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President's Message |
Law Society Initiatives for Young Lawyers
The early years of practice are never easy. To
assist the fledgling lawyers among us, I am highlighting the Law Society's
support initiatives available to young lawyers (or indeed, older lawyers,
where applicable).
Practice Support
Young lawyers will occasionally require ethical,
as well as practical guidance. The Law Society can assist in the following
ways:
Practice guidance
Young lawyers requiring practice guidance may:
1. contact the Society's practice committees. Queries should be e-mailed to
the Representation and Law Reform Department at represent@lawsoc.org.sg which
will refer the query to the relevant practice committee; or
2. visit the Resource Library section of the Society's website (www.lawsociety.org.sg), from which practice information may be accessed.
In addition, practice information is also available through the Law Gazette and eJus News, the Society's weekly, electronic newsletter.
I particularly highlight the PracMentor
scheme under which young lawyers may seek guidance and advice from a senior
volunteer lawyer on practice issues in the following practice areas: administrative
and constitutional law; arbitration; banking; bankruptcy; insolvency and judicial
management; civil procedure; construction; conveyancing; corporate; criminal;
defamation; equity and trusts; evidence; family law; intellectual property;
international business transactions; labour and employment; personal injury
claims; shipping and admiralty; tax; probate and wills.
Ethics guidance
For guidance on legal ethics, members may find a new column on professional ethics published in the Singapore Law Gazette a useful resource. This new "Ethics in Practice" column features opinions of the Ethics Committee on past queries raised by members to the committee.
Members may also keep up to date on professional ethics by visiting the Legal Ethics section of the Society website, newly launched on 14 July 2009. The new Legal Ethics section provides a one-stop facility for members to search the database quickly and efficiently for the Society's materials on any professional ethical topic, including articles published in the Singapore Law Gazette and Council's Practice Directions and Guidance Notes.
Lawyers in need of guidance on professional conduct
rules or professional ethical issues may direct their queries to the Law Society's
Ethics Committee. Queries should be e-mailed to the Representation and Law
Reform Department at represent@lawsoc.org.sg which will refer the query to
the Ethics Committee.
Practice Management
Young lawyers who have been courageous enough to start their own practice may wish to avail themselves of the Law Society's Practice Consult scheme or Mentoring Scheme for Small Firms for practice management guidance.
Under the Practice Consult scheme, practitioners with queries on legal practice management issues such as practice risk management, business development and planning, human resources and personnel management, and client relationships and communication may seek assistance from a legal practice management consultant. The cost of the first hour of consultation will be borne by the Society.
Under the Mentoring Scheme for Small Firms, proprietors of small law practices may seek the mentorship of senior lawyers on practice management issues. Mentorship is provided on an ex gratia basis.
Further information is available at the Society's
website www.lawsociety.org.sg under Membership Benefits > Members' Support
Schemes or call 6530 0238.
Counselling, Welfare and Aid
Certain problems are best left to professionals.
I urge young lawyers suffering from stress, depression or facing marital or
family issues to consider seeking assistance under the LawCare scheme.
This is a counselling service provided by the Law Society in conjunction with
the Singapore Care and Counselling Centre, under which members may seek advice
and counselling from a qualified counsellor. All sessions will be confidential.
To aid members in financial need, the Society has also set up a Welfare
Fund. Young lawyers in need of financial assistance may apply for financial
assistance under the Welfare Fund for the following reasons:
1. lack of income owing to illness or incapacity;
2. to defray medical expenses of the member (or spouse or dependants); and
3. any other reason which Council of the Law Society may consider appropriate.
Awards may be subject to a means test.
While I hope a need for this will not come to pass, the young lawyer may wish to note the Law Society's Defence Assist scheme, under which a lawyer facing disciplinary proceedings may seek legal assistance on such proceedings from volunteer members on a pro bono or ad honorarium basis.
Details on the above schemes are available in the Membership Benefits section of the Society's website.
Professional Interaction
Finally, young lawyers should note that the Law Society has a Young Lawyers Committee, which regularly organises events for young lawyers. Past events include financial management talks by an international financial advice and investment group and the recent and unforgettable Lawyers' and Accountants' Night. Biennial Young Lawyers' Forums (which include senior practitioners and judges as invitees) are also held to facilitate interaction between the different generations of the Bar.
So there is much assistance and guidance available to our young lawyers, and they are encouraged to make the most of it. At the same time, the Society also welcomes the participation of younger lawyers in the committees of the Society, in the different areas of legal practice, as well as in our social, welfare and sporting activities. Above all, we encourage them to join our pro bono programme, which will give them immense satisfaction in terms of service to the community. In particular, we hope to drive a new pro bono initiative with young lawyers giving legal advice to voluntary civic associations. We already have a partnership with voluntary welfare organisations ("VWO"s) where our lawyers give free legal advice to the VWOs through our Project Law Help programme. It would be a mark of the maturing of the Society if we could go a step further to lend a helping hand to civic associations as well. I hope that our young lawyers have been moved by Lord Peter Goldsmith's Biennial Lecture last month, especially his advice for them to take part in the civic life of the community in some way or other. Greater participation will mean greater interaction with other lawyers which can only lead to greater personal and professional development, and isn't that what we should all be aiming for?
Michael Hwang, SC
President
The Law Society of Singapore