Footwear for freshers

Shoes. 

Speaking at a panel discussion to Freshers at NUS’s law school on Wednesday, the moderator asked us for one word that would encapsulate all that we wanted to say to law students just embarking on their career. 

The other offerings were also close to my heart. Confidence. Integrity. Resilience. Contribution. All precepts that have driven my life choices and pulled me out of despair at one point or another in this grueling journey. 

My proffer was “Shoes”. 

Yes, I chose it because it was unexpected. In the high minded mix, “shoes” is an unorthodox selection. Lateral thinking and coming up with “outside the (shoe)box” thinking is critical to being a good transactional lawyer. 

Also, being prepared and ready for the demands of your profession. From the comfortable shoes you put on in the office for days which morph into nights on long deals, to high shine armour that you buckle on before battle, for the courtroom or the boardroom, where looking the part, and instilling confidence in yourself and in the client, is as critical to success as being ready with your arguments. 

Shoes also signify the continuing struggle we have as women carving a role for ourselves in a male dominion. Men get to stride into meetings with the assurance that they can have comfort and style on their feet. Women have to choose between practicality (in which case we signal that we haven’t arrived or don’t know how the game is played or that we bat for the other side, or any number of other judgments that make us feel ... less), and perching on elegant contraptions of torture. We may say that there is equal gender opportunity, and we may mean it, but social and sartorial conventions still make women have to put in 150% of the effort just to be on an equal (pardon) footing. 

But more importantly, a reminder of why you are doing it. Everyone needs footwear. Your opponent may have sought-after red soles, heels she paid so much for that the designer thought it worthwhile to go to court to assert his right to be the only one to paint the undersides of his creations a signature red hue. Mine are from a discount online retailer “inspired by” Jimmy Choos. The person you’re helping in the pro bono case may only have hand-me-down trainers. We are, at our core, the same and no lawyer, no matter how successful, how respected, should forget from whence we came and the common end to which we are going. The ability to practise law is a privilege. We should treat it - and every client - with a respect born of duty. Hence, Integrity. 

Finally, I was reminded of the story told to me by my colleague Darren Tan. He’s famous now for having been to jail and as the first lawyer to be admitted to the Singapore Bar with a serious criminal record. He overcame many odds to get there. A lack of education, finances and opportunities. But, as he tells it, his lowest moment, the point at which he nearly gave up, was one day while rushing to class in Law School. He had found himself in the wrong lecture theatre and was late when, mid-dash, the sole of his old sneaker broke. Right then, after 10 years in jail and 19 strokes of the cane, after beating the odds by getting an interview and securing a place in the top law faculty in Asia, and getting the funds to pay his way, the bottom of his shoe fell off. As his bare foot hit the floor, he almost threw in the towel on his legal future. 

He, drawing on a resilience from a god given source, didn’t. I, who have not gone through what he went through, have no right to. You, with your careers and lives ahead of you, owe it to yourselves and those around you, to make a difference. So, finally, Contribution. 

Don’t believe the internet when it tells you to follow your passion. Instead, be passionate about what you do. And, FFS, make it count.

From the Desk of Stefanie Yuen Thio