Lawyer Salary

Are the number of law grads decreasing each year? Or increasing?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Always wondered why lawyers keep saying they say regret or not worth studying law. Switch to other kinds of jobs la. Nobody is holding your family hostage n threatening to harm them if you dont remain a lawyer

Law can be seen as a specialised degree, but it can also be seen as a general arts degree

You ever hear people who studied Econs complain that they regret doing economics? Or people who studied history or geography complain that they regret those fields? No, because most of them don't eventually work as economists, historians or geographers in the first place!

I hear many engineering grads who said engineering sucks, but in the end they work in other fields like finance or sales.

How come law grads r so inflexible and unadventurous?

i'm still in private practice and I also agree with this post. It's kinda annoying when fellow "learned" friends complain about practice and wanting to quit and then whining about how there aren't better options out there. And when I point out some possibilities or give them examples such as stated by OP in the quoted post, what I usually get is a blank stare.

ya so i don't get why, anecdotally at least, some SG lawyers seem rather unimaginative, especially when they're not unintelligent.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

has anyone quitted during tc? I am struggling every day and don't foresee myself doing anything legal related in the future.

Just quit. TC is a job not a blood oath. It is in fact a contract. If they can't prove damages what are the repercussions?

Start thinking like a lawyer. The only repercussion is once you go quit you can never go back.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

i'm still in private practice and I also agree with this post. It's kinda annoying when fellow "learned" friends complain about practice and wanting to quit and then whining about how there aren't better options out there. And when I point out some possibilities or give them examples such as stated by OP in the quoted post, what I usually get is a blank stare.

ya so i don't get why, anecdotally at least, some SG lawyers seem rather unimaginative, especially when they're not unintelligent.

I think there is some concern that the law degree may not be as useful as we hope for, outside of legal work. A business or economics or other graduate may have worked half as hard as a law graduate during university days and can still score the same second upper or possibly even a higher grade. Compare their “better” grades with the law graduate’s, and the law graduate is already disadvantaged. It gets worse when the law graduate spent and additional year after university getting qualified as a lawyer and is now looking to move to an industry where his/her hard skills are close to useless and the only thing he/she can tout are soft skills (which honestly would sound vague and insubstantial to most interviewers)...... That is possibly why law graduates feel “stuck” to the legal industry.

I believe most law graduates would want to adopt your oversimplified way of thinking, but the reality is a drastic change in career path is not as easy as you say, especially when we are already disadvantaged.

Psssh for the record, I’m still 4 years in practice and don’t see myself leaving my small firm in the years to come. Just sharing my thoughts :P

Originally Posted by Unregistered

i'm still in private practice and I also agree with this post. It's kinda annoying when fellow "learned" friends complain about practice and wanting to quit and then whining about how there aren't better options out there. And when I point out some possibilities or give them examples such as stated by OP in the quoted post, what I usually get is a blank stare.

ya so i don't get why, anecdotally at least, some SG lawyers seem rather unimaginative, especially when they're not unintelligent.

Indeed. Lawyering is a **** job, shitter now than ever. Chances of you making millions as an EP is dwindling every single minute we go.

Quit. The prestige is not worth 4.5k a month

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I think there is some concern that the law degree may not be as useful as we hope for, outside of legal work. A business or economics or other graduate may have worked half as hard as a law graduate during university days and can still score the same second upper or possibly even a higher grade. Compare their “better” grades with the law graduate’s, and the law graduate is already disadvantaged. It gets worse when the law graduate spent and additional year after university getting qualified as a lawyer and is now looking to move to an industry where his/her hard skills are close to useless and the only thing he/she can tout are soft skills (which honestly would sound vague and insubstantial to most interviewers)...... That is possibly why law graduates feel “stuck” to the legal industry.

I believe most law graduates would want to adopt your oversimplified way of thinking, but the reality is a drastic change in career path is not as easy as you say, especially when we are already disadvantaged.

Psssh for the record, I’m still 4 years in practice and don’t see myself leaving my small firm in the years to come. Just sharing my thoughts :P

No bro i really think it is the lack of transferable skills.

- can lawyers do math? Nah

- can lawyers do finance? Maybe but it is rar

Why do the Big 4s continue to pay a pittance to their associates and have them leave at 2-3 pqe for double their salary? Is this an intentional structure?

how's the difficulty of part a/b this year? failure rate for part b?

possible to change firms during tc? will the firm hold a grudge on me and affect my career

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Why do the Big 4s continue to pay a pittance to their associates and have them leave at 2-3 pqe for double their salary? Is this an intentional structure?

Because they don't have to change the structure. Junior (1 - 3 PQE) associates make so much money for the EPs and take only 10% of that for their salary (it's actually usually less than 10% because B4 junior assocs usually go way over their billing requirements). And every year, there will be another batch of eager-to-please trainees coming in to take over whoever just left. And once in a blue moon, you have a guy (and honestly, I have nothing against people who decide to do this - they are usually super nice and really good at their job) who wants to stay 20 years and make partner - there's your continuity right there. Then the department also gets to use that person as a poster boy and talk about how they like to "nurture homegrown talent", while simultaneously overworking their associates with a 90% attrition rate and taking all the money for themselves. It's just the B4 life. Don't feel bitter about it - just use it for the training and brand name, and leave asap for that sweet MC/WS salary.