Lawyer Salary

Hi all, I’m thinking of starting to apply out of my current firm.
2 going 3 PQE.

Corp assoc, small boutique firm. General corp with big enough projects here and there.

Planning to start the process in March so that I can leave my current job no later than June

1/ Are the Big 4 corp teams, FLA corp teams hiring.

2/ Which are the better larger firms/teams for career prospects.

3/What starting pay should I be looking for? Getting slightly below 6k

4/What starting pay if I were the consider in house roles

5/I have been rejected by Big 4 before, would it be worth reapplying but this was way much earlier in my career at 1 PQE

Much appreciated seniors for advice as I hope to exit the sweatshot I’m in.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Hi all, I’m thinking of starting to apply out of my current firm.
2 going 3 PQE.

Corp assoc, small boutique firm. General corp with big enough projects here and there.

Planning to start the process in March so that I can leave my current job no later than June

1/ Are the Big 4 corp teams, FLA corp teams hiring.

2/ Which are the better larger firms/teams for career prospects.

3/What starting pay should I be looking for? Getting slightly below 6k

4/What starting pay if I were the consider in house roles

5/I have been rejected by Big 4 before, would it be worth reapplying but this was way much earlier in my career at 1 PQE

Much appreciated seniors for advice as I hope to exit the sweatshot I’m in.

re (5), not from corp (b4 liti) but have seen peers join the firm as laterals in my second year onwards, same peers who initially could not land a tc with the firm. the turnover is so high in b4

Saw an interesting job ad on eclassified.

Singapore Attorney
Singh Law Firm
Practitioner | Outside of CBD | Overseas | Other
Boutique New York law firm seeks a Singapore attorney to handle local arbitrations and court actions (civil matters only). Work will be primarily remote with the exception of court and arbitration appearances. Attorney will also advise our US counsel on Singapore laws, and assist with research related to Singapore. Anticipated workload is between 20-30 hours per week; schedule is flexible. Attorney may take on other clients and cases as long as our work is handled on a priority basis. Flat annual salary of $60,000 USD. Looking for a candidate that can start immediately.

How does this even work? Does anyone know. Consulting arrangement or what. Where does one park his PC and obtain insurance?

Any idea how much the average equity partner in B4 earns? Edwin Tong 2m considered high end or average?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Saw an interesting job ad on eclassified.

Singapore Attorney
Singh Law Firm
Practitioner | Outside of CBD | Overseas | Other
Boutique New York law firm seeks a Singapore attorney to handle local arbitrations and court actions (civil matters only). Work will be primarily remote with the exception of court and arbitration appearances. Attorney will also advise our US counsel on Singapore laws, and assist with research related to Singapore. Anticipated workload is between 20-30 hours per week; schedule is flexible. Attorney may take on other clients and cases as long as our work is handled on a priority basis. Flat annual salary of $60,000 USD. Looking for a candidate that can start immediately.

How does this even work? Does anyone know. Consulting arrangement or what. Where does one park his PC and obtain insurance?

Evidently, you start your own firm (or have your firm agree to let you do this) and get "instructed" by them for cases.

I don't think that they are actually going to "hire" you lol.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Any idea how much the average equity partner in B4 earns? Edwin Tong 2m considered high end or average?

Most do not even hit 1m

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Most do not even hit 1m

Edwin forsaw the decline of the big4 like lucian and hri. They all left in a jiffy to nice cushy jobs without billables.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Most do not even hit 1m

Wld an average mid tier EP hit around $500 to $700K per annum? Or lower? Say in firms like SLB, Stamford, Dentons?

Already i think that seems rather low for the stress and effort. If cannot even hit $500K then super bo hua to remain in practice

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Wld an average mid tier EP hit around $500 to $700K per annum? Or lower? Say in firms like SLB, Stamford, Dentons?

Already i think that seems rather low for the stress and effort. If cannot even hit $500K then super bo hua to remain in practice

Proof that ppl here do not know what they are on. A new EP in B4 can easily pull in between 600k to as high as 1 plus million, depending on their seniority as well.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Proof that ppl here do not know what they are on. A new EP in B4 can easily pull in between 600k to as high as 1 plus million, depending on their seniority as well.

What about mid tier firms?

On first analysis, one would assume that the mid-tier EP comp ranges are slightly lower because their top lawyers' charge-out rates are considerably lower than those in B4. However, there are other factors to consider:

1. Firm's lawyer leverage ratio: B4 non-EP to EP leverage is very high (i.e. tons of non-EP fee earners doing grunt work and billing/generating revenue, but in turn the firm has a very high cost base due to staff salaries). In mid-tiers, leverage is usually much lower (i.e. EPs do much of the work and bill at higher rates, and firms' salary expenses are lower because the fee earner teams are very lean).

2. Equity distribution: In smaller firms, equity is closely held by a few key partners whilst the equity partnership is bigger in B4s. So some mid-tier EPs may be making bank and even exceeding the drawings of some of their B4 EP peers, but 90% of the other partners in the firm are mere salaried.