Publication: TODAY, p 1-2
Date: 21 August 2014
Headline: Spike in overseas grads 'the reason S'pore faces lawyer glut'
THIRD LAW SCHOOL OFFERS ADDmONAL OPTION: MINISTER
Spike in overseas grads
'the reason S'pore
faces lawyer glut'
Shanmugam says it is his duty
to flag outcome of oversupply;
rernarks not meant to dissuade
peoplefrorn entering p rofessio n
of pay and jo b o ppor tunities were not intended to put people off
pursuing law.
Rather, it was his "duty" to flag the
consequences of this trend, he said.
Mr Shanmugam's remarks have
caused some anxiety among law un­
TEOXUANWEI
Assistant News Editor
xuanwei@•mediacorp.com.sg
dergraduates and the legal fraternity,
as well as triggered public discussion
on the issue.
Some questioned how there could
In the midst of confusion
be an oversupply after the recent
and alarm resulting from his warn­
moves -including the setting up of
SINGAPORE-
ing that Singapo re could face an
a third law school in Singapore -to
oversupply of lawyers in the coming
produce more lawyers amid a growing
years, Foreign Affairs and Law Min­
legal services sector.
ister K Shanmugam has set the record
Others wondered whether the glut
straight on the cause of a possible glut:
stemmed from the inflow of foreign
The spurt in the number of Singapore­
firms and lawyers after several cycles
ans studying to be lawyers overseas.
of liberalisation since 2008.
And his comments made at the
In an exclusive interview with TO­
Criminal Justice Conference on Sat­
DAY, Mr Shanmugam said yesterday
urday -asking aspiring lawyers to
that while Singaporean g raduates
temper their expectations in terms
eCONTINUED ON PAGE 2
Publication: TODAY, p 1-2
Date: 21 August 2014
Headline: Spike in overseas grads 'the reason S'pore faces lawyer glut'
Spike in overseas grads 'the reason Singaporefaces lawyer glut'
e
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
tered here are precluded from practis­
returning from overseas law schools
ing Singapore law. Hence, they do not
could be the ones bearing the brunt
compete for training contracts, which
EXPECTED SHORTAGE OF
PRACTICE TRAINING CONTRACTS
of a possible job crunch at local firms,
are offered only by local law firms.
Among candidates who pass Part B examinations
those from universities here may not
Instead, the glut could happen
escape unscathed. "For those intend­
because more and more Singapore­
ing to go overseas, what they will take
ans are studying law overseas, he
from (my message) is 'The numbers
explained. Although the number of
are huge ... and I need to understand
recognised overseas universities has
that I may or may not get a training
remained at 35 since 2006, the total
contract immediately'."
number of Singaporeans reading law
He added: "For those studying law
in the United Kingdom has more than
in Singapore ... the likelihood of getting
doubled to 1,142 between2010 and last
a training contract (upon acceptance
year, based on the Ministry of Law's
by a law firm) is very high here because
(MinLaw) estimates.
law firms value (local law degrees) a
In addition, there were 386 Singa­
4 1 per cent this year.
TODAY understands that there
has been feedback from some over­
seas graduates who found it difficult
to land training contracts.
700 -
600 -
-+
The number of training contracts
No. with Practice Training Contracts
ofl:"ered by law firms each year is de­
• Overseas Graduates
termined by market forces. Mr Shan­
• Local Graduates
mugam said that MinLaw is studying
"how we can relax the requirements in
500 -
a way that more people can get train­
400 -
ing contracts".
300 -
prospects are healthy for local law
200 -
queries, National University of Sin­
According to un iversities here,
graduates. In response to TODAY 's
lot. But because of the law of supply
poreans pursuing a law degree in Aus­
gapore's law dean Simon Chesterman
and demand- the starting salaries
tralian universities last year. The UK
said it continues to see strong demand
and increments and so on, used to be
and Australia are the main sources of
very good for lawyers - they need
returning law graduates.
to understand that t" h e market may
change based on laws of economics."
Pointing to this trend- driven by
the greater affordability of overseas
studies- Mr Shanmugam noted that
'UNDERSTAND THE MARKET'
for its law graduates. Employment
0
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014 (est)
SOURCE, CONTACT SINGAPORE AND SINGAPORE INSTITUTE OF LEGAL EDUCATION
the Government has no control over
what people choose to study.
rates for the past two years have re­
mained above 98 per cent.
"We have nevertheless resisted any
suggestion that we should increase
our intake above the current target
I'm looking at the future and I'm tell­
of about250- in part to avoid satu­
rating the market, but also because
The third law school - to be set up at
"But I can then tell people, 'Look,
ing people our economy is growing at
SIM University- will focus on fam­
by all means study law. But be careful
4 per cent, 3 per cent,2.5 per cent, so
we prefer quality over quantity," add­
ily and criminal law. Mr Shanmugam
and understand the market, and if you
you cannot expect the legal market to
ed Professor Chesterman.
said those citing the school as a reason
intend to just study law and then come
grow at 10, 15 per cent per year, where­
The Singapore Management Uni­
for a possible glut are using a red her­
back and do something else, and you
as the number of students is growing
versity also said that the overall em­
at those kinds of rates."
ployment rate of its first two cohorts
ring, with the same going for those who
are not going to be too concerned if
felt it could be a result of opening the
you don't get a training contract, fine,"
doors to foreign law firms and lawyers.
he said. "But don't assume that eve­
"It's not as if the (number of law­
ryone will get a training contract be­
yers) will go down if we don't have a
cause there is a limit to what the mar­
STRONG DEMAND FOR
LOCAL LAW GRADS
third law school. It is ofl"ering an ad­
ket can absorb. T can't control what
Statistics from MinLaw showed that
ditional option for those who are going
you study, but I think I have a duty to
from2010 to last year, the number of
to go overseas, and in a way that fulfils
tell you what the market is like."
candidates passing the Bar examina­
our needs."
Going by Nominal Value Added, the
tions has been increasing. W hile the
Mr Shanmugam also noted that the
legal services sector has grown from
proportion of overseas graduates who
infiow of foreign practitioners does not
S$1.5 billion in 2009 to an estimated
passed the exam has hovered around
add to the competition, since the vast
S$2.1 billion last year.
majority of the 1,182 currently regis-
But Mr Shanmugam added: "So
an average of28 per cent from 2011 to
last year, it is expected to rocket to
VIDEO
EXCLUSIVE
INTERVIEW
WITH LAW
MINISTERK
SHANMUGAM
Scan the OR code
using the reader app
on your smartphone.
or you can visit
tdy.sg/vidshan­
mugam21aug
for the video.
of law graduates was 99 and 100 per
cent, respectively. Its law dean, Pro­
fessor Yeo Tiong Min, added: "Given
the anticipated market situation, the
Minister's message on having realis­
tic expectations is a very timely one."
The total number of law graduates
produced annually by NUS and SMU
has increased marginally between
2011 and last year, from 334 to 369.
The third law school is expected to
take in 50 to 75 students yearly.