Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas (CAM) has postponed fresher joining dates all the way until next year, according to emails sent by the firm to candidates most of whom had accepted offers in 2019 to join the firm in August 2020.
The firm cited “short term consequences” of the Covid-19 pandemic for the move.
In May we had reported that CAM had pushed around 78 freshers’ joining dates by two months to October 2020.
Yesterday, CAM has postponed the joining dates even further, by another three months to 4 January 2021.
While no mention was made in the email of how or from when - if at all - there would be any compensation paid to students during the delay, the firm has suggested that online training sessions would be help after 15th November 2020 for the incoming batch.
CAM announced in the email that it would launch the CAM Gurukul Campus programme, “specially curated for our campus recruits”.
This is an apparent offshoot of its continuing legal education (CLE) initiative dubbed CAM Gurukul, which it had started in April 2019.
There was no explicit mention of whether those students should or could find alternative work in the meantime until January (assuming there are many such gigs available during this time, particularly with courts closed).
However, the firm did assure the future (potential) joinees that more details would be communicated to them.
We have reached out to CAM for comment, which had also implemented one of the more aggressive internal deferrals / cuts of fee-earner salaries amongst firms, of up to 30%.
Update 10:58: CAM commented: “Safety of the freshers and the practicalities of the current situation were key factors driving our decision. If things improve we can always reconsider. We will be virtually engaging with the batch of 2020 to induct them.”
Khaitan & Co had also deferred its fresher starting dates to October back in May, though it also made an assurance it would honour every offer. By contrast, only its equity partners had agreed to a reduction in drawings of 20%.
Since then though, Khaitan has internally announced that working from home would most likely continue until the end of December 2020, as we had reported last week.
CAM email to new batch of (not yet) associates
The email sent by CAM yesterday, which we have confirmed from several independent sources, reads:
Dear All,
Hope you and your loved ones are safe and well.
I look forward to welcoming our new batch of Associates soon.
In light of the current COVID - 19 pandemic and short term consequences, this is to inform you that the joining date for all new joinees in the Firm has been deferred to January 4th, 2021.
With the launch of our CAM Gurukul Campus program, we are pleased to share that we will be conducting regular learning and training sessions online prior to their joining us.
This curriculum has been specially curated for our campus recruits.
The program will commence post 15th November, 2020.
The schedule and details shall be communicated in due course.
Stav well. stav safe!
Comments
Don't understand what's hard part for CAM: paying fair share to kids or filling their pockets with someone's share
Their offer is intact
Pops is teaching them law (which law schools are miserable at)
Not sure about other firms who have some 2 to 5 freshers to take care of, how can 60 plus people be inducted into a system during the lockdown ?
Good way to earn money in addition to China valley income, travel company, not paying market standard salary, being the first firm to cut salaries of juniors, rental income, etc.
This is why the firm says that they invest in infrastructure.
Happy working!!!
Good management call.
Doesn’t make sense to on-board when WFH
Like most sectors even law firm will have some impact & will take a while to reach pre Covid times.
Though loads of opportunities for law firms, even during Covid times.
Question is how are you capitalising the same?
I mean for how long can one anyway expect to change names on a template. The brain like the body needs some exercise. Can't remain a glorified clerk forever, right?
Start applying to counsel chambers. Litigation is where money and fulfillment both lay.
We are staying 'ahead of the curve' the best way possible:
No job
No money
No compensation
No idea about the possibility for other employment
And no possibility of raising any query with the firm :)
Definitely ahead of others
Maybe I stayed too 'ahead of the curve'
*Cries in regret*
How many more signs do you need? Devote your life to social service.
Litigation
Once all this is over & courts re-open, litigation practices will soar
Do it for selfish reasons if you must
But look beyond corporate as well
It is better in long run IMO
I wish someone had told me before I wasted so many years
There is a bloody pandemic going on. People are dying. How can these new joiners only care about money? Is that why you studied law?
Your paychecks won't be of any use if lockdowns become the new normal. Rather than mocking this measure from CAM. One should rally behind it and demand that offers are even further deferred till the pandemic is completely over.
Unless law firms have become LIC, no one gets paid for shit happening.
Is it true that at one of the reunions of a prominent NLU, one of the litigation guys offered a batchmate of his (salaried partner in a firm) who was about to lose his job a position as a servant in his house? And promised to pay him more than what he earned at the lawfirm?
I am prospective law student. This story was told to me at a coaching centre.
Are corporate guys really so miserable? Please advise. Need to make career choice.
.
Because from your comment, it seems you are fine being miserable doing donkey work for a firm. But you are still too egoistic to reply genuinely to a prospective law student, who might actually get influenced by your naive comments.
No not everyone is miserable. Salman khan is enjoying in his farmhouse in panvel.
Separately, interested to know if the "about to lose his job salaried partner" took up the job?
And why jealous? Because our girl friends run away with litigators
Corporate==no time no money. Safety ofcourse. Makes the girlfriends question if they really can't do better, that they had to settle for ghochus.
I don't know if the salaried partner took the job. But they are treated worse than clerks by senior counsels. No respect at all.
We don't go to court. Big closings are sometimes just an email going out.
We sometimes meet clients. They're often bossy & never too thrilled to see us either.
We have big targets. There's pressure, less variety of work, monotony.
In 3 offices I worked people have been mean but nothing I could do.
Casual talk is about who quit or plans to quit. Or office politics.
Quality of life, work, satisfaction, etc are hands down better in litigation.
First few years just pay less. Everyone manages & you could do.
Few years down even average lawyers in lit do well. Those in corp have meltdowns.
Actually it seems everyone in corp has a meltdown now or then.
This is why there is such negativity in comments
Corporate is good for steady money;
You work hard for ten years and then you bear the fruits of labour with more steady money and better work life balance;
You don’t do any cutting edge legal work - but there will be days when you feel fulfilled and After ten years you will have time for family, hobbies, social work and life in general;
It is an easier bet as even a mediocre person with a lot of hard work will get all of the above;
If you are a star then - more money and more time to live a full life.
Litigation - absolutely no money for the first ten years. The Salves of the world don’t pay;
If your family is connected, very high chances of you doing well - go for it.
If you are not connected, everything depends on your merit and luck.
If both these factors are aligned, in fifteen years time you will be doing useful work, making money, but doubt you will have any time for anything else.
If you are a mediocre person and have no connections, you are in deep shit. In fifteen years, you will be just about to take your family to Manali for holidays and life will be a struggle - no time and no money.
Litigation is a gamble. More risk, more reward. So make your choices on what YOU want.
As for negativity at work - it is there everywhere. You will rise above it if you focus on your work and not on others work.
You will see there a huge number. Which is more than the number of partners in all lawfirms combined.
No even mediocre person in litigation earns more than partners in lawfirms after 4 years on average. If you are good at law then there is no limit.
Two months high court and supreme court is closed and you enjoy like anything. In a lawfirm hardly two weeks you get.
Also, life is much more than just money. [...]
Litigation stimulates the mind.
Practicing Lawyer at a court - NSE Small Cap
Stable returns vs volatile returns. Depends from person to person and their risk appetite.
I have heard lockdown and work from home is basically a paid vacation.
Infact many lawyers are hoping the lockdown never ends. Just stay at home and do nothing.
Soon people can shift to very small cities. Save on rent. Stay inside all day. No vacations. No going to resturants. No parties. Nothing.
All we care is that we get paid. We care about safety. And wonder is that all one is worth? And then one day one will realise it would have been much better to become a beggar than be a corporate clerk.
Genuine advice needed