To mod: Can you please edit my post to say 2026 will be my breakthrough year and I will find the best opportunity out there. On contemplation and support from the Legally India, I realised that I am being too negative and pessimistic about things. Could you edit my post to thank the community and correct the folly that I committed- putting negativity into universe and expecting good things in return.

Except I haven't. I come from a lower middle class, where I have fought for everything. I have never done unpaid internships, not did I had the luxury to move to different cities like my classmates (because shit is expensive). I get the message that you are trying to convey. that I need to learn to be grateful for what I have because in relation to so many in our country I am in a better position. But does that take away my moral angst at everything I have gone through? Can a man not grieve and curse his fate? Why should the fact that someone has it worse than me discount my experience and my pain?

I have done my fair share of introspections: The may be's you talk about, I have thought about those too, and no you don't sound harsh at all. Yes, things are unfair but that does not discount my experience or my grief. Some of the people who got placements in my law school are not people 'who know their stuff well', (call me petty all you want but they were just lucky on that day). it's also that sometimes teams don't hire for technical knowledge alone, they probably also look for stupid things like 'culture fit'. People can rationalize all they want, but the truth of the matter is this should matter the least, if these places claim to be about merit and merit alone.

I hope this isn't taken the wrong way, but unfortunately for you, you are not the judge of someone's caliber. The interviewer is, and the ugly truth is that, they might have had something the interviewer was looking for. A lot of people terrible on paper, can be incredibly in real life. There is no telling what works and what doesn't, but there is no point punching below.

That said, while T1s have closed their hiring, there can always be team specific vacancy. If you are from a T1 that allows you to intern during the semester break I would recommend that you reach out to your past partners and request an assessment internship for a longer period, especially since you've mentioned you have performed well.

If the partner is unwilling or unable to accomodate for an assessment internship, you can explain your situation and (if you are on good terms and they are happy with your work) request them to recommend you for vacancies in other teams or even firms.

If you are not on good terms with your partner, or haven't ever interacted with your partner, loop in your college rcc and request them to reach out to the hr and partner. From what I understand a few T1 college rcc already do this.

If you are from one of those T1s that don't let you intern during the semester. Repeat the above but for a placement interview.

I would also recommend applying to tier 2 firms and a lot of boutique firms which are at the top of their game for their specific niche. You can later try for a lateral shift to a tier 1 firm.

All the best!

You've pulled plenty of strings in your life as well, you're just oblivious to them. You are studying in a rather expensive uni most probably funded by your parents. You were doing (unpaid) internships, which too were funded by your parents.You were also provided with the education that enabled you to enter a tier 1 law school, funded by your parents. These are strings you're taking for granted, which most in our country (with a per capital income of 2.5 k usd pa) would die for. Look around, you'll see plenty of kids many of whom could significantly be more talented than you, working odd jobs to feed their families. Privilege is only visible when it's on the other side. So count your blessings, stop being miserable, take accountability for your shortcomings, strive to overcome them, and achieve whatever it is you're striving to achieve. All the best!

May sound harsh, but you need to hear it:

1. Law is a field of connections. If you have connections and don’t use them, you’d be an idiot. It’s not a field as idealistic as you want it to be. It may seem unfair that someone gets opportunities via connections, but connections are an asset. And you need to know how to leverage your assets in this field. The good part about connections? You can make your own. It doesn’t need to be a parent putting in a good word. Approach people you interned under, college alumni since you’re apparently in a great college, even LinkedIn. Build connections, that’s one of the only sure shot ways to survive in this field.

2. Competence beats everything else. If you’re competent, a team or a firm will make space for you. Sure, you may have great internships on your CV, but ask yourself why the team didn’t hire you despite that. Maybe you didn’t know basics, maybe your work quality wasn’t good enough, maybe the team didn’t see the interest they expected, maybe you didn’t converse with them enough: a million things could have happened which made them feel you weren’t good enough. And this goes beyond grades and college and connections. I know people who started law school 5-6 years after high school and now have jobs in T-1s, people who are known troublemakers in their colleges yet got PPOs from, people who know far lesser stuff than I do yet about a field of law, yet got campus placements. Yk what they all have in common? They’re pretty good at what they do. You can improve on this. Take a sheet of paper and write down the feedback you received from each internship. Maybe even ask anyone you’re still on good terms with in the team you interned at for honest feedback, not the whole we don’t have vacancy stuff. Work on it, and continue trying to get other internships and opportunities. If you’re competent, something will work out for sure. It may not be what you want, but it will be something.

ATB!

Similar situation, but I’m not giving up yet. I’ve done call-backs at good firms and good teams, so even if it’s not going to work out, I’ll keep trying. I’ve reached out to pretty much all SAs/ PAs and Partners I’ve worked under for referrals. Cold emailing Partners on a daily basis. I know that something will work out, just not what yet.

You have two options: first is either keep blaming your college or circumstances (which seems to be what you’re doing.) It’s not good though, as it won’t lead you anywhere. I may not be in a position to say this, but you’ve got to be way tougher than this if you want to survive in this field. Connections and competence aside, law as a field, especially with the rise of AI, needs grit to thrive in and you don’t seem to have that from your post. Maybe you relied too much on your college or maybe you thought things would automatically work out- but they don’t. You have to strive and work to make things happen, sometimes way more than others. It’s unfair, yes, but sometimes inevitable.

Second, you start working to make things happen. Sure, it may not be what you want: maybe you’ll end up in a T-2 or T-3 and grumble, but at least you’ll have something good. Look into options: you have firms, judicial clerkships, in-house opportunities, LLMs. You can do a number of things to survive and make your situation better. The only question is if you’ll do it or not.

Maybe you won’t end up with anything in 2026 either. That’s fine. What’s not fine is not trying.

As we draw close to the New Year, I can't help but pity my fate and curse my stars. I'm from the batch of 2026 and few months away from graduation and I don't have a job lined up. This has been worst year and 2026 is likely to be the same. And guess what? I am in a T-1 college one that claims to be premier law school. In any case, can't really blame the college entirely when my luck has not worked. Despite having the grades and the profile and doing well in my internships I could not get any converts. Worst part I have seen people half my caliber and grades/profile getting jobs at T-1 firms . I hate my life and, if God is real I hate them too.

Rant Over. Happy New Year to everyone, but not to those who got where they are because the odds were in their favour or those who got stuff simply because they pulled some strings somewhere.

EDIT requested (see below): To mod: Can you please edit my post to say 2026 will be my breakthrough year and I will find the best opportunity out there. On contemplation and support from the Legally India, I realised that I am being too negative and pessimistic about things. Could you edit my post to thank the community and correct the folly that I committed- putting negativity into universe and expecting good things in return.