No one really knows what is going on except maybe Nishithbhai and NaiDA. The mass hiring is to make up for the exits at a mid and senior level. Personally do not think the firm will shut down anytime soon but its performance will continue declining until it eventually loses what is left of its reputation and becomes just another firm in the system.

Nakul Dewan became a King’s Counsel without relocating to the UK, didn’t he? I don’t think his move for tax reasons and his KC status are as intertwined as you’re suggesting. In any case, his return is good news for all of us — there was a real void of senior counsel of that calibre in the Supreme Court. That said, I’d imagine his fee structure will attract more high-stakes arbitrations and juicy commercial suits than special leave petitions!

I'm a Jindal alumnus who graduated 6+ years ago. Problems have always been there, but with DJ as the Exec Dean, this was bound to happen. She has a very, well, let's just say 'different' way of looking at things - which mostly tend to be very authoritarian, contrary to whatever she may preach in class. Look at what she had done to the previousy-very-successful legal aid clinic. Not surprised at all, just disappointed at my alma mater.

No.

Getting a job in a magic circle or AM 100 firm feels like a dream. But these days if you are really competent in a decade or less you can make partner at a tier 1 law firm in India.

It's far more difficult to make partner at an US or UK based firm than in India. Indian legal market is about to become even bigger (along with the country's GDP) Western Economies and law firms are already running at full capacity.

To Law Graduates who have access to their Alma-mater University/Law College-paid resources like Manupatra, SCC and prestigious international/national journals and magazines,

1. Our Uni Admin is of the view that Alumni shouldn't be provided access as their contract with such platforms is for educational purposes and thus they get a discount which can't be extended to the ones who've long since graduated. The underlying reason is also that it would be a massive expenditure for our Uni.

2. So, is there a solution to this problem? How did your Law School figure out a way to provide you guys access?

3. I know that most of the firms do have subscriptions to these platforms. But, for a graduate opting to litigate, it'd be a boon to have such an access.

There's no need to. You are doing well where you are. Give it another 5 years - and you'll be independent and having clients. In 10-15 years, you';d have grown successful. In 20-30 years, you would be outearning the people of your level where you want to switch. Just give it some time. You'll be thankful that you did not jump to a clerical sector.

Ive been researching a lot about non-litigation roles for lawyers, especially in the finance sector, and it’s been tough to find proper info especially around salary in india

i’m trying to understand what kind of pay and qualifications are needed for legal roles in places like investment banks, mncs, fintechs, pe/vc firms, consulting companies etc (not law firms)

also wondering if there are any other sectors where lawyers can get well-paying non-lit roles, even as freshers

if anyone here has insights or has worked in these spaces, would really appreciate your guidance!

Its so funny that people who come and bark and say that corporate law firms are better than litigation because there's merit in law firms and litigation stenches of nepotism fail to realise that most of the law firms are family run. They have nepotism there as well. These delusional people fail to realise that law firms fail to offer any growth opportunity - any thing real. Yet they want to go and work there.

Don't bother with it, these journals carry no credibility in academic circles. Nobody is going to judge you if you don't have publications in your first year - just focus on improving your research skills and legal knowledge , then apply to some actually good journals where you won't have to pay. NLS, NALSAR, NUJS, NLUJ all have good student law reviews. Slightly higher there are places like Statute Law Review which will accept good student pieces (but not of the first year level).

Thank you for your genuine answer, Samaritan. I am also of the same opinion. Even considering working here for 5-6 years before a shift seems suicidal. I can't fathom the amount of life I will lose in the process. There would be nothing left at the end of the tunnel. It surely is for people who really enjoy template work.

While DRT/DRAT/NLCT/NCLAT practice is much rewarding in terms of money, and the relative ease in it, there are two key factors which you must consider - first, the restrictive scope within which these tribunals operate, and second, the tag of becoming a tribunal lawyer. On the first, these Tribunals are limited in their scope and you'd be limited by the same. Second, whether we like it or not, there are hierarchies in lawyers - seniors in SC, then perhaps others of SC, then seniors of HC, where some HCs are considered better than others, then others of HCs, then district court lawyers. Tribunal lawyers, despite their earnings and wealth in knowledge, would always be lower in that hierarchy - and their senior designation can be affected too.

Why don't you go work in litigation? Why do you want to work in a law firm? I don't understand - if you are 2024 graduate, its already more than a year. You claim to have worked for a year and left because it was toxic. Do you think any other law firm, whether T1 or T77 would be any less toxic or the nature of the work would be the same. On the issue of connections, when you have connections, why, for the sake of yourself, go through the torment of working in a firm where you'll be a slave? Why not go for litigation where atleast you'll be your own boss? Goes beyond me.

My limited understanding is that not all references are the same. A few years ago, I faced a similar situation, dint have too much approach, but whatever limited contacts I had, landed me two interviews with tier 1 teams and they did not convert. My sense is that for a reference to really result is an offer letter, the reference has to be solid, there has to be an actual requirement for a resource in the team, the timing of things has to also workout- for instance, it should not be that the team is going through a phase of low volume of work etc., they should of course at some level like you/your profile, it also really helps if this reference via which you have approached the firm, can be of some use to the firm later on (its all quid pro quo really) - law firm partners are smart they are generally able to assess your closeness to your reference - also matters how influential is this reference, is it a siting judge before whom the firm regularly appears or is it some lesser known former judge with whom the firm may not necessarily cross paths and may be of lil to no use to the firm in terms or contacts and favours etc. There is a very fine difference, things like personal terms with the hiring partner etc. also matter, it could be a variety of factors, I am just stating a few. But most of all I think it’s about the timing!

As regards to your fear of negative feedback from your previous team, this is less likely, normally ppl don’t go on to actively damage a freshers career like that. There may be a few exceptions to this, but mostly negative feedback from a previous employer would only come if you really did something grave - unethical/unprofessional, minor issues with competence, availability etc. are generally overlooked and forgiven as long as you dont have a reputation for being a ticking bomb.

I have had the privilege to read thru all the comments here and man! What do I say? The names of these firms? Today, any person will open any firm with whatever name which has some latin term in it. What has it come to? This is so concerning. I'm sure half of these firms are opened by people who have no proper training and just use these fancy names to attract clients. The other half, despite being big names, still choose to use such names as if it would help. On the subject of the work - I find it even more surprising that people actually choose to work in such boutique law firms - knowing fully well that the real success in law is all about bringing in clients [clients=work=money]. These associates in these firms would be working mindlessly on a specific template for the clients the founders would have gotten, and man, what then thereafter? How is a clueless 23 year old associate supposed to know how to get clients? Will they work like this forever? 10 years later they'd have no skill and - a 10 year younger fresher would come and replace them. It's honestly sad that this has come to this. Even more so, for an area of work which has been traditionally considered to be just 'paperwork' and 'formality' and has no real application of law.

It's okay, don't worry. There are a few ways you can deal with this:

1. Talk to the professors you are close to, or those who are known to be helpful to students. They can guide you on how to deal with the situation.
2. If you had any medical leaves/leaves for competitions, etc., they should be considered, and again, talk to the department concerned for the same.
3. Take a backlog this time, and realise what you have done. Next time onwards, start to attend classes instead of missing them for no reason at all.

God knows. As far as I have used these two, it was not helpful at all [used for research in disputes]. As for a PE/VC team concerned, which would primarily be focused on more nuanced document review and DD work, where there is no requirement of any strategy, I believe the AI platforms you mentioned should be able to work. After all, they can do these clerical work with ease.

It's honestly sad and laughable that you want to know the package in a category of work that you are looking forward to. There cannot be a term called package in a profession. With the advent of the NLUs and the law firms, the unfortunate non-achieval of the goals of NLUs have deroded this culture and profession of law. Today people want to know packages and salary as if it is some kind of a job - it isn't. And if it is, you are just selling yourself to a firm where you can never grow and be someone independent.

You use the term "job". In law, there are no jobs. Its a profession. It is sad to see that people are today having such an incorrect notion about this. Much has been said about the growth trajectory (the lack thereof, ie) in law firms. In a smaller city like Pune which does not have a HC, it's even more prevalent. Those who seek to be in firms, are only gonna suffer much later.

UPDATE - OP here, I did not want to lie, I formally refused my PPO offer. Will be joining the chambers. I am thank full to all the advice, but I feel till the time I have that tier 1 offer as a back up Ill never truly be able to invest a 100% in this thing.

Now I have no option but to make this work. I have seen the struggle and hard work associates put in a Law firm, if I put that in something I find more interesting, It has to work right? I sound naive - but somehow I feel this is it for me.

If Dam comes, then all the honeymoon period that the students have with the admin will be over. He is a stickler for quality, a concept with which Noojies have no familiarity these days. No repeat exam, free attendance, easy grades, interning while bunking classes. The students aren't ready for someone good like him, no matter what they keep shouting.

Stay on top of things, DAW happens each year - for next year keep an eye out for event dates in advance. Do some basic diligence, connect with the right ppl on LinkedIn, stay active on lawyers WhatsApp groups, engage actively in the community, a lot of these events dont have entry barriers as such, being proactive is the key!

Maha ▮▮▮, I’d say. DAW has posted quite a bit on YouTube. It was - at best - a networking event. They actually had debate on whether or not we should have institutional arbitration! Seriously, wtf!? Everyone - including the geysers, of whom there were plenty - gave super cringe, oracle like predictions on AI! There were some useful sessions on drafting etc which were clouded with mostly loads of bakwas. The one other Dumb as F pitch going around was - making India a global hub/ seat for arbitration. The only guy who called out that backc**di - surprisingly- rare moment - was MS, who rightly said that we should first get people to adopt domestically! I walked out of this event perhaps 0.1% wiser and - at best - with a new found respect for MS.

I joined a Tier 1 law firm last year and I am part of a very large team with six partners. I mostly report to one salaried partner who made partner about two years ago. Since the day I joined he has shown zero interest in training me. I do understand that with the workload and deadlines it is not always possible to sit down and teach, but in my case it has been absolute neglect. I keep asking him for feedback on how I can improve and it seems like i am expected to figure it out from the redline of my drafts?! the problem is whenever I make a mistake it is never pointed out directly to me. Instead it somehow gets discussed among the partners and the feedback spreads internally, but no one actually addresses it with me. So I do not even know what exactly I did wrong or how to avoid it the next time.

What is getting worse is that this partner has started throwing me under the bus in very subtle ways. For eg in one recent matter there was a non technical issue around the execution of an engagement letter and in the team group chat it was said that as the junior most I should have flagged it. The truth is I had no idea that this was something to even be flagged because with my limited experience I do not yet know the practical implications of that. Instead of guiding me he just lets it look like I messed up. This was just one example but it keeps happening. He never speaks to me about it directly.

He is passive aggressive, gives bad feedback behind my back, does not correct me, and never takes the time to guide me. I want to learn and I am open to feedback, but it feels like I am constantly set up to fail. Has anyone been in a similar situation??

Hi, can someone pls tell me how much time Toer- I law firms take to tell candidates that they have been accepted or rejected. I am aware that they do ghost often but let's keep that aside for now.

For instance, if I applied in August for an internship at SAM for May next year then by when can I expect any sort of reply?

I am a final-year law student from a tier-2, non-NLU background. Over the last few years, I have completed internships at firms such as Dentons Link Legal, Hammurabi & Solomon Partners, and a few boutique firms with highly experienced teams and diverse client work in General Corporate and allied areas. One of these boutiques even extended a call-back offer based on performance, which reinforced my confidence in this practice area.

Looking ahead, I am also scheduled to intern with Saikrishna & Associates (▮▮▮ ▮▮▮) and King Stubb & Kasiva (▮▮▮ ▮▮▮), and I am targeting more opportunities in January 2026 with both large firms and boutique practices. All of my internships so far have been secured through merit and performance-based selections, without institutional support from college.

My interest lies in General Corporate, and I am seeking advice on the following:

1. How should I navigate my upcoming internships to make them impactful and possibly convert them into long-term opportunities?

2. What should I focus on in terms of preparation and skill-building to build a career in General Corporate?

3. For assessment internships or interviews, what key areas (laws, skills, or case studies) should I study to stand out during evaluations?

Any guidance from seniors and practitioners would be invaluable.

You need not worry at all. It would be one of the easiest things you would be doing, of course, other than sleeping. Since such work entails document review, DD, etc., you'll just have to work within certain templates that will be given to you. It's like, you'll be given a checklist and the documents. You'll have to see whether the documents contain the items in the checklist or not. That's pretty much the nature of the work you will be doing. It will seem fun at the beginning, but it gets monotonous. You'll realise by the end of your internship whether you like such work or not.

Firstly, the owner himself does not comply with any timelines for paying bonuses, or announcing increments, but he expects other people to abide by the timelines.

Secondly, many people put BD/CD, and don't attend office. It is the partners who are guilty of doing this more often. But the owner seems to be targeting the associates for this, and not his partners.

Thirdly, how can somebody target innocent admin guy (BMO) like this. He has been loyal to the firm, and he got this in return.

Fourthly, owner knows very well that senior partners won't follow this. But for the sake of writing, he has mentioned they need to follow this policy. Lame.

Fifthly, the direct consequence is non-entitlement of discretionary bonus. Even for other non-compliance like non-adherence to AI policy, WFH policy, not attending office parties, not filling time-sheets, and not filling appraisal forms on time etc, the discretionary bonus goes for a toss. So billing basically has no role.

Sixthly, the ▮▮▮-most ▮▮▮ partner (who is also ▮▮▮ ▮▮▮) neither comes to office nor will follow this policy.

Hello everyone, I hope you don’t mind me asking something very personal here.

I am a practising advocate in Delhi (NCR) but I must admit that I have zero practical exposure to litigation and procedure. At the age of 40, it is not really possible for me to follow the traditional route of working under a senior or doing long internships.

What I do have is genuine commitment, time, and resources. I am very keen to learn and I am ready to pay for proper mentorship from someone credible who can guide me, especially in areas like:

- Drafting and strategy (bails, complaints, NI Act, matrimonial matters, etc.)
- Cyber crime cases and procedures (an area I am very interested in)
- Understanding day-to-day court practice and client handling

I am not looking for a job; I wish to remain independent. But I would deeply value structured mentorship and guidance. I am also more than happy to assist with pro bono matters where I can be useful — learning while helping others would be an honour.

If you are a senior or even a well-experienced practitioner, or if you know of any credible mentorship avenues, I would be truly grateful for your guidance.

Thank you very much for reading, and apologies if this request seems unusual. I believe there may be others like me, and I hope this post can help them too.

It has always been said, especially after the 2008 crisis, that another recession can hit anytime. There's no need to speculate and discuss on that. Whenever it hits, it hits. The real question is, when a recession hits, how will it impact the young lawyers and law grads.

Broadly, lawyers/law grads have 6 categories of career paths:

1. Litigation

2. Law firms

3. In House (please note both 2 and 3 include foreign firms as well)

4. Govt sector (may/may not be law related)

5. Policy/NGO/etc.

6. Others

No. 6 will be too broad to speculate upon, so let's not get into that. One may pursue law and maybe be working in a LPO Unit or something. Let's leave it aside. Another assumption to make is that, we'll take a cutoff of 5 years PQE for young lawyers.

No. 4, if not contractual, will be insulated. If contractual, perhaps say a Judicial Law Clerk (yes, won't be govt, but still), they may get affected once their contract ends.

Nos. 3 and 5 will be very vulnerable. No. 5 especially so because they perhaps won't have a clear cut source of funding, or their income would be irregular. No. 3 - given the young age, companies would cut down on them and lay them off. Senior ones would most likely be retained if not fired as well.

No.2 may fire young lawyers. Mostly it would not. But hiring freeze would be there. Not so vulnerable for those already inside. Very vulnerable to those outside. Given the nature of the work No. 2 engages in, which is clearly anti-thetical to law's growth, they'd mostly survive given their monotonous paperwork-oriented nature of work.

No. 1 -depends. While they will not be out of work, their earnings may reduce, but since its a profession, they have no salaries. Those who consider working under a senior for a salary are slaves and an insult to the profession so let's not consider them. Graduates would face issues, but since there is no hiring in this sector for it being a profession, the only impact is the reduction in income.

All these aside, you know people always say that a recession is coming. You say "very respected analysts". They have always claimed something like that. Let us not fear monger into this.