This article is written by Shweta Rath, Team LawSikho.

How useful and advisable is it to pursue an LLM in this field in today’s times given the growing cost of education?

Does it give you a sure shot entry into the competition team of tier one law firms? 

Can lawyers demand a higher pay package and designation by virtue of this LLM? 

Does this year of training make you absolutely proficient in competition law? 

We tend to reach out and try to get answers to these questions from various internet blogs but as we know that competition law, albeit extremely popular, is an extremely nascent legislation, the people willing and able to guide are relatively rare.

The majority of the law students in India are struggling with a common dilemma- to pursue or not to pursue an LLM degree.

For some students, pursuing a master’s degree after graduation becomes an obvious step in order to complete their education. But in other instances, the students are always weighing various factors like cost, career goals, feasibility to conclude upon their decision. 

A lot of students inclined towards academics, civil or corporate litigation pursue LLMs in fields such as business and constitutional law whereas students who want to pursue more specific fields such as maritime law, space law, or international arbitration shortlist specific colleges which have excellent post-graduate programs in order to gain a super specialization. 

An LLM in competition law is one such specialization that has attracted a lot of attention in the past few years to those who have been wanting to pursue this field. 

There is a lot of information available but students/professionals still lack some clarity in terms of reasons for choosing to pursue an LLM. The biggest dilemma, however, remains the outcome of pursuing it and the various questions surrounding it. 

Due to this lack of access to information, we at LawSikho took the liberty of tapping into this discussion and analyze the real return on investment of pursuing a competition/antitrust LLM by speaking to some practicing anti-trust/competition professionals who have secured LLMs in this field from reputed colleges abroad and are currently practicing in India.

Please note, the endeavor of this article is not to form or impose an opinion but to present both sides of the discussion and let you analyze the situation in order to make a well-informed decision. 

The good side

An LLM in competition law is no doubt prestigious. There are certain colleges that have a brand value that can never be quantified. Some of the most prestigious colleges in UK, Europe and the United States of America (US) which provide LLM degrees in competition law are: Stanford, Harvard, NYU, UCL (Berkeley) in the US and King’s College (Haven of LLM in Competition Law), UCL (London), LSE, Oxford, in the UK and Brussels School of Competition in Belgium. 

There are no special eligibility criteria per se for applying to these LLM programs but there is an eligibility criterion to get scholarships. Some of these colleges are extremely selective in their acceptance rates which is why it is a matter of good reputation to get through. 

Moreover, students have high regard for the course work and have admitted that the faculty is exceptional. The roots of competition law lie in the US and the European Union. That’s where the law originated from, which is why the level of conceptual clarity and jurisprudence that the students receive over there is beyond comparison. Professors who would be teaching you have spent years of research into this field. Students have a lot of scope to get into hard-core research. My seniors, while pursuing their LLMs have authored papers and have been associated with various editorial committees of the colleges. 

Hence, it is quite evident that the value addition in terms of an academic enhancement is substantial. 

Now let’s come to the aspect of monetizing this experience into our work life. In most cases (“most” being the operative word), the ultimate objective of pursuing a reputed LLM degree is to secure a well-paid job in the competition teams of prominent law firms, either in that country itself or our home country. 

The good news is that this criterion is met to a large extent. Competition teams in the tier 1 law firms in India do place a lot of value and preference to an LLM in competition law from a premier college outside. 

A non-tier-1 NLU student pursuing an LLM from a premier college will definitely raise his/her chances of making it through a good competition law team in India which will certainly aid him/her to pay off the educational loan taken (if any) over a period of time. 

Moreover, professionals who are not quite aware of the law will spend a good one year actually learning it from the best of the best in the world instead of struggling to understand it on the job for the first time. 

The dark side

Having said all the great things above, there are some things that people should know before they make the decision of investing in an LLM degree. As we mentioned above, there is no such eligibility criteria for making an application. 

However, for those aiming for a scholarship, the chances on an overall basis are quite slim. Most of these colleges focus on a splendidly drafted Statement of Purpose which becomes a basic selection criterion. Scholarships are thus granted in an extremely selective manner and those who do not secure a scholarship (which is most often the case) are facing a minimum investment of INR 40-50 lakhs for a year of education. 

Now you may ask that the cost factor is a situation that is prevalent in all kinds of LLM degrees and yet people do pursue LLMs in commercial laws, arbitration, etc. That is correct! 

However, this is where the size of the “competition circle in India” kicks in. Unlike other laws, competition law in India has an extremely small circle with only 5-6 tier 1 firms having strong teams and paying extremely well (in the bracket of 15-17 Lakhs per annum as a starting retainership amount). 

You are looking at some very selective choices in terms of law firms to work for as a return of investment in a super niche area of commercial laws. Thinking about the considerable amount of time and money spent in the LLM, you may also hesitate to branch out to other areas where you have to start from scratch. 

Of course, there are a lot of people who come back and do not choose to go into law firms but want to do competition litigation, work for think tanks or the CCI, become professors, etc. 

However, this article is mostly trying to speak to people who want to target tier-1 law firms to work for after an LLM. 

As mentioned above, you are certainly improving your chances of breaking into tier-1 after having secured an LLM from a university outside. But do keep in mind, an LLM gives you a good chance to get noticed by competition law firms but it does not guarantee a strong negotiation power in terms of remuneration and designation. I will make it clearer for you to understand. 

Myth #1

“As a fresh graduate, after completing your LLM abroad and coming back to India, you will be hired as an A1 or an A2 in a law firm.”

Considering you have just finished your education with work experience being nil- you will be entering the workforce at an entry-level position with the predetermined remuneration that is provided to A0s. 

The experience of having secured an LLM is discounted and not often considered to provide a promotion. This is why in many instances you will notice that you may have colleagues on a higher designation who may have graduated a year or two after you. 

This is because instead of pursuing an LLM (for whatever reasons) they chose to enter the workforce directly and gain experience. Therefore, clearly work experience will have a greater weightage than an LLM on that front.

Myth #2

“After completing your LLM in competition law from a well-known law school in the UK or US, you’ll get several opportunities to work for international law firms there.”

Many aspirants pursue their LLMs with the hope of securing internships and employment in competition firms in Europe or the US, or in the EU. This is where the scenario is not so rosy. 

Sadly, it is extremely difficult for Indian nationals to even apply for internships outside!

By any miracle, if they do surpass the 6-7 months of process, they are looking at an extremely negligible chance of actually getting hired because employers will mostly not be encouraged to hire foreign nationals for their competition department. 

90% of the Indian students who had pursued a competition law LLM in the last 2-3 years had to come back to India. Therefore, students wanting to pursue an LLM in competition law with the expectation of emigrating should have a proper look at the immigration laws which make it extremely difficult for that wish to become a reality. 

So what does this have in store for you?

This article is not intended towards taking a particular stand but to present both sides of the argument and let you make the ultimate choice. 

The cost factor may depend from person to person because a lot of people may spend their own money or they make take loans. Hence, the decision for a lot might be varied at that point. But on factors of value addition and career growth trajectory, the verdict is quite similar across the field.

The situation was not the same back in 2012-2013, when the legislation had been recently notified. Most of the first-generation competition lawyers (who are now partners in the tier-1 teams and have set up practice teams) had to pursue an LLM to understand the law which had zero jurisprudence in India. 

In fact, back then, the rate of getting hired in foreign law firms was also higher compared to today which is why quite many of them have worked outside for firms like Allen and Overy (London), Rodyk & Davidson LLP (Singapore) and have later come back and set up flourishing practice teams. 

The importance and value addition of an LLM degree in competition law has not reduced. But what has changed is the extent of it being “mandatory” in order to make a career in this field. 

It is not mandatory anymore to get an LLM in order to be a successful competition lawyer. In fact, right now there are many competition lawyers in tier 1 practice teams who are in great positions despite not having an LLM degree!

The common verdict states that a competition law LLM just like other LLMs should not be viewed as a one-way ticket to cracking the law firm code. 

Because even after breaking the tier-1 wall, the struggle for a fresh graduate to develop skill sets in terms of growing your practice will begin. It will all come down to having the required skill sets to practically apply the theoretical knowledge in real-life cases. 

Hence, an LLM in competition law should rather be viewed as an opportunity to immensely expand your knowledge base and get an in-depth understanding of a particular field of law, which is always an asset. 

The jurisprudence has developed quite a bit in the last 4-5 years for professionals to actually focus on understanding and practicing the competition adjudicatory system in India but an added knowledge base of foreign laws is always a cherry on the top. 

Hence, it can be said that today an LLM in competition law is not mandatory but beneficial. 

Moreover, if you have worked in the field for a while, then your chances to procure a scholarship for an LLM are even higher and as an experienced professional, your chances to develop cross-border connections to come back and use them to your advantage increases. 

Therefore, if we even take the cost factor (which is quite a big deciding factor for many) out of the picture, it really comes down to deciding whether to invest upon a degree which is no longer mandatory but an added benefit. 

We, at Lawsikho, have experienced the gaps that a beginner level competition lawyer practicing in India faces in terms of understanding the law and thereafter developing skill sets to apply it.

Foreign jurisprudence is extremely helpful in understanding concepts but today it is even more important to understand how the CCI, NCLAT (which has replaced the COMPAT causing quite a stir in the competition adjudication process) and the Supreme Court are evaluating cases and the mechanisms adopted by them in the Indian market which may not always be similar to the approach taken outside.

The CCI does heavily rely upon foreign jurisprudence to understand the law but the CCI has been effectively working towards polishing and developing its own adjudication system. 

Looking into all these factors, we have thus created an executive certificate course on competition law called the Certificate Course In Competition Law, Practice And Enforcement. This is an executive certificate course with 1 online live class per week, printed study materials at your disposal, doubt clearance within 24 hours and a lot of other benefits that you can find on the course page with details.

The course has been priced at INR 15,000, if you enroll until 31st January 2020. The price of the course will increase to INR 20,000 starting 1st February 2020.

This course which follows holistic approach towards making sense of the provisions of the law and developing the required skill sets to approach competition cases. 

Are you someone who can benefit from our first launch of 2020?

• Most of the law firms have a separate hiring process for competition law teams. They do not hire in the same way as the corporate team. Therefore, if you want a job or an internship in a competition law firm or the competition law team of a corporate law firm, you must demonstrate that you have relevant skill-sets. Lawyers or law students, after having taken this course will find it easier to specifically apply for competition law teams of top corporate law firms, such as Shardul Amarchand and Mangaldas, Cyril Amarchand and Mangaldas, AZB & Partners, Trilegal, Luthra & Luthra, Khaitan, Talwar Thakore and Associates, Pathak and Associates, etc.
• Lawyers practicing in corporate, commercial or M&A teams will benefit from this course as they would be able to interact with competition law teams fairly easily on complex issues, especially in global transactions. 
• Students who want to pursue competition law in their masters would be benefitted as they would have gained a wholesome knowledge of the local jurisdiction which would be applicable in their further studies. The advantage of competition law is that the substantive law is mostly similar across jurisdiction and therefore it will not be very difficult to grasp core concepts once there is proficiency in local law. The procedure may, however, differ from country to country. Students can go on to apply for research positions in these universities.
• Professionals can apply for the position of “researcher” in think tanks like Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy and Consumer Unity and Trust Society (CUTS) which have a huge requirement for legal researchers in competition law as they are constantly monitoring the legislation. People working in such jobs earn around INR 40,000 to INR 50,000 per month as freshers and up to INR 1 Lakh as mid or senior level people.  

Just comment below or give us a call at 011-4084-5203 for a free career counseling session by one of our experts!

And do not forget to go through the details of the course from the course page here.

Here are the other courses for which enrollment closes in one day:

DIPLOMA

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

Diploma in Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Laws

EXECUTIVE CERTIFICATE COURSES

Certificate Course in Advanced Criminal Litigation & Trial Advocacy

Certificate Course in Real Estate Laws

Certificate Course in Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code

Certificate Course in Media and Entertainment Law: Contracts, Licensing and Regulations

Certificate Course in Legal Practice Development and Management