Change will apply to student intakes from AY2016/17 onwards
By Teo Xuanwei, TODAY, 25 Feb 2015
Following warnings of a looming glut of lawyers here because of a surge in the number of Singaporeans heading overseas to read law, nearly half of the 19 United Kingdom law schools recognised for admission to the Singapore Bar will be dropped next year.
The decision to cut eight UK law schools from the list of overseas scheduled universities (OSUs) follows a review by the Singapore Institute of Legal Education (SILE), which was called for by a high-powered committee in 2013 to ensure the quality of returning UK graduates.
The number of OSUs has remained at 35 since 2006, including universities from the UK, Australia, New Zealand, America and Singapore.
In a press release yesterday, the Ministry of Law (MinLaw) said it had accepted the SILE’s recommendation, adding that the reduced list of 27 OSUs would apply to prospective intakes from Academic Year 2016/17.
The schools dropped are all from the UK:
- University of Exeter
- University of Leeds
- University of Leicester
- University of Liverpool
- School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London
- University of Manchester
- University of Sheffield
- University of Southampton
MinLaw said: “Transitional provisions will be put in place to ensure Singapore citizens and permanent residents who have secured a place before the relevant cut-off date in any of the UK OSUs omitted from the list are not adversely affected by the change.” The ministry and SILE are still working out the provisions.
Based on estimates obtained from Contact Singapore that the fourth Committee on the Supply of Lawyers cited in its 2013 report, the eight schools accounted for 30 per cent, or 221, of the 729 Singaporean law graduates from the UK in the past three years.
In calling for a five-yearly review of the list of OSUs, the committee — chaired by then Judge of Appeal V K Rajah — noted the burgeoning number of Singaporeans studying to be lawyers in the UK. “If left unchecked, there could be concerns that the increase in absolute numbers will be accompanied by a widening disparity in the fitness of UK OSU law graduates for the rigours of practice,” the committee said.
While the list was introduced as a “quantitative scythe” to control the number of new entrants to Singapore’s legal market, an update and refresh was needed “so it can better fulfil its present function as a qualitative sieve” that offers the public a general assurance of the competence of overseas-trained law graduates, it added.
In its release, MinLaw said the review by the SILE took into consideration the committee’s recommended methodology for reviewing the OSU list, which was based on a basket of updated UK law-school rankings based on recent data, as well as representations from the universities that could be omitted.
To minimise the risk of error, the committee proposed using the ranking over three years by three UK broadsheets: The Times Good University Guide, The Guardian University Guide and the Complete University Guide.
Last August, Law Minister K Shanmugam weighed in on the issue of the growing number of overseas Singaporean law undergraduates. With about 80 per cent of them returning to practise here, he warned that aspiring lawyers should temper their expectations in terms of pay and job opportunities, in view of a possible oversupply.
The total number of Singaporeans reading law in the UK more than doubled to 1,142 between 2010 and 2013, based on MinLaw’s estimates. In addition, there were 386 Singaporeans pursuing a law degree in Australian universities in 2013. The UK and Australia are the main sources of returning law graduates.
In recent years, more law graduates from abroad have complained of difficulties in securing a practice training contract, a requirement for entry to the Bar, as most firms offer these to the 400 or so Singaporean law graduates.
Commenting on the move, some lawyers who returned from UK universities questioned the methodology for reviewing the list of OSUs, noting that the rankings were “very fluid”.
Ms Diana Ngiam, who graduated from Kings College London in 2010, said: “If the aim is to reduce the number of Singaporean students from the UK, I would suggest reverting to only allowing second-upper degree holders to qualify for admission to the Singapore Bar.”
The requirements were relaxed in 2009 — because of a crunch then — to qualify second-lower honours degree holders from recognised foreign universities for admission to the Bar.
Mr Josephus Tan, a graduate from the University of Southampton’s class of 2007, said the shorter list is “a good immediate measure of sorts where numbers of lawyers are concerned”.
“The longer-term solution is to ... raise awareness among the young that the study of law should not equate to the practice of law. It is a discipline that can be useful in other industries.”
Removal of 8 UK law schools from approved list 'only logical': Law Society
By Vimita Mohandas, Channel NewsAsia, 26 Feb 2015
The Law Society has said that the removal of eight UK law schools from the list of approved foreign universities is only logical given that there are more law graduates than training contracts available.
Mr Thio Shen Yi, president of the Law Society, said: "As a profession, we will only hire the right numbers that we want. It is all about economics - the supply and demand. We are not going to hire extra lawyers just because there is an extra supply. We only hire the right amount of lawyers depending on the amount of work that we have."
He added: "Having said that, as Singapore expands as a legal centre, if things like the Singapore International Commercial Court takes off, and if Singapore law becomes a choice of law for this region, then the scope of Singapore legal services will expand and we will need more lawyers. So maybe there is hope for this large batch of law students.
"But the reality is that it is going to be a very competitive job market for them if they all want to become lawyers; there simply aren't enough training contracts on offer."
The move will affect students heading overseas next year - in particular, those enrolling in the University of Exeter, University of Leeds, University of Leceister, University of Liverpool, School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, University of Manchester, University of Sheffield and University of Southampton.
In total, these eight universities accounted for 30 per cent - 221 out of 729 - of Singaporean graduates from UK law schools in the last three years.
There are 11 UK schools left on the list of Overseas Scheduled Universities (OSU).
For those who have already secured a place in any of these universities before the relevant cut-off date, transitional provisions will be put in place to ensure they are not adversely affected by the change.
Law Minister K Shanmugam had warned of a possible oversupply of lawyers in Singapore last August, following a spurt in the number of Singaporeans studying law overseas.
But lawyer Mr Amolat Singh said this move could be seen as a knee-jerk reaction.
He said that while some may argue that the move would drive up standards among lawyers, beefing up professional development courses would be more effective in maintaining their competencies.
"Ultimately, if you are looking at people practising, it does not matter very much which university you went to. People may go to a certain university, let's say an Ivy League university, but they may not turn out to be good practitioners. They may be very good academically, but that does not translate automatically to a good practising lawyer."
Although the number of recognised overseas universities has remained at 35 since 2006, the total number of Singaporeans reading law in the UK has more than doubled to more than 1,000 between 2010 and last year. In addition, there were 386 Singaporeans pursuing a law degree in Australian universities last year.
The UK and Australia are the main sources of returning law graduates.
Shorter list of approved UK law schools welcomed
Lawyers say it will ensure high standards but students studying there are worried
By Amelia Teng And Amir Hussain, The Straits Times, 26 Feb 2015
THE decision to cut eight British law schools from the list of overseas universities recognised for admission to the Singapore Bar has been welcomed by some lawyers here.
They said that it will not just ensure the high standards of the legal profession in the country, but also help curtail the growing number of Singapore students flocking to Britain to do a law degree.
But some students already at the affected schools are worried that their degrees would now carry a question mark, making it even harder for them to find a job as a lawyer when they return.
On the recommendation of the Singapore Institute of Legal Education (Sile), the Ministry of Law on Tuesday revised the list of recognised universities. It said the University of Exeter; University of Leeds; University of Leicester; University of Liverpool; School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London; University of Manchester; University of Sheffield; and University of Southampton will be dropped from the list.
The changes, which will only affect intakes from next year, leave 11 British universities, such as the University of Birmingham and the University of Bristol. There were no changes to the 10 Australian, four American, two Canadian and two New Zealand universities on the list.
The eight universities which will be dropped had in the last three years accounted for 30 per cent of the 729 Singaporean graduates from British law schools.
But these eight schools are also among the lower-ranked law schools in Britain and their graduates are often the ones who find it harder to get jobs, said NUS law dean Simon Chesterman. "The message to parents and students is that instead of spending tens of thousands of pounds on a law education at a lower-ranked school, they could be better off pursuing other degrees locally."
Last August, Law Minister K. Shanmugam highlighted the spurt in the number of Singaporeans pursuing law overseas. In Britain, the number of Singaporean law students more than tripled from 350 in 2008 to 1,142 in 2013.
This made it harder for returning overseas graduates to get a six-month practice training contract at a law firm - a requirement for entry to the Bar. Last year, nearly 650 graduates competed for about 490 practice training contracts.
The number of local law graduates is currently about 400 each year, and this is set to increase when a third school focusing on criminal and family law opens at the SIM University.
Prof Chesterman was part of the 4th Committee on the Supply of Lawyers.
In 2013, the high-powered panel suggested that Sile review the list of overseas universities every five years - a recommendation which was accepted by the Government. The purpose, the committee said, was to ensure quality control. This is the first revision in the wake of that decision.
Law Society president Thio Shen Yi said a regular review is "important to ensure that we continue to get top-quality entrants to the Singapore Bar".
"In any review process, one can expect some universities to be added or removed. In an environment where there are far more law graduates than training contracts on offer, it is not surprising that this review contracted the existing list," he added.
Some students from the affected British law schools were disappointed with the changes.
Said Goh Jia Jie, 23, a first-year University of Liverpool law student: "Liverpool is still ranked quite highly in Britain and the world, and the education provided to the students is like that at any law school - challenging and arduous."
The Ministry of Law said it will work out provisions with the Sile to ensure that those who have secured a place in the eight schools before 2016 "are not adversely affected by the change", without giving details.
Ms Shannen Tan, a second-year law student at the University of Exeter, was able to look at the bright side. "From a long-term perspective, fewer lawyers will mean an increase in their value and worth in the future," said the 22-year-old.
Some lawyers believe that while a quality degree counts, it is not the only assurance of the makings of a good lawyer.
Said Peter Low law firm director Choo Zheng Xi: "A better way to ensure the quality of law graduates could have been to make the Bar exam more difficult to pass, or to let the market correct itself, because I know some excellent lawyers and law students from these eight universities."
Mr Josephus Tan, 35, a criminal lawyer with Fortis Law Corporation who has been recognised for his pro-bono work, graduated from the University of Southampton in 2007. "It doesn't really matter what school you come from. More importantly, it's your personal qualities, and the passion for the law that matters. I went into law to help people, not because of the prestige or the money," he said.