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There is more liberty when it comes to litigation. You have to learn 'everything' your own way and perform every task on your own.
After 6 months shifted to a young and an upcoming extremely smart civil and commercial lawyer. I was and still am the only junior in his office. The experience at this place has made change my perspective.
That pay for the first 6 months was at par with a T1 firm stipend to a law student. Thereafter multiple pay revisions because of my performance and contribution to the office. Passes on matters to me which are not worth his time, so helps me build my practice too. At this point I earn enough to make more than my monthly expenses living in a T2 city away from my home.
I have been extremely lucky to work with my senior. Following things makes me continue litigation: -
A. Not a single day is spent doing the same thing
B. Daily learning
C. Independence
D. Full control over time
Trust me if you find a good office to work, litigation can be the best thing that could happen to your life. Cheers buddy
I am not able to find a good office to work. I am from a Tier 2 city too and willing to grind in the practice space (irrespective of location). How do I start if I am not receiving any response from people around to my cold emails. I am a 2023 grad with some post qualification internship experiences.
Please share any tips. Thanks in advance.
Thanks again!!
You can't find out who's who by sitting at home on a computer. The good ones have to be approached after seeing them in court. Young upcoming first gen lawyers are most likely to make good bosses and mentors because they know the struggles themselves. Don't give up. Make it a goal to start independent practice as quickly as possible. You can achieve financial independence in 2 years of independent practice. There is always room for young lawyers who can undercut older ones on fees.
Chamber didnt pay anything, so needed pocket money to survive. Luckily, I studied at non NLU and fees were dirt cheap.. you wouldn't believe it if I told you. Parents gave pocket money and said work hard. Felt ashamed but had no choice. Rather be ashamed of taking family support for some time than to be verbally abused by people at the office (experienced this at a renowned firm where I trained before choosing litigation)
Worked at chamber with almost no pay but understood basics of litigation quickly. My boss gave me responsibilities of arguing, negotiating, police station visits, and even cross examination right from the beginning.
Started independent practice. Became financially independent within 3 years. So total of 4 years of family support needed.
Today, 10+ years l
Work is fun, ability to control my time is great (at my experience level), and money is great (I make around what a T1 SA1 would).
As a first gen lawyer, that fear of being without work is definitely there, and it's tough to set up a practice and figure channels of work.