Quote:
Originally Posted by Unregistered
s://.singaporelawwatch.sg/Headlines/young-lawyers-find-fulfilment-balance-as-they-strike-out-on-their-own
Anyone care to share thoughts on the recent BT article about young lawyers striking out on their own to get “fulfillment”. I don’t know their individual situations or who they are and their accounts may very well be true. However, I’m always a bit skeptical of articles which are crafted to be so positive as to almost become an advert. It’s like according to this article every one of them had been a star in a big firm bound for stardom in the firm, without any confirmation from any of those firms, but decided to strike out because they can provide more fulfilling work at cheaper rates. Having worked in a big firm, I can honestly say I don’t know one person whose primary motivation was “fulfillment” and their decision to start a new firm was inevitably frustration about some career matter. But maybe it is because I hang out with a different and much more jaded and career oriented crowd. Would love your thoughts.
I do hope what they say is true though because if that’s the case then it augurs well for the profession that young lawyers are conscious of the need for representation of the masses.
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I know 4 of the interviewees featured in their article and they're undoubtedly good lawyers. Making partners in their respective old firms wouldn't be surprising at all. At least 2 of them were JLCs. Even if you look at it with more cynical eyes, they all came from local firms (including the FLA mentioned), so the prospects of making at least JP is well within reach.
Of course, whether they would've been good rainmakers or not (arguably just as or more important than technical skills when you become a more senior lawyer) in their old firms is another thing.
But striking out and setting up your own shop is the truest challenge of whether you're a rainmaker, is it not?
Personally I would've felt somewhat uncomfortable tooting my own horn but I guess they felt convicted enough to agree to be interviewed. This conviction that they can do better with their own practice is probably why they left the safety net of their big firms in the first place.