No. S 109
Legal Profession Act
(Chapter 161)
Legal Profession (Solicitors’ Accounts) (Amendment) Rules 2004
In exercise of the powers conferred by section 72(1) of the Legal Profession Act, the Council of the Law Society of Singapore, with the approval of the Chief Justice, hereby makes the following Rules:
Citation and commencement
1.  These Rules may be cited as the Legal Profession (Solicitors’ Accounts) (Amendment) Rules 2004 and shall come into operation on 1st April 2004.
Amendment of rule 2
2.  Rule 2 of the Legal Profession (Solicitors’ Accounts) Rules (R 8) (referred to in these Rules as the principal Rules) is amended —
(a)by inserting, immediately before the definition of “approved finance company”, the following definition:
“ “accounting corporation” and “accounting firm” have the same meanings as in the Accountants Act 2004 (Act 4 of 2004);”; and
(b)by inserting, immediately after the definition of “client’s money”, the following definitions:
“ “public accountant” has the same meaning as in the Accountants Act 2004;
“Public Accountants Oversight Committee” means the Public Accountants Oversight Committee appointed under section 4 of the Accountants Act 2004;”.
Amendment of rule 8
3.  Rule 8 of the principal Rules is amended by inserting, immediately after paragraph (3), the following paragraphs:
(4)  No money shall be drawn from a client account by a cash cheque except with the written authority of the client.
(5)  Unless the solicitor has engaged or employed a book-keeper for the purposes of rule 11 (8), no sum exceeding $5,000 shall be drawn from a client account except upon a cheque (or other instruction effecting the withdrawal) signed by 2 solicitors.”.
Amendment of rule 11
4.  Rule 11 of the principal Rules is amended —
(a)by deleting the words “3 months” in the 1st line of paragraph (4) and substituting the words “one month”;
(b)by deleting the words “period of 3 months” in the 3rd line of paragraph (4) and substituting the word “month”; and
(c)by inserting, immediately after paragraph (7), the following paragraph:
(8)  Subject to rule 11A, a solicitor may engage or employ a book-keeper to keep his books and accounts properly written up and reconciled as required by this rule.”.
New rule 11A
5.  The principal Rules are amended by inserting, immediately after rule 11, the following rule:
Engagement of book-keeper
11A.—(1)  A solicitor shall not engage or employ a book-keeper for the purposes of rule 11(8) unless he has obtained the written approval of the Council to do so.
(2)  An application for the approval of the Council to engage or employ a book-keeper for the purposes of rule 11(8) shall be submitted to the Council in such form as the Council may require and shall be accompanied by a statutory declaration affirmed or sworn —
(a)if the proposed book-keeper is an accounting firm, by the sole proprietor or managing partner (as the case may be) of the accounting firm —
(i)stating that no proprietor or partner of the accounting firm, as the case may be, is an immediate family member of the solicitor;
(ii)undertaking that he will inform the Council in writing immediately if the book-keeper encounters any of the difficulties referred to in paragraph (8); and
(iii)undertaking that he will inform the Council in writing immediately if there are any changes in the matters referred to in sub-paragraph (i);
(b)if the proposed book-keeper is an accounting corporation, by the managing director of the accounting corporation —
(i)stating that no director or member of the accounting corporation is an immediate family member of the solicitor;
(ii)undertaking that he will inform the Council in writing immediately if the book-keeper encounters any of the difficulties referred to in paragraph (8); and
(iii)undertaking that he will inform the Council in writing immediately if there are any changes in the matters referred to in sub-paragraph (i);
(c)if the proposed book-keeper is a firm or corporation providing book-keeping services (other than an accounting firm or accounting corporation), by the sole proprietor, managing partner or managing director of the firm or corporation (as the case may be) —
(i)stating that no relevant person is an immediate family member of the solicitor;
(ii)undertaking that he will inform the Council in writing immediately if the book-keeper encounters any of the difficulties referred to in paragraph (8);
(iii)stating the professional qualifications of persons who will provide book-keeping services to the solicitor on behalf of the firm or corporation and any relevant experience they may have in preparing accounts for a solicitor; and
(iv)undertaking that he will inform the Council in writing immediately if there are any changes in the matters referred to in sub-paragraph (i) or (iii); or
(d)if the proposed book-keeper is an individual, by the book-keeper —
(i)stating that he is not an immediate family member of the solicitor;
(ii)undertaking that he will inform the Council in writing immediately if he encounters any of the difficulties referred to in paragraph (8);
(iii)stating his professional qualifications and, if he is not a public accountant, any relevant experience he may have in preparing accounts for a solicitor; and
(iv)undertaking that he will inform the Council in writing immediately if there are any changes in the matters referred to in sub-paragraph (i) or (iii).
(3)  The Council may, in its discretion, refuse to grant its approval for a solicitor to engage or employ a book-keeper for the purposes of rule 11(8) if —
(a)the book-keeper or any person who will provide book-keeping services to the solicitor on behalf of the book-keeper does not, in the opinion of the Council, possess the requisite professional qualifications or relevant experience to carry out his duties;
(b)the book-keeper or (if the proposed book-keeper is a firm or corporation) any relevant person is an immediate family member of the solicitor;
(c)the Council is of the view that the book-keeper or (if the proposed book-keeper is a firm or corporation) any relevant person is unlikely to act independently of the solicitor; or
(d)a notice of disqualification under paragraph (4) or rule 3(2) of the Legal Profession (Accountant’s Report) Rules (R 10) has been issued in respect of the proposed book-keeper or (if the proposed book-keeper is a firm or corporation) any relevant person.
(4)  Where —
(a)the Public Accountants Oversight Committee has made a disciplinary order against a public accountant under section 52(2) of the Accountants Act 2004 (Act 4 of 2004) (or an equivalent provision under the repealed Accountants Act (Cap. 2)) or against an accounting corporation or accounting firm under section 53(2) of the Accountants Act 2004 (or an equivalent provision under the repealed Accountants Act);
(b)the Council is satisfied that a solicitor has not complied with these Rules and a book-keeper engaged by the solicitor for the purposes of rule 11(8) has failed to inform the Law Society promptly of any difficulties referred to in paragraph (8); or
(c)the Council is satisfied that a book-keeper or any relevant person does not satisfy the minimum requirements as to qualifications, independence or experience required by the Council or any statutory declaration furnished to the Council under paragraph (2) was false in regard to any of those requirements,
the Council may, in its discretion, at any time notify the book-keeper that he is not qualified to be engaged or employed as a book-keeper for the purposes of rule 11(8).
(5)  The Council may give notice, of the fact that a book-keeper is not qualified to be engaged as a book-keeper for the purposes of rule 11(8), to any solicitor who appears to the Council to be likely to engage or employ that book-keeper for the purposes of rule 11(8) or for the purpose of giving an accountant’s report under the Legal Profession (Accountant’s Report) Rules (R 10).
(6)  After a book-keeper has been notified that he is not qualified to be engaged as a book-keeper for the purposes of rule 11(8) and until such notice of disqualification has been withdrawn by the Council, he shall not —
(a)be engaged or employed as a book-keeper for the purposes of rule 11(8); and
(b)be qualified to give an accountant’s report under the Legal Profession (Accountant’s Report) Rules (R 10).
(7)  In coming to its decision, the Council shall (if the decision is based on any matter referred to in paragraph (4)(a)) take into consideration any observation or explanation made or given by the book-keeper or on his behalf by the Public Accountants Oversight Committee.
(8)  Subject to paragraph (9), the difficulties which a book-keeper shall be required to undertake to inform the Council under paragraph (2)(a)(ii), (b)(ii), (c)(ii) and (d)(ii) are as follows:
(a)the book-keeper is unable to reconcile the balance in the client’s cash book (or client’s column in the cash book) with the client’s account bank statements in any month;
(b)the book-keeper is unable to properly write up the books and accounts as required by rule 11; or
(c)the solicitor fails to respond to such query from the book-keeper as is necessary to enable the book-keeper to carry out his duties referred to in sub-paragraph (a) or (b).
(9)  The difficulties referred to in paragraph (8) shall not include trivial breaches due to clerical errors or mistakes in book-keeping, that were rectified upon discovery and did not result in any loss to the client.
(10)  A book-keeper engaged or employed by a solicitor for the purposes of rule 11(8) shall submit to the Council annually a statutory declaration as described in paragraph (2) and the statutory declaration shall be submitted not later than 2 weeks after each anniversary of the date when the Council granted its written approval for the book-keeper to be so engaged or employed by the solicitor.
(11)  In this rule, “immediate family member”, in relation to a solicitor, means a spouse, a child, an adopted child, a step-child, a sibling or a parent of the solicitor or (if the solicitor is a partner or director of a law firm, a law corporation or a Joint Law Venture) of any partner or director of that law firm, law corporation or Joint Law Venture (as the case may be).
(12)  In paragraphs (2)(c)(i), (3)(b), (c) or (d) or (4)(c), “relevant person” means, in relation to a firm or a corporation providing book-keeping services to a solicitor, any proprietor, partner, director, member or employee of the firm or corporation (as the case may be), or any person who will provide book-keeping services to the solicitor on behalf of the firm or corporation.
(13)  Nothing in this rule shall deprive a solicitor of the right on the grounds of privilege as between solicitor and client to decline to produce to the book-keeper any document which the book-keeper may consider necessary for him to inspect for the purposes of carrying out his duties referred to in paragraph (8)(a) or (b).
(14)  Where the solicitor so declines, the book-keeper shall set out the circumstances and particulars of the difficulty encountered when he informs the Council of the difficulty.”.
New rule 14A
6.  The principal Rules are amended by inserting, immediately after rule 14, the following rule:
Notice given by Council to book-keepers
14A.  Every notice to be given by the Council to a book-keeper under these Rules —
(a)  shall be in writing under the hand of the Director or a member of the Council designated by the Council for this purpose; and
(b)if the book-keeper is an accountant, an accounting firm or an accounting corporation, may be served on the book-keeper by sending the notice by registered post to the address of the book-keeper provided to the Council in relation to an application under rule 11A or appearing in the Register of Public Accountants, Register of Accounting Firms or Register of Accounting Corporations (as the case may be) kept and maintained under the Accountants Act 2004 (Act 4 of 2004).”.
New rule 16
7.  The principal Rules are amended by inserting, immediately after rule 15, the following rule:
Power to waive provisions
16.  The Council may, if it thinks fit in any particular case, waive any of the provisions of these Rules in writing, subject to such terms and conditions as the Council may impose.”.

Made this 4th day of March 2004.

PHILIP JEYARETNAM
President,
Council of the Law Society of
Singapore.
[LS/52/2004; AG/LEG/SL/161/2002/1 Vol. 2]
(To be presented to Parliament under section 131 of the Legal Profession Act).