Attorney

[J.D.]

Does anybody know what the salary range for attornies is, such as for a US attorney with 5-7 years IP experience.  What is the job market for in-house and outside counsel like, and what are the working conditions like for outside counsel.  Any info. appreciated.

[LLB]

J.D. - do u want to work in a foreign law firm or local firm? Magic circle or 2nd tier? MNC or local company? What degree do you have?

[LLB]

oops, when i said "what degree" I was referring to whether you have knowledge of the UK/Singapore common law system.

[J.D.]

I have a JD from a US law school.  I understand common law and have done some litigation in the US, but in Singapore, I would not be qualified to litigate, so I would do transactional work and counseling.  My specialty is IP.  I dont care necessarily if the firm is local or intl. or magic circle... .  I am just trying to get a feel for what attornies with 5-7 years of experience earn in Singapore.  I understand that there could be a variation in salary depending on the firm and their clients, but at this point I am just looking for a ball park figure.  Is it 70k, 100k, 150k, or 200k per year.

[LLB]

ball park figures would vary depending on where you go, hence my questions.

local companies pay the least - if you negotiate nicely you might get about SGD80 - 100K.  local law firms - most do not take in lawyers with US experience unless they do a lot of US related work and require a US counsel (the bigger law firms have some US lawyers - but on the letterheads you would see "not admitted to practise in Singapore" or words to that effect). A local lawyer of 7-8 years' PQE should be a partner, and those in the bigger firms would earn upwards of 120K, excluding bonuses.  

MNC's - I would imagine the pay scale to be higher than local companies. Foreign law firms - higher than local firms.

Check with legal recruitment firms, they would be the best to know.

[LLB2]

LLb's figures I would say are about right for the locals but the foreign firms are much higher. With seven years experience (equivalent of 5 years PQE for an English firm) working for a Clifford Chance or a Skadden Arps then you would probably expect to earn about $50-175K plus $5K per month housing. Less if experience is not with major firm.