SINGAPORE \u2013 Concerns have been raised over the job prospects and training of young lawyers as routine tasks are increasingly being done by artificial intelligence (AI), Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon said on April 20.<\/p>\n
Alongside technological disruption, the profession is also facing the longstanding challenge of retaining good lawyers amid increasingly complex legal work and strain from \u201can excessive fixation on billing targets\u201d, he said. <\/p>\n
He was speaking to 129 newly minted lawyers at 2026\u2019s first session of the annual mass admission of lawyers, held at the Supreme Court auditorium.<\/p>\n
Chief Justice Menon said the leadership of organisations, together with institutions across the legal sector, has an important role to play in responding to these challenges. <\/p>\n
Institutions and organisations must act with \u201cforesight, persistence and a shared sense of responsibility for the future of the profession\u201d to prepare for technological change, preserve career pathways and sustain a healthy practice, he added.<\/p>\n
A total of 321 practising lawyers will be called to the Bar over three sessions on April 20 and April 21. <\/p>\n
Among the newest members of the profession is the eldest daughter of Law Minister Edwin Tong, who was spotted sitting among other parents at the back of the auditorium. <\/p>\n
This is the first mass admission of practising lawyers under a new two-stage process. <\/p>\n
Previously, law graduates had to pass the Bar exam and complete six months of practice training at a law firm before they could be admitted to the Bar.<\/p>\n Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon said the growing prevalence of generative AI meant that some of the work once done by junior lawyers may be reduced, reconfigured or displaced altogether. <\/p>\n ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Under the new process, law graduates can be admitted to the Bar as non-practising lawyers after passing the Bar exam. <\/p>\n Non-practising lawyers can then be admitted as practising lawyers after completing a period of practice training, which has been lengthened to a year. <\/p>\n A practising lawyer is authorised to advise and represent clients in court, while a non-practising lawyer cannot provide external legal services.\u00a0<\/p>\n In his speech, Chief Justice Menon said the growing prevalence of generative AI meant that some of the work once done by junior lawyers may be reduced, reconfigured or displaced altogether. <\/p>\n He added that generations of junior lawyers had learnt their craft by doing work such as reading deeply, researching carefully, checking laws, past court decisions or textbooks, and preparing drafts. <\/p>\n If foundational tasks are increasingly outsourced, how can workflows and processes be redesigned to ensure that young lawyers acquire the instincts, discipline and professional judgment that these tasks once helped to cultivate, he questioned.<\/p>\n The Chief Justice said that if used wisely, AI can improve access to knowledge and free lawyers and judges to focus on higher-order questions.<\/p>\n Rather than being displaced, junior lawyers may do work that is more technical, more strategic and more closely connected to the management of legal risk.<\/p>\n But this means that legal professionals will need to become grounded in legal expertise and also be sufficiently fluent in AI to use it responsibly and effectively.<\/p>\n That is why efforts are under way to deepen AI fluency within the profession, he said. <\/p>\n<\/picture><\/div>