I started training with Meritus Law LLC on 7 July 2025. 6 months came and gone in a flash.

If you were to ask me for a place to get a good head start in the legal industry, I would recommend Meritus Law in a heartbeat.

Let me take stock of just some of the things I had done at the firm…

For corporate work, I drafted board resolutions for an array of matters ranging from share issuance to approvals for employee share option plans. I was involved in the drafted of numerous legal memos from clients that emanated not only from Singapore but across the world.

You know what is the interesting part? Meritus Law has a steady stream of aviation clients. The work ranges from advising a national carrier on local aviation matters to private purchases of airplanes. If you like planes, this is something that will interest you greatly. It sure caught my interest. I spent perhaps hundreds of hours reading up on relevant local and international aviation law. Yes I did spend a great deal of time and effort honing my skills in aviation law.

I drafted quite a number of wills. This is something close to my heart. I spent hours trying to craft the perfect will. Only to realise that perfection is a goal to strive for but no document can ever prevent litigation. Yes, wills are challenged. Even seemingly perfectly drafted ones. And yes, I had the good fortune of working on such a matter.

Representations to the prosecution. Yes, my criminal law lecturer Prof Ferlin would be glad to know that I referenced my criminal procedure notes. What makes a good set of reps? I think I wrote a good set of reps. But no, the prosecution did not yield. Moral of the story, please do not take drugs. The adrenaline of practice was sufficient stimulus for me. Perhaps the law is my drug. Hence I never had to depend on caffeine to get my sorry ass to office every morning. I would reach office before 8am almost on a daily basis. Sending my daughter to school every morning is perhaps another highlight of my day. Then I would scoot over to 20 Collyer Quay.

Commercial disputes is invigorating. Oh man… so many permutations. So many documents. You know what was the most useful thing I learned about how to handle a matter? Doing a chronology. Yes there can be hundreds of documents. They can range from emails, contracts and WhatsApp and social media platform messages. When you put everything into a chronology, the matter just falls into place. The issues become more apparent and the client’s case becomes simpler to understand. I started out as a novice but I believe in these 6 months I learned how to piece together a chronology to help me become a better thinker.

Research is my forte. I love reading cases. The nuances. The facts. I spent almost every night reading. I start work at 8am. I end. at about 7pm. I would go home, have dinner and then plonk myself down in front of the computer to continue reading. I did not commit the facts to memory. Instead I created summaries of each matter. There was no way I could remember everything. At any one time I would have 20-30 different matters that I am copied in emails.

You know what is the best part of the firm? Everyone respects what I have to contribute. I created memos of the matter at hand. I send it to the team. Everyone reads and considers my work. I compared the work I did with my other batch mates at other firms. My exposure was by far the broadest.

So why am I leaving the firm after six months?

I have personal commitments that are incompatible with the rigours of practice at a firm like Meritus. I wish the practice training period was still six months. That would mean that as of 6 January 2025, I would have completed my training. It is extremely tough to balance both family life and being a trainee. I honestly wish I was doing this as a 24 year old and not a 44 year old. Yes I can try to keep my mind sharp and my body young and fit. However, there are responsibilities as a 44 year old that were not there for me two decades ago.

I am extremely sad to leave the firm. I shed tears as 6 January drew closer.

I genuinely cannot see why being a law graduate in my 40s would be an advantage. It is not. For those who are thinking of reading law in your later years, you need to know this fact. You still have to train as a trainee. You need to be able to deal with the lower income, the long hours, the fact that you are no longer giving instructions, instead, you are the one taking them. Trust me, law school was simple. Part B was a breeze. The fact that you have to commit to being a trainee for a whole year. That is the tough part. It saps you. It helps if you love the law. I do. And I made it engulf my life such that I was passing on my responsibilities to my wife. Marriage is truly a cooperative. My wife has been helping me with just about everything while I pursue my legal career. Trust me, if you do not have help, you will not be able to complete the training.

I felt that I was a very good trainee. Even in my younger years, I never gave anyone any trouble wherever I went. I think I did my best and did well at Meritus Law. I am grateful that I got a message from the MD that I would be welcomed back anytime. Perhaps when life is more settled… Perhaps when I am eventually called to the bar. Perhaps when I have my own portfolio of clients… I hope to return. Not as a trainee, but as a lawyer called to the bar.

For now, I need to continue my training at a later date… Family matters take precedence…

For those who are looking for a good place to train, Meritus Law should be on your shortlist.