In terms of difficulty to get a TC:

Corp
1. Clifford Chance
2. Baker/A&G
3. WP
4. R&T/Drew
5. Rodyk

Liti
1. Clifford Chance / Drew (Cavinder Bull's team)
2. Baker / WP (Corporate & Commercial Disputes team) / A&G (Ang Cheng Hock, Jason Chan's teams) / R&T (Appeals & Issues Group)
3. Rest of A&G/Drew/WP/R&T
4. Rodyk

Very helpful post. Thanks a lot. Why is it Baker and CC when their contracts are offered by their Singapore practice?

that's how they are known informally + they function more like one firm unlike many of the other JLVs.

This is true. I'm an incoming trainee with Bakers, having interned there for a bit. Legally all of us lawyers are employed by Wong & Leow but functionally there's no difference. There's no "Baker" section of the firm - Wong & Leow was started by Baker partners so they can practice SG law.

Haven't been to CC but from what I hear from friends there its the same thing.

Its different as compared to, say, Stephenson Harwood/Virtus (e.g. Virtus still does accident/personal injury cases)

Agree with this, save for the fact that CC and Baker don't do much liti work - mostly arbi/specialised areas (e.g. IP).

Getting into CC is an order of magnitude harder than getting into the next tier (Baker/A&G corp)

Have to disagree with the simplistic analysis you have got there. The difficulty really varies because in this supply glut, law firms are not longer just looking at grades or pro bono or whatever. Having said that grades are very important factors. These firms are only looking to offer TCs to former interns or FCHs. I understand that WP and Dentons are willing to looking beyond former interns and FCHs. To get their internship you must have so quality in your resume in Y2 that at least attracted the HR team.

P.s not sure if people here are in the industry. Rodyk & Davidson is now known as Denton Rodyk. They prefer to be called Dentons o.O

Thank you for all the replies. Very informative and helpful. Helps to know where the application thresholds are. How about the rest after [CC, Baker, Big Four + Rodyk], i.e. the other locals + JLVs, TSMP, Shook Lin, KhattarWong, ATMD Bird & Bird, Lee & Lee, Harry Elias, TKQP, KCP, CNP?

This is not true. I am not a first and am an incoming trainee at Bakers. I got my TC before interning there. I have a friend who is similarly not a first and is an incoming trainee at CC. I have TONS of friends that are going to the big 4 and are not firsts and haven't interned at their firms. There are a number who aren't even 2nd uppers (without connections).

Ha ha everyone calls them rodyk no matter what they want to be called...same for stamford

Poster above...have to agree that law firms are looking out for more than grades. Most firms look out for mooters, prize winners, and interesting CCAs/sports/non-academic interests - particularly mooting at the international level. I know this because I have a good number of mooting friends who got hired during moots (i.e. by their coaches or judges) or because of their moots (i.e. get invited to firm "lunches" etc after winning moots).

Pro bono doesnt seem to really factor in except at particular firms. I have zero pro bono hours on my CV.

Wow faith in humanity restored. Always thought it's the FCH or connections only.