New Law Academy programme will help young lawyers with ethical gen AI use, difficult clients
New Law Academy programme will help young lawyers with ethical gen AI use, difficult clients
SINGAPORE – A new programme launched by the Singapore Academy of Law (SAL) on May 21 aims to support young lawyers in areas such as the ethical use of generative artificial intelligence (gen AI) and dealing with difficult clients.
SAL said in a press release that the Junior Lawyers Professional Certification Programme will address key challenges facing the legal industry, including high attrition rates and limited practical training, as well as the growing impact of gen AI on legal work.
Open to lawyers with under five years of post-qualification experience, the programme offers practical training in disputes and corporate practice, imparts management skills and reinforces principles of professional ethics.
Its opening conference, which is compulsory for participants to attend, was held at the Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay hotel on May 21.
Speaking at the event, SAL's chief executive Yeong Zee Kin said the wave of technological disruption, particular gen AI, has 'smashed into the shores of legal practice'.
He said AI will automate many entry-level legal tasks, affecting the learning opportunities for young lawyers.
The clients also expect more from lawyers, since online tools are available that can generate contracts and produce litigation strategies that look very sound and sound very credible.
He said: 'The profession can no longer afford to wait four to eight years for lawyers to 'grow into' their roles.
'(The Junior Lawyers Professional Certification Programme) is our first step in answering and meeting these tectonic shifts. Developed with support from the Institute for Adult Learning, it introduces new pedagogies to accelerate the development of legal insight, strategic thinking and judgment.
'We want our junior lawyers to take flight – and (the new programme) provides that shorter runway that they need.'
For example, a programme module participants can select helps them to prepare for, deal with, and assist in civil trial proceedings. Another module covers cross-examining witnesses in such court proceedings.
The module on legal innovation focuses on the application of legal tech tools and gen AI in practice, while the one on client management covers interviewing clients and dealing with the difficult ones.
Other modules include understanding financial statements and cross-border contract drafting and negotiation.
SAL said course participants may be self-funded or sponsored by law firms. It is also working with SkillsFuture Singapore to secure funding of up to 70 per cent for eligible individuals and small- and medium-sized enterprises.
At the opening conference, Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon highlighted the changing nature of legal work and the more challenging environment in which lawyers operate.
He also cited a survey conducted at the 2025 admission ceremony for lawyers, in which around 60 per cent of the respondents indicated that they were likely to move out of legal practice within the next five years to pursue an in-house career, employment in academia or employment with other legal service providers.
A third of the respondents had also indicated that they were likely to leave the legal profession altogether in that time, he noted.
Chief Justice Menon said the most commonly cited reasons were excessive workload or poor work-life balance, a higher salary or compensation package elsewhere, the impact work had on their mental well-being, a lack of flexibility in their working arrangements or poor workplace culture.
Noting that he had on previous occasions explained why such findings ought to be of significant concern, he added: 'I have also suggested how we might go about addressing this challenge, such as by ensuring that law firms develop concrete policies to implement sustainable workplace practices, and by communicating and instilling the values foundational to the practice of law.'
Mr Shashi Nathan, a joint managing partner at Withers KhattarWong, told The Straits Times that the new programme can help young lawyers develop practical, transferable skills that are essential for long-term success in the profession.
'Structured exposure to topics such as client handling, legal project management and ethical judgment helps junior lawyers build confidence and develop a more holistic understanding of their role,' he said.
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