Lawyer Salary

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I am guessing that the OP was trying to ask about qualifying for the Bar via the relevant legal officer route. This is a distinct route from the Legal Service Officer route but also 3 years training as well. The idea is to work for some stat board which does both advisory and prosecution work under specific legislations.

Wow this route is one less travelled. I would like to know more as well. Just curious.

But i think all applications are judged on their merits - whether you can add value to the team as associate.

Of all the entities listed, IRAS and CCS are probably the most useful ones of interest in private practice. Quite a number of tax partners in private practice have some IRAS background.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

:O Another Singaporean lawyer working in HK! Hello there (HK MC trainee here). What department and seniority are you now? How did you end up in HK?

Make sure your Chinese is top notch - Hong Kong does a lot of Sino work, and if your Chinese isn't great (like mine), it can be pretty painful. Cantonese is useful (for mingling with colleagues and getting around) but not necessary.

I'm assuming you're coming as a lateral? I know for my firm, one of the partners was headhunted, and an associate was made an offer when she did a secondment from one of the Big 4.

For law students who want to start as a Hong Kong trainee, the best way is to do a vacation scheme in your penultimate year, and get a training contract on the back of that.

Corporate is probably the most popular. Do note that for litigation, Hong Kong follows the British division of barristers and solicitors, so if you want to do advocacy, look to the chambers instead.

Hi there ~ I am in Corporate, first year. Did my two years of training contract here in the same firm I am now at. Ended up here because there are just much more opportunities here. Also I got a secondment to the New York office for 6 months whilst I trained here.

There were some push factors in SG too - (1) the local firms I interned back in SG seemed wary of international firms and did not speak well of them - my internship experiences here in UK and US firms here in HK proved the absolute opposite of what they warned against; (2) my same sex partner is recognized by my firm with attending spousal benefits and my firm supports diversity efforts, something I know my dear Singapore is still not ready for.

Of course there are sacrifices to be here in HK - much smaller living spaces for instance. But for the greater intellectual space, greater financial empowerment, and an internationalized associate labor market paying up to US rates with COLA for local associates, I think it's worth it.

Agree that doing a training contract here may make more sense if you are going to be here long-term. HK qualifications pretty much command the same salary rates as NY qualifications here in HK. That said, the biggest local firms here may still find it hard to pay UK rates. So all in all, it is all about positioning. Expand your horizons, gain an appreciation of local cultures in a globalized world. Then you would know how to geographically and professionally position yourself in view of the current economic climate.

[addisoncave]

a lawyers job is the most toughest in terms of earning as there is no steady earning unless you have a name roaming in the circles. The lowest paid is $55,400 in US

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Hi there ~ I am in Corporate, first year. Did my two years of training contract here in the same firm I am now at. Ended up here because there are just much more opportunities here. Also I got a secondment to the New York office for 6 months whilst I trained here.

There were some push factors in SG too - (1) the local firms I interned back in SG seemed wary of international firms and did not speak well of them - my internship experiences here in UK and US firms here in HK proved the absolute opposite of what they warned against; (2) my same sex partner is recognized by my firm with attending spousal benefits and my firm supports diversity efforts, something I know my dear Singapore is still not ready for.

Of course there are sacrifices to be here in HK - much smaller living spaces for instance. But for the greater intellectual space, greater financial empowerment, and an internationalized associate labor market paying up to US rates with COLA for local associates, I think it's worth it.

Agree that doing a training contract here may make more sense if you are going to be here long-term. HK qualifications pretty much command the same salary rates as NY qualifications here in HK. That said, the biggest local firms here may still find it hard to pay UK rates. So all in all, it is all about positioning. Expand your horizons, gain an appreciation of local cultures in a globalized world. Then you would know how to geographically and professionally position yourself in view of the current economic climate.

Wild guess here, but did you go to CityU PCLL in 2012-2013 and if so, did you have a female classmate with the surname Tai? My associate buddy told me about a Singaporean in her PCLL cohort who recently got married to a same-sex partner and is probably about NQ/ PQE1 now.

You're so lucky to get COLA - I'm not entitled to it at my firm because they count me as a Hong Kong staff ): Are all international staff members automatically entitled to COLA at US law firms, even if you trained in HK?

Your reasons definitely make sense (also, very jealous that you got a secondment to New York). COL is indeed higher, but the pay makes up for it I think. Quality of training is also pretty good here.

To be very honest, I'm not really sure a local firm (eg Woo Kwan Lee & Lo, maybe even Deacons or Mayer Brown JSM) would be all that keen on Singaporean trainees or associates. My suspicion is that you probably need Cantonese fluency to deal with local clients. All the other Singaporeans I know of are at US or UK law firms.

More generally, any advice for a first seat trainee, especially given that I'm currently in Corporate?

Originally Posted by addisoncave

a lawyers job is the most toughest in terms of earning as there is no steady earning unless you have a name roaming in the circles. The lowest paid is $55,400 in US

Go back to the SIM UOL law school page

why do people say not to trust the law graduate employments surveys?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Wild guess here, but did you go to CityU PCLL in 2012-2013 and if so, did you have a female classmate with the surname Tai? My associate buddy told me about a Singaporean in her PCLL cohort who recently got married to a same-sex partner and is probably about NQ/ PQE1 now.

You're so lucky to get COLA - I'm not entitled to it at my firm because they count me as a Hong Kong staff ): Are all international staff members automatically entitled to COLA at US law firms, even if you trained in HK?

Your reasons definitely make sense (also, very jealous that you got a secondment to New York). COL is indeed higher, but the pay makes up for it I think. Quality of training is also pretty good here.

To be very honest, I'm not really sure a local firm (eg Woo Kwan Lee & Lo, maybe even Deacons or Mayer Brown JSM) would be all that keen on Singaporean trainees or associates. My suspicion is that you probably need Cantonese fluency to deal with local clients. All the other Singaporeans I know of are at US or UK law firms.

More generally, any advice for a first seat trainee, especially given that I'm currently in Corporate?

Only advice: don't get burnt out too quickly - get downtime whenever you can.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

:O Another Singaporean lawyer working in HK! Hello there (HK MC trainee here). What department and seniority are you now? How did you end up in HK?



Make sure your Chinese is top notch - Hong Kong does a lot of Sino work, and if your Chinese isn't great (like mine), it can be pretty painful. Cantonese is useful (for mingling with colleagues and getting around) but not necessary.

I'm assuming you're coming as a lateral? I know for my firm, one of the partners was headhunted, and an associate was made an offer when she did a secondment from one of the Big 4.

For law students who want to start as a Hong Kong trainee, the best way is to do a vacation scheme in your penultimate year, and get a training contract on the back of that.

Corporate is probably the most popular. Do note that for litigation, Hong Kong follows the British division of barristers and solicitors, so if you want to do advocacy, look to the chambers instead.

Hey!! Glad to find other HK-based lawyers here - I myself am a future HK MC trainee!

Do you know many other Singaporeans or Malaysians working in MC/White shoe firms there?

I agree that the HK corporate/commercial market is more competitive and rewarding than Singapore's.

Since this is salary.com, allow me to share what I know:

Year 1 MC trainees are paid 46-48k and Year 2 MC trainees are paid 48-50k.
White Shoe trainees are paid even more. I know for a fact that Latham pays 60k to a year 1 trainee, go figure.

At NQ level, the gap between MC and US firms statifies further thanks to NY rates. That said, MC firms still pay around 80k to NQs, and some even pay NY rates later on to avoid associate defections to US firms.

Note that MC firms pay their HK associates higher than their London associates - the result of UK firms being forced to compete toe to toe with US firms with neither side having a home country advantage. Coupled with lower tax rates, the financial rewards in HK significantly outpace those of London and Singapore.

There is also a market trend of monolingual expats being pushed out of the market in favour of bilingual lawyers. So yeah, go polish up your Mandarin. It will pay serious dividends.

[LegalBeagle]

Hi all. I've been skulking around here for a long time being just a bored and lazy non-contributor. Today however, I've opened an account for the purposes of finding myself a Junior Associate.

I am a 5th year associate at a Magic Circle firm in Singapore, specializing in Banking and Finance. I've been dying for a while, under the increasing workload and my boss recognizes the need to find me some help. He's looking to hire a junior to support me, and expects headcount to be approved sometime in December. Problem is, I don't have anyone I'd like to pull in, and it's not easy to find personable, diligent and competent individuals.

I'm here scouting for a junior Junior Associate to join me. My boss will want to cherry-pick, so you'll need to have excellent credentials in order to apply.

• You should be a 2-4 PQE associate in a Big4 or in a silver circle UK firm, Singapore, UK or Commonwealth qualified
• You should be specializing in Finance (Asset Finance, Project Finance, Banking & Finance, etc)
• You should have stellar academics and no black marks on your resume

With apologies, please drop me a PM ONLY if you meet the criteria. The firm is quite strict on pedigree, and if you don't tick all the boxes I can't recommend you even if I'm madly in love with you. We are a top Magic Circle firm and pay very competitively. You'll get loads of high level international work and build lots of valuable business networks. If you stick it out for a few years, you'll find headhunters throwing you job offers well in excess of $300K a year all the time.

Well, that's about it. If anyone is interested, please drop me a private message and I'll arrange a meetup with you. I'll meet you for dinner (on me), and get to know you. If you're suitable, I'll put you up for an accelerated interview process. If you're not, no hard feelings I hope.

On a final note - I'm here with a serious hiring proposition. Please don't come and meet me to "sexpose" me or satisfy your curiosity. I don't have the hiring power to take you on immediately, but I do have the power to make a strong recommendation and I do have the power to blacklist. I'm only interested in meeting sincere candidates who meet the above criteria and are looking to move up the career ladder.

Look forward to receiving your PMs.

Originally Posted by LegalBeagle

Hi all. I've been skulking around here for a long time being just a bored and lazy non-contributor. Today however, I've opened an account for the purposes of finding myself a Junior Associate.

I am a 5th year associate at a Magic Circle firm in Singapore, specializing in Banking and Finance. I've been dying for a while, under the increasing workload and my boss recognizes the need to find me some help. He's looking to hire a junior to support me, and expects headcount to be approved sometime in December. Problem is, I don't have anyone I'd like to pull in, and it's not easy to find personable, diligent and competent individuals.

I'm here scouting for a junior Junior Associate to join me. My boss will want to cherry-pick, so you'll need to have excellent credentials in order to apply.

• You should be a 2-4 PQE associate in a Big4 or in a silver circle UK firm, Singapore, UK or Commonwealth qualified
• You should be specializing in Finance (Asset Finance, Project Finance, Banking & Finance, etc)
• You should have stellar academics and no black marks on your resume

With apologies, please drop me a PM ONLY if you meet the criteria. The firm is quite strict on pedigree, and if you don't tick all the boxes I can't recommend you even if I'm madly in love with you. We are a top Magic Circle firm and pay very competitively. You'll get loads of high level international work and build lots of valuable business networks. If you stick it out for a few years, you'll find headhunters throwing you job offers well in excess of $300K a year all the time.

Well, that's about it. If anyone is interested, please drop me a private message and I'll arrange a meetup with you. I'll meet you for dinner (on me), and get to know you. If you're suitable, I'll put you up for an accelerated interview process. If you're not, no hard feelings I hope.

On a final note - I'm here with a serious hiring proposition. Please don't come and meet me to "sexpose" me or satisfy your curiosity. I don't have the hiring power to take you on immediately, but I do have the power to make a strong recommendation and I do have the power to blacklist. I'm only interested in meeting sincere candidates who meet the above criteria and are looking to move up the career ladder.

Look forward to receiving your PMs.

Nice try bro. I think this line is better used at the bar or at one of those NUS or SMU careers' fair. I'm sure you wouldn't mind girls 8 years your junior