I have been offered an Assessment Internship at WG with Banking lawyer Gopal Bankar and SA Mavis Cardoz, can anyone tell me how they are nature wise, the working environment and should I accept this opportunity or not?
WG in general should be avoided. Firm has gone downhill since 2013 since a certain someone became JMP. They used to pay 75K to fresher's in 2012 but that has since gone down to 35K as of today.However, work culture is as toxic and difficult as a Tier 1
As someone who was in this time, my view is- Its a surprising small team for Banking and Finance Practice. Single partner, Single SA and 2-3 associates (mostly fresher's). ▮▮▮, the sheer volume of work means you will find yourself working 13-14 Hours every day including being staffed on 4-5 matters at any point of time. ▮▮▮
Its not about the partner: it has much to do with the talent pool, team size and accountability which should be commensurate with good quality work and decent pay.
This is my perspective to WG's banking practice and may differ from person to person:
1) Pay - It starts with 65-70k per month amounting to 7.5 lakh ballpark for freshers. This goes up year by year and matches T1 pay in 3-4 years time. Don't let this fool you though, Wadia lawyers become partners by age 30-31 post which you will be pressured to get in business and your pay; be basis the eat what you kill model. On the brighter side, their real estate and banking teams have home grown people and some very blue chip clients with great transactions involving high complexity.
2) Work - Mixed bag; including both templated corporate work as well as enforcement mandates and regulatory approvals across teams. If you are in banking or real estate, you will be seated across T1 and foreign firms more often than not since both the quality and size of the transactions are meaty.
3) Team - Very small teams for a lot of work across practices. This is where WG takes a hit leading to differences within teams, overworked juniors and constant backlash from the partner(s); causing attrition at the junior levels.
4) Culture - Adverse in some teams, very sweet in others. The firm will value you as a resource only if you stick with it in the long run and show solidarity in all shapes and forms. There is a reason why the people sitting at the top of the firm are respected in the elitist Mumbai circles (both legal & others) so much. Its a Crawford Bayley/ Khaitan type of outfit which has been bound to such a huge legacy akin to high regard in the domestic and international legal market at large.
5) Exit Options - Every T1 firm in Mumbai prioritizes WG laterals since the firm is known to train its lawyers well; both in terms of developing the ability to lead transactions as well as a steep learning curve.
Stick with the firm for your initial years and switch after learning the ropes is what I have to say.
P.S.: I am a final year law student.
This is my perspective to WG's banking practice and may differ from person to person:
1) Pay - It starts with 65-70k per month amounting to 7.5 lakh ballpark for freshers. This goes up year by year and matches T1 pay in 3-4 years time. Don't let this fool you though, Wadia lawyers become partners by age 30-31 post which you will be pressured to get in business and your pay; be basis the eat what you kill model. On the brighter side, their real estate and banking teams have home grown people and some very blue chip clients with great transactions involving high complexity.
2) Work - Mixed bag; including both templated corporate work as well as enforcement mandates and regulatory approvals across teams. If you are in banking or real estate, you will be seated across T1 and foreign firms more often than not since both the quality and size of the transactions are meaty.
3) Team - Very small teams for a lot of work across practices. This is where WG takes a hit leading to differences within teams, overworked juniors and constant backlash from the partner(s); causing attrition at the junior levels.
4) Culture - Adverse in some teams, very sweet in others. The firm will value you as a resource only if you stick with it in the long run and show solidarity in all shapes and forms. There is a reason why the people sitting at the top of the firm are respected in the elitist Mumbai circles (both legal & others) so much. Its a Crawford Bayley/ Khaitan type of outfit which has been bound to such a huge legacy akin to high regard in the domestic and international legal market at large.
5) Exit Options - Every T1 firm in Mumbai prioritizes WG laterals since the firm is known to train its lawyers well; both in terms of developing the ability to lead transactions as well as a steep learning curve.
Stick with the firm for your initial years and switch after learning the ropes is what I have to say.
Best of luck!