How to Get an Internship at a Tier-1 Law Firm in India
If you are wondering how to get an internship at a Tier-1 law firm in India, the answer is not simply to send more applications. You need to choose the right team, demonstrate relevant skills, apply through the correct route and perform like someone the firm would want to work with again.
A Tier-1 law-firm internship is rarely won by one brilliant email.
It is usually won before the email is sent.
The application works because the student has already built enough evidence to answer three questions:
- Why this firm?
- Why this practice area?
- Why should this team trust you with legal work?
Most students answer only the first question.
They write about the firm’s reputation, prestigious clients and “commitment to excellence.” None of this tells the recruiter whether the student can research a difficult proposition, read a transaction document, understand a commercial problem or submit reliable work on time.
Getting an internship at a leading Indian law firm is competitive. But the process becomes far less mysterious once you understand what you are actually trying to prove.
What Does “Tier-1 Law Firm” Actually Mean?
There is no single permanent or official list of Tier-1 law firms in India.
The expression is commonly used for firms recognised at the highest level in particular practice areas by legal directories such as Chambers and Partners and The Legal 500.
This distinction matters because a firm may be highly ranked in corporate and M&A, another in disputes, another in intellectual property, and another in competition law or taxation.
For example, The Legal 500’s Corporate and M&A rankings include firms such as AZB & Partners, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, JSA, Khaitan & Co, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas, Trilegal, CMS INDUSLAW, Kochhar & Co and S&R Associates in Tier 1 for that particular practice area.
Chambers and Partners uses a separate band-based ranking system. Its current Corporate/M&A: The Elite rankings for India also classify firms by their standing within that specific field.
The logo is not the practice area. The practice area determines the work you may receive, the knowledge you need and the lawyers who will evaluate you.
Therefore, do not begin with:
“I want any Tier-1 internship.”
Begin with:
“I want exposure to M&A, banking, competition, arbitration, projects, intellectual property, data protection or another identifiable area of practice.”
How Do Tier-1 Law Firms Accept Internship Applications?
There is no uniform application route across Indian law firms.
A student may enter through:
- A law school’s internship or recruitment coordination committee
- The firm’s official internship portal
- A direct application processed by the firm
- A structured campus programme
- A referral followed by the firm’s formal recruitment process
- A return offer based on an earlier internship
Khaitan & Co states that its internship programme runs throughout the year. It works with placement committees at certain law schools and also directly processes applications from other students through its application system.
Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas describes its internship programme as guided exposure to a professional law-firm environment and provides an official application route.
Trilegal expressly encourages applicants to apply through its official website and states that internship applications submitted through other channels may not be considered.
JSA describes its internship programme as providing meaningful, hands-on exposure and publishes a dedicated internship contact on its careers page.
AZB & Partners also maintains an official internship page through which applicants can review the firm’s current process.
Follow the Firm’s Stated Process
Do not assume that emailing ten partners is more effective than submitting the official form.
Before applying, check:
- The firm’s current careers or internship page
- Whether your university has a coordinated application process
- Whether internship applications are currently open
- The documents required
- The available office and practice selections
- Whether the firm accepts direct applications
- Whether the firm discourages applications through unofficial routes
A referral may bring an application to someone’s attention. It does not replace eligibility, available capacity or the formal selection process.
What Do Leading Law Firms Look for in an Intern?
No firm publishes one universal scoring sheet for every internship candidate.
However, a credible application usually needs to demonstrate five things.
1. Academic Reliability
Grades are not the only measure of ability, but they remain relevant because they provide evidence of consistency, discipline and legal understanding.
If your grades are strong, make them easy to locate.
If they are not, the rest of your application must provide stronger evidence of improvement and practical capability.
2. Legal Research and Writing
An intern may be asked to:
- Find the legal position on a narrow question
- Trace a statutory provision and its amendments
- Prepare a case-law note
- Verify whether a judgment has been overruled or distinguished
- Compare contractual clauses
- Summarise a regulatory development
- Review documents during due diligence
- Prepare a first draft or research input
A publication title alone does not prove research ability.
The stronger question is:
Can you identify the issue, find the correct authority, verify it and communicate the answer clearly?
3. Evidence of Genuine Practice-Area Interest
Writing “I am interested in corporate law” is weak because it is only a declaration.
Evidence may include:
- A relevant internship
- A focused research paper
- A moot proposition involving the subject
- A course or practical project
- A case note
- A transaction or regulatory analysis
- Consistent reading and writing in that field
One strong, coherent line of interest is more credible than a CV claiming equal passion for M&A, criminal litigation, constitutional law, arbitration, intellectual property and international law.
4. Precision and Professional Reliability
Law firms notice whether you:
- Follow instructions
- Use the correct firm and recipient name
- Apply for clear dates
- Attach the requested documents
- Name files professionally
- Proofread the email
- Respond on time
- Support legal propositions with authorities
These look like small details. In legal practice, small details can change advice, deadlines and liability.
5. Commercial Awareness
Commercial awareness does not mean memorising business headlines.
It means understanding that legal advice exists inside a client’s business problem.
If a company is acquiring another company, the lawyer is not researching the Companies Act in isolation. The team may be identifying liabilities, reviewing material contracts, negotiating risk allocation, checking regulatory approvals and helping the client decide whether the transaction remains commercially viable.
A student who can connect the law to the client’s objective is easier to involve in real work.
When Should You Apply?
There is no single application calendar followed by every law firm.
Some firms accept applications throughout the year. Some recruit through university coordination systems. Some open particular internship windows. Team capacity, office requirements and academic schedules can affect availability.
The safest approach is to:
- Check the firm’s current official instructions.
- Begin preparing several months before your preferred internship period.
- Apply as soon as the relevant window permits.
- State alternative dates where you genuinely have flexibility.
- Maintain a tracker so that you do not send duplicate or inconsistent applications.
Early preparation matters because the work begins before the application:
- Researching the firm
- Selecting the practice area
- Improving the CV
- Preparing a writing sample
- Identifying the correct application route
- Proofreading the final material
Do not turn “apply early” into “send an unprepared application as early as possible.”
Choose the Firm, Office and Practice Area Deliberately
Many students research only the firm’s name.
A stronger application investigates four layers.
Layer 1: The Firm
Understand the firm’s major practices, recent developments, office structure and official internship process.
Layer 2: The Office
The work available in Mumbai may differ from Delhi, Bengaluru, Gurugram, Hyderabad or another office.
Office preference should not be chosen only according to where you want to stay for a month.
Layer 3: The Practice Area
Identify one primary and, where appropriate, one secondary area of interest.
Possible areas include:
- Corporate and M&A
- Private equity
- Banking and finance
- Capital markets
- Competition law
- Dispute resolution
- Projects and infrastructure
- Insolvency and restructuring
- Employment law
- Intellectual property
- Technology and data protection
- Taxation
- International trade
Layer 4: Your Evidence
Ask what in your current profile supports that interest.
If the answer is “nothing yet,” build something before applying.
A short, accurate note on a recent regulatory development may create more credibility than adding another generic extracurricular activity.
How to Build a CV for a Tier-1 Law-Firm Internship
Your CV should allow a reviewer to answer four questions quickly:
- What year and university are you from?
- What have you worked on?
- What can you do?
- Why are you relevant to this team?
Use Evidence, Not Labels
Weak:
Researched various issues of corporate law.
Stronger:
Researched the enforceability of post-termination non-compete restrictions under Indian contract law and prepared a note analysing six judicial decisions.
Weak:
Assisted with due diligence.
Stronger:
Reviewed material contracts and prepared a clause-level tracker covering termination, change-of-control, exclusivity and indemnity provisions.
Weak:
Worked on arbitration matters.
Stronger:
Researched the scope of judicial intervention under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, and prepared a case-law chronology for the supervising advocate.
The stronger versions show:
- The legal issue
- The task undertaken
- The document or output produced
- The depth of the work
Prioritise Relevance
For an M&A application, transactional research, contracts, due diligence and company-law work should not be buried beneath unrelated activities.
For an arbitration application, research, memorial writing, procedural exposure and dispute-related work should be visible quickly.
Your CV does not need to contain everything you have ever done.
It needs to make the relevant evidence easy to find.
Keep the Formatting Professional
Your CV should ordinarily have:
- Clear section hierarchy
- Consistent dates
- Uniform punctuation
- Readable spacing
- Accurate firm and organisation names
- No unverified claims
- A professional filename
Use a filename such as:
Deeksha-Sharma-CV-Internship-December-2026.pdf
Avoid:
finalcvlatestnew2.pdf
How to Research the Firm Before Applying
Good research should change the application.
If every sentence could be sent to ten other firms without alteration, the research has not done its job.
Before applying, inspect:
- The firm’s official practice-area pages
- Recent firm publications
- Recent transactions or significant matters publicly discussed
- The work of the relevant team
- The office structure
- The official internship process
- Specific practice-area developments you genuinely understand
Then identify one honest connection between the firm’s work and your preparation.
For example:
My interest in data protection developed while researching consent and purpose limitation under India’s data-protection framework. I am particularly interested in understanding how privacy obligations are handled alongside commercial contracting and regulated-sector requirements.
This works because it connects:
- A legal subject
- Work already undertaken
- The practical exposure sought
Do not praise a firm’s “esteemed reputation.”
Show that you understand something about its work.
How to Write the Internship Application
The email should make the decision easy.
It should tell the reader:
- Who you are
- When you are applying
- Which office or team interests you
- Why you are applying there
- What makes you relevant
- What is attached
- What you are requesting
Suggested Subject Line
Internship Application | December 2026 | Fourth-Year B.A. LL.B. Student | RMLNLU
Internship Application Template
Dear [Name/Recruitment Team],
I am a fourth-year B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) student at [University], writing to apply for an internship with [Firm] from [date] to [date], preferably with the [practice area] team in the [office] office.
My interest in [practice area] has developed through [one or two specific experiences]. During my internship with [organisation], I [describe one relevant task or output]. I have also [mention one relevant paper, project, course or competition].
I am particularly interested in [Firm] because [one specific, accurate reason connected to its work, team or practice]. I would value the opportunity to understand how the team approaches [specific type of legal or commercial problem].
I have attached my CV for your consideration. I would be grateful for the opportunity to intern with the firm during the stated period.
Regards,
[Full name]
[Year and university]
[Phone number]
[Email address]
[LinkedIn profile, if professionally maintained]
What to Remove From the Email
- “Respected Sir/Madam”
- “Esteemed organisation”
- Your childhood autobiography
- Unsupported claims of passion
- Desperation
- Excessive flattery
- Ten unrelated achievements
- Requests for an immediate response
- Statements suggesting that the firm owes you an opportunity
Confidence is useful.
Entitlement is not.
What Should You Do After Applying?
Maintain an application tracker containing:
| Field | What to Record |
|---|---|
| Firm | Exact firm name |
| Office | Preferred office |
| Practice | Primary practice area |
| Application route | Portal, email or campus process |
| Date submitted | Exact submission date |
| Internship period | Requested dates |
| Documents | CV, cover letter and writing sample |
| Status | Submitted, follow-up, shortlisted or closed |
| Follow-up date | Where appropriate |
| Notes | Special instructions or response received |
If the firm permits direct correspondence and has not stated otherwise, one polite follow-up after a reasonable interval may be appropriate.
Do not:
- Follow up every two days
- Message multiple partners with the same text
- Comment on unrelated LinkedIn posts asking for an internship
- Send “??”
- Call office numbers intended for clients
- Circumvent an official portal that the firm has asked applicants to use
No response does not always mean that the application was poor.
It may also mean:
- The team is full
- The requested period is unavailable
- Applications are being processed in batches
- The office has different requirements
- The firm receives more applications than it can individually answer
How to Prepare if You Are Shortlisted
A shortlisted candidate may face an interview, written task or informal conversation.
Prepare for four categories.
Your CV
You must be able to explain every line.
If your CV states that you researched an issue, be ready to explain:
- The issue
- The applicable legal provision
- The leading authority
- The conclusion
- What you personally contributed
Foundational Law
Revise the core concepts relevant to the practice.
For M&A and corporate work, this may include:
- Basic company law
- Contract law
- Transaction structure
- Due diligence
- Conditions precedent and subsequent
- Representations and warranties
- Indemnity
- Regulatory approvals
For arbitration, it may include:
- Arbitration agreements
- Seat and venue
- Appointment of arbitrators
- Interim relief
- Challenges to awards
- Enforcement
Current Commercial Developments
Understand a small number of relevant developments properly.
Depth beats a collection of headlines.
Your Reason for Applying
“Because it is a Tier-1 firm” is not a sufficient answer.
Explain why the firm’s work, practice and learning environment connect with the direction you are building.
How to Perform During a Tier-1 Law-Firm Internship
Getting selected is only the first half.
The internship itself tests whether the team can trust you.
Before Starting a Task
Clarify:
- What is the exact question?
- Which jurisdiction and date matter?
- What is the expected output?
- Is there a preferred format?
- What is the deadline?
- Are there starting authorities or documents?
Do not begin two hours of research when you are unsure what the senior has asked.
While Working
Use a defensible research process:
- Identify the legal issue.
- Find the governing statute, regulation or contractual provision.
- Locate the leading authority.
- Check its subsequent treatment.
- Distinguish the case on facts if necessary.
- Confirm whether the proposition applies to the specific assignment.
- Use a reliable citation format and proofread every citation.
Do not submit the first relevant judgment you find. A useful research note tells the associate what the legal position is, where the uncertainty lies and how it applies to the client’s facts.
A simple structure for a strong legal research note
- Question presented: State the precise legal issue.
- Short answer: Give the conclusion upfront.
- Applicable law: Identify the relevant statute, rule or judicial principle.
- Analysis: Apply the law to the given facts.
- Risks or contrary authorities: Mention anything that weakens the conclusion.
- Sources: Provide accurate citations and links wherever permitted.
How to Write an Effective Tier-1 Law Firm Internship Application Email
Your application email should make it easy for the recipient to understand who you are, when you want to intern and why your application deserves consideration.
A good email is usually short. It should not reproduce your entire CV or contain exaggerated praise for the firm.
Tier-1 law firm internship email template
Subject: Internship Application | [Month and Year] | [Name, University, Year]
Dear [Name/Recruitment Team],
I am a [year] student at [university], writing to apply for an internship with the [practice area] team at [firm] during [preferred dates].
My interest in this practice area developed through [specific course, internship, research project, publication or competition]. During my previous experience at [organisation], I [mention one relevant task or achievement]. I am particularly interested in the work undertaken by the firm’s [specific team or practice], including [brief and genuine reason].
I have attached my CV for your consideration. I would be grateful for an opportunity to intern with the team during the stated period.
Regards,
[Full name]
[University and year]
[Phone number]
[LinkedIn URL]
Personalisation does not mean writing a long paragraph about the firm’s prestige. One precise sentence showing that you understand the team’s work is considerably more persuasive.
Build a Tier-1 Law Firm Internship Application Tracker
Students often apply inconsistently and then lose track of dates, contacts and follow-ups. Maintain a simple application tracker containing:
| Firm | Office | Practice area | Application route | Preferred month | Date applied | Follow-up date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [Firm name] | [City] | [Practice] | [Portal/email/campus] | [Month] | [Date] | [Date] | [Applied/Response/Closed] |
This prevents duplicate applications and allows you to follow up professionally. If the firm specifies a timeline or discourages follow-ups, respect those instructions.
How to Prepare for a Tier-1 Law Firm Internship Interview
Not every firm conducts a formal interview for internships. If an interview is scheduled, prepare for questions about your CV, preferred practice area, recent legal developments and previous work.
Be prepared to explain every line of your CV
If your CV mentions a research paper, moot proposition or internship assignment, assume that the interviewer may ask about it. Never list work that you cannot explain clearly.
Revise the fundamentals of your chosen practice area
An M&A applicant should understand basic company-law and transaction concepts. A disputes applicant should be comfortable discussing jurisdiction, interim relief and procedural stages. An intellectual-property applicant should know the basic distinction between trademarks, copyright and patents.
Follow relevant commercial developments
Commercial awareness does not mean memorising every business headline. It means understanding how a regulatory, economic or industry development could affect a client.
Prepare two recent developments relevant to the firm’s work. Be ready to explain:
- What happened?
- Which law or regulator is involved?
- Who is affected?
- What legal work could arise from it?
How to Perform Well During a Tier-1 Law Firm Internship
Securing the internship is only the first stage. Your performance determines whether the team remembers you, gives you stronger assignments or considers you for another opportunity.
Clarify the assignment before beginning
Before starting, confirm the question, expected format, jurisdiction, deadline and preferred sources. Five minutes of clarification can prevent hours of irrelevant work.
Communicate before the deadline becomes a problem
If you are delayed or unable to locate an authority, inform the assigning lawyer early. Do not wait until the deadline to reveal that the work is incomplete.
Make your work easy to review
Use headings, clean formatting, accurate citations and a clear conclusion. Attach the authorities if requested. Name files professionally and remove comments or tracked changes that should not be visible.
Maintain an assignment log
Record:
- The assignment and assigning lawyer
- The deadline
- The sources reviewed
- The final conclusion
- The feedback received
This helps you avoid missed deadlines and allows you to identify recurring mistakes.
Ask for feedback intelligently
Instead of asking only, “Was my work good?”, ask a specific question:
Was the structure useful for your review, and is there anything I should change in the next research note?
Specific questions are easier to answer and more likely to produce actionable feedback.
How to Convert a Tier-1 Law Firm Internship Into a Future Opportunity
A return internship or recruitment opportunity usually depends on the quality of your work, reliability, team requirements and the firm’s internal policies. There is no guaranteed formula.
You can, however, improve your prospects by:
- Submitting consistently accurate work
- Responding professionally to feedback
- Showing improvement across assignments
- Remaining dependable during busy periods
- Building genuine working relationships
- Sending a concise thank-you message after the internship
- Keeping in touch without repeatedly asking for favours
At the end of the internship, ask whether the team would recommend any skills or subjects for you to develop. If appropriate, you may also ask whether you can apply for a future internship.
Can a Non-NLU Student Get a Tier-1 Law Firm Internship?
Yes. Students from non-NLUs do secure internships at leading law firms, although they may have less access to structured campus recruitment and alumni networks.
The most effective response is not to send hundreds of generic emails. Build stronger evidence of competence:
- Develop depth in one or two practice areas
- Complete internships where you receive substantive assignments
- Publish careful, relevant legal analysis
- Participate in competitions that demonstrate research or drafting ability
- Build relationships through genuine academic and professional work
- Apply consistently through official channels
Your first internship does not need to carry a famous name. A smaller chamber, boutique firm or legal team can give you excellent work. The relevant question is whether, four weeks later, you can research, draft and analyse better than before.
Common Tier-1 Law Firm Internship Application Mistakes
- Sending the same application everywhere: Generic applications rarely demonstrate genuine practice-area interest.
- Using inflated language: Claims such as “exceptional legal acumen” are unhelpful without evidence.
- Submitting a decorative CV: Design cannot compensate for weak or unclear experience.
- Applying to the wrong person: Follow the firm’s stated process instead of guessing email addresses.
- Listing skills without proof: Show what you researched, drafted, analysed or achieved.