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I know I’m thinking way ahead, but before I get into something I don’t enjoy, I really want to get an idea of the entire picture. I know it’s SAM and everything, but I would really rather not waste a month doing something that is not going to add any value to my career. Being from the 3 year course, I anyways have 2 less years to intern and figure things out. I’m going to be in my final year, and again, very limited time to intern, virtually no campus placements or assistance from college, and not many firms who take interns/hire from DU.
I have always been interested in litigation, and all my internships other than this one have been with advocates. But since this is a really good opportunity, I really do want to explore if I want to work in a corporate setup.
I’m sorry for the long ass explanation - basically just want to know, why does everyone seem to hate Capital Markets? Other than the fact that it is repetitive work, is there anything else? Is CM hated just in SAM or most firms? Is it easy to transition into GC after working in this area? Or M&A? Would I be boxing myself in this area? (Future problem, I know). But is there anyone who can just give general advice on this?
TL;DR 2nd year student at CLC, majorly focused on litigation, will be a callback intern at SAM in October (in my final year) in the Capital Markets team, need general advice, why is Capital Markets so disliked
1. LONG LOONG hours - most tier-1s will have you pulling multiple all-nighters in a row and by all-nighters I mean less than 3 hours of sleep. This will happen in cycles through out the year but depending on staffing and the market you could go 2-3 months at this pace - weekends included. This could happen in other practices as as well, but the probability and frequency in cap marks is higher than most other practices
2. Boring and repetitive work - most of the work you do will be detail oriented and diligence heavy - sometimes it may feel like you didn’t need a law degree for this practice at all. Your skill set as a lawyer and as a person can get limited if you’re not careful.
3. It doesn’t get better with seniority - It might suck seeing your seniors leave when you’re toiling but it’s even worse if you see your senior pulling the same number of all nighters as you. At least until PA the practice doesn’t ease up on you in terms of you having control over your time. Even at partner level, depending on the involvement and working style of the partner - they too work long long hours.
4. Not enough exit options - it’s good money and a great way to propel yourself to financial security so if this was a practice area you could just spend 4-5 years in make your pool of cash and leave to do something else, it would be a lot more bearable. But as a cap marks lawyer your in-house opportunities are limited - you could work at a SAM or a CAM for years and still struggle to even get an interview call for a non-cap marks job, however a peer in GC or even TMT would have a much higher chance of moving in-house. You could become a banker but that isn’t much of an upgrade in terms of quality of work and work-life balance.
5. Lack of leadership - all those long hours have damaged a few brains so a lot of your seniors will be annoying and snappy zombies.
6. Pressure pressure - your average IPO is at least a few hundred crores and you’ll see plenty which are in the 1000s of crores, for the promoters and investors of a company this is a culmination of years of work and the bankers stand to make the big bucks as well, the lawyers are treated more as an impediment to the process - the paper pushers that keep the regulator out of the business while bankers do the work of marketing the offer and getting money. Plus you work with an increasingly unreasonable regulator in close proximity whose whole job is to scrutinise shit you’ve written at 4am on a few hours of sleep. People get snappy, yell, fight and are downright annoying. So you need to have a very very thick skin.
All of the above might have exceptions depending on team / partner, firm, location, market conditions and sheer luck. If you’re a nonchalant person or have cracked the secret to stoicism, you’ll do well in this practice. Otherwise it can be a bumpy ride.
Good luck!
This is exactly the kind of person you’ll be working with kids! Consider yourself warned.
Threatening an intern's career, using the firm's clout to intimidate juniors, and hiding behind anonymity while doing it are not signs of professional excellence. They're good reasons to question someone's judgment and integrity.
Young lawyers risk having their careers decided by small-minded politics. Companies risk paying a premium for counsel who don't meet the standards they expect. Neither has to put up with it.
No firm or lawyer is indispensable in Capital Markets. The people who pay for them can always go elsewhere.