Singapore: Poor Mental Health Is the Primary Reason Young Lawyers Leave
South China Morning Post and the Straits Times both reported this week on new survey data from Singapore's Law Society finding that poor mental health is the main reason young lawyers leave the profession in large numbers — with the SCMP framing it as lawyers who "don't last beyond the courtship phase." The findings arrive alongside a Duke-NUS Medical School study finding that 77% of Singapore adu
BY FRONTIER DESK · JULY 1, 2026 · 1 MIN READ
South China Morning Post and the Straits Times both reported this week on new survey data from Singapore's Law Society finding that poor mental health is the main reason young lawyers leave the profession in large numbers — with the SCMP framing it as lawyers who "don't last beyond the courtship phase." The findings arrive alongside a Duke-NUS Medical School study finding that 77% of Singapore adults experiencing anxiety or depression have not sought professional help — a treatment gap that is especially acute in high-performance professional environments where help-seeking carries social risk. Singapore's legal market is one of Asia's most demanding, with long hours and intense client expectations; the data is consistent with global patterns but is notable for the directness with which the profession's own regulatory body is attributing attrition to mental health conditions rather than compensation or career advancement. For firms with Asia-Pacific practices or offices, this data reinforces that wellbeing is now a talent infrastructure issue — not a peripheral HR programme.