Academy of Law looking for feedback on proposed pro bono scheme

The Singapore Academy of Law (SAL) is asking the public for more feedback on a proposed scheme that could make it compulsory for lawyers to do 16 hours of pro bono work a year.

Members of the public and the legal fraternity can share their views by May 14 on how the Community Legal Services scheme should be implemented, the council said in a statement Tuesday. It added that a discussion paper would be circulated to the legal community to get feedback.

The academy also proposed an "aspirational target" of pro bono hours and a "mandatory reporting" system of the number of hours completed each year, based on feedback it received on an earlier discussion paper circulated last October. This system is aimed at making lawyers aware of their professional responsibility to use their legal expertise to give back to the community, said the Academy.

Information can be found on the Academy's website at www.sal.org.sg and views can be sent to feedback_cls@sal.org.sg

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