From what I have heard extreme level of toxicity especially from the top 3 folks who resort to personal comments which are too crass in a professional work space in addition to constant monitoring in the office with regards to using phone. Also no regards to personal life of associates as WLB doesn't exist in any way making attrition there so high all the time.

I spoke to a support staff that once worked there and he claimed that associates were literally treated like dogs and that at a point 5 to 10 associates left that place together.

But from a client's perspective and the companies they have as clients, they seem rock solid in that aspect. I mean the founder was raided a few years back, so they definitely have a lot of moolah.

I think it's less about looks in the genetic sense but more about appearance - be fit, look presentable with fashionable, well matched and well fitting clothes, maintain good skin and hair and you definitely make a better impression upon everyone. My partner is obese and a PA is fat too (plus ugly) and yet they command attention by being well dressed and obviously confident, smart etc.

1. Looks are subjective - you can groom yourself well and be fit and 90/100 you would be at par with someone conventionally good looking.

2. Life is very very hard - if you have gained weight, or not looking your best - be easy on yourself. You are surviving and sometimes that’s enough.

3. You will see partners who may be considered overweight, not good looking etc killing it in the profession. Geniuses here may tell you otherwise but if they can you can.

I am a very fair guy with a clipped accent, who also used to be quite handsome (very fat now). I think that these external factors have helped me early in life. In South India, fair skinned girls are considered “pure” and treated like goddesses, but fair skinned guys too can have an edge. From a young age, my complexion was somehow seen as a sign of my being a “good” person. My accent also made a big difference.

But don’t just bash India. You see this colour bias even in the West, East Asia and the Middle East… Korea and Japan are horribly racist.

"Yes, he (Xavi) applied for the job of the Indian senior men's team football head coach. He has himself mailed his application to the people in the technical committee, and it looks like he was very much interested in the job," a source in the AIFF told PTI on Friday (July 25, 2025).

"However, those tasked with the responsibility of recommending the short-list of coaches to the executive committee for final approval federation know that it's difficult.

https://www.thehindu.com/sport/football/the-great-xavi-hernandezs-application-surprises-aiff-but-coaching-job-set-to-go-to-an-indian/article69854183.ece

Law firms dont offer really good scope for tax. Plus due to lack of book and business volume, partner promotions are slow and less. Also, the focus on tax practice isnt there for any large firm bar KCo. Really its only boutique firms. Having said that, merit is merit and even big 4 firms would also be a good option.

My logic here would be to get a watch on the more expensive side and get clothes/shoes/suits on the value for money side, by value for money i do not mean cheap but brands like raymond and loius phillipe who do an excellent job at making good quality suits that last forever if maintained, therefore i would recommend the following.

1. get a seiko watch worth around 50k (presage, sport etc)

2. get a tailored raymond suit - for 20 to 25k

3. get formal shirts from marks and spencers ( their autograph line up is a banger and extremely high quality ) four shirts are gonna come out to around 20k
4. get a pair of formal shoes from somewhere like aldo or even mochie/ hush puppies work should not cost you more than 10k for a pair

all of this comes around to 1 lakh or 1 lakh 20 at max, if you feel like splurging more I would definitely splurge more on the watch, at the 70 or 80k mark your are knocking on the door of good swiss brands like the tissot prx for example, there are others as well

kudos !!

Don't go for brands but go with fabrics and fit in the garments. Try to get customs stitched. I dont know what you say upper middle class brands but clean and polished shoes without much wrinkles are fine. Lastly, for watch - there wont be a dearth of brand reccos. I personally wear a smartwatch. Don't like wearing two watches and like the tracking of smartwatches so thats why. Probably can wear a watch with a smart ring for tracking but I'm still good with my smart watch.

dude 1.5 lakh, seriously?

are u in lit?

konsi mahan firm hai ye

okay jokes apart you can go for ralph they seriously have great shirts. or go for ferragamo ( slightly cheaper go for Hugo boss)
watches you can start from tissot , seiko , entry level rado , Frederique Constant.

shoes you can go for Tods , bally , ferragamo

Given the necessity to have a separate thread to discuss the latest developments and trends in the Bengaluru Law firm markets, please consider this thread especially only limiting to latest rumours of bengaluru based all firms including CAM, SAM, LUTHRA, Trilegal, etc..etc, and have a meaningful discussion hereon of all the issues like PPO count for BO'26, Rumours, Movements, Expansion plans, etc.

Request Moderator to Feature this thread for better reach and helping out all the fellow Lawyers intending to work in the city for long a term.

Bro, it’s all about give-and-take. If you’re not going to allow UK law firms in India, why should they give concessions to Indian lawyers, like visas and reciprocal recognition of degrees?

Thus, good news for middle class Indian IT professionals, bad news for middle class Indian lawyers. You can thank Lalaji LLP for that.

Nothing for lawyers here due to the SILF lobby.....the least that should be done given the Law Society's ongoing consultations with the Bar Council of India:

a) Reciprocal recognition of undergraduate law degrees from NLU's and top ranked private law universities. Giving an blanket reciprocal recognition will be difficult given the standard of law colleges in India.

b) Alternatively reduce the 2 year requirement for SQE 2 exemption to 6 months. The SRA already does this for jurisdictions like Kenya. If it can be done for Kenya, why not India.

The UK needs to stop treating Indian legal market as a third word legal market. If you want the share of the Indian legal market, lawyers here too need a share of the UK market or atleast relax the SQE requirements like I have mentioned.

" To advise on fintech and crypto, swaps and derivatives, AI algorithm regulation etc? Or even basic litigation stuff like drafting a plaint, strategising on jurisdiction, damages claims etc?"

That's what the law courses are for. You seem to forget the LLB part of the degree.

Among the tier 1 nlu's, NUJS seems to be getting the most hate. From the past half a decade I feel we've hearing stuff like "NUJS is crumbling"....now see...perhaps its not on an upward trajectory, but its not on a downward one either I feel....what are your thoughts on it?

Stop fearmongering. Corporate law is currently the best profession for young law graduates to earn financial stability in their lives. With increasing globalisation and India signing FTAs with developed countries, the market is going to open up more. The PE/VC market is still at a very nascent stage in India as compared to the mature PE market in the US/UK. When Indian PE market matures and capital markets reach all time high, practice areas like M&A/PE/VC, capital markets, B&F will become the highest billing fields, even more than US (barring China). The A0 pay would easily cross 40-50 LPA in the next 10 years. Mark my words.

Realistic advice: You don’t need to have a law firm or corporate career to move abroad while continuing in law. Look at each country’s immigration laws + prospects for foreign lawyers carefully + support a particular degree offers for searching for a job or internship (the LLM is pretty useless to find law jobs abroad). You might be able to find a contract manager, legal operations specialist type role with a lot of luck but there’s a reason why your friends who managed to settle abroad are tech or MBA people.

My background: T1 law firm; LLM; moved to a foreign firm.

Not only that, but reports on social media say that STEM and business students are being preferred over humanities students. Very clear that it is a RW agenda that views humanities students as leftists and anti-Israel.

https://www.indiatoday.in/amp/india/story/indian-government-mea-raises-indian-students-visa-delays-issue-with-us-state-department-embassy-kirti-vardhan-singh-2761200-2025-07-25

Alright, let’s cut the crap. Why is there so much hate for Aman Nandrajog? Seriously — what did the guy do? Be the son of a judge? Smile a little too much? Post one too many gym selfies? Oh no, sound the alarm — a well-spoken, confident guy from a privileged background who’s… also nice? Must be stopped!

Look, I’ve dealt with Aman in both professional and social settings. I’ve met his law firm partners — Sumeer Sodhi, Varun Tankha at VSA Legal — smart guys, solid work ethic, grounded. Are they privileged? Absolutely. But here’s the thing: privilege alone doesn’t disqualify hard work, and it sure as hell doesn’t justify cowardly, anonymous hit jobs on LI.

You don’t like their background? Fine. Debate the system. But don’t pretend you’re punching up when all you’re doing is dragging someone down because it’s convenient. This isn’t activism. It’s envy masquerading as outrage. Be better.

Can we have a closed group on any platform - WhatsApp etc - for corporate lawyers? We introduce ourselves - share opportunities- maybe discuss life in firms without mods judging us - (no offense LI we love you). No creeps obviously and someone a little more enthusiastic can be admin and remove any one trying to be icky? I see people from the top nlu’s have these alumni groups and as someone not from the top three NLU’s a lot of us constantly miss out on this. Joining pre-requisite could be introducing yourself, including the firm you work for etc on the group? Would love to be a part of such community. TBH all of us anyway know each other in some form or through someone.

Hi! I am facing the EXACT SAME THING (although I don't work for a T1). Recently joined a boutique firm as an A0 (BO' 25). My seniors are also nice enough to help me out and point out where I am going wrong. Still, I feel that at this point, they've either accepted the way I am and do not expect anything better from me, or are still waiting for me to get better, even though I do feel I have gotten better but don't think the feeling is mutual. I've been left longing for at least a "good job" or a "well done," and it's not their fault; it's probably mine because I am not doing something worth that. But I am trying each and every day to make myself better, and that work gets a go-ahead without major changes (which is such a real boost for me istg). But there is a silver lining there - I am learning so much every day and becoming more aware of what I need to work on or what I am not good at. I believe as long as your seniors are not unhappy and specifically calling you out on things, you are not doing as badly as you think you are. So keep doing what I do, work as much as you can, and keep asking for guidance from your seniors. BTW I still haven't asked for feedback from my partner because I'm shit scared to do that as I know what I am gonna receive, but one of these days I am gonna gather the courage and go for it. And you can reach out to me if wanna cry together. Haha!!

Here is the thing, you will keep making mistakes in the beginning because your brain is not used to doing one thing so relentlessly day in and day out. Eventually, you will get used to it and make fewer mistakes. The best way of eliminating them is that you start keeping a list of the mistakes you make and then the next time you are done with a task and check if you have made the same mistakes at the end before sending it out. Checking off against a list will help you avoid repeats and make you have learn from your past.

Taking solace from other's mistakes is not in my view correct, sure everyone makes mistakes, but you must only measure up to your own high standards. People in the legal profession have varying tolerances, but as long as you set lofty standards for yourself and work towards meeting them you will end up doing better. It will help with your esteem to.

As for feeling like it is the end of the world or that you are not cut out for practicing law, remember once you go up the chain your only job is to catch other's mistakes - like the ones you yourself are making. Everyone made them and has now grown past it. You will to, if you manage to just work through it. There's nothing you can do once a mistake is made and sent out apart from learn, I suggest you get good at that atleast.

"The dismal relationship between the Judges of the High Court and the Judges of the District Judiciary is one between a feudal lord and serf," the court noted. The body language of District Judges when they greet High Court Judges is so subdued that "it stops short of grovelling," it remarked, adding that District Judges appear to be "the only identifiable species of invertebrate mammals."

The court went on to document instances where District Judges received High Court Judges at railway stations and waited on them with refreshments - practices that it described as perpetuating "colonial decadence" and reinforcing a "sense of entitlement."

Even when District Judges are deputed to the High Court registry, they are often not offered a seat and, on rare occasions when they are, they hesitate to sit, said the court. This systemic inequality, the court stated, has led to complete psychological enslavement, where the District Judiciary operates under a constant fear of displeasing the High Court.

https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/savarnas-and-shudras-madhya-pradesh-high-court-slams-judiciarys-power-dynamics-8953266?pfrom=home-ndtv_topscroll

Do y’all agree or disagree with is observation? On the one hand, the Palestine issue has united the left worldwide, especially college students. The ICJ has clearly laid down the law. In India, we have seen a couple of student groups in top law schools pass resolutions in solidarity with Palestine and condemning Israel. On the other hand, one can argue that there are many domestic issues that need to be taken. Also, even from a global lens, one can argue that the rights of Uyghur Muslims, Tibetan Buddhists, Bangladeshi Hindus, Balochi Muslims and now Druze have not received the same attention.

https://www.livelaw.in/high-court/bombay-high-court/speaking-for-gaza-isnt-patriotism-take-up-issues-of-our-own-country-bombay-hc-rejects-cpim-plea-for-protest-298772

Good Morning people of LI, I need some help. I'm from a private college in Mumbai, where I ended up due to some unfortunate circumstances. I have an interest in M&A, and have an internship lined-up at LKS in the Corporate M&A team. This is scheduled in the month of October.

About the vacancies I will enquire when I join the internship, but can someone let me know if LKS gives out PPOs to private colleges? Do I have any scope?

They need not be same, but preferably should be in same subjects or atleast related fields. Or have a good reason to convince one.

Minimum qualification to teach is NET only, but some NLUs ask especially for PhD candidates. But not all. Also, pursuing PhD is also considered as a factor for teaching.

Do search some last year advertisements for getting to know their qualification.

More than 465 legal jobs eradicated due to AI being able to read legalese with more and more ease. Are knowledge based professions done for? People with up to 7 years of experience have been removed. And at the bottom of our hearts - let’s be honest - we all know AI can do our jobs. Terrified!!!!

https://abovethelaw.com/2025/07/microsoft-layoffs-hit-in-house-counsel-is-ai-disruption-to-blame/

It is SHIT. Their pay is 30k pm. As an intern, you will work only on compliance manuals. Interned there for 6 months, their associates are soooo weird. Diksha will compete with you at every level. Anshita and Deonn are the only nice people. So if you are ready for compliance manuals and basic brsr work, join