Speaking as someone who did exactly that (many years ago), and is still in London - don't come here for the money or the opportunities. On a PPP basis, the money is better in India, the tax is lower, AND it's a growing economy so there are more opportunities (better chances of making partner and a "big" career if that's what you want).

Things that ARE better here: Much better quality of work, much better training, much less lala family politics in the office and far more professional (politics will always be there anywhere humans work - but much better than Indian family firms). Comfortable life (not rich), no pollution, the power doesn't go out, the streets are clean, the public services (mostly) work without corruption. Basically you can live your life in peace without most the daily hassles of Indian life. Also if it matters to you - far more diverse, much greater range of interesting people from all over the world, incredible cultural opportunities and the chances to pursue any hobby you have (art, music, literature, sports, you name it) with the best people in the world.

Basically you don't come to London for the money - you come for the lifestyle.

Don't worry about nonsense re immigration and racism. No place is perfect but this is probably the least racist place on Earth and in the circles you'll move in as a City lawyer, racism is non existent (and even in other circles, it's mostly a class issue - directed at the illegals coming in boats across the Channel, not high earning City lawyers).

First two reasons are valid.

Third one, I can understand about the anti-immigration mood fluctuations, many people wouldn't want the psychological uncertainty and instability that results from that sort of thing - and yes, it comes with the territory. But this "second class citizen" language is putting this very strongly, and definitely does not reflect my personal experience (I am not saying this to contradict you, but putting forward my own perspective). I live in London and have done so for the last five years (and yes, I read the London Times, Guardian and Financial Times every day, so I definitely don't live under a rock here). But I haven't felt like a "second class citizen", ever. Perhaps it's because of my visible disability, but in many ways, I have felt more like a first class citizen in Britain than I ever did in India (and I spent about 80% of my life in India - wasn't one of the privileged [family network-wise and financially] disabled people of earlier generations from India and Israel educated from childhood in the UK).

Have given written assessment plus 2 rounds for lateral switch to trilegal. Response has been positive from what I could gauge. However no response from the firm as of yet. If anyone could shed some light on what the process is usually like (timeline, further rounds etc) it would be of great help!!! (Mods pls bump this)

This is an apt explanation of the “factor” system. I remember a few years back, the variable component in my monthly compensation was 40k. Out of this, every month I would get 15k, 20k, 25k, but never the full component. By the end of the year, I had lost about 200k in that year. Guess what my bonus that year was? It was 200k.

So, what was deducted from my monthly compensation in the entire year, was paid back as bonus. As a result, I just got my full salary for that year, but effectively, no bonus. This starts to hurt more as people progress to AP and Partner as the variable component increases. This is one of the main reasons, many people leave at PA and AP level. No doubt LKS folks are one of the nicest bunch to work with. But the compensation and incentive structure needs a serious rethink.

The profit sharing you are referring to is the factor system at LKS. The monthly collection target for each team is set at 3x the team’s monthly cost. This is how it works - from PA and above, 20% of the monthly compensation is variable. Consider this - if a team’s monthly cost is 1 million, the monthly collection target is 3 million. In this team, if your monthly pay is 100k, you will get 80k as fixed pay every month. It’s the 20k component (20% variable) which will vary. If your team achieves its full monthly target i.e. 1x, you get full 20k. If your team achieves 2x target, you get 40k, and so on. This is a good policy on paper. The reality is different. If your team achieves only 50% of the target, you get only 10k, and so on. So, you don’t just share profit, you suffer the loss also. The 3x target is anyway high for every team and very few teams manage to achieve it and if they do, it is limited to only a few months in a year and this phenomenon of exceeding target is generally seen in Jan to March period when pressure to collect fee from clients is high.

Do you agree with the view of Dhruv Rathee, Afra Khanun Sherwani of the Wire, and various intellectuals and influencers that it is an average film that demonises Muslims and does propaganda for the BJP?

https://www.cnbctv18.com/photos/entertainment/dhurandhar-becomes-highest-grossing-single-language-indian-film-top-10-indian-box-office-hits-19816263.htm/amp

I see quite a bit of MBA vs Law in here. Well, I'm a guy who did neither. I got into a top 5 law school in my second CLAT attempt but didn't end up loving it. Left in a week or so and continued with my undergrad ( I was already a year into it). But I'm still in touch with some lads from this NLU.

Fast forward a few years, I got into XLRI. Again, didn't end up going. This time because I'd just started up my own thing. Most of my friends went to top b schools and I have an excellent idea of what goes on there.

FMCG/CPG programs can be considered the above average outcome for the vast majority. I myself had a HUL PPO even before joining campus through something called UFLP. The pay 35L CTC - with an in - hand of around 2lpm. This is for someone who is, on an average, 24-26 years old. Remember, they've also spent 30-35 lacs all in on their MBA and lost 2 years of pay.

I reckon a lawyer at a T1 takes home 2 lpm by the time they're 25 or so without the student loan. Plus, law firm salaris grow faster than CPG salaries. Also, y'all be really using that 44ADA or whatever it is where you don't really pay a lot of tax. I've been led to believe your take home is like 85-90% of you CTC(I'm not too certain as I don't want to pry on my friends)

Ofc, I am not comparing the IB/PE/VC/HF/AIF/strat consulting/PM roles. These are far and few in between and are a top 20% outcome. A good law firm is far more acheivable and in one's control. Unless you're tired sick of law and want a desperate out, a B school isn't worth it. Atleast for most of y'all.

I am joining a firm at nariman point, looking for flatmates around the same area, maybe marine lines or fort. My office is near vidhan bhavan. Any leads? Any vacancy in a pre occupied flat works too, if anyone else is interested please drop an anonymous email ID so that we can connect.

Just making a general observation applicable to a lot of law school. In the guise of "critical thinking", the hard law component of Indian law schools is being severely diluted. There is little or no focus on drafting. There are very few conferences, elective courses, intra-moots etc on hard law subjects like CPC, CrPC, Company Law, Banking Law, Tax Law, Contract Law etc. In subjects like Constitutional Law or IPC, the study of sources like statutes and case law are cursory. Many of the teachers are busy waging culture wars. For example, to appreciate issues like the CAA, grant of bail to Umar Khalid, sedition etc, we need to stop obsessing over Modi this and Hindutva that. We need to familiarities ourselves with solid legal precedents, maxims, methods of statutory interpretation etc. Think like a lawyer.

The other big problem I see is reliance on sources like Wikipedia, which in turn lead to reliance on sources like the Wire, Caravan etc. That is no substitute for reading law journal articles and case law.

Happy to hear arguments for and against.

😂😂😂🍿🍿🍿

Get ready for an AM Singhvi vs Tushar Mehta fight in the SC tomorrow! But a more serious constitutional question on whether arrests can be made for interfering with an ED raid.

https://www.republicworld.com/amp/india/breaking-ed-raids-i-pac-in-kolkata-mamata-banerjee-rushes-to-pratik-jains-residence

Knowledge becomes powerful when it can be applied effectively, and teaching philosophies associated with UNICCM School ensure that students experience education as preparation for real occupational demands. This reinforces the credibility of academic qualifications.

People who have worked at London/NYC firms - from when do these firms count your PQE? From the year of graduation or from the year of you attaining CoP in India? I graduated in 2023, gave my AIBE in 2024 and got my CoP in 2025. Accordingly, from which year would these firms count my PQE?

The only thing which Projects lawyers are good at is due diligence given how infra/PPP mandates span heftier layers of diligence across common red flags in mergers/PE deals. Despite that, a lot of infra development/bid scenarios dont go through in India. Beyond these issues, the practice is terrible in terms of margin and comes with twice the slog which GC lawyers are required to do.

Next to none, unless you are willing to take a significant cut to your PQE. There is practically not a single aspect (other than general contract law and drafting) that you are good at, and which will be of use in a GC/ M&A team. I say this from experience, as I work very closely with projects teams on projects/ infra M&A matters. You will be lacking knowledge of the companies act and FEMA which is basically the bread and butter for any GC/ M&A lawyer. There are enough nuances in these subjects for any lawyer to take 4-5 years to achieve a level of proficiency sufficient to barely manage a mundane DD or transaction, let along complex structuring. In fact, the reverse happens quite often - where lawyers ditch GC/ M&A to enter other transactional practice areas like real estate, TMT, projects etc.