Intl law firms make beeline for Indian law colleges

By Faye D'Souza, CNBC-TV18

International law firms are making a beeline for Indian law colleges to pick the cream of the crop. They are hoping the Indian legal sector will open up in the next few years.

The placement period at the National Law School of India University in Bangalore won't end for another month. But the batch of 80 students in the final year have already been placed with nearly 40% landing jobs at the some of the biggest international law firms like Clifford Chance, Linklaters, Allen & Overy, Simmons & Simmons and Herbert & Smith.

Most of these companies plan to open offices in India, when the legal sector opens up in the next few years. The students hope to return to Indian shores after their two-year training period overseas.

"Besides the monetary aspect, the fact remains they are really big names recognized by Fortune 500 companies and heads of state. So, if you work for that kind of firm in India its quite prestigious,” said Suharsh Sinha, Student, NLS.

With the flood of offers from international firms, Indian firms have had to step up to competition. Most Indian firms have increased their starting salaries nearly 40% in the last year.

While international firms have made salary offers of 35,000 pounds a year Rs 28 lakh), Indian firms have offered an annual salary of Rs 12 lakh, up from the Rs 8 lakh offered last year.

But the highest pay packages of Rs 13 lakh annually were offers from management consultancy firms like Boston Consulting Group and McKinsey. They picked up 10% of the graduating class. Students say it’s not the money but the exposure that make consultancy jobs attractive. 

“It is about the diversity of the work it allows students to do and the exposure you get at an early age while at a law firm we will be doing the same due diligence day in and day out,” said Slok Chandra, Student, NLS.  

Only four students have chosen to practice litigation which is a line of work that's losing its sheen as more young lawyers prefer to go the corporate way.