Actually can anyone give a general guideline on what you do as an in-house counsel, especially since I heard that you are supposed to do everything yourself.

Do delisted school students know the law?

Boutique firm here, took pay cut and confirmed no bonus cos of covid. Little to no work incoming. Job apps totally ignored, so considering asking for lower pay instead in future apps.

Jin jialat leh my brother and sister solicitors. Now my take home like B4 trainee and I mostly watching people build swimming pools in jungles on . How? I also dunno how to BD in this current post-CB situation.

Are you NQ lawyer?

Just chill. Most of us are in the same boat.
This generation will be quite badly affected cos of COVID.
Just have to find ways to survive.
Grab, Deliveroo. Every delivery is about $6-8

Aiya won't come to that lah. At most just find some temp office work. To prepare u for real world

I have left the legal industry and was working at in house for a couple of years before starting up my company. My company was doing pretty well for a few years but the Covid ordeal has turned the tables and now I am planning to end my journey as an entrepreneur (at least for a few years until the economy rides out of the storm). Any idea how employers would view my CV and are there any good opportunities for me in the legal market still?

My top choices would be the big four and mid-sized firms. If all fails, I can work at the smaller firms until I see better opportunities.

Times are hard and I wish I was in a stable career at this point of time.

I know you're joking, but food delivery earn more per hour than me and I daresay most junior assocs.

Seriously. Take your salary and divide it by the no of hours you clock in the month. The pink panda bringing your food to you at 8pm in the office while you review that agreement probably just made more money than you for that few minutes of work.

Not that I really care all that much about billing but you hand over heart tell me if taking a pay cut feels good. I'm not about to claim I do valuable, unreplaceable work. But it's still work, hard work, and lots of it with lots of professional risk associated. Times are bad, and I don't think I'm obliged to feel good that times are bad.

No choice. Big four or international firms usually don’t hire people who left for a few years (unless you are doing sth significantly related to what that team does). There are many fresh blood out there who are keen to learn and they are cheaper labour. Also, chances are most departments are on a hiring freeze.

Small firms are trying hard to keep the jobs for the associates. I suggest you can further your studies or learn some new skills before trying for the legal industry. Good luck.

I am. Not aunt agony thread but guess you can't talk salary without some discussion of how to earn it.

Unlike most people here idgaf about long working hours or awful colleagues or whatever. Occupational hazards, not gonna change anytime soon, just do it and collect money end of the month can liao.

The problem is the money to collect at the end of the month now getting less and less. Got any advice going forward? How to find clients, how to get business, anything. I do anything - crim, fam, wills, whatever. Civ also can. As long as state courts tier i can handle file on my own from start to finish no problem. Just cannot solo in HC os/trials yet, not no confidence, boss dont trust me to sully the firm name lol.

Seems a bit difficult to meet up with people now, cannot sit outside and office got all these restrictions. I know a junior like me shouldn't be applying my time and energy to this issue. But I basically given up looking for new assoc roles. Senior practitioners, how do you all do it? Got people just walk in your office and point at you and say I want you to do my divorce?

Try deliveroo

Agreed with this comment.
That’s the reason why it’s difficult for Chinatown to jump to Wilmerhale and similarly, vice versa. Scope of work is just too different....
Experience also too different.
And like poster said, once you leave for in house or other things, people don’t view you with the same kind of ability to weather storm or adversity. Even if you can claim that in an interview...

I am not joking. I pulled up next to a grab driver delivering food.
And he got his hands full. They are making money at the very least.
Law doesn’t do well in a downturn. That’s a fact. When bear sterns collapse, banking & finance practices were badly hit, it’s all a cascading effect!!!

It’s a fact that one batch of new lawyers, 600-700 every year??
Many won’t stay or hold on a PC past 5 years.

If you happen to still be a lawyer after 5 years good for you.
But many won’t! So if you fall into that Category and have Long moved out, then don’t think about re entering. You’ll be miserable.

Just move on. As said grab, deliveroo. Or other things. Accept the reality and move on....

I agree with the answers posted above with regards to your question. Personally, I would suggest working at a government org (try to show that you have some related skills) and then continue with your journey to entrepreneurship after a few years).

There’s a lot a lawyer can do even if you’ve been retrenched or furloughed.

Not sure if anyone knows there’s a US securities market starting at 9:30pm ending at 4:00am Singapore time. Just get a trading account - I don’t have to teach cap markets lawyers or M&A lawyers who are the brokerage firms.

And as a 2pqe lawyer, surely you have at least $30-50k savings sitting somewhere, if not more. That’s enough to trade!

Be clas lawyer?

And then... Buy UPRO?

Day trade. Not invest. It kills time.

Glutman 1454
 

Trainees who didn't get retained, what are your plans?

There are so many things one can do...
That’s the problem with legal education.
It makes ppl square...
In-house, start your own business (hawkers are good place to start), pool money with your trainees to set up a small business, grab, deliveroo.
Be a influencer, etc.
branch out into Human Resources, Manufacturing, Banking, etc

What are the exit options for 1-3 PQE lawyers? How to move to say, finance or consulting? This would supposedly be an entry-level position?

A law degree holder stands a lower chance of getting hired than Mathematics or Engineering majors in finance or consulting. It is of limited value

What’s wrong with entry level position?
If law is not a viable option any longer, you have to start somewhere.
If a law trained person is capable, he will eventually rise the ranks wherever he goes

No idea why you guys seem to think finance is an exit option when law is "not a viable option" when the reason for this in the first place is a bad economy which affects finance even more than law... banks are undergoing massive retrenchments, hiring freezes and salary cuts now

Yup lawyers have no sense.

No idea why people seem to think that a reference to “exit options” and “not a viable option” equates to leaving the profession because of “bad economy ... affect[ing] ... law”. If you read carefully, none of the foregoing suggests that, but you were too quick to jump to conclusions.

You'd definitely be in the vast majority (bad economy) if you left for 'exit options' now. I'm not OP but at least he calls a spade a spade

I would like to know which practice areas are still busy or still have work coming? Would like to try applying .

Try doing crim law. Lots of ppl got incriminated during CB.

Fam law also good. A lot of domestic violence due to CCBs

Debt collection.

Restructuring and insolvency is also good

Not unlike this guy, "The man asked the woman what she was eating, but became sexually aroused and decided to take upskirt photos of her." Who becomes sexually aroused while asking about food??
s://.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/former-drew-napier-lawyer-jailed-upskirt-photos-colleague-12815390

No man it's difficult to sit cross-legged.

No point to do a job with immense stress that it makes you do the wrong things.
According to psychology (btw psychology is a good area for Ex lawyers to branch into), people vent their stress in different ways.
Smoking, etc. it’s all part of compulsiveness

LOD/Axiom/Korum
 

Hi! Does anyone have first-hand experience working with the lawyers on demand model? Would like to hear from seniors who have taken this route. Thanks!

If you had entered the US market in March 2020, and hold till today, you’d have earned more than the lawyers on furlough in the magic circle and the white shoe.

Doing nothing except sleeping

Well he had perfectly legal avenues - he could have quit his job, like many do, without using stress as an excuse. He could have gone to a smaller firm. He could have done other forms of legal work. Stress is not an excuse for upskirting someone.

Neither is depression - litigation is depressing, you don't see daylight when you have trial or discovery. Any normal lawyer will feel the pressure. There's the added pressure on you to win, along with time pressures and client pressures. If he needed an out, he should have quit

That being said it's hard in that he might be too caught up in the cycle to realise it