Council Updates

3 January 2002

Appointment of the Executive Committee of Council 2002
The following members of Council were nominated to serve on the Executive Committee of the Council for 2002:

Mr Palakrishnan, SC, Mrs Arfat Selvam,
Mr Philip Jeyaretnam, Mr Sivakumar Murugaiyan, Mr Goh Phai Cheng, SC,
Mr Ronnie Quek and Mr Montague Choy.

Briefing with Chairpersons and Members of Law Society Committees on Council's Workplan 2002
The Council's briefing to chairpersons and members of the Law Society's Committees on the Society's Workplan for 2002 was held on 26 January 2002 at Swissotel The Stamford and Raffles The Plaza.

The areas of focus at the morning briefing, after an introduction by the President and the CEO, were on the following:

• new business model for the profession, namely Limited Liability Partnerships and the revival of Group Law Practices;
• new areas of practice in Intellectual Property;
• new programmes for Continuing Legal Education and Advocacy Training, by the Continuing Legal Education Committee;
• introduction to the English Lexcel practice management standards; and
• internationalisation of legal services.

Speakers included Mrs Arfat Selvam, Mr Philip Jeyaretnam and Mrs Murgiana Haq.

The CEO shall be monitoring the meeting of the targets of the Workplan for 2002.

Practice Management Committee - Lexcel Practice Management Standards
To encourage members to adopt the English voluntary practice management standards, known as Lexcel, the Practice Management Committee shall be holding discussions to disseminate information about the standards with members. Council approved the Committee's continued negotiations with the Law Society of England to purchase the franchise that will be financed by a grant from the Society's brokers, Alexander Forbes. The first session on Lexcel with members was held at the Society on 18 January 2002.

Deposit Collected by Arbitrators for Dispute Settlement Between Parties on Costs
Arising from a member's request for guidance on this issue, Council ruled that the deposit collected by an arbitrator has to be placed in the client's account. The Law Society will publish a Practice Direction on its ruling.

Status Report on the Law Society's Scheme for the Arbitration and Mediation of Fixed Costs
The Alternate Dispute Resolution Committee would revert to Council on1 February 2002 on the finalisation of the details of the rules to mediate/arbitrate on disputes between parties on party and party and solicitor and client costs.

Rule 6 of the Professional Conduct Rules - Description of Areas of Practice on a Law Firm's/Law Corporation's Letterhead
Arising from a member's request for guidance to print the expression 'Tax Counsel' on the law firm's letterhead, Council decided that such expressions should be avoided as the term 'Counsel' carries a connotation of being accredited as a specialist which may be misleading.

Council shall approve, on a case-by-case basis, the use of terms to describe the areas of practice of a law firm/law corporation on its letterhead, as in 'Tax Practice'. Such terms, when used, must describe an area of practice and not be part of the designation of any advocate and solicitor.

A Practice Direction will be drafted on this for members' information.

The Crest of the Law Society
The Corporate Communications and Publications Departments will be working together to revamp the Law Society's crest.

Renting of Conference Rooms from the Large Law Firms/Law Corporations for Law Society Activities
Council consented to the CLE Committee approaching the larger firms to make available their conference rooms to the Law Society to conduct its seminars and courses for members.

'The President Listens' Sessions: 2002, Every Fortnight
The President reported that he would continue to hold these sessions fortnightly this year.

POLA (Presidents of Law Associations in Asia) Conference 2002
Council was informed that the next POLA Conference would be held in Thailand although the dates of the conference have yet to be made known.

25 January 2002

E-voting For Council Elections
Council accepted the Secretariat's recommendation to postpone the implementation of the e-voting system for Council elections due to integrity issues.

Status of the Renewal of the Law Society's Mandatory Insurance Policy
CEO, Ms Yasho Dhoraisingam, reported that the Law Society's brokers, Alexander Forbes, would revert to the Professional Indemnity Committee on 29 January 2002 on the terms of renewal of the policy for 2002/2003. The Committee would report on the renewal terms on 1 February 2002 at a Special Meeting of Council.

Status Report on Projects with the Trade Development Board ('TDB')
As part of its efforts to internationalise the Singapore legal service, the TDB would be organising a trade mission to China and would be inviting several law firms to participate in this event. This trip was scheduled for March/April 2002. Council decided that Mr Palakrishnan, SC, would represent the Law Society.

The Law Society, in conjunction with the TDB, may publish a book on 'Doing Business in China'. The International Relations Committee and the Publications Committee shall work to determine the feasibility of this project.

Directory of Experts
Council member, Mr Suresh Damodara, will work with Mr Martin Marini and Mr Steven Lam (our Law Society members) and the Publications Department on the feasibility of producing a Directory of Experts in specific areas of law.

Annual Sports/Social Calendar of the Law Society
The Annual Malaysia-Singapore Bench & Bar Games will be held between 24-26 May 2002 in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

The Annual Dinner & Dance has been scheduled for 19 October 2002 at the Hyatt Hotel.

The other major events of the Law Society will be published in The Singapore Law Gazette.

Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Singapore ('ICPAS') - Proposed Insolvency Practitioners Institute of Singapore
Council members, Mr Patrick Ang and Mr Ronnie Quek, were nominated by Council to represent the Law Society in a Pro Tem Insolvency Practitioners Association Committee that ICPAS shall be constituting in the near future.

Singapore Medical Association ('SMA') - Appointment of a Representative to be Part of a SMA Workgroup
The SMA invited the Law Society to nominate a representative and an alternate, to be in their workgroup for the promotion of 'Patient Safety and Informed Consent'. Council nominated Mr Yang Ing Loong with Council member, Mr Leonard Loo, as the alternate.

Visit by Young Lawyers of Bar Council Malaysia
Forty-three young lawyers from the Bar Council Malaysia visited the Law Society on 1 and 2 February 2002. The Young Lawyers Committee would act as host for the delegation. Visits to two large law firms, the Supreme Court and the Law Society have been organised.