Law Society wins the Inter-Professional Games 2000 | The 3rd Law Society Soccer Shield (11-A-Side) | The Law Firm of Tomorrow | 3rd Charity Golf Tournament on 15 October 2000 | Council Workplan Meeting | Patching Broken Hearts and Protecting Nest Eggs | MOU for Educating and Training Patent Agents | Visit by the Kyoto Bar Association
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The Law Society emerged the overall Champion of the IPG 2000, which was held
between September and November 2000
The 3rd Law Society Soccer Shield (11-a-side) was held over three weekends on the 5th, 12th and 19th of November this year at the Police Academy.
The competition was a runaway success, thanks to these teams who made it memorable: Legal Service, Allen & Gledhill, Mergers & Acquisitions, Drew & Napier, J Koh & Co, Helen Yeo & Partners, Rodyk & Davidson, Wong Partnership, Solicitor's Clerks, Rajah & Tann, Senior Police Officers' Mess, Harry Elias Partnership and Madhavan Partnership.
The first round of games, which were played on 5 and 11 November 2000, saw eight teams make it into the quarter finals. The 'knock out' stages, which were held on 19 November 2000, offered thrills and spills and an emotionally charged atmosphere as teams fought hard to take home the Law Society Soccer Shield.
The first semi-finals, which was delayed due to a thunderstorm, was eventually played between the team from Rajah & Tann, who faced a mixed team from J Koh & Co and Allen & Gledhill. In an exciting game of 'end to end' football, Rajah & Tann edged out the combined team from J Koh & Co and Allen & Gledhill by a 4-2 margin. In the other semi-final, the team from the Senior Police Officers' Mess proved too strong, beating the Solicitors Clerks with a 4-0 score.
In the finals, the Senior Police Officers' Mess team met Rajah & Tann and, in a display of fine football, triumphed 3-0 over the lawyers.
The final standings of the teams as well as the winners of the individual awards are as follows:
| Team Standings | |
| Champions: | Senior Police Officers' Mess |
| Runners-up: | Rajah & Tann |
| Third: | J Koh & Co/Allen & Gledhill |
| Fourth: | Solicitor's Clerks |
| Individual Awards | |
| Top Scorer: | Mark Tan (Rajah & Tann) |
| Best Goalkeeper: | Abdul Rahman bin Sulaiman (Solicitor's Clerks) |
| Best Veteran: | Maniam Chetty (Senior Police Officers' Mess) |
| Best Player: | Adi Hakim (Senior Police Officers' Mess) |
Intekhab Khan
J Koh & Co
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| The Honourable the Chief Justice Yong Pung How giving the Keynote Address |
International legal systems and IT specialists challenged delegates with thought provoking views and visions on the legal profession's future at the first Legal Systems and Technology Conference & Exhibition in Asia held over three days from 7 to 9 December 2000.
The Conference opened at the Suntec City Convention Centre, with a Keynote Address by the Honourable the Chief Justice Yong Pung How and a welcome address by Mr Palakrishnan, President of The Law Society of Singapore.
Professor Richard Susskind, OBE, renowned author and IT advisor to the Lord Chief Justice of England and a leading visionary in the field of IT systems and technology, delivered his very interesting address entitled 'Transforming Legal Practice through IT' 'live' via a video-conference link from London.
'High value, complex or socially significant work will still be the preserve of traditional legal advisors; but streamlined through IT, routine and repetitive legal work will be systematised and then commoditised,' predicted Professor Susskind, observing that legal guidance, legal expertise and legal experience has become available on the internet and on intranets alongside all sorts of other information.
'A "latent" legal market will be realised delivering legal guidance and multi-disciplinary services,' he shared, urging lawyers to think backwards, and to be vision-based rather than legacy-based.
Added Mr Neil Cameron of Keystone Solutions, UK, 'If it (legal work) can be commoditised, it will be - if not by law firms, then by others. If it is commoditised, then eventually some will be given away and the premium work will largely be done by those providing follow-on work from commoditised services.'
Chief Justice Yong Pung How advised that to ensure a pivotal role in the future of the legal arena, lawyers will have to share and build on experiences and learn from each other. 'All firms, regardless of their size, must recognise that a failure to invest, both in time and money, in technology will impede their growth and ultimately render them obsolete in the age of the internet,' he said.
Ms Elizabeth Broderick, a partner in Blake Dawson Waldron, Australia, outlined other problems which slowed down law firms' innovation, including outdated measurement and reward systems, funding difficulties due to little or no retention of profits and inter-generational conflicts, and not gearing recruitment and training towards the knowledge economy.
Mr Palakrishnan emphasised the importance of knowledge management for law firms, saying, 'Legal research is just one part of the digital revolution. Lawyers also need to know how to use IT to manage information in a law firm and how to collect all the firm's knowledge … and assemble it in one cohesive database.'
Other leading international experts were Mr Sam Guiberson and Mr Wells
Anderson of the USA and Mr Neil Cameron and
Mr Anthony Armitage of the United Kingdom. Local speakers Mr Rajesh Sreenivasan
(Rajah & Tann) and Mr Edwin Tay (Edwin Tay & Co) shared their law firms'
experiences in the provision of online legal services and ISO certification.
Concluded Mr Palakrishnan, 'As we go beyond boundaries in geography and history, it is "nanotech" now and a dynamo of change in legal technology will revolutionise the way we work.'
| The winners of the Best Asian Law Firm Website Awards at the Conference were 'www.drewnapier.com' and 'www.tillekeandgibbins.com'. |
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| Mr Lim Wee Hann receiving
Drew & Napier's award from Ms Linda Yeap |
Tracey Yeo
Director, Media & Publications
The Law Society of Singapore
3rd Charity Golf Tournament on 15 October 2000
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| The Honourable Minister with golfers in his flight |
Participants |
Our 3rd Charity Golf Tournament was held on 15 October 2000 at the Laguna National Golf & Country Club (Masters Course). Once again, the beneficiary of the funds raised is the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme ('CLAS').
For the third consecutive year, we were honoured to have as our Guest-of-Honour, Professor S Jayakumar, the Honourable Minister for Law and Foreign Affairs.
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| The Honourable Professor S Jayakumar |
Mrs Arfat Selvam presenting a prize |
The organising of the tournament went smoothly and we were blessed with good weather. This year, 139 golfers participated and they had to pay entrance fees to play in the tournament. The Masters course was very challenging and the beckoning bunkers and water hazards on the course presented a lot of excitement for all players. This year, there were two Hole-In-One prizes for five different par-3 holes: one BMW 728iA proudly sponsored by Performance Motors Ltd, was the prize for two par-3 holes and one Katana golf set proudly sponsored by Pan-West (Pte) Ltd was the prize for three par-3 holes. Needless to say, all the golfers worked very hard for the two prizes and many did come very close to holing it in one. The next best score was, of course, a birdie for the par-3.
This charity event continues to enjoy support from the judiciary, well-established organisations, law firms, the legal profession and members of the public. The event has helped to raise a net figure of about $200,000 and the funds raised would certainly go a long way in operating CLAS.
It was heartwarming to receive such good response from everyone. Besides being our Guest-of-Honour, the Honourable Minister was also very active in helping us to raise funds and single-handedly secured sponsors for 12 flights. The Committee is extremely grateful to the Honourable Minister for his support and encouragement in our fund-raising event.
The Committee also wishes to express its sincere gratitude to all donors, sponsors and participants for their support and generous donations, which helped to make this charity event, once again, a great success.
Christina Goh Siok Leng
Chairperson, Charity Golf Organising Committee 2000
The Law Society of Singapore
Mrs Arfat
Selvam, Ms Malathi Das |
Mr Patrick Ang and Mr Philip Jeyaretnam |
It was the pursuit of four Ps: Progress, Passion, Possibility and Performance, that ignited the imagination of the Law Society's Council at its Workplan Meeting this year.
After newly elected junior Council Members, Mr Montague Choy and Mr Leonard Loo, introduced themselves, ideas flowed freely as the Council brainstormed and shared their vision and concerns for the Society next year on Saturday, 25 November 2000, at the Society's Conference Room.
'Seismic changes,' predicted Mr Palakrishnan, President, 'will occur in the Legal Profession due to four reasons: progress in Information Technology (IT) and the Life Sciences, Continuing Professional Development, the challenge of commercialisation to professionalism, and developments in alternative dispute resolution, especially in mediation and arbitration'. The Society will face these seismic changes with progress, passion, performance and possibility, he announced.
Performance goals will include increasing local lawyers' participation in the
Society's Committees and foreign lawyers' (as Associate Members) involvement in
the Society's activities. Other aims include improving the efficiency and
effectiveness of the Council and the Secretariat and developing a system of
recognition of law firms' efforts in enhancing their legal services.
'With passion, we want to inspire committed and responsible young lawyers to promote the Society's vision,' he said, adding that the Society wished to enhance law awareness, particularly in youths and heartlanders and to continue to provide responsible representation in criminal pro bono work and other deserving community services projects.
Progress, it is hoped, will be seen in continuing professional development, monitoring and reviewing the Society's representation process and formulating consistent professional ethics policies dealing with IT and EFS developments. The Society also hopes to study the possibility of developing a policy for Multi-Disciplinary Practices and a blueprint for the legal profession over the next decade.
A new development will be an invitation to join various Practice Sections within the Society, including the Criminal, Corporate & Banking, Conveyancing, Intellectual Property/Information Technology, Shipping, Family, Construction and General Civil/Commercial Litigation sections.
Council Members also discussed the appointment of Chairpersons and Council Representatives in the Law Society's Committees, the possibility of introducing more junior Council Members, delegation issues, empowerment, accountability and the general role of the Council. To put the four Ps into practice, the Society will hold a workplan meeting with Members of the various Committees in early 2001.
Tracey Yeo
Director, Media & Publications
The Law Society of Singapore
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| Ms Katherine Baptist Teo | Ms Sumithira Nadarajah |
Promoting and protecting children's welfare and safeguarding retirement assets were the themes of this year's family law seminar presented by the Law Society's Family Law Practice Committee.
Held at the Mandarin Hotel on 18 November 2000, the seminar attracted some 150 members eager to learn about some current issues in family law practice.
Kicking off the seminar with a touching story on helping to patch broken hearts, District Judge Daphne Hong from the Family Court discussed the legal principles applied by the courts to resolve questions on the guardianship, custody and maintenance of children and gave a brief exposition of the various applicable court procedures and processes.
Launching into a detailed discussion on the role of Court Appointed Counsel for Children (CAC), she journeyed with participants through a CAC's workflow, reminding them that the CAC is not the child's counsel, but is tasked to promote the best interests of the child, peppering her presentation with many humorous anecdotes about her attempts to interview children to assess their needs and views. District Judge Hong ended her presentation on a philosophical note, leaving participants pondering the quotation that 'children are the living messages that we send to a time we do not see'.
Ms Katherine Baptist Teo, Assistant Director, The Family Conciliation and Resolution (FAMCARE) Centre (previously known as the Court Counselling Unit), asked each participant to think of a 'sparkling moment' in their lives and to share this 'sparkling moment' with another participant. Observing participants' difficulties in visualising a sparkling moment, Ms Baptist used this observation to explain the work of Family Court Counsellors, that is, 'to help people see the positive sides in their situation'.
A colourful multimedia presentation gave participants a glimpse into the services provided by the FAMCARE Centre and its programmes, such as KIDS Line (Kids In Difficult Situations Line), which combines an innovative blend of social work with an interactive CD-ROM to reach out to children aged seven to ten who are caught in situations of divorce and family violence.
After a short tea break, the discussion moved from protecting children's welfare to protecting one's retirement assets. The participants were then greeted with a succinct presentation on the Central Provident Fund Act and its impact upon the division of matrimonial assets by Ms Sumithira Nadarajah, Legal Officer, Central Provident Fund Board (CPF Board).
Emphasising the CPF Board's mission to safeguard members' CPF moneys, Ms Nadarajah talked about the effect of the CPF statutory charge and charging orders on CPF moneys. It was more than merely an intellectual exercise; the CPF Board generously provided participants with handouts of suggested clauses for Orders of Court, with Ms Nadarajah elaborating about how to adapt these clauses to suit different circumstances.
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| District Judge Daphne Hong |
The question and answer session following the presentation saw Ms Nadarajah and her team of CPF officers answering various questions raised by the participants in relation to the CPF Act and the suggested clauses. At the conclusion of the seminar, many participants left better informed about the CAC's role and the impact of the CPF Act on family law practice.
Neoh Shung Kee
RCH Lim & Co
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| Mrs Murgiano Haq & Ms Tan Kee Leng |
Signatories to the MOU |
Seven parties joined hands to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to develop and nurture quality Patent Agents at the Regent Hotel on 9 November 2000.
The local and international partners included The Law Society of Singapore, the Ministry of Law (represented by IPOS), the European Patent Office (EPO), the National Science and Technology Board (NTSB), the National University of Singapore (NUS), the Fédération Internationale des Conseils en Propriété Industrielle (FICPI) and the Asian Patent Attorneys Association - Singapore Group (APAA).
Associate Professor Ho Peng Kee, Minister of State for Law & Home Affairs explained, 'As Singapore builds up its knowledge-based sector to meet the challenges of the New Economy, there will be an increasing need for new forms of intellectual property rights to protect inventions and innovation.' He added that, presently, formally trained patent agents are relatively scarce in Singapore and that there would be a need for a pool of qualified and competent patent agents.
Associate Professor Ho revealed that the IPOS would be converted by statute from a government department into an autonomous Statutory Board in April 2001, with enhanced manpower and financial resources. Mr Lau Wah Ming, Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Law, added that IPOS would accept applications for the protection of designs from 13 November 2000, when the Registered Designs Act 2000 came into operation.
Associate Professor Chin Tet Yung, Dean of the National University of Singapore's Law Faculty, announced that in July 2001, the faculty will commence a 16-week full time course leading to the Graduate Certificate in Intellectual Property Law. This initiative is targeted at university graduates who are interested in becoming patent agents or in-house advisors on patent matters.
Simultaneously, the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS), together with the National Science & Technology Board (NTSB), officially launched its internet portal, SurfIP, accompanied by an exciting and colourful computer presentation showcasing the features of the portal.
The SurfIP portal can be found at <<www.SurfIP.com>>. To enquire about the IP Law Course, please contact Ms Uma at the Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore, at tel no: 8743644 or e-mail: <<lawvuma@nus.edu.sg>>.
Media & Publications Department
The Law Society of Singapore
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| The Kyoto Delegates |
The Law Society hosted a visit by representatives of the Environmental Pollution Group of the Kyoto Bar Association on Monday, 6 November 2000, at 39 South Bridge Road.
The delegation was greeted by our President, Mr Palakrishnan, representatives from the Law Society's International Relations Committee, as well as Ms Ellen Lee, Chairperson of the Law Society's Family Law Committee and President of the Singapore Association of Women Lawyers.
The group was in Singapore to study the Singaporean model of traffic management, for possible adaptation and use in Japan. However, the meeting at the Law Society covered a wide range of topics and, in particular, there was much discussion of the pro bono activities which are organised by both the Law Society and the Singapore Association of Women Lawyers, for example, the provision of free legal counselling at community centres and Family Service Centres, the production of various publications, as well as the activities organised by both organisations to promote the awareness of law among members of the public. The delegation also expressed great interest in the operation of the Law Society's Criminal Legal Aid Scheme.
Adeline Ang
Director, Public Relations
The Law Society of Singapore
Raising
Funds for CLAS