Lawyers in Singapore are part of a fused profession, meaning that they may act as both a solicitor and as an advocate, although lawyers usually specialize in one of litigation, conveyancing or corporate law.
The number of lawyers in Singapore has declined in the first decade of the 21st century. There were 3,300 lawyers in 2006. Parliament approved changes in 2009 to replace the 'pupillage' system with structured training, and to make it easier for lawyers to return to practise.
International law firms are generally limited to corporate, finance and banking law.
In 2007, there were 4200 lawyers practising law in Singapore, up from 4000 in 2002.
In July 2009, there were 95 foreign firms with offices in Singapore, and 840 foreign lawyers, up from 576 in 2000. Six international firms were given license to practice local corporate law for the first time in December 2008.
In 2012, there were 5200 lawyers practising in Singapore, according to statistics from the Ministry of Law.
Large firms such as Rajah & Tann Asia and Allen & Gledhill constitute about 20% of the law industry's practitioners.