For context I am an overseas law grad, I have been struggling with my mental health over past 2 years, but only sought help recently and was diagnosed with depression and anxiety and prescribed medication a few days ago. For context I have already signed with another firm and am currently contemplating which offer to accept (in other words I am thinking of reneging on my TC)
Firm A: SG office of fairly reputable international firm
Firm B: firm that I am signed with, London office of an mid-Atlantic American firm, unsure about how its reputation is perceived in Singapore
worklife balance: assuming firm B because of country culture but honestly its probably a slog either way, also feel like if my mental health is something I have to be transparent about I would feel more comfortable speaking to employers in B as it seems less stigmatised in the UK.
support system: firm A because I am closer to close friends and family
money: Firm B likely to pay slightly more (NQ 157k gbp), not sure about Firm A because I think its a bit crass to ask about pay, but I am pretty sure I will be well paid either way so its not too much of a concern for me
quality of work: Firm A has a better reputation in the practice areas I am interested in (transactional practices), Firm B does the work I am interested in as well, but is more of a market leader in areas I am not currently interested in (international arbitration + litigation). This is a bit of a worry for me because the scale of Firm B's transactional work in London seems a bit mediocre.
brand name: Firm A, my long-term aim is to return to SG so I am worried that taking firm B may jeopardise my attractiveness as a lawyer especially if its not a household name (if its relevant Firm B has a SG office as well)
career: unknown? some say its good to start in London because of the relative depth of legal market and exposure to cross-border work, on the other hand I have been advised not to stay overseas too long because ideally you should be able to build stronger client relationships by starting in SG
personal aspirations: Firm B because I think it would be easier to return to SG to work from rather than the other way round, feels like it would personally be more of a challenge as well (although I am not sure being challenged is best for my mental health atm). Long-term probably want to come back in Singapore at some point.
Would appreciate any perspectives from current lawyers about anything else I should also factor in, as well as what you all think from experience should be the most important factors!
Apologies about posting the same post in the lawyer salary thread as well, thought I should have created a new thread instead of sabotaging the thread, and now I don't know how to delete the other post
Career advice for prospective lawyer
