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Is it true that even after a year you won't have time to take even 1-2 vacations in the year around a week or slightly shorter?
Is there no firm that pays lesser but offers say weekends or 1 day of the weekend off?
Is it true that you will be completely alienated from your family/spouse/children if you go into corporate?
What are some of the more prominent possible options if one decided to work in corporate for a couple years and then leave to a relatively lower work load with lower pay?
1. Work pressure was insanely high and it was taking a toll on my health.
2. In the initial years, the pay was meagre, especially for someone from one of the oldest law colleges in Maharashtra (I am sure you can guess which one).
The truth is, in almost all practice areas, for the first seven to eight years you are essentially struggling. Your law degree is only really valuable up until it lands you your first job, after that you are starting from scratch again. The next seven years are about building substance, and only after around your third year you begin to see the benefits (I am still waiting for that time myself). After that, life becomes relatively easier. The money starts flowing in, you get a better hold on the law, and your juniors start doing the grunt work for you
To answer your question, you can expect at least one day off a week. It is not that bad. Boutique firms tend to be slightly better in terms of work life balance, but the trade off is that you compromise on pay, often around twenty five to thirty percent lower than bigger firms.
No, you will not be alienated from your family. That is a personal choice, honestly 🤣. That said, you probably will not be able to take long vacations, and even on your off days you might have to work. I was working the morning my friend was getting married. It is not as dark and gloomy as it might seem, and I hope that by the time you graduate, things in this sector will be much better.
One advantage of corporate law is that you do not have to attend court hearings. Unlike litigation lawyers, you do not have days where you are in court in the morning and then working late into the night for the next day. Your schedule is a little easier in that sense.
One disadvantage, though, is that you are not tied to the court calendar, so you do not automatically get a lighter workload during summer breaks.
That said, after spending a while in corporate law, you always have the option to move in house, where the workload is generally much lighter