Day Zero (a concept borrowed from IIMs and IITs) at National Law Universities, is one of the most discussed and enquired issues among Indian Law Students. Day Zero usually happens at the end of the fourth year in top NLUs, where the big law firms of India visit these colleges to recruit hopeful law students. My juniors often ask me about the placement scene at the university, how it compares to other colleges, etc. However, apart from official communication by the college RICC/RCC there is probably no other way to know what is going on.
Understanding the components of Day Zero
Usually, when the RCCs release day zero figures, they inform us about two kinds of placements:
- Day Zero Recruitments
- Pre-Placement Offers (Pre-Placement Offers, or PPOs are those recruitments that students end up receiving after doing internships)
Generally, Day Zero numbers are shown vis-a-vis the number of participants. This is because, in law school, not everyone is looking for a top law firm job. Many aspire to become judges, practicing advocates, civil servants, professors, etc. Therefore, it is likely that you would see a law school with a batch of 120 advertising 100% placements despite only 70 kids getting jobs. This is not false advertising because only those 70 registered to participate in placement activities.
Moreover, many universities tend to release only Offers. This does not help much, because it is not the offers that matter, but the number of acceptances. On day zero a lot of people end up receiving multiple offers, but for us, the important criteria is to see how many people were eventually placed.
Why is Day Zero of the Batch of 2022 a mystery?
As I stated earlier, Day Zero figures have traditionally been released by college RCCs. However, of late, I have witnessed a trend among the top universities, to withhold Day Zero figures until the end of the fifth year. While this trend was started by NUJS (to my memory), others are also refraining from releasing the numbers, these days.
Since none of the universities have officially released Day Zero figures, the information that I have used for this post is based on my personal knowledge and the information given to me by my friends at these universities. Most of my friends had themselves participated in the respective day zeros and therefore I consider this information to be near accurate. I hope you all find it useful.
Day Zero Numbers
Usually, on Day Zero, law schools allow only firms that are willing to pay 13 lpa+ to participate in the process. These firms include firms like CAM, SAM, Khaitan, Trilegal, AZB Mumbai, AZB Bangalore, L&L Partners, Saraf and Partners, Indus Law, Desai and Diwanji, Majmudar and Partners, Argus Partners, IC Universal Legal, Vertices Legal, among others. Additionally, I have listed only 8 colleges in India because these are the only ones that have consistently conducted Day Zero.
National Law School of India University, Bengaluru
- Day Zero Participants: 32
- Day Zero Offers: 47
- Number of Accepted Offers: 23
- Number of PPOs: 18 – 22
- Total RCC Size: 50 – 54
Total Jobs by the end of Day Zero: 41 – 45 jobs out of 50 – 54 participants
NALSAR University, Hyderabad
- Day Zero Participants: 42 – 46
- Day Zero Offers: 50
- Number of Accepted Offers: 25
- Number of PPOs: 22 – 26
- Total RCC Size: 62 – 66
Total Jobs by the end of Day Zero: 48 – 52 jobs out of 62 – 66 participants
National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata
- Day Zero Participants: 65 – 70
- Day Zero Offers: 60 – 65
- Number of Accepted Offers: 35 – 38
- Number of PPOs: 20 – 24
- Total RCC Size: 85 – 90
Total Jobs by the end of Day Zero: 58 – 62 jobs out of 85 – 89 participants
National Law University, Jodhpur
Day Zero Participants: 44
Day Zero Offers: 38 – 40
Number of Accepted Offers: 24
Number of PPOs: 16
Total RCC Size: 58 – 60
Total Jobs by the end of Day Zero: 40 jobs out of 60 participants
National Law University, Delhi
Day Zero Participants: 25
Day Zero Offers: 39
Number of Accepted Offers: 18
Number of PPOs: 8
Total RCC Size: 33
Total Jobs by the end of Day Zero: 26 jobs out of 33 participants
National Law Institute University, Bhopal
Day Zero Participants: 46 – 50
Day Zero Offers: 41
Number of Accepted Offers: 20 – 24
Number of PPOs: 12
Total RCC Size: 58 – 62
Total Jobs by the end of Day Zero: 32 – 36 jobs out of 58 – 62 participants
Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar
Day Zero Participants: 117
Day Zero Offers: 52
Number of Accepted Offers: 31
Number of PPOs: 15
Total RCC Size: 132
Total Jobs by the end of Day Zero: 46 jobs out of 132 participants
Jindal Global Law School, Sonipat
Day Zero Participants: 200 – 300
Day Zero Offers: –
Number of Accepted Offers: 35
Number of PPOs: 6
Total RCC Size: 200 – 300
Total Jobs by the end of Day Zero: 41 jobs out of 200 – 300 participants
Statistical Comparison
Note: For this comparison, I have taken the median of the range provided.
| University | RCC | Accepted Offers (including PPOs) | Percentage AO/RCC |
| NLSIU | 52 | 43 | 82.69 % |
| NALSAR | 64 | 50 | 78.13 % |
| NUJS | 87 | 60 | 68.97 % |
| NLUJ | 60 | 40 | 66.67 % |
| NLUD | 33 | 26 | 78.79 % |
| NLIU | 60 | 34 | 56.67 % |
| GNLU | 132 | 46 | 34.85% |
| JGLS | 250 | 41 | 16.4 % |
Day Zero Rankings for the Batch of 2022
Universities can be ranked on two criteria, first, based on the percentage of people placed and second, based on absolute numbers. In my opinion, absolute numbers are not a good criterion because they are skewed in favour of those colleges which have high enrollment numbers. On the other hand, percentage-based criteria allow one to assess how an average student is doing in any university.
| Based on Percentage | Based on Absolute Numbers |
| NLSIU Bengaluru (83 %) NLU Delhi (79 %) NALSAR Hyderabad (78 %) NUJS Kolkata (69 %) NLU Jodhpur (67 %) NLIU Bhopal (57 %) GNLU Gandhinagar (35 %) JGLS Sonipat (16 %) | NUJS Kolkata (60) NALSAR Hyderabad (50) GNLU Gandhinagar (46) NLSIU Bengaluru (43) JGLS Sonipat (41) NLU Jodhpur (40) NLIU Bhopal (34) NLU Delhi (26) |
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