Since 1996, when the Law Society launched its website, the Society has sought ways to provide more information to members online.
Last September, the Society’s homepage was given a new look and we promised you a members only site. This site was launched on 1 October 2002 and user IDs and individual passwords were sent out to 3,480 members in the month of September by the Society.
eServices Available on the New Members Only Site
Practice information
With the launch of the members only site, all practice circulars and letters from government departments and mailers from the Society issued since 1999 are archived and available via a click of the mouse.
Under a wide category of subjects ranging from Practice to Intellectual Property, you can search and obtain relevant Practice Directions and articles issued and written by the Society. All Practice Directions of statutory
boards and the courts are also available. With this, members really need not worry about maintaining a paper library of such information.
Information on the Society’s welfare programmes such as LawCare and the Welfare Fund are provided in separate icons and the Welfare Fund application form can be downloaded online.
| eForum
The profession is now able to post their views and comments on a Forum page. To provide some degree of anonymity, only your admission number is revealed. Naturally, the usual disclaimers apply and postings that are offensive or defamatory will be removed by the Society. This is an additional avenue for you to speak up. It is hoped that you will use the Forum page to share your experiences and problems in practice. |
eSurvey
Periodically, to enable the Council to gather the views and opinions of members, online surveys would be conducted via the eSurvey site. With the launch of the weekly eJus News in August this year,1
we had gone paperless in our communication with members. This eSurvey site is a progression of this development.2
Since August, weekly updates on practice, Society news and upcoming events and seminars are received via your PC or laptop. Gone are the days when the Society’s paper bulletins were ‘stuck’ in certain departments of your firm
before making their rounds to you, or hidden amongst the pile of papers growing in your ‘in-tray’. Often, by the time you started reading the bulletins, much of the information was old news already.
Update of particulars
Under s 27(3) of the Legal Profession Act (Cap 161), any change in the particulars of members or with respect to the status of their practice must be notified to the Registrar of the Supreme Court and the Council within one
week of such change. In order that such information can be captured immediately, you can now update any change of particulars (whilst in practice) via the ‘Update Particulars’ page. Do note that if you cease practice, you will
still have to write to the Society to inform the Society of your cessation. In any event, you would still be required to notify and write to the Registrar of the Supreme Court of any change in your particulars or cessation of
practice.
We look forward to receiving your comments on the new members portal. Visit it and experience it for yourself; the new virtual world awaits you.
Ho Meng Third
Law Society of Singapore
Endnotes
1 The inaugural issue of eJus News was dated 6 August 2002.
2 Members would be informed of an ongoing survey and its purpose via eJus News.