INCREASE IN SUPPLY OF LAWYERS FOR LEGAL SERVICES IN SINGAPORE

The Second Committee on the Supply of Lawyers has made a range of recommendations to the Government on meeting the projected demand for lawyers in Singapore over the next 10 years. The Government has accepted these recommendations.

The Committee is led by the Attorney-General Mr Chan Sek Keong. Its other members are Associate Professor Chin Tet Yung, Dean of the Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore; Dr Philip N Pillai, Senior Partner, Shook Lin & Bok; Senior Counsel Michael Hwang, Partner, Allen & Gledhill; and Mr David Chong, Senior State Counsel and Deputy Head Civil Division, Attorney-General’s Chambers.

The Committee found that the recent opening up of the domestic legal services sector to allow Singapore law firms to enter into joint law ventures and formal law alliances with offshore law firms has led to an increased demand for Singapore lawyers. More Singapore lawyers have also left legal practice to become in-house counsel for local and foreign corporations or to pursue other careers. For Singapore to become a premier financial centre and a regional telecommunications hub, there is a need to increase the pool of lawyers in order to provide the necessary legal support services. In coming up with the recommendations, the Committee projected that about 250 more lawyers are needed annually up till 2010 in order to meet the increasing demand for lawyers.

The Committee’s key recommendations are:

to increase the intake of local law undergraduates. The intake of law students at the Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore will be increased immediately from 150 to 185, and thereafter to 200.

To accord recognition to law degrees from four more English universities, four Australian universities and two New Zealand universities for admission to the Singapore Bar. The four English universities are University of Liverpool, School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, University of Sheffield and University of Warwick. The four Australian universities are University of Melbourne, University of Monash, University of New South Wales and University of Sydney. The two New Zealand universities are The University of Auckland and The Victoria University of Wellington. Graduates from UK universities will continue to be required to obtain Second Upper Honours degrees. For the Australian and New Zealand universities, the top 30% of the graduating cohort will be eligible for applying for admission to the Singapore Bar.

To give the Board of Legal Education the discretion to recognise dual degree and two-year LLB programmes in scheduled universities on a case by case basis for admission to the Singapore Bar. The convergence of knowledge and business applications in the new economy makes it advantageous for lawyers to be trained in different fields of knowledge that interface with the law.

To widen the discretion of the Board of Legal Education to approve a person to be a "qualified person" under section 7 of the Legal Profession Act for admission to the Singapore Bar. The Board can take into consideration whether the expertise or experience of the applicant is required or desirable for Singapore generally. This will allow them to contribute to an emerging range of new economic activities in which there is insufficient legal expertise.

This is the first follow-up review of the supply of lawyers for the domestic legal services sector since the release of the report by the First Committee in April 1993. The Second Committee recommended another review on or after 2005 to ensure there is an adequate supply of lawyers to meet the demand for legal services in Singapore law.

The Attorney-General, Mr Chan Sek Keong said: "The current review is the latest among a recent series of measures to build up the legal profession and prepare it to better meet the challenges of the knowledge-based economy. We want to nurture a pool of versatile legal professionals skilled in multiple areas of the law and able to tap the opportunities of the new economy."

For media enquiries, please contact Mr Pang Khang Chau, Deputy Director (Legal Policy) at DID: 332-8823 or e-mail: pang_khang_chau@mlaw.gov.sg

__________________________