SingaporeLaw Watch obviates need for lawyers to check multiple sources for latest developments in law and practice

Singapore, 9 January 2008 – The Honourable the Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong announced the official commencement of a new legal news service, the Singapore Law Watch (“SLW”), at the Opening of the Legal Year on Saturday 5 January 2008.

SLW is developed by the Singapore Academy of Law (“SAL”) to provide a free ‘one-stop’ legal news service for the legal community in Singapore, and a resource for overseas lawyers who are interested in timely notifications of changes to our legal landscape.  The SLW will be updated every weekday and will bring to all readers the most current information including the latest legislative changes, new Supreme Court judgments, current legal news in the media, as well as articles and commentaries on the impact of new developments.

“The purpose is to alert lawyers to changes that may be immediately relevant to their practice, and bring to their attention developments that could be useful for future reference,” said Ms Serene Wee, Chief Executive of SAL.  This new service will benefit particularly the small and medium law firms that do not have their own knowledge management systems and the resources to engage librarians to circulate the latest cases, legislation and other materials.

“Our target audience are busy lawyers who do not have time or inclination to sit in front of their computers for any length of time,” said Ms Wee. The information on Singapore Law Watch is organised and presented to allow for its essence to be absorbed at a glance and “on the run”.

Singapore Law Watch also allows users to retrieve the latest content by RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds to their internet enabled mobile devices or desktop computers through freely available applications called News Readers.  When necessary, SAL members will also receive an “email blast” to alert them of breaking news or significant developments that affect the profession. 

What’s available on Singapore Law Watch

The online content will be developed over time.  Most content is archived for up to three months. Currently, Singapore Law Watch has the following content sections:

a) Headline news relating to law and legal practice which are sourced from Business Times, Straits Times and Today. The postings are uploaded daily on weekdays and is archived for two weeks.

b) Updates on new legislation and commentaries on legislation. This section includes updates on Bills introduced in Parliament, Acts brought into operation and issuance of new revised editions. There will also be commentaries on legislation drawn from newsletters of six law firms – Allen & Gledhill, Drew & Napier, KhattarWong, Rajah & Tann, Rodyk & Davidson and Wong Partnership.

c) New judgments and commentaries on judgments.  This section will include the latest High Court and Court of Appeal judgments categorised to the relevant legal subject area.  There will also be commentaries on judgments taken from the newsletters of the six law firms mentioned above.

d) Notices and Directions. These include new issues of, and amendments to circulars and notices from the Supreme Court, Subordinate Courts, Monetary Authority of Singapore (“MAS”) and Singapore Exchange Limited (“SGX”). 

How to access Singapore Law Watch

View Singapore Law Watch at www.singaporelawwatch.sg. 
There is no need to register or login. The information is also mirrored at SINGAPORELAW (www.singaporelaw.sg) and will soon be available in the free resources section of the subscription legal information portal, LawNet2. For research purposes, all information that is viewed on Singapore Law Watch is archived and searchable in the subscription section LawNet2 (www.lawnet.com.sg).

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About Singapore Academy of Law

The Singapore Academy of Law (“The Academy”) is the umbrella body of the legal community in Singapore and has more than 7,000 members.

The Academy’s activities are driven by three strategic priorities – enhancing legal knowledge, improving efficiency of legal practice through the use of technology and supporting the legal industry. The work in each of these areas is directed towards raising the standards and quality of legal practice and building a strong legal community in Singapore.

Besides its role as the official law reporting agency in Singapore, The Academy’s other functions include providing continuing legal education for its members, legal publications, promoting legal research and scholarship, the reform and development of the law, and alternative dispute resolution.

For more details on the Singapore Academy of Law, visit www.sal.org.sg