Steps taken to build sustainable legal careers: Forum (12 May)
Steps taken to build sustainable legal careers: Forum (12 May)
Source: Straits Times
Article Date: 12 May 2025
To stay relevant and effective, legal professionals must commit to lifelong learning. Law school and the Bar exams are only the beginning.
We read with interest the commentary by professors Lee Pey Woan and Chen Siyuan 'Raising the bar: Preparing lawyers to stay the course' (May 7), and we strongly support their call to reimagine legal education as a more holistic preparation for a meaningful, resilient career in law.
At the Singapore Academy of Law (SAL), this is a challenge we take seriously. The concern over high attrition rates and the emotional toll of legal work is especially urgent in the face of global competition and the accelerating disruption brought about by generative artificial intelligence.
To stay relevant and effective, legal professionals must commit to lifelong learning. Law school and the Bar exams are only the beginning.
To provide the next step in training, SAL will launch the Junior Lawyers Professional Certification Programme later in May. The programme is a structured, practice-oriented training ecosystem that equips young lawyers not only with the technical skills, but also with the ethical grounding necessary to build sustainable legal careers.
Lifelong learning must be supported by a coordinated training ecosystem. That is why SAL developed the Legal Industry Framework for Training and Education (Lifted). Created in consultation with the Law Society and Singapore Corporate Counsel Association, Lifted helps lawyers map their professional development and fosters a mindset of continuous learning across all stages of practice.
But building a sustainable profession requires more than training. We also need to address workplace issues such as changing intergenerational expectations, evolving business models and the culture of legal practice.
In collaboration with Harvard Law School's Centre on the Legal Profession, SAL will convene the second Legal Profession Symposium in July. The symposium will engage young lawyers to co-create solutions to the push factors they face in the workplace, as well as strengthen the profession's pull factors, such as our shared values and purpose.
We thank the authors for sparking this timely and necessary conversation. SAL remains committed to supporting all members of the profession, especially our younger colleagues, in building not just successful careers, but also sustainable ones.
Yeong Zee Kin
Chief Executive
Singapore Academy of Law
Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.
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Singapore Law Watch
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Beyond training, Singapore's legal industry needs a culture shift to curb attrition: Opinion
Beyond training, Singapore's legal industry needs a culture shift to curb attrition: Opinion Source: Business Times Article Date: 28 May 2025 Author: Tessa Oh A post-call survey found that 60% of new lawyers are likely to move out of legal practice within the next five years. As high attrition rates among young lawyers raise concern, a new structured training initiative seeks to curb the outflow of talent, among various aims. The Junior Lawyers Professional Certification Programme (JLP) by the Singapore Academy of Law (SAL) aims to help young lawyers stay ahead of the artificial intelligence (AI) curve, while also strengthening basic legal skills. Launched on May 21, the programme targets lawyers with up to five years of post-qualification experience. 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It found that 60 per cent of respondents were likely to move out of legal practice within the next five years, to pursue an in-house career, academia or employment with other legal service providers. Slightly more than a third of the new lawyers said they are likely to leave the legal profession altogether. The reasons for such departures are cultural factors which training cannot address. Disruption To be sure, there is no denying that generative AI will disrupt the legal industry, and lawyers must prepare for that. As Yeong explained, the widespread accessibility of AI tools like ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot means that clients can easily generate basic contracts and seek advice on legal strategies. A programme that informs lawyers of the developments and ethics of AI is thus necessary and important. Further, lawyers in smaller firms – which may have fewer resources for training – can also benefit from a structured programme that hones basic advocacy and drafting skills. One must also acknowledge that the legal industry is a challenging one. Singapore law firms face an increasingly competitive global market, and are up against international firms with significant resources. As a service industry, firms also face rising expectations from clients for better, faster and cheaper solutions. But training alone is not enough to incentivise young lawyers to stick it out in legal practice, if the more pressing push factors are not addressed. To meaningfully address attrition, the legal industry must make headway in addressing the cultural and environmental reasons pushing young lawyers away. In the long run, law firms will not be able to compete if they lack a healthy pool of new talent to refresh their ranks. It is thus in their interest to address these issues, as a dwindling workforce will hit them hardest. For instance, young lawyers have called for better protection against bullying and exploitation. Hence, it is a good start to see the SAL convening a legal profession symposium in July to discuss some of these issues. Spearheading change Still, to be fair to the SAL, as a promotion and development agency, it cannot prescribe how law firms develop and mentor their associates. It is for the senior lawyers to lead the change in the culture at their firms. As Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon said at the JLP opening conference, any solution to address the sustainability of legal practice is unlikely to be effective unless the mindsets of both young and older lawyers change. On one hand, young lawyers must appreciate that a legal career is demanding and requires long-term commitment. Meanwhile, senior lawyers 'have a duty and a responsibility to impart their knowledge and experience to their juniors'. The Chief Justice added: 'Indeed, much of a young lawyer's development comes through mentors and seniors who maintain a personal interest in their welfare, and who invest the time and the effort to guide and support them in their work.' In this regard, in addition to catering programmes for young associates, there can be initiatives to engage older lawyers on these issues and on how to cultivate better workplace practices. After all, if the legal fraternity is serious about keeping young lawyers from leaving the profession, then it is key for the law firms and their leaders to lead the cultural change. Source: The Business Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction. Print
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New training programme launched for young lawyers to stay ahead of AI curve, strengthen basic advocacy and drafting skills Source: Business Times Article Date: 22 May 2025 Author: Tessa Oh The Junior Lawyers Professional Certification Programme (JLP) will bring structure to what was previously left to chance, says Singapore Academy of Law CEO Yeong Zee Kin. In response to technological disruptions in the legal sector, a new training programme will equip young lawyers with skills and knowledge in artificial intelligence (AI), as well as strengthen proficiency in basic advocacy and drafting skills. Set up by the Singapore Academy of Law (SAL), the Junior Lawyers Professional Certification Programme (JLP) offers structured training for young lawyers in both disputes and corporate practice areas. Participants, for instance, can take courses on the ethics of generative AI, prompt engineering for lawyers and cross-boarder contract drafting, among others. 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Fifty-two legal organisations have signed this pledge. SAL will work with the firms to ensure that they develop good practices over time, said Yeong. It will also monitor the programme's sign-up rates to see if its 'message is not getting through', he added. More than half of the 80 slots for the programme have been taken up thus far. 'Law is a knowledge-based profession, so the acquisition of knowledge will never end, because things change, business models change… new areas of law will come out,' said Yeong. 'We need to continue sharpening our skills and learning new things.' Source: The Business Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction. Print
