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Guys please do answer the above. I am also a fresher looking for a change
Over the past few months, I have seen several posts from fresh graduates struggling with team dynamics, work structure, compensation, and other challenges at their respective law firms.
While this may be another post on a similar subject, I would be grateful if the moderators could feature this post.
I have a few questions below, not just about how to make a lateral move, but also about how to survive and navigate the initial months at our current firms and how prospective recruiters may perceive an early switch.
I would genuinely appreciate responses, especially from those who have already gone through this phase and made a lateral move during their first year. I have tried to frame the questions generally so that they are relevant across practice areas.
1. When should freshers start applying to Tier 1/2 firms?
Most of us who joined in May or June are now in our 4th or 5th month of practice, as the firm asked us to join as soon as college ends.
A lot of us had hoped to reach Tier 1/2 firms during law school itself, but things do not always go according to plan.
Given that many Tier 1/2 firms have recently completed their fresher inductions (around July/August), does it make sense to start applying now, or would it be better to wait?
If waiting is advisable, which months are generally more suitable for applications?
We understand that larger firms may come with their own challenges, including WLB, but We would still like to try.
2. Should freshers apply directly or approach recruitment agencies?
If we decide to apply, is it better to approach law firms directly or go through recruitment agencies?
Many recruitment agencies do not explicitly do fresher hiring opportunities, so should we still send them our CVs?
Also, if anyone has had a good experience with particular recruitment agencies, please do share them.
In general, which route tends to work better, the firm's HR/recruitment team or recruitment agencies?
3. How should we explain an early switch during an interview?
Most people considering a switch this early may be doing so because of team issues, structural concerns, nature of work, learning opportunities, or compensation.
If asked, "Why do you want to leave your current organisation so early?", what would be the best way to approach this question without sounding negative about the present organisation?
4. How should we address a location change?
There may also be situations where someone is working in one city but receives an opportunity in another.
For example, if someone is working in Mumbai and wants to move to Delhi, how should they address this question during an interview?
Would recruiters generally consider this a concern, and how can one present the move positively?
5. Does it make sense to email law-firm partners directly?
Is cold-emailing partners a worthwhile strategy for freshers?
If yes, what kind of partners should one target? I feel that the approach should be strategic rather than simply emailing the most senior or well-known partners, but I may be wrong.
Also, how should we position ourselves when writing to partners or preparing a cover letter? I understand this is subjective, but any general principles or factors that have worked for others would be extremely helpful.
6. What about an experience cut?
If a firm asks us to accept an experience cut while making a lateral move, is there any reasonable way to negotiate or protect the experience we have already gained?
I understand that an experience cut may sometimes be unavoidable, but it would be helpful to know how others have handled this.
7. If now is not the right time, when should we apply?
If the general consensus is that the 4th–6th month is not the ideal time to apply to Tier 1/2 firms, when would be a better period?
I understand vacancies can arise at any point, but are there certain months when lateral movements or hiring generally increase?
8. Which HR/recruitment teams should we target?
I have noticed that Tier 1 firms often have multiple HR/recruitment professionals, some handling internships, some experienced-hire recruitment, and others fresher hiring.
How do we identify the right person to approach when reaching out to a firm?
I know this has turned into a long post, but I believe this is something many fresh graduates are currently navigating.
If the experienced professionals in this community could share even a small part of their experience, it could genuinely help those of us trying to navigate our first few months in the profession.
Lastly, I have one suggestion for the moderators/community: could we create a shared Google Sheet covering hiring updates not just for freshers, but also for experienced professionals? If the community could update it regularly, it could become a useful resource for everyone.
We all want to build a long-term career in this profession. At this stage, many of us are simply trying to understand how to navigate the early phase, make the right decisions, and survive long enough to grow.
Would genuinely appreciate any honest advice, particularly from those who have been through this phase themselves.
I dont know how else to say this without escaping LI mods.
LI mods himmat hai toh hone do isse publish.
The structural driver is leverage. A large firm makes money by billing many junior hours against few partner hours, so the incentive runs toward long hours, high targets, and a churn rate the firm treats as a cost of doing business rather than a failure. Individual partners may be decent people. The system still produces the same outcome, because nobody is rewarded for producing it differently.
If you want better teams, look at smaller or boutique firms. Some boutiques are equally treacherous, and a bad boutique can be worse because there is nowhere to hide and no HR function that even pretends to exist. But many boutiques with sensible leadership run a far more balanced environment, and the economics explain why. They pay less, so they cannot squeeze people the same way. Push too hard and the associate simply leaves, because the pay gap no longer justifies the misery. The lower salary buys you bargaining power. That is an uncomfortable thing to say to someone weighing offers, but it is true.
I would avoid boutiques with tier I aspirations. These are the worst of both worlds. They import the hours, the face time, and the hierarchy of a large firm without the pay, the infrastructure, the support staff, or the deal flow that might make the trade defensible. Watch for the signs: obsessive talk about rankings and directory submissions, aggressive lateral hiring to build headcount, non sense linked posts churned on repeat, self-glamourisation, a founder who talks constantly about where the firm will be in five years, and a website that describes the firm as full service when eight people work there.
The diligence that actually helps is talking to people who left, not people who stayed. Anyone still there has reasons to sell you the place. Ask about the last two years of associate departures and see how the answer lands.
And if you are lucky, a spot will open up in one of the decent tier I teams. They do exist. Within firms that are otherwise brutal, you will find the occasional team where the partner protects their people, pushes back on unreasonable timelines, and treats the associates as something more than billing units. That team gets you the pay, the mandates, and the brand, without the extraction.
The problem is that these seats almost never come free. In my experience people simply do not quit those teams. Once someone lands there, they stay, and the vacancy only appears when somebody makes partner, moves in-house on their own terms, or leaves the country. That is a slow clock. You cannot plan a career around it, and you certainly cannot wait for it while stuck somewhere that is grinding you down.
So treat it as opportunism rather than strategy. Keep the network warm, stay on speaking terms with juniors and seniors across firms, and make sure a few people know the kind of team you are looking for, because these roles usually fill through a quiet word before anything reaches a job board. Know which partners you would actually want to work under, not just which firms, since the team is what determines your life and the letterhead does not. Then get on with building a good practice wherever you are. If the seat opens, you want to be someone the partner already has a reason to call.
Bump
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-62318476
why do you even bother if you don't want to hire
The newly made/new book partners also drop rates to build a book and clients tout those rates to T2/Boutiques saying oh Tier 1 has given me this rate - can you match.
https://x.com/abhijeet_dipke/status/2095227178074161460
Is there any student from BO 2028 which has received PPOs from Tier 1s/Tier 2s. Is there a probability, that PPO can be rolled out for a Batch 2028 person this early, considering he is doing callback in Sept-Oct 2026.
thanks!
1. 1. I’ve heard that candidates who join via a PPO after interning are sometimes still treated like interns compared to external fresh recruits.
2. 2. Financial stability is a top priority for me. I am unsure about the compensation structure in his chambers, as well as how chamber practice compares to law firm practice in terms of pay scale and career trajectory for tax law. I'm more inclined towards chambers since I wanna practice litigation however the payscale is stopping me from doing so.
Team is dynamic and young and they spend time explaining stuff (which is better than most toxic places that I’ve interned before this).
Office is a little far (in Noida) but rest all’s quite nice. i dont think applying after a break is a problem as long as you have a compelling cover letter and a good enough reason for the break.
So I was looking forward to attempt CSE 2029, but now that the Supreme Court has reduced the minimum years litigation practice requirement for attempting Judiciary exam from 3 years to just 1 year.
So which exam should I attempt first? Judiciary or CSE?
Should I give CSE an attempt first and then switch to Judiciary if things don’t work out, or attempt Judiciary first only. ( My main aim is UPSC CSE only and I will attempt it even if I am in Judiciary)
(Just to add some context, I am financially secure, and don’t have any burden to provide for family, but would love to become financially independent asap and also I got no interest in a corporate law firm job and also my reason for attempting CSE is quite different from others and is something I can’t reveal rn)
Tldr:- I'm a 3rd-year student at a top-tier NLU, primarily aiming for UPSC CSE 2029. Since the minimum practice requirement for Judiciary has reportedly been reduced from 3 years to 1 year, I'm considering Judiciary as an alternative/backup. Should I attempt CSE first and then Judiciary, or Judiciary first and attempt CSE while in service?
On average, recruiter / recruitment firm gets candidate's 1 month retainer (or 8.33% of CTC) for successful placement and candidate working in the org for 6-12 months. If you manage to place say two candidates per month and let's assume average retainer is 2LPM, that's 4L per month you've made.
Recruitment fee is higher for more senior level roles (15% to 30% of annual CTC). If CTC is say 1cr, you've made 15L - 30L.
Of course, there are plenty of recruiters who are very bad their job and don't make any money.
Was it always like this? Law schools seem to have been extremely healthy places 20 years back… how did they produce people so weak, or lacking almost any character?
Worst thing one can do in law is to open a shop and run it like a dukandar from your chair/position. These people do just that. Client and service quality gayi bhaad mai.