Gingerich, J; Khanna, VS; Singh, A; (2017) The anatomy of legal recruitment in India: Tracing the tracks of globalization. In: Wilkins, David B and Khanna, Vikramaditya S and Trubek, David M, (eds.) The Indian Legal Profession in the Age of Globalization: The Rise of the Corporate Legal Sector and its Impact on Lawyers and Society. (pp. 548-577). Cambridge University Press

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Abstract

Globalization is changing the Indian legal profession through, among other things, its effects on the corporate legal sector and legal education. Over the past two decades the Indian corporate legal sector has grown so quickly that now the majority of India’s elite law school graduates take positions in the corporate sector rather than, as in the past, in litigation or government. In addition, Indian legal education has changed, with more course offerings focusing on corporate, business, and international matters. Despite the considerable discussion this has generated, relatively little is known about one of the critical channels through which these developments are occurring - the legal recruitment processes in India. Understanding recruitment, however, is important because it not only influences the profession’s membership but also serves as a bridge between the profession and legal education. Indeed, many of the effects of globalization can be traced through the recruitment process. We explore this topic through a detailed description and analysis of recruitment in the corporate legal sector in India, as well as through in-depth interviews of those involved in it. Our analysis provides insights into India’s recruitment process, how it has changed over time, and how globalization has affected it.This is an opportune moment to explore recruitment at elite Indian law schools because seismic changes to recruitment have occurred since India became increasingly globalized. Indeed, since 1991 recruitment has gone from an ad hoc model (geared toward placement in litigation) to a more structured but student-facilitated process (targeted at the corporate legal sector) to an emerging and somewhat more mixed model where corporate legal sector employers rely on student-facilitated processes as well as internships, professional recruitment services, and in-service training.These changes led us to explore the important role of student-formed and -run entities, which act as intermediaries, in the recruitment process. These entities are the result of the collective action by students at each school (with little support or direct compensation) and perform a variety of tasks including those performed by career service offices in the United States (such offices are rare in India). We explore in greater depth the formation, structure, norms, and functioning of these student-run entities as well as why this recruitment structure developed in India, considering that the recruitment models in other countries are quite different.

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