Lawyer Salary

I’m not sure if your hubby is also in law. Thanks for sharing.
For me, both me and my ex gf were lawyers. In law school and part B, when we were dating, it was all well and good. The moment we started our TCs, our relationship fractured. We spent every minute quarreling on WhatsApp. Everything became issues we could both picked on, including choosing a seat at Lau Pa Sat. We talked about marriage in law school and part b, even talking about the name we were going to name our kids. I’m not a troll and I’m sharing because I feel law students deserve to know

The sexual attraction also died down. I’m the guy and it’s even worse cos I was in a much larger firm. I received little or no training.

We were both frustrated about things, but the time we had to resolve these issues became very limited. The stress was insanely high, and everything just became frustrating.

At least you resolved your marriage and you are happier with kids now.
My relationship became unsalvagable.
Last I heard she dated another guy but the relationship also failed. Yeah she has a career in law. For me I left the legal profession, too heartbroken that we build things up in law school/part b but it failed.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Training was bad. Lacked mentoring, daily pressure.

It got much worse after I was qualified.

My health and my relationship with my husband suffered, quarreled almost every morning before leaving for work, fallen sexual drive. My marriage almost gotten a divorce.
Pushed back my plans for baby too. That’s just another story. In short, things just got worse and whatever that I earned could not buy me back my youth and time with my husband and a baby we were wanting to have.

I quit practice.

Still, I find myself rather fortunate compared to many of my friends who ended up single and umnmarried in their 30s with a somewhat imbalanced mindset that work is their everything. And they don’t date at all either. They just take out their frustration on the people in their offices. Basically they have no life to speak of and nobody to love them.

No I am not trying to bash my own gender. You can see it for yourself.

ya. agreed. life really sux. everyday **** and no ending. work day and night and no weekend.

left law firm after a year so. now happy person as an in house.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

ya. agreed. life really sux. everyday **** and no ending. work day and night and no weekend.

left law firm after a year so. now happy person as an in house.

So I went relationship counselling after the breakup.
Wanted to be a master of my destiny. To find out what the issue was for the relationship failure.
The therapist asked me to describe my working schedule, what I went through etc.
point blankly she said she was not surprised.
Perpetually no sleep, so limited time, under tremendous stress at workplace. She said no matter how strong you are, it will spillover to the relationship.
She counseled a lot of lawyers who have divorced.
Yeah I paid a lot of money for this. I’m sharing bcos I’m just doing a favor to the new lawyers. I like law a lot but firms are a different place

Thank you for sharing. Hope to hear more responses from Seniors who are still in practice to shed some positive life

I went straight to in house after TC. Of course I was offered employment in a small law firm, but time is a major factor for not practicing.

Very little guidance or mentor ship during RLT and TC at the same firm. I was like the lead trainee, doing the job of an associate for 1 and a half years, guiding the paralegals, other trainees and signing off email responses and letters on behalf of my boss, meeting with clients. Basically I was running the whole firm and I stayed till about 9pm daily.

When the offer to be retained came about after my NS reservist, I told my boss I will no longer carry on. I was so drained being in the office. My boss tried to convince me to stay, saying that she will give me a cut of profits and I can choose to do whatever new files I want to do. I told her no, and I was replaced by a lawyer about 1 week after I said no. (maybe she wanted to show me that everyone is replaceable, I am not so bothered LOL, I spent the last 2 months of my TC surfing internet after that).

Today, I am in an MNC as the General Counsel. Pay is decent. Work life balance, most of the time there is. A China in house Lawyer reports to me and I still have my secretary in another part of China. Be expected to fly down anytime to other parts of the world to settle problems. Will still be asked to confirm legal matters that you are not so familiar with, can outsource with permission from the CEO or CFO. Lots of online meeting with others in the same group of companies. Probably sometimes expected to OT to meet international timing.

(Cons: In the law firm, you are the boss, in an MNC you are viewed as just a specialised executive. Another Con, in a Manufacturing MNC, alot of things are based overseas, if factories are in China, you need to know and brush up on your mandarin also. There is no escaping China. )

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I went straight to in house after TC. Of course I was offered employment in a small law firm, but time is a major factor for not practicing.

Very little guidance or mentor ship during RLT and TC at the same firm. I was like the lead trainee, doing the job of an associate for 1 and a half years, guiding the paralegals, other trainees and signing off email responses and letters on behalf of my boss, meeting with clients. Basically I was running the whole firm and I stayed till about 9pm daily.

When the offer to be retained came about after my NS reservist, I told my boss I will no longer carry on. I was so drained being in the office. My boss tried to convince me to stay, saying that she will give me a cut of profits and I can choose to do whatever new files I want to do. I told her no, and I was replaced by a lawyer about 1 week after I said no. (maybe she wanted to show me that everyone is replaceable, I am not so bothered LOL, I spent the last 2 months of my TC surfing internet after that).

Today, I am in an MNC as the General Counsel. Pay is decent. Work life balance, most of the time there is. A China in house Lawyer reports to me and I still have my secretary in another part of China. Be expected to fly down anytime to other parts of the world to settle problems. Will still be asked to confirm legal matters that you are not so familiar with, can outsource with permission from the CEO or CFO. Lots of online meeting with others in the same group of companies. Probably sometimes expected to OT to meet international timing.

(Cons: In the law firm, you are the boss, in an MNC you are viewed as just a specialised executive. Another Con, in a Manufacturing MNC, alot of things are based overseas, if factories are in China, you need to know and brush up on your mandarin also. There is no escaping China. )

same as above. i went in house straight after tc. was at a small firm. everything have to learn and do myself. a lot of admin work also. ask qns they will say not motivated and dont know how to find ans urself. when talking about retaining, they will lowball you and say young must learn and not ambitious for pay. end of the day cheap labor.

now at local listed co. as in house. work life balance. decent remuneration package. ya some ot here and there but generally ok. definitely better then in law firm.

same, I left practice immediately after tc

during tc everyday was a nightmare and was stressed out
also low balled on salary while partners driving their shinning bmw and merc cars to office stroll in at 10am. They didnt bother to keep themselves in loop yet question everything I do.

When I asked questions, I was called names for being stupid and lack initiative. What the hell
is the training for if nobody wants to train and mentor me?

Everyday was a sheer misery. I even cried.
I called it quits immediately after bar.
Mind you, my firm is a decent size type just that everybody only cared about themselves.

The only regret I had was not leaving earlier during TC and cut my losses.


it’s just a modern day form of salvery.

now I joined civil svc as a executive. life is so much easier with emphasize on work life balance. I also had time to date and find someone to settle down with soon.

pay wise also quite decent after you include the bonuses it is actually same as law firms

best part is that people treats you like a fellow human being with respect and dignity

so i disagree with the previous posts that you can earn a lot in law practice only and you must put up with the long hours.

there are many other jobs out there where you can have a comfortable life in terms of money
and stay happy.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

same, I left practice immediately after tc

during tc everyday was a nightmare and was stressed out
also low balled on salary while partners driving their shinning bmw and merc cars to office stroll in at 10am. They didnt bother to keep themselves in loop yet question everything I do.

When I asked questions, I was called names for being stupid and lack initiative. What the hell
is the training for if nobody wants to train and mentor me?

Everyday was a sheer misery. I even cried.
I called it quits immediately after bar.
Mind you, my firm is a decent size type just that everybody only cared about themselves.

The only regret I had was not leaving earlier during TC and cut my losses.


it’s just a modern day form of salvery.

now I joined civil svc as a executive. life is so much easier with emphasize on work life balance. I also had time to date and find someone to settle down with soon.

pay wise also quite decent after you include the bonuses it is actually same as law firms

best part is that people treats you like a fellow human being with respect and dignity

so i disagree with the previous posts that you can earn a lot in law practice only and you must put up with the long hours.

there are many other jobs out there where you can have a comfortable life in terms of money
and stay happy.

Please say you are a guy. Cos I’m a guy and I cried too.

The level of trolling is too damn high

Originally Posted by Unregistered

The level of trolling is too damn high

Anyway karma comes one round la.
Those who treat others poorly will get their just desserts.