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Friday December 7, 12:47 AMLegal services sector set for further liberalisationSINGAPORE : Singapore's legal services sector is set to be further liberalised.A new scheme to attract foreign law firms to set up office here will be introduced. The move is expected to benefit local lawyers as the foreign firms will now be allowed to hire local lawyers and practice Singapore law too. These are among the slew of recommendations made by a high-level committee set up and chaired by the Supreme Court Judge of Appeal, Justice VK Rajah. The suggestions are meant to comprehensively review the legal services sector. Other proposals include enhancing legal education in Singapore and tightening disciplinary proceedings against errant lawyers. Singapore's domestic legal market has so far been closed to foreign lawyers and foreign law firms, which do not practice Singapore law. A steady stream of qualified local lawyers who want exposure doing international work have chosen to join foreign law firms, both overseas and in Singapore. Deputy Prime Minister and Law Minister, Professor S Jayakumar, said: "It is my hope that the bright young lawyers who may be working in foreign firms or tempted to work in foreign firms may also now see that there is an opportunity for them to work in big firms, which may be located in Singapore. "The feedback given to us by some of these young people is that they want exposure in a major firm doing high-end international work. We should not lose our Singaporean lawyers and this could be one way we could attract them to stay in Singapore. "Our approach is guided by what is in Singapore's national interest. Will it benefit Singapore as a whole? We have to first look at the needs of our economy. "As more MNCs and other international companies establish their presence in Singapore, the demand for corporate legal services is going to grow. The legal services sector is an important pillar of the economy and therefore it must evolve in such a way that it keeps pace and supports the growth of other economic sectors." So under the new Qualifying Foreign Law Firm Scheme, up to five foreign law firms will be given a licence to practice Singapore law, through qualified local lawyers who are employed by them. The firms will have to submit a request with their proposal on the size of their local office, the areas which they will engage in, and the countries which they will service from Singapore. The Ministry of Law has made it clear that their practice areas will not include work pertaining to litigation or local criminal and family law. "One of the concerns that we did express strongly was that if a Singapore lawyer is to practice Singapore law in a foreign law firm, he should remain a member of the Law Society, hold a practising certificate, and be governed by the same rules as Singapore lawyers practising in a Singapore law firm. And we understand that that principle has been accepted," said Philip Jeyaretnam, president of the Law Society of Singapore. The ministry said the scheme will take about a year to implement. "It is not a big bang approach or a sudden overnight change. The test will be what is the value add they are going to bring to Singapore," said Professor Jayakumar. The ministry said liberalising the legal service sector will bring about several benefits. These include bolstering the growth of other sectors like banking and finance, which needs cutting-edge legal services, as well as retaining and attracting both international and local lawyers to the profession. There are also recommendations in the area of legal education and professional training. These include a compulsory continuing legal education for all lawyers. Law schools have also been urged to explore if they can complete the basic law degree programme within three years instead of the current four years, for those who do not wish to practice law. - CNA /ls |
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