What type of lawyer do I need in Singapore?
Answered from official Singapore sources and the reported court record, as of — recomputed live.
Lawyers in Singapore organise by practice area, so a matter is matched to the field of law that governs it — family and divorce, criminal, employment, contract and commercial, probate, and others. The reported court record shows, objectively, which firms and counsel actually appear in each field.
What the question is really asking
In Singapore the profession is fused: a lawyer is admitted as an advocate and solicitor rather than as a separate barrister or solicitor. In practice, however, firms and individual lawyers concentrate in particular fields, so the useful question is less "what type of lawyer" and more "which field of law governs this matter". A dispute is matched to the area of law that applies to it.
The main fields track the kinds of problems that reach the courts. A marriage breakdown or a dispute over children falls under family law; a charge or an investigation is criminal law; a dismissal or a restraint-of-trade dispute is employment law; a disagreement over a contract or a commercial deal is contract and commercial litigation; winding up an estate is probate and administration; and there are further fields such as property, corporate and insolvency work, and intellectual property. Some matters cross more than one field, and part of a lawyer's role is identifying which areas are engaged.
This site's practice-area network is built directly from the reported court record. For each field it shows, objectively, which firms and counsel appeared in Singapore's judgments and how the courts decided those matters. That is a factual mapping of who is active in a field — a different question from who a particular person ought to choose, and one the court record can answer without recommending any named lawyer.
Official sources & how it works
The instruments and public records that govern the answer, each with its source and the year it describes.
The professional body's public directory of practising lawyers and firms, searchable by practice area — the field of law is the primary way lawyers are organised and located.
Source: Law Society of Singapore — Find a Lawyer · as of 2026
The statute governing the fused profession of advocates and solicitors in Singapore, under which every practising lawyer is admitted, whatever field they concentrate in.
Source: Legal Profession Act 1966 (Singapore) · as of 2020
Are lawyers in Singapore specialised by area?
The profession is fused — a lawyer is admitted as an advocate and solicitor — but in practice firms and individuals concentrate in particular fields such as family, criminal, employment, or commercial work. A matter is matched to the field of law that governs it, which is how the right kind of lawyer for a problem is identified.
How do I know which field my matter falls under?
The governing field follows from the legal nature of the problem: a marriage breakdown is family law, a dismissal dispute is employment law, and a disagreement over a contract is contract or commercial law. Some matters engage more than one field at once, so identifying every area involved is part of assessing the matter.
Can the court record show which lawyers work in a field?
Yes. Reported judgments record which firms and counsel appeared in each practice area, so the court record objectively shows who is active in a field. That is a factual measure of appearance, and it is distinct from any recommendation about who a person ought to engage.
Explore the court record
This is one part of what the reported record shows about how lawyers and litigation work in Singapore.
- For the full map of fields the reported court record covers, browse the Practice Areas.
- For who appears in reported family and divorce matters, see Family Law Lawyers in Singapore: The Court Record.
- For who appears in reported criminal matters, see Criminal Law Lawyers in Singapore: The Court Record.
Methodology & disclaimer
This page explains the question factually from cited Singapore legislation, official public records and the reported Supreme Court court record. It describes how a process or requirement works in general; it does not tell any particular person what to do, is not a recommendation of any lawyer or firm, and is not legal advice. How a specific matter should be handled depends on its facts and is a question for a qualified lawyer.