I read through the entire thread and realized that 99% of the people here really lack entrepreneurship. All of them are talking about salary and career progression while working for some firm. Their focus is what firm is good etc etc. Why not work for a few years and start your own firm? After all lawyers are 1 of the professions where you can start your own firm easily. You can pick 1 area of law and specialize in it. If you cannot handle some parts of the work, you can farm them out. Better than working like a dog for someone else building their dreams. After all, even magic circle firms started off being small firms. My plan is once I gain sufficient experience, I will buy a shop house in Chinatown and start a small firm, then slowly expand.