Public Consultation on Proposals to Implement the Recommendations of the Committee for the Professional Training of Lawyers

Public Consultation on Proposals to Implement the Recommendations of the Committee for the Professional Training of Lawyers

1. INTRODUCTION

1. The Ministry of Law invites members of the public to provide feedback on the proposals to implement the recommendations of the Committee for the Professional Training of Lawyers (“CPTL”) available at https://go.gov.sg/cptlconsult.

2. The CPTL was set up by the Honourable the Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon in August 2016 to conduct a root-and-branch review of the professional training regime and to make recommendations on how it might be modified to raise the quality and consistency of training standards across law practices. The Committee was chaired by Justice Quentin Loh and comprised 14 members including representatives from the Supreme Court, the Attorney-General’s Chambers, MinLaw, the Law Society of Singapore, the Singapore Corporate Counsel Association and various Singapore law practices.

3. In August 2018, MinLaw announced that it had accepted in-principle the CPTL’s recommendations and that implementation of the key changes would take place from the 2023 session of Part B examinations onwards. The CPTL made three key structural recommendations:

1. Uncouple the call to the Bar from the right to practise as a lawyer;
2. Raise the standard and stringency of the Part B examinations; and
3. Lengthen the practice training period from six months to one year.

4. In addition, the CPTL also made 17 other specific recommendations to support the new professional training regime.

2. Key issues for public consultation

5. A Working Group, comprising representatives from the Ministry of Law, the Singapore Institute of Legal Education, the Supreme Court of Singapore, and the Law Society of Singapore, was set up to implement and operationalise the CPTL’s recommendations.

6. In working out the implementation details, the Working Group has identified the following key issues for public consultation.

1. The nomenclature for the new group of individuals who will be admitted to the Bar without having completed their practice training;
2. The rights conferred to trainees under the new practice training regime;
3. The moratorium date prior to which law students should not be permitted to apply for practice training contracts; and
4. The criteria for the in-house legal departments that will be permitted to provide practice training for up to three months, and when trainees can complete this training during the PTP.

3. Invitation for feedback

7. The consultation period is from 15 November 2019 to 27 December 2019. All views and feedback should be provided via the Consultation Paper available at https://go.gov.sg/cptlconsult. Respondents are invited to indicate your name and contact details (email address and/or telephone number) to enable us to follow up and seek clarification, if necessary. Please note that the final details of the training regime may differ substantially from the current proposals and suggestions.

4. References

For the full report by CPTL, please refer http://www.supremecourt.gov.sg/docs/default-source/default-document-library/report-of-the-committee-for-the-professional-training-of-lawyers.pdf

For the press release issued by MinLaw on the in-principle acceptance of the recommendations by CPTL, please refer to https://www.mlaw.gov.sg/news/press-releases/law-ministry-accepts-recommendations-to-strengthen-professional

Last updated on 15 Nov 2019