The Government has recently accepted the key recommendations of The Third Committee on the Supply of Lawyers, including: considering setting up a second law school; increasing the intake of students into the NUS Law Faculty; allowing Singaporeans (and PRs) who graduated from recognised overseas law schools with Second Class Lower Division Honours to practise law upon fulfilling certain conditions; and enabling Singapore law firms to recruit outstanding lawyers from abroad under a special scheme to practise limited Singapore law so as to enable Singapore law firms to grow and compete regionally.

What issues have prompted these recommendations, and what impact will the recommendations have? Tay Peng Cheng, Recruitment Partner at WongPartnership, shares his thoughts with Juris.

Q. What are the key recruitment issues faced by the Firm?
Generally, there is a limited pool of legal talent, considering the current limitations on qualification to the Singapore Bar and restrictions on hiring foreign lawyers. Beyond these, each practice also faces challenges unique to itself.

Litigation work, by its nature, attracts fewer entrants as compared to its counterpart, corporate practice. There is a perception that more career opportunities and options are provided by corporate practice.

As a leading local firm, we generally do not encounter many difficulties recruiting at the pupillage level. The difficulty is more in deciding whether we have the right candidate, based on the performance at an interview and the candidate’s academic abilities

Q. Why do lawyers leave the profession?
In addition to lawyers who leave the Firm to take up an in-house position, or who move to foreign firms, the trend of lawyers leaving the profession altogether is also a concern. Not everyone who reads Law becomes a lawyer. Not everyone who becomes a lawyer stays the long term. We’ve had pupils and associates leave us to fulfill their lifelong dreams — going into the arts, becoming a financial analyst, an oil trader or even taking up baking.

We believe the stress and long hours endemic to the profession do contribute to a retention problem. Furthermore, there is a growing desire of younger lawyers to work overseas.

In terms of practice-specific challenges, litigation work is stressful and can be very demanding. Younger lawyers tend to perceive corporate lawyers as having better career opportunities and options, and corporate law being more “glamorous”. This is quite evident from the many applications received from litigation lawyers from other firms applying to join our corporate practice. Fortunately, the turnover at the Firm’s Litigation department has not been high.

Corporate practice faces challenges from foreign firms. We have noticed in recent years a trend of our young corporate lawyers with 2 to 4 years PQE leaving local practice for foreign firms. While this is testament to the calibre of our lawyers and demonstrates how WongPartnership has been able to develop fresh lawyers into sought-after industry professionals, it is not easy to hire laterally to replace those who have left, given the limited talent pool.

Q. What measures does the Firm have to retain and develop its lawyers?
We strongly believe in developing our lawyers and providing them with the necessary guidance in their formative years. WongPartnership was recently voted as one of the best Singapore law firms to work for in a survey conducted by the Asia-Law publication. We were listed as tops in the areas of professional development, as well as supervision & guidance, and rated highly for salary competitiveness, opportunities to work on big/important deals and prospects for career advancement.

Retention strategies comprise many factors: remuneration, professional development, job opportunities and career progression within the firm. We have a strong firm-wide culture of hard work and we reward our lawyers accordingly, by linking remuneration to performance. There is open communication and lawyers receive frequent feedback from partners.

Our young lawyers are provided with opportunities and exposure by way of challenging work and secondments. The Firm also offers flexible working arrangements for lawyers with special family commitments.

We also recognise the importance of a good working environment. At WongPartnership, we mitigate the stress of work by organising regular welfare events such as talks and workshops, and product sales in the office. We also have lawyer’s lounges equipped with a bar, futsal table, X-box and dvd player for relaxation during a hectic workday.

Q. What do you think of the measures to increase the talent pool?
The Firm welcomes the initiatives proposed recently, and believes they will aid in the growth of the Singapore legal profession, and in strengthening Singapore’s position as a hub for legal services.

At first blush, it may appear to new entrants to the profession that they will face more competition. However, we believe that with the increasingly global marketplace, and the variety of career options open to qualified lawyers, the increase in the talent pool should be welcomed, and not feared. It can foster a
stronger and more vibrant profession.

Q. What is it like working for WongPartnership?
We believe we offer our lawyers the opportunity to work and learn from some of the best legal minds around on cutting edge work, in an environment that is both challenging and nurturing. We usually work in teams, with partners or senior
associates guiding the younger ones. The work is interesting, often on issues or practices that you do not get to learn about in Law School.

We have a friendly working environment, with partners, associates and staff on first name basis. You can always pop into each other’s rooms to bounce some ideas, seek guidance on perplexing points or even just plain gossip.

The work is hard, but the stress is compensated by the friendly atmosphere within the Firm. And of course, the pay is good.

Q. What are the qualities and competencies does WongPartnership look for in lawyers?
 WongPartnership is still growing and we are always on the lookout for lawyers who are keen on challenging work for both our Corporate and Litigation practices.

A brilliant academic record is not a pre-requisite. What we value more are a good working attitude, desire to learn, and willingness to contribute: team players who can fit into the ethos of the Firm.