Lawyer Salary

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Hi OP - can you share more about what you have heard about the 2008 retrenchments, in particular the big 4 local firms?

Not directly relevant, but Big4 TCs weren't too difficult to secure back in '08

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Is 100k pa all-in too much to ask to exit at 3PQE?

I can tell you that my last offer for an in-house role was 104k (13 mths) at pqe 4.... but that was also before the current shitty economy.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Not directly relevant, but Big4 TCs weren't too difficult to secure back in '08

What no one told you was how many of these TCs were converted to perm Assoc roles?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Is 100k pa all-in too much to ask to exit at 3PQE?

This is a bit above market rate. But YMMV, if 100k p.a. is less then what you're currently drawing then it would be easier to negotiate. It would also be easier if you have some kind of special skill set.

I'm a 5 PQE in-house counsel (been in-house for the past 2 years) who's been looking to switch. Back in January I was looking for a 20% jump in pay, but now recruiters have been advising that I'd be lucky to get a pay match (my current pay is about 100k pa, FYI). I turned down a role in February because the increment was only about 10%, but it's practically dead silence / rejections now so I'm wondering if that was a good decision.

All in all, I would say that it is quite a bad time for an in-house counsel to switch jobs. Legal counsels are generally paid quite a bit higher than someone else in the company with an equivalent amount of experience, even if that someone is in a role which makes profits for the company. I'm a bit nervous because my company has quite a big APAC legal team and as a department we are very expensive to maintain. I'm bracing myself for pay cuts and layoffs.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

This is unprecedented. It’ll be worse than GFC in magnitude.
As an employment lawyer, I can tell you that firms will use the probationary period to let newly hired associates go.
There’s also standard clauses in employment contracts to say that the firm is not required to provide you any work.

Any idea what's the sentiment on the ground in terms of private practice market? (local law firms)

that's the thing about our sh*ty immature/underdeveloped legal market. there's hardly any market intelligence or legal news sites like in London or HK. Need to rely on word of mouth

are there firms where junior and mid-level assocs are in danger of being let go?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Any idea what's the sentiment on the ground in terms of private practice market? (local law firms)

that's the thing about our sh*ty immature/underdeveloped legal market. there's hardly any market intelligence or legal news sites like in London or HK. Need to rely on word of mouth

are there firms where junior and mid-level assocs are in danger of being let go?

IMF already said the world is in a global recession and this is expected to be worse than 2008-9 GFC. I’ll be worried if I were going to qualify in August this year. 720+ new lawyers.
In a good market, our economy (incl international firms in Sg) can absorb about 400.
Now with this, maybe down to 50-100?

Damn. I just tendered my notice recently at a small firm to join a big firm. These posts about assocs being let go during recession are making me worried about my job security. gg man

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Damn. I just tendered my notice recently at a small firm to join a big firm. These posts about assocs being let go during recession are making me worried about my job security. gg man

Not only you.
A lot of people tendered in Jan/Feb and serving out their 3-month notices. Who would have known the coronavirus would become a pandemic?
Guess, just be prepared that you’ll be let go during the probation period.
If the firm is nice they will say things like the economy not so good.
If they are not as kind, they will tell you your performance is poor.
The latter comment can be extremely detrimental to your mental health.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

can anyone provide the latest figures for NQ/1/2PQE at bakers? Is it still considerably higher than B4?

Hasn't increased last I checked - 7.5k nq, 1k increment for each year for first 3 years. They are underpaying so much I heard many left/lateralled into other int firms.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Hasn't increased last I checked - 7.5k nq, 1k increment for each year for first 3 years. They are underpaying so much I heard many left/lateralled into other int firms.

It has increased to between 10k and 11k for 2PQE (so it goes 7.5k NQ, 8.5k 1PQE, 10-11k 2PQE, etc). Considerably more than Big 4 but considerably less than other int'l firms.