Published by rhtlaw at September 4, 2016 RHTLaw Taylor Wessing Managing Partner Tan Chong Huat was quoted in a series of three articles in The Straits Times titled "Many mid-tier lawyers leaving the profession", "Billable hours not the only yardstick" and "Lighter workload, training among moves to retain staff".
The articles were first published in The Straits Times on 4 September 2016.
Many mid-tier lawyers leaving the profession
Recently, Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon spoke to new lawyers about the challenges ahead, at a time when many of their seniors have called it quits. There is no quick fix to this 'hollowing out' of mid-career lawyers, say those in the legal community.
Source: The Straits Times © Singapore Press Holdings Ltd.
Date: 4 Sep 2016
Author: Amelia Teng
It is a familiar tale - working past midnight then returning to the office hours later the next morning to plough through case notes and rush to meet deadlines.
Anecdotes like this are common in the legal industry, which has in recent years seen an exodus of mid-tier lawyers, a point raised by Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon last month at this year's Mass Call, a proceeding that formally admits lawyers to the Bar.
Citing statistics which showed mid-tier lawyers - those with seven to 12 years of experience - made up less than 10 per cent of the profession in the last five years, he said that such "burnout" has led to a "hollowing out" of mid-career lawyers.
The Law Society says there were 423 mid-tier lawyers last year, compared with 1,909 junior ones with less than seven years of experience, and 2,502 senior lawyers with more than 12 years of experience.
The number of mid-tier lawyers has gone up to 793 this year because of recategorisation, The Law Society said. Those with five to 15 years' experience now count as "mid-tier", as these years are when many associates become partners.
Former lawyers told The Sunday Times that a combination of push and pull factors made them leave the sector. These include the long working hours and "transactional" nature of work - and for some, the desire to learn skills and find fulfilment outside the legal profession.
Ms Kendra Liew, 28, a former matrimonial lawyer who quit at the end of 2014, said: "A lot of the work is time-sensitive and demanding with little room for flexibility and error.
"I was not looking forward to work every day. I would wake up in the middle of the night to check e-mail and was constantly thinking about what to do the next day."
Ironically, the 28-year-old who spent three years in practice joined the profession"to help people".
She now runs a business creating organic skincare products. "When you go in with those ideals, and you experience practice, you get disillusioned and feel like you aren't making a difference."
Mr Esmond Yue, who spent four years in corporate law in two firms, said his typical work day started at 7.30am and ended at 1am.
"The latest is just going to the office gym to shower and continue working till the next morning. Maybe you'll doze off for half an hour."
The 31-year-old, who was earning $10,000 a month by his third year, said: "The money makes up for the pain. But it becomes a tahan (Malay for 'endure') game."
Some like Mr Mark Cheng said it was the high-stress nature of the work that was draining. Said the 30-year-old, who spent two years in litigation at a mid-sized firm: "People are paying the lawyer to solve their problems and take their stress away. Suddenly you become that person with everyone's problems. That is very stressful. It's like a glorified sweat shop. Junior lawyers have a mountain of work that is tedious and time-consuming."
Some former lawyers said they found little ownership and meaning in their work. Mr Yue added: "You see only the legal aspects - a small part of a business - and you work on deals that seem so far-removed."
Work improved after he joined a foreign firm. "But I realised that's as good as it gets... I felt I wanted to learn more outside the law, like dealing with people, management skills," said the co-owner of a Japanese food business.
A 27-year-old lawyer who declined to be named tendered her resignation last month after three years in corporate law at one of the Big Four law firms.
"You don't have time for yourself, for family... It's common to have to work on weekends and settle things from home," she said, adding that she will return to the sector.
"I still like some of the work I'm doing... but this is something like a personal sabbatical. I just need a change in environment."
Mr Tan Chong Huat, managing partner of RHTLaw Taylor Wessing, acknowledged the increasing demands: "Competition and the demands of a more sophisticated clientele - the global climate aside - are shaping how firms behave.
"We become more productive and efficient and this puts a lot of pressure on our mid-tier lawyers."
Mr Edmund Koh, 31, who spent four years at one of the Big Four law firms in banking and financial disputes, left the field last year to co-run a start-up to help lawyers with legal research.
"I liked the intellectual challenge of law, but I wanted to have more exposure to business," he said. "A lot of people go in to law not knowing what the practice of law is like. Perhaps they are misled by the glamour of lawyers portrayed on TV.
"For every moment you spend in court, there are countless hours spent preparing for it."
Billable hours not the only yardstick
Source: The Straits Times © Singapore Press Holdings Ltd.
Date: 4 Sep 2016
Author: Amelia Teng
Some law firms said that they do not put too much focus on enforcing billing targets for young lawyers, as it can be counterproductive and may not be a good reflection of their capabilities.
Most firms bill clients by the hour. Lawyers' bonuses can, depending on the firm, be based on their billable hours.
What started as a transparent technique for charging clients has been "transformed into a powerful tool for measuring and controlling the work of employee solicitors", said Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon. "Time is money and an increasing emphasis on the latter means young lawyers are expected to sacrifice more of the former, with the only real outer boundary, it seems, being that there are only 24 hours in a day."
Law Society president Thio Shen Yi called for a mindset change so "partners of a law firm aren't out to exploit every single billable hour they can get out of a lawyer". He added: "They need to invest in lawyers as people. To see them as long-term resources rather than as short-term factors of production."
Mr Tan Chong Huat, managing partner of RHTLaw Taylor Wessing, said: "Focusing solely on billable hours without paying attention to developing young lawyers to be wholesome practitioners will be missing the point."
It is one of many yardsticks, he said. Others include how a lawyer meets clients' needs and how he can grow and sustain his practice.
Lawyer Gloria James-Civetta said the practice of billable hours is more strictly enforced in big firms and corporate law firms.
At her mid-sized firm dealing with family and criminal law, junior lawyers have a guideline to bring in three times their monthly pay in revenue. She said: "It's just to gauge if they can handle a certain amount of work. We also look at abilities such as how they draft an affidavit, how they take instructions from clients and their time management skills."
Lighter workload, training among moves to retain staff
Source: The Straits Times © Singapore Press Holdings Ltd.
Date: 4 Sep 2016
Author: Amelia Teng
There is no easy way to stop younger lawyers from leaving the practice, the legal community told The Sunday Times.
In his address to this year's newly minted lawyers, Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon called for law firms to see themselves as "educational institutions with a duty to train their young lawyers into the very best version of themselves".
In response, some law firms said they have made efforts to retain mid-tier lawyers, such as by training them early and letting them have input in designing policies.
The Law Society is conducting a survey to study the stress that young lawyers face. The results are expected by the end of the year.
Its president Thio Shen Yi said: "We hope we can use (the results)... to give us some real deep knowledge into what young lawyers face in terms of pressure, what drives them and what drives them away."
It is "unrealistic" for lawyers starting their career to expect high salaries and independence, said Professor Simon Chesterman, dean of the National University of Singapore's law faculty.
"But it's also short-sighted on the part of law firms that squeeze their junior staff for short-term performance rather than building careers."
Lawyer Gloria James-Civetta suggested easing the workload by having longer deadlines and getting help from paralegals. At her firm, lawyers are paid "above market salary" and get pay rises every six to 12 months, depending on how they perform.
Rajah & Tann Singapore started a service last year to match legal consultants to companies that need legal support on short-term contracts and project-specific work. "Lawyers who need a break from practice and want to try something different but still stay in the legal industry can tap on (this)," said deputy managing partner Patrick Ang. There have been 11 successful matches.
Some firms said they try to meet the career aspirations of lawyers by giving them room to progress and have ownership in their work.
Mr Bazul Ashhab, managing partner and head of dispute resolution at Oon & Bazul, said it has put in place policies in the last five years to encourage young lawyers to stay for the long haul. For instance, partners train them to manage clients and court expectations, and guide them in building their clientele so they have the skills to become partners later. The firm also has regular meetings and an annual retreat "where ideas are canvassed and new policies are formulated with input from younger lawyers".
Mr Chia Ho Choon, human resources partner of Withers KhattarWong, said "high potential lawyers" have "career progression opportunities, management responsibilities as well as freedom to develop their practice".
Some firms said that with recent mergers, more opportunities exist for young lawyers to be part of higher-level work. For instance, those who join Withers KhattarWong can get global exposure by working in 17 other offices abroad.
Mr Lek Siang Pheng, deputy managing partner of Dentons Rodyk & Davidson, said lawyers can now be more involved in cross-border transactions and global disputes and arbitrations.
His firm is one which has bucked the trend - its proportion of lawyers with seven to 12 years of experience grew from nearly 14 per cent in 2011 to close to 18 per cent as of last month.
Mr Tan Chong Huat, managing partner of RHTLaw Taylor Wessing, said it is exploring automating aspects of work processes to be more efficient so as to ease the lawyers' workload. About 50 per cent of its lawyers have seven to 12 years of experience, compared with 60 per cent five years ago.
But Mr Tan also highlighted that lawyers need to have passion, along with a supportive work environment, to "keep them aligned" and "help them fulfil their passions".
Prof Chesterman said that pro bono, or voluntary, work - which is increasingly being adopted by many firms in the United States and elsewhere - can also help retain lawyers.
He said: "A lawyer who is earning lots of money may actually be less satisfied than one who thinks he or she is making a difference. Carving out part of the week for work that does not pay, but has an impact on your community, can make the rest of the week feel more worthwhile."