Legal Profession (Solicitors’ Trust Accounts) (Amendment) Rules 1998

No. S 381

Legal Profession Act

(Chapter 161)

Legal Profession (Solicitors’ Trust Accounts)
(Amendment) Rules 1998

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’ Trust Accounts) (Amendment) Rules 1998 and shall come into operation on 1st August 1998.

Amendment of rule 2

2. Rule 2 of the Legal Profession (Solicitors’ Trust Accounts) Rules (R 9) (referred to in these Rules as the principal Rules) is amended —

(a)

by deleting the definition of “client account” and substituting the following definitions:

“ “approved finance company” means any finance company registered under the Finance Companies Act (Cap. 108) which is approved by the Minister to accept deposits of client’s money for the purposes of these Rules;

“bank” has the same meaning as in the Banking Act (Cap. 19);

“client account” means a current or deposit account —

(a)	which is maintained in the name of a solicitor at a bank or with an approved finance company;
(b)	which has the word “client” appearing in its title; and
(c)	which is kept and operated in accordance with the provisions of the Legal Profession (Solicitors’ Accounts) Rules (R 8);”; and

(b)

by deleting the definition of “trust bank account” and substituting the following definition:

“ “trust account” means a current or deposit account —

(a)	which is maintained in the name of a solicitor at a bank or with an approved finance company solely for money subject to a particular trust of which the solicitor is a solicitor-trustee; and
(b)	which has the word “trustee” or “executor” appearing in its title or which is otherwise clearly designated as a trust account.”.

Amendment of rule 3

3. Rule 3 of the principal rules is amended —

(a)	by deleting the words “trust bank account” in the fifth line and substituting the words “trust account”; and
(b)	by deleting the marginal note and substituting the following rule heading “Trust accounts”.

Amendment of rule 4

4. Rule 4 of the principal rules is amended —

(a)	by deleting the words “trust bank account” in the first line and substituting the words “trust account”; and
(b)	by deleting the words “trust bank account” in the marginal note and substituting the words “trust account”.

Amendment of rule 6

5. Rule 6 of the principal rules is amended —

(a)	by deleting the words “trust bank account” wherever they appear and substituting in each case the words “trust account”; and
(b)	by deleting the words “trust bank account” in the marginal note and substituting the words “trust account”.

Amendment of rule 7

6. Rule 7 of the principal rules is amended —

(a)	by deleting the words “trust bank account” in the first line and substituting the words “trust account”; and
(b)	by deleting the words “trust bank account” in the marginal note and substituting the words “trust account”.

Amendment of rule 8

7. Rule 8 of the principal rules is amended by deleting the words “trust bank account” and substituting the words “trust account”.

Deletion and substitution of rule 9

8. Rule 9 of the principal Rules is deleted and the following rule substituted therefor:

“Where solicitor under no obligation to pay money into trust account

9. Notwithstanding the provisions of these Rules, a solicitor shall not be under obligation to pay into a trust account money subject to a trust of which he is the solicitor-trustee —

(a)	which is received by him in the form of cash and which is immediately paid to a third party in the form of cash in the execution of the trust; or
(b)	which is received by him in the form of a cheque or draft and which is immediately endorsed over to a third party in the execution of the trust without being passed by the solicitor through a bank account or an account maintained with an approved finance company.”.

Amendment of rule 11

9. Rule 11 of the principal rules is amended —

(a)

by deleting the words “be directed to” in the tenth line of paragraph (1); and

(b)

by inserting, immediately after paragraph (4), the following paragraph:

“(5) In this rule, “bank pass book” and “bank statement” mean, respectively, a pass book and a statement issued by a bank in respect of any client account maintained at such bank, and includes a pass book and a statement issued by an approved finance company in respect of a client account maintained at such finance company.”.

Deletion and substitution of rule 12

10. Rule 12 of the principal Rules is deleted and the following rule substituted therefor:

“Requirements of Council — how made

12. Every requirement to be made by the Council of a solicitor-trustee under these Rules —

(a)	shall be made in writing under the hand of the Director or a member of the Council designated by the Council for the purpose; and
(b)	may be served on the solicitor-trustee by sending the document by registered post to his usual or last known address.”.

Amendment of rule 13

11. Rule 13 of the principal rules is amended by deleting the words “trust bank account” and substituting the words “trust account”.

Made this 14th day of May 1998.

GEORGE LIM TEONG JIN

President,
Council of the Law Society of Singapore.

[LS/52/98/YD/zul; AG/LEG/SL/161/97/1 Vol. 1]

(To be presented to Parliament under section 131 of the Legal Profession Act).

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