First-year SUSS law students pledge to “serve the public good”

• SUSS conducted its inaugural pledge-taking ceremony for law freshmen today, following recommendations by the Ethics and Professional Standards Committee as accepted by Chief Justice of Singapore

Singapore, 2 August 2024 - More than 60 first-year law students from the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) took a pledge today to uphold the core values of the legal profession, as they embark on their legal education journey. The students pledged to act with integrity, promote the ends of justice, and serve the public good.

This pledge-taking ceremony follows interim recommendations made by the Ethics and Professional Standards Committee in its Interim Report¹, which were accepted and announced by The Honourable the Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon at the Opening of The Legal Year 2024 in January this year.²

One of the accepted recommendations was a pledge for university freshmen to be implemented from the academic year 2024/2025, as a means to build a shared vision for the legal profession as a community. According to the Interim Report, this initiative aims to cultivate students’ awareness and sensitivity to the obligations they will have to observe as future members of an honourable profession. The pledge-taking ceremony is planned to become an annual tradition.

This evening’s ceremony at SUSS included a faculty procession featuring law faculty in their court robes, while students attended in court attire without the court robes, underscoring the tradition, honour, and professionalism associated with the legal profession.

The students taking the pledge were Year 1 students in the Bachelor of Laws and Juris Doctor programmes (refer to the Annex for the pledge). Witnessing the ceremony were Mr Jimmy Yim, SC, Co-Chair of the Ethics and Professional Standards Committee, Ms Jessie Tan, Director of the Legal Industry Division at Ministry of Law, and Professor Tan Tai Yong, President of SUSS. Mr Gregory Vijayendran, SC, Partner, Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP and Chairman of the Board of Pro Bono Singapore delivered the keynote address.

Professor Leslie Chew, SC, Dean of SUSS School of Law, said: “The introduction of the student pledge is a timely and welcome initiative to guide students towards the professional and ethical standards of the legal profession. It helps aspiring lawyers understand that this profession is a calling, one that upholds the values of honesty, integrity, and dedication. By instilling these principles from the start, we aim to strengthen their commitment to these ideals.”

Mr Jimmy Yim, SC, Co-Chair of the Ethics and Professional Standards Committee and Chairman, Drew & Napier LLC, said: “A person’s journey in the honourable legal profession begins when he or she takes the first step into law school. The Committee is of the view that it is important the law students start with the right mental model and this is reflected by the words in the pledge. When you compare the law students’ pledge with the declaration by newly admitted advocates and solicitors, you see the same values of ‘honesty’, respecting ‘rule of law’ and serving ‘the public good’ being articulated. They represent the legal profession’s core values of ‘Integrity, Professionalism and Justice’, which have been endorsed by the Chief Justice of Singapore.”