Hi.

I have a very relevant query seeing the legal market in India. So there are many law firms and chambers across the country, and these are mostly unregulated and not registered be it in form of partnership/LLP or Company. Now if people (fresher or even experienced people) are joining these firms, they don't receive a written contract/offer letter. Nor do they have salary slips of whatever is being paid. Mostly payments are done in cash or upi payments, except for some formal law firms organisations mostly operating out of likes of Delhi/Mumbai. How do then these associates who work at these firms, prove about the same, if tomorrow they are going to join a Company or similar formal employment. Usually salary slips, appointment letter, experience letter and relieving letters are required at big places. Is this not creating a blockage for 99% of legal professionals to climb the career ladder?

Only honest answer please.

You should always insist on formal confirmation of offer, an email works. For payment of salary, use you bank account statement. As a lawyer, always keep a record of your employment and salary in some way even if it may not be as some formal letter or salary slip. When I had to move from a litigation firm to a tier 1, I didn’t have a formal confirmation of offer from the litigation firm but I had the foresight then to record an email saying that as discussed I will be joining on xyz date.

Hi. I'm not aware of your specific circumstances, but please know that in most organizations of decent repute, they absolutely do provide requisite documentation. Please do not treat this as normal, and you must absolutely insist on getting these documents as a mandatory obligation of the employer.

Contrary to this & the other comment saying it's better to intern at a T-1/T-2 than a chamber — if you want to get into litigation, chambers naturally offer an advantage and it is a fact of this profession that most chambers do NOT have the concept of salary slips, written contracts, etc. Some do, yes. Most of the ones that do are reputable, yes. That does not mean the ones who don't are not good places to be at, or that you should avoid them altogether (because, naturally, there's an opportunity cost involved).

A lot of counsel & senior counsel do not have such formal arrangements with their associates. Just ask around. To simply brush those offices aside is disingenuous.

And, if you try to "absolutely insist on getting these documents as mandatory obligation of the employer" (side-note: they're not your employer), they would simply scoff & rescind the offer. They do not want a smartass in the chamber. They want someone who can work, who can assist them, and in the process learn something for their own. Most of the litigating lawyers (including many successful, designated seniors) are not going to appreciate any indication from your end of thinking of them as your "employer", where they have any duty to provide you any documentation.

As for the OP — buddy, file your ITRs, show your bank statements. Most seniors - at least in Delhi - are also happy to give you certificates stating that you were associated with their office for such-and-such period. It's common. Tell them you're applying for a panel/employment/whatever and it's a requirement for that, and they would be happy to provide it to you.