Amazing how much clout SILF has! But at least some other sectors of the economy will benefit, so good luck to them!

https://m.economictimes.com/news/economy/foreign-trade/scotch-whisky-in-spotlight-as-uk-pm-keir-starmer-begins-india-visit/amp_articleshow/124374670.cms

https://www.livelaw.in/amp/law-firms/law-firm-articles-/india-united-kingdom-free-trade-agreement-law-firm-articles-comprehensive-economic-and-trade-agreement-atreus-law-firm-aastha-abhya-301038

This is according to a congratulatory mail sent by the Jindal VC this morning. The Indian media has been focusing a lot on STEM professors in the Stanford/Elsevier list, so it escaped people's attention that Prof Chimni also made the list! Detailed stats here:

https://topscinet.com/scientist_profile/Chimni,%20Bhupinder%20S./1986/?stype=single_year

Prof Chimni's writings are actually pretty old. But I think the reason he is "trending" now and being cited a lot is because TWAIL perspectives are getting more attention, in the age of Trump, BRICS, Israel-Palestine etc. So irrespective of whether he is active nowadays or not, he deserves applause from all of us! 👏👏👏

P.S. Will be good if the moderator can mark this topic in blue -- a fantastic achievement by an academic based in India, rather than abroad.

P.S. 2 Also a sad commentary on the decline in the quality of NUJS VCs since the TMC govt took over. Menon, Chimni and MP Singh in the Left Front years, versus Ishwar Bhat, Amit Talukdar and NK Chakrabarti in the TMC years. 😑

Dont listen to all the nonsense from others here. Harvard is the best institution in the world. It is older than the US itself and richer than some nation states. It will emerge stronger from the present storm which is only a blip in its history. Go there to study if you really want to educate yourself. Don’t look at it in terms of a fancy degree to get a job (Columbia et al for that). Look across all the schools at the university and decide what interests you to most and then focus on getting that. Going to Harvard for the LLM will change your life. All the best. SR.

the place smells like piss (first floor) and is popular only because of the plus location it has which happens to be a stone's throw away from multiple chambers. The food is too expensive and portions are less. Alc is mid, at best. It gets super cramped on weekends and you can only smell eau de sweat.

nationalisation/INI etc. have been tried before, there was a private members bill as well, however, there was never a concerted effort

the vcs are happy to be kings of their own molehill, apart from 3-4 rest neither have any vision nor any desire to improve

I know bad news gets the press, but think of the VCs we had in the past 4-5 years, a flasher, a serial IP cheat, a molester; most have allegations of corruption attached to them. if our leaders are like this what do you think they would do to improve the lot

Have interned in her team, honestly great team to work with!! The team is super nice and sweet and so is the partner. Work varies from proofreading, research, a little bit of DD work but great learning experience. Not sure if they are hiring though, you probably need to ask someone in tri

I have 2 years of internship experience Corp + B&F.

However, my relative, who is a retired lawyer having no skin in the game anymore is asking me to take up his 150 sq. feet office at Fort. Mumbai rent-free and start my independent litigation practice using that space. He will be able to help me in case I have any queries but will not be actively involved in lending a helping hand for day to day work, as mentioned above, he is retired now.

I just graduated and have two options in front of me.

1. Get a job in a law firm in corporate law fields.

2. Start an independent practice using my relative's office space at Fort, Mumbai which will can be used rent free.

Obviously, there used to be a bias towards law firm jobs in comparison to litigation but I am not sure if this bias will remain the same in the time to come because of the advent of AI, do correct me if you feel I am wrong.

What should I do?

What would you do if you were in my shoes?

Thank you for reading!

Taken the course of Mentblue: Pros and cons

Cons:

Too costly.

They don't do course on time like they told that it will always be on Saturday but nope it's sometimes Sunday ( day or evening). Actually depends upon the mood of the partner that when they want to conduct

It was very basic for 1st year law students not for professionals

Was expectating to explain how draft can be done but nope.

I could not be this disappointed if it were not costly and it was nothing just PPT readings.

Pros:

They entertain questions

Thank me later for saving your money.

No political party in India, Bengal maybe the entire world can claim to have clean hands. Compromise, negotiate and prosper is the mantra they all follow. Some do better than others.

If the saffron tagline of "party with a difference" were actually true then kindly explain the following. I am not giving a clean chit to their so called political rivals.

1. In the last few years 25 rival politicians crossed over and 23 high profile corruption investigations and prosecutions went poof. Just check Maharashtra, Assam and ofc Bengal where Sarada, Rose Valley, Narada and the list goes on. To wail that the state govt is hobbling the venerable (vulnerable) CBI, ED etc is farcical.

2. Leave aside an objective, impartial investigation. How did saffron squander both investigation and prosecution of RG Kar case?

3. A former KP Commissioner and now DGP came under spotlight because of his unusual involvement in Sarada case and it caused a unique brawl with CBI involving the CM. But what has the MHA done till now? Why was the prosecution allowed to falter so openly?

I could just go on. Bottomline, all parties in power follow or exceed their predecessors in corrupt practices and organising the players. It will be no different for NUJS whether regime change happens or not.

However if the students ( just like voters) refuse to be sheep then things may turn out differently. It almost did when PIB got evicted.

Assuming that SJA still harbours good intentions, a lazy thing it can do is initiate and pursue RTI applications against the univ admin. Ofc the RTIs need to be well drafted and ask inconvenient questions.

It will be an interesting litmus test for both the SJA and the univ. Maybe the GB should draft the RTIs and then get the SJA to pursue it. If the SJA fails then heads must roll.

This is hilarious. No joke. Check with faculty or staff. So NUJS had been receiving property tax notices from the local municipal corporation since 2003, basically from the time the campus came up. And since then the univ kept claiming to the FC/EC that the univ should get exemption due to its "govt" status and also because the land was gifted free by WB govt (albeit on a 999 yr lease).

Si successive VCs kept claiming this and the campus supervisor did zilch when he was sent annually to the municipal corporation to sort out the matter. Recently the univ received a demand notice of over a crore including accrued interest and penalty charges on property taxes that remain unpaid. The univ has already paid Rs 18 lacs of the Rs 25 lacs initially demanded. But when more papers were sought from the univ who again raised the claim of exemption, the univ was slapped with Rs 1 cr plus demand.

NKC apparently said that univ is floating on money so it doesn't matter. Apparently the swelling student fees, esp the NRI sponsored ones has created a vast surplus. Rs 16 cr have to be spent by March 2029 to retain IT exempt status. And then FDs worth 40 crores will get broken so that PWD can get more contracts and goodness knows where that trail ends.

All in all, NKC is staying. The teach who misled you will finally get their deals worked out. And the sheep, lamb and headless chickens will get eaten for brekkie, lunch and dinner. Kapish. Happy Christmas in advance.

Absolute rubbish. Prof M was saffron and yet the Reds brought him and he looked the other way when many Reds got recruited as faculty and staff, almost the entire lot of the latter. MPS was GOP but the Reds brought him and gave him a free rein until he famously fell out with a former CJ and famous Grandson. PIB was also a saffron but the Greens did not have any beef with him and facilitated a second extension till the SJA torpedoed the cosy arrangement. NKC was a Red who became multicolored in Odisha but allowed in by Greens who support him because he is honoring the IOUs.

The deep fishes wear only one jersey - opportunism. And their skillsets are valuable to whoever is in power. That's why a a certain teach who had scooted during PIB eviction and whose services were terminated by the EC was given a red carpet welcome by NKC. And the biggest support came from two judges, one each from SC and HC who had joined the EC. Interestingly, the state was split. The ever interested KD wanted the teach in but the LM remained opposed but relented when higher command nudged a reversal.

The "incorruptible" saffron knows all this. Has always known about this teach. But the saffron will actually do nothing and if opportunity comes, it will even appoint him as VC. That deal has already been inked.

Btw, do you really think that Green could have survived and thrived this long without saffron support. Even now. And RGK tell us how all the parties despite televised differences; came together to avoid a Bang/Nepal from happening. Because that may not have stopped at just regime change but a far deeper uprooting of politics and politicians.

I recently got let go from a T1 with the reason cited as performance related issues. It has been almost a month and despite applying extensively including leveraging all my references, reaching out to recruiters, cold emails, trying for in-house roles, and chambers etc I have not yet been able to secure any interview yet. I understand that the market is slow right now, especially since many firms hired around July August, and this festive period does not help either. I contribute to my household and cannot afford to go without income for long and don't wanna break FDs or other savings.

I would greatly appreciate any leads, suggestions or advice on how to find short-term income opportunities. I plan to try freelancing platforms like Upwork/ reach out to startups, independent legal practitioners or anyone needing contract-based work. Also please avoid trolling or commenting on my past performance. I am aware that there might be some shortcomings and I'm working on it, but rn I am just trying to figure out ways to stay afloat financially

You have an issue with your mentality. Ask any person who is in litigation having atleast even 5 years of experience. Everyone will say not to chase after money. You learn initially..all those who say that they need money initially are the ones with a mentality that will never allow them to succeed. You need to understand, this isnnot a profession where money is to be chased. The sooner one realises it the better.

People here who are left right and centre considering sthis viewpoint jncorrect need to work on themselves

I’m not getting much work at my current internship, and the situation is a bit complicated. When I joined five days ago, I was getting work from two associates, but now they say they don’t have anything for me. I suspect this sudden change might be because I took up a task from an associate in another team who sits right opposite me. There are two more associates in my team, but I feel awkward approaching them directly. What should I do?

Their logic - Nobody gave me a leg-up so if i can do it so can you. Truth is many benefitted from the 2015 split and got first mover’s advantage. This is not just true in corp but also in lit. Many EPs are glorified salaried partners simply servicing Shroffs’ clients. They will never allow their SPs to shine because it threatens their book or existence and relevance.

What a masterful reply. Yes, the real workhorses are the PAs/SAs/ASS. Why the relevance of the EP at all? The rank and file will be able to get clients, strategise, build relationships and trust, right? What an utterly blinkered and naiive boy you are. The cold hard reality is it does not matter to the EP who the juniors are on a matter - any EP worth his/her salt, will be able to handle the mandate regardless. That should give you some indication of where things stand.

Honestly, this is for the best. US LLMs (with the exception of a Tax LLM done post JD from specific law schools) are not regarded by the US market as a "real" law credential and US law firms recruit almost entirely through JD summer associate programs. While ad hoc hiring outside the traditional summer associate track does occur, and very few LLMs land roles with law firms through campus interviews, the overwhelmingly vast majority of LLMs do not. And the ones that do nearly always have top tier LLB credentials from their home countries and significant work experience in top local firms in practice areas where skillsets are considered transferable to the US context. US law schools treat LLMs as cash cows for this reason.

Now, if one's objective in getting an LLM is to get bragging rights, and one has the resources to do this, then that's one thing. And, in some cases, an LLM can be parlayed into a position with a US practice in non-US markets (e.g., London, Singapore, HK, etc.) although the chances of this happening are highest from a small selection of the T-14 schools (not all T-14s are equal and this is far more true for LLMs than JDs). But, if one's objective is to get a US role with a US firm, the odds are extremely slim and with recent proposed changes to the US immigration regime this may be difficult even for JDs.

To sum up: all that glitters is not gold. Just my 2 cents.

I have been doing this for over a decade and a half. Please don’t listen to all of these kids who are not trying to help, they just want to rant.

Transactional lawyering requires a few skills which most people are not ordinarily born with. Unfortunately, law school in India does not equip us with these skills.

It therefore takes a few months / a year of trying to develop these skills to “get it”. If you have a good mentor, it helps.

It is not strange that you are struggling with this - struggle harder. One day, it will become easier. It is just method and process nothing else.

At some stage in your career, if you stick with it, others will help with the method and process. You will then be required to help on complicated matters or on client management. That requires a few more skills.

All of this can be learnt and if you approach it as a puzzle to be solved, it becomes more interesting.

Alternatively, you can quit and join the idiots who occupy space on LI to bitch, rant, cry, whine and shit on other people.

Jindal faculty and insider here. There are two simple reasons why DJ is influential and Sreejith is not.

1. Raj has a bias in favour of DU alumni, which stems from a combination of nostalgia and insecurity. Although he has hired ample NLU and JNU grads, there is a degree of distrust and suspicion towards them.

2. DJ is part of the Establishment and can be trusted.

I feel A0s are like toys for Senior associates. If they like it, they play with it a lot. They play with it so much that some day they break it. Once they break it, they say, "this toy is shit."

Yeah there is no AI involved in this, give due credits. If AIs were involved then maybe the work would would have been handled better.