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Totally agree, I switched from in-house (Media comp) to a law firm which turned out to be the worst decision of my life. Left the job within 4 months and back to in house. That gave me clarity of what I want in life.
Any job that takes 9 hours from your day leaves very little for prepping for competitive exams. Those people who boast on quora of clearing competitive exams are not in-house counsels or law firm associates (both these jobs are demanding). The people who can prepare for govt exams while working are the ones who take a tier 2 or tier 3 government job where no one gives a damn if you report to office on time or not. Most tier 2 or village based govt jobs in India are very chill and you can take medical or other sort of leaves before preliminary exams for a couple of months. You can not even think of these things if you are say working in-house say for a Tata or a Reliance.
Hello I am right now willing for a transition from academics to corporate legal in house job role ...what are the skills required ...can anyone help?
Bump. Can anyone answer if preparation for judiciary is possible in this setting?
Promotions are usually not automatic in-house -- you don't go from A1 to A2 just because you hung around for a year. A case needs to be made to promote you and give you a hike so that depends a lot on your work + rapport with manager and team.
You can also obviously get bigger raises by strategically switching companies over time.
I really would not start a professional career by looking at projections of 5 year salaries. You still need to discover what you like and what you're good at (and they may not even be the same thing). If 8L is enough for you right now, why not go for it, learn as much as you can, give it your best and see what happens next?
Having worked on both sides, i can tell you that working in-house is a lot more rewarding re. intellectual stimulation and actually getting on with the business world than law firm grind. Law firm life taught me how to think through to situations, but never actually take a de-risking call.

Having said that, some time at a firm will do you good before you start in-house. Mostly so that you learn how to negotiate, what to fight on etc.
Hey, I'm also a final year student. I was looking for decent-paying in-house roles in tech companies, but from what I could tell, most of them didn't hire freshers? If it's not too much to ask, could you share the name of your company? If not, maybe the general description of it (whether an MNC, domestic giant or a startup, field of work etc)?
Also, did you get the position through campus placements or was it a personal endeavour?
That's really insightful and helpful! thanks a lot!
I will be paid 8L per year. How much can I expect my pay to be in 5 years ? If you have any idea about the pay structure? I am sure it would be different for different companies but still if you can give me an approximate ? thanks again!! :)
Dude, how did you approach the tech company ? if you can shed the name ? it will be great?
Thanks a lot for taking out time to write this!
I was just thinking that isn't the salary difference too much ? I am starting at a tech company at a package of 8L as assistant legal counsel, how much will I be earning in say 3 years ?
Is it really that bad ? I wanted to do an in-house role because I thought I will give 1-3 attempts to competitive exams along with it. I did not want to just be a burden so I thought I will take up a job with steady pay check and less demanding work hours. If I am not able to crack the exam I would want to work in a law firm only or set up an independent practice. So, is it really that difficult to switch ?
If you are focused on learning the law + developing commercial sense while in-house, it's quite likely law firm life will prove to be a disappointment and a lot more drudgery (for more money, of course). After having worked on both sides of the line I confess the main things I learned from my law firm years were drafting style, sophistication in handling colleagues and clients, and the experience of working 24, sometimes 48 hrs at a stretch - which is one way or the other rather character building.
As far as really learning how to interpret the law, how to run a business, how to lead a sane life - these only came from my time in-house.
So if you work on developing discipline, polish and clean drafting while in-house, I am not sure you'd even need to move to a law firm. Don't fall into the trap of thinking law firm jobs are more worthwhile or glamorous. They are absolutely not.
All Tier 1 and most Tier 2 law firms are out, if you are planning on joining right after an in-house role.

After an in house role, you may start from Tier 3 law firms, and then network and upskill your ass off to get back into Tier 1 law firms.
If you can continue with some good names and cover media and tech in-houses in your career, a law firm TMT team may be interested. Some TMT teams have started advising companies on contractual issues also, so you can try to find out a slot there. In-house to law firm moves are rare but they do happen. The truth is anyone having a good career in-house actually DOESN'T want to move to a law firm, even if it is for a few extra bucks.
Thanks a lot! Do you have any idea regarding how easy or difficult it is to switch to a law firm?
If you are a fresher counsel (with no experience) Study some basics -

Contract Drafting

Data Privacy (HIPAAA and GDPR)

IPR Laws - US, EU and India.

Outsourcing laws.

Basic Corporate Compliance
I'll be starting as In-house counsel at a Tech Company. Can anyone shed light on the work culture and type of work that is done? and the chances to move to T1 after 1 year? or maybe setting up an independent practice?