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.
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. 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. 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. MinLaw conducted a public consultation on the CTPL's proposals from 15 November 2019 to 27 December 2019. 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. On 3 October 2023, the Ministry of Law introduced the Legal Profession (Amendment) Bill in Parliament to implement the changes. 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".
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. 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. 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. 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: • They must be a
Singapore citizen or permanent resident • They must graduate with at least a
Second Class Honours or be in the top 70% of their cohort • 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 • 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 • They must complete six months of relevant legal training (RLT) in Singapore or overseas • They must pass the Part A examinations ==See also==