NLSIU Bangalore, Delhi University (DU), GLC Mumbai and ILS Pune have given India’s biggest law firms more than three times as many internally promoted partners than most other younger law schools since 2009, although NLIU Bhopal and Symbiosis Pune are close on their heels followed by Nalsar Hyderabad and NUJS Kolkata.
NLSIU and DU have been favourite undergraduate colleges with both Amarchand Mangaldas and Luthra & Luthra in the last four years, while at Khaitan & Co and J Sagar Associates (JSA), GLC Mumbai dominated, according to Legally India’s analysis of internal partnership promotions at India’s six largest firms in the last four years.
Amarchand: 38% NLS, 14% DU, 12% ILS
Out of 50 Amarchand partners made up in the last four years, 19 are from NLSIU, seven from DU and six from ILS (the alma mater of two Delhi partners could not be confirmed, as Amarchand Delhi declined repeated requests for confirmation or comment).
Amarchand Mumbai partner Vandana Shroff told Legally India via email that the first partner to be internally promoted at the firm from NLSIU was the “lovely and intelligent” V Umakanth (1995 batch, promoted in 2000), who is now assistant professor at NUS Singapore.
From 2011, Amarchand also promoted partners from NUJS and Nalsar, beginning in 2011 with a Nalsar 2003 campus recruit for its Hyderabad office.
In subsequent years 2005 graduates (and campus recruits) from those two newer national law schools also rose the ranks, with two Nalsar alumns and one NUJS graduate being promoted in 2012, and two NUJS graduates getting the nod in 2013.
Luthra: 50% NLS
At Luthra & Luthra nine out of 19 partners internally promoted since 2009 are NLSIU alumni, with five having studied at DU.
The remaining five partners are from five different law schools.
JSA: GLC, DU-heavy
J Sagar Associates promoted the most partners from GLC Mumbai – nine in total since 2009 - followed by seven partners from DU, out of a total of 35 promoted since 2009.
Mumbai partner Dina Wadia wrote in an email: “Quite frankly we have never even thought of [the law school a partner belongs to] and it never figures in our criteria to elevate attorneys. The only thing I can think of is that these are the dominant universities or colleges in our main centers of Delhi, Gurgaon and Mumbai.”
However, JSA had traditionally eschewed campus recruitments from national law schools because of a longer internship-based recruitment process that implicitly favoured those from colleges such as GLC Mumbai that allow ongoing term-time internships (Legally India reported in 2010, how JSA had changed its internship policy to encourage the recruitment of students from other colleges).
Khaitan: GLC & NLIU
At Khaitan, GLC Mumbai also ruled the roost with eight partners out of a total 23 who were internally promoted since 2009. Khaitan human resources head Swapnakant Samal explained: “Most of our hiring which happened when our Bombay office opened was lateral. Obviously localites were preferred because they were available at that point of time. So it is nothing to do with GLC per se.”
Khaitan also made up three partners each from NLSIU and from NLIU, which is the oldest established national law university after NLSIU. “We started visiting Bhopal from 2004 and started hiring from campus. People also used to be invited to Bombay [office of Khaitan] – a couple of people who had done good internships and moots were invited,” noted Samal.
Aakash Choubey was the first NLIU Bhopal graduate to be internally promoted to partnership at the firm. Khaitan corporate partner Rabindra Jhunjhunwala was the first NLSIU graduate to be promoted at the firm.
Samal added: “[Hiring at] NLS took some time to get established. After we were seen as an able recruiter, we started going to them from 2009 onwards. With Bangalore, sometimes you will get [recruits], sometimes you will not get – it is that kind of a story.”
Trilegal: Spread with ILS on top
At Trilegal, which promoted 10 to the partnership in the last four years, partners were more evenly spread out. Four ILS Pune partners at Trilegal stood out, followed by two each from NLSIU and ILI.
Trilegal Delhi partner Anand Prasad said: “We don’t think in terms of alumni and we don’t even want clusters of that nature. Nobody keeps an eye on which law school and there is no special bonding because of law schools. [Everyone] bond[s] with each other.”
“[Although] there are more corporate partners than anything else and at least in the foreseeable future there are to be more corporate partners than in any other practice areas,” he added.
“Once you have been in the system for 7 to 8 years, or 10 years, you are identified by the kind of clients you hold and the competence you hold rather than which institution you are from,” commented Samal.
AZB: NLS & DU
AZB has shown a preference for NLSIU and Delhi University, with three and two partners coming from the colleges in the last four years respectively, out of a total of 10 promotions.
The firm also promoted one each from GLC and Nalsar. The firm declined repeated requests for confirmation of partners or comment.
Undergraduate alma mater of Big Six law firm partners since 2009
| Amarchand | JSA | Khaitan | Luthra | AZB | Trilegal | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NLSIU Bangalore (est 1987) | 19 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 38 |
| Delhi University | 7 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 24 |
| GLC Mumbai | 2 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 21 | |
| ILS Pune | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 16 | |
| NLIU Bhopal (1997) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 7 | ||
| Symbiosis Pune | 2 | 4 | 1 | 7 | |||
| Nalsar Hyderabad (1998) | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |||
| NUJS Kolkata (1999) | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |||
| Bangalore University | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| Nagpur Univ | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||
| Cardiff University (UK) | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||
| New Law College, Mumbai | 1 | 1 | |||||
| Warwick (UK) | 1 | 1 | |||||
| LSE (UK) | 1 | 1 | |||||
| Oxford (UK) | 1 | 1 | |||||
| Amity Law School | 1 | 1 | |||||
| Kerala Law Academy | 1 | 1 | |||||
| Jiwaji University, Gwalior | 1 | 1 | |||||
| Vanderbilt College | 1 | 1 | |||||
| University of Wales | 1 | 1 | |||||
| Lucknow University | 1 | 1 | |||||
| Army Institute of Law Mohali | 1 | 1 | |||||
| KLE Law Society | 1 | 1 | |||||
| SRJC Of Law | 1 | 1 | |||||
| Meerut University | 1 | 1 | |||||
| 48 | 35 | 23 | 19 | 10 | 11 | 145 |
Source: Legally India archive stories & research by Legally India.
Additional research by Abhyuday Bhotika.
Further analysis of four years of partnership promotions to follow.
Comments
The point is that NLS has a massive headstart, which this analysis proves.
Further analysis will follow about seniority and other factors in these partnership promotions.
Why 2009 as the cut-off date? We all know that the firms you've compiled the data for generally promote to partnership in roughly [b]7 years or more[/b]. So, if [b]NLS[/b] had graduating batches [b]starting from 1992[/b], [b]NLIU from 2002[/b], [b]NALSAR from 2003[/b] and [b]NUJS from 2005[/b], then the earliest cut-off period which can actually assist any comparison would be [u][b]not earlier than 2012[/b][/u]!!
By including anything more, younger yet well performing law schools look as if they are very poor performers. NLS grads have been making partners since 1999 (or even earlier, in a nascent market). In 2009, NALSAR grads would ideally have been at the brink of partnership, and NUJS grads would have been 4/5th year associates.
Now, the analysis is also lacking in context. If NALSAR and NUJS grads made partner in 7 straight years, but NLS and NLIU grads made partner in 10 years, statistically in your report NLS and NLIU would still come out leaps and bounds ahead!
Interesting report, but I think this could use some fine tuning. Well done LI for getting the info together, but I do think this is premature to draw conclusions from. Perhaps there's a future report in the making which would justifiably extract some compelling analysis. Cheers!
Maybe it helps to understand that we didn't set out to compare NLS with Nalsar, NLIU or anyone else, but merely to identify trends.
The 2009 cut off is therefore somewhat arbitrary, and was picked solely because that's how long back we have historical stories about partnership promotions on LI, which is really the only authoritative source available, short of asking firms themselves.
Comparing the younger ones with NLSIU and the older law schools, for such a story, is not fair.
Go get a lesson in statistical reporting, Kian.
The point is that NLS has a massive headstart, which this analysis proves.
Further analysis will follow about seniority and other factors in these partnership promotions.[/quote]
Kian, looks like you are the biggest troll on LI. Somehow this makes sense since you are always trying to provoke people.
There is nothing controversial about my statement, as far as I can see: NLS does have a massive headstart over the other nationals, which are likely to slowly displace other non-nationals, if the historical trends we've found with NLS are any indication.
We never said our statistical analysis was perfect, but I think it produced some interesting and useful data which was reported in an unsensational and straightforward manner.
Best wishes,
Kian
Thanks for explaining :)
Dude, I think even you need a lesson or two in statistical reporting! DU and GLC were formed aeons before NLS and their comparison with NLS, in the manner the article does, is perfectly fine - it shows how GLC and DU have lagged behind despite being much older! Now, the comparison between NLS and other law schools is unfair simply because the younger ones have just not aged enough to warrant any sort of comparison, whether with NLS or other older ones!
Case in point ILS Law College, which doesn't have any of these firms come down for placements, and a majority of the students at their jobs through a contact or as a result if an internship at the firm.
Yes I remember not only Legally India but even colleges like NALSAR and NUJS and others which keep belittling NLIU in terms of placements who might just be in for a shock. They keep talking about NLIU placements being bad in comparison but it shows here that NLIU graduates could hang around and stick around in an atmosphere the others clearly cannot. Attrition rate in terms of graduates from NLS, NALSAR and NUJS is very high as I have seen where NLIU capitalises, whether recruited as a fresher or later being recruited as a lateral. The only difference is where colleges like NUJS keep blowing their own trumpet, NLIU students don't. We can anyway see the stark difference in the past 3 years recruitment (including current) in these colleges. It is nice to see GLC and ILS there too.
This piece appears to be solely to generate more hits on this website and to encourage law school students to start fighting over which school is better. Come on LI...we really expect better from you. This is sad..
http://www.legallyindia.com/201309274005/Law-firms/khaitan-promotes-two-to-associate-partner-again
Also, we did not have any biographical information on him - could you confirm when he graduated from NLIU by any chance?
Thanks.
http://www.legallyindia.com/201309274005/Law-firms/khaitan-promotes-two-to-associate-partner-again
Also, we did not have any biographical information on him - could you confirm when he graduated from NLIU by any chance?
Thanks.[/quote]
Kian, graduated in 2003
http://www.legallyindia.com/201309274005/Law-firms/khaitan-promotes-two-to-associate-partner-again
Also, we did not have any biographical information on him - could you confirm when he graduated from NLIU by any chance?
Thanks.[/quote]
Is it added to NLIU's tally?
For instance, Ankit at Wadia, Vishnu at AZB, Aakash at Khaitan.
For instance, Ankit at Wadia, Vishnu at AZB, Aakash at Khaitan.[/quote]
I dont understand the reference to these three individuals in these three firms. Most of the partners in these firms are non-family. For instance, I don't know of any family running Wadia! Am I missing something here?
"NLSIU Bangalore, Delhi University (DU), GLC Mumbai and ILS Pune have given India’s biggest law firms more than three times as many internally promoted partners than most other younger law schools since 2009". We do not need a pie-chart to understand this. They have given Indian law firms three times as many partners as most of them have been in existence much longer than the other law colleges. If one draws up the statistics of which law colleges have contributed the most number of judges to the senior judiciary of India, none of the law schools would appear on that list. Does that mean that the law schools are not capable of producing judge-worthy lawyers--NO!! It means that they are too young for their students to be elevated as judges. The same applies to all other law schools who have been in existence post 1999. Their graduates are too young to make a significant contribution to the partnership of law firms in India.
This article establishes nothing.
Kian the real issue here is the quality of Indian law schools but you are just too lazy to do a report comparing infrastructure, faculty, student satisfaction etc.
then why do so many NLU grads apply for an LLM at LSE?
Pankaj Agarwal and Mrinal Kumar.
If anyone can help that'd be very useful and we can update our records.
Best wishes,
Kian
Thanks for explaining :)[/quote]
First...this isnt good reporting cause its obviously incomplete facts..which in this context is unpardonable. So the statistics are itself not accurate. Second..as someone else pointed out this is mischievous reporting. Not expected from LI. Serves no palpable purpose apart from causing law school students to fight. If the purpose is to show which law school produces more partners..it fails at multiple levels cause it does not consider multiple factors..this reporting is downright mischievous..enough for me to stop reading this website which clearly has its own warped agenda. Shameful stuff. And kian feeling proud about this. .like india tv... goodbye LI.
Nowhere do we imply that one college is better or whatever those who enjoy law school slugfests suggest. Nor is this intending to incite a slugfest.
We have attempted to collect and publish facts about the recent partnership make ups at the largest law firms so that people can stop resorting to anecdote and gut feelings about what is actually happening.
If you want to draw any conclusions from this data they should some of be the following, in my opinion: NLS clearly supplied a the majority of the talent pool to the biggest law firms, which is now growing up. GLC and DU were perhaps displaced from that role by NLS in recent years. It will be interesting how trends change in future years, and if this data is anything to go by, NLIU, Nalsar, and NUJS alumni are starting to also become part of the law firm 'establishment'.
However, the head start of NLS is clearly huge and the network of highly placed alumni who indirectly increase the clout of the college will mean that any newcomers (including the very newest nationals) will face an uphill struggle. It may also go some way to explaining the continuing relevance of GLC, for example, which in many ways has long been an academically unremarkable institution.
Also worth noting is that each firm appears to have slightly different compositions and talent pools, apparently reflecting different recruitment strategies or perhaps subconscious preferences in the current time partnerships.
We would love to do more in depth research on the psychology and importance of groups and contacts in the career of lawyers, so this is just a start hopefully.
Best wishes
Kian
Kian, I have nothing against the article and found it quite informative, but I doubt the sanity of this assertion! Any reason to suggest that associates [u]will[/u] face struggle in leading firms (Big 6 if you prefer) due to lack of clout? Your article itself quotes people from the profession who say that career progression is not linked to [i]alma mater[/i]. Therefore, if you suggest otherwise in affirmative terms (i.e. [u]will[/u]), readers will wonder what you are basing the assertion on.
Times have changed and law school education is just a fillip to achieve bigger, better things in life and have a life while you are at it. Wish more people realize this.
Dude, IT once claimed ILS Pune was No. 1!? ROTFL
Apologies, not intended to sound that way. Just pointing out that firstly many of these firms have a dearth of graduates from NLS which distorts the playing field and promotion of second or third grade talent from other places is not an indicator of how well those other law schools are. it like saying that Pakistani cricketers are worse than Ranji players only because Paki players dont get selected into IPL teams and the Ranji guys do. Secondly, even the few promotions that have been doled out are quite obviously for the sake of assuring the associates from the other law schools that they have a chance in theory of being partner, and not so much a reflection of their law schools.
You are exactly right! I agree to that!
LI will censor the names but I agree, these guys are just showpieces, propped up by the proprietors to give semblance of equal treatment. Theres a strong NLSIU bias which is bloody maddening but its even more maddening when they promote these NUJS/NALSAR guys who are so pathetic in their work. Also, you're spot on regarding Khaitan example they promote NLIU and now couple of guys from NUJS in the absence of any takers from NLS so the comparison is fundamentally flawed.
LI will censor the names but I agree, these guys are just showpieces, propped up by the proprietors to give semblance of equal treatment. Theres a strong NLSIU bias which is bloody maddening but its even more maddening when they promote these NUJS/NALSAR guys who are so pathetic in their work. Also, you're spot on regarding Khaitan example they promote NLIU and now couple of guys from NUJS in the absence of any takers from NLS so the comparison is fundamentally flawed.[/quote]
What pathetic NALSAR people are you talking about? As on date, this is an exhaustive (to the best of my knowledge) list of partners from NALSAR, firm-wise:
Amarchand - Anshuman Jaiswal
AZB - Varoon Chandra
Trilegal - Pawan Kumar
Luthra - None
Khaitan - None
S&R - None
Pathak - None
JSA - None
Anshuman and Varoon have a fairly glowing track record and Pawan was a lateral hire at partner level. Who, pray tell, failed to meet your stringent standards for partnership promotions?
The truth is, as someone from NLIU pointed out as a criticism, and some idiot junior of mine pseudo-idealistically bragged about, NALSAR alumni are prone to attrition. We've seen it happen for years now, but something just makes NALSAR people quit a LOT. Even the two NALSAR alumni Amarchand partners Aishwarya and Amita who DID make partner last year, quit this year.
"Will you still love me when I'm no longer young and beautiful?"
That said, very interesting analysis though there is hardly any bias when you are choosing a partner in these times. If they are good, they make it. If they are average, they still make it in some more time.
Agreed. But mostly, it's people who have worked at bigger firms who usually start their own firms.
STALWARTS OF THE LEGAL FRATERNITY
1. Abhay Ahuja, Partner, Abhay Ahuja & Associates 16. Aliff Fazelbhoy – Partner, ALMT Legal
2. Ameet Hariani – Partner, Hariani & Co. 17. Amit Tambe – Partner, Trilegal, Mumbai
3. Farzana & Zubin Behramkamdin, Partners, FZB & Associates 18. Gautam Bhat, Partner, Platinum Partners, Mumbai
4. Ameet Naik & Ashok Paranjpe, Partners, Naik & Paranjpe 19. Himanshu Kane - Partner, W.S. Kane & Co.
5. Bahram Vakil - Founding & Managing Partner, AZB & Partners 20. M.P. Bharucha, Senior Partner, Bharucha & Partners
6. Bharat Vasani, Group General Counsel, Tata & Sons 21. Muzaffaral Federal - Senior Partner, Federal & Rashmikant
7. Bijal Ajinkya - Partner, Nishith Desai Associates 22. Nihar Mody – Partner, Platinum Partners, Mumbai
8. Bindi Dave - Partner, Wadia Ghandy & Co. 23. P. H. Parekh, Founding Partner, P. H. Parekh & Co.
9. C. Rashmikant - Senior Partner, Federal & Rashmikant 24. Raian Karanjawala, Managing Partner, Karanjawala & Co.
10. Dara Mehta, Partner, Little & Co. 25. Sanjay Ashar - Partner, Crawford Bayley & Co.
11. Djena Sunawalla – Partner, Wadia Ghandy & Co. 26. Dhaval Vasanji - Partner, Kanga & Co.
12. Cyril Shroff & Shardul Shroff - Managing Partners, Amarchand Mangaladas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co. 27. Nishith Desai - Founding Partner, Nishith Desai Associates
13. Anil Harish & Shobha Jagtiani, Managing Partners, D.M. Harish & Co. 28. H.D. Pithawalla, Solicitor & Advocate, Supreme Courts of India, Hong Kong & England & Professor, GLC
14. Hamid Mochhala – Managing Partner, Wadia Ghandy & Co. 29. Somashekhar Sunderesan - Partner, J. Sagar Associates, Mumbai
15. Shardul Thacker - Partner, Mulla & Mulla Craigie Brunt & Caroe 30. Tehmten Daruwalla, Partner, Jehangir Gulabbhai & Billomoria & Daruwalla
Frivolous comparison by the readers. The story is a statement of fact and not a qualitative analysis. At best it can be seen an indicative measure to gauge which college most A firms are recruiting from.