Speech by President S R Nathan at the Law Society Dinner & Dance

DPM Prof S Jayakumar
Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong
President of the Law Society Mr Philip Jeyaretnam
Ladies and Gentlemen

1     Let me, at the outset, thank the President and Members of the Law Society for this invitation to break bread with you on the occasion of the Law Society’s Dinner and Dance and to address you.

2     Addressing such an august gathering of lawyers and the doyens of our legal profession is something I am approaching with some hesitation.  For I am hardly qualified to speak about your profession, although at a personal level I am just a little familiar with the law and lawyers from my daily contacts with my daughter and son-in-law.  At a national level, as President of the Republic of Singapore, I have also an interest in the well being of the legal community because of the importance of their role in our society.

3     I grew up as a child in the upper floor of a lawyer’s office in Muar, where my late father was a clerk in the firm of M.V.  Pillay (father of John Pillay).  My late father-in-law was the Managing Clerk of S.C.  Goho & Company, which was next door.  The whole row of lawyers’ offices along the Muar riverfront was familiar ground to me.  Incidentally, John Pillay and S.C.  Goho were advocates of the old school when the profession was much smaller and life in the law was more sedate and simpler and probably more enjoyable.

4     As I grew up into adulthood I became fascinated with the drama that unfolded in some trials.  This was not unusual among the young then.  The criminal trials, with their expectant drama, fascinated us.  I followed closely some  of  the famous local cases that were reported in the press.  They provided me a window to take a glimpse into the happenings in our society, what our criminal justice system was then like, and also how redoubtable advocates were able to hog the limelight in the newspapers whenever they appeared in sensational cases.

5     In the early 1950s I followed the court hearings relating to the custody of Maria Hertogh.  The case was unforgettable for the events that followed and why they followed.  The many lessons that were learnt from that case should always be in the forefront of our minds in a society like ours.  Another interesting case I followed was the late Sultan of Johor’s attempts to get back properties he had bequeathed to his deceased grand-daughter, who had expired prematurely.  In the proceedings there was much debate about the status of the “Federation of Malaya” then just established and the constitutional position of the late Sultan.

6     In later years there were the famous “Nonis” trials where the late David Marshall came to public prominence.  Also his spirited defence of a European planter, Jeffrey Watts-Carter, during the Emergency left an indelible impression in my memory.   While I was then attracted to follow such cases because of my interest in the legal drama, my engagement with the legal profession developed more directly in the years that followed, particularly in my early career as a civil servant.  I was heavily engaged in addressing problems of seafarers and also workers’ problems in the formative years of the NTUC.  In both these areas it was the skills of persuasion that I had to develop.  Where my persuasion failed and a solution to my problem eluded me, I had to turn to members of your profession for help, which was generously given whenever it was needed.

7     In my capacity as “Seamen’s Welfare Officer” – there were numerous occasions where I had little choice but to resort to seek help from lawyers.  Let me recall for you two instances where members of your profession came to my rescue in addressing problems of seafarers.

8     First, it was around 1956/57 when the PRRI rebellion took place in Indonesia.  Various parts of the waters of the archipelago were declared “War Zones”, with the P & I Clubs levying high premiums for ships travelling to or through such waters.  I was confronted with several cases of our sailors not wanting to continue sailing on such ships, notwithstanding their obligations under their “Articles of Agreement”.  British flag ships pointed to the provisions of the Merchant Shipping Act and demanded that they abide by their contract and obey their ships’ masters or be charged for “mutiny”.  Other flagships resorted  to  their  respective  national shipping Laws and demanded compliance.  I tried hard, but to no avail, to get the shipping companies concerned to offer to pay a “War Risk” allowance as an incentive to the sailors to take the risk.  I faced a stonewall and received sympathy from neither my Marine Department bosses who administered the Act nor from the shipowners.  Faced with this situation, I turned to a lawyer – the late Tann Wee Tiong – whom I used to meet frequently at a bookshop along Battery Road.  When I told him what was troubling me, he suggested that I pursue a line of argument with the “shipowners” to see if they could be persuaded.  The argument was that, while the sailors were obliged to obey the command of the master of the ship, the rule could only apply if the command was a reasonable command.  Going to a “War Risk” zone was not a reasonable command, which they did not have to obey, if they did not so wish.  Mr Tann assured me that if I should  fail and the men were charged in court, he would   willingly  appear  to  defend  the  sailors  “gratis”.  While my plea did not succeed, the suggestion that I had a lawyer ready to appear in court and defend them was enough to change the situation.  Whatever might be the reasons for their caving in to my threat, I managed to save the situation.  This was one instance of “Lawyers coming to my rescue.”

9     Another instance was when foreign sailors were left stranded when creditors arrested their ship.  They were left ashore without any protection for their sustenance and no prospect of receiving their outstanding wages and repatriation to their home port.  Receiving no sympathy either from their local agents or the consular officers concerned and with no charitable funds to help them out, I had no choice but to seek help and advice on their legal rights.  Being foreign nationals on foreign flagships, I could not obtain help or advice from our own Government agencies.  My last resort was to approach the late Mr Karthigesu, then of Allen & Gledhill, through my friend Padma.  He readily intervened and made sure that the claims of the sailors had first priority in the proceeds of the sale of the arrested vessel, and that the agents would be compelled to pay for their sustenance and upkeep, pending settlement.

10     I also had recourse to lawyers for advice in dealing with interpretations of “collective agreements” entered into between employers and the trades unions representing their workers.  Whether at the negotiating table or in submissions to the Industrial Arbitration Court, such advice proved invaluable.  This was while I was serving in the Labour Research Unit, handling labour disputes at a time when labour relations were often more than tense.

Importance of the Legal Profession
11    These personal anecdotes have given me a broad understanding and appreciation of the role of lawyers in a  society  like  ours in which the  the rule of law prevails, and where even sovereigns must come to the courts for the protection of their property rights.  Singapore is fortunate in having a legal system that is admired and respected by many, especially by our own people which in turn has strengthend their respect for the law and the rule of law.

12    The Law Society, as the representative body for the legal profession, has come a long way since its humble beginnings almost four decades ago.  Since the formation of the Advocates and Solicitors Society in 1967 when there were less than 500 lawyers, the Law Society has a membership of close to 3,600 lawyers today.  I have however been informed that the legal profession has had negative growth in the last 5 years, due to a variety of reasons.  This poses a challenge that the Chief Justice has mentioned on several occasions and which the Law Society must help to address.

13    Although the Law Society has a chequered history, it has played – and continues to play – an important role in our society.  The Government has often acknowledged the critical role of the legal profession itself.
 
Recent Challenges
14    I am aware that lawyers today practise in a vastly different environment from that existing even less than 20 years ago.  The globalisation of legal services has created new challenges for our lawyers which, from the ranking tables published from time to time in the Business Times, they have successfully overcome.  But their professionalism, competence, integrity and ability to adapt will continue to be challenged and tested in a fast changing legal world.  However, there is one challenge that has always been with any profession, and in particular the legal profession, which never goes away, and that is to enhance the integrity of its members and to live  up  to  the core values of an  honourable  profession.  I have been told from time to time Singapore lawyers are generally respected for integrity and dedication and diligence in their work, but as we know, all that is needed is a single egregious transgression by one of them to sully and cause untold damage to their reputation.  Hence, a recent case of misappropriation of a very substantial amount of clients’ monies by a solicitor has raised serious issues about the way in which the profession operates and regulates itself in relation to the handling of clients’ monies.  I am pleased to note that the Law Society has made certain proposals to strengthen the supervisory regime to prevent similar incidents from happening in future and that the Chief Justice is consulting all the stakeholders in this area of practice to come up with a suitable scheme to strengthen the  protection for  members of the public.

15    I have also observed that the legal profession is now segmented into large firms and the rest.  This is inevitable in a globalised economy like Singapore’s which hosts a large number of MNCs and international financial institutions.  Without large law firms with their professional and financial resources, the legal profession will not be able to compete for work regionally and will also lose to others the more important domestic financial work.  At the same time, the smaller law firms have an indispensable role in providing the legal needs of a different segment of Singapore society, particularly in relation to the personal legal needs of the ordinary Singaporean in their infinite variety.  From time to time, I also read in the newsapapers about separate groups of lawyers promoting their own areas of practice.  Whilst variety may be the spice of life, it is the Law Society which represents all advocates and solicitors which has the critical role in harmonising the disparate needs of all its members.

16    In reading some of the speeches made at the Opening of the Legal Year in the last few years, I am also aware of the growing trend of young lawyers leaving the profession.  As at early September 2006, 297 lawyers have chosen not to renew their practising certificates this year.  More than 50% of this group of lawyers had 7 years of experience or less.  Younger lawyers are leaving the profession for a variety of reasons.  The concern lies in the loss of legal talent.  While the Government is addressing this by implementing measures recently proposed by the Third Committee on the Supply of Lawyers, I hope that the Law Society on its part will also work hard at coming up with a solution to this problem.
 
Pro Bono Work
17    Lawyers are not merely officers of the court.  By reason of their training, knowledge and professional standing, they carry a larger responsibility to the community in facilitating access to justice.  This is not mere rhetoric, nor is  access to justice a cliché.  I understand that this is part of the Law Society’s mission statement.  In this connection, I am greatly heartened to see that the Law Society is setting up a new and broader pro bono scheme to extend the scope of legal aid in deserving cases.  The Law Society’s role in promoting and institutionalising pro bono legal services to the underprivileged is well known and dates back over two decades when it set up the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme (or CLAS) in September 1985.  I understand that CLAS is regarded as the crown jewel in the Law Society’s contributions to the community.  I hope that the Law Society will achieve even greater success in implementing the new scheme than it has done with CLAS.

18    In addition to helping the less privileged, I note that a large number of lawyers from large, medium-sized and small  firms  have  assumed,  in  the spirit of self-renewal, the responsibility of training future generations of lawyers.  A very recent audit of the Board of Legal Education’s Practical Law Course done by an international auditor had this to say of their voluntary work: “the support of the profession for the Course in so many ways is outstanding and ensures the high quality of the content and teaching. […] Clearly, this is an established tradition in Singapore, to a far greater degree than other jurisdictions”.  This speaks well of the profession as a whole.

Closing Remarks
19    In conclusion, I wish to commend the legal profession for its contributions to our people and our society.  It has always been regarded as a professsion imbued with learning and high ideals.  Its public esteem may go up and down, but its existence is necessary in a free society.  I hope the Law Society will keep up its good work and transform the profession into an institution that the ordinary Singaporean can be proud of.  For this reason, I conclude by wishing the legal profession the very best in its endeavours, for the year ahead and beyond.