First Generation Lawyer

First Generation Lawyer by Varun Sharma is an insightful guide that captures the journey of entering the legal profession without a family background in law. The book reflects the challenges, uncertainties, and determination required to choose law as a career when there is no roadmap to follow. It highlights the mindset, motivation, and resilience needed to survive and grow in the legal field as a first-generation professional.

Key Features

• Real-life perspective of a first-generation advocate
• Practical insights into choosing law as a career
• Honest discussion of struggles, self-doubt, and persistence
• Motivational guidance for aspiring lawyers without legal lineage
• Clear, relatable narrative grounded in the Indian legal context

This book is ideal for law students, aspiring advocates, and young professionals who come from non-legal backgrounds and are considering or have already chosen law as a career. It is especially useful for first-generation lawyers seeking motivation, clarity, and reassurance that success in the legal profession is possible without inherited privilege or guidance.

Prologue

Abhay, Aadarsh, and the Black Coat Dream                        

Introduction (Narrative)

Beyond the Syllabus: A First Day in Court                           

The Midnight Station – When Courage Wore a Black Coat 

PART I

ENTERING WITHOUT A MAP

Chapter 1       Choosing without a Map                                     

Chapter 2       Learning to stand where you do not belong        

Chapter 3       Learning in Silence: The Unwritten Rules           

PART II

ENDURANCE AND DIRECTION

Chapter 4       The Cost of Staying: Survival has a Price            

Chapter 5       Choosing Direction                                              

Chapter 6       Careers without Coordinates                               

Chapter 7       Building the Instrument                                       

Chapter 8       Authority without a Title                                     

PART III

POWER, ETHICS AND PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY

Chapter 9       Power, Compromise and Quiet Choices              

Chapter 10     Watching People Leave                                       

Chapter 11     The Long Middle                                                 

Chapter 12     The Steady Accumulation                                   

Chapter 13     When Invisibility Ends                                        

PART IV

MATURITY, STEWARDSHIP AND CONTINUITY

Chapter 14     In the Intervals: Learning without an Audience  

Chapter 15     Becoming the Reference Point                            

Chapter 16     What the Profession Teaches Slowly                   

Chapter 17     Staying without becoming Bitter                         

Chapter 18     Perspectives from Practice: Insights on the First-Generation Lawyer           

Epilogue                                                                                      

Afterword