Reflections
Some Background
Like some of the other lawyers who have written for this series, I belong to those who are slightly “longer in the tooth”.
I graduated from the then University of Singapore in 1978. I trained as a pupil for a time at Drew & Napier but left without completing my pupillage to join the Singapore Legal Service. I remained in the Legal Service for three years before venturing to private practice.
In 1981 I joined a small firm in its litigation department. Looking back, starting in a small firm was a good thing. At the small firm, for five years I did all manner of litigation matters from civil to crime. I was also lucky enough to have been able to dabble in some Corporate and Intellectual Property work, doing a fair bit of trademarks and copyright.
Later, I joined Khattar Wong & Partners (now Withers KhattarWong) where I practised for some 20 years, during six years of which I was the Joint Managing Partner.
I remained in private practice until 2007 when I rejoined the Singapore Legal Service as a District Judge in the then Subordinate Courts (now the State Courts). I was in the judiciary until I retired from public service in 2014, whereupon I rejoined my previous firm Withers KhattarWong as a Consultant.
Later yet, in 2015 I was offered the unique opportunity to set up the third law school at the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS then known as UniSim). I accepted that offer and joined SUSS to become the founding Dean of the School of Law, a position I retain today. In terms of practice, I still act as an arbitrator in both domestic and international cases. I continue to maintain a practising certificate.
Legal Practice is Rewarding
Over the years I have found the practice of law in one form or another to be very rewarding and fulfilling. There are several reasons.
Firstly, the study and practice of law have fed my curiosity about how things work, both in law and life generally. Secondly, I found legal work interesting and indeed fascinating. For example, as a dispute lawyer, I discovered the thrill of argument and strategy. Thirdly, as an advisor I enjoyed the privilege of earning the trust of many clients and in the process developed very close relationships with people I would not otherwise have crossed paths. I am sure other professionals would also say the same things if they had a chance to reflect on what they have now.
I would argue that the legal profession provides opportunities that if a lawyer grasped those, his or her professional career would be both interesting and fascinating. It is a profession that has given me the opportunity to discover and learn much. Through legal practice, I learnt and began to understand how things work in the commercial world and indeed life itself. To understand clients better, I believe I had to develop an understanding of human psychology. To apply my legal knowledge, I learnt context which is also almost always informed by policy. In dealing with commercial clients, especially corporates, I learnt and educated myself about the nuances of business planning and strategy and most importantly financial considerations. In my practice as a dispute lawyer, I learnt the same things and more. I learnt how to develop effective relationships with opposing counsel and the judiciary. More on professional relationships later.
Lest I am accused of avoiding the very important matter of livelihood, I can happily say practice as a lawyer enabled me to have more than just a decent life. But I would like to add that the real reward of the legal profession is not and should not be a financial reward.
The Bar: The Legal Community
Perhaps one of the most rewarding aspects of the legal profession is the professional and personal relationships developed within the wider community of lawyers. The relationships I have built over the years at the local bar and the global community of lawyers have been extremely rewarding both professionally and personally. At the personal level, I have made friends and professional acquaintances that have proven to be very pleasant and uplifting. As Singapore developed a global reputation as a legal hub, my opportunities to “make friends” went beyond the shores of Singapore. Through legal practice I have made friends across the globe. This is because lawyers wherever we are share a common experience of the law and the privilege of speaking on behalf of others. Whether in dispute work or solicitor’s work, we have the distinct privilege of representing others and their views. This is sometimes forgotten. With the privilege of this nature, we have a responsibility as lawyers to do right by our clients and the legal system. My interactions with fellow lawyers both within and outside Singapore has shown me that lawyers everywhere share the same respect for our professional privilege.
More personally, through the friendships and professional relationships I have had the privilege of developing, I learnt much from my fellow lawyers. I learnt as much from my brothers and sisters at law as I have done through my own efforts. Indeed, one special feature of my professional experience as a dispute lawyer is that I benefited and learnt from the opposing lawyers with whom I had cases. Discretion prevents me from sharing many personal stories, but I can think of one example which I can share.
One period during my career, when the property market was very active, especially with respect to new luxury developments in the Tanglin/Claymore Roads area, properties were bought and on-sold at very lucrative prices. Those times, you could purchase property with very little money up-front. Loans were also relatively cheap. In the result, many “punters” bought these high-end properties only to on-sell or “flip” earning handsome profits within a short time. That was the background of a series of cases in which I acted for the developer whose purchasers had gone into default. In that same series of disputes, in many cases I had as my opposing counsel the late Mr. Harry Elias, Senior Counsel. He acted for the buyers of the properties in default. Although Mr. Elias was my opponent in these cases, I learnt much from him about the process of litigation and more importantly how to prepare cases for litigation. In one of the cases I had noticed how Mr. Elias marked his notes which he would use in argument – specifically colour-coding. At the time I was a young lawyer. By contrast, Mr. Elias was already a very senior partner in Drew & Napier when I was a pupil there. Indeed, in his time, he was one of our leading lights at the Bar. Returning to the case I mentioned, curious and eager to learn, I asked Mr. Elias why he colour-coded his notes. At first, he retorted, “Eh, trade secret”. But he was only joking. Later during a break, he explained why he did that. I learnt colour coding!
I share this story to show that one of the best traditions of the Bar is that even opponents may learn from each other. Of course, many of us older lawyers will always regard someone like Harry, as we call him, as someone always willing to share views and even offer counsel to those less experienced. I speak of the late Mr. Harry Elias, Senior Counsel. Let me add that there are many other senior and not so senior lawyers at the Bar from whom I have learnt much both professionally and in other respects. My point is that, in the long run, one of the greatest rewards of being a lawyer is to be part of a professional community that offers opportunities to develop oneself even while serving the needs of society. I would suggest that intangible rewards like those I am speaking of are more likely to sustain a lawyer for the long term.
Lifelong Learning
Now that I am in the University teaching law students, I feel it necessary to share my thoughts on learning. As many will be aware, one of the key educational policies adopted by Singapore in recent years is the policy to drive lifelong learning. You only have to go to the Ministry of Education website to see the statement of policy on this subject:
“We should embrace continuous learning beyond our schooling years, focus on growing and honing our skillsets so we will be ready to seize opportunities, switch to more promising areas when opportunities emerge, and progress in our careers.
Lifelong learning is more than about staying relevant for ourselves in a rapidly evolving world and economy – it is also how we can maximise our potential and continue to make meaningful and important contributions to our nation through our unique talents and skills.”(emphasis added)
My reference to lifelong learning is to argue that professional work like law is the original matrix for lifelong learning. Upon graduation from law school, I started to work as a lawyer first in the public service and for a long time after, as a lawyer in private practice. Obviously, to grow both in knowledge and experience, I did not stop learning and rely mainly on what law school taught me. Otherwise, I think it is obvious that my career would not have been as it is now. The short point is that to practice law is to continually learn even in areas we profess to be competent or even expert in. Those of us with long careers in law have learnt that to sustain both relevance and competence in law requires continuous learning. Personally, the greatest reward from legal practice is the opportunity to learn much over a long time and not just the law but many other aspects of life itself. Surely, that is a most invaluable reward.
If I may be so bold as to suggest, young lawyers should be encouraged and nurtured on this path of lifelong learning. Perhaps then the motivation to stay the course and develop a long career in the law as many of us have, would begin to be adequate. It is only after a very long period of professional practice do lawyers obtain the real reward of a career in legal practice, namely lifelong learning. I therefore encourage young lawyers to take the path of learning towards a long and rewarding career in legal practice.
To Young Lawyers, I Say Stay the Course
As a senior lawyer I feel a responsibility to offer a bit of advice to young lawyers, especially those who may be at the cross-roads of deciding whether to remain in practice or to seek their fortune elsewhere. Anecdotally, it is well known that if a lawyer remains in practice for between four to five years, he or she is likely to make the legal profession a life-long career. My advice to young lawyers would be, you do have to commit to stay the course. The commitment required is to commit to the physical and psychological demands needed to weather the bad times yet enjoy the good times, always remembering that the legal profession is a calling not just a job.
Also anecdotally, lawyers complain about long hours. It is not unfamiliar to me. As a young lawyer and beyond, I too had to endure long hours. As they say that is the nature of the beast. The complaint is not unjustified, but I would argue that long hours and other sacrifices must be seen in the proper context.
I will offer my perspective. As a lawyer begins his or her career, he or she must decide what they want out of the profession. If the choice is for a relatively comfortable and manageable career, then choose to practise in fields of law which comparatively may be less demanding. It will still be a rewarding career. If the choice is to try and develop oneself to the best one could be at a very high level, then, I’m afraid a commitment to excellence which requires diligence and sacrifice is unavoidable. The key message is that as a lawyer, you can choose your own path, one that fits you best temperamentally. That I think is one of the keys to longevity in the profession.
Final Thoughts
In this short piece, I hope I have usefully shared what I have gained from a career in legal practice. It is my hope that young lawyers and aspiring lawyers find the type of meaning I have found in the pursuit of law studies and a career in law. As an older person and a lawyer with long experience, I can only hope that younger generations of lawyers seek the kind of meaning in their career that would prove fulfilling and meaningful. As a society, we need to continue to have a strong and committed legal profession. As the founding Dean of the School of Law at SUSS, I have tried and continue to try to motivate law students to aspire to a lifelong career in law.
“Spes Melioris Aetatis”*
*hope for a better age
