Lawyer Salary

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Any thoughts re Drew/R&T/WP TMT?

Both drew/rt have pretty strong teams. Not sure about wp.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Both drew/rt have pretty strong teams. Not sure about wp.

I agree with this view.

Hi everybody, I wonder if it would be easier to go inhouse as a corp lawyer than a liti lawyer? If I were a liti lawyer, would it be a much higher bar to cross to get into a well sought after inhouse position, whatever that may be?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Hi everybody, I wonder if it would be easier to go inhouse as a corp lawyer than a liti lawyer? If I were a liti lawyer, would it be a much higher bar to cross to get into a well sought after inhouse position, whatever that may be?

Typically yes but only because most in house positions are general, which also means mostly corp. If you have employment dispute experience that could help.

Having said that, not impossible to go into a generalist role from liti as long as you bother to learn some corp stuff.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Actually the statistics show otherwise - LSE has a 6% admission rate and a cap of less than 20 Singaporean students versus a school that takes 200+ a year. Which is more selective? Look at the numbers.

So selective, I'm not so sure. Prestige arguments, I'm also not so sure if you look at the pedigree of who graduated from LSE vs who graduated from NUS, in Singapore and internationally. NUS makes good Singapore lawyers at the top 5-10% (and not the average and bottom). LSE makes Singapore and international lawyers and a lot more than just legal drones.

The reason why there is a lack of representation in Singapore is that LSE takes in 10% of NUS cohort per year or less. A good proportion stay in the UK, the rest come back. They also go on to do things other than law (the benefit of an LSE degree).

But the practice of Singapore law, NUS. This is a fact of utility rather than prestige, because it is 4 years SG law vs 3 years UK law. Should the argument be reversed, LSE would be more prestigious to an international law firm doing UK law by virtue of having 3 years LLB in UK law, which is a stupid comparison.

Sure arguments can be made either way. But the fact is you're 100% not prejudiced locally by choosing LSE. Two people have already given you the statistics, so you are able to make an informed choice. However, no one also has refuted the fact that you need to be top 10-20% of NUS to work at an international firm at the outset.

Second, half (?) of the NUS batch gets a 2.2 (correct me if I'm wrong). Take that into account. At LSE, Oxford and Cambridge you won't have to cannibalise your own classmates.

Local connections, yes. This is important.

Covid - yes, stay in Singapore.

I got both offers and quite frankly I don't regret choosing NUS over LSE. Both are great schools but I wanted to remain in Singapore as my parents aren't rich and I wanted to stay in Singapore for the foreseeable future. Even if I got Oxford, I think I would have chosen NUS.

Congrats OP on getting both choices.

gonna have a 2-month long (unpaid) call break, any suggestions on what to do?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

gonna have a 2-month long (unpaid) call break, any suggestions on what to do?

Admist this covid season? Just do nothing. Enjoy your last long holiday.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Why do you wish to stay in private practice? That would be my first question. Most people stay in private practice because they see it as good money or a viable future career path (partner). I can think of very few other reasons why people stay in private practice.

So here is my two cents. I'm the OP you quoted by the way.

If your end game is to go in-house anyway, then you might as well move now. Regressing in your PQE means taking a somewhat major paycut [pqe3-NQ] and you'll need another 3 to 4 years to match what you're currently earning.

And what happens if in the next 6mths to a year you decide you don't like private practice corp - you will be in an extremely weak negotiation position going in-house since your last drawn pay would be the equivalent to that of an NQ-1pqe. You would also not be eligible to apply for corp-intensive in-house roles, since you do not have the requisite experience in this area of law (at least from a HR perspective). What this means is that you will likely be relying on your liti exp/localisation to pivot into an in-house role - basically, you will be in the exact same position you're in right now - except with a really shitty last drawn pay.

Going in-house now would allow you to at least negotiate for a 20% pay rise from what you're currently earning (maybe not so much in the current economy, but i'd say you still have a good shot at getting a decent pay increase).

Ofc, many will argue that the pay increases for in-house counsels are much slower than private practice. This is true, i went from practice-in-house-practice.... but many of my peers who left practice at the same stage as you still manage to negotiate a decent salary at their respective PQEs. Think 4-5pqe at 8-10k and 6-8 PQE at 10-12K (pre-covid).

It would be interesting to know what you decide in the end... do keep us updated!

Thanks again for your and the others' responses.

Yes my end-game is to go in-house. The current (possibly wishful) strategy is to stay in private practice so as to reach as high an "exit salary" as possible for companies to match.

I do really agree with your weak bargaining position analysis though. It is not unlikely that I will end up hating corp with the same long hours in a Big 4.

Do you think it'd be possible to negotiate my salary for the Big 4 corp role? I just interviewed with them last week and nothing was mentioned about remuneration.

I guess I am ok taking a 10% paycut which would still give me more than $6k monthly, and not that huge a setback in terms of going in-house shortly after.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

usu only if legal exec or para at law firm. many of my friends do (not b4) cos need money

Thanks for the reply. Your friends did full-time legal exec/paralegal jobs during part b? That sounds damn impressive LOL I keep hearing part b is easy but is the workload really that light?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Thanks again for your and the others' responses.

Yes my end-game is to go in-house. The current (possibly wishful) strategy is to stay in private practice so as to reach as high an "exit salary" as possible for companies to match.

I do really agree with your weak bargaining position analysis though. It is not unlikely that I will end up hating corp with the same long hours in a Big 4.

Do you think it'd be possible to negotiate my salary for the Big 4 corp role? I just interviewed with them last week and nothing was mentioned about remuneration.

I guess I am ok taking a 10% paycut which would still give me more than $6k monthly, and not that huge a setback in terms of going in-house shortly after.

Hello, i'm the OP you quoted.

Yes, negotiate. You likely won't succeed, but negotiate anyway. The answer to the questions you don't ask will always be no.

Good luck!