The Law Society of Singapore is a law society which represents all lawyers in Singapore. It is analogous to a bar association in other countries.
The society's motto is "An Advocate for the Profession, An Advocate for the Community." It moved its premises from South Bridge Road to Maxwell Chambers in 2019.
Activities The society provides services and support to lawyers in Singapore, does advocacy for issues affecting its members, publishes the Law Gazette, and operates a pro bono scheme to provide access to justice for those who may not be able to afford it. Other services that it offers include:
Providing an announcement/notice dissemination service for members' notices, such as notices of a change in the name of a law practice, a change in the composition of the partners/directors in a law practice, change in contact details, and office closures From 1 November 2019, it has administered an Unclaimed Money Fund to hold money left in lawyers' client accounts that are unclaimed by clients It administers various alternative dispute resolution schemes, including an arbitration scheme, mediation scheme, and neutral evaluation and determination scheme
It also publishes advisories and guidelines for lawyers relating to various matters, including ethics and professional responsibility and advertising of legal services.
Committees The society has various standing committees tasked with managing particular issues or areas of practice, including an advocacy committee, alternative dispute resolution committee, civil practice committee, information technology committee, amongst others.
Disciplinary proceedings Under the Legal Profession Act 1967, when the Council of the Law Society receives a complaint against a lawyer, it will refer the complaint to the chairperson of the society's Inquiry Panel, who may constitute a Review Committee to review the complaint.
The Review Committee will determine whether the complaint is frivolous, vexatious, misconceived, or lacking in substance and should therefore be dismissed, or should be referred to the chairperson of the Inquiry Panel, who will then constitute an Inquiry Committee to inquire into the complaint.
The Inquiry Committee will report its findings and recommendations to the council, who will decide if a formal investigation is necessary. If it does so determine, it may apply to the Chief Justice to appoint a Disciplinary Committee that will hear and investigate the matter.
If the Disciplinary Committee finds that there has been cause of sufficient gravity for disciplinary action to be taken against the lawyer who is the subject of the complaint, the society will make an application to the Court of Three Judges for an appropriate order against the lawyer, such as an order that the lawyer be censured, fined, suspended, or struck off the roll.
Controversies 2025 president appointment controversy On 10 December 2025, a group of former members, led by Peter Cuthbert Low and Chandra Mohan Nair, called an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) for 22 December, protesting the presidency of Dinesh Singh Dhillon. In a letter addressed to The Straits Times the previous day, they stated that they intended to discuss "the impact of his appointment on the independence of the Bar". However, the resolution did not include provisions to invalidate office-holders. Dhillon, then a non-elected member of the council, had been elected that October at the society's annual election.
Thio Shen Yi, a former president of the society, opposed the EGM, saying that it would cause weakening internal divisions and that Dhillon had been elected "fair and square". He also said that the election had observed due process and that the society had no convention against the election of a non-elected councillor to its presidency. On 17 December, after a meeting with members, Dhillon agreed to step aside as president and will be endorsed as vice-president. Professor Tan Cheng Han will be reconstituted as president.
Leadership YearPresidentRef1963–1964Tan Chye Cheng1965Po Guan Hock1966C. F. J. Ess1967C. C. Tan1968H. P. Godwin1969–1972G. Starforth Hill1973–1974M. Karthigesu1975–1977H. L. Wee1978M. Karthigesu1979Phyllis P. L. Tan1980–1983T. P. B. Menon1984–1985Harry Elias SC1986Francis Seow1987–1989Giam Chin Toon SC1990–1992C. R. Rajah SC1993–1994Peter Cuthbert Low1995–1997Chandra Mohan K. Nair1998–1999George Lim Teong Jin SC2000–2002Palakrishnan SC2003Arfat Selvam2004–2007Philip Jeyaretnam SC2008–July 2010Michael Hwang SCAugust 2010 – 2012Wong Meng Meng SC2013–2014Lok Vi Ming SC2015–2016Thio Shen Yi SC2017–2021Gregory Vijayendran SC2022–July 2023Adrian Tan Gim HaiDied in officeJuly 2023 - November 2023Jason Chan Tai-Hui SCNovember 2023–presentLisa Sam Hui Min
See also Law society
References
External links
Law Society of Singapore website