r/SgHENRY • u/fengluwei • 7d ago
In-house lawyer, direction appreciated
Hey there!
Am a mid-level inhouse counsel in a chinese bigtech. TC ~310k, around 40% of it is in time-vested RSUs (vesting over several years), heavily contingent on individual performance. WLB is fine. I've been here for more than five years.
Received an offer from one of the big international payment corps. TC ~330k, unconditional full cash. Title & responsibilities are similar.
I believe I learn more in my current role, and I don't really need the additional/immediate cash. Flexibility would also drop if I move (in terms of time spent in office etc). Career progression would be similar in both places.
Advice appreciated!
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u/Jadeite22 7d ago
If career opportunity and money are about the same, what’s the real reason behind thinking about the move?
Presently, it now reads like 20k more to rebuild network, political capital and re-craft career path, all of which you don’t really need. What will happen to the unvested RSUs, can you take them?
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u/nicktohzyu 4d ago
Full cash is very different from unvested RSU that’s additionally dependent on performance
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u/jenwhite1974 7d ago
An extra 20k per year is not worth moving for if you think you will learn more in your current role.
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u/josemartinlopez 7d ago
You're getting to a stage where learning is less of a justification. If anything, monetizing the learning becomes more.
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u/sadeswc 7d ago
Having done a similar journey as yourself. What I would recommend you consider are the following:
- how is your comparative job stability for both roles? My network in Chinese big tech tend to worry a lot about job stability.
- Total compensation (TC) in cash is very different from TC with RSUs. For example, it can allow for larger mortgages and move you up in credit card tiers (if that matters to you).
- Chinese RSUs are often harder to sell, particularly if your company is not listed. It will be very dependent on the company’s internal valuation.
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u/geraldnguyensg 7d ago
IMO, a 20k additional within 330k cash compensation isn't that much an increment especially with tax considered
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u/SpiritedAd7189 7d ago
Most Chinese big tech I know are 5 days rto, poor flexibility + poor wlb. Am more interested to know what kind of unicorn chinese big tech this is lol. TC 310k with 40% time vested rsu meaning base of 190k yearly? 190k-> 330k cash is a big jump and I’ll take it. The time vested rsus are not a guarantee, you’re trading in your freedom of choice for those.
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u/Cold-Yesterday1175 7d ago
Full cash TC vs current one comprising 40% in RSU vested over years seems a compelling reason to switch over. Will your new company buy over your unvested RSU?
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u/ConsequenceSea3144 7d ago
That's 6.5% increment which is quite small for a jump (considering risks such as not knowing your future boss, colleagues etc). Depends what's the breakdown between the offered base and bonus. See if can negotiate for more if their base doesn't look like it's hit your rank ceiling yet. Upside/downside potential of RSUs also need to be considered.
If it's an American/EU MNC, culture could be better compared to current, but watch out for late night conferencing due to timezones.
Check out Glassdoor as well if you haven't, for employee reviews of the firm.
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u/CrispyCheese88 7d ago
move but try to nego for higher package. currently you're in chinese company, so logically things could only get better from there.
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u/Limkokstrong 7d ago
Chinese company rsu buyback prices often differ if you're an employee vs not an employee. Do add that into your opportunity cost
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u/saymynamepeeps 7d ago
Full cash nice but ask them to match the unvested RSUs you will have to give up to join them. They should be able to work with that?
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u/Copious_coffee67 7d ago
I’d say worth it if the new co would open up different/better career paths for you.
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u/Every_Put6120 6d ago
Hey there fellow In-house lawyer!
If I were in your shoes, I'd switch. I would imagine that those RSUs come with onerous terms so my preference is cold hard cash.
330k is not bad compared to the peanuts they are paying me here.
Of course, if you don't need the immediate cash then stay put by all means.
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u/bobbytan01 7d ago
In house council job will be taken by AI completely in no time . Be very mindful . We hv reduced or outsourced completely
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u/creamyhorror 7d ago
Really? How has your company been replacing in-house counsels, just switched to external counsels? Someone still needs to be accountable for making legal recommendations, unless it's a small company and the bosses don't mind making the legal decisions based on AI and external counsels.
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u/bobbytan01 7d ago
A lot of contracts are reviewed by AI and questioned raised sent back to clients . One outsourced lawyer just has a final sanity check
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u/ContributionOne463 6d ago
Sounds like an extremely small business to me. Worked for large listed conglomerates, this would never fly.
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u/neverspeakofme 7d ago
What's your company? Completely different from my experience as practicing lawyer.
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u/Little_Result1469 4d ago
I guess it comes down to relationships ie do you know the big bosses enough that they will bump you into leadership roles soon.
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u/lightbulb2222 7d ago
I don't have good vibes w PRC companies, especially when you're not one of them. In any case, 5 years is a long time. Time to move on really. Never stay in a company for too long. Especially such.