Lawyer Salary

Originally Posted by Unregistered

It is 9.5k liao, cuz HR needs to adjust with inflation

It's idiots like this that turn good posts into a joke and ruin the forum for everyone.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Thanks for this post. What about firms like CMS Holborn Asia, Pinsent Masons Mpillay, NRF Ascendant? And is Bird & Bird ATMD in this fla/jlv category?

I want to know this too. Anyone can share?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Thanks for this post. What about firms like CMS Holborn Asia, Pinsent Masons Mpillay, NRF Ascendant? And is Bird & Bird ATMD in this fla/jlv category?

This is information that I obtained prior to the supposed Big4 bump to 7.5k (abit of hearsay elements involved):

CMS Holborn Asia pays higher (few hundred more) than big4 for NQ, Pinsents Mpillay not sure, NRF Ascendant pays Midsize rates for NQ (tiagong is 5k-ish only), Bird & Bird ATMD's rates are same as A&G for NQ.

Now with the Big4 payraise, not sure if these firms will also react accordingly.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

This is information that I obtained prior to the supposed Big4 bump to 7.5k (abit of hearsay elements involved):

CMS Holborn Asia pays higher (few hundred more) than big4 for NQ, Pinsents Mpillay not sure, NRF Ascendant pays Midsize rates for NQ (tiagong is 5k-ish only), Bird & Bird ATMD's rates are same as A&G for NQ.

Now with the Big4 payraise, not sure if these firms will also react accordingly.

Is Bird & Bird ATMD even a FLA/JLV?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

It's 8.5. The bump was 1k from the previous salary of 7.5.

Why do people keep randomly throwing numbers. Its just 8k. No 8.5.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Why do people keep randomly throwing numbers. Its just 8k. No 8.5.

Because the guy who used the number 8.5k wants to defend his argument that BM pays close to MC/SC rates, and he can't say that with 8K, especially when he already admitted that even 8.5k (and 2PQE rates for BM) is closer to big4 than true MC/SC.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

No, there are 4 local firms in SG that were/are thought to be dying out from their glory days:

Withers Khattarwong
Lee&Lee

seem to be two of them, there are two more. It has nothing to do with FLA or local firms.

anyone know how much are these two alleged sinking ships paying? heard withers have increased progressively, but l&l remains dated

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Is Bird & Bird ATMD even a FLA/JLV?

Yes, it does not have the international law firm license to operate as a standalone in SG. The ATMD stands for Alban Tay Mahtani & de Silva LLP, the local partner.

Admittedly B&B is one of the firm that downplays the local partner in the spirit of "we're all part of the twobirds network", but the pay is not the same, if that's what you're asking.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I won't comment on the rest because I cbf. Just on the salary point, if you were inclined to actually be reasonable in your analysis and compare apple to apples - comparing BMWL starting salary to MC starting rates is not a reasonable comparison, because MC starting is for NQs on the UK scale (i.e. 2 years of training + LPC, the total could be close to 3 years past your law sku graduation). Accounting for this difference is something the firms themselves do - if you are a 2 PQE in a SG firm and you move to a MC, you will be taken as a NQ and paid accordingly.

So, if you want to compare properly:

(A) To begin with, BMWL starting of 8.5k now (yes, it's 8.5k) is higher than what u will get as a MC trainee.

(B) For assoc salary, you should be looking at BMWL 2 - 3 PQE salaries and comparing that to the MC starting salary. At that point, BMWL is close to the 12-13k mark you gave. The same goes for B4 (which definitely pays less than BMWL), but the point is if you compare at the 2-3 PQE mark, the difference is not as great as you think (but yes, there is definitely still a difference).

Don't get fooled by a big wall of text - idiots usually talk the most.

not the op, but this is quite misleading

1. we're comparing bmwl with mc firms which pay sg qualified lawyers on the international scale in sg. you don't have to migrate to the uk and take the lpc before you are paid on the international scale. the problem with bmwl is that they claim to be an international firm, but they don't pay international rates in sg unlike the mc firms. so the proper timeline for comparison is the first 2 years in sg, which is how long it takes to complete the training programs for mc firms in sg

2. the bmwl trainee salary is lower than the mc trainee salary. comparing cc's salary (since they publish it on their website) and your claim of 8.5k for baker 1PQE:

baker's pay for initial 2 years: 2k x 12 + 8.5k x 12 = 126k (average of 5.25k per month)
cc's pay for initial 2 years: 6k x 12 + at least 7.5k x 12 = at least 162k (average of at least 6.75k per month)

even if you consider the initial 3 years, the difference only widens:

baker's pay for initial 3 years: 2k x 12 + 8.5k x 12 + 9.5k x 12 = 240k (average of 6.3k per month)
cc's pay for initial 3 years: 6k x 12 + at least 7.5k x 12 + 13k x 12 = at least 318k (average of at least 8.8k per month)

Not sure whether you noticed
But with a 1 year tc, the firms paying you 7.5k starting is not really an uplift if you’re gonna get your $1-2k for 1 year lols