A Note to Those Beginning the Journey
Reflections from thirty years at the Bar
To you, who have just been called to the Bar — welcome. You have worked hard to reach this moment, and it deserves to be savoured. But as the excitement of hearing the pronouncement of an order in terms of your application fades, and the robes are put away, a new journey begins. Having walked this journey for more than thirty years, I offer some observations for your consideration.
I. Life Is a Marathon, Not a Sprint
The road you are on is a long one. Daunting as that may seem, it is paradoxically a source of comfort. Every loss or disappointment you experience – and there will be quite a few along the way – are but small steps of that long journey. They will subside and pass, but the road remains. Conversely, every victory and joy – and there will be some that feel extraordinary – are also but small steps. They too will subside and pass. But the road will remain.
Do not mistake a loss as the end of the road, nor a win as your final destination. Do not be in a rush. Pace yourself and keep at it, knowing that the journey only truly ends with your last breath. The road remains, and the journey must continue.
II. In Everything, Put the Divine First
Anchor yourself in something greater than the law, greater than success, greater than the opinion of the courts or your peers and greater than yourself – the transcendent. If you do not subscribe to any particular faith, hold fast to a humanistic principle as your guiding light. Whatever your faith or worldview, a good starting point is the Golden Rule: to do to others as you would have them do to you.
The law has enormous capacity to be a force for good. It can also be a source of great evil. Laws can be morally sound, neutral or objectionable – those of the Third Reich were, after all, still law. Whether such laws are worthy of the name is what Hart and Fuller argued over. Without a strong guiding principle, your use and application of such laws may become untethered from what is good and right. If that happens, it will sap your soul.
As lawyers, you will have the opportunity to do much good. Develop a strong moral compass so that you become a force for good, and a trustworthy servant of justice.
Let your deepest values guide you.
III. Whenever Possible, Help Your Fellow Man
The privilege of a legal education and a call to the Bar carries a responsibility that extends beyond your paying clients. Singapore, like every society, has those who cannot navigate the legal system without help. Throughout your career, you will often have opportunities to help others.
Take those moments – whether through pro bono work, through mentoring a struggling colleague, by volunteering for community organisations, or simply treating every person who walks through your door with dignity and patience. Let service be a thread woven through your entire career.
You will find that you will derive far more satisfaction and joy from such actions than from the accumulation of wealth or the pursuit of status.
You chose a profession of service built on the pursuit of justice. Never let that become an abstraction.
IV. Never Stop Learning
The day you believe you know enough is the day you begin to fall behind. The law does not stand still. Society changes, technology disrupts, and new practice areas emerge where none existed before. The lawyers who thrive across the arc of a career are those who remain genuinely curious — who read beyond their brief, attend seminars out of hunger rather than obligation, and seek out mentors, willing to be humbled by what they do not yet know.
But learning is not only legal. Read widely — history, philosophy, literature, science. The advocates who move courts, who write with clarity and force, who understand their clients as full human beings, are those who have fed their minds on more than case law and procedure. Be one of those lawyers.
V. Make Time for Those You Love, and for Yourself
The law will take as much of you as you allow it to. It is a jealous profession. Left unchecked, it will consume your weekends, your evenings, your health, and eventually your most important relationships.
Do not let it. The parent who is present at the dinner table, the spouse who is genuinely there and not merely physically in the room, the friend who keeps promises — these matter more than any brief. Protect those relationships with the same discipline you bring to your client work.
Exercise. Rest. Pray. Laugh. These are not indulgences. They are investments in the long-term sustainability of everything you are trying to build.
A depleted lawyer is not a good lawyer. You will only be at your best with a rested body and a full heart.
VI. Parting Words
You have been entrusted with something precious — the confidence of clients who come to you often at their most vulnerable, and the responsibility of upholding a system of justice that underpins our entire society. This is no small thing. Carry it with humility, with courage, and with grace.
Welcome to the Bar. The road is long. Walk it with joy.
