Lawyers in Singapore explained

Lawyers in Singapore are part of a fused profession, meaning that they may act as both a solicitor and as an advocate, although lawyers usually specialise in one of litigation, conveyancing or corporate law.[1]

Demographics

In 2023, there were a total of 6,512 practising lawyers in Singapore, of whom 3,677 were male and 2,835 were female.[2]

!Year!Number of practising lawyers!Remarks
20024000[3]
20074200
20125200
20195920
20205955
20216333
20226237
20236512

Registered foreign lawyers

In July 2009, there were 95 foreign firms with offices in Singapore, and 840 foreign lawyers, up from 576 in 2000.[4] [5] Six international firms were given a licence to practice local corporate law for the first time in December 2008.[6]

Law firms in Singapore

The Big Four law firms in Singapore are generally regarded to be Allen & Gledhill, Rajah & Tann, WongPartnership and Drew & Napier.[7] In addition, Dentons Rodyk & Davidson has in recent years been described as a "Big Five" law firm. This description has appeared most frequently in private legal ranking directories and on two occasions in The Straits Times.Web site: How Singapore's Big Five law firm Dentons Rodyk is embracing the future of work and ditching its traditional office for good . 2023-04-11. www.legal500.com . en. [8] [9]

Ranking by scale

The following table ranks, by size, the largest 20 domestic and international law firms with at least one office situated in Singapore in 2022.[10]

2022 rankNameHeadquarter(s)Total number of partnersTotal number of associatesTotal number of lawyersRemarks
1Singapore151272420Domestic with regional legal network
2Rajah & TannSingapore157170332Domestic with regional legal network
3WongPartnershipSingapore117215332Domestic with regional legal network
4Drew & NapierSingapore114154331Domestic with regional legal network
5Dentons Rodyk & DavidsonSingapore for local entity; Polycentric for Dentons9384179International & Swiss Verein
6Shook Lin & BokSingapore6180141Domestic
7Baker & McKenzie Wong & LeowSingapore for local entity; Chicago for Baker McKenzie3383134International & Swiss Verein
8Withers KhattarWongLondon326395International
9Clifford ChanceLondon206187Magic Circle
10Harry Elias PartnershipSingapore245478Domestic
11Allen & OveryLondon155875Magic Circle
12Stephenson Harwood (Singapore) Alliance with Virtus Law LLPLondon214667International
13Norton Rose FulbrightLondon154661International & Swiss Verein
14RHTLaw AsiaSingapore232358Domestic with regional legal network
15Bird & Bird ATMDSingapore for local entity; London for Bird & Bird143650International
16Oon & BazulSingapore192948Domestic
17K&L Gates Straits LawSingapore for local entity; Pittsburgh for K&L Gates162448International
18Herbert Smith FreehillsLondon & Sydney141547International
19White & CaseNew York City143145International
20AshurstLondon152540International

Education and training

Replacement of pupillage system

In 2009, Parliament approved changes to replace the 'pupillage' system with structured training, and to make it easier for lawyers to return to practice.[11]

Decoupling admission to the Bar from practising certificate

In August 2016, Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon established a Committee for the Professional Training of Lawyers (CPTL) to conduct a "root-and-branch" review of the professional training regime for lawyers in Singapore and to make recommendations on how it might be improved to raise the quality and consistency of training standards.[12]

On 29 March 2018, the CPTL released its report, which included three key recommendations: (a) decouple admission to the Bar from the right to practise law; (b) raise the standard and stringency of the Part B examinations; and (c) lengthen the practice training period from six months to a year. The CTPL also made various other specific recommendations.[13]

In August 2018, MinLaw announced that it had accepted the CTPL's recommendations in principle and that the changes would be implemented from the 2023 session of the Part B examinations onwards.[14]

MinLaw conducted a public consultation on the CTPL's proposals from 15 November 2019 to 27 December 2019.

On 27 February 2023, it was announced that the implementation of the new professional training regime based on the CTPL's recommendations would be deferred and would only apply from the 2024 session of the Part B examinations onwards. According to MinLaw, the deferment was on account of feedback from the legal industry to the effect that more time was required to adapt to the recommended changes, taking into account the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.[15] For example, according to Gregory Vijayendran, the doubling of the practice training period would in effect double the cumulative allowance that needed to be paid to trainees. Ng Wai King also explained that law firms needed more time to review their human capital needs and rethink their training requirements.[16]

On 3 October 2023, the Ministry of Law introduced the Legal Profession (Amendment) Bill in Parliament to implement the changes.[17]

In November 2023, the Legal Profession (Amendment) Act was passed by Parliament.

Controversy regarding the lengthening of the training period

The lengthening of the statutory practice training period from six months to a year has drawn mixed reactions. During the Parliamentary debate on the legislative amendments required to lengthen the training period, various Members of Parliament expressed concerns about fair remuneration and benefits such as paid sick leave, in light of the lengthened training period.

NTUC Assistant Secretary-General Patrick Tay drew attention to the adverse financial impact on trainees, noting that trainee lawyers typically work long hours and are paid honoraria of between SGD 1,000 to SGD 2,500 a month, which is substantially lower than their peers in other industries, who typically earn between SGD 3,500 to SGD 5,000 a month. Tay stated that this "can be seen as exploitative" and noted that this may disproportionately impact trainees from lower-income backgrounds, who may need a reasonable income during their training period to support their families. He also called for trainees to be entitled to "basic employment rights", such as paid annual and sick leave, as "everyone falls ill".[18]

Yip Hon Weng suggested mandating a minimum wage for trainees, similar to what housemen are paid in the medical field. It was also noted that trainees do not receive other employment benefits such as paid leave or Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions which employees in Singapore are typically entitled to under the Employment Act.[19]

Senior Parliament Secretary for Law, Rahayu Mahzam explained that MinLaw understood these concerns and these issues were being looked into. However, she cautioned that larger honorariums would need to be balanced against potential increases in costs to firms, particularly smaller firms.

Admission to the Bar

A person seeking to be admitted to the Singapore Bar will generally need to meet the requirements to be a 'qualified person' (QP) and complete the Part B examinations (a practical course of instruction, culminating in practical and written examinations).[20]

To be considered a QP, a person will need to obtain an approved law degree. A list of approved law degrees is set out in the Legal Profession (Qualified Persons) Rules, which includes Bachelor of Laws and Juris Doctor degrees from various universities in Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, England, and the United States.[21] [22]

Persons seeking to be QPs solely on the basis of an approved law degree conferred by a university outside Singapore will generally need to fulfil additional requirements to qualify as a QP, namely:

  1. They must be a Singapore citizen or permanent resident
  2. They must graduate with at least a Second Class Honours or be in the top 70% of their cohort
  3. Their degree programme must have been undertaken on a full-time basis, they must have been an internal candidate, and the course of study must have been for at least 3 academic years
  4. The degree must not have been conferred as part of a twinning programme, must not be a combined or dual degree, external degree, or accelerated degree
  5. They must complete six months of relevant legal training (RLT) in Singapore or overseas
  6. They must pass the Part A examinations

See also

References

  1. Book: Ewing-Chow, Michael. Aedit Abdullah . The Singapore legal system. Kevin Tan. NUS Press. 1999. 2. 531. The Structure of the Legal Profession. 9971-69-213-9. https://books.google.com/books?id=RqTwXSKrBQMC&pg=PA368.
  2. Web site: 31 August 2023 . Statistics – The Law Society of Singapore . 2023-11-11 . www.lawsociety.org.sg.
  3. Web site: 12 March 2012 . Headline: Fresh grads shun smaller law firms . 18 September 2017 . Smu.edu.sg . . B1.
  4. News: Kong . Loh Chee . 7 December 2007 . Carrots for lawyers to stay in S'pore . channelnewsasia.com . 2009-10-02.
  5. News: Tan . Andrea . 31 August 2009 . Singapore to Make Billions Handling Cross-Border Arbitrations . Bloomberg . 2009-10-02.
  6. News: Tan . Andrea . 11 August 2009 . Singapore Won't 'Turn Back,' Will License New Foreign Law Firms . Bloomberg . 2009-10-02.
  7. Web site: Auto . Hermes . 2020-11-16 . Benchmarking Singapore's best law firms . 2023-01-30 . www.straitstimes.com . en.
  8. Web site: Vijayan. K.C.. 2022-11-15 . 1 in 10 law firms here voted into Singapore's best law firms list . 2023-04-11 . www.straitstimes.com . en.
  9. Web site: Vijayan. K.C.. 2022-11-24. Rising stars named among the best law firms in 2023 list . 2023-04-11 . www.straitstimes.com . en.
  10. Web site: ALB Asia Top 50 2022 . 2023-04-11. www.legalbusinessonline.com . en.
  11. News: Lum . Selina . 19 August 2009 . Changes to legal profession . Straits Times . dead . 2009-10-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090823012441/http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_418632.html . 23 August 2009.
  12. Web site: 15 November 2019 . Public Consultation on Proposals to Implement the Recommendations of the Committee for the Professional Training of Lawyers . 11 November 2023 . Ministry of Law.
  13. Web site: The Committee for the Professional Training of Lawyers . 29 March 2018 . Report of the Committee for the Professional Training of Lawyers . 11 November 2023.
  14. Web site: 30 August 2018 . Law Ministry Accepts Recommendations to Strengthen Professional Training of Lawyers . 11 November 2023 . Ministry of Law.
  15. Web site: 28 February 2023 . Deferment of Implementation of Recommendations of the Committee for the Professional Training of Lawyers . 11 November 2023 . Ministry of Law.
  16. News: Lum . Selina . 2023-02-28 . Changes for stricter Bar exam and longer training for Singapore law grads pushed to 2024 . en . The Straits Times . 2023-11-11 . 0585-3923.
  17. Web site: 3 October 2023 . Strengthening the Professional Training Regime for Lawyers in Singapore . 11 November 2023 . Ministry of Law.
  18. Web site: NTUC calls for more support for aspiring lawyers . 2023-11-11 . www.ntuc.org.sg . en.
  19. News: Lum . Selina . 2023-11-07 . ‘Better equipped to hit the ground running’: Parliament approves longer training for law grads . en . The Straits Times . 2023-11-11 . 0585-3923.
  20. Web site: Admission Requirements . 11 November 2023 . Ministry of Law.
  21. Web site: 5 October 2021 . Qualified Person . 11 November 2023 . Singapore Institute of Legal Education.
  22. Web site: 1 December 2018 . Steps to Becoming a Qualified Person through Studying in an Overseas Scheduled University . 11 November 2023 . Singapore Institute of Legal Education.

External links