Legal Profession (Legal Practice Management Course) Rules 2015

No. S 694

Legal Profession Act

(CHAPTER 161)

Legal Profession
(Legal Practice Management Course)
Rules 2015

In exercise of the powers conferred by section 59(1)(a) of the Legal Profession Act, the Council of the Law Society of Singapore, with the approval of the Chief Justice, makes the following Rules:

Citation and commencement

1.  These Rules may be cited as the Legal Profession (Legal Practice Management Course) Rules 2015 and come into operation on 18 November 2015.

Definitions

2.  In these Rules, unless the context otherwise requires —

“Committee” means the Legal Practice Management Course Committee appointed by the Council under section 60 of the Act to assist the Council in the exercise of the Council’s functions under section 75C of the Act;

“Course” means the Legal Practice Management Course;

“practitioner” means —

(a) a solicitor to whom section 75C of the Act applies; or

(b) a foreign lawyer who wishes —

(i) to apply for registration under section 36D of the Act; or

(ii) to obtain approval under section 176(1) of the Act —

(A) to be a director, partner or shareholder in a Singapore law practice; or

(B) to share in the profits of a Singapore law practice.

Course content and standard of assessment

3.—(1)  The Course consists of the following modules:

(a) practice management;

(b) professional practice;

(c) finance management;

(d) Legal Profession Act.

(2)  The Committee sets the standard of assessment for determining whether a practitioner has successfully completed the Course.

(3)  The Course is to be conducted by the Society or such person as the Council may appoint.

Registration for Course

4.—(1)  Every practitioner who intends to attend the Course must —

(a) complete a Notice of Registration in such form as the Council may determine; and

(b) submit the Notice to the Council within such time as the Council may specify.

(2)  The Council must notify every practitioner who has been allocated a place in the Course in such form as the Council may determine.

Certificate of Completion of Course

5.  The Council must issue or cause to be issued, to every practitioner who has successfully completed the Course, a Certificate of Completion which states that the practitioner has successfully completed the Course.

Time for completion of Course by solicitor

6.—(1)  For the purposes of section 75C(1)(a) of the Act, the time within which a solicitor must successfully complete the Course is before the solicitor commences practising on the solicitor’s own account, in partnership (whether in a law firm or a limited liability law partnership) or as a director of a law corporation.

(2)  Despite paragraph (1), if the following requirements are satisfied, then for the purposes of section 75C(1)(a) of the Act, the time within which a solicitor must successfully complete the Course is one year after the solicitor commences practising on the solicitor’s own account, in partnership (whether in a law firm or a limited liability law partnership) or as a director of a law corporation:

(a) the solicitor gives a written undertaking to the Council to attend and successfully complete the Course within one year after the date the solicitor commences such practice;

(b) the Council has given the solicitor written consent to commence such practice before completing the Course.

Made on 9 November 2015.

THIO SHEN YI, SC

President,
Council of the Law Society of Singapore.

[LS/10/LPA(A)/LSRA/2015/KG; AG/LEGIS/SL/161/2015/16 Vol. 1]

(To be presented to Parliament under section 131 (renumbered as section 185 from 18 November 2015) of the Legal Profession Act).