Courts’ disrespect, humiliation and inflexibility cited by lawyers as reasons for leaving industry, Singapore News

These aspects also featured in the LawSoc report, but the voices on court deadlines and judicial interactions, and their ensuing impact on wellness have cast new light on why lawyers are leaving.

Given the anonymised nature of the study, lawyers have now revealed how institutional practices have created conditions that systematically undermined their well-being, thus contributing to attrition.

Timeline inflexibility, despite the elimination of backlogs first institutionalised in the 1990s, has continued despite the issue having been eliminated, lawyers said.

They also described being scolded, screamed at, ridiculed, or personally faulted by judicial officers, suggesting a longstanding pattern rather than an emerging concern.

Such treatment has purportedly created fear and anxiety that undermines both psychological safety and the quality of legal work being performed.

Then, there is the issue of inflexibility, which affects lawyers with caregiving responsibilities. 

Respondents said the refusal to accommodate pregnancy, maternity leave, family emergencies, or even overwhelming workload as legitimate reasons for timeline adjustments forces impossible choices between professional obligations and fundamental life events, particularly impacting women in litigation.

Junior lawyers have purportedly also been advised against litigation careers because of excessively stressful, harsh, and demoralising interactions with the bench.

Yet, there is an absence or lack of formal channels for addressing problematic timeline practices or judicial officer behaviour, lawyers said, adding that this has allowed concerning patterns to persist uncorrected, as lawyers fear career consequences from raising concerns about the bench.

Judiciary responds

Responding to the study on Tuesday, Chief Justice Menon said that an effective justice system relies on mutual respect, collaboration, and a “shared commitment to sustainability between the Bench and the Bar”.

“While we must maintain the high standards necessary to deliver timely justice, our courtrooms must always remain places of dignity, professionalism, and mutual respect. We hold all our judges and judicial officers to these strict tenets of conduct,” he said.

A judiciary spokesperson acknowledged that the report provides valuable feedback concerning contemporary practice conditions, adding that it takes the findings seriously.

“A resilient legal profession is essential to the administration of justice. While the courts must maintain the rigorous standards expected by the public, the judiciary recognises that the long-term sustainability of the profession is vital to upholding those standards,” the spokesperson reportedly said.

To address the feedback within the courts’ purview, the spokesperson added that a Judiciary-Law Society joint working committee will be established.

It will look into the feedback regarding court-imposed pressures and courtroom conduct, and use it as the foundation for co-developing practical initiatives that support practitioner well-being while maintaining the effective administration of justice.

The spokesperson also clarified that there are existing informal channels through which concerns about judicial conduct can be, and have been, surfaced to the judiciary for consideration and follow-up outside of the formal process.

Notwithstanding this, the judiciary said it will review whether current dialogue mechanisms are working as intended at the ground level.

“We are committed to ensuring that our courtrooms are places of dignity and mutual respect for all who appear before them, and that judges and judicial officers at every level model the professional standards we expect of the profession as a whole,” the spokesperson said.

In a social media post on Tuesday, the Ministry of Law said the findings must be “taken seriously and considered carefully”. 

The ministry stressed that legal talent in Singapore is a precious asset, highlighting that it is important to have an “open and honest conversation”. 

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editor@asiaone.com