I am interested in understanding how the recruitment and Pre-Placement Offer (PPO) process works at top-tier law firms. While there is a lot of discussion about securing internships, there is comparatively little information about what happens during the internship itself and how firms decide whether to extend a PPO.
I would like to understand what recruiters, associates, and partners actually look for while evaluating interns. Beyond legal knowledge, what qualities, habits, or behaviours distinguish interns who receive PPOs from those who do not?
what advice would you give to maximise the chances of receiving a PPO? Is it realistic for an average student to earn a PPO through strong performance during the internship, and what common mistakes should interns avoid?
Dear Mentee,
A Pre-Placement Offer (PPO) is generally the goal of interns and understandably so. It is worth noting that every Team/Firm has its own processes and policies that can affect the entire recruitment exercise quite a lot. Nevertheless, there are guidelines that you can follow to help your case.
First and foremost, only the team and the partner have a major say in determining whether you receive a PPO. HR is involved in a minor capacity, and recruiters are not involved at all.
Secondly, ensure that you speak with almost every member of the team (including the partner) in your very first week. Understand their overall work schedules and the formats they follow when submitting drafts. Similarly, try to work with everyone at least once during your internship. Once you have this information, you can provide work of a higher standard that requires fewer edits. This is primarily because every firm, regardless of its internal processes, considers the entire team’s opinion when recommending you for a PPO.
Thirdly, don’t focus on vacancies. Since it is a PPO and you would likely join after a year or more, the question of a vacancy in a specific team does not matter much; team dynamics can change significantly in that time. Vacancies can open up due to people leaving or a new partner joining the practice area. Therefore, current vacancies are rarely a concern when dealing with PPOs.
Fourthly, your primary goal as an intern should be to save the team’s time. That is where you add value and showcase your skills “beyond legal knowledge.” In terms of other qualities or abilities that partners look for, you are better off understanding these during your first week, as every team operates like a mini-firm with its own preferences. Some prefer long, detailed drafts, while others treat brevity as non-negotiable. Hence, my main advice here is to be versatile and adaptable enough to work with any team according to its needs.
Common mistakes to avoid generally include the following:
(a) Incomplete knowledge of the work: Whenever you are tasked with research or drafting, your primary goal should be to understand the issue as thoroughly as possible before moving on. This includes grasping the basics of the topic and checking for any recent updates. For instance, if you are assigned research pertaining to FDI, you need to familiarize yourself with the basic dos and don’ts of India’s FDI Policy (such as Sectoral Caps, Restrictions on Investments from LBCs, etc.) to avoid drawing a conclusion that is legally incorrect or prohibited.
(b) Being impatient: You only have four weeks. I understand that is very little time to form a bond with a team, regardless of how extroverted you may be. Even so, you should be aware that your first week will be spent simply understanding team dynamics and the kind of work they do. Furthermore, any meaningful feedback regarding your recruitment will only be formulated toward the end of your internship. Therefore, please don’t obsess over doing everything under the sun or forcing a bond with the team in your first or second week.
Lastly, an “average student” can definitely secure a PPO, provided their performance makes the team and firm believe they deserve it. It is an entirely subjective matter, and there isn’t any strict metric you can use to quantify it. Therefore, it is best to stop worrying about it and focus entirely on your work. This is not to say that academics don’t matter at all; you are much better off with a strong academic record, so please do focus on improving your grades as much as possible.
Hope this helps. Best of luck.
Kind regards,
Amitabh
(*Professional designation at Saraf and Partners is mentioned solely for identification purposes, all views and opinions expressed are strictly persona)