Admission to the Singapore Bar

Applicants who are not able to comply with the timelines provided in the Legal Profession (Admission) Rules 2011 may apply for an abridgement of time period prescribed by the Rules.

In the interest of providing some clarity and guidance to future abridgement applicants, please note the following:

1. abridgement of more than 4 days would generally not be allowed save for good reasons.

2. the Court will have regard to:

1. reasons for delay;

2. whether the delay has led to prejudice on the part of the stakeholders;

3. attitude of the applicant.

             c.  the Court has held that the following are not good reasons:

1. late receipt of Part B exam results;

2. practice training period ending on or shortly after the cut-off date for filing the affidavit under R 25(4);

3. getting called earlier being necessary for a salary adjustment;

4. law firm’s manpower shortages (e.g., due to lawyers having tendered their resignations from the firm).

Date Updated: 21 April 2016