SINGAPORE – Attrition in the legal profession has remained stable over the past decade and the size of the profession has grown steadily, but that does not mean there is no problem, said Coordinating Minister for National Security K. Shanmugam on July 26.
Issues such as poor supervision, a lack of training, harassment, bullying, and the unreasonable treatment of lawyers need to be taken seriously.
Serious questions have been raised following a recent study commissioned by the Law Society of Singapore on why lawyers leave the profession, Shanmugam said at the National University of Singapore (NUS) Law freshmen inauguration ceremony held at the University Cultural Centre.
The reasons included long hours, toxic workplace cultures, pressure, and the derogatory or unfair treatment they received in court, he added. Another reason cited in the study is the lack of mentorship.
Shanmugam, who is also Minister for Home Affairs, said it is good that the Law Society has formed a task force to come up with ways to deal with these issues.
The judiciary and the society are also setting up a joint committee to study the feedback and see what can be done to deal with the issues identified.
“It is important that the profession and the courts deal with this,” Shanmugam said.
The minister added that other lawyers have decided to move to different sectors because the skills acquired in legal practice, such as clear thinking and precise writing, serve them well in many fields.
At the ceremony, Shanmugam sealed a time capsule containing letters that the freshmen wrote to their future selves, which will be opened when they graduate.
A total of 245 freshmen took the ethics pledge led by the vice-president of the NUS Law Club, Gwen Chong, a third-year law student.
A spokesperson from SG Courts said that there were two formal conduct complaints received in the past three years.
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