This was basically the funniest video I saw in lectures the whole week.. If you do not know, our instructors play complied playlists of funny/weird/random videos just to keep us awake and to entertain us. They even played GirlsGeneration once.. Lol. No prizes for guessing why, and its not because of the song no matter how hard they try to phrase it.

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And twas cometh the start of yet another week.

Did not really have a memorable weekend. Cancelled almost every plan and the only time I left the house was to the AMK Hub NTUC to get some ink cartridges and this week's copy of 'The Economist'. Hm.. When I was there I bought Napoleon: Total War as well on a whim.

Last Wednesday our whole course had a nights out rewarding us for the effort put in outfield the week before. Our bunk went all the way to Causeway Point.. just to have Delifrance for dinner. >.< Next time might as well stick to Yew Tee Point. More choices and its only walking distance as well. Save time.

Volunteered to attend the late Dr Goh Keng Swee's wake the following day as well as part of the delegation sent by MPTS, which is itself one of the 50 detachments that the whole SAF is allocated. That works out to be 2000 ppl, since each unit's supposed to dispatch 40 to Parliament House that afternoon/evening. It was an unforgettable.. when I got to see the late Dr Goh lying in state and also to pay my last respects to him on behalf of my bunk and family (I'm the only one who got randomly chosen from my section >.<). Like what CO said, its really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be part of a state funeral, since they don't really come by pretty often. Anyway, saw my section commanders from Apache there as well as part of Ops Whitestar.

Military Law test was held on Friday, and I managed to pass it the first time round. Did not do as well as expected, mainly due to carelessness and lack of time to study (was so tired that I slept for ninety minutes in the morning before it was my turn). No idea why being in the lecture theatre make all of us so sleeeeepy.. Maybe its a habit harking back to JC days.

There is a treat promised for those who passed it on the first round. Shall wait and see if its a good one

Booking in already, and its a short week..
Take care.. :D

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Shall continue where I left off last week with regards to my last ever SAF field camp (:

Had a fitful sleep on Friday night at the training shed where we were gathered after building our PW cage and completing its associated contacts to weather out the Cat 1 storm after I managed to misplace a five piece antenna rod on the hasty retrograde to Hotel Quebec.

We moved off again at 4am. This time to a low lying area welcoming us with all the rain it had accumulated in the form of knee-deep mud. Just the simple act of getting to our site from the tonner can make us with one with Mother Nature as we soon got whole feet submerged in the sludge.

The MG pit was 80 per cent done already due to the previous group not having enough time to dismantle it (thanks to Cat 1) and we just had to touch up on it. The tentage itself was also waiting for us when we arrived. Thus the only real task we had was to dig the five shellscrapes or so around the area. The only problem was that the ground was all cement and rock a few centimeters below the surface. Hence we spent more time producing sparks and splashing water in the half dug hole onto everyone than actual digging.

Then the bees woke up as night slowly became day. And those bees had nothing else better to do than to fly all around us. Some smart sgt suggested we smoke them out with the grenade.. but it only managed to agitate them even further. After a few people got stung the commanders quickly evacuated us when the tonner arrived. Bees.. like to make that irritating buzzing sound when they swarm all over you.

So that was practically our last outfield experience, being chased away from the area by a horde of yellow-and-black flying objects that can't seem to die (except when they sting you). Fun indeed.. Heard the Sispec people training around that area suffered a few stings as well. =/

Hm.. then again, we ain't gonna have field camp any more ((:
Maybe that's the only positive we can take out of the whole thing. And that's probably the reason why all the spec trainees were so enthusiastic throughout.

And that afternoon would be the last time we'll see of them for quite some time - they're going back to Pasir Laba for combined arms term. In some ways we were glad, not only for them but also because there would be a shorter queue at the cookhouse, lesser people cramming the mess etc.

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I was pleasantly surprised yesterday to find a copy of the 'Business Times' insert on 'Who's who in Law' sitting on my desk when I reached home. Turned out that my dad had specifically gone the extra mile to extract it all the way from Jurong Island on Wednesday. (:

Appended one article for your viewing pleasure in case you're lazy to click on the link above..
____________________________________________________

What's in store for the future
ROBERT SAWHNEY reviews recent changes in the legal industry and the implications for Asian law firms


'BIG LAW is a dead man walking ... nothing can be done.' These words from Professor Larry Ribstein (University of Illinois Law School) were spoken at the recent legal conference at Georgetown University in the US - Law Firm Evolution: Brave new world or business as usual?

Whether this is true is subject to argument, but given the impact of the global financial crisis (GFC) on the worldwide legal market, never before has the law firm world been more acutely interested in what changes and trends are truly going to impact the structure and competitiveness of the legal industry.

These trends include:

- Greater demands from clients on fees and how legal work is carried out in terms of cost, efficiency, outcomes, and relationships;

- Alternative fees and the demise of the billable hour;

- Legal process outsourcing (LPO);

- External ownership and capital (Legal Services Act in the UK);

- Technology and commoditisation of legal services;

- Performance of legal services by non-lawyers;

- Globalisation and liberalisation of legal markets;

- The increasing influence of China, India, and the rest of Asia;

- Associate training, progression, and motivation;

- Lock step vs merit based remuneration;

- The move towards more corporate styles of management including non lawyers as managers;

- Firms relying less on leverage and utilisation for profitability;

- Client value as the key driver of reputation, performance, and profitability.

Whilst these trends have been around the industry for some time now (the billable hour for example was supposed to have been dead 20 years ago) it seems that in light of the GFC, they are gaining considerably more traction. Research from the UK (Eversheds: the clients revolution, 2010) shows that in-house counsel are in the driving seat and are using their bargaining power to demand lower fees. The research also shows that in 2008, 52 per cent of partners dismissed alternative fee arrangements as nothing serious, but by 2010, 88 per cent believe they are here to stay.

There have been countless examples in the West of these changes in practice. Recently, Levi Strauss and Co decided to give all its legal work to Orrick, Herrington and Sutcliffe for a fixed yearly fee. Levi will only retain one other firm, Townsend and Townsend and Crew, which will handle its brand protection issues. Numerous firms are creating alternative career progression paths for associates and moving towards merit based pay systems (such as Orrick mentioned above, Howrey LLP, and Reed Smith).

Additionally, in Australia, Slater and Gordon listed on the stock exchange and are using the additional cash to buy up smaller practices around rural Australia as part of their expansion strategy. It seems that others may soon follow the same path.

Research from Asia Legal Business shows that two factors have the biggest influence on client's choice of law firm: expertise and experience. Additionally, research from the UK shows that clients increasingly expect their law firms to be business partners who can drive commercially driven solutions, rather than just being providers with excellent technical skills.

The war for talent

So, what does all this mean for law firms in Singapore and South-east Asia? One of the crucial areas will be the war for talent. As foreign firms continue to expand into Asia (this may be particularly true for UK firms as they will have cash at their disposal once they receive external investment), local firms will face increasingly hard times in keeping their best people. Most will probably not be able to compete on pay and will have to look hard at their culture and values in terms of creating staff loyalty. Getting their associates away from endless document reviews and training them for the realities of being a proper lawyer would be a good place to start.

Hong Kong provides a stark example of the effects of entry of foreign firms into the domestic legal recruitment market. Only three of the largest 20 firms in Hong Kong are local-based. Lindsay Esler, the operations, management and projects partner of indigenous firm Deacons, says that the firm has adapted to deal with this issue.

'We have aligned the timing of our graduate recruitment with the international firms who are seeking the same top graduates as us. We also emphasise that with promotion decisions being made here rather than in Chicago, London or New York we can offer far better partnership prospects and a viable alternative career path.'

The Committee to Develop the Singapore Legal Sector published statistics revealing that in 2001, there were 61 Singapore lawyers who left the profession to move to a foreign firm in Singapore. By February 2007, this number nearly doubled to 119. These numbers do not include lawyers who had left to practise directly overseas. One may speculate that this trend will continue (and possibly accelerate) as more opportunities open with the rapidly increasing number of foreign law firms establishing operations in Asia.

More competition ahead

Another crucial area will be competition and the increasing demands of clients. In Singapore, the liberalisation of the market through the enhanced joint venture scheme or the Qualifying Foreign Law Firm (QFLF) will only intensify the changes taking place. No longer can the big local firms simply rely on their reputation and relationships to generate work. Whether this involves non-lawyers as chief executive officers or other moves towards a corporate style of management is not important.

What is important will be the ability of the law firm to leverage its knowledge more effectively in order to enhance client value. The 'eat what you kill' culture and its concomitant practice silos will have to end as increasingly complex legal work will require cross practice expertise and knowledge sharing.

Whilst the 'Big 4' Singaporean law firms may continue to dominate the market, such domination can only last if they have both the talent and reputation to bring in the work. I believe those factors are becoming more tenuous. Reputation will no longer be driven by past capital and will be increasingly driven by client value and satisfaction. The growth of legal process outsourcing (LPO) is a good example of this. As technology drives both efficiency and ubiquity of information, greater amounts of legal work are becoming commoditised. Clients are less willing to pay junior lawyers and associates hundreds of dollars an hour for work that can be done at a fraction of the cost elsewhere and by non-lawyers (the Indian LPO market is now worth about US$1 billion). Firms will have to learn how to use project management techniques to improve efficiencies, predict and manage costs, as well as break work up into 'chunks' to identify where they can add the most value and which areas can be done by someone else more cheaply and effectively. The effects of these changes may be magnified as a stratification of legal work takes place, evidenced by changes in the Western legal market.

'Bet the company' work will remain relatively price insensitive but all other work will be increasingly price sensitive as in-house counsel shop around based on value and less on reputation. This has real implications for the star partners as they will gradually migrate to where the 'bet the company' work is going and the more profitable firms.

It's about client value

The existing structure of law firms is under attack. The pyramid system upon which law firm profitability has been predicated is coming to the end of its usefulness. In-house counsel and other clients are becoming increasingly discerning buyers and their demands are increasing. Firms that want to thrive will have to become much more astute at building and managing a marketing culture, not merely in terms of business development, but in terms of creating a culture within the firm that aligns human resource, knowledge management, strategy, and marketing to client value.

Understanding what clients need, their business, and their industry, will be ever more important. Firms that can live and breathe this marketing culture will have gone a long way to creating a sustainable advantage in the market place that will be very hard to copy.

The writer is the managing director of SRC Associates Ltd, a Hong Kong based firm that works throughout Asia with law and other professional service firms on their key strategy, marketing and leadership issues. He is also the author of Marketing Professional Services in Asia (Lexis Nexis, 2009).

www.srchk.com, [email protected]

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.. for another 18 months at least.

Well I guess this week's entry's gonna be a short one. I'd been sleeping most of the time after I reached home like yesterday evening. The lack of rest finally caught up. >.< Imagine what two times of 2D1N outfield ops with missions throughout the day and night can do to you. I really pity (is that the right word? lol!) those SCTs and OCTs who have more opportunities to 'be at one with nature' over the next few weeks while we.. have lectures and PT all the way

Anyways, our very own SCTs who did the ops with us were excellent. Whatever they lacked in command and control (they were way too nice..) they made it up by being 'up there' throughout. For the last time these soon-to-be sergeants were doing all the donkey work, lugging sandbags, transporting concertina wire, cleaning up all the stores, arranging all the ops boxes etc - and that's on Saturday afternoon after two days of 'fun' at Lam Sam.

Monday afternoon loading up all the stores really used up a lot of strength. Those stores seem to be never-ending, and a detachment was unlucky enough to be selected to fill about 600 sandbags.

Our preparatory exercise was held behind our camp (near the DB side) from Tues to Wed. No staying over, but that was the first time we were outfield doing all the ops required and that was tiring enough when we returned to camp near midnight on Tues. Thankfully it rained during the afternoon and we got some much needed shut-eyes there and then, even as one mission was postponed to the next day. Our cage on Wed morning was.. too 'economical' (small) and we almost did not make it. And then we got caught out when a PW threw a smoke grenade from inside the cage.. (It was left with him for 'hornet drill' reasons when we were supposed to remove his entire vest) and so that was quite a huge screwup.

Thursday was spent loading stores for the summary exercise and once again an unlucky detachment was sent to retrieve the sandbags and concertina wire from the previous site and pre-dump it over at Lam Sam. Well, me and some others were lucky enough to do up the stores at company line before spending the rest of the time chatting until 8pm when the aforementioned people returned. Apparently one driver lost his way and another had his tonner stuck in the sludge that had formed after the rains had descended.

Reveille was at 0400 hrs on Friday.. Was supposed to be one hour earlier, but was pushed back as we only completed the stores the previous day at 9 plus (we were to sleep at 2000 hrs actually). Was in charge of the signal set for the first two missions from 0800 to 0000 the next day with a small break in between in the afternoon due to inclement weather. The traffic one was alright, except we got backstabbed by 1SG Chia as the previous station was not clear in coms-ing us the threat. We only started our cage in the evening after dinner and managed to get it up in an hour. Alright I was just sitting there the whole while manning the set >.<

*Shall continue post when I book out this weekend.. Visiting my uncle who'd not been feeling well before proceeding back to camp. Yes it was a very short book out *

Lectures on Military Law and Chapter 295 this week culminating in a test on Friday. Should be able to do well.. I repeat, 'Should be". Also 3 PT sessions this week! Am so gonna die with SSG Goh in charge. I mean, lunges up and down a multi-storey carpark slope? Along with static, circuit and lots of running all over the camp next door seeing the tanks and armoured vehicles in their full glory.

Jiayou to the people playing tmr for Appa XII ((:

One of my company mates uploaded this
HCI Chem Summary
Memories.. Hehe. That reminds me.. I can't seem to write a GP essay anymore, or even do any academic work for that matter. Need to revise! =/

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Living in a modest apartment that is fully paid for, I come from a typical prudent middle-income family with parents who are much more conversant in Mandarin than English. However, understanding the importance of knowledge in an increasingly competitive world, they often made me give up my �Cartoon Network� for �Channel NewsAsia�, hence laying the groundwork for my interest in current affairs and by extension, the laws that shape society as it is today.

Blessed with opportunities to study - first in a Special Assistance Plan school (Nan Hua High) and then a premier tertiary institution (Hwa Chong Institution), I was consistently urged to �be a global citizen� by taking an interest in general knowledge and current affairs throughout course of my studies. In an attempt to engage my nascent interest in the English language and the world, I poured over magazines such as �The Economist� and �TIME� in my free time, eventually obtaining Distinctions for English Language and General Paper (GP) in the GCE �O� and �A� Levels respectively � an achievement despite being supposedly disadvantaged having been brought up in a Chinese-speaking household.

Although I was in the Science stream for the entirety of my school life up to the present day, my interest in politics, governance and the rule of law had differentiated me from the rest of my classmates, especially when it came to discussions during GP tutorials. When penning essays, the wealth of examples I had gleaned from sources such as the above-mentioned magazines almost always ensure that I have the goods to back up every argument I make. Even before that, I was chosen to be a founding member of Nan Hua High�s Current Affairs Committee. Ultimately in examinations, my passion and interest for the arts have enabled me to outperform my sciences consistently.

When I entered Junior College and began getting immersed in GP discussions, I realized only then just how crucial are the roles played by lawyers in society. From politics to business and the arts, lawyers are always needed to demarcate boundaries between what is perceived as right and wrong through the drafting of legally binding contracts and agreements that would then be adhered to by all parties involved. In short, they are the bastions of stability that are indispensible in a landscape marked out by ever-changing standards and ideals intertwined with volatile interpersonal relationships and allegiances.

When I received my �A� Level results and began weighing my options, Law was always foremost on my mind and an immediate first choice. I knew from the start that I wanted a course of study that challenges me intellectually and which affords me the luxury to explore across all disciplines. Also, I believe that Law is a profession that requires individuals with immense emotional, mental capabilities as well as strong moral values. Being versed in Law has the potential to place me in close contact with all types of individuals (in every single strata of society possible) and circumstances, thus testing my ability to transit and perform in different situations. Also the satisfaction experienced when justice is dealt out via the employment of succinct arguments and attention to details is, I believe, very tantalizing indeed at the end of the day.

It would be an honour for me to carry on with my undergraduate Law studies in NUS (given the prestige, history and the great importance of this particular faculty in nation-building that is simply not replicated elsewhere, local or overseas). I sincerely believe that along the way, I will be pushed out of my comfort zone and be put in tight spots in order to attain critical skills, not just proficiency in the rule of law, which will prove useful for a lifetime. And most importantly, I aspire to be of worth to society by giving my all in whatever I do, following in the footsteps of giants who had once graced this very same campus.

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Yet I do not feel like revealing what I had been offered at this point in time. Not ready yet ^^

Its a Sunday night and I'm still at home! Oh the wonders of something called an 'off-in-lieu' for the upcoming Saturday I will be burning in camp. I will be officially be required back there by 1300 hrs the next day. More of a 'half-day-in-lieu' I suppose.

Had a good time at Greg's mahjong-ing with a few of my bunkmates on Sat. And I even bumped into Leonard (the ex Pes C guy who up-ed Pes and is now in OCS..) who is the best friend of my current buddy. Small world eh.. Haha.

Spent today at Jtay's swimming before proceeding on to JP for lunch at NYNY. Would have bumped into someone if we'd been there six hours later.. =P

Alright.. A brown envelope bearing NUS' logo on it was delivered to my letterbox on Wednesday.

I've told some people about the outcome of my application already.. And they all seem pretty happy for me. Lol. Even got a telling off by someone for trying to smoke her by being confusing.

Actually I came to realise that the only important lines in the letter were the first two. The rest was.. rather standard since it was attempting to entice us into accepting their offer now that they have chosen us (And not get spirited off into some other Uni).

Other news - There're two vacancies for Personal Assistants in MP Command HQ.. One for the CO and the other for SSM. Basically the job scope revolves around sorting out admin stuff, handling appointments and the like. I'm trying my luck applying for them.. Then again competition's rather stiff amongst all the GP A-ers and also the guy in my previous post with a nice accent whom our PC favours. Nevertheless I still need to submit a 200 word intro to confirm my interest. Shall just do it and leave the rest to chance.. ^^ Not expecting much from it anyways.

Two outfield exercises coming up this week. One from Tues to Wed and the next from Fri to Sat. The first one (Thunderbolt) is actually a warm up for the more crucial summary exercise (Moonlight Marshal). So hello (or should it be 'hullo', following voice protocol?') to sleepless nights, one times 'samulahhhhh' and hopefully a nice SCT. I'll fall in love with sandbags, concertina wire, doing shift duty, 2WO Francis trying out his tricks on us, taking us hostage, ambushing us, doing all sorts of stuff to make us disorientated and get screwed, and DIGGING SHELLSCRAPES (WTS is this doing here in our vocation.. we're SUPPORT.. when an enemy does indeed reach us we should be fleeing already instead of trying in vain protecting our position. And I'm sure the big shots at the command post will already have evacuated by then -.-)

The next two weeks is going to be hectic! Quite a number of events coming up

I did not copy that, oh no. Ok, I did. ^^

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Shall just state some of the highlights since my memory's not as perfect as someone in my platoon who commandeers a nice foreign accent. More on him later.

26th April (Mon) - Had our Advanced Trainfire Package over at Pasir Laba 100m Range, home of faulty target boards and emotionally unstable computer scoring systems. I managed to fail the night shoot as I had already passed overall after the day shoot and had contrived to miss two shots in quick succession in the very first stage of the night segment. Specs fogged up on a chilly Monday night. Can't differentiate anything from.. everything.

27th April (Tues) - Spec II trainees and most of the permstaff and commanders were at the range. SSM used Greg's rifle and got a miserable 5/36. It was all the more bizzare when that particular rifle was the one that Greg used to obtain a perfect score just one day prior. So is it the firer or the weapon? Hm.. Lots of complaints about the range, so we're weren't the only ones that aren't pleased about the ancient place.

28th April (Wed) - Route march was cancelled as the firers from the previous day returned to camp at 0300 hours and needed to rest.

29th April (Thurs) - IPPT. And I obtained a SILVER after some miraculous burst of energy at the chin up bar (my eighth one took me almost half a minute) and at the mat (took three tries to get a 225). So I earned my 100 bucks.. surprisingly. The only drawback was that I was unable to maintain my running pace at the tail-end of the circuit and dropped to a 10:25. Projected timing before my lungs failed me was in the region of 9:40. >.<

30th April (Fri) - Spent the whole day over at Stagmont Camp (near PJC) attending a one-day crash course on signals. I forgot how to set up the antenna over a tree already. Lol. Booked out in the evening in the rain. Saw Jinyao there as well.

3rd May (Mon) - No off-in-lieu, so there I was in camp again. 4km route march was manageable but I lost too much ions in the end after a pt session straight after. Gatorade helped so much that even the commanders were surprised. We were told that we need to pen a journal entry for every single day spent in camp starting from that night.

4th May (Tues) - ID Location and Topo practical over at Pasir Laba. Nothing eventful happened during the first part which was just pacing.. Then it rained when we were up the 'mosquito hill' behind SISPEC.. So there we were trying to shoot azimuths and measure distances in the rain. Cool.. Back to camp for lunch and that was it basically for the day. Lots of leftover bread from lunch stuck in our bunk.. About 40 buns?

5th May (Wed) - Had Ex Explorer over at Lor Asrama.. Mandai area. The actual ops went pretty alright. Glad that we only had to follow tracks and roads unlike others (cue, the SISPEC dudes) who have to bash through vegetation and get themselves all dirty and muddy. Navigation's quite fun actually.. and we made very good time in the end. It rained halfway through and I can testify that getting stuck in a tonner with 28 other dudes is not a very very comforting scenario to be in. It was a sauna in there, to put it nicely. Anyways we got to order deliveries into camp that very night. So we shared a pizza with our sec cmdr. Canadian Pizza abit not ex.. Should have gotten Pizza Hut instead.

6th May (Thurs) - Wartime Ops practical over at our field. Tried doing every single task while constructing the PW cage; managed to skip the traffic marshaling practical by hiding behind those who had completed, and lastly attempted moving sandbags to form a nice MG pit. (Those sandbags are not light alright.. each about 15 plus kg?) Had a stand-by Smart No. 4 by our CI Cpt Michael on the grounds that our discipline stinks (I so totally agree, really..) that same night. Passed the inspection with flying colours (:

7th May (Fri) - Lectures in the morning, followed by canteen break (we had a party in bunk with the buns and some food the rest brought in) and then drills. Drills are pretty fun but tough. Then we left at four in the afternoon. An incentive to make us happy before we die next week. Hell of a week coming right up.

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