I am in a T2 NLU, 6/10 sem. Got decent grades, moots, and some publications, interned at Chambers of Gsanks, Ms. Katju, and some other seniors in commercial, white collar crime, arb and tax. I got these internships entirely on my own. I am a first gen, no one even in the distant family is in law. Got no connections through college or school seniors. I am an introvert, I talk when someone initiates, but I always get the work done.

Choosing law was a sudden decision, and now I am in a position where I do not know what to do with my future. I would have liked to join some law firm or some chambers, have been sending in applications for the last 3 months and haven't even secured an internship for july. I research firms, partners, and advocates, read about their work and articles, and send personalized mails. My friends who secured T1 internships were always through some connections. It's tiring to question your worth with every application. It has started to feel like a mind-numbing task.

I was able to crack some good internships previously, got an upcoming internship at the Chambers of Mr. Datar. I know that I am capable and deserving. I stumbled into an associate from a previous internship, and she was excited to meet me, and kept appreciating me and the work I put in during that internship. But I still get overcome with the feeling of being worthless.

I am not sure about choosing one practice area, I want explore. But I feel like if I want a stable job in hand after graduation (which I really really want) I need to focus on one practice area. I want to map out some way to land a decent paying job before I graduate, and hopefully in some chambers.

I would really appreciate it if someone would share how they navigated a similar situation, and secured a stable future with a job or practice area that interests them.

You are just in your third year right now, don't worry too much. Keep interning in chambers and keep in touch with the lawyers in those chambers. Unlike the relatively structured way in which hiring by law firms takes place, there is no set method to becoming a junior in a chamber. From my experience, two things must be true for you to become a junior under any particular lawyer: 1) that lawyer must not have so many juniors that they can't take on any more, and 2) they must like you for whatever reason (your work ethic, quality of work, personality, or something else entirely). The second condition is the more important of the two and its non-fulfilment will ensure that the lawyer will not give you a junior position or help you get one under another lawyer. The only exception being if you have some contact who can pull some strings but unfortunately this is not true for you. The first condition is relatively less important since a lawyer will probably help you become a junior under some other lawyer if his own chamber is full and he likes you.

An easy way of keeping in touch with lawyers is just telling them that you are free to take on any work that they might have even after your internship ends. Unless you have done terrible work during the internship, there is generally no reason why they would not give you work. If any lawyer agrees to do this, ensure that 1) the quality of your output does not suffer due to college, 2) you sustain the arrangement for a long period of time, and 3) you try to make at least some small talk during your interactions with the lawyer as you want the lawyer to be interested in you as a person and not just as some guy who helps them with work (try not to overdo the small talk either). Remember that you don't have to take on too much work also, it is enough if you are getting work even once or twice a month. The important part is maintaining a connection with the lawyer so that the lawyer does not forget you and you continue to remain in their good books.