They do bring the value. In my experience as a solicitor that trained in London and am now back in the SG office to be closer to family, the 2 years' training period is essential for a law student to become commercially savvy enough to be presentable to clients. It's not just about hard law (which real corporate work is rarely about anyway). The SG-qualified NQ is not ready in that regard.

But to be fair, you have to compare apples to apples. I have the same expectations of the 1.5 PQE SG-qualified lawyers as my UK-trained NQs and I am rarely disappointed. The B4 trained hires are always good and know what they are doing, though I can't really say the same for the tier 2 corp departments, which we now rarely hire from after some bad experiences.