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Some time ago there was a Facebook post about clients being unwilling to pay lawyers high fees, saying that the work we do are merely “copy-paste” and in reply, the author explained at length that we deserve better fees (and respect) as we went through

1. 1.5 years of pre-university course;
2. 3 years of law school;
3. 1 year of professional course (or 4 years of law school); and
4. 9 months of pupillage

before we became a lawyer.

Essentially, his argument was that for all the hardships and financial costs we endured, we deserve to be paid better.

The post was viral and shared by many lawyers, but to me, the logic is utterly flawed.

There is no logic in trying to justify to clients our fees based on our sufferings.

Because do clients care? They don’t, and they shouldn’t.

Clients only care about the value we are creating for them.

They will decide to pay more or pay less based on the amount of value they think we generate.

Hence, if the work you do is low-level, largely copy-paste, and/or can be easily replicated by any lawyer (as opposed to these kinds of work), then you can’t possibly demand higher fees than what your peers would charge; in those environments, surely some lawyers would be willing to reduce their fees to get the work than to get no work at all.

It will be a race to the bottom, and there is no point justifying to clients why they should, out of kindness, empathy, or sympathy, pay more.

Situation with Young Lawyers

Now then coming back to young lawyers.

Many too are trapped in the mindset of trying to justify how much they should get paid for how much they have suffered or are suffering.

That can be argued, but that can’t really convince.

If you are not creating value for the firm, if you show no potential of eventually creating value for the firm, or worse you bring more problems to the firm and cause the firm to lose value to its clients, then you cannot possibly ask for a high pay.

Now, I too am against toxic workplaces where the pay is low, hours are long, partners are abusive, amongst others.

On that, until we have some intervention from an authority, say the Bar Council in coming up with measures to curb them, the best thing young lawyers and pupils can do now is to save themselves by being valuable.

By being valuable means:

1. Doing their work exceptionally well;
2. Completing their work fast with no errors;
3. Knowing the law competently;
4. Clients have high regard for their work;
5. Being able to handle clients and files independently with minimal supervision;
6. Building a positive reputation that files are coming to the firm because of them; and so on.

The list is not exhaustive.

Now, this is not shifting the responsibility of curing toxic workplaces to young lawyers/pupils; that is a whole different kettle of fish and requires much more debate than this article intends to provide.*

The point of this article is only to offer a small piece of advice for consideration, which is this:

Once you become valuable, you’d be able to either negotiate for better employment terms or leave a toxic workplace easily with confidence that you can obtain another employment elsewhere.

For example, a pupil who after attending a client meeting is willing and able to draft the letter of demand, to draft the statement of claim, to prepare the court documents, to attend witness meetings, to assist in the trial, is far more valuable than a pupil who after attending the meeting, hands in the meeting notes and calls it a day.

The former will more likely be retained because he/she is valuable, while the latter is a note-taker – not valuable and can be easily replaced. The latter will have to settle for whatever terms he/she is offered since he/she has nowhere else to go.

Be self-employed

This is why I advise juniors to “work for themselves”.

Yes, you may be an employee, but treat it as if you’re a sole proprietor where you do every case as well as you would as if it is your own file and as if your livelihood is at stake, and do all the things that you would do to build your skills and reputation as if you’re out on your own.

If you have the skills and the goodwill is attached to you, you will do well wherever you go.

By becoming valuable, we are no longer beholden to bad employers.

By becoming valuable, we can leave as we please as we are certain someone better will welcome us.

Hopefully, with that we can send a message to employers that if you offer better terms, good people will come, so start doing better.

Conclusion

So the key to getting rich for young lawyers?

Practise as if you’re not a young lawyer, practise as if you’re the Managing Partner of *Yourname* & Co, Advocates and Solicitors.

And of course, Focus on the Daily Grind.

*Side note: This is also not an argument against minimum wage for pupils, simply because fair wage for young lawyers/pupils and minimum wage for pupils are two distinct issues. Read more here.