Young lawyers find fulfilment, balance as they strike out on their own

Singapore

EAGER to have more autonomy over their work, and their lives outside of work, lawyers in Singapore - some as young as 29 - are striking out on their own.

Many of them hailed from prominent firms, and some were even on track to be made partners at the time they left.

These enterprising lawyers told The Business Times they found it fulfilling to be able to choose their own clients, set their own fees and structure a sustainable working environment.

Taking ownership

Nicholas Poon, founding director of Breakpoint LLC, struck out in 2018 at the age of 32 because he found the legal industry had become "stagnant" in terms of its management of case files and use of technology.

"I thought that if I wanted to bring about a refreshing change to the industry, it would not come from me rising through the ranks of Drew & Napier," said Poon, who was an associate director at the time he left. "It would be unfair and frankly, wrong, of me to expect one of Singapore's biggest law firms to experiment with my ideas. The only way, therefore, that I could test my ideas was to start my own firm."

More than 3 years on, Poon believes Breakpoint operates "more seamlessly" than many of its competitors.

"Our teams are lean and efficient, our services are value-for-money. In fact, I think (my fellow director) Darius would say that we are underpricing ourselves in the market. But it is important to me that we make legal services accessible. We don't have a fixed pricing model (but instead) charge according to the client's level of need, the merits of the case," said Poon, now 36.

Darius Chan, who joined Breakpoint in 2019, said lawyers in a small setup have more say on which cases to take on. Prior to taking on directorship at Breakpoint, he practised at international firms Norton Rose Fulbright and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.

"We can act for the man on the street, we can act for high net worth individuals, we can act for companies, we can act for states. In a large international firm, you don't have the same flexibility," said Chan, 39.

Yu Kexin, who set up Yu Law in 2020 as a sole proprietorship, said she feels "much more invested" in her current clients.

"The fulfilment of starting my own practice has far exceeded my expectations," she said. "When you are the only person on a file, there is a sense of fulfilment and ownership in working on all aspects of that matter. From a practical standpoint, your name is on the line, too.

"In terms of workload, I'd say that the number of hours I work is still the same. But there is more flexibility, and so you feel better about (working the long hours)."

It's not about the bottom line

Yu, who had previously spent 5 years in a major local law firm, also likes her newfound ability to be flexible on fees.

"As a sole proprietor, I can work on some matters by myself and that keeps costs efficient. Or I can assemble a team with either one more senior, or more junior lawyer," she said.

Breakpoint's Poon, meanwhile, said he often encourages clients to settle "if the terms are right" - even if this typically means fewer billing hours, and therefore lower profits, for his firm.

"We respect the adversarial process; but at the same time, we want to be as amiable as we can (to opposing counsel) without compromising clients' interests," he said.

Jordan Tan, co-managing partner at Audent Chambers LLC, said not chasing solely after profits frees his team up to focus on quality work as well as pro bono public interest matters. Audent is an "advocates-only" firm, which means it takes on cases as instructed by solicitors' firms.

"Although Audent is thriving commercially, it can be even more profitable if we take on more work and expand the firm. But that is not our overriding goal. Our goal is to take on complex, impactful work - both commercial fee paying and pro bono - while collaborating with our friends from many different firms, including big firms and international firms," he said.

"While we work hard and monitor our financials, we have no formal billing targets and there is a tremendous sense of autonomy."

Tan spent several years in the Singapore Legal Service and several more at Cavenagh Law, a formal law alliance partner of Clifford Chance, before he set up Audent with Senior Counsel Harpreet Singh Nehal in 2020. Tan said he was on track for partnership when he decided to leave Cavenagh Law.

There's life outside work

The prospect of having more space to pursue interests outside of work is another draw.

Wilbur Lim, managing director of WMH Law Corporation, said he and his partners started their own firm to "create a sustainable environment for practice, among other reasons".

"We tried to make practice as straightforward as possible, both in terms of working arrangements as well as working hours. We wanted to try to break down the culture where we need to have face time every day," said Lim, who started the firm in 2016, when he was just 29. His founding partners are joint managing director Mark Lee and equity director Hazell Ng.

"One of the interesting things about our firm is that most of the partners are usually the first few to arrive in office each day. Part of this is also to ensure that work can be attended to efficiently throughout the day, so that the rest of the team could end work at relatively comfortable hours, barring important deadlines," he said.

For Ark Law Corporation's founder Eugene Low, starting his own practice in 2019 gave him space to pursue other passions. In the years since, the self-confessed coffee snob has also started a platform to import espresso machines from China, and a confectionery business with like-minded friends.

"When I turned 30, I started contemplating what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. And I wasn't sure I had the 'law is my life' kind of vision that other senior lawyers do. I still love the practice of law, but I also wanted to pursue interests outside of law," said the 34-year-old.

Before Ark Law, Low was a senior associate at Tan Kok Quan Partnership handling disputes, insolvency and restructuring work.

The experience and training in a larger firm was instrumental in starting his own practice, Low said. "Without training in my previous firm, I wouldn't have been able to strike it out on my own. At the end of the day, technical skills are very important for lawyers. You do need to have proper grounding of skills and knowledge."

While he currently operates as a one-man-show, Low hopes to expand his firm in time to come. "If I hire someone, I want to be able to offer them some mentorship and to help them grow. I think the 'product' in law firms is, really, the lawyer. But these days, many seem to forget about building that product. There's more focus on squeezing to profit from the bottom of the chain."

Startup challenges

Starting a boutique legal practice does come with certain difficulties. Apart from limitations in resources and administrative support, young lawyers also face a need to do more to foster peer support and keep morale up.

"One thing I miss a lot is the company I had in a big firm. I always had friends around me to have coffee or lunch with (or) to talk about the cases," said Breakpoint's Poon.

"I still do, but it's not as easy to just walk 10 metres to your colleague's room. And given that we're in different firms, it's more challenging to talk about cases," he said.

Yu of Yu Law encourages young lawyers looking to set up a sole proprietorship or small firm to keep in contact with other lawyers.

"When you come out on your own, while some stressors are reduced, others may be heightened. So it's important to keep morale up," she said.

She is nevertheless encouraging of those who want to follow in her footsteps: "Whether or not they pursue a sole proprietorship, I hope more juniors will be willing to try out practice in a different way."