Over the past decade and a half, the government of Singapore has been gradually opening up its legal market to foreign law firms. A major milestone in that process came in 2008 with the launch of Singapore’s Qualifying Foreign Law Practice program. Under the program, the government has granted 10 foreign firms a license that permits them to hire Singapore-qualified lawyers and offer advice in most areas of commercial law. (Those firms are still barred from handling litigation and real estate matters, however, along with local criminal and family law.)
The first batch of licenses went to Allen & Overy; Clifford Chance; Latham & Watkins; White & Case; Herbert Smith Freehills; and Norton Rose Fulbright in late 2008. Since then the government has given five-year extensions on the licenses to all but Herbert Smith and has awarded new licenses to four additional firms, Linklaters; Jones Day; Sidley Austin; and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.
