I am currently a T-1 law school student who has interned quite extensively. everywhere that I go, my fellow interns just rave about getting a job at a T-1 law firm. It's getting to the point where I feel that we are aiming for very little despite working really hard in law school for 5 straight years.
In the grand scheme of things, Indian t-1 firms are not even in the top 100 law firms of the world and practically nobody outside of law knows about these organisations. I am not trying to be disrespectful, I am aware of the kind of work it takes to build such firms but why are students not aiming for the likes of Kirkland, Weil, Skadden, Linklaters etc? I am aware that in the longer term India is better when it comes to pay but it's another ballgame when you say that you are a corporate lawyer in London. Do people not understand the prestige it carries? Am I thinking too much or is everybody else crazy? I mean, let's face it, nobody would pick a Tier 1 indian firm over Kirkland or Clifford chance if given the choice.
You are not thinking too much. The collective intellect of NLUs combined have gone down. Nowadays getting a tier-1 job is an achievement because well it caters to short term pleasure and to be honest getting jobs at magic circle law firms requires one to be determined and in most cases a batch topper.
The Indian T1 law firms pay much more as you rise the ranks and compare the purchasing parity with your London colleagues. Further, the myth is that work life balance is much much better at the foreign law firms but that is not very true (which I speak from experience); so it is more plausible to slave off until 50 in Mumbai, Delhi or Bengaluru for the sake of convenience after factoring every facet hereto. Lastly, nobody really cares about prestige - you have to let go of family and friends since the only "family and friends" you will have are MDs, CFOs, Investment Bankers, HNIs and In-House Legal Counsels who will bug you for the final draft with an imaginary timeline your entire life. This will ruin your health (both mental and physical) and push you towards depression/ADHD & what not.
In the grand scheme of things, Indian t-1 firms are not even in the top 100 law firms of the world and practically nobody outside of law knows about these organisations. I am not trying to be disrespectful, I am aware of the kind of work it takes to build such firms but why are students not aiming for the likes of Kirkland, Weil, Skadden, Linklaters etc? I am aware that in the longer term India is better when it comes to pay but it's another ballgame when you say that you are a corporate lawyer in London. Do people not understand the prestige it carries? Am I thinking too much or is everybody else crazy? I mean, let's face it, nobody would pick a Tier 1 indian firm over Kirkland or Clifford chance if given the choice.