As many young graduating law students across the nation still face high levels of uncertainty in the midst of the ongoing pandemic, Jindal Global Law School (JGLS) of the O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU), that has been ranked as India’s number one Law School earlier in 2021 by QS World University Rankings by Subject, secured a commendable 36 Zero-Day placements for the Batch of 2021. This is a record 50% increase in the Zero-Day placements compared to that of the batch that graduated last year. The 2021 intake includes 11 pre-placement offers (PPOs) with 8 leading law firms. This is an extension of JGLS’ continued efforts towards placements, especially during these times challenged by continuously evolving industry requirements during which JGLS placed 176 students last year from the Batch of 2020.
176 Law Students Placed in 2020
· 36 jobs Secured on Zero-Day Placements in 2021: 50% increase from 2020
The Zero-Day for the Graduating Batch of 2021 was held on 28 February 2020. The Zero-Day recruitments for the graduating Batch of 2021 surged past the previous Batch’s Zero-Day recruitments by a whopping 50% with a tally of 36 in the current batch compared to 24 in the previous batch. Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas became the largest recruiter of JGLS students with an intake of 10, followed by AZB & Partners and Trilegal with 8 intakes each. L&L Partners and Indus Law hired 3 students each, whereas Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas hired 2. Khaitan & Co. and Argus Partners hired 1 student each.
The Zero-Day Intake of 2021 Batch of Jindal Global Law School
| Firms | PPO | Zero Day | Offer Accepted |
| Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas | 3 | 7 | 10 |
| AZB & Partners | 3 | 5 | 8 |
| Trilegal | 4 | 4 | 8 |
| L&L | – | 3 | 3 |
| Indus Law | – | 3 | 3 |
| Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Khaitan and Co. | – | 1 | 1 |
| Argus Partners | – | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 11 | 25 | 36 |
As JGLS continues to drive the post-Zero-Day placement process for the current graduating batch of law school, JGLS students have already secured placements across other leading organisations including Veritas Legal, Bharucha & Partners, Hemant Sahai Associates, Converse Law, Sarvaank Associates, Rajeshwari & Associates, Aquilaw, Obhan & Associates, Tata Power, Go Lorry, Chamber of Senior Advocate Arvind Nayar, and many others.
Commenting on the achievements of the students of JGLS, Professor. (Dr.) C. Raj Kumar, Founding Vice Chancellor, O.P. Jindal Global University and the Founding Dean, Jindal Global Law School said, “As the COVID-19 pandemic loomed a sense of despair for students across the globe, we also foresaw the impending threat of a fall in corporate and industry demands early in April 2020. At Jindal Global Law School, we are deeply committed to securing the future of our students. Hence, under the aegis of JGLS and the JGU Office of Career Services, we increased the rigor since the onset of the pandemic to ensure that the career aspirations of students were not dampened by the ongoing crisis that we are witnessing today. This included mapping pandemic scenarios, assessing career possibilities, engaging in feedback with our corporate and industry partners, designing enabling frameworks for our students to continue to excel in their studies, and creating academia-industry interfaces. It is quite heartening to see that our efforts have borne fruit and the students of JGLS have been able to pursue their ambitions last year and this year as well. I am humbled to share that through the commitment to our vision, and the continuous efforts of our Office of Career Services, we were able to create diverse career opportunities across multiple organizations including law firms, academia, NGOs and corporate firms. Quiet remarkably, we have surpassed our Zer0-Day recruitments in 2021, with 36 students already placed across India’s leading law firms.”
Attributing this success to the collaborative efforts amongst multiple stakeholders, Professor (Dr.) S.G. Sreejith, Executive Dean, JGLS said, “This remarkable achievement of JGLS became possible due to the persistent efforts of the members of the Office of Career Service, Vice Deans, Programme Directors, Assistant Deans, Faculty Coordinators and faculty members of JGLS. Outstanding services were provided by the Student Career Representatives (SCRs) to the process—they selflessly worked to help their peers fulfil their dreams. The students of JGLS also deserve a special mention, for their dedication, hard work and performance has resulted in JGLS accomplishing this feat.”
JGLS’ persistent efforts towards shaping the future of their students, even during the ongoing pandemic have been consistent since its founding. Last year, for the 2020 batch, JGLS was successful in placing 176 students which included 24 Zero-Day intakes and other intakes by law firms, corporates, law offices and NGOs. Also, JGLS has always worked towards creating avenues for students who choose to make a transition into the academic world, and pursue more research-oriented pathways. Last year, over 50 students were placed in the Teaching and Research Immersion Programme (TRIP) and Graduate Research Immersion Programme (GRIP), which are teaching and research-based fellowship programmes at the O.P. Jindal Global University. Apart from the Zero-Day recruiters, the key recruiters of the 2020 batch included Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas, Nishith Desai Associates, Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan, Economic Laws Practice, Bharucha & Partners, J. Sagar Associates, P&A Law Chambers, Obhan & Associates, Platinum Partners, S&R Associates, Spice Route Legal, S.S. Rana & Co, and Wadia Ghandy. Additionally, renowned corporate organisations such as Welspun Group, Bajaj Allianz, upGrad, Tech Mahindra, Darcl Logistics also recruited students from the JGLS batch of 2020 for their in-house positions.
Professor (Dr.) Pankaj Gupta, Dean, Career Services observed, “While the JGU Office of Career Services (OCS) is constantly reinventing itself to create greater and better opportunities for the students since the inception of JGLS, the pandemic created a very dynamic job landscape which required constant out-of-the-box thought processes. We revisited and revised our operational strategies across the year to keep up with the constantly changing job markets. Adapting to the changed conditions and responding effectively to the newer demands of the industry enabled us to create the required career paths for the students. More importantly, we worked towards being in continuous touch with the industry and our potential recruiters, to understanding their continuously-evolving requirements to suit these times, and accordingly enable our students to contribute to the organizations more meaningfully.”