LAW: Long hours, pot of gold

A BOOM in projects and financial deals here after the 2003 Sars scare has led to a corresponding spurt in lawyers' salaries.

The five headhunters LifeStyle spoke to say this is primarily because lawyers are always needed to do up the pernickety paperwork necessary to seal top-dollar deals, and Singapore's currently fired-up financial services industry is their biggest pot of gold.

Mr Mark Sparrow, country manager for professional recruitment company Hudson, says: 'It's a big bucks game, so it's no surprise that such professionals are paid a very high premium.'

Industry watchers finger the increasing complexity of law work, compounded by the impact of frenetic changes in global markets, as the primary reason for skyrocketing salaries. For example, new financial products are being listed here such as real estate investment trusts.

Even newly qualified lawyers from the upper half of fresh graduates who work in bigger firms here can expect $4,000-a-month pay cheques these days.

It's about time, say their seniors, as greenhorn lawyers are almost always worked the hardest, around the clock, so at least they are being paid more commensurately now.

In 1994, junior lawyers in most top law firms could only hope for a starting salary of between $2,700 and $3,200, depending on their class of honours in Law School.

But seasoned lawyers say that, generally, their pay tends to hit a plateau after 10 years. This is for a variety of reasons, such as lawyers deciding to ease up on their frenetic schedules for a more balanced life, and so taking on fewer cases.

Still, such established lawyers are smiling a lot these days too, as headhunters say that quite a few firms paid their staff seven months' worth of bonuses last year.

To some, though, such salaries aren't enough. Even the best-paying firms here see their young lawyers jumping ship to Hong Kong, where salaries for junior lawyers start at HK$60,000 (S$11,650) a month.

Super salaries notwithstanding, the wealth gap between the top firms and the smallest ones has widened greatly over the past 10 years. Top firms are getting much bigger slices of the business pie here and small ones have to be content with the crumbs.

Big clients, after all, always want the best and the brightest to work on their deals - and have deep enough pockets to pay for it.

One result is that the big law firms here have grown significantly. For example, Allen & Gledhill has burgeoned from about 70 lawyers in 1991 to more than 200 lawyers today, while Wong Partnership went from about 11 lawyers in 1992 to 150 lawyers today.

Estimated salary range of top earners: Between $1 million and $6 million a year.

Oft-cited top earners: Lucien Wong and K. Shanmugam of Allen & Gledhill; Davinder Singh and Jimmy Yim of Drew & Napier; Steven Chong of Rajah & Tann; Wong Meng Meng and Dilhan Pillay of Wong Partnership; Helen Yeo of Rodyk & Davidson; and Lee Suet Fern of Stamford Law Corporation.

Industry watchers say in-house lawyers in offshore banks such as Credit Suisse as well as lawyers practising in well-paying offshore law firms might also make the list.

Who they are: The top equity members of Singapore's top law firms. These firms are known in the industry as Singapore's legal magic circle. Three among them - Rodyk & Davidson, Drew & Napier and Allen & Gledhill - are Singapore's oldest law firms, established by foreigners in 1861, 1889 and 1902 respectively.

The remaining three - Wong Partnership, Rajah & Tann and Stamford Law Corporation - were founded or co-founded in the 1990s and more recently by their respective oft-cited top earners.

What you need to be in the top tier: A rainmaker: that is, one who has the intellectual and social clout to bring in the big deals for the firm.

Top rainmakers have a sterling track record of winning cases and working on the biggest projects here and globally.

It certainly helps if they also have the gift of the gab and a wide social circle to tap on for contacts.

For those aspiring to this league, Mr Sparrow says one good career path is to gain international work exposure and then work within the magic circle of Singapore's top law firms.

'These are the most illustrious law firms for corporations to deal with as the firms have first-class support and global infrastructure, and hire the best-in-class lawyers to work with them.'

The hours for ace legal eagles are notoriously long. Being the very best in their field work-wise, they still strategise and scrutinise their cases personally, working late into the night.

After they retire from practice, some are invited back to their firms as senior consultants.

Where the most money is in the law: Corporate finance, project finance, taxation and mergers and acquisitions, simply because their monetary worth and complexity demand the very best legal expertise. Matters related to the gaming industry are also high on the list because of the upcoming integrated resort developments.

Bread-and-butter legal work, such as conveyancing, family law, criminal cases and general litigation such as car crash cases, are not likely to propel lawyers into the top tier ever.

Point to consider: IT litigator Adrian Tan of Drew & Napier says: 'The way to a glamorous life in the law is through unglam work. It's not about the lawyer banging the table in court. Most of the top earners fly under the radar and have worked 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year, for decades.'