You see I don't know about the beef, but let's get something clear. Corporate law is correctly dismissed to be glorified clerking because of the nature of the work. The personal brand that you say, hardly exists, even after someone has really become successful. At the 20-30 PQE stage, someone who made it big in litigation would be far better known than someone in a firm. Yes, no doubt your clients will be loyal to you, whether in litigation, or in a firm. The 6 tasks you mentioned are nothing but mundane stuff that have no contribution to law. It's the same as drafting a Sale Deed, or a Scheme of Amalgamation. There is no application of mind, and its honestly clerical in nature.

Everything you’ve written is utter rubbish. It is a mix of lazy generalisations, cherry-picked statistics, and personal digs masquerading as “analysis.” Your post reads less like reasoned argument and more like a desperate attempt to defend corporate law by tearing down litigation. Let’s go point by point and put the record straight.

You keep harping on Salve, Rohatgi, and “top 0.01%” as if they’re irrelevant. Absolute rubbish. Even outside the top tier, an established designated senior or a counsel with 15–20 years’ experience earns significantly more than most law firm partners. Consider this: even a non-superstar HC litigator can charge ₹50,000–1,00,000 per appearance, handle 3–4 matters a day, plus outstation briefs, opinions, and arbitration matters. That’s ₹1.5–2.5 lakh/day, ₹7–10 lakh/week, and ₹30–40 lakh/month, easily surpassing a mid-to-senior equity partner’s annual take-home. This is average, minimum baseline, not Salve-level billing. Calling it “outlier” is pure deflection. By the same logic, equity partners in law firms are also “0.01%” since most associates never make it there. Yes, the first few years are tough — litigation has a steep entry barrier. But dismissing the entire profession because juniors struggle is intellectually lazy. That’s like dismissing corporate law because first-year associates review NDAs all day. Career trajectory matters. By year 10–15, a competent HC litigator is comfortably billing ₹2–5 crore/year, sometimes more, without the ceiling of law firms, which cap at ₹3–4 crore for the vast majority.

Also, stop romanticizing. Drafting repetitive contracts, compliance filings, and standard SEBI/FEMA submissions is exactly what clerical work is: minimal application of mind, replicable, and largely formulaic. Rare complex deals aside, a junior associate could do it tomorrow. In litigation, no one can replace a skilled counsel; every argument, strategy, and outcome depends on independent thinking and adaptation. Corporate lawyers operate within the law; they do not formulate it. They structure deals around statutes, regulations, and precedents. Litigators regularly shape the law itself — through novel arguments, constitutional challenges, and judgments that set binding precedent. That is why history remembers litigators, not corporate associates. No amount of “billable hours” or contracts equates to the intellectual weight of courtroom advocacy that changes law. You say global exposure? Most Indian corporate lawyers are passengers; foreign firms do the strategic heavy lifting. Intellectual complexity? Drafting a SHA does not match arguing a high-stakes constitutional case. Stability? Fine, corporate law gives predictable salaries. But predictability is not success — it is safety with a capped upside. Litigation is high-risk, but the upside is exponential.

The worst of all, you claim “performance isn’t law.” Wrong. Courtroom advocacy is law in action. Persuasion, argument, and strategy determine whether law or contract holds in practice. Your neat drafts and filings are meaningless if challenged; litigation requires intellect and delivery where it matters. Corporate “performance” is largely invisible, bureaucratic, and replaceable. Because of this do we have the Basic Structure Doctrine, and so many other jurisprudence. What have you corporate lawyers contributed to the field of law? Nothing but mere contracts and documents. Litigation, once you establish credibility, is merit-based — clients decide your income, not the management committee. And even successful law firm partners don’t get their names on the wall. They remain bound to the firm’s hierarchy or start their own firm only to repeat the same grind.

The “<1% outlier” argument is misleading because it cherry-picks only the entry-level struggle of litigation while ignoring what the career curve actually looks like. Nobody denies that the first few years in litigation are financially brutal — but that’s a filtering stage. The point is: once you survive that stage and build a practice, the earning potential dwarfs law firm salaries.

Even leaving aside the Harish Salves and Rohatgis, an established litigator with 15–20 years of experience — not a superstar, just a competent, recognized counsel — routinely charges ₹50,000–₹1,00,000 per appearance. With 3–4 matters a day, you’re already at ₹1–2 lakh/day. That translates into ₹20–30 lakh/month, i.e., ₹2–3 crore/year, just from appearances. This is before adding retainers, arbitrations, written opinions, and outstation briefs, which often double those numbers.

Compare this with law firms: the oft-quoted “₹8–10 crore equity partner” is itself the top 1%. The more common reality is ₹3–4 crore at the upper partner level, and even then after 20+ years of grinding within the firm’s pyramid. So if you’re going to dismiss litigation earnings by saying “only the top make it big,” then by the same logic, most associates in firms never reach equity partnership either. The fair comparison is average successful litigator vs. average salaried partner — and on that metric, litigation is at least on par, if not higher.

The Mukesh Ambani analogy doesn’t work here. Ambani is a one-man billionaire story. In litigation, there isn’t just one “Salve” — there are dozens, maybe hundreds, of counsels in Delhi and Bombay quietly billing ₹2–5 crore annually. That’s not “once in a generation.” It’s a tier of the profession that is very much real and accessible to those who survive the early years.

On nepotism — yes, it exists in litigation. But pretending firms are free of it is naive. Partner tracks in law firms are riddled with favoritism, rainmaking politics, and gatekeeping. At least in litigation, once you’re in, clients decide your value. Your courtroom performance and results can break the glass ceiling in a way firm hierarchies often don’t allow.

So the real picture is this: law firms give predictability and early salaries, but with a capped upside. Litigation is high-risk, high-reward — but the reward side is not mythical. It is demonstrably true that mid-tier seniors earn at levels most partners will never touch. Ignoring that reality to claim only the “top 1%” make it is simply statistical sleight of hand.

Your comment makes several assertions which deserve to be addressed in order.

Let me outline them first, before responding:

1. Corporate law work is not “clerical,” it involves complex regulatory strategy.
2. Litigation is less lucrative and only a handful make it; corporate lawyers earn more on average.
3. Senior advocates thrive only because law firms brief them; clients come through firms.
4. Corporate law offers a clear, stable trajectory whereas litigation is risky.

First, on the clerical nature of corporate law

Yes, your work is clerical. The fact that you recite acronyms like FEMA, SEBI, and FC-GPR does not transform the nature of the work. These tasks are largely compliance-based, bound by prescriptive regulation, and executed within pre-existing templates. There is little scope for genuine application of mind—your discretion is curtailed by statute, circulars, and pre-set deal mechanics. The real commercial decisions are taken by promoters and bankers; you are the scrivener who reduces them to writing. That is precisely why senior corporate lawyers are replaceable by younger, cheaper partners, whereas litigators’ experience cannot be substituted by juniors.

Second, on financial comparisons

Your financial argument is selective. Yes, lawyers at the district level often earn less than Tier-1 associates. But that is not the relevant comparison. When comparing litigation with corporate law, the fair benchmark is the High Court and Supreme Court, because that is where the same class of clients operate—and where corporate lawyers and litigators intersect. At that level, the disparity is stark. The absolute top seniors may charge ₹20 lakhs a hearing, but even an average designated senior, or a counsel with 15–20 years’ standing, would be charging at least ₹50,000 per appearance, with 3–4 matters a day. That alone amounts to a minimum of ₹1 lakh a day, ₹5 lakhs a week, and roughly ₹20 lakhs a month—translating to around ₹2 crores annually. And this is a conservative baseline, not counting outstation matters, arbitrations, opinions, or conferences. Law firm partners at the same stage, even salaried or junior equity, very rarely match those figures.

Third, on Seniors relying on law firms for briefs

This point collapses on itself. If corporate lawyers are as “strategic” and “competent” as you claim, why must they brief outside counsel at all? Why not argue their own matters? The answer is obvious: because at the highest level, it is courtroom credibility, reputation, and advocacy skills that matter—not your mastery of FC-GPR filings. Firms brief seniors precisely because the counsel’s face, not the firm’s drafting, wins the case. To say that seniors survive on law firms is to misunderstand the dynamic; in reality, law firms rely on the stature of counsel to lend weight to their matters.

On risk and stability

Litigation certainly has a longer gestation period. But risk is inseparable from growth. The “stability” you cite in corporate law is in reality a treadmill—PQE raises tied to billable hours, culminating in partnership where even equity comes without true ownership. That is your stability - a delusion. Doing nothing intellectually stimulating. Its your mind which is stable. A litigator, by contrast, builds a personal brand, a body of judgments, and eventually a practice independent of any firm. The trajectory is steeper, but the rewards—both financial and intellectual—are higher.

Litigators and corporate lawyers do inhabit different ecosystems, but the distinction is existential. Corporate lawyers may bill hours and accumulate salaries, but litigators build names that command respect across the Bar and the Bench. History remembers the advocates who argued precedent-setting cases, not the associates who drafted a flawless compounding application. That is why the most celebrated names in Indian law—past and present—are litigators, not corporate partners.

So before you accuse others of “ego validation,” reflect on why you need to defend corporate law with such hostility. Because the louder your protest, the clearer it becomes that even you are not convinced by the supposed “fulfilment” of being a glorified compliance clerk.

Indeed with your observations main problem with all corp lawyers is hating everyone, living lonely life with full of health problems including bad mental health coupled with obnoxious personallity with full of ego maniac energy viz a viz they are only center of attraction of whole world. People here assume that no one is better than anyone else as they are only individuals supposedly doing meaningful work in their life. Treating everyone ( including other profession workers) with condescension is their best ability

It seems finally there is some good news on the New VC recruitment front, out of the top 4 contenders there are strong rumors that a Prof from IIT Kharagpur who is currently on deputation as VC and a Professor from IIM Calcutta are leading the list followed by a Professor from North Bengal University and another VC of a National law school based in central India, in all probability Prof from IIT Kgp will be heading NUJS because of his academic credentials, IITKgp connection and patronage of the strong power centres who also appointed Prof. Chakrabarty in 2019

Is it true that while the protests took place, the SJA had also organised Dandiya Night and the usual liquid festivities? Isn't it also time for GB to set the SJA house in order? How about looking inwards? Performing protests while also cosying up to powers that be for personal gains of few while the sheep get....

Honestly, I’m quite surprised. He had a lot of supporters in the SJA in his tenure, many of whom would defend him on LI. They would suggest that his opponents were BJP supporters. What happened? Why have his supporters now abandoned him? Or am I misreading it? Was he always unpopular and supported only by a few?

Do I blame the media for needlessly concentrating on the recent SC order or did the SJA fail to provide supporting documents for the allegation of financial mismanagement? Shouldn't the latter be of equal if not more concern? Shouldn't it bother the SJA and the GB how this VC has dealt with SH and substance abuse complaints made by the students? Sure we feel for the Associate Professor. But she fought her battle and reached finality maybe not the quantum of solace that she desired. But why do someone else's hatchet job. Are we ready for the backlash and is the SJA really in the fight? Is the student community ready and committed to be present in full strength and prepared to face tough questioning by the EC? Because if the SJA did have damning evidence the VC would have been suspended if not sacked by now. Contrast this with 2018 eviction of PIB. Criticize the contested outcome, if you must. But acknowledge that SJA and the wider student community were prepared and checkmated PIB and his supporters. They didn't have to do this farcical all night gherao. What did that achieve?

As if litigation is something very good.

More than half of the litigators are all hat and no cattle. The rest are working as hard as Corp guys and earning peanuts while their seniors enjoy their life in the cushy cabins with their pay cheques.

It’s better to be a glorified clerk rather than being a meagrely paid hustler Every rose has its thorns buddy.

Fair enough but asking anyone to leave without giving sufficient time to settle and perform is harsh. even best of associates need sometime to settle. In the same team, there are partners who had joined as an associate (and performed badly initially) but were given time to perform and that paid off for Ravindra. It is a sad reality that no one wants to invest time in associate development. Also this team needs to acknowledge that there are some 4-5 partners all of whom have a different style of working and therefore it is understandable if an associate needs even more time to settle down and start performing as per the individual standard of each of these partners. I hope Ravindra and CAM are taking note of this specific comment because all these tier 1 firm boast of robust associate development programme but the ground reality is that no one wants to or has time to do this.

The work is transactional work. Whether it is too notch-no. Is it bottom of the barrel crud-no. It is in-between, which is not bad. A young enthu associate gets to learn from such work. Hence the question becomes why join this team. Answer is- only if you have the following reasons (I) the team invests in your growth (not stab you in your back at the time of promotions and increments) , (II) the seniors are ready to mentor (and not just use the word 'mentoring' to lure the associate during interviews), (III) the team offers sufficient break between heavy transactions (not just a fake one day off on which also you are disturbed for everything else), (IV) the team provides opportunities to speak up and convey concerns (and not punish dissent), (V) the seniors and partners are nice and kind and speak to you as a professional/ human (and not obnoxious, sly and/or petty in their approach).

I think just ask around if this team falls in the category above. If not, don't consider. If yes, please do. I am sure you will get the answer easily if you track down and speak to, some of the people who left this team in last one year.

Hi, I am in a state government law college right now, after my first drop year in 2024, I couldn’t get any NLU, but i know i can perform quite better, because i was actually targeting some different exam in my drop year, and i happened to have a moderately good score in clat but actually the ranks are messed up, and in addition to that, the ambiguity in the question paper of 2025 and the time limitations i personally faced, ended me up with this moderately good score..I feel that I can perform way better if i adjust my reading speed, and practise more this time.

Coming back to my question, the thing is, I don’t have any interest in pursuing a career in corporate, litigation or even in judiciary, i am interested in fields like academia, legal writing, policy making and research opportunities abroad.

So should i appear for clat and target the tier 1 colleges again this time (it would be my third attempt and i will be turning 20.5+ till the time I join, and 25.5+ when i finally graduate, which is kind of bothering me a lot) or should i stay and grind in my current college, I am actually quite skeptical about this for a few months

There is so much information all over the internet about the big corporate placements that makes the nlu tag worthwhile, while i didnot find anyone talk about how impactful the nlu tag will be if somebody is targetting research from prestigious unis abroad. Is there really any difference in NLUs and state government law colleges when it comes to stuff like academia or research abroad opportunities, given that i try to get the most out of the state government college. What noticible difference in opportunities will i really face

His statement to Indian Express suggests that VC is likely to approach the SC again concerning the unprecedented order. He is likely to use the farcical and hapless student protests as evidence of victimization. While the headless chickens quack about, NKC came out stronger. Game, set, match. NKC.

Students have been mislead by certain faculty and staff factions to believe that this SC judgment with a googly stinger is done sort of silver bullet for their NKC problem. Students need to get better and more concrete evidence of misconduct, deliberate negligence, financial chicanery etc. Better to avoid those dangling bombastic allegations without relevant documents. Fight the good fight for our own reasons.

Have interned with the team in the past. The lead of the practice works out of the Delhi office and has one other member there, while another mid-senior member sits out of Bangalore. My sense is, they probably want you to intern in the Bangalore office which is why they'd have said this. Either way, it's a single team so you'd get work from them no matter where you sit, even Mumbai, for that matter..

"Social media makes you think that only people with 160+ IQ got H1B visas, and now that brainstrust will return to India. Actually most were basic tech support onshore and another lot were residents in hospitals. The really smart Indians have already been given citizenship."

- Aunindyo Chakravarty,

. Ex Senior Managing Editor, NDTV.

https://x.com/Aunindyo2023/status/1969395083964232153

Not many claim "we have the Harvard of the East;" only the Nagarbhavi residents claim that, lol.

Also, if NLS is not on the list, then the list is flawed. Nagarbhavi residents, ex-residents, and their supporters will cancel the QS list as it doesn't recognise NLS as the No. 1 in Asia and one of the top three in the world. It's their way or the highway!

Can you please tell me how is L.S Davar & Co. I got a 6-month internship there, but it is Unpaid. I want to pursue my career in IPR only. Location- Noida and Greater Noida. I study in an affiliated college of IPU. I am a final-year student. And any advice to get in Khurana & Khurana, Anand, Sujata, IP, Zeus IP will be appreciated. Any advice how to excel in this career path means a lot. i have about 4 months now to enhance my skills.

Pinning it here just to put the scoop on record. Not giving the names or tiers of the NLUs, but one VC is facing really serious allegations over award of tenders, while hostel conditions are very poor and mess food is contaminated.

Question is whether these protests could spread and become a pan-India #ReformNLUs movement?

Author is a human rights lawyer and ex-Jindal faculty.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/toi-edit-page/why-scs-sexual-harassment-order-hurts-both-survivors-and-accused/