Singapore’s Legal Sector Liberalized
one of the key drivers for the amendments have been the strong demand from the representatives of the Financial Services sector for a liberalized legal sector
Following recommendations made last September by a committee tasked with developing the legal sector, headed by Justice V. K. Rajah, The Legal Profession (Amendment) Bill was passed in the parliament in late August. The amendment is expected to provide more leeway for foreign firms in Singapore.
The key changes resulting from the amendment are
- Five foreign law firms will be allowed to hire Singapore-qualified lawyers to practice Singapore law in certain areas, namely high-end work in corporate and banking sectors.
- Enhancement of the existing Joint Law Venture (JLV) scheme, where a local firm teams up with a foreign firm the foreign part of the venture, can henceforth share up to 49% of the local constituent’s profits.
- Widening the scope of work that foreign firms can carry out in international commercial arbitration involving Singapore law
Law Minister K. Shanmugam said that one of the key drivers for the amendments have been the strong demand from the representatives of the Financial Services sector for a liberalized legal sector. As financial services sector is one of the key pillars of the country’s economy it is essential to accommodate the sector’s demands through such amendments. This amendment is expected to bring more choices for young lawyers and creating a more vibrant economic legal market.
Since its establishment in 1991, the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) has made real strides in establishing itself as the arbitration hub in the region. Companies in Southeast Asia are increasingly looking to Singapore as the venue for the settlement of their disputes, whether through the Courts or through alternative dispute resolution.
Welcoming the amendments Ms. Ragini Danvantray of Rikvin Consultancy says “Globalization has changed the fundamentals of various sectors across the board and the legal sector is no exemption to this pervasive transformation. In order to support a sophisticate, knowledge intensive, borderless, highly competitive business environment it is essential to have a sound and updated legal infrastructure. The amendments are timely and this will open door to more competition resulting in better standards of legal services and also the deserving young local counsels will have an opportunity to work on quality offshore works and learn from international partnerships thus enhancing the intellectual capital in Singapore’s legal sector.”
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