Lawyer Salary

Anyone whose working at R&T can enlighten me on their culture? Just wondering how R&T operates - especially the liti department. While I've heard rumours about the generally bad work culture there, I've also heard that its very team-based and that whether you get a shitty working experience depends a lot on the partners in your team as opposed to the firm itself?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Anyone whose working at R&T can enlighten me on their culture? Just wondering how R&T operates - especially the liti department. While I've heard rumours about the generally bad work culture there, I've also heard that its very team-based and that whether you get a shitty working experience depends a lot on the partners in your team as opposed to the firm itself?

Yes true. It’s team based. Your experience will depend a lot on your partners / seniors.

It’s not much different in most firms whether team or pool, only a question of degree.

Bad work culture - in what sense?

You can get ready to be shouted at for making the slightest mistake. You are just treated like dirt until the day you start to bring in the first dollar deal.
Can't bring in deals? then why you need to be treated well anyway?
It is a terrible work culture. what more can I say? You can only experience it for yourself.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Anyone whose working at R&T can enlighten me on their culture? Just wondering how R&T operates - especially the liti department. While I've heard rumours about the generally bad work culture there, I've also heard that its very team-based and that whether you get a shitty working experience depends a lot on the partners in your team as opposed to the firm itself?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Roi sucks really in this current climate.
JD is for people who are financially independent. And already successful in their original career but got bored of it and decided to fulfill their childhood dream.

I know of doctors who took smu JD. Below is an article abt an engineer who earned enuff and decided to go back to school for the fun of it.

://.straitstimes.com/singapore/education/taking-a-pay-cut-to-start-afresh-in-law

But if u have an okie career earning ∼5k, and you need the money, it will be dumb for you to join jd unless the aim is to fulfill childhood ambition. If you currently earn 2-3k, can be worth it to take up jd. Will bring your earnings up by a bit.

Think of jd as an 70k academic holiday. As an intellectual investment but definitely Not as an financial investment. Whether the 70k is worth it depends on what you want out of it. Interest , chance to go back to school.

If I enroll next year, I will be 38 when I graduate from JD.
Are firms alright to have a old fresh graduates?

BUT I also heard lawyers can earn a lot of money, perhaps by 2020 things may change. I am looking to earn $10,000 a month. Is that possible as a lawyer? So within a year I can earn back my school fee.

I am not sure about the market now actually I am not in this industry.
How can there be bad market if lawyer industry is regulated? Its not anyone who can be a lawyer and I know all companies need lawyer.


All I know is that lawyers and doctors earn a lot of money. That's why everybody wants to be either.

Hi I was choosing between medicine and law few year back and chose the former.
After reading this thread, I have absolutely no regrets. In fact, I see so many of my lawyer friends being humiliated at work yet they could only share that with close friends. Also, they earn like 3k-4k per month without firms paying for their bar course.

What actually happened to the legal industry? Sounds from bad to worse.

I’m a practising Locum Doctor in Singapore. I bring in a monthly salary averaging about 11-12000 SGD per month. That is considering that I only have a basic MBBS degree and no postgraduate degree. Work life balance is great as I work only 8-5, and no other responsibilities other than seeing patients allocated to me. For me it’s a perfect job. It’s true that money is not everything but everything needs money, but when your monthly needs are met, the excess money is what you can save or spend. It’s good if you have a lot to spend !

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Hi I was choosing between medicine and law few year back and chose the former.
After reading this thread, I have absolutely no regrets. In fact, I see so many of my lawyer friends being humiliated at work yet they could only share that with close friends. Also, they earn like 3k-4k per month without firms paying for their bar course.

What actually happened to the legal industry? Sounds from bad to worse.

I’m a practising Locum Doctor in Singapore. I bring in a monthly salary averaging about 11-12000 SGD per month. That is considering that I only have a basic MBBS degree and no postgraduate degree. Work life balance is great as I work only 8-5, and no other responsibilities other than seeing patients allocated to me. For me it’s a perfect job. It’s true that money is not everything but everything needs money, but when your monthly needs are met, the excess money is what you can save or spend. It’s good if you have a lot to spend !

Many in-house counsels of 6-8 PQE (years after graduation) can draw 5 figure salaries and have good work life balance. So lawyers have that choice as well. But many decide to stay on hoping for a higher income in the future as partner

Need to wait until 6 years?

By then a lot have already left the profession.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Many in-house counsels of 6-8 PQE (years after graduation) can draw 5 figure salaries and have good work life balance. So lawyers have that choice as well. But many decide to stay on hoping for a higher income in the future as partner

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Hi I was choosing between medicine and law few year back and chose the former.
After reading this thread, I have absolutely no regrets. In fact, I see so many of my lawyer friends being humiliated at work yet they could only share that with close friends. Also, they earn like 3k-4k per month without firms paying for their bar course.

What actually happened to the legal industry? Sounds from bad to worse.

I’m a practising Locum Doctor in Singapore. I bring in a monthly salary averaging about 11-12000 SGD per month. That is considering that I only have a basic MBBS degree and no p
ostgraduate degree. Work life balance is great as I work only 8-5, and no other responsibilities other than seeing patients allocated to me. For me it’s a perfect job. It’s true that money is not everything but everything needs money, but when your monthly needs are met, the excess money is what you can save or spend. It’s good if you have a lot to spend !

Locum has no bonus, no cpf.
So your equivalent moh pay is just $7k per mth. Nothing to be proud of.
Plus at the rate of 100 per hr, for eight hour a day for five days per week, you shld be bringing in 20k, not 11-12k. So either there is a lack of work or the pay isn't 100per hr. Also there is liability and Please rmb to refer corneal ulcer to Ed.
And a lot of times you actually have to work on ph, and after hours.

The tuition fees for MBBS is also higher than law tuition by a large margin. At least 3x more in Singapore context. Plus associated bond is expensive to break.

Top lawyers always earn more than top doctors. (Top 20%)
Average lawyer is same as average doctor. (Mid 50%)
Bottom 30% doctors slightly better than bottom lawyer as doctor have a better baseline in this climate.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Locum has no bonus, no cpf.
So your equivalent moh pay is just $7k per mth. Nothing to be proud of.
Plus at the rate of 100 per hr, for eight hour a day for five days per week, you shld be bringing in 20k, not 11-12k. So either there is a lack of work or the pay isn't 100per hr. Also there is liability and Please rmb to refer corneal ulcer to Ed.
And a lot of times you actually have to work on ph, and after hours.

The tuition fees for MBBS is also higher than law tuition by a large margin. At least 3x more in Singapore context. Plus associated bond is expensive to break.

Top lawyers always earn more than top doctors. (Top 20%)
Average lawyer is same as average doctor. (Mid 50%)
Bottom 30% doctors slightly better than bottom lawyer as doctor have a better baseline in this climate.

And yet investment bankers and sales and traders earn higher than both professions at all levels of seniority throughout their career.

Don't take my word for it, an equity analyst costs than double London MC's top equity partners' billing per hour:

s://.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-10-11/morgan-stanley-is-said-to-plan-2-500-an-hour-analyst-fees?cmpid=socialflow-linkedin-business%20&utm_content=business&utm_campaign=soci alflow-organic&utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=social

s://.quora.com/Who-makes-more-money-BigLaw-Lawyers-or-I-Bankers

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Anyone whose working at R&T can enlighten me on their culture? Just wondering how R&T operates - especially the liti department. While I've heard rumours about the generally bad work culture there, I've also heard that its very team-based and that whether you get a shitty working experience depends a lot on the partners in your team as opposed to the firm itself?

Be prepared to get humiliated.