Judicial Associate, State Courts

SG Courts - Supreme Court, State Courts and Family Justice Courts; Singapore; On-site; SGD 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

SG Courts - Supreme Court, State Courts and Family Justice Courts invites a legally qualified Judicial Associate to support Judges, Tribunal Judges and Magistrates across the Criminal, Civil, Community, and Court Dispute Resolution clusters. You will assist in case management, legal research, and courtroom proceedings under supervision of the Senior Director.

You should be a Qualified Person under the Legal Profession Act, with 1–4 years of experience, and possess strong writing and analytical

Qualifications

• Legal qualification as defined by the Legal Profession Act (Cap 161).
• 1–4 years of experience in the legal sector is preferred.
• Ability to work effectively with members of the public and judicial officers.
• Commitment to continuous learning and best practices in tribunals.
• Strong writing and analytical abilities required.

Responsibilities

• Legal Research: conduct research and analysis for cases and prepare briefs, memoranda or reports.
• Case Management: assist Judges and Tribunals on cases, review files, identify issues, propose follow-up action, sit in during hearings.
• Court Administration: collaborate with Court Administrators to collect and analyze statistics for efficient court management.
• Environmental scanning: monitor trends in court management across jurisdictions.
• Knowledge Management: draft case summaries, digests and reports; update bench manuals and guidelines.
• Process Innovation: review legal processes and draft policy papers; assist in projects and committees.
• Hearings: conduct case management conferences and facilitate court dispute resolution as Assistant Registrar.

Skills

Strong writing

Analytical abilities

Interpersonal skills

Teamwork

Education

Qualified Person as defined in Legal Profession Act (Cap 161)

Job description

What the role is:

A career in SG Courts will enable you to help us achieve the Judiciary’s vision of inspiring public trust and confidence in providing an effective and accessible justice system in an outward-facing, court user-centric Judiciary.We welcome you to join our team as:JUDICIAL ASSOCIATESTATE COURTSA Judicial Associate is a legally qualified person who assists Judges, Tribunal Judges and Tribunal Magistrates in the management and disposal of cases, and renders any other legal, managerial and administrative support to the work of any of these clusters of the Justice Division in the State Courts: the Criminal Courts cluster, the Civil Courts cluster, the Community Courts and Tribunals cluster, and the Court Dispute Resolution cluster.The successful applicant will report to the Senior Director, Legal.

What you will be working on:

• Legal Research: Conducting legal research and legal analysis for cases and preparing briefs, memoranda, legal opinions or other reports for the cases at hand.
• Case Management: Working with Judges, Tribunal Judges and Tribunal Magistrates on cases, including reviewing case files, identifying and evaluating legal and procedural issues that may arise, proposing follow-up action, and sitting in during a case hearing to render such assistance as may be assigned or directed by the presiding judge or magistrate.
• Court Administration and Management: Working with Court Administrators in the collection, preparation and analysis of statistics and data to enable effective administration and management of courts, enhance efficiency, and achieve desired outcomes.
• Conducting environmental scanning of legal and judicial issues, and monitoring the latest trends and developments in the management and administration of courts and tribunals in other jurisdictions.
• Knowledge Management: Drafting case summaries, digests and reports for concluded hearings, assisting to revise and update bench manuals, sentencing benchmarks, practice circulars, practice directions, guidebooks, guidelines and updating legal repositories.
• Process Innovation: Conducting reviews of legal processes and procedures, research on and preparation of draft policy papers, and assisting in legal and other projects as well as in the work of any committee or working group.
• Hearings: Conducting case management conferences as an Assistant Registrar in the Small Claims Tribunals and/or Employment Claims Tribunals, facilitating court dispute resolution, determining interlocutory applications and issuing case management directions for matters set down for trial.

What we are looking for:

• A Qualified Person as defined in the Legal Profession Act (Cap 161)
• 1 to 4 years of experience in the legal sector
• Relevant working experience in the legal sector would be an advantage
• Ability to work effectively with members of the public and judicial officers
• Commitment to continuous learning and developing best practices in the tribunals
• Strong writing, intellectual and analytical abilities
• Good judicial temperament
• Ability to multitask and work within tight deadlines
• Ability to work well both in a team and independently with minimal supervision
• Possess excellent interpersonal skills
• Possess a drive to excel and overcome challenges
• Working knowledge of current and best practices in organisational development and change management would be an advantageNote:Applicants are required to submit relevant document(s) that indicate their eligibility as Qualified Persons.The successful candidate will be appointed on a one-year probationary contract in the first instance.

About SG Courts - Supreme Court, State Courts and Family Justice Courts

The Judiciary - comprising the Supreme Court, State Courts and Family Justice Courts - is one of the three constitutional pillars of government in Singapore. Known collectively as SG Courts, we are integrated to serve as one judiciary. As an organ of state, the Judiciary’s function is to independently administer justice. Headed by the Chief Justice, we are a forward-looking, innovative and trusted judiciary. Built on judicial professionalism and transparency, we maintain the highest standards of integrity in safeguarding our community. We pledge to ensure equal and continuous access to justice, and we are committed to deliver justice that is accessible, fair and impartial. The Judiciary strives to innovate and evolve to face challenges in an increasingly complex world. Hence, we are committed to our shared vision of “A trusted Judiciary. Ready for Tomorrow”.