The Wealth Management Institute (WMI) and the Law Society of Singapore have launched a major multi-year training initiative to equip Singapore’s 6,500 practising lawyers with specialised skills in family office advisory. The partnership, formalised on 26 September 2025, responds to the rapidly expanding family office landscape in Singapore and the rising demand for sophisticated legal…
Extension of public consultation period for regulatory framework for law practices and collaborations in Singapore
The Ministry of Law (MinLaw) has announced a five-week extension to its public consultation on the recommendations issued by the Committee to Review the Regulatory Framework for Law Practices and Collaborations in Singapore. The consultation, launched on 16 October 2025, will now remain open until 14 January 2026. The Committee’s report proposes significant reforms to…
Gender equality of the future of the profession
The Law Society of New Zealand has launched a national engagement initiative to explore how the legal profession can better reflect the communities it serves, with a particular focus on advancing gender equality. The initiative begins with panel discussions in Wellington on 25 November and in Auckland on 3 December, bringing together a diverse group…
Legal Services Board publishes plans to tackle barriers to a more diverse legal services profession
The Legal Services Board (LSB) has released a set of new proposals aimed at addressing persistent barriers to equality, diversity and inclusion within the legal services profession. Despite incremental progress, the sector continues to fall short of reflecting the diversity of the communities it serves. Women, minoritised ethnic groups and disabled individuals remain significantly underrepresented,…
CARICOM lawyers ‘must meet Barbados Bar requirements’
The Barbados Bar Association has reiterated that attorneys seeking to practise in Barbados under the new CARICOM cross-border mobility initiative must continue to meet all statutory admission and registration requirements. The clarification follows the launch of the initiative on Wednesday, which grants citizens of Barbados, Dominica, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Belize the right…
Public consultation on the report of the committee to review the regulatory framework for law practices and collaborations in Singapore
The Singapore Ministry of Law has launched an eight-week public consultation on the Report of the Committee to Review the Regulatory Framework for Law Practices and Collaborations in Singapore. The Committee was tasked with assessing whether the current regulatory framework continues to meet Singapore’s evolving legal and economic needs and recommending improvements to ensure continued…
Pooled client accounts: Proposed changes risk placing substantial new burdens on solicitors
The Law Society of England and Wales has raised strong concerns regarding the UK Government’s proposed amendments to the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing (Amendment and Miscellaneous Provision) Regulations 2025. The draft regulations would require solicitors to conduct full customer due diligence on all clients whose funds are held in pooled client accounts—bank accounts where a…
A New Era for Qatar’s Legal Profession: Key Reforms Under Law No. 19 of 2025
Qatar’s Law No. 19 of 2025 marks a major milestone in the modernisation of its legal sector, amending the Legal Profession Law of 2006 to enhance transparency, professionalism, and international alignment. The reforms, introduced by the Ministry of Justice, aim to strengthen the legal profession’s role in upholding justice, protecting rights, and contributing to Qatar’s…
Northern Ireland to introduce new routes to solicitor qualification
On 20 August 2025, the Law Society of Northern Ireland announced plans to introduce new qualification routes for solicitors, following a consultation held between December 2024 and March 2025. The initiative aims to make the profession more accessible, inclusive, and adaptable to evolving societal and professional needs. The consultation examined nine potential options for reform,…
Solicitors Regulation Authority in United Kingdom awards £360,000 for disadvantaged candidates to take the solicitors qualifying examination
On 6 August 2025, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) announced the award of £360,000 to 11 organisations to support aspiring solicitors from disadvantaged backgrounds with the cost of sitting the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE). The funding, drawn from the SQE Access and Reinvestment Fund—financed through performance-based payments from Kaplan, the SQE provider—marks the fund’s first…