Law firm salaries surge 20-40% for fresh grads in 2025 as competition intensifies; interns get pre-placement offers

As placement season starts winding up across law schools this year, graduates have been offered compensation of ₹19-25 lakh to fill the growing need for mergers & acquisitions (M&A), technology, tax and artificial intelligence governance roles. According to law firms, the compensation offered last year was ₹16-18 lakh. Placement season for law schools typically runs from May to August.

“With deal-making surging in India and worldwide, demand is rising for talent in M&A, technology, healthcare and social sector roles,” said Nishith Desai, founder of Nishith Desai Associates, an international law firm. “We are also seeing strong interest in new business models, cross-border law, AI governance and tax advisory.”

About 100,000 law students graduate annually, and some 69,000 clear the All-India Bar Exam, allowing them to practice law in any court. Law firms meet about 60% of their hiring needs through recruitment from other companies and the remaining 40% by campus hiring, according to Vahura, a search and consulting firm for the legal, tax, compliance and policy sectors.

However, top law firms including Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, and Khaitan & Co. collectively hire only 400-600 fresh graduates annually, mostly for specialized practices. The remainder work in boutique and second-tier firms or in small litigation practices, missing out on the organized corporate legal sector.

Nishith Desai Associates has recruited 15 students from the batch of 2025 till date, offering the highest compensation of ₹25 lakh. Placements took place at National Law School Bengaluru, National Law School Delhi, NALSAR Hyderabad and West Bengal National University of Judicial Sciences. In 2024, the law firm recruited five students for ₹17.4 lakh.

Pre-placement offers

Khaitan & Co offered ₹23 lakh for the batch of 2025. The corporate law firm is considering an ‘upward revision’ for 2026. A year ago, Khaitan had offered ₹19 lakh as compensation.

“Litigation and corporate commercial (M&A) continue to be the main practices that attract talent,” said Amar Sinhji, executive director – HR at Khaitan. “However, we have observed a growing trend of choosing niche areas such as capital markets, tax, real estate, intellectual property, TMT (tech, media and telecom), banking, finance and insolvency.”

Law schools drew a mix of companies, top law firms and boutique firms this hiring season. Now, pre-placement offers (PPOs) are becoming popular, too. PPOs are job offers typically extended by a company to interns before the formal campus placement process begins. In law schools, PPOs are offered in the fourth year of the course.

“The shift towards pre-placement offers, which now account for nearly 80% of our fresher intake, ensures legal proficiency and cultural alignment,” Sinhji noted.

Khaitan said it has “consciously” pivoted towards hiring a majority of fresh talent through the PPO route. Nishith Desai Associates has offered PPOs worth ₹25 lakh to more than 40 candidates who will graduate in 2026.

Currently, students at Gujarat National Law University (GNLU) are offered packages in the range of ₹18 lakh to ₹25 lakh.

“Many firms are increasingly prioritising students with strong academic records, prior internships and demonstrated interests in specific practice areas. The salary hike this year reflects increased competition among recruiters for top talent,” a spokesperson of GNLU said.

Shashikala Gurpur, dean at Symbiosis Law School in Pune, said that ₹19 lakh compensation was offered during national placement last year whereas the offer this year was ₹20 lakh.

“We have PPOs from the fourth year itself. The numbers are more than campus-based recruitment,” Gurpur added.

Bill-sharing

JSA Advocates & Solicitors, a corporate law firm, said its fresher hiring increased 70% year-on-year.

“Our bill-sharing policy offers an upside to pay, making our overall package competitive,” said Suman Rudra, chief talent officer at JSA. “Internship assignments help assess both competence and cultural fit, leading to higher retention rates.”

Bill-sharing refers to how the firm’s revenue generated from client fees is distributed among partners or lawyers. Rudra pointed out that currently, a lot of the demand for freshers is in the areas of capital markets, banking and finance, and regulatory and corporate litigation.

Sahil Arora, partner at Saraf and Partners, said, “At the entry level, it’s evident that compensations have increased substantially over the years across the legal industry, primarily to attract and retain the best talent in a competitive landscape.”

There is a notable change in hiring patterns, with greater emphasis on PPOs following extended internships, he said.

“This approach gives both firms and candidates an opportunity to assess fit over time, which is generally difficult to achieve during campus interviews,” Arora added. “Even with lower attrition, hiring remains essential and has now become strategic. We are bringing in bright talent to fuel our growth, adapt to new technologies and serve evolving client needs.”

_{Images are for reference only.Images and contents gathered automatic from google or 3rd party sources.All rights on the images and contents are with their legal original owners.}