More local lawyers are favouring in house positions over those in private practice than ever before, ALB has learned.

The option of going into practice was "not considered" by Yeo Swan Hwee, legal counsel with Maybank Singapore. "The hours are longer," she says.

But Yeo, who has been an in house lawyer for about five years, finds the work no less challenging. "There are new MAS regulations. You have to keep updated. There are also a lot of new product launches."

She acknowledges, however, that when it comes to the career prospects of an in house counsel vis-a-vis a practising lawyer, it's "the other way round", with the advantage being on the side of those in practice.

Caroline Kabing has been a legal adviser with Allianz Dresdner Asset Management Singapore Ltd for two years. She finds her work challenging and wide ranging. "I look at a wide spectrum of things... from business agreements to the lodgement of a prospectus for a fund," she says.

"When you work in a law firm, you tend to concentrate on one thing."

For Kabing, there is an added dimension to work as an in house counsel. "When you are working for a company you have the company's interest at hand," she says, "not just the legal aspects of the case." A lawyer in practice, she adds, tends to focus mainly on the legal aspects.

Although yet to work in a law firm, Kabing says: "Once you've worked in house for a company, you do not want to go into practice."

Jacintha Ho, in house counsel with UFJ Bank Ltd, finds that working life in banking and finance "can be quite dynamic and competitive". She says: "It depends on the customers, but if you have a lot of corporate clients, they can be quite demanding as they have a lot of requirements."

Ho adds that life as a legal officer is not plain sailing either. "You do have your responsibilities in providing advice, but you are tailoring it to the requirements of just your employer. You work along with the management and look into their needs and requirements and provide advice," she says.

And when it comes to grey areas, "you may refer to external lawyers to resolve more complex issues".

As for the other attractions of in house work, Ho says: "You can learn about banking in detail, unlike being in practice where you can be called upon to do other things, even going to court. Although I was a conveyancing lawyer for about a year in Malaysia, I was called upon to help in other things, like when my colleagues went on leave. The expectations are different."

Ho has been in her present job for a year. In addition to her time in practice, she was a legal officer with UOB, had three years with SIMEX, and was a company legal officer.

Asked what made her decide on a switch from legal practice, Ho says: "Being a practising lawyer, I found life quite stressful."