The Code of Lawyer Care

Happy New Year.

As we herald in 2006, I am at the same time wondering about the number of men and women who would exit the legal profession this year. When entry into the legal profession was restricted in 1997, I was concerned. I feared that the number of lawyers in Singapore would dwindle in the future. I am sad to be proven right.

In the year 2000, 3,537 individuals practised law in Singapore. The number was reduced to 3,490 in 2005. There has been no significant growth in the legal profession at all in the last five years.

Strangely, the practice of law does not seem attractive anymore. Lawyers have a host of reasons for leaving the profession. Many who left and achieved success elsewhere were featured in this column. The legal profession is continuously suffering massive talent drain.

Lawyers continuously voice their intention of entering the attractive elite world of inhouse counsel. Equally attractive pay packages, with shorter hours, and lack of unreasonable clients seem to be the pull factor. Some have joined the Legal Service for similar reasons. But I have heard of many inhouse counsel who have a hectic business travel schedule, teleconference during the odd hours of the night and who work long hours as well.

Others left to engage in other pursuits and then returned to law because law promised certainty in career and financial stability. One young woman, who had dabbled in art, commented to me that art does not pay.

What needs to be done to curb the decline of the lawyer population in Singapore? Is this the job of the movers and shakers of our society? I would like to venture some thoughts on this.

At 19, it may be difficult to answer the question ‘Why do I want to become a lawyer?’ This question, I think, is relevant at different stages of our lives. For many, we may just be fulfilling our parents’ dreams, and not our own. Would we know at that tender age what lawyering entails? The NUS Law Faculty may consider holding information-sharing sessions, where practising lawyers share their experiences with applicants to the law faculty. Another opportune time may be during its orientation week.

The Law Society can also induct its new members by informing them of the demands of law practice and providing support services to the new lawyers.

Law firm partners and individual lawyers, too, have a part to play in this conundrum.

‘My boss has no time for me. I do not think he cares about my growth at all. I am just there to do the work and bill for him,’ is a typical lawyer’s complaint.

Human resource is a vital element of the legal profession. The new buzzword is motivation and retention of lawyers.

Happy and contented lawyers will then serve clients well and reap greater profits for the law firm. Welfare is a basic human right and it extends beyond fat pay packets, free handphones, gym perks and overseas trips.

The day has come when many of us are simply tired. A growing bank balance is no longer the motivating force if one can hardly afford the time to spend it. There is no enthusiasm. The rapid and efficient judicial process and demanding clients have become the enemies of the lawyers. It has dawned on many that a career is only one part of our lives. Should we become a sacrificial lamb for our career? For many lawyers, marriage, children, health and personal time have taken a back seat.

How about giving some thought to lawyer-care? The pupil master and the partners of the law firms play a vital role in the life of lawyers.

How well does a partner know his associate on a personal level? Does he ask about the associate’s well-being when the latter falls ill? Does he ensure that his associate takes enough breaks throughout the year? If law firm partners can show in simple ways that their associate’s welfare is important to them, perhaps the associate will continue to be a loyal, dedicated and motivated employee. He may not leave the law firm or eventually exit the legal profession.

I asked a lawyer friend and young partner of a large firm the motivation behind his long hours at work. He looked at me and said, ‘I don’t know. I just work and work.’

We have to go through a self-renewal process now. What matters in life? Should I quit the profession? Should I stay on? Why?

The answers to these difficult questions change from time to time. What is your answer now?

Rajan Chettiar

Rajan Chettiar & Co

E-mail: rajan@rajanchettiar.com