I have a good university pool rank in my college, and due to some miscommunications, could not use my rank to get good national moots like NLS Arbitration, NUJS Corporate or HNLU International moot etc.

Are there any good moots left to be announced till April? Cnlu Patna was the latest and that is gone to a different team from my college, too

In my firm, I see that there are a good number of senior partners from NLS (considering we had an early start) and sufficient number of young partners ( considering other good NLUs that have come up over the years). But what is shocking is abysmal number of young associates at SA and PA level. There is also a joke going around that NLS folks are quitters. Partners at T1 law firms, do you see this trend as well? It would be good to witness if kids are moving to litigation or other areas but that is not the case; majority of the recent batches are still sitting for placements. Therefore, unless they are going abroad (which is doubtful to say the least), one could say that they are not doing well enough for law firm culture and are relegating themselves to in-house counsel setup with deep paycut in the long run. Is this true across other tier 1s as well?

Hey guys,

Hoping this reaches out to the people who have been in the profession for a while. In the context of corporate law, something I've realised recently is that if you need to make a name or be at your highest earning potential, you have to be in the Tier-1 firms. However, every person I talk who have been in one of these Tier-1 firms, echo the same concern - burnout. Honestly, that's a valid and genuine factor to consider, cause burnout shouldn't be a reason to dissuade one from a practice/industry they are interested in. Also, for an industry which requires one to be so precise, everyone's body can only do so much until it gives up. So how does one in these Tier-1 firms even make partner when they suffer so much in 6 months - 1 year? Is there an alternative? (I'm sure there's a way to work around this) (fingers crossed)

So, as per the opinion of the experienced, what would you suggest? I'll obviously play devil's advocate but I really want your take on this? (HELP)

1. Transition as a lawyer to a country which prioritises WLB (Navigating the entire procedure of transition)

2. Move in-house (potentially stunts growth for people early in their career)

3. Do a different practice area like litigation, IP etcc.

4. Stick to a boutique your whole career (obviously earning far less than your Tier-1 counterparts)

5. Your suggestions

Regards,

Someone who is going through it

Hi all,

Would anyone please be able to give me a ballpark figure or the salary range for working in India as a senior research fellow in one of the law think tanks like Vidhi Legal or any other independent research organisations? (specifically in the field of climate change law and environmental law).

I would say fight with them again. NLU is worth it. Talk to your mentors and get them to have a conversation with your parents

But if u really have no option and u stick to the private college, it’ll definitely be hard but what I will ask u to do is keep your grades up. Be on top of your batch, intern in all the right places, build connections.

Did u go to a coaching centre? If any of your friends made it in, then keep in touch with them. Ask seniors for guidance..

I wish u all the best.

12 L benefit ceases once you cross it.

Crores poured into airports in Bihar that will be underutilised and money will go into the pockets of politicians.

Nothing to tax rich farmers or fake farmers like Suhana Khan.

No privatisation of PSUs

Could go one….

The posts here look so scary, but here's my experience. I was subjected to screaming on a daily basis that was so loud that my entire office building could hear (the kind you get goosebumps on your body for). Words such as BC, MC etc were hurled at me on the daily. The partner's abuses were personal in nature - For example: This part of the draft is quite stupid - would translate as you are so stupid. But apart from work deliverables I was called stupid for picking up his full can of juice as opposed to his empty one, for throwing it away, I have been called stupid for setting up his laptop and not fixing his mouse with it. I was sent to buy cigarettes for him on the daily, and i would breathe his second hand smoke like it was implied consent for working there, and come home smelling of it. I was used as the office boy for our office and did a lot of office boy things when all the other branches had an office boy. I would leave office as late 11 pm, 12 am daily, and still get yelled at as to how i am not giving in sufficient time in the office. I was forced to stay in even when i didn't have work, and had to listen to the partners admission that - 'this was ragging, haha now sit'- because he was lazy too lock the door. I was yelled at for the maid's cleaning as well. I was yelled at for wearing formal clothes that he didnt like and was not appreciative of. I have gone to the office when i have met with accidents riding my bike and was forced to buy his cigarettes - limping down the stairs with a twisted ankle. This man would take a piss behind me where the washroom was but would not close the door. He would not even flush. He would ask me to massage his neck. He would tell me to wear makeup and basically use fear to get whatever the fuck he wants. I quit after 2.5 years, and i took a while off because i fell horribly sick. But i hope this man burns in hell.

Lol..if you want people to work more and during non working hours, incentive by paying more. There's no financial upside for your juniors to help you in making money at the cost of their physical, mental and social health. Your selfish needs are not going to be met merely by a spewing a dubious narrative

Why don't you admit that you kicked off your career in a toxic environment, either didn't think too much about the toxicity or thought it was okay and you are now assuming everyone will think the same way? Please engage in some deep reflection, because as someone who's never been attracted to a law firm career (either in India or overseas) for personal reasons but who's happy to play devil's advocate, this thread is likely to make otherwise talented people think again about whether such a career is for them.

Precisely. It is a service industry. Not a servitude industry. When seniors pocket fat chunks of the money, and ensure that juniors will not progress in the profession; juniors quickly undertand the need to chart out their path for themselves. Juniors too, are providing a service, we are not in the servitude model.

Look, my question essentially is this: do law firms pay you your monthly retainership fee post tax deduction based on the tax slabs for e.g., 10% of net taxable salary calculated on the basis of overall yearly salary calculation? Or is there a flat 10% tax deduction each month on the gross salary?

On the face of it, this is not a fair summary since in the last few years NLSIU has been hiring a sizeable number of faculty from disciplines other than law and has been in the process of becoming a multi-disciplinary institution. The diversity of disciplines, the introduction of new academic programmes like M.P.P., and most recently B.A. Honours, should ideally create a more interesting intellectual landscape for current and future students. One can debate whether this project, which is still very much in its early stages, is succeeding or not, but it would be altogether unreasonable to simply ignore it and dismiss an institution as a state university, which every NLU, including NLSIU, is; no shame in that, by the way.

Now it is a valid concern that institutions like NLUs, founded and run with a specific vocational focus may not offer the same depth and breadth of research as other full-fledged central, state, or deemed-to-be universities. But in their own way, they can allow would-be scholars with particular interests at the intersection of law and the wider social sciences to pursue their research interests that would often be dismissed in other universities for not being sufficiently rooted in a specific discipline.

As a general advice, before applying to any institution, one should always go through its faculty and their work to get a sense of whether what they want to do can actually be done in that particular institutional context. This matters in every discipline, including law.

With regard to NLSIU, please note the following figures (based on data received through RTI) for admission to its Ph.D. programme in the academic year of 2024–2025.

Number of Ph.D. vacancies (Law + Inter-disciplinary) = 4 + 4 (as mentioned in the notification at https://www.nls.ac.in/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Admissions-Notification-Research-Degree-Programme-2024-25.pdf)

Number of Ph.D. applicants in Law = 83

Number of Ph.D. applicants in Law who appeared in NLSAT-PhD = 70

Number of Ph.D. applicants in Law who qualified for oral presentation = 3

Number of Ph.D. applicants in Law who were selected for admission = 1

Number of Ph.D. applicants in Inter-disciplinary = 42

Number of Ph.D. applicants in Inter-disciplinary who appeared in NLSAT-PhD = 38

Number of Ph.D. applicants in Inter-disciplinary who qualified for oral presentation = 12

Number of Ph.D. applicants who were selected for admission = 2

Hope this helps.

Hey, a 4th year this side. (To give you context, I have won and lost some international ADR Competitions.)

Very cliched but take this as a victory and a lesson. As a first year, doing so well is amazing. It’s not the end of your achievements or college life, it’s the beginning. Don’t lose hope or the drive over anything. You will keep losing or winning, what’s important is to keep working. Lastly, I would say surround yourself around people give you good advice. I believe this makes or breaks your college life.

All the best for your upcoming semester

A senior who believes in you

There is hardly some conversation on this practice area on LI. I'm currently in my 3rd year of Law at one of the mid tier NLU.

I've zero experience of this area but it seems to be interesting. Can someone shed light on some aspects like:

1. Does firms hire in this area frequently just like GC?

2. Is there any kind of pay disparity with comparison to GC?

3. How should I plan my next internships and activities in order to get a job in a decent firm?

4. I've interest in IP laws and a bit in RE too, how to approach it.

I'm really confused someone please help me out.

Okay so I just finished an internship under him and I must say, he is definitely one of the best mentors ive ever worked with. He takes his interns seriously and assigns meaningful work and actually takes time out to guide and give useful useful inputs. Idt they're hiring atp bec I couldn't secure a callback despite positive feedback but if you get an opportunity to intern you should definitely take it up even if it doesn't come with the possibility of being absorbed.

The only issue with the non TD teams are their Counsels/RPs who are not very trained - especially to handle a team. Poor souls spend hours to do the smallest of tasks, are perpetually spaced out, lost and sleep deprived, making the whole team wait around simply because of their own inefficiencies. They have no life beyond work and love to spend time only in office. No point blaming the lead partner who has great work and is a star performer

The Economist Article:

https://www.economist.com/business/2025/01/14/why-elite-mba-graduates-are-struggling-to-find-jobs

One can only pity the places like BITSLaw, IIULER, and JGLS where students have to shell out north of ₹65 lacs for a five-year degree. State NLUs (like NLS) too cannot keep hiking their fees because the same phenomenon is being witnessed. Taking an education loan is the biggest scam. Stay clear of this nonse**e.

3 year law or 5 year law

Please elaborate what are the options that I might lose or gain if I choose any

I do not really wish to join corporate law but might intend working in law firms or even in international organizations like UN, World Bank or ECOSOC.

Can law give an advantage to the career of diplomacy if done from a really good college? I am biased towards 3 year law as it is my drop year and don't wanna commit to law (5 year things :p)

As a final-year student, I was wondering what the general procedure and etiquette for job applications is- is it the same as internship applications? I already have internships lined up till I graduate and I want to start applying for jobs too in case none of the internships pan out as I am sure if the places I am interning at have any vacancies at the moment.

Which firms pay the highest at the senior levels in india?

CAM ,SAM, Azb ,S&R , Khaitan ,trilegal
&

Whether if someone if switching from botique firm having good name in market to tier 1 firm..will the salary be increased as per your previous salary or as per firm remuneration.

I'm a student in a T1 NLU, will be First gen lawyer. I want to have a litigation practice at the Nagpur HC, wanted to know more about the money involved, good areas of practice, good seniors to work under, etc

Also generally curious about how many people from Nagpur actually use LI, because the only threads I see about Nagpur are about MNLU.

You make a good point. One should not make a generalised statement. Depends if you are with a Lala company or with an MNC or a A grade company. The move to in house may not appeal to all. Some lawyers may miss focused practice areas, having external clients, or the chip of being a partner in a law firm. In the other hand a GC thrives in being a business partner that offers a blend of legal challenge and commercial support. Hope advocate babu updates himself with changing times.