Choosing banking finance and expecting mental sanity is like choosing spicy noodles and expecting swiss chocolaty taste.

The nature of practice demands super extra efforts. Life will go for a toss- no doubt. That is at every place where you have good deals.

The team has relatively good culture when you compare it with rosy places like AgedB, Shaitan and Co, SCam, ShAM, TRyEagle. Work hours may be more or less.

PS: This is from a source who has been working there for years.

The sheer audacity of saying mental sanity/ life will go for a toss and wearing it like a badge of honour! And acting like there are no better options out there.

Kids, the risk to reward ratio isn’t worth it.

To ‘source’ - Please let me know if your net worth comes in top 20 in India, or even top 50. Maybe I’m wrong and the risk reward is great.

There is too much work and very few people to manage and oversee it. Extremely high attrition rate which is a massive red flag, renders the team vulnerable at all times and adds extra burden during handovers. You lose sanity and are buried with work all week long and are expected to work on all weekends and public holidays. Relatively lesser pay and bonus by market standards. Only shining light is that work culture is better (as claimed) than other law firms, but doesn’t seem to be true if you hear feedback from people who have left the team. Bill sharing comes across as a sham and culture can be categorised as mildly toxic if not at par with tier 1 law firms. Was a good team a while ago, steep decline in recent few years. Quality of team has gone down as hiring from tier 1 firms is impossible at low salary packages. Irony is that firm goes over board with new recruits (desperate hiring) when it comes to salary but can’t give such hikes to existing recruits who have toiled hard.

Coming from someone still in the team. It definitely seems that some people who have left the team or have been asked to leave the team due to their underperformance have gone out of their way to talk about the culture being “mildly toxic” (whatever that means).

Yea there is a lot of work and good quality work. All good teams have a lot of work and there is pressure from clients and therefore on the team.

It is a large 24-25 member team so definitely not a thinly staffed team by JSA standards. Underperformers who don’t want to work will obviously not make it in the team.

But all the senior members are genuinely nice and ready to guide and train associates. Salary and bill share is good (albeit for the associates who are willing to learn and work and have the capability to perform).

If you’re new to the team, I feel sorry for you. You won’t know what hit you till it’s too late.

There was a market perception that the team has better culture. Seniors don’t shout and scream at you, or but talk nicely to you - that’s true. But the team has an ability to choke you with work and subject you to extreme deadlines which definitely don’t make it a sustainable place to work. Such situations wouldn’t have happened if partners stood up and pushed deadlines or managed their team workload better (yes this happens in other firms).

Finally people are speaking up. That’s all.

Used to be great team but since last few years - it has bcom equally (if not less) “T” when compared to other places. . People just shout less but but but will over load you with insane work and gaslight your competence every time for the smallest of mistakes. You will start questioning your sanity and your confidence will go for a toss. IT IS JUST ANOTHER “T” TEAM WITH LESS PAY.

So many people have left, you just cannot imagine. One of the main reasons is some highly inefficient sycophants taking senior positions to hog everyone 24x7, do nothing, demean others and make work place miserable. Such ppl have left this place unbearable to work.

All of this is so unbearable and is bound to take a toll on your physical and mental health.

Recent events exemplifies what I am saying.

And yes the pay at senior and mid levels are just fun coupons when compared to industry standards.

Extremely insecure seniors (not the ones who aren’t EPs any longer but the current lot). The current seniors have very apparent health issues due to their own poor lifestyle and these seniors want the younger ones to suffer too; if anyone below them starts doing well or even starts taking care of their health then that person is targeted and harassed due to this insecure lot. They insult and humiliate you loudly near your cubicles for the other teams to hear. If you join this team, you will know what I am talking about.

Compensation is far less than the market. Good part is you will be made to slog so you will get enough experience to be able to move to another well paying firm in couple of years. Some of the ex team mates have made it to equity in other firms because of their experience here. If you are not that bright then you will be stuck here with less pay for years.

I differ. Compensation should not be issue.

Now since over 40 new people are joining at all levels from SAM and Trilegal at all levels.

They would be off increasing the band pay to double in other teams. Like that is what is in news. Else why would any one already working at other team want to continue. Example wise let’s say an SA level for 2 LPM would be outright discouraged to continue if someone in the same firm at same level will be paid 3 to 3.5 LPM or more.

how much is the team paying to A/SA/PA? Will they be paying at par to same level people in Khans team and NKO’s team who will be joining from SAM and Trilegal at same level at JSA? Or will the salary base for the people in ATU team which a/c to market is most hardworking team continue to be half of A/SA/PA at same level in the new teams that are joining?

Someone inside could please provide genuine information. Thank you in advance. Also have the new teams joined?

That’s not true. You can’t just use one fixed number. In 2022 and 23, there were some hirings. Some people who already had high salaries from T1s got more than those with low starting salaries or those at A/SA level. Pay disparity is a new trend now. I’m not sure if they are still there or have left.

This is true. This place has not learned anything from the EY tragedy. You are targeted, demeaned and ridiculed at, when you start taking care of your health. For them you are simply a machine who is supposed to work 18-20 hours a day or even more, without any weekend, sleep or rest. This way, not only your mental health (which for sure is going for a toss) but even your physical health goes for a toss. There are many recent unfortunate examples.

Be ready for 1-2 partners who take pride in not knowing what’s happening in the matters they are leading. Zero training or quality control and clients complain of lack of senior involvement. If you like such work environment and don’t mind faffing around, then this can be your paradise. If not, then first find out which are these partners (legally India won’t publish the names even if they are commented here). Thereafter, join the other partners who train and mentor even the interns and such partners also do exist in this team.

Nlu/non-nlu, non-corporate freshers seldom make it to B&F given the complex demand of work, which inevitably demands prior experience.

Nevertheless, you can try since you are seeking fresher position. There are few teams in tier 1 who are looking for people always, they will hire someone at fresher level.

This place will hire you or you might be joining with their underlying image of having a ‘good culture’. This was true few years back but it is starkly different off late!! (Continue reading)

Once you are in you will be trapped in a culture really good at gaslighting you, pushing your mental sanity to the edge, ruining your mental health and dumping you with insane work load with extremely unreasonable deadline which is highly downplayed while assigning work. I am not saying anything about your personal life going for toss and insane working hour (assuming that this culture is a T1 thing).

Adding on off late this place has become even worse in absence of and with the advent and promotion of some people. Each of the above statement is honest statement which you can verify with anyone who has left or if they are working there (if they speak which I highly doubt).

An apt description. Happy to see people calling out thier behavior finally!! At least ppl vl have clarity of wat dey r venturing into and wnt b misled into peanuts pay and horriblle and T work envrnment under the veil of opposite culture. No 1 sud tolerate sch behavior and sud hv to go thru this. Pls know dat thr r enough & more no of places with better work environment & much much better pay. U dnt need 2 b so hard on urself bfr ur mental sanity goes for a toss.

Rather join AZB, KCO or even CAM. Don’t fall to their culture tales and cute behavior during interviews. It has good work so do other T1s. You will have much better pay for the same or far less amount of toxicity at T1s.

Anyways if your mental and physical health is going to go down the lane. Then why not join a place which will pay you almost double. Believe me, the gap at senior levels is enormous. For eg a SA at JSA may make 30 LPA, while the peer in SAM/CAM would be making around 55 LPA. This gap increases at PA and Partner level.

Some rotten potatoes have spoilt the entire broth. A superficial level of feedback will reveal who these potatoes are.

When I used to work here … this team was celebrated as the ideal team to work. However, seeing insane exits of great talents & hearing their feedbacks … it appears that few individuals (who ironically are below average and go-scot free) have eroded the greatness and tarnished the reputation … internal politics, gaslighting, sycophantic behaviour, unreasonable behaviours, etc were never a part of the culture…high time for the team leads to identify and keep such people in check.

Most of the comments here portray a stark cautionary warning for anyone considering to join this place. Tried to contact people working there, button in-vein since they have been politically correct.

I wanted to know to what degree are these feedbacks prevalent on date. If yes, in which team is it more prevalent.

Inefficiency? The sheer audacity of calling senior professionals inefficient shows the disrespect by the concerned writer. They have reached there, that fact itself exemplifies their efficiency (at least in terms of professional capabilities, keep their personal nature aside). Coming to the boat metaphor. Where do salaried partner slog and do all work while the junior sits and sips coffee? At least, I haven’t heard of such utopian law firm. If you have please suggest some. It’s everywhere, juniors slog, senior reviews, partners approves. In your email 📧 there is a cc option, where on every internal deliverable the lead partner is marked so that he/she is aware of your contributions.

Let not your personal vindictiveness take the best of your logic.

Your response is riddled with flawed assumptions and a misplaced sense of entitlement. It also reeks of defensiveness and an inability to confront uncomfortable truths.

First, claiming that seniority equates to efficiency is not only illogical but also dangerously complacent. Titles are not shields against accountability. The fact that someone has reached a senior position does not automatically exempt them from scrutiny or criticism. Professional capabilities must be consistently demonstrated, not presumed based on rank. equating seniority with efficiency is laughable. A title does not guarantee competence, let alone absolve anyone of inefficiency. If anything, it should invite greater scrutiny, because leadership demands higher standards—not a free pass.

Second, your so-called “boat metaphor” is as irrelevant as it is inaccurate. Pretending that inefficiencies don’t exist at senior levels is delusional. Workflows break down due to poor leadership just as much as execution, and brushing it off with some mythical idea of hierarchy only exposes your unwillingness to address real issues. Let me make it clear: inefficiency at any level—junior, senior, or partner—deserves to be called out, and defending it under the guise of hierarchy is nothing but a weak excuse.

Finally, as for your argument about CC’ing partners on emails—are we seriously equating being aware of work with actual contribution? That’s not engagement; that’s passive observation. If you believe that’s how leadership is measured, it’s no wonder inefficiencies persist. It is absurd to suggest that merely being copied on emails is an adequate measure of engagement or accountability.

Your attempt to dismiss valid criticism as “personal vindictiveness” is both unprofessional and baseless. If your idea of professionalism is to suppress legitimate concerns under the pretense of respect for seniority, then perhaps it is time to re-evaluate what efficiency and leadership truly mean.

Stop hiding behind empty defences, stop hiding behind hierarchy and start addressing real issues.

Very well put. Applies to this team for sure. One of the comments here tries to expose some of these partners who have no clue regarding the matter but take away all the credit and love to discredit their team. All through Christmas and New Year’s these partners were vacationing at exotic locations while their team was in office toiling away.