Adrian Tan comments on CNA and LHZB on the Chief Justice’s Opening of the Legal Year speech

In his Opening of the Legal Year speech, the Chief Justice covered new ideas for legal education, including the diverse pathways one could take to become a lawyer.

Speaking in his capacity as the Vice President of the Law Society of Singapore, TSMP Law Corporation Head of IP & TMT Adrian Tan was interviewed by Channel NewsAsia and the Lianhe Zaobao on his views.

In the CNA Singapore Tonight segment aired on 6 January, he said: “Law is taught as an academic subject, so people spend four years learning how to read the law and interpret the law. Then they go out into practice and they realise that delivering legal service involves a lot of different skills. So it is a good idea to think about what sort of skills we need for our future lawyers. For example, do they need to understand technology? After all, lawyers are here to serve the demands of the market.”

In the Lianhe Zaobao story published the following day on the same topic, he said: “If more mid-term transferees from different backgrounds can put on legal robes, both the judicial community and our country will benefit greatly. If Singapore is to become a hub for new technologies, it must have lawyers who can serve these technology industries, and the best way is to train people with relevant industry backgrounds to become lawyers.” Adrian, who has a degree in law and computer science, pointed out his own experience: “Instead of teaching a lawyer to learn science, it is more effective to teach a scientist to understand the law.”