The Ministry of Law, together with the Singapore Department of Statistics, carried out a comprehensive census of law firms and lawyers in Singapore in November 2001. The objective was to help formulate policies to better position the legal services sector to face the challenges ahead.

Three separate surveys were conducted, targeted at local law firms, local lawyers and former lawyers who had ceased practice between 1999 and 2001 (see Annex A). A total of 77 questions (including more than 200 part questions) were posed. The respective response rates to the surveys were:-

99% (748 out of 753) for law firms;
75% (2,331 out of 3,120) for lawyers; and
38% (238 out of 624) for lawyers who had ceased practice.

Key Findings:

The information gathered from the Census suggests a legal industry undergoing consolidation and restructuring, against the backdrop of a weak economy and stagnation of revenue from traditional sources such as litigation and conveyancing.

The legal profession is facing increasingly intense competition for business and talent and the need to adopt sound business and management practices, while upholding its traditional professional standards.

Larger law firms were more profitable and enjoyed better growth prospects

Large law firms fared considerably better compared to the medium-sized and small firms in terms of greater revenue per lawyer, higher profits per partner and better growth. There was room for medium-sized law firms to achieve greater synergy and efficiency, as well as band together to achieve a critical mass for sustained growth.

As for the small firms, they have to decide how to regroup, re-engineer, move into new niches or review their roles in order to survive as inevitable changes impact upon the overall legal services sector.

More.....