The first international law firms to receive local licences to practice in Singapore are expecting to hear later this month whether they have will be renewed.

The six firms, all of which first received licences in 2009, are: Allen & Overy; Clifford Chance (CC); Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF); Norton Rose Fulbright; Latham & Watkins; and White & Case.

Firms will be judged against the objectives outlined in their initial applications five years ago.

Singapore's Ministry of Law (MinLaw) is expected to weigh up a number of criteria. These include the amount of offshore work generated, the number of lawyers who based in the office, and the strength of the practice areas each firm has in Singapore.

MinLaw declined to give any further details on the selection process, or a precise timeline for when it would announce the successful applicants.

Market sources believe the ministry wants firms to grow their disputes capability and to increase the ratio of Singapore to foreign lawyers, with a view to bringing more offshore work into the island city-state.

Talking about the likelihood of all six firms having their licences renewed, some partners said they would not be surprised if MinLaw did not reissue all of them in a bid to appease the local bar and show that it continued to monitor international firms.

Indeed last October, the country's Minister for Law, K Shanmugam made clear that foreign outfits were still subject to restrictions when he attacked Clifford Chance in a parliamentary session for issuing misleading statements about its litigation practice.

But others say they cannot foresee a reduction in the total number of QFLPs handed out given that a second round of licences was awarded to Linklaters, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, Jones Day and Sidley Austin last February, and since most firms are likely to have achieved their targets.

There is also division among partners about the value of the QFLP. Whilst some believe that losing a licence could be bad for business, others say it is not essential to winning work in the market because most transactions involve advising international clients.

Looking at current headcounts, HSF is the only firm of the six without a Singapore-qualified partner, however, it has one of the largest headcounts among the firms, with 58 lawyers working in the city.

But the number of partners in the office has fallen from 14 to 11, with the most recent departure announced being that of the firm's head of litigation for South East Asia, Maurice Burke, who is moving to Hogan Lovells in May.

CC together with its formal law alliance (FLA) firm Cavenagh Law currently has a total of 76 lawyers on the ground, 17 of whom are partners. Norton Rose has 16 partners among its 62 lawyers.

The remaining three firms declined to reveal updated headcounts. But last May, A&O had 11 partners and 45 other legal staff, White & Case's partner headcount was the smallest with nine alongside 38 other legal staff, while Latham had 39 lawyers in its office, including 12 partners.