Working out and being fit will do wonders for starters as clothes naturally look better on a defined body. Try getting pants fully custom made, makes all the difference imo. Get the cloth and go to a competent tailor. Make sure the pant break is exactly on top of the shoes, i.e right at the ankle. This makes all the difference.

Buy good quality shirts, white and powder blue in colour — I prefer from Raymond and Arrow. Get them tailored as well, maybe a pleat to cover the excess fabric. Ensure they are always properly ironed and clean. If you wanna fold your sleeves, there's a method where instead of multiple foldes you just do one long one, that also makes it look tidy.

Use good formal oxford shoes that are regularly polished. Black and dark tan should be enough, witch matching belts if possible. Fornal socks matching the colour or either the pants or the shoes. A good metal watch can help as well.

All this can be for a fairly moderate amount as well. Just ensure they are made for your body.

I am starting my career with a firm and really concerned that I don't have the right "look" for it. I've seen some pictures of the people from the firm and stalked them and they all look so fancy / branded / tailored. It may sound silly but I want to make a good impression. (PS I am a boy).

Hi everyone,

I have been working as a Law Researcher at the Delhi High Court for the past 1.5+ years and now looking to move to a Tier 1 law firm.

During this time..i have worked on matters involving criminal law, white collar crimes, corporate criminal liability, Section 138 NI Act, and IBC.

I am keen to join a firm with a strong white collar/criminal litigation practice. Would really appreciate any suggestions on firms I should look at or teams that are hiring.

Thanks in advance!

The highest paying Indian law firm for freshers is CAM/KCO at 21-22LPA - highest paying among magic circle is Clifford Chance/Freshfields/Links at 76LPA (this is pre SQE - trainee salary). Now, if we were to compute PPP as against the most expensive city in India (Mumbai) and the most expensive city in the UK (London) - the math is that the London trainee earns about 3.5 times more on the face of it.

Approximate PPP adjustment

A reasonable way economists think about this is that the UK price level is roughly 2.3–2.8× India’s (depending on the basket of goods and methodology).

Using a midpoint of 2.5×:

- London trainee:
- ₹76 lakh nominal
- PPP-adjusted purchasing power ≈ ₹30–31 lakh in India

Compared with:

- CAM/KCO fresher:
- ₹22 lakh

The effective purchasing-power gap becomes:

31 ÷ 22 ≈ 1.4×

So after accounting for local prices, the London trainee is closer to 40% better off, not 245% better off.

(ChatGPT did the math)

But really, when the London trainee becomes a NQ solicitor - the difference is steep. And even accounting for PPP, Indian law firm pay is abysmally low compared to UK/US/even Singapore counterparts.

nonsense. us first year grads are typically 27-30 years old and have 4-6 years of (non legal) work experience under their belt. by the time a lawyer is 27 -30 in a good firm in India, should be earning between 40 - 50L. The question is whether 200k at 50% taxation and NY rents and cost of living is comparable to 40-50L in Delhi with delhi costs of living. the objective answer is that 40-50L is a lot more.

even if one were to go a step below to a slightly lesser paymaster at 30-40L, still better than NY.

so cost is not the ideal comparison. independance, prestige, quality of work etc. ought to be the difference (but even that is changing - r u saying a leading M&A partner at CAM has less prestige than an M&A partner at Nixon Peabody? nonsense) , and on the other side there is racism, tougher market, visa etc.

Add the cost of that LLM although it seems to be a fun break year

Yes the difference really is significant. Big Law associates in the US get paid a lot more compared to Tier 1 associates in India (adjusted for purchasing power). The reasons for it come down to (i) the fact that the US is leaps and bounds ahead of India economically while having less than a third of its population, which means the same is true for nearly all professions, and (ii) the significantly higher competition for talent among firms in the US. While the two are interconnected, the Indian legal market is also very arbitrarily restrictive which plays a part in bringing law firm compensation down (at least at the associate levels)

This has aged horribly since MNLU Mumbai is overloaded with admin and logistical issues. You will barely feel the location advantage. The batches live in hostels which are like roughly half an hour away from each other, the student culture has worsened because of this. The professors keep changing like every semester or sometimes during the semester. So I would suggest you to opt people to give a chance to other NLUs.

Actually no I'm not....might get downvoted for this but I have actually enjoyed some part of the work in Cap marks and for the work life balance and attrition thing let us not pretend it's all rainbows and showers in other specializations. PE/VC or B&F for that purpose too have similar work hours but maybe 10% less frequently. At this point even Disputes people are burning the night oil quite often so doesn't really makes a lot of difference.

Simple truths:

1. 2% of law and humanities degree holders will get good jobs

2. 80% of science and business degree holders will get good jobs

3. For nepo kids, all degrees will get fantastic jobs

4. Law and humanities students are better off studying vocational courses like nursing, hotel management etc.

I studied law in the UK at the undergraduate level and have some brief thoughts on what you have asked:

1. Re: Dubai work. I've seen graduates of UK unis getting middle east training contracts in the global law firms. Indeed, one of my best friends from my uni LLB cohort got a Dentons Dubai TC.

2. Would suggest avoiding Middlesex University. It ain't a brand name in the UK, it ain't gonna help you in Dubai either.

I have been working at a boutique firm for the past 2 years. I feel so drained out and exhausted as I have no work life balance. I want to resign and get job somewhere else. But then I am scared to resign without a back up. I want a break for a few months and then resume somewhere else. But everyone is saying that it's a stupid idea to do so.

Let’s not romanticise the past. Ashwath and Shishir were good lawyers, but CAM’s dominance never depended on them, and it certainly doesn’t depend on finding their equivalents. That entire framing is outdated.CAM doesn’t need to replace individuals. People leave. Titles shift. Business cards change.

CAM remains the institution everyone else is still trying to catch up to.The so‑called void exists only in the imagination of those who think firms rise and fall on the shoulders of a couple of personalities. CAM’s market position didn’t wobble for a single quarter after they left. Not one practice area lost Tier 1 status. Not one competitor suddenly became relevant because of these individual moves. If anything, their departure proved the point CAM is built so well that even its strongest alumni can leave without leaving a dent.That’s what an institution looks like. That’s why CAM stays number one. And that’s why the question of equivalents is irrelevant.

Hi,

I have quite a few internships lined up, but I have been told those firms aren't hiring, and it seems to be a waste of my time. I am extremely confused about the hiring process, where there are vacancies and where to apply, etc. Need a list of firms that hire between Aug to Dec mark for BO'27. Would be grateful for any input. Thanks.

Had tried it a decade back when I was a student, CV was taken by some admin person who clearly didn't have any intention of actually sharing it with the relevant person. I have also seen it happening it in my current firm, and extra effort by the applicants goes un-noticed. Don't mean to dissuade you, just sharing basis the experience.

I like the creative thinking and going beyond what most people do. But this particular idea won’t help you. You are much better off putting that effort into networking and researching individual partners and their work and building personal relationships. Plenty of guides online about how to network (basically think of it as building relationships and getting to know lots of people and eventually a job will happen - NOT going to every person you can see at a networking event and asking for a job)

News coming in from NLSIU. Unfortunately 3-year LLB batch has been rejected by many firms. One firm outrightly said they wouldn't consider them even for interview. I don't know after spending close to 15 lakhs what is the point of doing all this. The whole course is because of VC's money minting idea.

That’s called a symbolic fast- like religious people do. Not a hunger strike. A hunger strike requires prolonged refusal of food. Gandhi was on a hunger strike for 21 days, Cesar Chavez for 35, Wangchuk for 26, bobby sands went 66 days without food.

Most people don’t need or have 3 meals a day. If you were born less privileged or if you were a farmer or a blue collar worker today - you would have a heavy breakfast and work through lunch and have a light supper. You can actually look it up - the national average is about 2.5 meals a day - that means at least half the country has less than 2.5 meals a day.

Many people do intermittent fasting where they go 8 hours without food.

When you start working - you will be doing so much you will eventually have a day where you miss lunch or forget to drink water or both- this is just something that’s barely an inconvenience to humans let alone teens and young adults who are in their peak.

To call missing a meal a hunger strike is so ridiculously over the top, I have to wonder if you’re trolling or if this is a psy op by the other side. Honestly shameful. And to then posture as if this is serious political activism- rather than a bid for attention…. Let’s just say I was very encouraged by what happened in delhi this last month about the future of the country and very discouraged by what happened in shamirpet. Just brought back to the ground I suppose.

You’re being silly. Missing a meal is not a hunger strike! Most working professionals have missed meal or not drank water on the odd day— that is not a hunger strike. The trick is in the name- you need to have felt hunger - real hunger - not peckish- not snacky - hunger. I’m beginning to suspect you kids have never felt that in your life.

Most days of the week I and my colleagues go without either a breakfast or a lunch - we might put off some weight gain but I’d be hard pressed to say any of us are really hungry due to the missed meal. And we’re old fogies in our mid thirties- not young people in teens / early twenties.

I talk to cab drivers - most of them have one meal a day - maybe two on a good day- and they do physically demanding labour. You did what ? Missed lunch and had an early supper? Please google hunger strike. The ignorance is astounding.