Lawyer Salary

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Step into the realms or Criminal Law.

Crim can't really pay and it will reflect in your salary and bonus.

Its really not so bad. After 3 years or so your life will get better and you'll have more options. Suck it up for the first few years. Once you settle into a particular practice group life will be generally good

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Crim can't really pay and it will reflect in your salary and bonus.

Its really not so bad. After 3 years or so your life will get better and you'll have more options. Suck it up for the first few years. Once you settle into a particular practice group life will be generally good

Crim clients can pay. It depends on what are we looking at. White collar crimes, Insurance fraud. Private Prosecution on behalf of Ministries or Stats companies.

It is just civil kind of feel as it gets very standard but the perks of private prosecutions is putting aside a big chunk of the Rules of Court

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Crim clients can pay. It depends on what are we looking at. White collar crimes, Insurance fraud. Private Prosecution on behalf of Ministries or Stats companies.

It is just civil kind of feel as it gets very standard but the perks of private prosecutions is putting aside a big chunk of the Rules of Court

The top tier white collar crim legal practices are all also top tier civil litigation practices and unsurprisingly, are found in the big firms. So you're back to square one again - long hours and intense billing pressures, just like any civ liti department.

The market for investigations and regulatory work in SG is just not big enough to sustain a practice group purely doing that. This is not like the US where you have 1000 regulatory agencies and 5000 different sets of regulations and sub-regulations in 500 different administrative courts. Almost everything substantive in terms of regulatory actions here is ultimately funneled through AGC and the criminal courts.

So such departments will probably still do 60-70% commercial liti work.

Private prosecutions by fiat isn't that common either. The sexy ones ultimately go back to AGC. Only the dull ones are outsourced.

Hi everyone,

I read so many postings here and I would say they contain very insightful materials of the brutal legal industry. Thank you for the contributions!

I am a recent law graduate and presently doing my RLT. Looking forward to do my Part A(session 2) in this Oct/Nov 2019 (SCARY : my first attempt!)

As I read many former qualified lawyers moved in-house and became so much happier, but what if I decided not to and might still want to find satisfaction in my work?

I always remember my first interaction with a lawyer( yes, I got into a hit-and-run accident, someone hit my car instead and sped off!) and he advised me not to take out a civil suit (est $10K) and rather take the 50% settlement($1K); and save the agony of time and trial! HE could have possibly antagonize me to take this issue further, make the extra billings but he didn't.. I think that was the best advice any ethical lawyer would have given, given the fact I was still 'hot'
He even went to the extent of telling me an incident where a supercar driver went scot-free, who is an obvious instigator, in the crash with another driver because of the person's abilities to afford expensive legal representation; just to dissuade me from pressing suit. His departing words to me, words to the effect, " There's no justice in this world. If you want one, go to heaven and look for one".

I intend to make my legal career a lasting one, by trying my best to avoid many pitfalls, and along the way, make a decent living( hopefully $70K-$80K..), and yet find satisfaction in the work. Sounds paradoxical? Any advice from the seniors?

P.s. Any senior here that has taken Part A? If you have any lecture recordings, would you mind to share with me @ [email protected].

Thank you very much in advance everyone! Love and Peace.

Hi all, I've heard a lot about AGC's relatively good work-life balance and the fairly decent pay they offer, which I understand to be about $4,600 starting as a junior. Would anyone have more concrete figures in relation to the increments and bonuses from year to year?

Also, what are the prospects? Can a AGC lawyer return to private practice or go in-house or will the skill sets be so vastly different that one would be stuck in AGC? Thanks in advance.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Hi everyone,

I read so many postings here and I would say they contain very insightful materials of the brutal legal industry. Thank you for the contributions!

I am a recent law graduate and presently doing my RLT. Looking forward to do my Part A(session 2) in this Oct/Nov 2019 (SCARY : my first attempt!)

As I read many former qualified lawyers moved in-house and became so much happier, but what if I decided not to and might still want to find satisfaction in my work?

I always remember my first interaction with a lawyer( yes, I got into a hit-and-run accident, someone hit my car instead and sped off!) and he advised me not to take out a civil suit (est $10K) and rather take the 50% settlement($1K); and save the agony of time and trial! HE could have possibly antagonize me to take this issue further, make the extra billings but he didn't.. I think that was the best advice any ethical lawyer would have given, given the fact I was still 'hot'
He even went to the extent of telling me an incident where a supercar driver went scot-free, who is an obvious instigator, in the crash with another driver because of the person's abilities to afford expensive legal representation; just to dissuade me from pressing suit. His departing words to me, words to the effect, " There's no justice in this world. If you want one, go to heaven and look for one".

I intend to make my legal career a lasting one, by trying my best to avoid many pitfalls, and along the way, make a decent living( hopefully $70K-$80K..), and yet find satisfaction in the work. Sounds paradoxical? Any advice from the seniors?

P.s. Any senior here that has taken Part A? If you have any lecture recordings, would you mind to share with me @ [email protected].

Thank you very much in advance everyone! Love and Peace.

Actually nothing much needs to be said. Just start working and you will soon find out whether you like it or not or whether you cmi or not. Talk so much now also no use.

You might think 70k-80k is decent living now but trust me when you start comparing with your peers and start having more substantial financial responsibilities, it's never enough.

Pls pass your Part A on the first try. There's no excuse for failing.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Actually nothing much needs to be said. Just start working and you will soon find out whether you like it or not or whether you cmi or not. Talk so much now also no use.

You might think 70k-80k is decent living now but trust me when you start comparing with your peers and start having more substantial financial responsibilities, it's never enough.

Pls pass your Part A on the first try. There's no excuse for failing.

"Never enough" because you compare with your peers? But enough if you don't compare and just buy a normal HDB, have 2 kids, eat restaurant once in a while kind?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

"Never enough" because you compare with your peers? But enough if you don't compare and just buy a normal HDB, have 2 kids, eat restaurant once in a while kind?

Aiya if you really want to stretch it like that then many Singaporeans have also managed to raise a family of 5 on a $2000 pm salary.

Your standard of living will invariably be influenced by your prevailing circumstances and socioeconomic geography.

True.. it all depends on you are spending and how much you are saving per month. The people who are successful cannot be measured only on how much they make, it is also about their satisfaction they derived from their work and self-identities..

Many people got into law as it looks prestige and thought that it is financially rewarding. True to certain aspects but hey, after balancing the long hours and stress, I have seen so many lawyers aged way before they turned old!!

Worth it?

What I have been hearing is that many UK law grads have stopped pursuing law as a career after graduation in part due to Part A and the shrinking opportunities