SAL ANNUAL APPRECIATION DINNER 2025
Opening Remarks
Wednesday, 15 October 2025
The Honourable the Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon
Supreme Court of Singapore

Fellow members of the Academy

Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen

I. Introduction

1. A very good evening. On behalf of the Academy, welcome to our annual appreciation dinner. We are delighted to see you all here this evening, because this is our chance to express our deep gratitude for all your significant contributions and unwavering support throughout the past year.

2. Looking back, it has been an exceptionally busy and productive year for the Academy. Let me mention just some of the key highlights:

(a) In January, to mark the tenth anniversary of the Singapore International Commercial Court (or “SICC”), the Academy co-organised a special edition of the SICC Conference that brought together more than 420 local and international delegates from across 15 jurisdictions. We followed this up with the launch of a commemorative book that we published and released just three weeks ago, titled Charting New Waters: The Singapore International Commercial Court After 10 Years.

(b) In July, the Academy convened the second Legal Profession Symposium. Over the course of three days, we brought together more than 250 representatives from across the profession to explore what we need to do to sustain, strengthen and reimagine the future of the profession.

(c) Last month, together with the Ministry of Law, the Academy organised its annual flagship event, TechLaw.Fest. The theme of this year’s event was “Reimagining Legal in the Digital Age”, and it drew over 2,000 attendees from more than 20 countries.

(d) The Academy also successfully launched the Junior Lawyers Professional Certification Programme, and held the inaugural Mass Admissions Dinner and Valedictory Dinner. The former serves to welcome our newest entrants to the profession, and the latter celebrates the careers of those who have reached the statutory retirement age.

3. These are just some of the Academy’s many accomplishments over the past year. Let me say that their success has been made possible only because of two key groups of people: our members and supporters who generously contribute their time and expertise, including by serving on our Senate, Board, Committees and Sub-committees; and our exceptional team of staff led by Zee Kin who work tirelessly behind the scenes. Both these groups are completely devoted to the mission of the Academy and all that we have achieved is down to their unflinching support. So once again, I thank you all very much for your tremendous contributions.

4. In the remainder of my address, I want to share some of the Academy’s plans arising in particular from the discussions that took place at the Legal Profession Symposium (or “Symposium”) in July. I suggested then that our profession stands at a critical inflection point, because we are facing an unprecedented confluence of rapid, dramatic and complex challenges that demand our urgent attention.

These include:
(a) the transformative impact of artificial intelligence (or “AI”) on the practice of law and hence the pressing need to ensure that we all learn how to use it effectively and safely;

(b) the increasingly competitive global market for young talent seeking meaningful and purposeful work that can provide both reasonable remuneration and work-life balance; and

(c) the growing commercialisation of legal practice and the implications this will have on how we train and develop our young lawyers.

5. These challenges, among many others, all have a direct and profound impact on our profession. Together, they represent a change in kind, not merely in degree, such that we must rethink and reimagine many aspects of the practice of law. As I suggested at the Symposium, we need a fundamental reset, and the horizon of our imagination cannot be limited to incremental changes at the edges. To this end, the Academy has developed five strategic workstreams that will anchor and set the direction for its work in the coming years. This evening, I would like to outline each of these workstreams and highlight some notable initiatives that are already underway.

II. Promoting Sustainability and Well-Being for a Resilient Profession

6. The first workstream focuses on sustainability and well-being. It aims to help our members build purpose-driven and values-based careers, within organisations that are committed to instilling a positive and inclusive workplace culture. The Mindful Business Movement, which we launched at the Symposium, will be central to this effort. It will promote awareness and adoption of the Sustainability Principles, support the practical implementation of these principles in our workplaces, and champion mental wellness and well-being throughout the profession.

7. I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation to the founding partners of the Mindful Business Movement – the Mindful Business Charter, Mindful Business Singapore, Temasek Holdings and WorkWell Leaders. I also extend my deep gratitude to all our partner organisations, comprising nearly 30 law firms, legal departments and government institutions.

8. Building on the momentum from the launch, we convened a kick-off meeting earlier this month, bringing together nearly 30 representatives from our partners. The session saw thoughtful exchanges on how we can work together to shape and champion well-being in the legal profession, as we collectively strive towards realising the Movement’s vision, and this is “To sustain fulfilling legal careers through conducive workplace cultures and constructive professional interactions — reducing unnecessary stress, honouring different seasons of life, and grounding the profession in purpose, values-based ethics, and a strong sense of identity – a collaborative effort to uphold the vision and achieve its intended outcome.” We welcome more partners to join us and help shape a profession that sustains both our work and our people.

9. Apart from the Mindful Business Movement, the Academy is also devoting considerable resources to career coaching, so as to promote the retention and development of talent within our profession. A career navigator programme known as Lexplorer will bring together a suite of tools and initiatives to support meaningful and sustainable career growth. It has been designed for legal professionals across all levels and career paths, and will include:

(a) career planning toolkits to help legal professionals assess and map their career progression;
(b) an AI career companion that will help our members identify skills gaps, chart career pathways, and align professional and personal goals; and
(c) career coaching programmes featuring both group workshops and individual coaching sessions.

III. Harnessing AI Safely and Effectively

10. Let me turn to the second workstream, which aims to help our members harness AI’s transformative potential safely and effectively. This effort has two main components.

11. The first is to equip the profession with reliable generative AI tools. At last year’s appreciation dinner, I mentioned the launch of LawNet AI – a suite of AI-powered services on LawNet with an initial focus on case summarisation. This year, with the support of the Infocomm Media Development Authority, AI Singapore, the Ministry of Law and the courts, the Academy launched LawNet 4.0, which is its most significant transformation to date.

12. LawNet 4.0 introduces two innovative features. The new Q&A based search function allows users to pose legal research questions in natural language and receive AI-generated responses with verifiable references to case law and statutory provisions. We are rolling this out progressively, starting with contract law. The take-up has been encouraging thus far, with more than 2,000 Q&A searches conducted each week on LawNet.

13. Alongside this, we will leverage on generative AI to annotate statutory provisions with the relevant case references, beginning with the Companies Act. Notably, these features will be available to all LawNet users as part of their basic subscription with no additional cost.

14. The AI workstream will also coordinate our training efforts. All of us will need to develop a sound understanding of AI’s capabilities and limitations, its possible applications in legal work, as well as the ethical issues that it will give rise to. Starting later this month, the Academy will therefore hold a series of workshops and prompt engineering clinics for our members. These workshops and clinics will be conducted by PwC and Bizibody Technology, and they have been designed to be hands-on and interactive. Participants will be introduced to general-purpose AI tools such as Gemini and Copilot, as well as specialised platforms such as LawNet AI and Contract AI. Among other things, the workshops will cover three essential areas:

(a) how to apply AI to drafting, research and document review;
(b) how to craft effective prompts using resources such as the Academy’s updated prompt engineering guide; and
(c) how to critically evaluate AI-generated content.

IV. Reshaping Legal Education for the Future

15. The third workstream is directed to reshaping legal education for the future, by ensuring that it remains closely aligned with the ever-evolving needs of our profession. This encompasses both university legal education and continuing legal education. In relation to the former, we must have firmly on our agenda the critical need to enhance communications between the profession and our universities, so as to drive meaningful and effective curricular reform. To this end, the Academy will work with the profession to better identify and articulate the foundational knowledge and skills that law graduates must have, and we will then engage the universities to consider how we might integrate these requirements, as articulated by the profession, into their programmes.

16. As for continuing legal education (or “CLE”), I have already mentioned the Junior Lawyers Professional Certification Programme (or “JLP”) which we launched in May. This structured training programme offers modules covering essential skills such as legal innovation, the business of law, and client management, as well as specialist topics in disputes and corporate practice. Five months since its launch, the JLP has seen more than 120 participants from more than 50 organisations, and I am delighted that the feedback has been highly positive. The strength of the JLP is drawn from the expertise of its faculty, pedagogy experts and course managers, together with all the judges, Senior Counsel and senior practitioners who have generously volunteered as trainers and speakers. I am deeply grateful to all of you for your tremendous contributions to this vital initiative.

17. But beyond the JLP, there is a pressing need for us to fundamentally reimagine CLE. We are all operating within an increasingly complex and dynamic legal landscape, shaped by trends such as AI and the internationalisation of legal work. The knowledge, skills and competencies that lawyers will need in this sort of environment are constantly evolving. Seen in this light, we should not see CLE as an imposition or as a checkbox of requirements to be met in some way or another. Instead, it must be seen and embraced as an institutional and necessary part of how all lawyers and their skills are to be developed. The Academy will therefore work with all stakeholders to reassess our general approach to CLE, so as to ensure that it remains fit for purpose.

V. Sharpening Business and Leadership Skills

18. Our fourth workstream will focus on sharpening the business and leadership skills of our members. Modern legal practice today demands more than technical expertise; it also requires strong business development skills as well as leadership and people management skills. This workstream will therefore help our lawyers enhance their client management skills, develop a stronger business understanding and acumen, and sharpen their strategic thinking. It will also strengthen the leadership pipeline throughout the profession, by offering structured leadership training and coaching to mid-level and senior lawyers. More details of these upcoming programmes will be provided in due course.

VI. Internationalisation and Improving Competitiveness

19. Finally, the fifth workstream seeks to enhance the global and regional competitiveness of our law firms. The Academy will create more opportunities for our members to be seen and heard at international fora, conduct more business missions and exchange visits, and support law firms who wish to enhance and expand their international client advisory capabilities.

20. Apart from these efforts, let me also highlight two specific initiatives.
(a) First, the Academy has entered into strategic partnerships with LexisNexis, Thomson Reuters, vLex and Legora to seamlessly integrate Singapore judgments into their research platforms. We hope that this will elevate the use and citation of Singapore law internationally, which will benefit our lawyers in the long run.
(b) Second, in January, the Academy will launch Regional Counsel, a video podcast series by Academy Publishing. Starting with Indonesia, this initiative will bring together practitioners, corporate counsel and academics from across ASEAN to share practical insights on compliance, business regulations, and the diverse legal and business cultures of our region.

VII. Conclusion

21. These are just a snapshot of our efforts to address some of the most important issues that we will have to contend with in the coming years, and we will all have to work together to develop the agenda to meet these challenges and others that lie ahead. In this regard, as I mentioned at the Symposium, the Academy has launched a shared virtual platform known as the Living Case Study to promote discussion and collaboration across the various workstreams.

22. But, for tonight, I would like to acknowledge two other notable achievements among those who are here . First, I am delighted to announce that we will be launching the Guide to Ethical Best Practices for Counsel and Arbitrators in Dispute Resolution (or “Guide”), which was developed by a sub-group of the Ethics and Professional Standards Committee comprising Mr Ng Jern-Fei KC, Mr Paul Tan and Ms Una Khng.

23. The Guide will be released in two phases. The first phase is targeted for Singapore practitioners, and it discusses ethical best practices in areas such as client advice, correspondence, pleadings, the preparation of witnesses and the use of technology. The second phase of the Guide will then aim to set out best practices in international dispute resolution, so as to promote greater convergence and consistency in ethical standards across jurisdictions. This is a point of particular importance in the context of international litigation and arbitration. I warmly congratulate and commend Jern-Fei, Paul and Una for coordinating this very substantial and significant effort, in close collaboration with the Academy and the Law Society, and I look forward to their further work in this space.

24. We will also be presenting the Joseph Grimberg Outstanding Young Advocate Award this evening. This award was launched in 2018 to honour Joe’s remarkable legacy, and it recognises young lawyers who demonstrate professional excellence and who have dedicated themselves to serving the profession and the wider community. This year’s award goes to Mr Afzal Ali of Allen & Gledhill LLP, who was nominated by Dr Stanley Lai SC. On behalf of the Academy, I extend my heartiest congratulations to Afzal on this well-deserved recognition.

25. Let me conclude by once again expressing my deepest gratitude to all of you – our dedicated staff, our committee members, our valued partners and my colleagues on the Senate and the Executive Board – for all your outstanding support and valuable contributions to the Academy. I have outlined some of the important initiatives that we are working on to enable us to meet the many serious challenges and issues that lie before us. But the full potential of these initiatives can only be realised if we have members and partners who are willing to step forward and work with us, in pursuit of our collective aspirations. Thank you all so much for doing this and I wish you a most enjoyable evening ahead.

(1) Singapore Academy of Law, “Singapore International Commercial Court Marks its 10th Anniversary with Conference on Transnational Commercial Justice and Dispute Resolution” (14 January 2015); see also Sundaresh Menon CJ, “The Emerging Architecture of Transnational Commercial Justice”, opening address at the Singapore International Commercial Court Conference (14 January 2025).

(2) Published by Academy Publishing and co-edited by Justice Philip Jeyaretnam and Mr Francis Xavier SC.

(3) Sundaresh Menon CJ, “The Future of the Legal Profession: A Shared Vision”, Singapore Academy of Law Journal (published on e-First 3 September 2025) (“Future of the Legal Profession”) at para 2.

(4) Singapore Academy of Law, “TechLaw.Fest Marks 10th Edition with Groundbreaking Keynotes and Launch of e-Apostille to Advance Cross-Border Legalisation” (28 August 2025); see also Sundaresh Menon CJ, “Reimagining Law and Technology”, Keynote Address at TechLaw.Fest 2025 (10 September 2025).

(5) Sundaresh Menon CJ, “A Lawyer’s Craft in a Changing World”, Speech at Opening Conference of the Junior Lawyers Professional Certification Programme (21 May 2025).

(6) Singapore Academy of Law, “Singapore Academy of Law welcomes Newly Admitted Lawyers at Inaugural Mass Admission Dinner” (8 May 2025).

(7) Future of the Legal Profession at para 3.

(8) The Sustainability Principles comprise three key planks – smart meetings and communications, supporting rest and growth, and mindful delegation. See Future of the Legal Profession at para 49.

(9) See livingcasestudy.sal.sg.