New high court building will ensure litigants and litigators get clean toilets, a better canteen, free drinking water for poor litigants who come from far off villages, places to sit, access for disabled, VC ready court rooms and not some sad jugaad etc. This is absolute basic. High court has survived in the current building for so long only because of heavy south bombay lobbying. It is shameful. We are finally getting something new. Design is secondary. But now we have these elite comments coming in. Want to get rid of colonial hangover? Start with getting rid of making lawyers wear band and gown. Also maybe try getting your head out of where sun don’t shine. “Hard agree” it seems.

A very nuanced topic i must say.

But honestly if senior designation or even AOR designation was to go away, the whole story that coaching centres, schools, parents etc sell that law is one of the most financially lucrative position would be gone.

Learning, Grind, Hustle is there to exist from the day you enter into the profession and the day you exit but money is the one keeping it worth. If seniors like Ram Jethmalani, Kapil Sibal, Harish Salve etc were not crorepati's, majority of the law aspiring folks would just walk away towards othe fields in the blink of an eye imho.

Totally empathise - I hate to see how a lawyer no matter how technically sound can be considered a 'top' lawyer only if he or she is willing to burn the midnight oil (often times not even caused due to emergencies but poor planning either by the lawyer or the client). I've seen mums on my instagram feed boasting about working at family functions and giving their kid '1' hour of time daily and acting as if that's supreme sacrifice. No, you CANNOT be a good lawyer and a great spouse. I know a lawyer friend of mine who has a great relationship with his wife but has good work boundaries, and no he doesn't work in India. But law as a profession is notorious for insane working hours every day.

Working in a T1 firm and there's honestly not much time to get your personal life together at all. How am I supposed to explain to my date that I can only meet them only for a few hours over a weekend, that too assuming a single email doesn't ruin the weekend. Let's not even talk about how difficult it is to attend family functions etc

It may be recalled that on December 2, sharply reacting to a petition filed in relation to Rohingyas, a bench led by CJI Kant askedif there was any order issued by the Government of India declaring Rohingyas as 'refugees'.

"Where is the order of the Government of India declaring them (Rohingyas) as refugees? Refugee is a well defined legal term and there is a prescribed authority by the Government to declare them. If there is no legal status of a refugee, and somebody is an intruder, and he enters illegally, do we have an obligation to keep that fellow here?" remarked the CJI.

Taking objection these remarks, particularly the equation of Rohingya refugees to “illegal intruders digging tunnels” to enter India, the former judges have written to CJI Kant, stating,

“The remarks from the bench are contrary to core constitutional values. They have had the effect of dehumanizing Rohingya refugees whose equal humanity and equal human rights are protected by the Constitution, our laws and by international law.”

Objection has been taken particularly to the bench's reported statements questioning the legal status of the Rohingya as refugees, equating them with intruders illegally entering India, the references to persons who dig tunnels to enter illegally, the questioning whether such entrants are entitled to food, shelter and education, the invocation of domestic poverty as a reason to deny basic constitutionally guaranteed entitlements to refugees and the suggestion that they be spared third degree measures, in their treatment in India.

https://x.com/LiveLawIndia/status/1996885548103762314

https://www.livelaw.in/amp/top-stories/supreme-court-former-judges-advocates-cjar-open-letter-to-cji-surya-kant-over-unconscionable-remarks-on-rohingya-refugees-312375

Been using LI for years and have been incorporating all the good advice. Combining the advice with my workaholic nature and a lot of luck, I'm fortunate enough to make a name for myself in my university and all the former workplaces.

Doing well but I need to know what is to be done in the next 2.5 years in order to secure a good placement offer from a good chamber. The problem I'm facing is that my NLU is a fairly new university and we don't really have any alumni choosing the road not taken (CBSE reference).

I don't want to indulge myself with law firms in general because I'd rather prefer peanuts over compromising my growth as an advocate. (I thank god and my parents for making me able to take this option)

I know it's unrealistic for me to wish to earn a living despite being a first-gen advocate and opting for litigation but there must be some place in Delhi giving fair remuneration.

So far I'm targeting AOR offices (given I liked their work culture) and/or senior advocate chambers where they have their in-house AORs. I want to become an AOR and set up my own chamber 10 years down the line.

O wise people of LI, enlighten me with your wisdom as you've done for the past few years.

Her math: a full US degree that costs around Rs 2.5 crore today could swell to nearly Rs 10 crore over 16 years if you factor in about 5% annual education inflation and 4% rupee depreciation against the dollar.

https://www.ndtvprofit.com/trending/inr-hits-90-radhika-gupta-says-you-may-need-rs-10-crore-just-for-your-childs-us-degree

You clearly don't understand how this country actually works.

There was a corporate lawyer in ▮▮▮ who was regularly donating mega bucks to the TMC through electoral bonds right from the time that scheme was introduced.

This was even reported by Legally India, and nothing came of it.

Naturally, you'd assume he must have been some ultra-connected senior equity partner with decades of experience under his belt. But let me bring you back to reality. At the time, he was a newly minted partner at a ▮▮▮-one ▮▮▮ corporate firm—▮▮▮

There's a lot going on under the hood.

Ye India hai, bhai/ bahen !

I know the young heir of a small family firm who booked the Oberoi banquet hall for his baby son’s first birthday party. The hall was split into a section for kids and adults. The adult section had a concert by a Padma Shri awardee classical musician and premium single malts flowing like water.

This law firm is small and most people won’t even have heard of it. He pays his juniors 10K a month. 😅

From the perspective of the 4-prong test from Puttuswamy, there's probably no way to actually implement it legally, since it's the most intrusive and least proportional way of preventing fraud. But realistically, we'll see other technologies like 'SIM Binding' and practices like recording of IMEI numbers before sale, emerge from the Telecommunications Act and it's rules since those involve the regulation of Network Equipment Providers and Telecom Equipment makers. It's actually very likely that the GOI will monitor phones on a tower level instead since they can't force a pre-install. This is just speculation however.

I suspect the government will try to implement this anyway through the backdoor / hook / crook, which really worries me. But would it be legal / permitted by right to privacy? And if it's not, would the Supreme Court want to do anything about it? Is there any precedent to suggest they would?

Or is it more likely to fail because manufacturers like Apple won't implement it? https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/what-is-indias-politically-contentious-sanchar-saathi-cyber-safety-app-2025-12-02/

Cheapo Indian / Chinese phone makers probably won't care though.

3rd Year here. Kindly guide me. Internships thus far has been in Litigation and One Intl. firm in GC/M&A. I want to tailor this into an M&A/GC type of CV. I have an internship lined up at a t2 firm for M&A this month. What should i prioritise? I have a decent CGPA and nothing else. I want to get ahead but i do not know where to go from here.

What should i be focusing on?

Yes, people do. How common layoffs are, however, is difficult to state with certainty because (i) firms prefer to not comment on reasons for the termination of the engagement barring in cases of extreme performance or character lapses, and (ii) attorneys prefer to represent that they resigned voluntarily and lateraled out, to save face (and many firm HRs counsel attorneys being let go to specifically frame it this way on email, etc., for this reason). Anecdotally speaking, even accounting for the lack of candor among people having been laid off, layoffs are neither routine nor very commonplace.

However, they do occur. At the junior level, the usual reason is non-performance, which can include lack of sufficient availability on several occasions (e.g., if Associate X is constantly turning down work, not billing enough, being unavailable beyond usual office hours (which like it or not, comes with territory)), shoddy work (weak or insufficiently rigorous legal analysis on advisory mandates or litigation -- the extreme example of which includes misapplying statutes, using obsolete statutes, overlooking major precedents, etc., as well as the more garden variety lack of attention to detail, sloppy writing (bad English, incorrect grammar, syntax) -- by reference to class-year linked benchmarks. Senior lawyers typically expect juniors to learn on the job, consistent with lawyering being an apprenticeship-based profession, and the inability and/or unwillingness to learn (particularly, learn from one's mistakes) over and over, can cause performance issues. Repeating the same mistakes is the textbook example of a performance issue that warrants eventual firing. The less common reason is lack of personality fit (e.g., lack of polish, demonstrated and repeated inability or unwillingness to play well with colleagues - both senior and junior). Sometimes, it could also simply be a function of there not being enough work to justify keeping someone on, though firms tend to be a lot more loathe to layoff attorneys for temporary economic reasons.

As a senior, the rope becomes much smaller. And business case can become a stronger basis for layoffs. Without knowing which year you are, and the kind of firm you work in (I can only speak to the so-called Tier 1 firms, having worked in two of them, but understand that recruitment and termination modalities materially vary), it is difficult to state any more conclusively.

Hi, I need some insights. I’m sure other people can too benefit out of this.

I’m definitely not an early riser to realising that WLB > More Money.

As a law student, I was just about the cha-ching. But as I’m graduating, now I’m in a place where long hours are A NORM. Even though I might earn good, I would like to reach home at a respectable time and get other shit done. Hope some of you can relate.

This is not about comfort or being lazy, I have seen too many health issues due to stress and long working hours. Long working hours are cool when there is an execution or a filing or any urgent business but daily? Pls no.

If you all can please help me by putting your company, timings/ working hours and team.

Eg - xyz & Co. , 9-7pm, m&a

Law firms and In House people, please help a lad out.

Yes, correct. We need to look at the data minus OBC groups: Yadav, Meena, Jat etc. Please see this report from nearly 20 years ago:

One in three Other Backward Class households across India maintains a lifestyle and assets representing the highest and second highest wealth brackets, the latest national family health survey has revealed.

While 36 per cent of OBC households are in the highest and second highest wealth quintiles, this proportion is 26 per cent for Scheduled Castes, and only 13 per cent for Scheduled Tribes, the NFHS 2006 has said. The proportion of general category households is 58.5 per cent.

“As far as economic status is concerned, the OBCs are much better off than the SCs or STs,” said Kamala Gupta, professor of urban studies at the International Institute of Population Sciences and chief co-ordinator of the survey.

The proportion of wealthy OBCs has become a controversial issue since the government announced last year it would introduce 27 per cent reservation for OBCs in educational institutions. While anti-reservation activists have been demanding a reservation system that takes into account wealth, the government has maintained that it is not in favour of excluding “creamy layer” OBCs from reservations.

https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/rich-list-fodder-for-quota-fire-1-in-3-obcs-is-wealthy/cid/675668

What about just the SC and ST? How do the figures look once OBCs are taken out? Also what about DNTs? Maybe a truly independent and thoroughgoing study should be done after 2047.

Yes reservations should reviews. But to say that over 5000 years of caste based discrimination can be nullified with 75 yrs of reservation is a bit of a stretch. We aren't talking about certain SC and ST groups hogging the civil services and then playing dirty tricks to stop other SC, ST claimants from rising.

Hi, I am a final year student from a decent private college and have been fully focused on IPR. I have done numerous internships at both top tier and boutique firms. I currently have opportunities with mid-sized IP firms, but I’m hoping to eventually break into a tier-1 firm like Anand or Remfry. Since I don’t really have contacts in the legal field, I’d love any advice or direction you can share on how to make that happen.

You are either allotted a topic or are allowed to give a list from which your team partner will pick one. At the end of the month- you are supposed to give a presentation which can last about an hour depending on the number of questions asked. Also prepare your CV thoroughly as that is something that can come- at the end of the day, they are assessing a whole.

Coz I feel this is an under discussed but very important issue. For all the talk about successful NLU alumni, we should dig deeper and see which schools they are from. And if DU/Amity/Symbi alumni from the same school are doing very well, then maybe the school and its networks deserve credit: not necessarily the college.

It does not get better. I used to frown at all the posts which called CM toxic and mind numbing. I am stuck now. In a place where there is no money, long hours, dumb work, toxic seniors. Trying desperately to get out. Idk if I’ll be able to get out of CM but this place hopefully. Please choose carefully. I used to be great at research, now my skills are bad and rusty, thanks to CM. I like CM but I think the long hours and monotonous work is eh. Choose carefully, and if going with CM, always choose a good place. Sorry for the rant.

Sorry about your experience man, it's brutal out there. Keep an eye on openings in better teams with better people. Earning a little more than your peers means shit of the people you work with are terrible. Keep at it, I hope you find a good place to work, even if it takes you long.

This is true and then god forbid if you are from a T-1 college. Then they would automatically assume that the fact you started from a T-2 firm means you were less than your peers and therefore not selected for a T-1 at the first instance. Also you are right when you say they hire their type. Most of them hire for fit and not technical know-how. The difference would also be in the manner of testing right- the level of scrutiny would be more for you vs. a nepo kid or even someone who is read 'posh, suave and polished'. Anyone who says these firms care about conscientiousness, merit or hardwork is simply delusional. Also pro tip: Don't sound too sincere or come across as too conscientious about work. These places certainly don't give two hoots about these things. (Infact, they actively hate people who are like that because it makes them look bad) Plenty of incompetent SAs too abound these firms and you would usually find others clearing up their mess. These people come from wealth and privilege and therefore get special treatment. I wished I had joined some more meritocratic profession, but alas stuck in muck now.

Especially the HRs. They don’t understand the law. They don’t understand the quality of work of a Partner/Senior Advocate/Boutique Firm. They only understand Tier(s) of Firms without having any understanding whatsoever towards the nature of work done within those and that people outside of those select few Firms may also be equally capable, if not more.

Merit in law is not something that can be scrutinised by most of these existing HRs, who have broadly adopted traditional corporate hiring practices to this field, without understanding the nuances of the profession.

Greetings,

I’m a fifth-semester student at one of the lower-tier NLUs and have my internship break in January, but I’m unable to secure an internship. I have a fairly decent CV and have previously interned at the High Court and the ASG’s chambers at the Supreme Court. I’m competent skill-wise as well, with experience in legal research and drafting.

I’ve applied at approximately 50–100 places, but all I receive is, “Sorry, please apply in six months, we don’t have slots,” or, “We only consider fourth-year applicants,” or the classic no replies.

If you can consider me for an internship or suggest an alternative recourse, I’d be thankful.

Regards.

You can reach out to me on arvisislookingforinternship@gmail.com

Mahua’s husband is not geriatric by any means! He is 15 years older than her, not 25-30 years. So many marriages among the rich and famous have a 10-15 year age gap, especially in Hollywood. Big deal. Even Trump is 24 years older than Melania.

Don’t shame women for falling in love with older guys. Older guys offer maturity and financial stability.