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Qualified Person

Relevant Legal Training or Relevant Legal Practice or Work

Relevant legal training or relevant legal practice or work is a requirement under:

  • Rules 8, 9 and 9A

of the Legal Profession (Qualified Persons) Rules.

A person who is not a law graduate of National University of Singapore or Singapore Management University, and who has not been exempted from the requirement of having received relevant legal training or having been engaged in relevant legal practice or work, will have to provide the Institute with a letter or letters from a law practice, chambers (UK and Scotland) or corporation or other entity (as the case may be) stating that he has for a period of not less than 6 months within a continuous period of 8 months, received relevant legal training, been engaged in relevant legal practice or work, or received relevant legal training and been engaged in relevant legal practice or work.

The letter must be addressed to the Institute and must state the following:

  1. that the person concerned had received:

    1. supervised training in relation to the practice of Singapore law under a formal training arrangement with that Singapore law practice;

    2. supervised training, as a pupil, or through reading in the chambers, of a practising barrister of the United Kingdom or of a member of the Faculty of Advocates in Scotland of more than 7 years’ standing; or

    3. supervised training in relation to the practice of foreign law under a formal training arrangement with that foreign law practice.

      OR

  2. that the person concerned had been engaged in:

    1. active practice as -

      1. a legal practitioner, by whatever name called, in any jurisdiction other than Singapore; or

      2. a foreign lawyer in Singapore; or

    2. work of a legal nature which is performed as a legal counsel in that corporation or other entity the equity securities of which are listed on the official list of a securities exchange in Singapore or elsewhere.

      AND

  3. The exact period (dd/mm/yyyy - dd/mm/yyyy) during which the person had received relevant legal training or had been engaged in relevant legal practice or work;

  4. The total number of days of leave (which includes medical, annual and compassionate leave) taken and any closure of the law practice or corporation during that period; and

  5. The contact details (including telephone number and email address) of a partner or director of the law practice, chambers, corporation or other entity, willing and able to verify the above information.

Click here for certification format for relevant legal training with a Singapore law practice.
Click here for certification format for relevant legal training with a foreign law practice.
Click here for certification format for relevant legal practice.
Click here for certification format for relevant legal work.

The definition of relevant legal training and relevant legal practice or work can be found in rule 2 of the Legal Profession (Qualified Persons) Rules. It is not necessary to obtain the prior approval of the Institute before commencing relevant legal training or relevant legal practice or work. Neither is it a requirement to work under a supervising solicitor.

The calculation of relevant legal training and relevant legal practice or work is the same as that for practice training period under a practice training contract, details of which can be found at: https://www.sile.edu.sg/practice-training.

IMPORTANT: For relevant legal training or relevant legal work or practice to be recognised under Rules 8, 9 and 9A of the Legal Profession (Qualified Persons) Rules, a person must have received the training or been engaged in the practice or work AFTER he passed the final examination of the degree referred to in that Rule.

 

Last Updated: 15 March 2023