Singapore law firms raise legal trainee allowances to make up for new year-long practice training regime

Singapore law firms are raising the allowances received by legal practice trainees, in response to the longer practice training framework which began this January.

Under the new framework, legal trainees have to undergo a practice training period of a year, up from six months previously.

The extended period is meant to give trainees a longer period of direct mentorship, better equip them for private practice through exposure to more practice areas, and allow the law firms to better assess these trainees’ performance.

But it means trainees will be drawing a relatively low allowance for longer, before they start getting paid.

Under the old regime, the Big Four law firms reportedly paid trainees an honorarium of around S$2,000 to S$2,500 per month. Upon completing the practice period, the newly qualified lawyers earned around S$6,800 to S$7,000 a month.

The Business Times understands that the Big Four have now raised the initial allowance to account for the longer training period, though firms have declined to disclose the amount.

In a LinkedIn post, Cuscaden Peak general counsel Ginney Lim noted that most law firms are offering trainees S$3,500 for the first six months, and then S$5,000 in the last six months. Firms that offer a flat honorarium for the entire 12 months are giving trainees an allowance of S$4,500 a month.

Ng Wai King, chairman and managing partner at WongPartnership, told BT in November that the firm was likely to increase its honorarium quantum to ensure it remained “among the most competitive in the market”, so that it can continue attracting talent.

But when contacted this month, the firm declined to disclose the amount.

A spokesperson for Allen & Gledhill declined to comment. The remaining two Big Four firms – Rajah & Tann and Drew & Napier – did not respond to queries.

Raising the bar

Some boutique firms are also raising allowances. TSMP Law is offering trainees an initial S$3,000, rising to S$5,000 upon retention, which is usually offered two months into the training contract.

Joint managing partner Stefanie Yuen Thio said the firm recently raised the honorarium to be broadly in line with what the big firms are offering. It previously offered trainees an allowance of S$2,500, rising to S$3,500 upon retention.

Withers KhattarWong has also reviewed and increased its honorarium for trainee lawyers to stay competitive, said joint managing partner Shashi Nathan.

Its honorarium has gone up by 20 per cent, though the law firm declined to disclose an exact figure.

Specialist disputes firm Setia Law said in a LinkedIn post last August that upon completing six months, new trainees under the year-long programme move up to the first-year associates’ pay scale. The firm declined to respond to BT’s queries.

No to minimum quantum mandate

The issue of legal trainee honorariums was raised in Parliament in November 2023, during the debate on the Bill which tabled the changes to the regime.

Then, some Members of Parliament raised concerns that the longer training period – at lower pay – would leave trainees vulnerable to being exploited, and asked for a minimum honorarium to be set.

Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Law Rahayu Mahzam replied that doing so may be too prescriptive, and such a minimum would need to be constantly reviewed to account for prevailing market conditions.

If the minimum is set above what small firms can afford, that might have the inadvertent effect of reducing the number of training places offered, she added.

Law Minister K Shanmugam reiterated this in a written reply to a parliamentary question last September. Responding to MP Patrick Tay, he said then: “Mandating a minimum honorarium quantum would be prescriptive, introduce rigidity and would need to be constantly reviewed to account for prevailing conditions...

“We will continue to monitor industry trends in partnership with the Law Society of Singapore, and will work with the Law Society to encourage law firms to give fair and reasonable financial recognition to the contributions of trainees.”

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