Courts' disrespect, humiliation and inflexibility cited by lawyers as reasons for leaving industry
«Too bad, it is fixed» — this was the court's response to a pregnant lawyer who requested a trial adjournment because the hearing dates clashed directly with her expected delivery date.And the senior lawyer wasn't the only one. Lawyers say screaming and name-calling in Singapore's courts have become normalised.«Nowadays, it (the court) has become a place for dehumanising and humiliating lawyers, especially junior ones. It makes lawyers want to leave the profession altogether,» another junior lawyer said.These are snippets from a recently-released study — the Legal Profession Sustainability Study — which was unveiled on Tuesday (Jun 23)Commissioned by the Law Society of Singapore, the four-year study relied on qualitative interviews with 855 lawyers.The study cited court deadlines and judicial interactions, a deepening well-being crisis and workplace culture as some of key factors why lawyers are leaving private practice.