Raising the bar: How to stop lawyers from quitting the profession

Law schools can cultivate staying power in their students through more exposure to the real world, better mentorships and by instilling a sense of purpose in them.

- Lee Pey Woan and Chen Siyuan

A strong legal system depends on a critical mass of highly competent and ethically grounded lawyers. At the 19th Conference of Chief Justices of Asia and the Pacific in 2024, Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon emphasised the importance of a "healthy" Bar to the effective administration of justice.

Yet the legal profession has long faced high attrition rates, and continues to do so. As legal educators who have observed the profession's evolution for over three decades, we find this trend deeply concerning. Can our legal system continue to thrive with a shrinking pool of legal talent, especially as the issues we face grow ever more complex?

Reflecting on the problem, we constantly find ourselves drawn to one underlying question: Are we doing enough to prepare our law graduates for the realities of a demanding and often unforgiving profession?

A report by the Working Group for the Reform of Legal Education, released in January 2024, offered a bold blueprint for modernising the training of lawyers in Singapore. It emphasised three key themes for law school education: equipping lawyers with the skills and knowledge for a global, complex, and digital economy; fostering stronger industry-academic partnerships to nurture practice-ready graduates; and promoting high standards and ethical values to safeguard the honour and integrity of the profession.

However, we believe there is an implicit fourth theme that deserves greater attention—resilience. The need to cultivate staying power within the legal profession has never been more urgent. Legal education must not only produce capable lawyers, but also nurture individuals who are equipped to sustain meaningful careers.

BRIDGING THEORY AND PRACTICE