3 out of 4 lawyers leave practice in first decade: Law Society chief

By Ian Poh, The Straits Times, 4 Jan 2014

ABOUT three out of four local lawyers leave practice in their first 10 years on the job, Law Society president Lok Vi Ming said yesterday.

The Senior Counsel, who was speaking at the Opening of the Legal Year, said the figure was based on the 1,250 to 1,400 law graduates who joined the profession between 2002 and 2006. Just 386 of this group were still in practice as of last October, said Mr Lok.

"It is difficult to discern the one predominant reason why lawyers left in huge numbers in the first decade of their practices," he said. "It may be due to the aggressiveness of practice, the lure of greener pastures elsewhere, or a combination of both."

Mr Lok noted that the number of local practitioners here exceeded 4,000 for the first time in 2012. By last month, the figure had swelled to 4,549.

But while there were 1,697 junior lawyers with less than seven years of post-qualification experience and 2,466 senior lawyers of more than 12 years' standing as of last October, there were only 386 practitioners in the middle category of seven to 12 years' experience.

This, said Mr Lok, was "striking".

Most lawyers in this group, he said, had likely left when career opportunities elsewhere emerged with the improvement of the economy beginning in early 2005.

"We want to do what we can to stem the exodus of lawyers from this vulnerable segment of our profession," said Mr Lok.

Lawyers say they know of peers who have quit to move into fields as diverse as consultancy work, the travel agency business and even the culinary industry.

Mr Benedict Teo, a director at Drew & Napier, believes the main reason why lawyers are tempted to move on is "the proliferation of options available outside of legal practice" which are not always about money.

Said the 34-year-old lawyer of eight years' standing: "We entered the profession at a time when there was a certain emphasis on entrepreneurship.

"Not everyone sees practice as a lifelong profession. I know many friends who have left the field for business-related jobs.

"As an entrepreneur, you're your own boss. We are a society that is more materially stable as opposed to the past. Lawyers of the older generations generally had no alternative rice bowl. Ours doesn't hold that kind of fear."

Mr Lok said the Law Society will consider doing a survey to better understand lawyers' concerns.

Meanwhile, there were no new appointments of Senior Counsel yesterday. The title was first given in 1997 to outstanding lawyers who can act as role models to the rest of the profession - particularly on matters of ethics, responsibility and professional ability.

Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon said considerations for selection include "creditable appearances" in the High Court and Court of Appeal, the quality and delivery of their arguments, and a proven track record of public service.

"This year... while a number of candidates were meritorious in several respects... none as yet sufficiently met these criteria."

There are 53 Senior Counsel in Singapore, 40 of whom are practising lawyers.

Attorney-General Steven Chong, who also spoke at the event at the Supreme Court Auditorium yesterday, shared updates on recent initiatives from the Attorney-General's Chambers.

One is a pilot scheme started last April to help vulnerable people during criminal investigations through the involvement of "appropriate adults" or neutral volunteers. It has been "very positively received", he said.

Steps to curb rising legal costs
Chief Justice proposes raft of ideas to keep justice within the reach of all
By K.C. Vijayan, The Straits Times, 4 Jan 2014

TO HELP people cope with rising legal costs, Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon yesterday proposed a series of measures, from curbing fees to boosting free legal services, in a speech to mark the start of a new legal year.

The proposals also include reforming family justice, by getting unhappy parties to solve problems and repair relationships without having to go to court.

High on this year's to-do list is a pilot scheme, which will be implemented "soon", to change the framework of how costs are assessed in civil cases.

In selected High Court cases under the scheme, both sides will have to tell each other and the judge how much they estimate their costs to be, even before the trial begins.

These estimates will later serve as a guide when the judge decides on how to apportion costs, usually to the benefit of the winning party.

Typically, the issue of costs, which is different from damages in that it reimburses how much one side spent on legal fees, is raised only after the verdict here.

"It is hoped that we might no longer see the tendency for successful parties to inflate their cost claim even as losing parties object vehemently to sums that they themselves might not have hesitated to claim had the shoe been on the other foot," said CJ Menon.

Lawyers lauded the move, noting how this practice is already the norm elsewhere, like in Britain.

"This makes the costs transparent for the client and helps him to decide on whether it is worthwhile to mediate, settle or really pursue the case," said Mr Conrad Campos, a partner in RHTLaw Taylor Wessing.

CJ Menon added that the court will also publish a guide based on how much small and medium-sized firms charge to cut down on unnecessary appeals on costs. Guidelines on how to assess liability in road accidents will also be released to help road users and insurers.

Speaking before more than 500 members of the legal fraternity and guests including Malaysian Chief Justice Arifin Zakaria, Justice Geraldine Andrews from England and Law Minister K. Shanmugam, CJ Menon stressed how these moves were geared to ensure that justice remains within the reach of all Singaporeans.

He announced that by 2015, lawyers may have to report how many hours they spend on pro bono work.

The data, which will be collected over three to five years, will help the authorities understand the issues lawyers face in delivering services for free and to see if those in need have access to legal aid.

"These moves are part of a wider effort to ensure that essential legal services are within the reach of our citizenry," said CJ Menon, calling for more lawyers to work not for reward, but for the desire to do the "right thing".

Another area to "enhance", he pointed out, is family justice.

Resolving such cases should begin with "community touch points" such as teachers and religious organisations and social welfare workers who have been trained to recognise symptoms of family distress.

They can then direct the cases to a family service centre when needed, said CJ Menon.

For cases that cannot be resolved, a separate Family Court with "simplified and streamlined court processes" will be set up.

These measures, if implemented after a public consultation exercise, "will make for a less acrimonious journey through the legal system", he said.

Mr P. Suppiah, 83, the oldest lawyer still in practice to attend yesterday's event, was all for the measures that CJ Menon hopes to introduce.

He said: "There are a lot of innovative ideas, which gives more scope for justice and better access to it."

In a separate speech, Attorney-General Steven Chong announced plans to expand the role of the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) to include acting for statutory boards.

AGC will start by handling judicial review cases brought against statutory boards, such as the Housing Board, and civil penalty cases enforced by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

Cohort size of third law school should be ‘carefully calibrated’
By Ashley Chia, TODAY, 4 Jan 2014

The cohort size of Singapore’s third law school — which will focus on criminal and family law — should be carefully calibrated to meet the needs of the community without flooding what is already a tight practice area for small law firms, said President of the Law Society Lok Vi Ming.

At the same time, more must be done to retain the younger lawyers who leave the profession within the first decade of practice, he said.

In an address at the ceremony for the opening of the legal year yesterday, Mr Lok noted that the number of lawyers here continues to grow.

In 2012, the number of local lawyers holding practising certificates exceeded 4,000 for the first time, reaching 4,238 in December that year. As of last month, this number was 4,549.

Mr Lok highlighted the need to retain young lawyers who have between seven and 12 years of experience, noting that currently, three out of four lawyers leave the profession within the first decade of practice.

“If the local bar is to grow in strength, we must be able to retain more of our best and brightest young lawyers,” he said, adding that the Law Society was considering carrying out a survey to better understand the concerns of all lawyers.

As for concerns surrounding competition from the third law school — which will be hosted by SIM University — they are “not without merit”.

However, the school can provide critical and skilful professional talent for firms focusing on family, community and criminal law, relieving the difficulties of talent recruitment and retention — a common complaint of smaller firms, he said.

“The third law school may not, at this stage, appear to be all good to all lawyers, but it certainly isn’t all bad,” he said.

“Much depends on how much we want it to work for ourselves and what we can do to make things work out.”

The Law Society will be setting up a fund-raising committee to ensure the sustainability of its pro bono programmes, which will also help raise the level of awareness of pro bono work among lawyers. It is hoped this will nudge those who are still uninvolved towards meaningful participation, Mr Lok said.

He stressed that a pro bono spirit is not to be coerced, but must come from the heart.

“My hope is that pro bono mandatory reporting for lawyers, when implemented, will be a step taken in the right spirit,” he said.

“I urge all members to take the reporting as an opportunity for introspection and self-review.”