Jobs in Singapore

[Fionnuala2012]

My partner has been offered a really good package to move to Singapore and I am trying to find out how difficult it will be for me to find a job over there.I am an Irish qualified solicitor with dual qualifications in the England and Wales. I have 4 years PQE. I have worked in Private
Practice primarily in the litigation department since qualifying. Can anyone give me any advice. I have made contact with recruitment agents but they don't give advice until you arrive...

[Oh well]

Quote ' the England and Wales'. You can't even write in proper English so best not apply for a job... Maybe go back to school 

[LOCALmanjames]

My partner has been offered a really good package to move to Singapore and I am trying to find out how difficult it will be for me to find a job over there.I am an Irish qualified solicitor with dual qualifications in the England and Wales. I have 4 years PQE. I have worked in Private
Practice primarily in the litigation department since qualifying. Can anyone give me any advice. I have made contact with recruitment agents but they don't give advice until you arrive...

I think you can qualify to work as a lawyer in Singapore, since Singapore recognises most UK LLBs as a qualifying law degree. You will probably have to take some exams though.

Or perhaps teach English in some of the private schools.

[name]

Quote ' the England and Wales'. You can't even write in proper English so best not apply for a job... Maybe go back to school 

though the English is still better than many locals, and definitely better than those from the region

[LOCALmanjames]

It seems like he made a careless mistake himself. 'So best not apply for a job', it should be 'so best not to apply for a job'.

And he used '...' and started with a new sentence thereafter with a capital 'M' in 'Maybe'. If you want to start a new sentence, you should have used four not three dots, '....', the last dot being the full stop.

The question marks are not spaced correctly as well,

Best he goes back to school himself? Haha.

Quote ' the England and Wales'. You can't even write in proper English so best not apply for a job... Maybe go back to school 

[Derp]

Couple of things that may make a difference.  You mention your partner.  If you accompany a partner, rather than a spouse/husband, then you may not get a DP - Dependents Pass, you may only get an LTSVP - Long Term Social Visit Pass.  The former allows you easy access to land a job as the employer doesnt need an EP  - Employment Pass for you.  The latter means you have to get the employer to apply for an EP.  That means extra cost and quotas etc which is why they will prefer a local or a PR - Permanent Resident when hiring off the street

Go look at the Law Society of Singapore web page where there are useful contacts and information.  Doesnt the Law Society where you are currently resident have any dealinsg with other Law Society's ?  Check

[Legally blonde]

Singapore has insufficient numbers of lawyers as has been recognised by the AG's Dept and the Law Society.  You can work for a foreign firm without qualifying as a Singapore lawyer though the Law Soc has recently made it much easier for foreigners to qualify here.  However litigation will be problematic for you as there is little or no scope for foreigners to work in the courts.

If you have done commercial litigation you may find it relatively easy to get a position in one of the foreign firms assisting local litgators.

But be warned the legal profesion here is almost as unforgiving as the Magical Circle.  Long long hours, little or no time off and the pay is not great.  One of the reasons Singapore has a dearth of lawyers is that over 25% of graduates leave the profession within 5 years.

I would approach the big foreign firms directly.  Use your contacts if you have any.  Recruiters here are pretty useless but there are a couple of good ones - google legal labs.

The other area you might want to consider is in-house.  A much better lifestyle and very exciting given the growth in Asia..
Good luck - not the easiest profession to be in in Asia but there are quite a number of us making a decent living in it.