The law exodus: Where is the Promised Land?

BURNOUT, bitchy bosses, the relentless battering of unreasonable client demands. These are some of the reasons cited for lawyers fleeing the profession in droves, many to become baristas or bakers or bitcoin traders.

Law firm partners are stumped. It is a strange time to be leaving a lucrative profession. Bloomberg reported in November 2021 that US firms saw large increases in revenue and profitability in the first nine months of the year, with the largest players seeing the biggest gains. In a US survey, firms reported a 14.3 per cent jump in revenue, more than double the 5.7 per cent uptick in 2020. UK firms saw the same trajectory, with many reporting double digit growth last year.

Singapore law firms, especially those that deal in lucrative mergers and acquisitions and private equity sectors, have seen a similar rise in revenue and profits. This is on the back of historically low interest rates, sending fund managers and investors on a corporate spending spree. Not to be outdone were restructuring practitioners and, thanks to the government's effective efforts to promote Singapore as an international arbitration hub, those who fight cases in arbitration chambers.