Legal Profession Needs Fundamental Redesign, Not Incremental Change
Singapore's legal sector faces pressure to rethink how lawyers work, are trained, and advance their careers as artificial intelligence, globalisation, and client expectations reshape the profession. Justice Hri Kumar Nair, Justice of the Court of Appeal and Chair of the Future of Legal Profession Committee, made this case at the launch of Hackathon for a Better World 2026, a initiative jointly run by DBS, the Singapore Courts, and the Singapore Academy of Law.
More than 40 teams of lawyers, professionals, and students will spend two months developing solutions across three areas: cross-border legal capability, responsible AI integration, and sustainable legal practice.
The Scale of Disruption
Nair said the pressures on lawyers have shifted significantly over his 25 years in private practice. The profession now faces intensified commercial pressure, AI-driven disruption, and sustainability concerns including burnout and weak mentorship structures.
He called for re-examination of how lawyers are educated, recruited, trained, managed, and developed. Law firm organisation and how legal work is delivered also need rethinking, he said.
The hackathon gives the profession a chance to test practical ideas. Participants were encouraged to challenge traditional models, including the billable hours system.
What Sustainability Actually Requires
A panel of legal leaders and court officials agreed that surface-level fixes won't work. Setting rules on working hours alone misses the point.
Raeza Ibrahim, Partner at TSMP Law Corporation, said the real issues are inefficient processes, gaps in leadership capability, and workplace practices that keep lawyers thinking about work at 1am and through weekends. "If I still have my young people, my middle people, and my senior people thinking about all their work after 7pm and at 1am and keeping them up at night and all through the weekend, nothing will be achieved," he said.
Sadhana Rai, Chief Representation Officer at Pro Bono SG, identified two key conversations. The first is internal: lawyers must clarify their own sense of purpose and what sustains their motivation long-term. The second is with employers: organisations need to provide autonomy within clear guardrails, allowing lawyers to build confidence, develop skills, and stay engaged.
From the courts' perspective, Cheng Pei Feng, Senior Assistant Registrar at the Supreme Court, said the profession will continue demanding high commitment. Individuals need to make deliberate choices about trade-offs they accept.
AI Adoption Shifts Control to Individual Users
Technology is becoming more accessible, placing greater control in the hands of individual lawyers rather than institutions. This creates opportunities for experimentation but also raises expectations around productivity, accuracy, and turnaround time.
Tan Ken Hwee, Chief Transformation and Innovation Officer at SG Courts, said formal training matters less than individual initiative. "The big change that we are seeing in recent years, whether with or without Gen AI, is really a lot more control has now gone out to the actual rank and file users," he said.
Sadhana cautioned that AI use must be guided by clear principles. "My philosophy is I will use AI, but I ensure that there's still a human being at the helm, in the loop, and on the loop," she said. This keeps accountability and trust intact.
No Single Group Can Solve This Alone
Lam Chee Kin, Group Head of Legal and Compliance at DBS, said the conversation must extend beyond lawyers and courts to include clients and the broader pressures they face. Solutions should anchor to a clear set of values: the rule of law, access to justice, and the future of the profession.
As legal work becomes increasingly cross-border, Singapore lawyers will need to strengthen regional understanding and collaboration to remain competitive. The profession's future depends on more than local boundaries.
For HR professionals managing legal teams or supporting workforce planning in the sector, the message is clear: career sustainability in law requires rethinking purpose, expectations, and how work is structured - not just implementing new policies. AI Learning Path for CHROs offers insights into how workforce leaders can navigate these shifts. For deeper context on AI for Legal, resources are available on how the profession is adapting to technological change.
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