Adrian Tan was recently named as the new president of the Law Society of Singapore, at a time when the legal profession in the country – as well as globally – is witnessing a fundamental shift. Tan says lawyers and firms need to adapt to this changing landscape through approaches ranging from utilising social media, to reimagining what a law firm should look like.
ALB: In your speech at the Opening of the Legal Year, you addressed the trend of young lawyers leaving the profession, and you suggested technology and remote work may play a role in supporting lawyers to have a life outside the office. What does the law firm of the future look like to you?
Tan: We see around the world that people are leaving their jobs in record numbers. This has been termed “The Great Resignation.” It is not limited to any one country or any one industry. There are reports of London law firms facing a battle to retain young lawyers. Soaring salaries in themselves are not enough, as the pandemic has offered employees a pause to reflect on their priorities.
There is an increasing demand for flexibility and balance, and varied paths.
In the old days, there was only one template for a law firm: it had the reception area, the meeting rooms, the library, and the factory where lawyers toiled. Large law firms had fancier versions of this template, but it was the same idea.
In the 21st century, there will be a number of templates. Big Law will continue to look like the Big Law we see in Hollywood movies and TV shows: City offices with blue-ribbon lawyers serving blue-chip clients on mega deals involving tech giants and governments. But there will also be virtual firms, that forgo all that real estate to slim down so that they can offer affordable legal services to individuals and small businesses. And hybrid firms will have a blend of physical and virtual offices, to be leaner. In reducing overheads, and passing on cost savings to the client, they are improving access to justice.
Lawyers will then enjoy greater flexibility, and not feel the need to commute to the office daily. The time saved from not commuting can be spent on errands, leisure, or social activities.
The Law Society has begun initiatives to explore how hybrid firms, virtual firms, and firms operating from co-working spaces could work, and the bene-fits and drawbacks of each.
ALB: You’ve spoken about “demystifying” the law for the public, and the Law Society using social media to communicate more effectively with digital natives. What type of feedback have you received from the legal community so far?
Tan: Two years ago, if I had suggested using social media to communicate about the law, I would have met a lot of resistance. But, with the pandemic, people have stayed at home, and relied on social media as a principal means of receiving news and discussing issues.
Important matters, such as compulsory vaccination, quarantines and COVID misinformation, are debated hotly on social media. In almost every discussion, the question arises: What does the law say?
If lawyers do not step up to explain the law, then others may fill the vacuum, and in so doing, misinterpret the law. In the age of social media, fake news flies around the world as soon as you click “forward” thoughtlessly.
Already, many Singapore lawyers have taken to social media, such as LinkedIn, in an effort to educate the public. They see it as a duty. Lawyers, of all people, know the harm that fake news can inflict on the system. That is why legal literacy will remain my priority. By that, I mean that the Law Society will educate the public on what the law is. Access to justice begins with legal literacy. The more we teach our citizens about the law, the more we empower them to use the law as a force for good.
I look forward to a time when legal issues and developments are discussed intelligently on social media, much in the same way as political issues, movies and the latest electronic gadgets are. We have to go to where the public is.
ALB: Has the pandemic impacted the role of the Law Society?
Tan: The profession is at an inflexion point: Do we cling to the old ways of doing things, or should we explore a 21st-century vision of legal practice? An overwhelming number of lawyers, from all seniority levels, have told Law Society that we should choose to be bold. They want to help the Law Society re-imagine a law firm of the future. Or, I should say, there could be different types of law firms in the future: The brick-and-mortar traditional firms, the in-between hybrid firms, and the entirely invisible law firm, with no physical presence, serving their clients virtually, through apps. Lawyers want the Law Society to keep asking questions about the future.
