In today’s competitive job market, how does one stand out from other candidates who come from similarly prestigious schools, scored similarly good grades and are now busting their gut in similarly reputable firms? We explore some of the more common options here and provide our professional two-cents’ worth.
- Foreign Bar Qualification
Question: Does a foreign bar (e.g. the UK (England & Wales) Bar or the US (New York) Bar) help with my employability?
International law firms generally view candidates holding additional bar qualifications more favourably – for example, US Firms in Singapore (especially those without QFLP status or any JLV/FLA tie-ups) do sometimes prefer candidates who also hold a US Bar even when the work does not involve much US law.
Practically, you may wish to attain the bar that pertains to governing laws that are most prevalent in your work and within your practice area. For example, Banking & Finance lawyers often encounter finance agreements governed by English law and thus are often inclined to take the English & Wales Bar.
That said, the knowledge one may acquire through a Bar Course/Examination is no substitute to the real-life experience gained from hours of hard work and active involvement in drafting and negotiation exercises. In addition, while it is important for all lawyers to understand the basic legal concepts embedded within the documents they work on, a bar qualification may be of more practical use for senior lawyers who are expected to sign off on legal opinions.
More often than not, pursuing an additional Bar Qualification may bear a more symbolic than practical purpose. At the very least, the successful completion of a rigorous Bar Course/Examination is testament to your ambition and determination, especially when this is achieved while working full-time by sacrificing sleep and weekend leisure. However, given the time, effort and cost that often goes into such an endeavour, you may wish to read on and consider other ways to stand out.
Question: Does a foreign bar automatically entitle me to foreign bar pay scales?
Holding a New York Bar within a US firm does not automatically entitle one to Cravath-scale salaries, nor is a New York Bar a strict prerequisite to earning such salaries. Instead, this is often dependent on other factors, including whether your work within the firm is strongly US-related (e.g. US Securities work) and whether the firm follows a lock-step salary structure pegged to the Cravath-scale. Get in touch with us to find out which are the few firms in Singapore that adhere to the Cravath-scale.
- Full Professional Language Proficiencies
Question: Do professional language proficiencies help with my employability?
Increasingly, we are seeing more job descriptions stating that candidates with professional proficiency in foreign language (e.g. Mandarin, Bahasa Indonesia or Japanese) would be strongly preferred. Where a CV only briefly states “Language Proficiency: English and Mandarin”, we are sometimes asked to specifically clarify the candidate’s precise written and spoken proficiency in each language. Thus, do not be shy to declare in your CV that you possess your “Full Professional Proficiency” in a language. If you have worked with foreign clients – particularly where this involved extensive reviewing, drafting and negotiating in the foreign language – we also encourage you to explain this in detail.
Question: Should I sign up for courses to sharpen my language proficiency?
For those of you who do not have the opportunity to learn on-the-job and remain keen on improving your mother tongue, you may also consider signing up for a course with professional language provides (e.g. Singapore Chinese Chamber Institute of Business for Mandarin) – and better still, your SkillsFuture Credits can be used to offset the course fees! Besides, you never know when these language skills will come in useful even outside of your legal sphere of work.
That’s all for now. In the next article, we will discuss how having finance/ account knowledge; and/ or professional certifications can help you show a prospective employer that you are a well-rounded legal professional. This is especially important when you are seeking a move from private practice to in-house.