An influential committee in Singapore has proposed that lawyers in the city-state should be required to fulfil a minimum of 16 hours of free legal services, as part of a scheme to provide legal aid to disadvantaged Singaporeans.
The scheme, known as Community Legal Services (CLS), was proposed by the Singapore Academy of Law in order to address the legal needs of the less fortunate.
‘Shared responsibility’
Channel News Asia reports that the academy would like all lawyers who hold practicing certificates – including those who work for foreign law firms under the Qualifying Law Practice scheme and in Joint Law Ventures – to take part in CLS. Judge of Appeal V K Rajah, who leads the committee, told Today Online: ‘It is hoped that this scheme will cultivate an ethos of service as well as a shared responsibility, and remind lawyers that the profession is a noble one with much to contribute to society.’
Feedback
Local lawyer Koh Tien Hua, a director at Harry Elias Partnership, commented: ‘As lawyers, we should serve justice, and justice is for all not just the rich.’
The academy, which is already working on the framework, has asked for feedback from the public and the legal community.
