Originally Posted by Unregistered

Look, I get your point. Litigation is tough and there are only so many "high places" you can aspire to. But if you want to make up stats, then at least let them be in the ballpark of reality.

There are about 5000 practising lawyers in Singapore. Even assuming half of them are in litigation, and assuming also that half of the close to 100 SCs - or 50 - are still actually in litigation, then you have about a 2% chance of becoming a Senior Counsel.

Same with being a Supreme Court Judicial Officer. There are some 20 odd judges in the Supreme Court. Even just assuming half of them - plucking a random number out of thin air, let's say 15 - are from legal service and you assume a legal service of about 500 people, you're again looking at a 3% chance of landing in the Supreme Court. The percentages may be slightly less from the private sector but again, nowhere close to the dire numbers you cite.

These numbers are rough and ready but at least they have some basis. And I didn't just state random numbers I made up to support my point.

TLDR: It's not unrealistic to aspire to be an SC or a Judge. It's difficult, for very good reason I would reckon given the prestige and responsibilities that follow either of these tracks. But don't for a second believe the false numbers the OP plucked out of nowhere. If we want a debate on options, let's actually not just make up numbers as this just obfuscates the discussion.