It has been widely reported in the newspapers that there is a shortage of family and criminal lawyers in Singapore.
Many young lawyers do not practise family and criminal law as they perceive these areas of law to be harder and less lucrative than other areas of law.
In fact, the situation led to the government setting up a 3rd law school in Singapore at UNISIM with a curriculum tilted towards family and criminal law. The school is confident that its first batch of 60 students will practise family and criminal law after they graduate in 2020. This is despite the fact that the students will be able to practise any area of law after they graduate.
Students at the school will spend their entire second year studying criminal and family law modules and taking on non-law modules such as forensic science and social services.
Students at the law school will also be spending 6 months for a work stint.
Shortlisted candidates were put through an interview with academic staff, a family lawyer, a criminal lawyer and a community representative. One of the interviewers said he ranked “candidates with real-life experiences, like going through a divorce, or having closely witnessed friends and family going through it or having brushes with criminal law” highly.
Another interviewer gave her vote to “genuine people who wore their hearts on their sleeves”.
See: Amelia Teng, “UniSIM upbeat about filling gap in community law sector”, The Straits Times, 4 October 2016
What makes a lawyer a top divorce lawyer in Singapore?
As a divorce lawyer in Singapore who has specialized in family law (and only practised family law), I can safely say family law is different from many other areas of law.
Our clients are not companies or individuals who have disputes which can be solved by money. In such cases, the case will conclude and the disputants walk away without having to see each other again.
In family law, there can be a lot of emotions involved and it is more than money, particularly if there are children involved.
A top divorce lawyer in Singapore is one who:
- Is matured enough to understand the emotions that his/ her clients are going through;
- Is able to offer practical solutions. Family law is about moving forward with what works;
- Is contactable. You never know when family violence happens at home and urgent advice is needed; and
- Is a specialist. There are many family law firms in Singapore. However, one can only truly know all if one specializes. If a family lawyer spends only 10% of his/ her time on family law, can you trust the lawyer to be a top divorce lawyer in Singapore?
Contact us today if you need a top divorce lawyer in Singapore to represent your rights and protect your interests!
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