Lawyer Salary

The government wants people to get married and make babies...two at least, but more if you can afford. They are not concerned with "love" but are very pragmatic about it: either we replace our aging population through natural births, or we have to bring in more and more new citizens.

However, for that to happen, I think they have to have the guts to pass a bill to remove the onerous parts of the WC for the men. Then we can see a potential increase in men tying the knot, and the babies coming. As it is now, and with more and more men being much more educated than their fathers, and hence are much more well read and informed, the WC is a major deterrent to marriage. Young men are increasingly choosing to remain single. Women less so, but because the men do not want marriage, the women remain single.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

The government wants people to get married and make babies...two at least, but more if you can afford. They are not concerned with "love" but are very pragmatic about it: either we replace our aging population through natural births, or we have to bring in more and more new citizens.

However, for that to happen, I think they have to have the guts to pass a bill to remove the onerous parts of the WC for the men. Then we can see a potential increase in men tying the knot, and the babies coming. As it is now, and with more and more men being much more educated than their fathers, and hence are much more well read and informed, the WC is a major deterrent to marriage. Young men are increasingly choosing to remain single. Women less so, but because the men do not want marriage, the women remain single.

The WC was only relevant in a previous era when women did not work, but today with equal opportunities to study, parents even send their daughters for enrichment classes and hire private tutors for them if they can afford it. Many women have poly diplomas or university degrees and are financially independent. Just like their covid performance, our million dollars lawmakers have not caught up with the times.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I think he's saying his salary is 4 ish, not his PQE. OP, if I am not wrong you are currently a legal exec working inhouse earning 4 ish and you are asking us whether you should go do your TC or stay in your current position?

Yup. A legal exec now. I heard most small and mid-sized firms are not intending to retain after TC due to the economy. I guess it would be advantageous to work at a big firm for the credentials if the plan is to transition back to in-house after a few years?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

surely, remuneration is not as high doing admin work as you could earn as a lawyer doing community law? So reduced pay and enjoyment of work (from what im sensing from your post)?

To be honest I earn slightly more now compared to the typical chinatown pay for 1-3 pqe. Difference is that if I stick it out I may end up with $7-10k/ mth in the long run. Whereas in chinatown one is less assured even of that. I'm OK with the work here...the work I do now is perhaps more "support" rather than full on admin (we still have an admin staff to photocopy, post items etc.)

I know that $7-10k is starting pay in some of the better/foreign firms but let's not go there. In chinatown it was $3k/mth freshly called, at least for me.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Yup. A legal exec now. I heard most small and mid-sized firms are not intending to retain after TC due to the economy. I guess it would be advantageous to work at a big firm for the credentials if the plan is to transition back to in-house after a few years?

Yes, the only difference being Big 4 is harder to get into both at the PTC and associate level. There are 2 reasons why retention rates are high there - attrition and pre selection, revenue considerations aside. The mid sized traditionally have had lower retention rates anyway, with or without Covid.

So if you get a place in Big 4, that's great but the jump from any FLA / small mid sized is there.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Yes, the only difference being Big 4 is harder to get into both at the PTC and associate level. There are 2 reasons why retention rates are high there - attrition and pre selection, revenue considerations aside. The mid sized traditionally have had lower retention rates anyway, with or without Covid.

So if you get a place in Big 4, that's great but the jump from any FLA / small mid sized is there.

I came across a post on LinkedIn that one of the Big 4s is hiring for a corporate position...there are 200+ applicants. I give up.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Yes, the only difference being Big 4 is harder to get into both at the PTC and associate level. There are 2 reasons why retention rates are high there - attrition and pre selection, revenue considerations aside. The mid sized traditionally have had lower retention rates anyway, with or without Covid.

So if you get a place in Big 4, that's great but the jump from any FLA / small mid sized is there.

I saw a post on LinkedIn that one of the big 4s is hiring for corp position. Has like 200 plus applicants. I give up.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

The government wants people to get married and make babies...two at least, but more if you can afford. They are not concerned with "love" but are very pragmatic about it: either we replace our aging population through natural births, or we have to bring in more and more new citizens.

However, for that to happen, I think they have to have the guts to pass a bill to remove the onerous parts of the WC for the men. Then we can see a potential increase in men tying the knot, and the babies coming. As it is now, and with more and more men being much more educated than their fathers, and hence are much more well read and informed, the WC is a major deterrent to marriage. Young men are increasingly choosing to remain single. Women less so, but because the men do not want marriage, the women remain single.

Which are the parts of the WC that are onerous on men?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I saw a post on LinkedIn that one of the big 4s is hiring for corp position. Has like 200 plus applicants. I give up.

Huh really? I thought anyone can get into big 4 quite easily. I expect many applicants for internationals or in house, but not big 4..

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Thank you so much for this! I've been lurking around there for a while but this is the first post I feel I can really relate to. Junior Assoc at a mid firm here looking to ideally transition into a Big 4 once COVID gets better - everything you've described, including your previous experience at a smaller firm, hits home man.

My pleasure. I think I really had two maxims to thank, both from my TC mentor:

(1) Don't bring your ego to work. I've heard from senior lawyers that they're mainly motivated by ego, they want to outdo each other, you must be really competitive in litigation, etc, but maybe that's more at their level. As junior assocs, I think ego can make learning difficult, and learning's the most important thing you can be doing.

(2) Don't take correction personally. It can be very difficult, particularly when you know that your boss's good opinion can be essential to continued employment/retention/promotion, so every negative comment seems like a death sentence. But in my experience most of the time, the negativity comes from them being stressed and feeling like they've been let down by their team, and has more to do with them than you. Take the correction and do better. Of course, still have standards lah: don't put up with abuse.