I see a lot of people saying "reach out to the desired firm's partner on LinkedIn and keep asking them for an internship, that is the best way you can bag an internship if you don't have connections or any other 'juggad' to get an internship there." Out of curiosity, has this worked out for anyone? I would hate to sound desperate (even though I maybe) and pushy.
Could work if you're from the right law school (as far as I'm concerned, Top 5 NLU - I don't really bother with anyone from other schools).
I'm a PA with one of the big 6, and have personally pushed for meritorious kids to get internships. My suggestion: send across a well put together message explaining why you would like to intern there, and if possible have a writing sample or two that he/she can skim through to get an idea of your research/writing abilities (which are relevant to assess whether you will be a good intern).
That's disheartening. Evidently, it is easier for a student from one of the top 5 NLUs to secure an internship/job over someone who is from a lower tier university. It is starting to look along the lines of "The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer" but in terms of opportunities.
One has gained an advantage by proving their merit in CLAT. The 'rich are getting richer...' theory simply does not work over here. A good CLAT rank entitles you to a good law school which in turn entitles you to a better opportunities. It is as simple as that. If you were not able to secure good ranking in CLAT, you should focus on building your CV through articles, blogs, co-curriculars, academics, etc. Rather than expecting that the market treats you the same way it treats NLU students, you should spend time bridging the gap which you yourselves created by not securing a good CLAT rank. This may sound brutal but this is how it is. I am myself not from an NLU. I am from a three year law course (neither DU nor GLC). Getting a good internship was very difficult. I grabbed whatever opportunity came way - published 9 articles in good journals in a span of two years. Made that the spring board for myself. Worked in Tier 3 firm for a few years. Kept on writing and building my CV. Now I am in a Tier 1. There were few other students in my batch who were smarter - their publications related to hot topics in the market and provided fresh perspective and not just literature review. They landed in Tier 1 directly after college. The sooner you accept the fact that you screwed up your CLAT and with that your chances of easily getting good internships, the sooner you will be able to focus on building your capacity and CV. Best of luck!
One does not really prove their 'merit' in CLAT, but you completely missed the point here: The author of 3.1 said that s/he does not even bother with anyone outside the top 5 NLUs. That means, your 9 articles are completely worthless if you are not from those top 5.
I mean, isn't that how it works anywhere, in any field? Even in the UK or the US, top law schools generally get more opportunities. It's not a reflection on the quality of the students of the lower ranked law schools, but just a huge disparity in the supply and demand.
If you have a topper / good CV from a top law school and another law school (assuming their grades / achievements are similar), and a limited number of slots, what reason would there be to pick the latter, especially when you have no other way to ascertain quality? HR teams in the larger firms routinely get hundreds of applications, the easiest way to filter is through stuff like grades or law schools. Whatever filter you pick, you will upset someone. It's just not logistically possible to vet every single application for a handful of slots in each office every month.
Firms that are more serious about internships do cast a wider net, and it is visible in their A0 intakes. When I was in KCO, a large number of people were not from NLUs, but the same is not true in the 'larger platforms'.
As for you OP, there is definitely an advantage in getting your foot through the door if you are from a top NLU (at the fresher level - no one really cares after you start working), but if you look at any of the large firms, a huge number are not even from an NLU. If you are not at the top of your class in a lower ranked law school, you might find it hard to land a job in T1 from the outset, but you want to get to T1, you will be there within a year or two.
Isn't making contacts one of the purposes of LinkedIn? Or is it only about people sharing hollow gyaan and motivational tales? Definitely it's your prerogative whether to reply or not to reply to messages. It's perfectly fine to ignore poorly drafted and blunt messages such as 'I am looking for opportunities at your firm. Please share some info for the same.' But do respond to a well written message. Maybe just a one line text? We know that our opinions don't matter to firm SA or PA or partners but seniors responding to messages is extremely polite and considerate, even if the response was a mere one line standard rejection reply. I remember there is bigshot on LinkedIn who shares very relatable and motivational posts talking about professional ethics, family issues, stress and anxiety, student life and how he/she too had to hustle and struggle. All of this makes an impression that maybe if I drop a well written message, I may get some response. But I didn't. I now find that person to be there only for getting LinkedIn clout and somehow, my negative opinion for them will not change. On the other hand, I did get responses from other senior firm people. I know your inbox might be flooded with petty students or graduates like me begging for opportunities. Anyone texting you may be in dire need of some direction in life. Hardly takes 45 sec to type a one line message. I repeat - it's fine to ignore poorly written messages. But do give 1 min of your life in responding to a well drafted messages.
This actually works irrespective of whichever law school you are in, managed to get 6 7 tier 1 law firms internships thanks to LinkedIn despite being from a super unknown law school. But it does takes time and patience to finally hear from some of the partners. For example, if I am reaching out to 20 partners then only 3 4 used to respond but those 3 4 were kind enough to help me out with internships. This is probably your only way to land a good internship and this indeed works.
I'm a PA with one of the big 6, and have personally pushed for meritorious kids to get internships. My suggestion: send across a well put together message explaining why you would like to intern there, and if possible have a writing sample or two that he/she can skim through to get an idea of your research/writing abilities (which are relevant to assess whether you will be a good intern).
If you were not able to secure good ranking in CLAT, you should focus on building your CV through articles, blogs, co-curriculars, academics, etc. Rather than expecting that the market treats you the same way it treats NLU students, you should spend time bridging the gap which you yourselves created by not securing a good CLAT rank. This may sound brutal but this is how it is.
I am myself not from an NLU. I am from a three year law course (neither DU nor GLC). Getting a good internship was very difficult. I grabbed whatever opportunity came way - published 9 articles in good journals in a span of two years. Made that the spring board for myself. Worked in Tier 3 firm for a few years. Kept on writing and building my CV. Now I am in a Tier 1. There were few other students in my batch who were smarter - their publications related to hot topics in the market and provided fresh perspective and not just literature review. They landed in Tier 1 directly after college.
The sooner you accept the fact that you screwed up your CLAT and with that your chances of easily getting good internships, the sooner you will be able to focus on building your capacity and CV. Best of luck!
If you have a topper / good CV from a top law school and another law school (assuming their grades / achievements are similar), and a limited number of slots, what reason would there be to pick the latter, especially when you have no other way to ascertain quality? HR teams in the larger firms routinely get hundreds of applications, the easiest way to filter is through stuff like grades or law schools. Whatever filter you pick, you will upset someone. It's just not logistically possible to vet every single application for a handful of slots in each office every month.
Firms that are more serious about internships do cast a wider net, and it is visible in their A0 intakes. When I was in KCO, a large number of people were not from NLUs, but the same is not true in the 'larger platforms'.
As for you OP, there is definitely an advantage in getting your foot through the door if you are from a top NLU (at the fresher level - no one really cares after you start working), but if you look at any of the large firms, a huge number are not even from an NLU. If you are not at the top of your class in a lower ranked law school, you might find it hard to land a job in T1 from the outset, but you want to get to T1, you will be there within a year or two.
Definitely it's your prerogative whether to reply or not to reply to messages. It's perfectly fine to ignore poorly drafted and blunt messages such as 'I am looking for opportunities at your firm. Please share some info for the same.'
But do respond to a well written message. Maybe just a one line text? We know that our opinions don't matter to firm SA or PA or partners but seniors responding to messages is extremely polite and considerate, even if the response was a mere one line standard rejection reply. I remember there is bigshot on LinkedIn who shares very relatable and motivational posts talking about professional ethics, family issues, stress and anxiety, student life and how he/she too had to hustle and struggle. All of this makes an impression that maybe if I drop a well written message, I may get some response. But I didn't. I now find that person to be there only for getting LinkedIn clout and somehow, my negative opinion for them will not change.
On the other hand, I did get responses from other senior firm people. I know your inbox might be flooded with petty students or graduates like me begging for opportunities.
Anyone texting you may be in dire need of some direction in life.
Hardly takes 45 sec to type a one line message.
I repeat - it's fine to ignore poorly written messages. But do give 1 min of your life in responding to a well drafted messages.