I have completed working 2 years in a GC team. In terms of work, I've always wanted to do something that is a mix of law and technology.
The only avenue in law firms I've come across are the TMT teams - which in my firm is just another GC team that also works for telecom companies. The other is IP team - which mostly does IP due diligences and filings. Both of these are not exactly what I want to do.
I want something that actually involves knowledge of computer systems or artificial intelligence or coding. Something where the 'technology' part is substantial. I understand working with tech-policy start ups may be closer to what I want but at the same time, I cannot take much of a pay cut due to family reasons.
I was thinking of exploring in-house positions in tech companies but I'm not sure what those roles entail.
Has anyone travelled down this before? I'd be really grateful if you can advice me in this regard.
I have worked in a large tech company for 3 years. With MNCs, you are less likely to get the kind of work you're looking for. An understanding of tech is important, but the services they offer to their clients are generally standardized which means after a point the nature of contracts you will negotiate will be similar. Try joining a start-up where processes are not necessarily in place, and where your colleagues rely on you for innovative ways to come up with solutions/drafts based on their offerings. Most well funded start-ups will generally pay well so you may not need to take a substantial pay-cut given your PQE.
There a bunch of law firms who are specialising in TMT. Since you aren’t that old/ senior, absorbing you by these law firms shouldn’t be cost prohibitive either. Pick the right partner, and join her/him. TMT is an emerging space with lots of potential. Go for the partner but not the firm.
What do you mean? Technology part is substantial? We are lawyers, not tech experts. That is why we have a horribly drafted IT Rules amendment.
We are not techies. We are not civil engineers. We are not chartered accounts. We do not know how to use MS Word - for get Excel.
TMT this that and all - chill. All that is just hyped out stuff. Sheer hysteria. We react to regulatory changes - so that we are in the market. Why? We are scared - ooooohh. Someone else will react first. Best is we react first to some random change - ufff clap clap clap, we are ahead of the curve. Pat on your back. :)
Look. It is just that I look at reality - I am not psychotic. Psychosis is the criterion for law firms. Now please by all means go ahead. But first. You aren't a lawyer, right? You are a GC team member? What are you? Who are you?
So, basically, we should find an area which has technology part? Look buddy, please do us a favour. Don't call yourself a lawyer. If you really were a lawyer, you would actually be lawyering for those who most need lawyers.
Take it from me - hit coding.com or something. Learn coding. Side by side, continue your gc team scenes. Oh and. Dont call yourself a lawyer. Do you even know what the word lawyer means? No, right?
I am sorry for this rant. But it is what it is. 2 years PQE it seems - go to your district court and learn what it means to be a lawyer. Do not use these terms loosely. Stay gc team member. Become gc. BC.
Bhai/behen, the "upcoming" firms listed here have been on the map for a fair amount of time and they would've made their name as a viable workplace by now, had they not being paying peanuts. Reina and TechLegis have such pay scales that one cannot imagine shifting to them from a T1 or even a well-paying T2, unless they're fine with taking a 40-60% cut in their pay.
General advice to these newcomers eyeing only tech law positions - don't aim for boutiques & T3s unless you know their pay is viable.
Tech part being substantial is a misleading criteria to hold on to in your search.
Join any company. An in-house role invariably involves tech dimension as everything has been digitized or automated or programmed in some or the other way. Even a fashion retail company has its developer team and lawyers that have tech-contract experience.
If the company has an online consumer facing presence, you know you are going to be handling tech related matters which include data protection and privacy advisory, TnCs, privacy policies, data governance structure setup, consumer relationship management softwares/tools, messaging applications, robo-chat customer support, payments tech integration etc.
The only avenue in law firms I've come across are the TMT teams - which in my firm is just another GC team that also works for telecom companies. The other is IP team - which mostly does IP due diligences and filings. Both of these are not exactly what I want to do.
I want something that actually involves knowledge of computer systems or artificial intelligence or coding. Something where the 'technology' part is substantial. I understand working with tech-policy start ups may be closer to what I want but at the same time, I cannot take much of a pay cut due to family reasons.
I was thinking of exploring in-house positions in tech companies but I'm not sure what those roles entail.
Has anyone travelled down this before? I'd be really grateful if you can advice me in this regard.
We are not techies. We are not civil engineers. We are not chartered accounts. We do not know how to use MS Word - for get Excel.
TMT this that and all - chill. All that is just hyped out stuff. Sheer hysteria. We react to regulatory changes - so that we are in the market. Why? We are scared - ooooohh. Someone else will react first. Best is we react first to some random change - ufff clap clap clap, we are ahead of the curve. Pat on your back. :)
Look. It is just that I look at reality - I am not psychotic. Psychosis is the criterion for law firms. Now please by all means go ahead. But first. You aren't a lawyer, right? You are a GC team member? What are you? Who are you?
So, basically, we should find an area which has technology part? Look buddy, please do us a favour. Don't call yourself a lawyer. If you really were a lawyer, you would actually be lawyering for those who most need lawyers.
Take it from me - hit coding.com or something. Learn coding. Side by side, continue your gc team scenes. Oh and. Dont call yourself a lawyer. Do you even know what the word lawyer means? No, right?
I am sorry for this rant. But it is what it is. 2 years PQE it seems - go to your district court and learn what it means to be a lawyer. Do not use these terms loosely. Stay gc team member. Become gc. BC.
There are many firms that you can look out for
For TMT practices check - https://www.legal500.com/c/india/tmt/
For data protection related work - https://www.legal500.com/c/india/data-protection/
Also check out https://www.asialaw.com/Jurisdiction/India/Rankings/323#rankings
There are also many upcoming firms like Reina Legal, TMT, techlegis etc
I hope this helps!
Good luck :))
General advice to these newcomers eyeing only tech law positions - don't aim for boutiques & T3s unless you know their pay is viable.
Join any company. An in-house role invariably involves tech dimension as everything has been digitized or automated or programmed in some or the other way. Even a fashion retail company has its developer team and lawyers that have tech-contract experience.
If the company has an online consumer facing presence, you know you are going to be handling tech related matters which include data protection and privacy advisory, TnCs, privacy policies, data governance structure setup, consumer relationship management softwares/tools, messaging applications, robo-chat customer support, payments tech integration etc.