Understanding Pre-Placement Offers: How PPOs Work in Practice

1. Could you briefly introduce yourself (college, year of graduation, current role at SAM) and what drew you to corporate law?

Hi, I am Rishabh Deshpande, a fifth-year law student currently pursuing Law at NUJS, Kolkata, graduating in 2027. I recently completed my Callback internship at SAM, Delhi, in the General Corporate Team of the Law firm. And post the completion of the call-back internship, I was offered a PPO by the team. I will be joining the law firm next year in 2027. I was particularly keen on pursuing Corporate law post being briefly exposed to how companies operate, and how many a times, the legal outcomes are rooted in commercial decisions, something which only Corporate Lawyers in the country do, since they pre-empt problems from arising, and shape Corporate decisions, keeping in mind the industry trends, and still future proofing the transaction. 

2. For students unfamiliar with the term, what exactly is a PPO, how does it differ from a regular campus placement offer, and is it the primary hiring route at firms like SAM (or does this vary by practice group)?

So a PPO stands for Pre-Placement Offer. And it is ideally given to law students interning in the firm, prior to their College/Campus placements, with the intent being that the candidate is a preferred candidate. When it comes to college placements, even though firms have set Vacancies in mind whilst hiring students, the team itself has less control over the candidate who is being hired. Furthermore, since the Candidate ends up doing multiple internships with the team, over distinct months with varying workloads and requirements, the teams are in a better position to gauge if the candidate is the right fit for the team as well as the firm’s culture.  

3. What made you choose SAM for this internship, and is there a minimum duration or other threshold before a firm even considers you for a PPO?

SAM, Delhi in particular, has a well-established Corporate Law practice. Additionally, the team I worked in has been ranked Band 1 by Chambers and Partners for the past decade-plus. Keeping this in mind, and the fact that SAM is a Tier-1 law firm, which in itself assures exposure to leading Cross-border and domestic transactions, was a Key consideration whilst seeking to intern with the firm. 

With regards to the minimum duration, it ideally varies from team to team, and many times, there are different policies for different teams within the same firm. But ideally, the industry practice is for a student to intern twice with the team, once being the original internship, and the other being the call-back. And if required, then a Mandatory internship with the firm, which ends up being the third internship.   

4. Which practice area did you intern in, and was this deliberate or something you fell into?

I interned with the General Corporate practice of the firm, under Shailaja Lall Ma’am’s team. And whilst I was very clear that I wanted to intern with a General Corporate practice, the experience, exposure, and the environment of the team during my first internship made me want to actively intern with them during my call-back as well. 

5. Were you told upfront the internship could lead to a PPO, or did that become clear later?

I was not told the same directly, and this is ideally not the case with most Corporate teams across varied Law firms as well. A good way to gauge, and approach this would be candid with the team, and post the 2nd-3rd week of interning with the team, the candidates should seek clarity from the team regarding the feedback the team has for the candidate, and in that same conversation, also request for clarity w.r.t Vacancies within the team, and if the team actively considers Freshers for hiring, via the PPO route, or a recommendation for College/Campus Placements. And additionally, it is important to also be genuinely interested in the work that the team does, since the team can gauge when a Candidate is being genuine, and when they are not. 

6. What did the work actually look like: a typical day/week, and a few specific tasks you remember?

A typical day at the firm would entail reaching the office by 9.45 a.m to 10.00 a.m. And then post completion of any tasks (if any) which are slated for the first half of the office day, interacting with the team, and actively seeking work. 

The work that was delegated to me spanned from Research tasks (covering policies governing Cross-border transactions to verifying varied Regulatory requirements of Corporates) to Due Diligence activities (verifying the clauses of the Corporates undergoing an M&A for instance). 

7. How much interaction did you have with associates and partners, and were there tasks that felt like a “test” in hindsight?

From my experience, SAM, and especially my team was one of the few teams where I got the opportunity to directly work with all the members of the team, spanning from the Associates, Senior Associates to even one of the Partners of the team. 

Additionally, I do not think there was any instance of a task being assigned to me to “test” me in particular, but the assignments that were delegated to me were done with the intent of contributing to the end product which would be shared with the client. So that was the expectation w.r.t the quality of the work that was being delivered. 

8. What do firms actually look for when deciding whether to extend a PPO- quality of work, attitude, initiative, professionalism outside “the work,” or something else?

Whilst I feel there is no set answer, since this would again vary from team to team, I feel the underlying factor would always include the following (based solely on my understanding): 

1. Intellectual curiosity backed with intent

This, in my understanding, translates to actively seeking work, to showcase your ability to understand a certain task, work within a set deadline, and deliver.

And not just suddenly moving on to the next assignment, but actively seeking, if possible, the rationale behind that particular task, and how it might contribute to the larger process of the transaction that is being processed by the team.

This shows involvement, and a step beyond simply trying to complete assignments. 

2. Being Disciplined

This would entail showing up to office on time, and if possible, ideally before your team comes, and completing any task, if due, or familiarising with the functioning of the office.

Filling the varied requirements of the internships, such as the timesheet, or the worksheet, or getting the necessary approvals from the team, if any, well in advance. So that you are organised, and come across as disciplined individual as well. 

9. Does prior CV strength (moots, publications, other internships) still matter at this stage, or does internship performance override it?

I think personally, what skills you would have amassed post your CV experiences, such as researching for a Moot, ADR Competition, or writing research publications, would directly come in handy during your internships. 

And whenever you get the opportunity to interact with the members of the team, as well as the team leadership, any topics which might be relevant to the work of the team, or stand out in your CV would come in handy for discussing. 

Notwithstanding this, it is important to keep in mind that the work, and the currently industry trends, especially commercially relevant news covering your team’s practice area would be equally, if not more important when it comes to your genuine interest in that practice area. 

But my realistic opinion would be that having a Strong CV, in terms of a varied experiences, and stellar academic performance is always a Plus to have. 

10. How much weight does GPA/academic performance actually carry in a PPO decision, once you’re already in the door as an intern? 

This again varies according to the requirements of different law firms. Some are more stringent when it comes to Batch Ranks, as being a marker to gauge the performance, and capabilities of the candidates. Whereas others try to judge candidates based on a holistic understanding, and scrutiny of the candidate’s CV. 

11. How much does “fit” with the team’s culture matter, versus pure technical/legal skill?

I personally am of the opinion that when it comes to internships, whilst it is very important to actively seek work, and deliver on the work that is being delegated, it is equally important to build the interpersonal relationships with the team members, since they have experience which can contribute to your growth immensely. 

12. What are the most common mistakes interns make that hurt their chances, and is there one you personally made or almost made?

• I think not actively seeking feedback is one mistake that interns end up making. 
• Not asking the ‘why’ behind the transaction, if the team is open to sharing that information, is another mistake. 

I feel there could be others, but these two personally stand out, since they show that the intern is actively seeking to improve, and is intently trying to be invested, and get to know the functioning of the team, and the varied matters that they cover. 

13. What’s one piece of advice you’d give a student starting an internship with PPO conversion in mind?

• I feel the one thing that would ideally help is having clarity with respect to the expectations of the team, and also whether they are actively considering hiring freshers or not. 
• And additionally, you should be able to display yourself as a prospective candidate, which can be done through the varied things such discipline, showing up, and being diligent, and also actively trying to make interpersonal connections and lastly, delivering work that is actually lifting the work load from the team. 

14. How important is asking questions versus figuring things out independently, and is there anything students can do before the internship even starts to improve their chances?

For this, I would say that try to always read up before going for your internships. Ideally, if you know in advance the practice area that you would be allocated to, try to read up the basics on that, be it from an NDA primer or any other valid source of your liking. Also, try to stay aware of recent trends, changes, legislative amendments, and other developments in that practice area. 

15. Looking back, what’s one moment that tipped the scale in your favour, one quality every successful PPO candidate seems to share, and any final advice for students currently interning and hoping for a PPO?

Just be aware, have clarity on what you want, seek feedback, contribute and give your best. And know that sometimes, you could give it your all, but it might just not be the right place for you, and that is completely fine as well. In the end, it always ends up being alright. All the best!