What would you do?
Dear all,
Confession: I love this site.
Me: I am Crazy Diamond, 24, a qualified company secretary. I’ve undergone the mandatory ICSI 15 months Management Training and have been working as a company secretary in a listed company in Mumbai for last 5 months. In these 20 months of ‘compliance’ I have realised that this is not what I wish to do all my life. I have all the respect in the world for the ICSI and all its members but I think its just not for me.
I am a second year LLB student as well (will complete it in a month). In these two years I have fallen in Love with law. (not an overstatement and I am not even close to LegalPoet). If I had any idea about the CLAT when I was 18, I would’ve cracked it and would’ve graduated in Bangalore.
The point: I wish to join a law firm and work in the field of corporate law. I don’t know about anything else but the only thing I am positive about is that I will prove to be an excellent corporate lawyer if not great.
The questions: Is there any chance that I can make to a good law firm? As I read in the other posts on the site, I know its difficult for a non NLU grad but can the CS degree and the MBL from NLSIU and the 20 months’ work experience be of any use?
What would you do?
P.S. 1: Its not about money, I am willing to work for half the salary that I presently get. (which is quite ok)
P.S. 1.1: Please don’t make this thread a battleground and start the “who is better? NLS or non NLS folks”
P.S.1.2: Please be blunt and spell it out if you think I have no chance of making it to a good law firm.
P.S. 2 Thanks Kian for accepting my Facebook request. Frankly, I didn’t expect that and yes, thanks for legallyindia.com
6 Replies
Crazy Diamond
You are a second year LLB student with a CS qualification and planning to do MBL from NLS. Right? And you want to joing a good law firm?
You can with some effort.
Start working on some quality research papers. Publish them in good journals.
Take internships very very seriously. Tell the guys that you are looking for a job and want to intern with that end.
Intern in a mid-tier firm first. You should get the job somewhere. Corporate lawyers change places frequently. If you are good, you get hired. Who knows, you soon might be at AMSS/ AZB/ Luthra.
Cheerio
LegalPoet,
Thanks for the reply. I am a Second year LLB student and I have already cleared the MBL exams from NLS.
I am already employed as a Company Secretary in Mumbai. So, taking an internship will mean virtually getting unemployed. So my question is whether this gamble is worth it?
I am willing to take this chance. Once I am in my last Sem (i.e six months from now) I will resign and take up an internship.
In the meantime I will write some papers as you suggested.
More views on this by the members will be appreciated.
Hi crazydiamond,
Thanks for your confession, that is nice to hear!
In short - and this may be naive - I think you should have a really good chance at making it into a good firm.
In the UK at any rate, firms would jump at the chance of taking someone with practical corporate experience - commercial awareness, and all…
I guess in the meantime, like LegalPoet says, it is all about shining up your CV. Partly, you will need to show recruiters that you are serious about a career in the law, which you can do best by having relevant work experience, etc.
Of course, Jugaad could always help too :)
http://www.legallyindia.com/643-jugaad
In terms of internships, I think you should consider taking a holiday or sabbatical from your present job to get at least one internship under your belt. Don’t know if that is realistically possible, but it will give you a much better idea of what the job is like in practice and will demonstrate your commitment also.
Any other thoughts, anyone?
Good luck,
Kian
Dear crazydiamond,
I have myself been working for over two years.And as far as this experience of two years says, I agree with Legal Poet and Kian, its all about decorating your Resume and making it more appealing, especially when you want to get into Corporate field. I am myself into litigation for the last two years. In litigation, experience is what matters.
You have a very good profile, CS + MBL from NLS along with pursuing LLB and very good chances of getting into a law firm. But trust me this 2 years have shown me how bad is the competition in the market. You have good chances of getting into a good law firm (I am deliberately not using the word “best”. It takes time to go into the best ones. This is not to disaapoint you). But firms do see your experience at a point of time. Its all about getting in the field and then making a way out yourself by the way you perform and work. Just get in there, work and you will for sure be one of the top corporate lawyers.
Since you are in the your 2nd year right now, its important for you to conecntrate on your internships and publications.
And as Kian says “Of course, Jugaad could always help too: :-) and in these days it always helps.
All the best for your efforts.
Anubha
Thank you all for taking out time to reply. I got my answers. The wheel is now in motion. Your replies have helped more than you think they did.
Regards,
Crazydiamond
Hi CrazyDiamond,
It relieves me to know there more like me here. I am a Company Secretary too graduated last year from ICSI. In my last sem of Faculty of Law, DU.
I must confess those amazing lectures on law n justice all these 3 years were enough to inspire me to get into a law firm asap. I am working as a Compliance Officer too.
I understand the problems you face, no option of intern ship, stakes too high in office due to the post we represent and the killing desire to shift to a law firm even at a lesser package, just for that kick.
I agree with Legal Poet experience n experience n experience.
Even I plan to stick around the post for a while and shift full fledged.
There are quite a lot of opportunities in law firms for CS, you can check the icsi website placement section itself.
All the best