No. S 481
Legal Profession Act
(Chapter 161)
Legal Profession (International Services) Rules 2008
In exercise of the powers conferred by section 130W of the Legal Profession Act, the Minister for Law, after consulting the Attorney-General, hereby makes the following Rules:
PART I
PRELIMINARY
Citation and commencement
1.  These Rules may be cited as the Legal Profession (International Services) Rules 2008 and shall come into operation on 19th September 2008.
Licence or registration required to provide legal services
2.—(1)  A foreign law practice shall not provide any legal services in or from Singapore unless it is licensed under Part IXA of the Act to provide such legal services.
(2)  A foreign lawyer shall not provide any legal services in or from Singapore unless he is registered under Part IXA of the Act to provide such legal services.
(3)  Nothing in this rule shall affect the privilege of any person who is both a solicitor and a foreign lawyer to practise as a solicitor under the Act or any rules made thereunder.
Permitted areas of legal practice
3.—(1)  For the purposes of the definition of “permitted areas of legal practice” in section 130A(1) of the Act, the areas of legal practice to be excluded from the ambit of that definition are —
(a)constitutional and administrative law;
(b)conveyancing;
(c)criminal law;
(d)family law;
(e)succession law, including matters relating to wills, intestate succession and probate and administration;
(f)trust law, in any case where the settlor is an individual;
(g)appearing or pleading in any court of justice in Singapore, representing a client in any proceedings instituted in such a court or giving advice, the main purpose of which is to advise the client on the conduct of such proceedings, except where such appearance, pleading, representation or advice is otherwise permitted under the Act or these Rules or any other written law; and
(h)appearing in any hearing before a quasi-judicial or regulatory body, authority or tribunal in Singapore, except where such appearance is otherwise permitted under the Act or these Rules or any other written law.
(2)  Sub-paragraphs (a) and (c) of paragraph (1) do not exclude, from the ambit of the definition of “permitted areas of legal practice” in section 130A of the Act, the giving of advice on any area of legal practice referred to in those sub-paragraphs the main purpose of which is to advise a business entity on commercial and corporate law.
(3)  In this rule —
“business entity” means any sole-proprietorship, partnership or body corporate, with or without limited liability, which engages in any business;
“conveyancing” does not include any securitisation transaction involving immovable property or the giving of advice on land law in the course of advisory work on a commercial transaction;
“quasi-judicial or regulatory body, authority or tribunal” does not include any such body, authority or tribunal specified in the First Schedule;
“securitisation transaction” has the same meaning as in section 262(3) of the Securities and Futures Act (Cap. 289).
Made this 18th day of September 2008.
CHAN LAI FUNG
Permanent Secretary,
Ministry of Law,
Singapore.
[LAW 32/001/8.15 V6; AG/LEG/SL/161/2002/1 Vol. 8]
(To be presented to Parliament under section 131 of the Legal Profession Act).
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