J Sagar Associates (JSA) has announced the promotion of 12 of its lawyers to associate partner level.
Furthermore, 11 senior associates have been promoted to principal associate level, and 13 associates to senior associate level.
We understand that there no equity promotions were pronounced this year.
The JSA Gurgaon office is home to 7 out of the 12 new retained partners, followed by three in Delhi and two in Bangalore.
The Mumbai office saw no new retained partners.
Three of the 12 new retained partners are women.
In a press statement, joint managing partner Amit Kapur & Vivek Chandy said: “Our heartiest congratulations to our colleagues who have taken an important step in their career progression. We are sure they will continue to excel and do us proud. At JSA we continue to remain committed to extending equal opportunity to our colleagues in their professional journey with us.”
The new partners are graduates from a wide range of law schools, with two from Symbiosis Law School Pune. National law schools are represented by one each from GNLU Gandhinagar, NUJS Kolkata and NLSIU Bangalore.
One new retained partner each is an alumnus of ILS Pune and Delhi University.
New retained partners
- Bharat Bhushan (Gurgaon, Institute of Law and Management Studies Gurgaon 2008)
- Bharati Joshi (Gurgaon, Symbiosis Law School 2006)
- Manish Jha (Delhi, University of Delhi Campus Law Centre 1999)
- Manuel Jose (Bangalore, Symbiosis Law School 2005)
- Nikhil Sharma (Delhi, Army Institute of Law Mohali)
- Prakriti Jaiswal (Gurgaon, Mumbai University 2010)
- Rajat Joneja (Delhi, Symbiosis Law School 2008)
- Rajul Bohra (Gurgaon, GNLU Gandhinagar 2010)
- Ronak Ajmera (Gurgaon, ILS Pune 2009)
- Shantanu Jindel (Gurgaon, NUJS Kolkata 2010)
- Siddharth K Vedula (Bangalore, NLSIU Bangalore)
- Zain Pandit (Gurgaon, Cardiff University 2009)
New principal associates
- Adil Ladha (Mumbai)
- Gaurav Arora (Gururgram)
- Janmali Manikala (New Delhi)
- Kartikeya G.S. (Gurugram)
- KZ Kuriyan (Bengaluru)
- Pallavi Banerjee (Mumbai)
- Pracheta Bhattacharya (Mumbai)
- Rahul Kinra (New Delhi)
- Sherill Pal (Bengaluru)
- Swapneil Akut (Mumbai)
- Unnati Agarwal (New Delhi)
New senior associates
- Adhiraj Gupta (Gurugram)
- Akshay Bhagchandani (Gurugram)
- Anshu Bansal (Gurugram)
- Ayisha Mansoor (Bengaluru)
- Hema Priyadarshini Patnaik (Gurugram)
- Kumar Kislay (New Delhi)
- Lakshmi Ramachandran (Bengaluru)
- Pooja Thomas (Gurugram)
- Raveena Dhamija (New Delhi)
- Ronak Thakkar (Mumbai)
- Shweta Gupta (Gurugram)
- Tushar Nagar (Mumbai)
- Yajas Setlur (Bengaluru)
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Hard work and dedication should always be rewarded. Glad to see that happening here.
However, there is no point in calling out JSA specifically for this. ALL firms do the same wherein loyalty is also rewarded along with excellence.
Kian, your salary survey for law firms has been loooong overdue!
all the very best
At 40-45, if it’s a promotion you need to make yourself feel better, shouldn’t have been a lawyer in the first place.
And who knows you? Is your neighbour able to identify your achievement on becoming a 'retained partner'? Seems very unlikely.
Stop running after these over-glorified designations. Real law is litigation. Try to sweat it out there. That's the real battleground. That is the real aspect of this profession. Not these made up designations at law firms.
In an institutionalised structure - the court identifies and recognises a renowned litigator (or say Senior Advocate). Not some equity partner of some law firm.
Have you even the guts to stand on your feet and argue before a bench in High Court? Unlikely.
Till then - be happy bouncing umpteen e-mails to each other. At least that's what majorly corporate firms are about. Trying to look fancy.
Grapes are indeed sour.
Meanwhile - ek rent deed bana do. Or tweak that shareholding agreement.
They want you to be happy drafting [or may I say - 'tweaking'] agreements for your entire life. That's clearly lowering the bar for yourself.
Corp law is - at best - for mediocre minds. Not challenging at all. Ask any HC judge - he'll say the same. You must realise that corp law guys have little respect amongst the legal fraternity, largely.
If not HC judge - ask any old warhorse at law firm. If he's honest - he'll tell you why he stuck in here.
Also, "Real law is litigation" is the most dishonest, problematic and absolutely idiotic statement I have ever read.
Largely, the work revolves around drafting - or maybe, some negotiations that involves very little law. All that happens there is - trying hard to look that you are busy + arguing over some foolish FEMA interpretations (sometimes) AND MAJORLY - drafting and tweaking agreements.
Can't see how a person 'learns law' in a law firm. He is an over-glorified clerk. That's an honest experience. The thrill of the Bar is not matched. Yes, there is struggle for the first 5-7 years in practice - but that is negated by the thrill that it brings in. Corp law is no match to lit.
The law firms lure youngsters for 12-18la/packages - only to make them lose on the initial learning curve (which they would have got as litigators). Only little later, the hardworking ones realise the loss.
Think big. Think litigation.
Maybe your law firm peers aren't interested in arguing in court and prefer sitting and tweaking agreements in a cubicle for a living. Why hold a grudge against them? They are putting in the effort and the hours too. Probably not as much as a litigator or for that matter of fact any person who has to put in physical work in addition to using their mental capabilities - say an event manager, a retail employee, etc. And if and when they do get promoted, it is merely an acknowledgement of their efforts which should only be applauded and appreciated.
Maybe it would be a better idea to take up the disparity in salaries with your respective litigating seniors or keep this in mind when you become a senior yourself and be generous to your juniors and bring a change. I think that is the only way the gap can be bridged.
For now, many congratulations to all promotees!
Kaunsa law chalta hai law firms main? Law firms are majorly about churning drafts. Very little law involved. They put in the values and commercials, as dictated by bankers/corporates. That's majorly what they do.
Its a readymade cloth. They tailor it, as the customer wishes so. That's corporate law in India.
I know Corporate brings in more moolah than Litigation...but still.
Off the top of my head, as in part mentioned above, unscientifically:
1. Remuneration is mostly really bad, at least initially, and many seniors will treat juniors as clerks, basically.
2. Litigators (at least some) will be dependent on their law firm or in-house 'clerical' buddies for briefs.
3. A LOT of waiting around in courts doing nothing or asking for adjournments or putting up with bureaucracy or time-wasting opposing advocates, which is basically also 'clerical' work, though it involves speaking sometimes.
4. The bar is pretty damn sexist.
5. Judges are worse than most law firm bosses (ok, this one's arguable).
6. Dealing with the scorching heat / humidity and the dusty outdoors every day (at least in places like Delhi, Mumbai or Chennai), as opposed to a spending all day in a nicely air-conditioned fridge at your desk, with amenities like gym, canteen, etc.
7. Very hard to get into without a godfather compared to law firms.
8. Litigation is all consuming - work hours can theoretically be even more erratic than law firms (?), and achieving any semblance of work life balance may be easier in some law firms (though your mileage may vary there, depending on your firm).
9. Lack of a safety net (financial or otherwise).
10. Lack of career options: the only way is to keep doing what you're doing, perhaps in different fora. From law firms, you can more easily move to in-house, perhaps the business side or different professions?
Is that a good enough reason? Wow - your arguments are pretty solid, Kian. :)
Basically - you gotta sweat it out in lit. And if you sweat enough - you will probably end better than being stagnant in law firms whole your life.
The problem - is kids lack perseverance these days. Quick moolah doesn't help in longer run. If you want to make it big or harbour a dream for Senior gown/elevation - you gotta persist.
Behind every success, there gotta be some pain, said Bob Dylan.
With due respect to your standing as a litigator, I hope you will appreciate that there are more aspects to practicing law than just arguing in the court.
Also, there is no harm in choosing corporate slavery (as you term it) over litigating. Regarding your choice of words, I am sure you know that "slaves" do not have a freedom of choice. Whereas anyone working in a law firm does it out of choice. Sure there are incentives which make it lucrative however the aspect of choice cannot be negated.
Further, do remember, that irrespective of whether you practice in the court or in a corporate office, you are still practicing the LAW. And calling your fellow brethrens "slave" is rather unbecoming of a lawyer (litigator or otherwise).
Regards.
Disclaimer: I'm not a law firm associate.
Should have started practicing soon after law school. Please please don't get tricked by such promotional features.
Promotions are a promotional features of law firms. If you have the slightest talent - join the Bar and start practising in the High Court. Pays you much more in the longer run.
As a corporate Partner in Big 4 - I wish I had joined the Bar before. After spending 20-22 years in my small cubicle - I honestly, sometimes, regret my decision. Bored of doing the same work, day in and day out. There's stagnancy, after a while. No denial in that.
Meanwhile - my batchmates - who did struggle initially in lit (that's inevitable) - are raring to go. 3 have been elevated to the Bench, others made Seniors, and still others raking in a lot more moolah now (even though I started with a better package, initially).
Even though won't admit it in open - but litigators close in very quickly and race ahead of you.
Although not 2.5x, however from known experience, I can say that if your base is 15L PA, you can end up making around 25L PA (inclusive of your bill sharing and bonus).
End up making 25L PA (with 15 PA base)..at JSA? What are you smoking, bro?
Just have a look at 4PQE salaries + bonus. JSA doesn't come near CAM/SAM/Khaitan!
Just clarifying that the stats mentioned in my OP are actually true, I have made those numbers.
Regarding what I am smoking, join me at Pandey sometime if you are around. Will share the good stuff.
Of course - they claim that they have abandoned the practice of going to Day Zero.
www.legallyindia.com/home/9-top-firms-hire-10-more-214-from-campus-for-2018-khaitan-goes-80-20-jsa-opts-out-of-campus-circus-nujs-keeps-shtum-again-20170428-8479
They will confirm that partners did come there - only to return empty handed. They gave out 3-4 offers - but ALL rejected. Major embarrassment did happen. Being a placement member (of NLS Bangalore), I can even confirm the names of those partners in private.
Even the waitlisted candidates rejected the offers.
AFTER THAT FIASCO - they abandoned Day 0.
Kian, please at least confirm before you shoot it out. Responsible journalism, please.
"The campus recruitment process has turned into quite a circus these days,” commented JSA co-managing partner Dina Wadia. “We took a call that we would recruit primarily through our internship program as that allows us to assess the students, their abilities and how they fit into our culture in a far more effective way,” she added.
No doubt their reason not to attend may in part have had to do with the 'circus' competition in starting salaries, where they may be a bit lower, but I do also believe their reasoning that they've had good success with their internship programme.
Why?
1. NLU grads ain't necessarily all that.
2. Lots of firms that recruit heavily from campus on Day Zero end up losing a large chunk of them after a few years, which costs quite a bit of money.
3. Can you really judge whether someone will make a good associate (or future partner?) from a 30 minute interview on campus?
On the other hand, except for a few puff piece interviews Luthra has given, there is very little information about Luthra in the public domain that would allow anyone from outside the firm to jump to its defence.
Of course, the camouflage with the so/called bill sharing system, which youngsters never really get.
Kian doesn't know all of this at JSA. He likes to believes whatever is told to him by JSA PR team. :)
Though don't have family backing for litigation - I should have done an MBA. These MBA smugs dictate commercials - and we, most of the times, work around to adjust them. It sucks to be stuck.
Though, does anyone remember the conspiracy theorists who speculated that CAM-SAM was a ploy to create a bigger firm that would merge again in a few years? But who knows, stranger things have happened in Indian BigLaw ;)
If you want a challenging - yet, more rewarding life - choose lit. Hiccups initially, but truly rewarding. You get the feel. No ceiling for success - if you persist and make it big.
But lit folks who go independent (and of course, who plays their cards well - that's a given) end up going far ahead in the longer run.
If you want to play a big game - lit is the way. Of course, initial hurdles are there. But then, you gotta strong to emerge a bigger winner.
I have my doubts, as to whether they can actually be termed as one of Big 6 - given the huge difference between what they offer and what CAM/AZB (and others) offer!
There is atleast a difference of about 30-40% in AZB/CAM/SAM and JSA salaries. JSA actually pays much less.
JSA hasn't done campus placement for better part of last decade? Ask the Equity partners who go and come back without an offer accepted. To lessen the embarrassment, they have opted out. Since of course, they can't pay as much. After all..to what extent 'good work environment' can work?
JSA can't afford Day 0 top law school placements. EVERYBODY knows this.
Yeah, corporate law sounds cool - but it isn't.
Really need your valuable suggestions regarding my career.
I graduated from one of the top NLUs, and currently work in a tier 1 firm (3 years PQE). I am finding it monotonous, but not considering litigation (can't afford 15k per month at this stage).
I am considering MBA from ISB (assuming that I will get through).
What do you suggest? I feel I am ambitious and don't want to get stuck in a monotonous cabin life.
Please do give your inputs!
Thanks.
Atleast in management, you take strategic decisions, unlike what you do in corp law [filling in blobs or getting dictation from top management bosses]
My aspirations got a boost when I read about this guy from RGNUL who cleared ISB while in clg. - Sanchit Aggarwal. Guess you would have already read about him.
I personally know people who "preferred" to litigate after they couldn't get a job.
Just see the trend - they leave because they don’t want to do this demeaning job. I, personally, know a lot of batchmates from NALSAR who have left corp firms - to take up litigation. And they are truly loving it.
Let's put this is perspective, whether it is a contentious practice or a non-contentious practice, at the end of day, a true lawyer has to build a practice.
So even if you do corporate work, you still have to build a practice which entails, amongst other things, building a book of business , building a network of contacts , being engaged with the network constantly , executing work , team managment etc.
Knowing the law, opining on the law, drafting documents, negotiating transactions, strategizing etc. are pre-requistes.
Corporate practice atleast at partner level is not about filling blobs or placeholders and anyone saying that is just delusional, it is about building your profile/your firms profile and billing.
All this again is done on the basis of sheer hard work, basis of knowledge sharing, networking, reading, stratetigizing, connecting people etc.
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