Does anyone know firms doing good competition law work that hire freshers, or people with less than a year PQE without contacts. I have a decent CV that shows I am interested in competition law with internships in the field and I am currently working with a boutique law firm (relatively unknown) in competition law as well. Does anyone have advice on how to go about making my CV more attractive for recruiters or firms that would hire without contacts?

Ramanathan and Vahanvati I would say, and for the commentary below since when is Desai & Diwanji boutique? Having interned at D&d's mumbai corp team I would recommend to go for something else if you have the opportunity you learn absolutely nothing at d&d as an intern and their hiring practice wrt to interns is dubious

"I am from a good college in Mumbai with a good CV"

= "I am from an allegedly good college in Mumbai with a good CV, but my college is not an NLU"

If the big day doesn't work for you, take NLSAT and try to get into NLS. Otherwise, go for litigation for now.

If you have mail confirmation, try getting in touch with the HR and see what they’re saying.

Perhaps try to get some information by asking an indirect confirmation like: “When will I approximately get to know regarding further joining details?” or “Will I be directly joining (X) Partner’s team itself?” to gauge the current status of the PPO if you can.

Hang in there though!

bruh if you lose hope like this so early on, this field is going to eat you whole.

1. Considering you have written proofs too, you shouldn't be worried at all. Did you try showing said proofs to the HR? Call the HR everyday and ask him/her to connect you with the partner or to give you clarity about your situation. Maybe try connecting with the associates in the team you worked with? In case you were able to make a good rapport with one of them, speak to them and ask them if there is any reason why the partner has suddenly ghosted you.

2. If none of this is working out, fuck the firm. Talk to your RCC or your faculty in charge for the placement committee, explain to them your situation and persuade them to let you sit for the placements. You are in T1 NLU so you are obviously smart and have the goodwill of your college name too. I am sure the RCC will let you sit for exceptional circumstances, this isn't a situation where you are at fault.

3. Worst case scenario, none of this works out, reach out to your alumni, explain the situation without naming or dissing the firm/partner and try and bag an assessment internship. Again a T1 NLU tag will definitely help your case. 2026 is still far away, you still have the chance to secure a placement with/without your college RCC helping you.

Just don't lose hope, good luck!

Kids, there's no easy way to say this - this profession in India was meant to consume a much much smaller number of lawyers that could meaningfully work and rise through the ranks to become future partners. I see it everyday - principal associates are regularly told to pack their bags. At that time you are what 31, 32? in any other profession you would be just starting out, finding your footing. Here? Complete eradication. I say this with zero malice, think about something else. Not because of AI, not because of pressure but because if you truly try to understand the depths of corporate law - the paying capacity of clients, the actual revenues of Indian law firms vs foreign law firms, the partner track as of TODAY - you would actually do much better literally in any other profession. Ask any principal associate or even retained partner and they will tell you the exact same thing.

Have interned in their Bengaluru office. If you got through reference, then you won't be getting any stipend exception being if you perform really well. Before the commencement of your internship, they ask for preferred practice area and will allot you accordingly. Also pro tip if you are looking for a ppo offer then please don't choose transaction team as your chances of getting ppo's are less there compared to other practice area. Hope this helps. Best of luck.

Look, maybe Kapil wanted his kids to hustle on their own. Respect, honestly. Loads of high-achieving parents with evolved mindsets do this—think Bill Gates, Steve Jobs. Closer home, the Indian legal circuit has its own “no-nonsense, earn-your-stripes” success stories. Firms like JSA straight-up have anti-nepotism policies baked into their DNA. Even the OG legacy firms like CAM/SAM have managed to stay top-tier by not just playing the surname game—they’ve handed equity to the worthy and aced the art of parenting-meets-mentorship so their juniors actually earn their seat at the table.

Now coming to Gopal Sanks—LOL, comparing him to the Sibal Bros is apples and orangutans. The Sibals are swimming in the big-money stuff—commercial disputes, fat arbitration gigs, courtroom drama with corporate stakes. That’s not the SC’s usual vibe, btw. The Supreme Court is more into the aam janta space—public interest, policy, constitutional questions- and, yes - the occasional commercial appeal. Not where the money flows, but easier to enter if you’ve got, like, half a brain, a decent handle on English, and the holy trinity: unpaid work, a sponsor, and most critically—a GURU. Your ticket to the club is referrals, baby.

Gopal didn’t come from crorepati cash, but let’s not kid ourselves—he had elite privilege. Bureaucrat dad. KKV as his legal godfather. What he did have was serious drive—and he ran with it. That combo? Lethal. And that’s why he’s where he is.

GS is a purely Supreme Court lawyer, that does not mean he is being briefed in commercial matters - he appears in a lot of service and writ matters.

If anything both Akhil and Amit Sibal are doing both hardcore commercial matters before all Courts and Tribunals, and are probably earning more than GS.

PS - Earning more or working exclusively in the Supreme Court is no measure of success. My point is both GS and the Sibal brothers are doing well and are on similar levels - one can't compare

How many times did you fail CLAT? You seem to have some extraordinary grudge/feeling of hate against T1 Indian law firms that those who passed CLAT usually don't.

NB: To be clear about definitions, "[passing] CLAT" = "admission into T1 NLU", nothing more, nothing less.

Hi, I am an A0 at a Tier 1 law firm in Delhi. I have been working for a few months now and have participated in a few DDs as well. Since the past few weeks, I have been making so many mistakes, it’s eating me up from inside. I have been making small and big mistakes, both, even consecutive mistakes in the same matter at different points.

My seniors, including the partner I was working under, are nice people. I think that’s why, it feels worse disappointing them everytime. Moreover, I have been working hard, staying late in the office to get work done. However, that hasn’t helped me deliver a decent work product. As a result, I think, I haven’t been getting as much work either in the past week.

A few weeks ago, I thought I was getting a hang of everything and I was getting a lot of work, but now I don’t know how to proceed. A major part of me now thinks that this profession, because of it’s requirement to attention to detail, isn’t for me. I don’t even understand where my concentration goes or/and how I end up making an error. Also, I don’t feel like working, because I know that even with my best efforts, I am going to deliver a substandard work product. Even so, I like law and transactions in general. Part of me wants to be in the profession for whatever reason.

I need guidance as to how to proceed. I saw another post here on making a checklist. What should the checklist consist of? Is there anything else I can do to help myself? I am trying to take my work slow, but even then, I catch some things amiss on a re-read when the document has been sent out. After that, my morale reaches a low point and I don’t feel like working all over again. Because of this, I have been feeling very anxious as well, which was not a problem as much even when I was burdened with a lot of work.

Approach the HR preferably GM, or CJ (acronyms: take a look at linkedin) they are very helpful and approachable. Be honest about it and give a good reason for not filling it up (health issue, occupied in internship work) and write an polite email for the same. Mostly, they'll give you your stipend. All the best!

The number of upvotes your post has received shows how much humanities-oriented this platform is.

Your comment would make a lot of sense in the year 2000. Today, things have changed. A generalist law degree (like a BA-LLB) followed by an LLM in a special area would make sense. Today, that differentiation is happening at the UG level itself. There is a reason why questions are being raised about having generalist civil service officers versus specialist ones. The need and demand for specialist roles are rising.

At the current moment, all top law colleges are managed and led by those who are products of the traditional BA-LLB-oriented thinking and approach; hence, they will resist change. For real transformation to happen, the current crop has to retire, and new law schools that are not bound by archaic thinking have to crop up. It is happening, and they are NOT going to be the state NLUs. Let's talk after 10 years. Sure. By then, it will be embarrassing to even say that one holds a BA-LLB degree.

So the majority of people on LI actually believe that studying Marxist ideologues like Romila Thapar will better prepare them for law firm careers? 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?

Wow. 😳😳😳

So I'm not from an Nlu and that's the reason I've opted for Disputes practice and also have had previous Disputes internship's in 2 Tier 1 firms, so given the fact that my Cv has enough experience to prepare for my final year internships, I'm really looking to overcome the mistakes which I had made in those internships and thus seeking guidance, Also as you asked- I'm intending to practice in Bengaluru's Disputes circle and have had my previous Internships too here itself and also have command over kannada, considering all these could you now put down a Roadmap for me as to what exactly should be my approach for the Teir 1 Disputes Internship I have lined-up ahead??

This could be a 10,000 word essay but gonna try to keep it short.

1. It’s MUNDANE - the human brain has finite capacity for focussed work. If something is boring it makes is 10x harder to do it with a sleep deficit, under pressure and in a reasonable time frame.

2. The offer document is templated but the diligence that goes into it is not. Think of the DRHP as a really long complicated form that you need to fill for opening a bank account.

Visa liberalisation and mutual recognition of qualifications in engineering, architecture, and accounting will result in more Indian professionals working in the IT, finance, legal, and healthcare sectors in the UK. It is estimated that this will create 60,000 new service sector jobs over the next five years.

https://www.news18.com/explainers/clothes-jewellery-scotch-how-india-uk-fta-will-bring-cheers-to-these-sectors-ws-dl-9457641.html

I have reached a point where even if I apply for gen corp / m and an internships with Tier 1’s I am being allocated to tax team considering my vast internship and experience. Is there anything I can do to switch to do gen corp internships. Or should I stick to boutiques. If yes pl recommend some.

I have better experience and a stronger interest in Banking and Finance. However, I’m not from Mumbai, and most of the work in this field is concentrated there. I would prefer to eventually work in Bangalore or Hyderabad, where M&A and PE/VC work is more prominent. (I also have experience in M&A and PE/VC, and I enjoy that too.)

What should I choose in the long run? Can I switch from Banking and Finance to M&A and PE/VC later? Is such a transition possible? Is the work at least relatively familiar? Will people in the other teams consider my Banking and Finance experience equivalent, or even slightly lesser, but still relevant?

Another factor is that, because of the concentration of opportunities, almost everyone in my batch is applying for M&A and PE/VC roles. As a result, there don’t seem to be as many openings across firms. In contrast, since fewer people apply to Banking and Finance, the few roles that do exist seem more accessible, provided you meet their expectations. Is that a fair observation?

Ultimately, I know I cannot live in Mumbai long-term. Are there any Banking and Finance teams outside Mumbai, particularly in Bangalore or Hyderabad, that are growing and offer decent quality of work and pay? Or is it more realistic to eventually move to a Transactions team (M&A/PE-VC) in one of those cities?

I agree with most of the points raised in these threads, though one important nuance keeps getting missed. My concern isn’t just about being passed over; it's that many of those being selected ahead of me often haven’t done any substantial or relevant internships. In several cases, it’s just an internship with an NCLT lawyer or a small local firm in Jaipur, followed by a sudden leap into a tier-1 internship at firms like SAM. That trajectory understandably raises questions about the criteria being used. Someone asked how I know I’ve demonstrated consistent effort, it's because I’ve been interning consecutively during off months, sometimes three to four months in a row. That’s far from common practice, even among students from tier-1 colleges. I also want to be clear, this isn’t about looking down on students from non-NLUs. I’ve always respected them, fully aware of the relentless work it takes to break into the corporate sector, especially when only about 2 out of every 100 law graduates make it there. My frustration lies not with individuals but with a system that often overlooks sustained effort and merit in favor of less transparent factors.

People will now say that this dude is being elitist and whatnot but honestly, you’re one hundred per cent right. 90% of people at tier-1 law firms aren’t from tier-1 or even tier-2 NLUs. Law firms would rather have these tier 3 kids who won’t leave than someone from a top university.