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Originally Posted by Unregistered
Hi I would like to check with my learned friends on this forum on the prospects of a litigation versus a transaction lawyer. I'm a local uni student in my final year, been offered a TC to do corporate work at one of the big four. However, I've recently re-discovered my passion for litigation (shall bear you all the details of that), and seriously considering transferring to liti.
However, I have serious concerns about my speaking abilities, as I'm far from a charismatic or good speaker. My pragmatic consideration is whether or not I should transfer to liti where I might have greater interest whilst probably limiting my future career prospects, or staying in corporate where the money is allegedly better than liti (as a partner at least), and where the skills are more transferable to other sectors?
On that note, does anyone know how compensation schemes in the big four work for equity partners? Is it based on how much work a partner can bring in, or is it like the magic circle firms where it's based on a global pool?
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Hi my learned friend,
My advice as a 2nd yearer in practice is don't try to run before you learn how to walk. you have a long career and life ahead of you. your life isn't decided based on which practice area you choose to hop in first; many successful and famous lawyers didn't train in what they are presently good at. most of them also have been in practice for a gazillion years and picked up their skills along the way.
I would say all lawyers have concerns about their speaking (and other) abilities. Oral advocacy is a skill to be cultivated and not something most people (if any) are born with. Good litigators are not born but trained. I have also met some litigators who can wayang their way to oscars but do not instinctively craft arguments with legal basis. even win-loss records can be deceiving; any lawyer can win a slamdunk case but it takes a good lawyer to brighten gloomy skies.
as far as limiting your prospects are concerned, it cuts both ways. do liti can't do corp, do corp can't do liti. how much you earn depends less on your practice area but more on how good you are at what you're doing. this encompasses not only technical skill and knowledge of law but PR skills (ie ass kissing and sucking up) and blessings from God (ie daddy's connections). any way, certain in house positions actively seek ppl with liti experience. linkedin research will tell you the same thing.
compensation schemes depend on firm to firm and is based on a whole myriad of factors that you won't know unless you personally know a partner you can trust (and in turn trusts you).
as a final word, good luck. you're in a **** market where juniors are getting undercut at all angles and in all senses. nevertheless, the future is not something people can predict. do your best wherever you end up and try your best to be happy/healthy. at the end of the day, that's more important than earning S$xxx per month.