Lawyer Salary

Originally Posted by Unregistered

populist message? the reception to his recent messages have been deader than a hillary clinton rally. the only platforms repeating his platitudes are mainstream newspapers.

most junior lawyers are too jaded to care. the ones who care, and who are continuing the discussion on linkedin, are the ones who are no longer in private practice and have fled inhouse.

He js just using this platform to market himself la. Do u rly think he cares about the plight of junior lawyers? At the end of the day he is only appearing on ST and BT to get more clients...

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Fervent chambers fervently hiring

Anyone know hows the culture and pay like?

Anyone knows if any of the US firms are hiring in SG?

4 PQE big4 here, Hoping to lateral and get on at least MC scale.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Anyone knows if any of the US firms are hiring in SG?

4 PQE big4 here, Hoping to lateral and get on at least MC scale.

No chance. If you’re in big 4 or big 5, your only best bet is to go to a silver circle and below international and from there scale up.
If by now 4pqe you have not been approached (poached) by MC firms, chances are you will not be considered

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Like that Jonathan mak or muk. How is he in real life?

He is really active on LinkedIn I must say.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Fervent chambers fervently hiring

Anyone know hows the culture and pay like?

Didn't he put the pay at 6.5k for NQs, pretty good for a small firm tbh.

I start reading law this year. Not the brightest kid, but I learn fast and I'm ready to put in the effort.

Be kind please, the information overload on this thread is REAL and I have no clue how to discern right from wrong. I'd be eternally grateful if someone could answer these questions:

1. What's the most profitable area of law to get into now? Will it be different (in your opinion) in five years... When I can actually start working? Don't care if it's the toughest or has the highest attrition rate.

2. Is there actually a big difference in hiring practices when it comes to SMU vs NUS undergrads? I applied to SMU last year and was accepted but I missed the deadline completely for NUS. Intending to apply this year to NUS Law as well.

3. My dad studied law at Gray's Inn of Court many moons ago but ended up in a completely different industry, making about S$30k take home with 12-14 PQE. Had a very good work-life balance. Is this common for many *local* law grads -- to graduate with an LLB degree but end up working in some other industry completely? I understand many don't become practicing lawyers, but not sure what the % is like for people that just end up working in an entirely different industry. Dad went into shipping and raw material brokerage.

4. What does the average smaller firm pay? I have a friend who just finished her Part B and she's working for a smaller firm that leans towards social justice issues... Christian owner. She's getting roughly $5k before tax and CPF. Normal?

I have a pretty solid chance of making it into comp science as well and that's also been another interest of mine the last few years. Do y'all think that might be a better idea to go for, in view of how the world is becoming increasingly digitalized?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I start reading law this year. Not the brightest kid, but I learn fast and I'm ready to put in the effort.

Be kind please, the information overload on this thread is REAL and I have no clue how to discern right from wrong. I'd be eternally grateful if someone could answer these questions:

1. What's the most profitable area of law to get into now? Will it be different (in your opinion) in five years... When I can actually start working? Don't care if it's the toughest or has the highest attrition rate.

2. Is there actually a big difference in hiring practices when it comes to SMU vs NUS undergrads? I applied to SMU last year and was accepted but I missed the deadline completely for NUS. Intending to apply this year to NUS Law as well.

3. My dad studied law at Gray's Inn of Court many moons ago but ended up in a completely different industry, making about S$30k take home with 12-14 PQE. Had a very good work-life balance. Is this common for many *local* law grads -- to graduate with an LLB degree but end up working in some other industry completely? I understand many don't become practicing lawyers, but not sure what the % is like for people that just end up working in an entirely different industry. Dad went into shipping and raw material brokerage.

4. What does the average smaller firm pay? I have a friend who just finished her Part B and she's working for a smaller firm that leans towards social justice issues... Christian owner. She's getting roughly $5k before tax and CPF. Normal?

I have a pretty solid chance of making it into comp science as well and that's also been another interest of mine the last few years. Do y'all think that might be a better idea to go for, in view of how the world is becoming increasingly digitalized?

1. In general, if you're just a middling student, Corp pays more, and generally Corp in Singapore pays more than disputes because most international firms are not licensed to do disputes/court work. However, if you're super good at law, it will be disputes.

2. Both schools are likely to say that they are better, but there's practically no diff between local students, you won't be disadvantaged greatly either way.

3. A high % end up working in a non-law field, the attrition rate means that less people stay in law than ppl who leave for another industry.

4. For a newly qualified lawyer, the really bad small Chinatown firms pay around 4k, the better small or midsizes pay 5-6k, the b4 now pays around 7.5k.

5. Comp science is oversaturated and has alot of CECA (and foreign) competition. I guess if you're the cream of the crop, you can go to FAANG jobs and earn more, but in general a normal lawyer will still beat a comp sciencer.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

1. In general, if you're just a middling student, Corp pays more, and generally Corp in Singapore pays more than disputes because most international firms are not licensed to do disputes/court work. However, if you're super good at law, it will be disputes.

If corp generally pays more, what's the point of going into disputes then even if you are super good at the law?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

If corp generally pays more, what's the point of going into disputes then even if you are super good at the law?

Because if you are a super good lawyer you are not a "general" lawyer?

Top dispute lawyers can charge crazy fees. The SCs etc earn the most. It's just that if you're middling-good (i.e. good but not top) you have more change of earning a higher than avg income as a corp lawyer.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

1. In general, if you're just a middling student, Corp pays more, and generally Corp in Singapore pays more than disputes because most international firms are not licensed to do disputes/court work. However, if you're super good at law, it will be disputes.

2. Both schools are likely to say that they are better, but there's practically no diff between local students, you won't be disadvantaged greatly either way.

3. A high % end up working in a non-law field, the attrition rate means that less people stay in law than ppl who leave for another industry.

4. For a newly qualified lawyer, the really bad small Chinatown firms pay around 4k, the better small or midsizes pay 5-6k, the b4 now pays around 7.5k.

5. Comp science is oversaturated and has alot of CECA (and foreign) competition. I guess if you're the cream of the crop, you can go to FAANG jobs and earn more, but in general a normal lawyer will still beat a comp sciencer.

Asker here. Thanks for the reply.

Realistically, just a middling student. Ready to sell my soul studying and grinding to get in and stay in a b4 firm though.

Yeah, if I were to go for comp sci, I would sign on to joint intel / cyberdef. Pay (including anti-bribery bonus) is about $6k take home for fresh ME-4 grads plus the army pays for the degree and, at a certain minimum level of scholarship, pays you full rank pay while you're studying.