When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going … With Some Help
In the course of your career you will face obstacles, dilemmas and quandaries. It can be useful to get a different perspective on a problem or a helping hand from a colleague, senior, elder or friend. Help and solutions can come in many forms, and the Law Society’s Member Support Schemes could be one of them. We offer a plethora of support schemes which we welcome every member to avail themselves of. Think of our support schemes as a warm blanket – always available, unobstrusive and ready to cover you when you need us. And if you don’t, that is fine too, we promise we won’t take offence.
With our best wishes,
Your friendly Law Society
Members’ Assistance and Care Helpline (MACH)
If you wish to speak to someone confidentially and need an assuring voice on the other end of the line, we are just a phone call away. Add 6530 0213 to your speed dial.
Ethics Guidance
A dilemma may arise on the ethical front and you may need advice on what to do, what not to do or what is the right thing to do. Drop an email to our Advisory committee at [email protected].
LawCare
Sometimes offloading a problem on a friend over a beer is not good enough. If your situation starts to get overwhelming and you need a professional to reframe issues and suggest answers, we offer a confidential counselling service in collaboration with Counseling Perspective Pte Ltd, on a co-payment basis for up to 3 sessions. Rest assured your identity will be kept a secret. We will co-pay the bill without asking who, what, why.
PracMentor
School does not teach us everything we need to know. PracMentor is a scheme where young lawyers may seek guidance from a senior lawyer on practice issues. Legal problems that your clients bring you have to be considered from various angles that the textbooks have not covered – what business environment is your client operating in, are there certain unspoken factors that need to be considered when rendering a piece of advice? Tap on PracMentor to short cut your learning curve and get a front row seat in the school of life by talking to your seniors.
Practice Consult
If you are thinking of starting your own firm (there are rules on this though, you can’t start a firm right off the bat), or have been given law firm management responsibilities, know that being a lawyer and running a firm are two very different things. HR management, operating costs, balance sheets, office automation, rain-making and more will suddenly take on a huge significance. Arm yourself with the necessary know-how by tapping on a legal practice management consultant under this scheme.
Relational Mentorship
We have senior practitioners to take you under their wing to help you out with an ethical conundrum, offer career guidance or simply lend a listening ear if you are buckling under the stress of practice.
Young Lawyers Law Mentors Scheme
Sometimes you just want to hang out with someone who “gets” you, speaks your lingo and who is going through the same growing pains as you. This is where our peer to peer support scheme comes in.
Career Path
Do you vacillate between hating and loving the work you do? Are you thinking of calling it quits? Do you think you would be better off selling chicken pies using grandma’s recipe? If you are facing an early life crisis or are at a crossroads in your career, why not speak to our career guidance counsellor?
Defence Assist
This one is every lawyer’s nightmare – being on the receiving end of a complaint under section 75B or 85(1) Legal Profession Act. While we hope this never happens to you, on the off chance that you have to face disciplinary proceedings, you can seek legal assistance from volunteer members either on a pro bono or ad honorarium basis.
However, prevention is always better than cure. Try not to be the subject of a complaint by reading our ethics articles in this issue – Reflecting on what it means to be an ethical lawyer, and Six ethics resources from the Law Society.
There you have it – our support schemes in a nutshell. You may also refer to the full list on our website. Alternatively, drop our Membership folks an email at [email protected] or call 6538 2500.
