As a trainee, every lawyer in Singapore has the benefit of an individually assigned supervisor who is there to assist them to integrate into the firm as an associate and provide the right tools to handle the work of a qualified lawyer. However,  trainees need to make sure they are using their supervisor effectively.  Two of Singapore’s highly regarded law firms offered their advice for trainees on how to benefit from the trainee/supervisor relationship.

Vinodh Coomaraswamy SC, a partner with Shook Lin & Bok, said the firm tells its trainees to look for ways to add value to any task they are assigned. This means trying to do something that the person who assigned the task wouldn’t have done themselves but which is useful for the client. Regularly attending client meetings to sit in is also a way for trainees to observe and learn the basics of client interaction before doing it themselves for Shook Lin & Bok.

KhattarWong assigns each trainee a junior associate ‘buddy’ as well as the normal partner supervisor so that the trainee has someone who has just been through a similar initiation process to turn to for guidance and support with tasks that partners might not need to get involved in. The firm also encourages trainees to speak to partners from other practice groups, besides their supervising partner, to build relationships throughout the firm. Wong Yi, a litigation practice trainee at KhattarWong, also said that the social events organised by the firm were another good way to bond and forge relationships with superiors.

Rodyk & Davidson is a firm where trainees get to experience a few different practice areas and interact with other partners, gaining more rounded exposure. According to Philip Jeyaretnam, SC, Managing Partner Elect, the firm’s trainees value the breadth of experience and practical learning this provides. For lawyers who aren’t getting the right answers or the right amount of support from supervisors there is always someone else they can turn to.

One common theme mentioned by all the law firms approached by ALB was that trainees should remember that ultimately the firm wants them to fully integrate and stay on as an associate. That means that any problems with the supervision process are usually able to be dealt with so that trainees don’t feel the need to leave.