<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>April 23, 2009
'IGNORANT' LAWYERS
</TR><!-- headline one : start --><TR>Have standards fallen?
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I AM baffled after reading Tuesday's article, 'A-G lets off 'ignorant' lawyers'.
Lawyers in private practice, who earn their living by giving legal advice to the public, were said to be 'ignorant' about a requirement under the Legal Profession Act.
They were required to complete a mandatory Legal Practice Management Course, organised by the Law Society, before taking up their duties as partners, directors or sole proprietors of law firms.
However, 55 lawyers, the majority of whom come from big firms, were 'ignorant' of this requirement.
Ignorance of the law has never been a valid defence for a layman found to have committed an offence. Yet today in Singapore, partners and directors of big law firms are 'ignorant' of the law.
This prompts the question whether the standards and competence of Singapore lawyers today have fallen to such a dismal level that they are not even able to keep pace with laws governing their own profession. Santos Muyco (Ms)
'IGNORANT' LAWYERS
</TR><!-- headline one : start --><TR>Have standards fallen?
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I AM baffled after reading Tuesday's article, 'A-G lets off 'ignorant' lawyers'.
Lawyers in private practice, who earn their living by giving legal advice to the public, were said to be 'ignorant' about a requirement under the Legal Profession Act.
They were required to complete a mandatory Legal Practice Management Course, organised by the Law Society, before taking up their duties as partners, directors or sole proprietors of law firms.
However, 55 lawyers, the majority of whom come from big firms, were 'ignorant' of this requirement.
Ignorance of the law has never been a valid defence for a layman found to have committed an offence. Yet today in Singapore, partners and directors of big law firms are 'ignorant' of the law.
This prompts the question whether the standards and competence of Singapore lawyers today have fallen to such a dismal level that they are not even able to keep pace with laws governing their own profession. Santos Muyco (Ms)
