s call By Natalynn Ong In this feature, we speak to Ms. Juliana Yap, a partner at Rajah & Tann (Singapore) who heads the Ship Finance practice group, to find out more about maritime law from a female perspective. Here’s what she has to say.
1. Maritime law has a reputation for being niche and technical. At the start of your illustrious career, was it a conscious decision to specialise in this practice area? What made you decide to specialise in maritime law?
3. What are some challenges of practicing shipping law? Do you think these challenges are specific to the practice of maritime law, or can they be said to be the same for the practice of law in general?
When I first started practice, I don’t think there were many specialist practitioners in any particular area and certainly not many pure maritime lawyers in Singapore. Today, we see a good number of lawyers who not only specialise in maritime law but have sub-specialties such as “wet” or “dry” work, “contentious” or “non-contentious” work.
The legal landscape in Singapore has changed tremendously in the last 10 to 15 years. Today, it is a playing field not just for Singapore lawyers but also for lawyers from all over the world. One of the main challenges in the practice of law is competition for work. Whilst not unique to shipping, given the international nature of shipping work, this challenge is felt to a greater extent in the shipping practice than certain other areas of law.
I did not give much thought to any specialisation when I starting practice but happened to apply to and was accepted into a local boutique shipping law firm for my pupillage. I found the work interesting and stuck with it. So you could say it was conscious decision on my part to specialise in shipping but only after I had gotten a taste of it and found it something that I would enjoy and find satisfaction in doing. 2. Could you walk us through an average day in your life? My average workday starts with an obligatory cup of coffee. I then run through emails and respond to urgent emails. The rest of the day unfolds with more email communications, reviewing and drafting documents, conference calls and meetings.
The young lawyers of our generation are internet savvy, are much more in tune with the world around them than their counterparts from years before and have a lot of mobility. They know the options that are available to them and are not afraid to take them. The corollary to that is it has become increasingly challenging keeping our young lawyers focused and to stay in the field. A first class degree can never be a substitute for experience. As they say, practise makes perfect. Unfortunately, many bright young lawyers don’t stay on long enough to realise their full potential in practice. Another challenge is that shipping work is very much driven by the world economy. This means that on top of keeping up with legal developments, a shipping lawyer must constantly stay 156