Singapore has been steadily introducing timely initiatives to strengthen its legal services industry and enhance the growth of its legal sector. Consequently, it has emerged as a key legal hub in the Asia-Pacific region. Recently, the Singapore Institute of legal Education (SILE) has proposed to ease the entry requirements for foreign lawyers to practise corporate law in the city-state.
Under the current system, foreign lawyers are required to pass a qualifying examination and hold a graduate degree in law from a list of universities that have been exclusively approved by the Attorney-General. However, given the restrictive nature of the qualifying criteria, the SILE has proposed that foreign lawyers who possess three years of experience and who have also passed a Foreign Practitioner Exam (FPE) be allowed to practise corporate law in Singapore in areas such as banking, finance, and Intellectual Property, irrespective of which University they graduate from or what law degree they hold.
If adopted, the proposal will further enhance Singapore’s position as a regional legal hub enabling it to attract high calibre foreign lawyers from various jurisdictions. Given Singapore’s position as a regional business hub, there exists a growing demand for legal services from businesses in the region, especially in areas such as mergers and acquisitions;
According to Ms. Jacqueline Low, the the the Director of Singapore company registration (http://www.guidemesingapore.com/
In recent times, the Singapore government has been focusing efforts on liberalizing and strengthening its legal services sector by way of tax incentives, strengthening the legal education infrastructure, and developing state-of-the-
