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Got a lateral offer from JSA that sounds almost hilariously low. Seriously, I was taken aback by the Gurgaon HR (Rahul) quoting an insanely low amount, around 25% less than what I'm making at my current T1 to lateral to JSA. They claim that the bill sharing component will make up for it, but from what I understand bill sharing is not consistent and is an unpredictable factor. I have EMIs to account for, cannot risk unpredictable pay. Bonus also seems laughably low compared to my current firm.

JSA is consistently ranked Tier 1 and considered a great place to work at so I'm confused. Am I being conned or do lawyers at JSA really love working for this kind of money?

Sincerely, very confused potential lateral
mereko internship nahi de rahe tho tereko job kya denge. low figures given so that you yourself reject the offer. they are letting you keep your self respect.
They will promise that your bill sharing will make up for the difference in fixed retainer. This may not be true for most teams as associate billable rates (I assume you are an associate- apologies, if not) are laughably low (about 25-30% of that of other Tier 1 firms). Also, the bill sharing does mean some extra work (chasing clients to pay, extra competitiveness amongst peers, extra worry as to whether you're billing enough every day etc). Also keep in mind that the bill sharing doesn't kick in till after your probation, which may be a solid good number of months.

There is nothing special at JSA that makes it a 'great place to work at'. Its the same as any other firm. There's bad partners and good partners, bad team and good teams. All in all, I'd say, weigh the unpredictability of income against the reasons causing you to leave your current place+ reasons for joining this team, and conduct as much due diligence as you can on the potential team before you arrive at a decision.

Good luck, happy new year!
Thanks, this was quite helpful. I have decided not to take up JSA's offer. Firms like Khaitan and Saraf are offering 20-30% increments at my level to lateral, so it would not make sense for me to take a pay cut in the hopes that revenue sharing will bridge the gap.

To add to things, JSA HR is very opaque in how they function. They reach out with opportunities and offers and then are very non-responsive when it comes to money related discussions. I think the red flags are too extensive.
The bill sharing part is the best part at JSA. Yes, it does mean chasing clients to pay up but most clients do end up paying. Also, if your bill share is less, it means you have done less work. For example, most M&A associates at JSA make much much more than their peers due to the bill share. Most associates will bill a crore so you will in all likelihood make 8 lakhs over and above your fixed. Also, it means that if you are working more than you are also making more money.
There are teams in JSA which make much more than their peers in other T1s solely because of their bill share. Many people make bill share equal to or higher than your retainer. The bonus is not that great, so will give you that. But the work culture here is incomparable to other T1s.
Bill share depends on team you are joining. If you are joining a high billing team, your pay will be equal to or greater than other T1 pay.