Lawyer Salary

Originally Posted by Unregistered

True...Salary still higher than most professions. In the past, starting pay was around 5k on average. Perhaps, 4.5-4.8k now.

why so high?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

why so high?

Life isn't fair.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

why so high?

For the number of hours the average lawyer puts in a week, the pay is paltry. Worse with the industry wide pay cuts now.

This is not a case of the privileged few griping that they are paid too little.

You try to put in 14 hours a day, 75 hour weeks, on a consistent basis. And watch your social life and physical health slip away.

Why do you think so many young lawyers leave in droves?

Young lawyers are being made to do the most menial tasks for which their bosses can't bill their clients. And in the end, their partners complain that there is not enough revenue to justify higher bonuses.

There is something seriously wrong with the legal services model.

Is it true that retention rates are really bad this year?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Is it true that retention rates are really bad this year?

In a nutshell: Yes.

While the large firms have retained most of their current trainees, they had to do quite abit of reshuffling. On retention, there were trainees who were posted into teams which they were not initially trained for. Fortunately they have managed to retain the starting pay (mostly).Also to note, this is in contrast with previous, ie. 'better', years where the large firms would retain their trainees without much issue to speak of.

Mid-Sized firms have largely stopped hiring additional NQLs, begun cutting the starting pay and in some instances decided not to retain a number of their trainees.

With the small firms, it varies. I've heard from some of my friend that the starting pay is still quite decent and higher than that of some Mid-sized firms. However this is entirely based on luck and your ability to find a firm which is willing to hire.

As a disclaimer, this is just based on information i've received and personal observation. But for those who are about to graduate. Please brace yourselves for tough times ahead.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Is it true that retention rates are really bad this year?

I think many people are engaging in scaremongering now. Retention rates are not significantly worst off than previous years.

The real issue for future batches is the possibility to even get retained. Once you get the foot in the door, the odds are not dissimilar to previous years. Though I agree with the previous poster that NQs have less mobility than previous batches.

Lawyers, just like medical Dr, are protected breed in Singapore where the supply is tightly controlled to maibtain the high salary. I look forward to the day the flood gate for legal sector is opened up to other nationalities and bring in huge supply, bringing down the pay. Just like how the civil engineers suffered.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Lawyers, just like medical Dr, are protected breed in Singapore where the supply is tightly controlled to maibtain the high salary. I look forward to the day the flood gate for legal sector is opened up to other nationalities and bring in huge supply, bringing down the pay. Just like how the civil engineers suffered.

That will never happen. lawyers are notorious for being elitists and snobbish. they are not going to accept random foreigners holding some random Indian or china law school law degree who cannot string an english sentence together amongst their rarefied ranks.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

That will never happen. lawyers are notorious for being elitists and snobbish. they are not going to accept random foreigners holding some random Indian or china law school law degree who cannot string an english sentence together amongst their rarefied ranks.

wat u tok? me no understen

Originally Posted by Unregistered

That will never happen. lawyers are notorious for being elitists and snobbish. they are not going to accept random foreigners holding some random Indian or china law school law degree who cannot string an english sentence together amongst their rarefied ranks.

The infiltration of Pinoys, and Indian nationals is already happening. In the firms I have worked at, the lawyers/partners will sign off the work that these legally-trained FTs do. The FTs may or may not be Registered Foreign Lawyer. The Managing Partner of one of the mid-tier firms acknowledged that he would rather employ such persons than a Singapore-qualified lawyer. Although the standard of work may be affected (and I have experienced the laziness and the work of such FTs), most clients accept such standards of work. Especially since clients are paying the same amount anyway (with fee caps, fix fees, etc), it makes business sense to hire one lawyer/partner to oversee many such FTs.

Regarding retention, some of the firms I have worked with have 0 to 20% retention rates, which is pathetic. I know that the IP department of one of the larger firms employed new associates with some experience, but none of the trainees were retained.