Nobody is saying that NUS and SMU graduates must be given a monopoly lah. Oxbridge aside, the reputation of the local law schools vis-a-vis the lower ranked UK and Australian universities already speaks for itself in the local market.

I'm saying, if Govt wants competition in the legal talent market, then bring in the foreign law firms as well. Let them practice Singapore law. Do what Hong Kong does, where HK law graduates have a smorgasbord of career options, ranging from top tier international law firms to local law firms.

Right now law grads are confined to hunting for TCs in a handful of local firms, most of which are insular, only chasing domestic work and do not have the capacity to hire many trainees. If the int'l firms were allowed to compete in local market and therefore the hiring market, there will be many more potential places.

Govt so scared of increasing competition for local firms, yet cannot do a good job of regulating the supply side. It is indicative of policy failure more than anything else. The fact that 12 odd UK law schools were belatedly delisted for entirely unconvincing reasons further proves my point. You seriously think the Australian universities have better standards than one of those delisted UK ones?

Not an entitlement issue to say that government screwed up. TC is for the purposes of qualification. Most law students do actually want to qualify as lawyers. Business grads who have to "fight tooth and nail" for their precious Management Associate Programmes can always accept a less prestigious position in the civil service or some stat board or SME. Law grads actually need a TC to qualify.