Practice Structures
Law Practices
There are three (3) practice structures to consider when setting up your law practice:
a firm (which may be a sole proprietorship or partnership);
a limited liability law partnership; or
a law corporation.
Setting up a limited liability law partnership or a law corporation requires the in-principle approval of the Council of the Law Society ('the
Council'). Council's approval shall not take effect until the limited liability law partnership is registered under the Limited Liability Partnership Act, or until the law corporation is registered and incorporated under the Companies Act. The following must also be adhered to:
Drafting of the LLP Agreement or the Memorandum & Articles of Association ('M&A'), as the case may be.
Selecting the manager, partners, board of directors, as the case may be.
Purchasing mandatory professional indemnity insurance cover.
Sending written notification to clients to inform of transfer of client files and moneys to the new limited liability law partnership or to the new law corporation, as the case may be.
Handling GST issues.
For more information on each practice structure, simply click on the menu on top to find out more.
Group Law Practices
Law practices may wish to consider the option of practising as a group practice. Practising in a group practice allows law practices to be part of a larger set-up in which they practise as separate practices in mutual co-operation.
A group practice may be managed by a manager who may provide infrastructure and management services. The purpose of a manager would be to allow the law practices in the group practice to focus on developing their professional expertise and clientele.
Prior approval of the Council is required for the name of the group practice and the manner in which the name of the group practice shall be used in conjunction with the name of each law practice in the group.
For more information on group practices, refer to the
Manual for Setting up of Group Law Practices.
