should mean. The author perhaps assumes that other jobs have it easy( 5hr working day??!), and that everyone except law firm associates are genuinly in it for the work and not the money.
The feud between Luthra and Saraf tells a telling tale of how toxic the work culture in the law firms are. Luthra and his politically incorrect jokes. Somebody should tell him that he is not funny!
Your comment is fascinating, ans perhaps the best demonstration of this line from the piece:
“ The idea of the abundant supply of labour is constantly pushed by the law firms to let their vulnerable workforce know that they are replaceable ‘cogs in the machine’; that there are many other students willing to work under the same working conditions at a lower salary than what is ‘doled out’ to NLU students.”
This is despite the fact that the students from elite national law schools who fill the workforce of these law firms have a certain degree of familiarity with the theories of Marx, Foucault, Kafka etc., and are generally articulate in academic settings.
LMAO. Is is trolling or serious??? Please keep communist and woke ideology out of law firms. Marx and Foucault have zero relevance in the practical world and are relevant only for BLM/Antifa/JNU types who contribute nothing productive to the economy and instead try to wreck it.
Despite that, JNU happens to have a higher rank than any NLU by any and every ranking authority. Imagine that! If you think Marx has got zero relevance in the practical world, then one wonders which world you leave in, because in this one, most decision makers either follow his ideals to varying extent, or denounce those. Either way, it's got relevance.
I thought we get paid for services rendered, not working for some monarchy where getting paid for work is a privilege and we can't speak against the monarchy.
I am Bartleby, the Scrivener. All day long I used photocopy documents in the law firm. Tons of them. Inside a glass cell. But one day I said "I prefer not to."
I feel you, associates. One day just say "I prefer not to." But don't die, like I did.
As someone who left corp law after a few years, I do think we get paid a lot of money for fairly simple but tedious work with long hours.
In any environment where you're getting paid a lot of money and the stakes are high, there will be toxicity due to the pressures all parties have to bear.
If it doesn't make sense for you (like it did for me after a while), leave the job. You can't have your cake and eat it too.
If you want a more relaxed life, get into a good in-house role - your life will be better but your batchmates will be making 2x - that's the trade off. It's not like I'm starving today, I still easily save 75% of what I earn.
You might think that this kind of nonsense you spew as management can fool people and you are able to sell it.We tolerate it, but clearly this kind of crap talk that international firms work like this has now to be called out.There is a far greater degree of humanity in international law firms treatings its lawyers while the lesser said about the lack of it in domestic law firms especially Tier 1s the better.
https://livewire.thewire.in/rights/the-toxicity-of-top-tier-corporate-law-firms-in-india/?fbclid=IwAR0hZgBj8PpNHWLQDj67fB2vjpfZXSZW6xQ-G28NYtu4mkN8uJFIFFm1VAU
Don't understand why young A0s and A1s get brainwashed by reading all this nonsense. The firm pays you handsomely in exchange for the hard work you do. If you hate it so much, you are free to leave. Even international firms function thr way we do.
They maybe more structured and professional. And the high pay doesn't make any sense because of high cost of living and a 40 to 50 % tax.
Which market are you working in? Almost all firms across all Markets make you work upto 12 hours on an average day. Deal closing weeks even abroad your office is home.
Even in the country with the lowest working hours (Germany & France) Corporate Lawyers simply work more than 80 hours a week. Double than an other profession.
The fact that this article refers to the 'teachings' of Marx and Foucault, and how it calls 12-14 hours 'vicious', and how it makes incendiary remarks, directed at law firms specifically needs some serious consideration.
This article also describes that in a "neo liberal" society, 'transactions', ' competitive' and 'billable' are toxic!
Toxic!
This article was published after our Hon. Chief Justice criticised the employement criteria of Big law firms publicly at a party, and possible written by a wierd, immature associate who expected free 'money' at his job.
If billing long hours for a proportionately higher pay is "excruciating work culture", I fail to understand what an ideal work culture should mean.
The author perhaps assumes that other jobs have it easy( 5hr working day??!), and that everyone except law firm associates are genuinly in it for the work and not the money.
Stories like this is the need of the day. Maybe LI should also take the leaf from Wire's book and come forward, publish stories such as these.
https://livewire.thewire.in/personal/indian-law-firms-and-burnt-out-meat-robots-savagery-at-its-finest/
A0-3 please share your experience at T1s in Bombay & Delhi.
Ex SA/PA please share your perspectives.
Read
Another
Book
“ The idea of the abundant supply of labour is constantly pushed by the law firms to let their vulnerable workforce know that they are replaceable ‘cogs in the machine’; that there are many other students willing to work under the same working conditions at a lower salary than what is ‘doled out’ to NLU students.”
Quote: LMAO. Is is trolling or serious??? Please keep communist and woke ideology out of law firms. Marx and Foucault have zero relevance in the practical world and are relevant only for BLM/Antifa/JNU types who contribute nothing productive to the economy and instead try to wreck it.
I feel you, associates. One day just say "I prefer not to." But don't die, like I did.
In any environment where you're getting paid a lot of money and the stakes are high, there will be toxicity due to the pressures all parties have to bear.
If it doesn't make sense for you (like it did for me after a while), leave the job. You can't have your cake and eat it too.
If you want a more relaxed life, get into a good in-house role - your life will be better but your batchmates will be making 2x - that's the trade off. It's not like I'm starving today, I still easily save 75% of what I earn.