Lawyers’ salaries in Singapore have not increased dramatically but are set to receive a bonus boost both in US firms and Singapore firms, according to the latest private practice salary survey released by global recruitment firm Taylor Root. The survey was taken in the first part of 2011 and provides both a salary range and expected average salary for lawyers with up to seven plus years PQE for 2011.

The survey identified a number of key trends which have developed over the past year: Bonus levels have remained strong in US firms depending upon performance, but are still higher as a proportion of overall salary in Singapore firms – as much as three to six months of annual base salary paid in one or two tranches throughout the year. As previously reported on Legal Jobs Centre Singapore firms also have been increasing the base salary offered in order to compete with the large number of international firms from the UK and the US with a presence in Singapore.

The overall results of the survey were not surprising, as Singapore’s economy is picking up and some areas have reported a shortage of suitably qualified talent in areas such as finance and regulatory compliance as well as insurance in the last six to twelve months. “Salaries for lawyers in Singapore are in quite a wide band. People can earn above those figures,” said Jamie Newbold, a Singapore-based consultant with Taylor Root. “I think there are a lot of misconceptions, so we use what information firms have given us.”

A full breakdown of the salary survey results is below:

UK Firms                                                   SG$

   US Firms              US$                        SG Firms              SG$