Cap marks is a very very lucrative practice for law firms. CAM alone has like 100+ lawyers. If this amendment was supposed to 'kill' the area, we would have seen all

The Iran war is again just representative of how cyclical the industry is. Last year also till May the amount of listings were low, but have shot up later.

Post Covid, the amount of work inflow has grown quite steeply for a practice area that is so boring and mundane. However, there's been a growing amount of scepticism about its future, at least for the next few years.

To start with, SEBI recently introduced the MB Regulations (link to a discussion on this platform - https://www.legallyindia.com/convos/topic/463542-did-sebi-just-end-the-cap-marks-practice-at-law-firms). While there have been reassurances that it does not 'kill' the practice area, it definitely does take a hit on the components being billed. Moreover, since core MB work would now have to be worked up internally, the amount being shelled out for work other than drafting and DD would dip. I could be wrong about this though; please correct me if I am.

Secondly, an AI boom is around the corner. While it is a common concern across all practice areas, cap marks appears to be impacted more due to the generic and clerical nature of work. Most of the work until an SA level has been DD anyway, something AI could take over with ease. While other areas require some, or often a lot, application of law, cap marks requires it disproportionately lesser. Wondering how teams would deploy and get work done with Claude in minutes which would take nights and weeks.

Lastly, the overall geopolitical and economic conditions appear bleak. Markets have weakened post the Iran war and may go lower. While we do have some big IPOs lined up for later this year, the number of companies looking to hit the bourses goes down in a stagnant or bearish market. Will be important to see how much new work comes in over the next year or so.

Overall, do we see Cap Marks hirings dropping this year in comparison to other teams. Insiders (pun intended), please share your wisdom.

Hint in this list, after ▮▮▮…

https://cdnbbsr.s3waas.gov.in/s3ec0490f1f4972d133619a60c30f3559e/uploads/2026/03/2026031688.pdf

Why not, I’ll do this, it is an anonymous forum and I can’t talk about this with others in my life, except parents and spouse.

Lawyer (corporate transactions) for 20 years. 60 crores networth. From profession + investment returns. No family money included. Feels pretty good. I expect a few of my peers are around the same or even higher net worth.

Won’t be giving any more details or answering any questions.

the same people saying "CLAT rank doesn't really measure merit" are also saying "NRI kids turned down merit seats at NLIU, RMLNLU etc", but wait, those merit seats are also allocated by CLAT rank? so which is it? either the rank means something or it doesn't. one can't use it as a badge of honour when it suits you and dismiss it when it doesn't. and the "NRI is better than caste quota" point is just whataboutism. one bad system existing doesn't justify another. that's not an argument, that's a deflection.

also someone above already suggested just auctioning the seats with a minimum rank cutoff. if it's purely a revenue mechanism, which everyone in this thread has basically admitted, then at least do it transparently. the current setup is just a polite fiction

https://www.livemint.com/market/ipo/ipo-sebi-deadline-equity-market-11774330660689.html

Any views on the same?

I wouldn't say you're less than anybody, however in the eyes of recruiters (assuming you'd want yourself a corporate job), BALLB students are viewed much more favourably (which i think is also fair from their perspective because students pursuing 5 year course have more breaks to intern and learn the work done by corporate law firms). The only decent place to do 3 year llb of you want to get into a corporate law firm is at NLS, where atleast you get a fair shot at landing a job in a tier 1 law firm as long as you keep your grades in top 10% of your batch.

I'm doing a 3+3 program from Jindal Global Law School in which i have to do 3 year BA in Legal Studies and then 3 year llb , i opted for it bcoz 5 year course seat in JGLS got filled and i don't wanna take drop and wanted to study here only so choosen this . Am I same as 5 year course people after my both degrees or I am less ?

Hey guys, I have been working at a t1 for a year now in M&A after obtaining a PPO, I want to make a change and work with the disputes team, I am fine even taking a paycut to a t2, is such a switch feasible ideally within my firm itself or between firms, can someone with no disputes experience even in internships apart from early on in 2 internships and no drafting at all in disputes manage to grasp the work done by the disputes team.

If possible please drop a throwaway email to contact if u have done the same or know anyone who has done the same

Heard through the grapevine that there was a major scoring mess-up at the recently-concluded HNLU Moot. Apparently the much-weaker team (one of whose speakers started shouting at the judges) won the round, despite absolutely no one who watched the round expecting them to. Apparently the judges themselves seemed confused when handing out the prize.

The rumour is that there was an error in their Scoring Excel sheet, where the formula inadvertently had a lesser than instead of a greater than, owing to which the weaker team won.

Any HNLU or other people in the loop, is there any truth to this?

Govt is pushing thru with the Transgender Bill. It will take away many rights of the community. Members of the lgbtq community are agitating, discussing, writing, protesting. In this vulnerable moment for them, it is shocking to see not a word from MG/ AK, self declared leaders of the rights movement.

Hi thanks for the reply!!!!

Firstly I'm not anxious really

So the thing about this ragging or PSI tradition seems antithetical or contradictory to me--- since it's supposed to help people make bonds but from where I'm standing it seems like it might only polarize people more like aren't you gonna take someone whom you've seen being ragged, or have tagged take less seriously?

But im pretty sure I'm wrong about that

"I guess the only remaining tradition enforced by almost everyone is finding out a senior’s name and hometown without asking them directly"

Alright.

I hope you're talking about the good ol Za and not ciggs cuz nicotine's like the most addictive substance

You can look for kotla mubarakpur in south-ex, lajpat nagar -2, or govindpuri (if travelling is not a concern for you), whre you will find lot of good options without brokergae or full-month's security. Besides You can also look in Laxmi Nagar, Mayur Vihar 1 or new ashok nagar in that budget.

NLU Delhi gets just ₹10 crores in the 2026-27 Delhi state budget. Remember, overall, Delhi is a 'rich' state, has good finances, and the total allocation towards higher education in the state has gone up by 16.5%. Money speaks. This is the reconfirmation that NLU Delhi is a state university.

OP here. Yes, I used AI to proofread my post. Why? It has been—and will likely remain—the least consequential thing I’ve done in March 2026.

That said, I stand by every word I wrote. The lived experience I shared is entirely real and my own. Using AI to proofread a draft is no crime, as long as the underlying intellectual input is honest.

Which is why I take exception to what feels like a coordinated attack by the mods of LI, marking the post as “Contested.” Come on—get real. I shared an opinion, a lived experience, and my loss of faith in this system—all of which are, no doubt, subjective.

You don't. Indian lawyers and law firms don't get appointed as counsel in investment arbitrations by anyone, at least not in numbers where you could consider it a viable career option and plan your path to it. It is only foreign law firms and lawyers who work on these assignments.

Imagine being so salty about placements when not having a good batch rank. Maybe instead of spewing hate about 180 students anonymously online, you ought to focus on the end sems coming up. There's no reason to be mad at people for competing for the same jobs as you... oh wait, unless you're the firm's last choice, of course.

The work here is good, and when it comes to assignments, seniors do engage you and involve you in matters. However, outside of work, the experience for new joiner is quite different. There’s very little informal interaction, and as a new joiner, you can often feel left out of conversations and team dynamics. It can come across as a bit cliquey at times, which makes it harder to feel comfortable or like you truly belong. While professional engagement is there, the lack of casual communication and inclusivity outside of work does affect the overall experience. This is something senior associates could definitely be more mindful of, as small efforts in making new joiners feel included can go a long way in building a better team environment.