5 ways to deal with burnout

burnout

For the past one year, I haven’t posted anything on this website. I also stopped writing my newsletter and posting on the Instagram page of The Five Things Checklist. It’s because I have been dealing with burnout caused by my intensive involvement with the Blog and social media. I felt an immense pressure to keep writing, creating, posting and fulfilling my commitment, which led to a time when I could do it no more. I was not enjoying the creator process anymore. It felt like a burden, a chore to be finished. I am sure as lawyers, we face such […]

5 reasons why a lawyer makes a very good journalist (Offbeat Career series)

lawyer journalist

I have decided to start a new series on my website – Offbeat Careers – to bring to you information about what alternate, exciting and fulfilling career you can choose post your law degree. This past year 2020 has seen many of us, especially those graduating from law school in 2020 and 2021, grappling with uncertainty on recruitment front. The pandemic and the resultant lockdown has seriously affected global economy, leading to employers freezing new hires and trimming their existing workforce. More and more of us are in the already competitive job market. I would like all the law students […]

MentorSpeak #4 with Shailja Singh

Are you still trying to decide between corporate law firm jobs, in-house positions, and independent litigation as career options? Are you trying to figure out that law subject which can be your interest area focus? Are you still trying to choose between corporate law, litigation related laws and so on? Then this episode is for you. There are far more options out there than the traditional subject areas or career paths for a law student. Our guest in this episode of MentorSpeak is a very dear friend of mine from law school – Shailja Singh. Shailja is an international trade […]

MentorSpeak #3 with Bharat Chugh

In this episode of MentorSpeak, I have an amazing free-wheeling conversation with Bharat Chugh, presently independent legal counsel and ex-judge and ex-partner of L&L Partners. We talk about – taking decisions on the various stops of our career path judicial services as a career choice skills to be honed by law students irrespective of the career path chosen in future components of a good legal article Hope this was helpful. Let me know in the comments. Do hop over to the Youtube Channel and subscribe. There are new videos planned to be shared with you soon. If you want to […]

MentorSpeak #2 with Satyajit Gupta

mentorspeak

In our second episode of MentorSpeak, I have a wonderful 30-minutes chat with Satyajit Gupta, Vice-President Assistant General Counsel and Head-Legal of EXL-India on – (i) a career in law firm vs a career as in-house counsel (ii) writing and publishing articles as a working professional (iv) not getting boxed in one practice area in a law firm career (v) things an interviewer look for in a candidate (v) combating mental health issues as lawyers Hope this was helpful. Let me know in the comments. Do hop over to the Youtube Channel and subscribe. There are new videos planned to […]

MentorSpeak #1 with Shivli

Hi friends, I am excited to introduce a new category of post on the blog – MentorSpeak. Over the last few months of writing for The Five Things Checklist, I realised that the biggest challenge that today’s law students face is lack of mentorship. They study well, do numerous internships, participate in moot court competitions, publish research articles and do everything that can be possibly done by a young law student; yet they are not sure of how to proceed in their career. There is a general sense of “I do not know enough”. They think “How do I know […]

5 tips to ace legal writing skills (+ free video)

legal writing

Legal writing skill is the most important tool of the trade for a lawyer or a law student. The ability to write well allows you to communicate your message clearly and effectively. It bridges the gap between what’s on your mind and what you communicate. Therefore, it’s extremely important to master legal writing while you are a law student and continue honing it when you join the profession. Let’s look at what all lawyers need to write and why this skill is important for them. Types of legal writing Regularly, disputes lawyers or in-house counsel need to draft legal pleadings […]

5 Q&A from my law student mentoring session #3

mentoring session

If you are interested, you can find part 1 of this series here and part 2 of the series here. In my third law student mentoring session, I spoke to A, a final year student of a non-NLU with a very impressive CV. In this session, we spoke a lot about being an in-house counsel. A is interning at a company and wants to be an in-house counsel. From skills required to an ideal career path, we covered a broad range of topics. She asked me only three questions, so to remain true to my article heading, I have added […]

5 Q&A from my law student mentoring session #2

law student mentoring

Continuing my series on law student mentoring sessions, here is the second part where I spoke to R, a student of the graduating batch of an NLU with an offer to join a tier 1 law firm. But before we proceed, please read the part 1 of this series here. Ever since I wrote about my initiative to mentor law students on Linkedin on my profile, I have been flooded with DMs asking me to get on a call with them to clear their doubts. To be honest, I was taken aback at the sense of entitlement of these students. […]

5 Q&A from my law student mentoring session #1

law student mentoring

I recently realised that I have gained a considerable number of law student connections on my Linkedin profile due to this blog. It gave me the idea to start what I have always wanted to do – mentoring law students and young lawyers. It’s no secret that every young professional needs a bit of guiding and hand-holding to reach their full potential, However, legal profession is notorious for being quite the unfriendly workplace. Unless you discover a great senior who is willing to help you, it’s “learn on your own” at every sphere – be it litigation, law firm job […]