A new study reveals that intense pressure, long hours, and a lack of work-life balance are driving lawyers out of Singapore's legal sector. Many experience reprimands and feel their personal lives are sacrificed for professional demands.
The findings shed light on a critical issue impacting Singapore's legal industry, revealing systemic pressures that lead to high turnover and potentially affect the quality of legal services and the well-being of legal professionals.
A recent four-year study by the Law Society of Singapore and Anthro Insights highlights the significant pressure and work-life balance issues contributing to high attrition rates within Singapore's legal sector. The study, which included 31 in-depth interviews and surveys of 855 legal professionals, found that many lawyers feel compelled to sacrifice their personal lives and mental health to meet demanding professional expectations.
Former lawyer Dominic Low, 35, recounted experiences of working until 2 am to meet client demands and being reprimanded by his boss for errors, even as a junior. He described a tense office atmosphere with little margin for error and a constant need to prove oneself. These sentiments were echoed by other participants in the study, underscoring a long-standing problem of lawyers leaving the profession.
The study aimed to investigate the decades-old issue of attrition in Singapore's legal field, drawing on the experiences of former judges, legal academics, and lawyers from various types of firms.