As the law now stands, foreign lawyers must have degrees from law schools that have been approved by Singapore's Attorney General. Even those foreign lawyers who bear the approved degrees are not permitted to practice in the areas of constitutional and administrative law, conveyance, criminal, family succession and trust law. Singapore's Ministry of Law says that the proposed FPC will ''encourage more high-caliber foreign practitioners to contribute to expertise to our commercial sector.''
Singapore has around 3,500 lawyers currently practicing law in the country. Additionally, there are nearly 1,000 foreign lawyers that are registered with the Attorney-General's Chambers, allowing them to practice foreign law within the country. One fear held by some Singaporean lawyers is that this action will create tougher competition for them.
In recent years, Singapore has been attempting to position itself to become a legal hub in Asia. The country's IP Academy, offers high quality professional education in matters related to Intellectual Property and IP management.
Not only is Singapore opening its doors to foreign lawyers, it's also attempting to further its role as an international player. The country has been setting their focus on the development of an international IP regime. Singapore was home earlier this year to the 3rd Global Forum on Intellectual Property.
