This article is written by Ramanuj Mukherjee, CEO, LawSikho.

Sometimes I look back at my brief 11 months career in a law firm and wonder what could have made me stay back and want to work for longer.

The truth is that I did not enjoy my work there. The environment was not designed to make me discover the joy of being a lawyer, but rather focussed on hierarchy, entitlement, obligation, we-pay-you-guys-so-much, you-better-work-late-nights and suck-it-up kinda environment is what at least I got.

The senior associates were too busy and too hooked to the possibility of making a partner and getting their bonus to take any real interest in the juniors. Partners were too big to pay attention to first-year lawyers. 

There was this vague idea that we will learn to do the work by doing lots of due diligence and by observing our seniors. They always had lots of learning sessions from external and internal experts, which always focused on substantive law, but never imparted any skill training. 

Law firm partners usually tend to have very poor understanding of what young lawyers struggle with. Perhaps they have forgotten their own days of struggle, or perhaps the very nature of the struggle has changed by now.

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Usually, law students who intern at any law firm for very long periods tend to have much better shot at succeeding as a lawyer thanks to the relationships they are able to build with seniors due to longer exposure to the firm environment before they actually join as an associate. Familiarity with the work and the way the firm functions help a great deal. 

On the other hand, those who are picked up from campus recruitment drives, are usually quite clueless about how the law firm they are joining functions, and therefore are far less likely to survive the grill and the boiler room like law firm environment. 

All this being the given condition, ceteris paribus, what could make me do it for longer or really succeed at my work?

Passion. Enjoyment. Thrill. 

Unfortunately, I felt none of those for transactional legal work. To be honest, I have endured far more pressure and survived way more overworked schedules working as an entrepreneur. I have gone through way more anxiety, uncertainty and deeply unsettling hostile situations as a startup founder. 

However, what saw me through even the worst troughs are my love for the work that I do, my pride in the impact that I create and the excitement of what we are going to do in the years ahead. 

If you are thoroughly enjoying the journey, it makes all the difference.

Enjoyment like that also requires some level of competence and skills, which comes with time. However, whatever happens, remember to enjoy your work as much as you can. It is the holy grail of all success – those who love the process can never lose in the long term. It is also a habit and mindset to develop.

Watch this video to know what it really means to enjoy your work.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-BGQh9QTvc

Can you dance like the little one as you do your most challenging, taxing, grueling work?

We are currently enrolling people in the following courses, where you will not only learn to do the work mechanically but learn to love what you do for intellectual satisfaction and the impact you will make.

Here is the list:

DIPLOMA

Diploma in M&A, Institutional Finance and Investment Laws (PE and VC transactions)

EXECUTIVE CERTIFICATE COURSES

Certificate Course in Legal Practice Development and Management

Certificate Course in Advanced Criminal Litigation & Trial Advocacy 

Certificate Course in Real Estate Laws

Certificate Course in Prevention of Sexual Harassment at the Workplace

Certificate Course in National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) Litigation

LIBRARY

Litigation Library by LawSikho

Corporate Law Library by LawSikho

TEST PREPARATION

Judgment Writing and Drafting Course for Judicial Services

Students of Lawsikho courses regularly produce writing assignments and work on practical exercises as a part of their coursework and develop themselves in real-life practical skill.