Every new lawyer needs to be taught the basic rules of courtroom behaviour, and now there is a booklet designed to take the guess work out of everything from appropriate gestures and sayings to the best way to drink water when inside a court room. Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong launched a 93-page etiquette guide for Singapore lawyers on Friday night, aimed at helping junior advocates or those new to court work navigate the landscape of acceptable conduct.

The guide is published by the Singapore Academy of Law and  assists by taking into account what are the hard and fast rules compared to what are simply preferences and guidelines, which can change over time. "A new lawyer generally learns about courtroom etiquette from his seniors at the firm. But how would you know if a certain way of doing things is etiquette and not preference? That's where a guide comes in handy," said Shiah Zi Han, a 22-year-old student from the National University of Singapore.

The booklet, entitled ‘A Civil Practice – Good Counsel for Good Learned Friends’ was called ‘small but substantial’ by the Chief Justice and is expected to help the Singapore Bar preserve the traditions of the English Bar, which it is derived from. It is likely to save a lot of embarrassment for junior lawyers who are confused about the best way to behave. To ensure that the book has an immediate effect, copies will be handed out to the 8,000 members of the Singapore Law Academy and those admitted to the Singapore Bar this year so they are aware before entering a court room how to conduct themselves.

The guide was compiled by five senior Singaporean legal professionals; senior counsel Vinodh Coomaraswamy and Stanley Lai; Mr Adrian Tan; Mr Anand Nalachandran; and Ms Teh Hwee Hwee, Senior Assistant Registrar of the Supreme Court.