What is different about legal & compliance in Singapore
Lawyers must be called to the Singapore Bar and registered with the Law Society of Singapore, while accounting and audit firms register their public accountants with ACRA and follow standards set by the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA), so a professional-services pipeline should record each practitioner's registration status as part of the account file rather than assume it. Court and arbitration work also splits between the State Courts, the General Division of the High Court, and the Singapore International Arbitration Centre for cross-border disputes.
New client matters come through referrals, panel appointments from corporate clients, and direct enquiries rather than WhatsApp-led contact. Fee invoices carry a GST number at 9%, and client money handled through a firm's client account follows separate Law Society accounting rules worth tracking apart from standard billing. Client data follows PDPA, and conflict-of-interest checks form a mandatory intake step before any new matter is opened. Year-end and Chinese New Year both slow corporate legal work for stretches of one to two weeks.
Set up your CRM for Singapore legal & compliance teams
- Record each practitioner's Law Society or ACRA registration status on their profile.
- Add a mandatory conflict-of-interest check as an intake stage before opening a matter.
- Track client-account funds separately from standard billing to match Law Society accounting rules.
