LAW The legal profession in Singapore is a “fused” profession, with lawyers trained to be advocates and solicitors. As a lawyer, you can apply your expertise in the following practice types:

PRIVATE PRACTICE

• Work alone or with partners in a firm to provide legal services to clients who can be either individuals or companies.
• Have the options of being in general practice or a specialist in certain areas.

PUBLIC SECTOR

• Assume role as Judicial Officers in the Supreme Court/Subordinate Courts, or as Legal Officers in government departments/statutory boards/State Counsel, or as Deputy Public Prosecutors or as Assistant Public Prosecutors in the Attorney-General’s Chambers

CORPORATE COUNSEL

• Work for a company or statutory board as an in-house counsel to provide advice on legal matters related to its business

ACADEMIC
If you have interest in teaching, you may :

• become a lecturer in the law or business faculties of universities, polytechnics or private education organizations

SPECIALISATIONS
You can pick either general practice or specialize in one or more of these areas:

Administrative

• Work in a branch of public law dealing with the relationship between individuals and the Government
• Help to regulate the power of governmental administrative agencies and ensure fair implementation and administration of laws

Civil litigation

• Represent clients in lawsuits resulting from a dispute between private parties such as individuals or companies in matters such as breach of contract/debt collection/malpractice/personal injury

Conveyancing

• Acting on behalf of client, advise them on the sale and purchase of properties, leases, tenancies and other aspects of conveyancing
• Carry out searches and requisitions, and advise on all aspects of a transaction including financial issues

Corporate

• Handle matters in company law/agreements/mergers & acquisitions/business fraud/financial disputes

Criminal

• Represent clients in court cases before judges
• Prepare matters for court hearings by interviewing clients and witnesses

Family

• Deal with matters relating to legal relationships between family members like marriage contracts/divorce/child custody/adoption/wills/estate planning

Intellectual property

• Deal with interactions and relationships between nations.
• Maybe employed by national governments and international organizations
• May work in the private sector focusing on the interpretation of treaties and related laws

Litigation

• Advise clients on the merits of their case, start legal proceedings or negotiate a settlement
• Help clients make settlements out of court in arbitration proceedings
• Defend clients in criminal cases

Probate

• Draw up wills according to a client’s instructions
• Upon the death of a client, assist the estate of the deceased in obtaining a Grant of Probate if a will has been executed
• If the deceased died intestate, that is, without a will, you will apply for Letters of Administration
• Can act as the executor or trustee if so appointed in the will

• Honesty
• Logical thinking and sound reasoning skills
• Impartiality and fairness
• Attention to detail
• Integrity and high ethical standards
• Excellent written and spoken English

To be admitted the Singapore Bar, you must:

• Meet the requirements of being a “qualified person”, which vary depending on where you obtained your law degree from and when
• Fulfill the other admission requirements, which generally including passing part B of the Singapore Bar examinations and completing a training contract

FOR LOCAL GRADUATES

• A Bachelor of Law degree from the National University of Singapore (NUS)
• At least a Bachelor of Law (Second Class Lower honours) for those admitted on or after May 1, 1993
• A Bachelor of Laws degree from the Singapore Management University (SMU) with a grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.00

FOR OVERSEAS GRADUATES:
To be a “qualified person”, a law graduate of an overseas university must:

• Be a Singapore citizen or permanent resident
• Have obtained an approved law degree from an approved university
• Have taken the law degree over at least three years
• Have taken the law degree as a full-time internal candidate (which excludes external, twinning, part-time, combined and dual degrees)
• Have obtained at least Second Class Lower honours (or been ranked in the top 70 per cent in terms of academic performance for approved universities in Australia, New Zealand and the United States)
• Have passed Part A of the Bar Examinations and
• Have at least six months of recognized legal experience

• Local graduates must complete a six-month training contract at a Singapore law practice after passing Part B of the Bar examinations.
• Overseas graduates who have passed Part A of the Bar examinations must generally fulfill a 12-month training contract at a Singapore Law practice. However if you already have six continuous months of regognised legal experience, you will only need to fulfill a six-month training contract at a Singapore law practice