I graduated from a Tier-III NLU in 2022 and have a brief litigation experience. I always wanted to go for academia but low salary/ incentives and significant gestation period (do LLM then PhD) compelled me to not pursue it initially after graduation. But now I am thinking of changing trajectory and go for Masters. But I can't go abroad and can only go for NLU. I have shot for Tier-I NLU for Masters in coming academic year. But not sure whether Indian system encourages merit, as I see most of the professors getting appointed for posts through Jugaad.

Whether I should still go for it and try my luck?

Go abroad if you can. Or just finish your PhD as early as possible. If you do LLM from India, you'll have to slog through jobs like Academic Fellow etc which are sub-optimal. If you find a godfather in academia, life will be simpler. Competition to get into places like NLS is intense and you need publications, work experience and to be pursuing/completed PhD merely to be considered for a 2 year contract. So, think many times before applying

Its tough out here. If youre ambivalent with this career at all- you shouldnt do it. Its easier to make a living out of litigation/ law firm than to struggle in academia. Merit- well that would depend on how you would demonstrate merit. You didnt get into a particularly great law school- you will just be doing a masters from a university here- do you think you could work hard enough to top ? that might show some merit? could you write paper and publish? that might show some more. But the competition to teach at good schools is high. there are always people coming back with degrees from abroad and good research CVs. So NLS and JGLS for employment might be tough to be honest. Like JGLS might take you but they wont give you assistant professor to start. other NLUS- you really do have to know someone. even with merit you really ought to know some professor who can help you get a job. Now maybe you can ingratiate yourself to your professors in your masters year and then ask for a job at the same institution. It would be better to reach out to recent graduates of the NLU where you might be admitted and ask them if the school will hire/ what academic career prospects are.

I shall strongly suggest doing LLM from outside India, there are plenty of good universities offering full tuition waiver scholarships. Getting PhD scholarship outside India is easier if you have LLM from the same country.

Overall, academia is a great career, if you have sufficient drive you will defintiely get placed in a top NLU, there are very few NLU graduates who have done LLM and PhD and have not got a teaching job (if they were looking for one).

make a list of universities in the UK which have full PGT scholarships, there are around 20 such universities, hint - start with the russell group and plate glass uni, no need to check with post 92 universities, do not waste your time with oxbridge scholarships unless you are the batch topper or within top 1-3 ranks

it is difficult to prepare a research proposal and do your llm in the same year, so make contacts with the profs at the place where you do your llm and start discussing ideas, base your proposal on the disseration, and show the proposal to some of the indian origin academics who are in your area and ask for comments, there was alist made by some commentators

once you have the proposal ready, send it to all the unis which have pgr scholarships, most russells and plate glasses have half a dozen scholarships each which pay international fees + stipend

I am a former academic, now back into law firm practice but hoping to re-enter. I left JGLS because I found it too left-leaning and I could never fit into the snooty Marxist faculty cabal. In fact, you’re a complete outcaste if you come out as right-wing or Centre-right (the latter in my case). However, on a visit to a couple of business schools I found more like-minded people. So my plan is to do a PhD from a B School and re-enter academia as a law and business professor.

Current Jindal prof here. More than Oxford, what Jindal likes are NLU grads, especially the top ones. The admissions department tells parents that they shouldn’t worry if their children didn’t clear CLAT because they have professors who are alumni of top NLUs and can guide them.