Future senior counsel should be good mentors, inspirations to young lawyers, say members of legal community

SINGAPORE — Besides being the top legal minds in Singapore, lawyers should be appointed to the role of senior counsel if they are able to create workplaces free of harassment and bullying, mentor and nurture young lawyers, and teach in their free time.

These were some of the suggestions that legal experts and lawyers told TODAY, in light of recent changes to the criteria for the appointment of senior counsel as announced by Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon at the opening of the legal year on Jan 8.

He said then that the selection committee for senior counsel will now place greater emphasis on an applicant’s work that has “tangibly contributed” to the development of Singapore law and the legal profession.