Admission to Singapore bar

[rolandccy]

I'm a working adult here which currently holding EP. I'm wonder after i take LLB from TMC college, is my law degree consider as a external degree? With a Citizen or PR status only eligible for admission but is LLB awarded by UOL accepted ministry of law?

[Mad Scientist]

I'm a working adult here which currently holding EP. I'm wonder after i take LLB from TMC college, is my law degree consider as a external degree? With a Citizen or PR status only eligible for admission but is LLB awarded by UOL accepted ministry of law?

TMC College is not a recognised Law University to enter the Law in SG. It has nothing to do whether you are local or not. Your degree needs to be recognised in order to practise law. Of course being on EP will only complicate matters as you can only hold on to one job and pass in SG

http://app2.mlaw.gov.sg/UsefulInfo/Prac ... fault.aspx

[rolandccy]

Put aside the residential status. Bachelor of Law awarded by University of London is recognized right? please correct me if i'm wrong

[Mad Scientist]

Yes , it is recognised but you still need to take the exam in order to get into the Singapore Bar
You need to check with the Law Society if the Law Degree you are doing with TMC in conjunction with University of London is recognised or not. IMHO, I do not think so but I may be wron ghere

[taxico]

no external law degrees are recognized in singapore for purposes of admission to the singapore bar.

you'll also need to take the graduate diploma in singapore law (at NUS) before qualifying for pupilage.

you will also need to be in the top 10% (?) of your graduating cohort... but i think this requirement has been relaxed recently.

google Singapore Board of Legal Education and you'll find the latest requirements and a list of recognized programs/institutions.

requirements nowithstanding, this doesn't mean that an external law degree is any less relevant - the lecturers' instruction may not be as good but if you're a diligent student, you'll still pick up useful skills taught at/through law school which will help you in a variety of jobs.

many external law grads have gone on to work in the legal sector in singapore, in positions such as contract managers, legal managers, etc... which usually doesn't require a professional certificate.

good luck!

[ausinsg]

The UOL LLB external program is no longer recognised for practice in Singapore. The rules changed around 1996. People who are admitted to the bar in Singapore are from before this time.

As was mentioned external LLB programs are not recognised for admission to the bar in Singapore. Neither are law degrees studied on a part-time basis.
JDs are only accepted from four specific american universities and SMU here in Singapore.

You normally need to be in the top 30% of your cohort for your accepted foreign law degree to be allowable for practice in Singapore. There are several appendices in the links from MinLaw which state which universities have acceptable LLB degrees.

There is also a nice little catch about needing to be admitted to the bar in the country which the degree is from/ recognised. So they have lots of protection for the local lawyers.

You can study the LLB external program here from UOL for your own interest. Or you can go to england/wales and do you law clerkship/pupilage and be admitted to the bar there. Or maybe see if there is a way to do pupilage in Malaysia, where the degree is recognised, then try to join the bar there.

This will let you be a foreign lawyer in Singapore. So you can work for a company advising on the law and agreements in the country which you have been admitted to the bar in. But you can not be a practicing lawyer in Singapore.

UOL also have a time frame within which you need to complete the whole LLB course to be able to apply for the bar. If you stretch it out for too long, it will not be accepted.

What some local students do, is to do the diploma in law from UOL at one of the private colleges here. That is the first year of the LLB, then use that to get accepted to a law school in england/wales. Then go over and do the whole degree over there, making sure not to get any credit. Then using the fact they did the degree at an acceptable overseas uni, then come back here and study the diploma at NUS, then join a local firm.

You just need to ask yourself why you are interested in studying it.