Singapore flags bullying, poor training as lawyers keep leaving
What's new: About 60% of lawyers stayed in practice after five years from 2015 to 2024, while courts logged two formal conduct complaints in three years.
Singapore authorities and the legal profession are moving to examine workplace culture after a Law Society study highlighted why lawyers leave practice. Speaking at the National University of Singapore Law freshmen inauguration on Sunday, K. Shanmugam said poor supervision, weak training, harassment, bullying and unreasonable treatment must be addressed even though attrition has stayed broadly stable.
Using figures Law Minister Edwin Tong gave in Parliament in May, Shanmugam said about 60% of lawyers remained in practice after five years between 2015 and 2024, and about 40% after 10 years. Over that period, the number of practising Singapore lawyers grew 26%, while in-house counsel rose by about one-third to around 4,800. The Law Society has formed a task force, and the judiciary and the society are setting up a joint committee to review the feedback.