I saw a post here yesterday about someone asking for guidance to choose between UK colleges and NLUs where they also mentioned that they were thinking of doing a BA at Ashoka and then pursuing a JD from the US. I think this is an interesting path, however, I don't have the funds for an Ashoka degree rn. My CLAT rank this year will easily get me into NALSAR/NUJS. My parents suggest appearing for CUET and doing a BA from a good DU college to save some money now and then applying to US colleges for a JD. I realize the LSAT is an extremely difficult exam but I am determined to work really hard to ace it, I will literally spend the entirety of the next three years studying for it if that's what it's going to take. Now the question is, assuming I get a good GPA at college, have stellar extracurriculars, a great SoP, and an exceptional LSAT score, would my DU background hinder my chances of an Ivy League JD? Will universities reject my application because of my undergrad college? I might just be building castles in the sky but I really wanna get all the opinions and info I can to make an informed decision about my future. Also, are there people who have done this in the past? Comments on the other post mentioned one person who had gotten a Harvard degree after graduating from NUJS, are there more people who have done something similar?

Bro consider this: After you complete a JD, unless you choose to work with London/Singapore offices of firms advising on US law, you would have to be sponsored on an H1B by law firms, which you only have a 25% chance of getting. Else, you would have to leave the US after a year, when your non-STEM OPT comes to an end. The only way around this is for a firm to shift you abroad for a year and bring you back on an L1, which is extremely disruptive both for the organization and for you personally, and is therefore unlikely to be a viable option.

Personally, if you have the money, I would suggest you pursue an LLB from Oxbridge/Russel Group university in the UK either directly or after an undergrad from India (latter might save you from the ignominy of pursuing a 'Bridge Course' should you choose to/are forced to return to India, but you will have to check on that). Notwithstanding the recent visa changes that have been announced, it is much easier to obtain a UK work permit and pursue a training contract with an MC/SC/US firm in London than to start your career in the US. The option is much cheaper and a UK LLB degree is also more recognized amongst legal practitioners in India. UK firms have better global reach than do US firms, which tend to focus on a very narrow range of extremely profitable practices outside home ground, and almost exclusively in high income markets. Ergo, better mobility should you choose to move around in life.

All this is probably Greek and Latin at this stage to you, mostly because you (like most of us commentators here when we chose to pursue law) are likely to not have the slightest of clue about what commercial legal practice entails, especially on the transactional side, which is realistically your only shot at immigrating as a lawyer with an Indian passport, save for marriage or going the self-sponsored Canada route.

My suggestion thus is: read as much as you can about what financial and corporate legal practice entails (for starters, you work on transactions and not live court cases for the most part) and decide whether you want to realistically make a professional career out of that. It is dull, boring work and likely not how you imagine law to be. If, and ONLY if you are sure, should you make any study abroad arrangements. Ideally, this advice applies to anyone considering to apply for law school in today's day and age, but is obviously all the more applicable to someone who is making an investment as hefty as you are considering.

Hope you are able to make the best decision for yourself, and I wish you all the very best. :)