Financial & Other Information

 

NAME OF ORGANIZATION:

 

The Law Society Of Singapore Pro Bono, Learning And Support Services

 

ADDRESS:

 

39 South Bridge Road, Singapore 059724

 

CONTACT INFORMATION:

 

Lim Tanguy Yuteck
Tel No. 65360650
Fax No.: 6534 5237
tanguy@lawsoc.org.sg
www.lawsociety.org.sg

 

CHARITY STATUS:

 

Charity Regn No: T07CC2064L
Charity Regn Date: 01/08/2007
Constitution: Not for profit corporate established under the Legal Profession Act.
Date of establishment: 1967
ROS/RCB Regn No: N/A

 

IPC STATUS:

 

IPC Regn No: IPC000571

 

OBJECTIVES:

 

The Law Society of Singapore is a not-for-profit body corporate established under the Legal Profession Act and its purposes and powers are subject to the provisions of the Legal Profession Act. The purposes of the Law Society are set out in section 38 of the Legal Profession Act. The affairs of the Law Society are managed by the Council of the Law Society. The composition of the Council are expressly set out in sections 48 and 49 Legal Profession Act and the powers of the Council are set out in sections 58, 59, 60, 61 and 62 of the Legal Profession Act. The purposes and powers of the Law Society and Council are set out in Appendix PBS1-LSC. The objects for which the initiative, the Law Society of Singapore Pro Bono, Learning And Support Services is established are: (1) To implement the Law Society's vision and initiatives as to the provision of pro bono legal services in Singapore; (2) To coordinate the provision of civil, criminal and community pro bono work between the Law Society and other agencies; (3) To conduct and coordinate, on an ongoing basis, volunteer recruitment drives for pro bono services, manage and monitor activities of volunteers, and organize and implement training initiatives for volunteers; (4) To identify pro bono opportunities and oversee all pro bono initiatives of the Law Society including without limiting the foregoing: (4a) Criminal Legal Aid Scheme: To implement, establish, manage, administer and/or make provision for a scheme to provide legal representation and/or assistance to impecunious persons on non-capital charges; (4b) Law Awareness initiative: To implement, establish, promote, manage, administer and/or make provision for public education programs aimed at raising public awareness of the law, which shall include without limiting the foregoing: (i) organizing public education seminars, forums, exhibitions and other events and activities; and (ii) publishing basic legal information; (4c) Project Law Help initiative: To implement, establish, promote, manage, administer, and/or make provision for a scheme to provide non-litigation legal advice to charities, not-for-profit organizations, social enterprises, voluntary welfare organizations, and any institution of a public character approved under the Charities Act; (4d) Community Legal Clinics: To implement, establish, promote, manage, administer, and/or make provision for legal clinics in Singapore to provide legal advice and information to impecunious persons on matters where they are not represented by advocates and solicitors; (5) To facilitate the acquisition of legal knowledge by members of legal profession and members of public, including without limiting the foregoing, establishing a library; (6) To grant prizes and scholarships and to establish and subsidise lectureships in educational institutions in subjects of study relating to law; (7) To protect and assist the public in Singapore in all matters touching or ancillary or incidental to the law.

 

VISION/MISSION:

 

The vision of the Law Society is the provision of pro bono services is to ensure access to justice for all in Singapore.

 

Its initiatives currently comprise of programmes to ensure public awareness of their legal rights and duties, the provision of general legal advice to individuals and voluntary welfare organisations and charities, the provision of legal assistance and representation to impecunious persons in non-capital criminal proceedings and schemes to encourage all lawyers to pledge their support and commitment in undertaking the Society's pro bono initiatives.

 

NO. OF BENEFICIARIES:

 

Community Legal Clinics (September 2007 – September 2008)

No. of enquiries: 3,230
No. of registered applicants: 2,924
No. of applicants who received legal advice: 2,414
No. of volunteer lawyers: 379
No. of student volunteers: 342

 

Criminal Legal Aid Scheme (January – December 2008)

 

No. of applications received: 969
No. of applications accepted: 223
No. of volunteer lawyers: 342

 

Project Law Help (January – December 2008)

 

No. of applications received: 11
No. of volunteer law practices: 19

 

PROGRAMS/ACTIVITIES:

 

The Law Society of Singapore is strongly committed to its mission of sustaining a competent and independent bar which upholds the rule of law and ensures access to justice. It is intended for the initiative, The Law Society of Singapore Pro Bono, Learning & Support Services, (the "PLS Services") to fulfil the Law Society's vision and mission of facilitating access to justice, including raising public awareness of the law and facilitating the acquisition of legal knowledge. Over the years, the scope and range of pro bono work undertaken by the legal profession and the Law Society has been steadily expanding. Initiatives undertaken over the past years include: (1) the establishment of the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme in 1985 to provide legal aid to the poor; and (2) the establishment of the Law Awareness initiative in 1997, an initiative aimed at raising awareness of the law by conducting public education seminars, forums and exhibitions regularly and the publication of basic legal information; and (3) the establishment of the Project Law Help initiative in 2004 to provide free non-litigation commercial legal advice to charities, non-profit organizations and voluntary welfare organizations to assist the public in Singapore. A fourth major initiative on an unprecedented scale undertaken by the Law Society is the establishment and running of free legal clinics 4 nights a week every week of the year at the North-West and South-East Community Development Councils. These community legal clinics, which commenced operation on 10 September 2007, provide basic legal advice and information to needy Singaporeans and permanent residents across Singapore. It is hoped that in time, there will be legal clinics in all the Community Development Councils across Singapore. All the above key pro bono initiatives of the Law Society and all other new pro bono schemes to be developed and implemented by the Law Society are now administered through the newly set up Pro Bono Services Office of the Law Society. The Pro Bono Services Office is an initiative established with the funding support of the Ministry of Law and the Singapore Academy of Law, following a comprehensive review conducted in 2006 by the Law Society on the provision of legal aid in Singapore to facilitate access to justice. It is proposed that the PLS Services administers the work of the Pro Bono Services Office and all other matters relating to the facilitation of access to justice, including raising public awareness of the law; and facilitating the acquisition of legal knowledge and the study of law; and generally assisting the public in matters relating to the law. It is anticipated that the range and scope of the PLS Services will continue to expand and grow in time to come.

 

PATRONS:

 

N/A

 

TRUSTEES/BOARD MEMBERS:

 

Mrs Arfat Selvam (Chairperson)
Mr Jimmy Yim SC
Mr George Lim
Mr N Sreenivasan
Mr Gary Pryke
Mr Thio Shen Yi SC
Ms Malathi Das
Mr Christopher Koh

 

KEY EMPLOYEES:

 

Mr Lim Tanguy, Director Pro Bono Services Office
Ms Shahrany Binte Hassan, Director Community Relations

 

 

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