The Law Society warmly welcomes the following who have just joined the
Secretariat:
Monique Ciochetto is the new Director of Continuing Legal Education. A
qualified lawyer from New Zealand, Monique brings with her a wealth of
experience in the area of CLE, having attended many such seminars in New
Zealand, Hong Kong and England, and conducted seminars in Hong Kong. With her
international exposure to CLE, Monique hopes to put the Law Society of Singapore
on the roadmap of excellence in CLE and she hopes to bring out the full
potential of CLE in the local arena.
'The whole area of CLE is changing worldwide, and I felt it was an exciting opportunity for me to work with the Law Society while it was going through this period of change,' is how Monique sums up her reason for being here. To fulfill her objectives, Monique intends to work closely with all the law firms in Singapore, to bring them interesting and informative seminars on all areas of law. Her goal is to significantly increase the quality, number and type of seminars organised by the Law Society.
When Monique is not busy thinking up grand plans for CLE, she enjoys cycling, reading, history and is also a food and wine enthusiast.
The Publications Department also has a brand-new team, with Sharmaine Lau, Director, Publications and Shirin Kamsir, Officer, Publications.
Sharmaine, who has worked in the area of regulatory and professional
publishing, will be overseeing the publications of the Law Society, namely, The
Singapore Law Gazette, fax bulletins, members' directory, annual report,
brochures and 'anything else that needs to be published and printed'. Her goal
for the department is to continue to improve upon the Society's high-quality
publications.
'The Law Society's publications are very polished and well executed, but improvements can still be made. Publications, no matter how attractive, can begin to look tired after a while, and it is essential to hold readers' interest by periodically using new colours, new page layouts and trying out new fonts. There is a whole world of design possibilities out there,' she enthused. Sharmaine also aims to beef up the contents of the publications, with the inclusion of more newsy articles and, perhaps, human interest stories.
At home, Sharmaine enjoys relaxing with a good novel, colour coding her wardrobe and experimenting with unusual, exotic recipes.
Shirin Kamsir started her career in the food and beverage industry (she
swears by a certain brand of made-in-USA cookies and cream ice cream) before
moving to the SAFRA National Service Association where she did projects, events,
PR and publications. After seven years, she feels she has found her niche in
publications and would like to develop her career further in this area. The Law
Society is fortunate to benefit from her experience, and she now helps to put
together articles for The Singapore Law Gazette, and almost single-handedly
comes out with the fortnightly fax bulletin and also assists in all the other
publications.
Shirin feels that her greatest challenge, in joining the Law Society, is to 'continue the great work and professionalism of the previous team, and I hope to settle in quickly and settle in well in my new role during this transition period'.
Apart from this zealous spirit at work, Shirin is also equally zealous in tracking down bargain CDs at HMV, window shopping, catching the latest movies and (get this) supporting her 'fave' football team, Arsenal Football Club.
Over at the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme ('CLAS'), changes have also taken place
with the addition of a new administrative assistant. Jennifer Yii Nga Khiong,
who hails from Sarawak, Malaysia, is a former teacher. Jennifer picked up many
valuable administrative skills during her stint in teaching and is confident
that she can apply them to her new job. Teaching has also honed her patience and
communication skills. These skills will, no doubt, stand her in good stead to
interview CLAS applicants to verify their eligibility for free criminal legal
aid.
'I decided to make a switch because working at CLAS will enable me to apply these skills at work, and at the same time, allow me to help the needy. I would like to do something worthwhile for others, and I hope to make a difference to them.' It certainly looks like Jennifer has come to the right place and we wish her every success.
On weekends, this sporty girl enjoys living it up outdoors with camping trips and participating in all manner of sports, such as cycling and jogging.