Lawyer Salary

just keyboard warriors as usual.

Otherwise, anyone dare to reply name, contact and whether lawyer, student of where etc.

I think there are posts that veer too far for and against the legal profession, especially in practice.

My 2 cents as a former practitioner is that yes firm life has long hours, and the eventual goal in a local firm is partnership. Some can stay the course, some don't. I stayed 3 years till my 4PQE before going in house. Long hours, difficult bosses, invariably other parts of life suffers. But it is what it is, you do find moments of comaraderie at work so it's not all that bad.

It's a zero sum game at the end of the day. If you sacrifice longer hours at work, then family friends etc suffers. Some people are ok with that, some are not. There is no right or wrong choice, just be aware of what you get yourself into.

Most people (me included) like the romantic idealistic idea of being a lawyer. Most realise that after actually working at a firm, that the bulk of lawyering is dog work, research, rechecking, triple checking, quadruple checking to make sure you don't make mistakes. It's very attritional, very very very much so.

It does merit intellectual satisfaction, and the most brilliant minds are in the legal profession. As with all work, the more practice you get, the better you get.

If I had to do it all over again, I would definitely still read law, still get called, and still experience firm life. Because you gain perspective and that's what holds you in good stead long after you leave practice.

Godspeed all!

What’s a troll?

the industry today is becoming a joke

trainees not being paid - reality
internship salary only $200/ $0 - reality
$500 for big 4 internship

$500 is even a troll to many overseas friends i told them this is the amount big 4 pays



so what’s real!? u tell me

Originally Posted by Unregistered

What’s a troll?

the industry today is becoming a joke

trainees not being paid - reality
internship salary only $200/ $0 - reality
$500 for big 4 internship

$500 is even a troll to many overseas friends i told them this is the amount big 4 pays



so what’s real!? u tell me

Not happy dont practice lor. U are free to choose where u want to work. Nobody is forcing u to intern in a law firm or be a lawyer. Why didn’t u study business and go into investment banking? Just shut up and proofread that prospectus already

If you are a lawyer, aren’t you supposed to stand up firmly for what you believe in?

Aren’t you supposed to make changes for the betterment of your fellow juniors entering the industry?

You are telling people not to question.

Where is your sense of compassion and kindness?

I am greatly ashamed by people who crouched within and accept things without questions and tries to even inhabit others from trying.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

We think that they're trolling because some of the comments and questions here are so immature and uninformed that it's hard to believe the posters are really lawyers, trainees or even law students.

Take for instance the poster above who asked whether he can be a "CEO in a conglomerate" with a law degree. Obviously anybody can be a CEO if he has the relevant competence, gumption and experience, even someone with no degree.

See it's dumb questions like that that make us wonder if people here are really trolling or serious. Surely the next generation of law grads can't be that hopeless right.

I can’t help but to think you are a troll.
That is a perfectly legitimate question for someone who is looking to expand his horizons. You must be a troll for laughing at others who doesn’t think alike you.

://.asiaone.com/multimedia/gallery/singapores-richest-people-according-forbes-2018-billionaires-index

Any way to marry a billionaire Daughter/Son, grandson/granddaughter?
Your firm got any? Or any contacts?

News @ AsiaOne

Law firms open doors as opportunity knocks

(SINGAPORE) Facing increasing competition from foreign law firms, more local law firms this year have begun frontloading annual bonuses into larger monthly salaries to sweeten pay packages - a trend that's likely to continue through next year.
Grace Leong

Fri, Dec 17, 2010
The Business Times

(SINGAPORE) Facing increasing competition from foreign law firms, more local law firms this year have begun frontloading annual bonuses into larger monthly salaries to sweeten pay packages - a trend that's likely to continue through next year.

'The monthly salary component has gone up 20-25 per cent for some local firms. The question now is how large the bonus payout will be this year after frontloading,' said Lee Eng Beng, joint managing partner of Rajah & Tann LLP.

'Overall, I think law firms have done as well or better this year, so I don't think the whole package will be worse,' he said.

The strengthening of the Singapore dollar against the US dollar and pound sterling has also helped improve the competitiveness of local pay packages against those of international law firms, he said.

'We've managed to hire three to four lawyers at partner levels from some international law firms because we now have more budgeting power,' Mr Lee said.

With the liberalisation of entry admission requirements, returning Singapore lawyers from UK, Australia and New Zealand or foreign-qualified lawyers will find it easier to convert or be admitted to the Singapore bar - a development that would help increase the pool of available legal talent in Singapore, he said.

As Asia rebounds, some local law firms are speeding up their regional drive to serve businesses that want to use Singapore law as the governing law for Asian transactions.

Rajah & Tann, which has offices in Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai and Vientiane, plans to open new offices in Ho Chih Minh City and over the next year in Phnom Penh, Jakarta and possibly Thailand.

'We can't expand a lot more in Singapore. Through regionalisation, we hope to attract the best young lawyers to join our practice because some might see the Singapore platform as being too small,' Mr Lee said.

One of his firm's biggest challenges has been finding reliable and trustworthy partners in foreign jurisdictions, he said. 'We've been very stringent in our hunt for good people and many of those we've found are lawyers we encountered in the course of our work,' he said.

WongPartnership, which has offices in Shanghai, Qatar and Abu Dhabi, is opening its Beijing office by early next year to handle foreign investment deals in China as well as to capture the 'outbound ambitions' of state-owned enterprises.

'There are state-owned enterprises investing in Singapore, for instance in SPC and Tuas,' said Rachel Eng, managing partner of WongPartnership.

'In future, about 30 per cent of our business will come from regional work in China, the Middle East and other countries.'

Meanwhile, with the US and Europe still struggling to recover, companies searching for growth will focus on the Asia-Pacific and an upward trend is expected in mergers and acquisitions activities in the region, said Lucien Wong, managing partner of Allen & Gledhill LLP.

Asian IPOs are back in vogue and this should extend into 2011, he said.

Ms Eng agreed. 'We're seeing more private equity funds - especially those that bought shares in listed companies a few years ago, took them private and grew the business - now looking to list these companies again to recoup their investment,' she said.

She expects to see further momentum in the mergers and acquisitions space.

'A number of private equity funds that have been hoarding their cash during the financial crisis are now looking for good investments, particularly in Asia,' Ms Eng said.

'For 2011, there will be greater allocation of private equity funds from the US and Europe to Asia, which many see as the place for growth over the next 10 to 20 years,' she said.

The weaker US dollar and euro have made it cheaper to expand overseas and some firms are taking on US or European private equity funds as shareholders.

Arbitration continues to be lucrative. 'We've seen more evidence confirming that a lot of business entities are naming Singapore as a forum for arbitration because we're perceived as neutral ground by a lot of businessmen in Asia, the US, Europe and the Middle East,' Mr Lee said.

Allen & Gledhill's Mr Wong said his firm has also seen a significant increase in regional arbitration cases heard at the Singapore International Arbitration Centre.

Cases handled by the centre jumped from 74 in 2005 to 160 last year. About 130 cases were handled by the SIAC, including new claims worth $1.13 billion, for this year up to Sept 30.

In addition, Maxwell Chambers, a world-class arbitration centre that opened last July, already chalked up more than 120 cases, of which two-thirds involved at least one foreign party, said a Chambers spokesman.

'These trends and the resulting opportunities are expected to collectively drive up activities in the legal industry in Singapore,' said Mr Wong.

Meanwhile, the Singapore Exchange's proposal for listed companies here to publicly report their environmental, social and governance performance to investors starting possibly in the first quarter of next year may generate more work for auditors and lawyers.

'Until now, corporate social responsibility reporting has been largely voluntary. But if it becomes mandatory in due course, there will be legal implications for non-compliance,' Ms Eng said.

Local law firms have hiked starting salaries yet again, with top payers in the industry now offering newly qualified lawyers up to $7,000 a month.
The new pay scales may seem godsent to fresh lawyers and law undergraduates, but the longer term implications for Singapore's legal industry - should the trend continue - are less glorious.
The Big Four law firms are now offering starting pay packages of between $5,800 and $6,400, with some boutique law firms - such as TSMP Law Corporation - offering up to $7,000.
Despite still falling short of the five-figure salaries offered by several foreign law firms here, the new pay packages are significantly up from the $5,200 offered by local firms in 2010 - the last time pay hikes in the industry made the headlines.
Commenting on the latest increases, Law Minister K Shanmugam told The Business Times that "competition for good young lawyers has intensified", due to the steps taken in the past few years to make Singapore a leading international legal centre, which has also "increased work for some Singapore law firms".
The latest round of pay increases is believed to have been started by Big Four firm Allen & Gledhill (A&G), which has raised its starting pay to $5,800 for the first five months, and $6,800 for the following 12 months, industry sources said. This monthly figure is believed to include a frontloading of some of the bonuses that used to be paid only at the end of year.
When contacted, A&G's chairman and senior partner Lucien Wong said he was unable to go into details, but confirmed that the firm's starting salary is now $5,800.
Drew & Napier, another of Singapore's largest firms, now offers the same starting pay package as A&G.
Drew & Napier CEO Senior Counsel Davinder Singh said: "Our salaries match the highest in the market for Singapore law firms. This is to ensure that we continue to draw the best and the most talented. We also give highly attractive year-end bonuses to reward our lawyers who invariably do sterling work."
Rajah & Tann (R&T), Singapore's largest law firm, is believed to be offering $6,400 as its starting salary for the first 17 months - which would make its compensation package ($108,800) similar to A&G's ($110,600) over a 17-month period.
Newly called lawyers typically join law firms in August, so a 17-month package takes them all the way to December of the following year.
Senior Counsel Lee Eng Beng, managing partner of R&T, said: "There is no question that we have to be competitive in terms of starting pay so that, together with the other less tangible positives that we offer, we can continue to attract the best lawyers to join us. But talent recruitment must be followed up by equally effective talent management and retention."
The other Big Four firm, WongPartnership - whose starting salaries were believed to have led the market in recent years - declined to go into detail about its pay packages. Rachel Eng, its joint managing partner, however, said: "We do aim to be a top-paying Singapore law firm, but we prefer to look at the overall compensation package offered (as opposed to just a monthly figure)."
Industry sources said WongPartnership's starting salary is likely to be around the $6,000 mark - a number which Ms Eng said she would prefer not to comment on.
Fighting to keep pace with the market leaders are the mid-tier and boutique law firms, who want their share of the best talent from each newly qualified cohort.
Stamford Law, founded by one of the best M&A lawyers in town, Lee Suet Fern, is believed to have kept its pay scale competitive. The firm offers a full suite of corporate and commercial law capabilities with more than 90 lawyers.
Mrs Lee declined to go into specifics on her firm's starting salaries, but she said: "We have, in terms of monthly pay, matched salaries of our peer firms - including A&G - and the market is well aware that we generally are more generous in terms of year-end bonuses."
Boutique law firm TSMP Law Corporation - which offers corporate and commercial law, as well as dispute resolution and transactional law capabilities with some 50 lawyers - is believed to be one of the most generous local pay masters.
"We are upping our starting pay to $7,000 per month, which increases at the end of about five months to $7,500. In line with market practice, more of the bonus has been built into the monthly salary," said Stefanie Yuen Thio, joint managing director of TSMP.
"We are a boutique firm doing the specialised and complex 'Wall Street' work that the big local firms do, so we compete with these same firms for top talent," Ms Thio added.
These new pay scales are likely to act as a beacon for all aspiring lawyers - and even non-aspiring ones - but experienced professionals caution against flocking to the industry simply because of the money.
A higher starting pay also means higher expectations, and a shorter runway for new lawyers. Those who fail to meet the expectations that come with a bigger pay package could well be cut from the firm. Many are also likely to be judged at the five-month mark - before the next jump in salary - much earlier than they were before.
Aspiring lawyers should also be aware of the fact that recent changes announced by the Law Ministry - such as the setting-up of a new law school, an increased intake at one current law school, and the recognising of double-degree programmes offered by certain overseas universities - would mean an increased number of lawyers entering the workforce. The prestigious firms will be able to absorb only a fraction of the new entrants.
There is also the danger that, if salaries keep going up, legal professionals here could be pricing themselves out of a job. One professional told BT: "A newly qualified lawyer in Kuala Lumpur, who lands a job in a big firm there, gets about RM3,000 (S$1,203) to RM3,500 a month - about a fifth what a new Singapore lawyer gets! And many KL lawyers are well qualified too, having also been trained in leading universities in the United Kingdom and Australia."

"We are a boutique firm doing the specialised and complex 'Wall Street' work that the big local firms do, so we compete with these same firms for top talent,"

Couldn’t be further from the truth