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Looking for the salaries of freshers (straight out of law school) working in the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court. Kindly let me know!
mods please please mark this as featured, there has been a LOT of discussion on corporate salaries lately but nothing solid on litigation yet, please help bump this one
The industry standard in Litigation is 25k per month. Tier 1s offer much higher amounts ranging from 14 LPA to 18 LPA so unless you get a Tier 1 firm, monetarily, you are screwed. There are some well-known litigation boutiques but they don't offer a generous stipend either, this is again usually just 25k. Tier 2 firm may go up to 50-60k.
Also, the pay is a lot lower in Mumbai than it is in Delhi so going to Mumbai for litigation is always a bad idea because not only are you getting paid less but your also paying more for living.
One piece of advice that I would give is to avoid chambers as much as you can, keep them only as a last resort. A lot of them don't pay and even if they do, it's something around 5k-25k. The good lawyers would stretch it to 30k-40k. Most of the times, they're not looking for juniors, they're just looking for slaves who can inflate their ego. Plus, they have no dedicated HR or Admin so if you try to negotiate with them they get extremely offended.
That being said, not all chambers are bad. Tgere are some seniors who are known for being exceptionally good and many Tier 1 partners who've exited the Firm and started their own chambers can also be a good place to join. From what I've observed, it's usually the shady and obscure ones that have some sinister agenda w.r.t their juniors. If you can't find out much about the lawyer, you're applying to, it's because they don't want the world to know what they're doing so avoid them at all costs, even if the pay seems above average. And NEVER accept a bond period, in fact, get this clarified at the interview stage itself.
All in all, litigation is not a good area to make a "salary" in unless you're in a Tier 1, unfortunately. The goal should be to go independent or switch later to a non-itigation practice area.
The industry standards are 25K. there are certain small firms usually started by young lawyers who have undergone the misery of a first gen lawyer, these guys still have a better pay going upto 35K. One of my friends will be joining a small firm situated in rohini and will be getting 15K. Another one is joining a firm in Lajpat Nagar, they'll pay 45K after clearing BAR. Sr. Adv. are paying peanuts, wohi 25K.
i have personally interned under a Sr. Adv. who pays 25K, 2 Boutiques firm who pay around 30K and an AOR who pays around 40K.
Most of the AOR's are paying well, like till 35K to 40K.
I know my answer was not that helpful but also mentioning this here that a lot of my friends who went for interview were not told about their salaries, even after sending them confirmation, they claim ki the salary will be based on your performance.
Kolkata indirect tax- a practitioner pays about 50k and has a whole host of juniors.
This Delhi system of giving salaries to juniors is absolutely bad. Made a mess of juniors. The learning curve is just 0 and nothing compared to what you'd be learning in Bombay or Calcutta where the pupilage system is followed and beggars don't come asking for salaries.
Most Senior Advocates in Delhi pay around this band to freshers.
Salary for freshers starts from 15k (offered by a retired DHC judge btw) to 25k. If your senior is extremely nice then they might pay you around 30k but getting paid above that is rare.
I have met multiple people in this field who are willing to do 15-20k jobs while having PQE of 1-2 years.
(It's sad that the salary paid to juniors 5 years ago is same as it is now) Anyways I know litigation lambi race ka khoda hai but khoda tab tak zinda bhi rehna chaiye.