CEO’s Message
Dear Members,
Congratulations Kelvin Kek from Allen & Gledhill, Daniel Li from Ramdas & Wong and Muhammad Asfian from WongPartnership LLP who each won a pair of tickets to the musical Legally Blonde as they were the 3rd, 6th and 9th respondents to take part in the Legal Technology Survey! The Survey results will help us understand the current landscape and demand for technology adoption among our law firms in Singapore by assessing areas such as the current level of technology adoption and how relevant it has been to the legal practice, challenges faced in adopting new technology, plans to use technology in future as well as the general perception on Government grants and LawSoc subsidy schemes. Your feedback will enable us to tailor the most appropriate subsidy schemes to assist you in tech adoption. The top prize, a one night stay at the Fullerton Hotel, will only be drawn after the close of the Survey, together with other attractive prizes such as hotel dining and spa vouchers, so do not hesitate to participate in the Survey now! For enquiries on the Survey, please contact [email protected].
Round 2 of SmartLaw Assist was launched on 4 April and ends on 29 June 2018. Informa Law, Thomson Reuters and Lexis Nexis are offering very attractive prices for their legal research databases and Singapore law practices (SLPs) can enjoy subsidies for the first year’s subscription fees for any one of the packages specially curated for SLPs. Applications will be considered on a first-come, first-served basis. Please apply at https://www.lawsociety.org.sg/For-Lawyers/Running-Your-Practice/Practice-Support/SmartLaw-Assist.
We have just taken up the lease of the shophouse right next to our current premises – 37 South Bridge Road (37 SBR), while Council continues its search to purchase additional premises for the Law Society. Renovations at 37 SBR are expected to be completed by mid-May and we will hold an open house to welcome members at the end of May. Thereafter, members may reserve slots for the use of the four hot-desking stations on the ground floor of 37 SBR. Our CPD and KM departments will also move to the second and mezzanine floors of 37 SBR.
Our inaugural Family Conference jointly organised by our Family Law Practice Committee, Probate Practice and Succession Planning Committee and the Muslim Law Practice Committee was successfully held on 8 and 9 May 2018. The Conference was well-attended by family law practitioners eager to keep themselves updated on important and developing issues including private wealth, mental capacity, inheritance and succession planning, Islamic estate planning, the AMLA Amendments, adoption and fostering, mental health issues, relocation, child maintenance, ethics in Family Law practice, and practice and procedure in Family Law. Both Second Minister for Law Indranee Rajah and President Gregory Vijayendran were at pains to emphasise the critical role that a family lawyer can play in mediation, reconciliation and healing.
Our next Women in Practice (WIP) Taskforce event, “No Time for FaceTime” will take place on the evening of 5 July 2018 at Collison 8, a co-working space at High Street Centre. We will focus on topics as such harnessing technology for flexi-work and how to make alternative work arrangements a win-win for both employee and employer in practice. Save the date!
The WIP Taskforce, co-chaired by our Exco Member Felicia Tan and Council Member Simran Kaur Toor, will also be conducting an online survey to better understand the issues women lawyers face in their practice. Roundtable discussions will complement the survey, with the Taskforce aiming to produce a paper by the end of this year setting out the issues and some recommendations for the profession. More details will follow so watch this space and keep a look-out for our e-blasts.
