Hey -

I've become a partner in a t2 / t3 a couple of years ago. What seemed like the goal for the longest time now seems to be the cause of all stress.

There's constant pressure to get clients, admin burden and constant fear of the team you train leaving (even if treated well since t1s pay a lot more). This despite the fact that I'm getting in decent work for someone at my level.

Just was wondering that is this only me or others are also in the same boat but want to act all cool and unperturbed? I feel this all the time and it's effecting my mental health. Is it a requirement of partnership to not act vulnerable even if you are - even to your own team?

You got it wrong since beginning. The correct list is here -

2000: NLSIU>DU> GLC>ILS>Symbiosis Pune> NLIU> NALSAR> BHU

2010: NLSIU>NUJS>NALSAR>NLIU>NLUJ>Symbiosis Pune> HNLU > GNLU

2020: NLSIU>NALSAR>NLUD>NUJS>NLUJ> GNLU> Jindal> Symbiosis > HNLU > RGNUL

2030: NLSIU > NLUD> NALSAR >Jindal > NLUJ> GNLU> NUJS> NLIU > Symbiosis Pune

2040: ???

2050: ???

Are you mailing partners for jobs? Damn, I had no idea that it would even work for someone with 0 PQE. Let's hope for the best atp. My Day Z also didn't go as planned. I was expecting an offer from at least 2 firms, but look at me rn. I genuinely want to work with some good law firms, although we now have the options for PSUs and in-house teams.

Got my job as the long term result of cold-emailing a partner (dropped an internship email and eventually got a PPO).

Would suggest that the best way to do this is ask for an assessment internship and work your ass off in that, and hope it converts. Direct applications to join may not always bode well since most T1 firms have strict hiring processes.

for Luthra it worked for me. Moreover, I have a mail tracker and partners from T1 firms do check our mails more than once sometimes. If you have any specialized practice area where you are interested and have decent experience( + strong points) , I would suggest you to beautifully and briefly mail partners of that practice area in T1 firms. Most of the times they would ask you to apply through your RCC or internship portal. Then mail the HR and tell them that you recently reached out to the partner, after mailing the HR, politely ask the partner if they think your experience match with their work then they may forward your name to the HR.

Absolutely pathetic. Idk if it's the job market or it's the BO 26 at SLSP, but the firms don't seem interested at all lol.
We don't have any particular day like Day 0, we just getting "recruitment opportunity" mails from the placement cell and then we have to apply via the gform and face the GD and interview rounds. Trilegal came. They took ONE student. Yup, that's it. Just one. Seems like that strong alumni base at Trilegal isn't enough for SLSP lol. LKS came, hired 3 people for only one practice area (if you preferred any other area, you're not considered. idek why they gave us the diff practice areas' options if they weren't even looking. sab luck based hai kya?) AZB took 4 people, all non-litigation. Litigation se nahi lena tha toh why even give it as an option bro?? Argus came and took 2 students only. Mind you, this is a batch of around 400-450 students. Granted, not everyone sits for placements, but there's at least 250-300 people desperate to get placed. Also, there was a firm that came forward with a CTC of 3LPA in Mumbai. like?? what happened to the college's standards bro? they'll also end up taking just 1-2 people too, for sure lol.
As far as PPOs go (+ as far as I know), there have been 3 from AZB, 1 from CAM. There's no shortage of T1 internships tho. Sabke paas connections hai, and even the undeserving ones with backlogs and GPAs of 5s and 6s have internships in Khaitan, Tri, SAM, CAM, JSA, etc. Very weird that even the smart kids aren't getting their t1 internships converted into PPOs tho.

I think your high ideals will be very difficult to achieve, because the number of people asking about PhD on LI and the quality of many of those questions is so bad (like this one) that I am beginning to suspect that at least some people view it as another chance to put off the inevitable - finding a job within the legal field itself, or making the big decision that law really isn't for them.

you can check out the master in corp law at Cambridge, its a new degree and costs much more than LLM/BCL but if you want to stay in the industry its quite good, has a couple of indian candidates each year, you may want to check out their profiles on LinkedIn or connect with them for more info

1. Not much scope. DCM is one of the few areas that translates internationally.

2. I live in the UK (and in London specifically), have done for four years. Please don't waste your energy on trying to come here. Not worth the effort, time, money, embarrassment and humiliation, heartache, anything. UK (and London, in particular) are in a state of inexorable decline. Shitty economy, extraordinarily poor public finances, some of the highest tax rates in the world, cost of living going up and up, inflation at an all-time high, health system in state of collapse, extraordinarily hard immigration processes compared to what you get, paradox that those crossing the channel in boats get government-funded hotel accommodation because the government has never had the balls to call them what they are - "illegal immigrants" - extreme on the other side who believe all browns and blacks to be illegals (made worse because of out of control boats situation) (especially hurting because we sacrifice blood, sweat and tears), crime out of control in London (suggest to anyone that you will walk in Tower Hamlets East London at 7pm and they will say that the odds on getting mugged are very high, while stabbings and phone snatchings have shot up at an alarming rate and people engaging in what they call "fare evasion" (trying to jump the ticket barriers on the underground to avoid paying) has gone up to the levels expected in a stereotype formed by a neocolonial mindset of India), shocking levels of spending on the so-called "welfare bill" (social security payments) which rewards frauds instead of genuine cases, with millions of people who don't need it being on it and NEET (not in education, employment or training). When that Oxford-educated civil servant jokes with Sir Humphrey in Yes Minister that "The British worker is fundamentally lazy, wants something for nothing" (or words to that effect), he is totally right. The UK is two extremes: if you, in any capacity, try to enforce hard work or high standards, you get labelled "not inclusive", "racist", "ableist", "sexist" etc. Or, on the other side, you will be seen as the problem by whites who hate browns and blacks in any case, but are equally shocked by the collapse of responsibility and desire for hard work standards in their society and see browns and blacks as the cause for it. There is much better scope for your intellect, take it elsewhere. Not sure from your post whether you are a man or a woman. India is certainly not a fantastic society for women. But the UK is also much less fantastic then you might think. Not worth coming if you think you might have a safer or more dignified life in the UK if you are a woman, ain't necessarily gonna happen.

I'm assuming you are from Jindal. Funds practice, as it is quite niche, has above-average opportunities abroad. If you play your cards right, you can easily land a funds role in London. Speak to certain folks who have done this transition (their initials are IK and SA, and they have worked with a law firm starting from K).

I am an A2 at a boutique corporate law firm. I started my career at a boutique arbitration and litigation firm, and after litigating for more than a year I decided to switch practice areas for two major reasons:

1. Work pressure was insanely high and it was taking a toll on my health.

2. In the initial years, the pay was meagre, especially for someone from one of the oldest law colleges in Maharashtra (I am sure you can guess which one).

The truth is, in almost all practice areas, for the first seven to eight years you are essentially struggling. Your law degree is only really valuable up until it lands you your first job, after that you are starting from scratch again. The next seven years are about building substance, and only after around your third year you begin to see the benefits (I am still waiting for that time myself). After that, life becomes relatively easier. The money starts flowing in, you get a better hold on the law, and your juniors start doing the grunt work for you

To answer your question, you can expect at least one day off a week. It is not that bad. Boutique firms tend to be slightly better in terms of work life balance, but the trade off is that you compromise on pay, often around twenty five to thirty percent lower than bigger firms.

No, you will not be alienated from your family. That is a personal choice, honestly 🤣. That said, you probably will not be able to take long vacations, and even on your off days you might have to work. I was working the morning my friend was getting married. It is not as dark and gloomy as it might seem, and I hope that by the time you graduate, things in this sector will be much better.

One advantage of corporate law is that you do not have to attend court hearings. Unlike litigation lawyers, you do not have days where you are in court in the morning and then working late into the night for the next day. Your schedule is a little easier in that sense.

One disadvantage, though, is that you are not tied to the court calendar, so you do not automatically get a lighter workload during summer breaks.

That said, after spending a while in corporate law, you always have the option to move in house, where the workload is generally much lighter

The thing with both the structures is that they evolve into their own ecosystems over time and when not managed well, can devolve into echo chambers, and the averageness of the structure could make you an average professional. The best structure existed under Seetharaman in his heydays at LKS, a brilliant mix of lawyers and CAs. Nothing has come close to that since then, and that is quite visible from a simple LinkedIn search of professionals who are currently there. And to answer the OPs original question, yes, the rainmakers of the Trade team did leave some years back, and this was reported at https://www.barandbench.com/news/seetharaman-leaves-religious-readings and https://trilegal.com/news-insights/trilegal-strengthens-tax-practice-invites-dhruv-gupta-to-join-the-partnership/

It is no doubt that young bright lawyers want to work with the best trade lawyers that are there in India. Same goes for CAs. Choose wisely. It is a niche field, and if you have made up your mind to work in this area, better learn from the best.

In violation of the SC judgment and in view of finding loopholes, the UP Bar Council has meticulously excelled again by imposing an exorbitant fee of INR 20,000 for merely giving the COP to newly enrolled advocates as they could not charge any fee for the registration itself. How right is that? Should there be a PIL?

Hi, I'm a newbie advocate and was wondering what the best laptop and/or tab will be that's the best suited for litigation.

Apart from the actual specs, I need the lightest option available because I can't lift a lot of weight all day.

- When it comes to Mac, I do not understand the m chip and the difference in versions

- also, would it just be better to get a tab with detachable keyboard than a laptop.

Basically, if you have to go for any one in the very beginning, what would it be?

Heed my warning. Every single lawyer will be replaced by AI in 5 to 10 years, max 15 years. Plan ahead while you can. Remember that if you are general category, own your own home and pay taxes, you are considered privileged in India. The government won’t help you with doles, loan waivers and government job reservation. In any event, the doles won’t be enough to make you maintain your present lifestyle.

Get into share trading, do an MBA, upskill for a new job etc. Or consider migrating abroad.

I am not being alarmist, but practical.

If you have been following the news, the Commonwealth Games is struggling to find a host, because the top countries are not interested in it. The only good teams are England, Australia and Canada, and they send only junior athletes for it. Same for Jamaica in running. No wonder, India finishes in the top five in the medals tally.

So it shouldn’t be a problem to win the Commonwealth games bid and India may even be the only bidder. But the issue is whether this will lead to a successful Olympics bid. That’s a different ball game altogether.

Of course, another question is which companies will be winning the thousands of crores worth of infrastructure tenders that will be issued. Will it be the Adani-Ambani Olympics?

https://sports.ndtv.com/othersports/india-officially-submits-bid-to-stage-2030-commonwealth-games-9075449