CEO’s Message
Dear Members,
Gong Xi Fa Cai to our members from all of us at Secretariat!
As you would know, we formally launched the “Lawyers Go Global” initiative just weeks ago in partnership with Ministry of Law and International Enterprise Singapore, with the aim of catalyzing the internationalization of Singapore law practices. This initiative, which is the cornerstone of the Law Society’s workplan for 2018, will connect Singapore legal expertise with global opportunities through overseas mission trips, training and branding and marketing. The Singapore Lawyer branding exercise, which I wrote about in my message last month, forms one of the three pillars of the “Lawyers Go Global” initiative and should help raise the profile of our members on the global stage. In particular, small and medium-sized Singapore law firms could leverage on some of the Singapore Lawyer brand collaterals for their client pitches instead of having to commission a full suite of their own branding materials. The other two pillars focuses on training to equip our members with the skills and know-how to seize global opportunities as well as mission trips to selected countries identified by the Law Society as having the most potential for export of legal services by Singapore law firms. Our first mission trip under this initiative is slated for April this year. If you are interested in participating in this initiative, please check out http://www.lawsociety.org.sg/For-Lawyers/Lawyers-Go-Global or contact us at [email protected] for more information.
This is the final month of our Tech Start for Law programme to help our members leverage on and embrace technology to increase productivity. As of 31 January, we have already exceeded our target number of Singapore law practices who have successfully applied for the 70% subsidy offered by SPRING Singapore on the first year subscription fees for one or more tech solutions. Secretariat is proud of our members’ firms who have taken up the challenge of future-proofing your law practices! We would also like to thank Ministry of Law and SPRING Singapore for our very successful partnership to give the legal industry a tech boost. With the conclusion of this programme, the Law Society will be exploring other ideas to continually help our members innovate and increase capability. If you have any ideas to offer, please e-mail us at [email protected].
The Small Law Firms Committee, helmed by Mr Michael S Chia, is also stepping up on its efforts to help small law firm practitioners manage their law practices better. Mr Chia led the way in the Committee’s maiden Chit-Chat Session at the State Courts Bar Room on 24 January with his talk “Why I Think Like a “Char Kway Teow” Man?” He generously and candidly shared pearls of wisdom with a full house of fellow small firm practitioners (several members had to stand throughout the talk – yes it was that full!). If you missed the session, you may want to read Mr Chia’s article in the May 2017 issue of our Singapore Law Gazette – “Shifting the Paradigm: Ensuring Access to Justice – Small Law Firms Must Thrive as Businesses” for some tips on successfully managing a small law practice. Other Small Law Firms Committee members will be sharing at upcoming Chit-Chat Sessions on topics such as “Value Add and Multiplying Ourselves with People” (March 2018), “Multiplying Ourselves by Leveraging on Technology” (July 2018) and “Growing a SLF to a Mid-Sized Law Firm” (November 2018). Do keep a look-out for our e-blasts on these Chit-Chat Sessions, on top of our regular State Courts Luncheons and Council Luncheons.
