Steps taken to build sustainable legal careers: Forum (12 May)

We read with interest the commentary by professors Lee Pey Woan and Chen Siyuan “Raising the bar: Preparing lawyers to stay the course” (May 7), and we strongly support their call to reimagine legal education as a more holistic preparation for a meaningful, resilient career in law.

At the Singapore Academy of Law (SAL), this is a challenge we take seriously. The concern over high attrition rates and the emotional toll of legal work is especially urgent in the face of global competition and the accelerating disruption brought about by generative artificial intelligence.

To stay relevant and effective, legal professionals must commit to lifelong learning. Law school and the Bar exams are only the beginning.

To provide the next step in training, SAL will launch the Junior Lawyers Professional Certification Programme later in May. The programme is a structured, practice-oriented training ecosystem that equips young lawyers not only with the technical skills, but also with the ethical grounding necessary to build sustainable legal careers.

Lifelong learning must be supported by a coordinated training ecosystem. That is why SAL developed the Legal Industry Framework for Training and Education (Lifted). Created in consultation with the Law Society and Singapore Corporate Counsel Association, Lifted helps lawyers map their professional development and fosters a mindset of continuous learning across all stages of practice.

But building a sustainable profession requires more than training. We also need to address workplace issues such as changing intergenerational expectations, evolving business models and the culture of legal practice.

In collaboration with Harvard Law School’s Centre on the Legal Profession, SAL will convene the second Legal Profession Symposium in July. The symposium will engage young lawyers to co-create solutions to the push factors they face in the workplace, as well as strengthen the profession’s pull factors, such as our shared values and purpose.

We thank the authors for sparking this timely and necessary conversation. SAL remains committed to supporting all members of the profession, especially our younger colleagues, in building not just successful careers, but also sustainable ones.

Yeong Zee Kin
Chief Executive
Singapore Academy of Law

Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.

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