About the Programme

The Junior Lawyers Professional Certification Programme (JLP) was announced by the Chief Justice at the Opening of the Legal Year 2024. It aims to equip lawyers of less than 5 years PQE with practical skills for disputes or corporate practice, as well as impart management skills and reinforce principles of professional ethics. This industry-wide learning and development programme will also address issues affecting the development of forensic and legal skills during the formative years of young legal professionals, such as the impact of AI and the lack of in-person collegial learning coming out of the pandemic years.

JLP is expected to launch in the second quarter of 2025. Watch this space for more details in the coming months.

"Our goal is to offer a programme that will set the industry standard for the holistic development of young lawyers, and which will be seen as a trust mark of quality by employers and clients." - CJ Sundaresh Menon, OLY 2024

jlp-hallmark

What's Coming Up?

JLP Taster Modules (CPD points to be confirmed)

The JLP Taster Modules aims to provide participants a taste of the various modules in two main tracks - Disputes and Corporate tracks. Through this preview, participants are expected to gain a broad overview of the key concepts and practical knowledge which they can apply in their work and beyond.

Disputes Module

Disputes Module 1: Starting and Responding to an Action

This module is designed to equip participants with an understanding of the steps involved in commencing an action. The course will cover the following topics:

Developing a preliminary case theory
Letters before the commencement of litigation
Offers of amicable resolution
Originating claims vs. originating applications
Pleadings
Service of process in Singapore and outside Singapore
Challenging jurisdiction

Participants will have the opportunity to engage in the following hands-on activities, with feedback given by trainers:

Case theory and strategy
Pleadings
Mock jurisdiction challenge

23 and 24 Jul 2024

Click here to register!

Disputes Module 2: Appeals

This module is designed to familiarise participants with the procedural, written, oral, ethical, substantive and advocacy aspects of appeals. The course will cover the following topics:

Starting an appeal
Applications for permission and other procedural steps
Appeals to the Appellate Division vs. appeals to the Court of Appeal
Ethical issues
Adducing fresh evidence
Standards of review
Appellate remedies
Preparation and delivery of oral submissions

Participants will also have the opportunity to engage in the following hands-on activities, with feedback given by trainers:

Permission to appeal
Mock appeal oral submissions

25 and 26 Jul 2024

Click here to register!

Corporate Module

Corporate Module 1: Deal Structuring

This module is designed for junior lawyers to be able to understand the fundamentals of deal structuring legal transactions; develop skills to analyse the features, merits, and drawbacks of common deal structures in various practice areas and to advise clients on deal structures confidently. Participants will be able to:

Distinguish between deal types, such as asset sale and share sale transactions, and grasp the unique provisions needed for each
Address cross-border complexities, encompassing governing law, jurisdictional considerations, and contractual provisions like warranties and indemnities
Explore the various stages of deal progression, incorporating preliminary agreements to facilitate negotiation and due diligence processes effectively
Examine different business frameworks, including the function of holding companies, and consider the contribution of transactional lawyers in facilitating deals

7 and 8 Aug 2024

Stay tuned for more information!

Corporate Module 2: Contract Drafting

This course equips participants with vital contract drafting skills, drafting precise provisions while navigating legal nuances. The course explores template selection, Generative AI, and prompt engineering for efficiency. It hones risk management in commercial contracts and tackles cross-border civil law complexities. Participants will be able to:

Develop a comprehensive understanding of the various risks inherent in commercial transactions and contracts, along with strategies to effectively manage and mitigate these risks
Gain insight into the comprehensive structure of contract drafting, encompassing both broad frameworks and specific details and learn to navigate complex contractual elements with precision
Understand the categories of language e.g. the language of obligation, including the appropriate use of legal words and phrases such as ‘shall’ and ‘may’
Examine how the choice of governing law impacts contract drafting, and understand the importance of selecting the appropriate governing law based on jurisdictional context and involved parties

14 and 15 Nov 2024

Stay tuned for more information!

Common Module

Sustainability for Young Lawyers: Taking Charge of Your Work Life

This programme aims to help young lawyers to develop their self-leadership and confidence to support a more enjoyable, effective, and sustainable career in the legal profession. The 4 half-day sessions will be interactive sessions and each will include a practical exercise or discussion to help participants learn how to apply the principles of the module.

Session 1: Introduction to Lawyer Sustainability and Personal Well-Being (Where Am I?)

This session will focus on:

Personal wellbeing for lawyers
Developing greater awareness of their personal capacity

Participants will have the opportunity to:

Undertake their own personal well-being assessment
Identify their level of satisfaction with the different areas of their life and where they would like to focus on improvement

Session 2: Purpose, Values and Strengths (Who Am I?)

In this session, participants will learn about:

Their personal purpose, values and strengths
The relevance of these in their legal work and personal lives
How using these can promote self-leadership and support a sustainable career in the legal profession

Participants will have the opportunity to:

Undertake practical exercises to help them identify their own personal values and strengths

Session 3: Stress and How Emotions Are Made (How Do I Feel?)

Participants will learn about:

The optimal and sub-optimal impacts of stimulation vs stress on the way we think, feel and act
How to better regulate ourselves towards the "just right" place for greater sustainability and effectiveness
How our brain constructs our emotions

Participants will have the opportunity to:

Undertake an exercise in this module to put their learning into practice

Session 4: Working Effectively (What Can I Do?)

This session will focus on tools to:

Help participants manage their time when working in a time-pressured environment with little or no autonomy over their workload or hours
Prepare for new roles
Work effectively from home

Participants will have the opportunity to:

Have an interactive discussion on the challenges young lawyers face in these areas
How they can respond to these challenges

23 Aug 2024

Stay tuned for more information!

29 Aug 2024

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20 Sep 2024

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27 Sep 2024

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Legal Innovation

This programme aims to expose junior lawyers to the latest trends and best practices in legal innovation and to equip them with the skills to identify, implement, and measure the effectiveness of innovation projects in their own practice.

Participants will have the opportunity to:
• Understand the fundamentals of legal innovation
• Apply legal innovation in practice
• Apply legal process mapping framework and legal lean six sigma concepts
• Understand legal design thinking concepts
• Explain the state of Legal Tech landscape, their capabilities and limitations
• Understand Legal GenAI as well as their capabilities and limitations
• Understand the professional and ethical considerations in legal practice in the context of legal innovation, Legal Tech, and Legal GenAI
• Evaluate and communicate the feasibility, suitability, and acceptability of their proposed solutions using appropriate criteria and methods
• Understand best practice legal innovation roadmap for lawyers

10 and 13 Sep 2024

Stay tuned for more information!

Module dates and outline are tentative and subject to changes.

Contribute to Our Programme

Register your interest to contribute to our programme. Opportunities include:

Provide ideas, inputs and feedback on curriculum.
Be an adjunct faculty (trainer or facilitator).

For more information, contact [email protected].