国际法律视野｜新加坡法律制度介绍（六）——新加坡法律职业与法律服务生态：律师准入、监管与国际协作

新加坡承袭英国普通法的法律职业传统，同时结合自身作为国际商事中心的需求，形成了“统一准入、专业分工、层级清晰”的律师职业体系，核心分为事务律师与讼务律师（俗称“大律师”）两大类别，同时设置了顶端的资深大律师荣誉制度。

Singapore inherits the legal tradition of the common law in the United Kingdom, and combines its own needs as an international business center to form a "unified access, professional division of labor, and clear hierarchy" legal profession system. The core is divided into two categories: solicitor and advocate, commonly known as "barrister", and a top-level senior barrister honor system is also established.

与英国、香港地区严格的“分业执业”不同，新加坡《法律职业法》规定，所有获准在新加坡执业的律师，均可同时获得“事务律师与讼务律师”双重资格，无需单独申请不同的执业牌照，可自主选择执业方向，既保留了普通法体系的专业分层，又提升了法律服务的灵活性与全链条服务能力。

Unlike the strict "separate practice" in the UK and Hong Kong, Singapore's Legal Profession Act stipulates that all lawyers authorized to practice in Singapore can simultaneously obtain the dual qualifications of "transactional lawyer" and "litigation lawyer", without the need to separately apply for different practice licenses. They can choose their own practice direction, which not only retains the professional hierarchy of the common law system, but also enhances the flexibility and full chain service capability of legal services.

事务律师是新加坡法律服务市场的主体，核心负责非诉讼业务与日常商事法律服务，覆盖企业全生命周期的法律需求，核心职责包括：公司并购、跨境投融资、合同起草与审核、合规管理、知识产权保护、房地产与基建项目非诉服务、家庭财富传承等；同时可处理基层法院的小额诉讼案件，为客户提供诉讼策略咨询、证据整理等辅助工作。 新加坡本地的商事律所、国际律所新加坡分所的核心团队多以事务律师为主，也是中资企业在新加坡开展业务时最常对接的法律服务主体，其服务能力直接决定了新加坡作为国际商事中心的配套保障水平。

Solicitor are the mainstay of Singapore's legal services market, responsible for non litigation business and daily commercial legal services, covering the legal needs of enterprises throughout their entire life cycle. Their core responsibilities include company mergers and acquisitions, cross-border investment and financing, contract drafting and review, compliance management, intellectual property protection, non litigation services for real estate and infrastructure projects, and family wealth inheritance; At the same time, it can handle small claims cases in grassroots courts and provide clients with litigation strategy consulting, evidence organization and other auxiliary work. The core teams of local business law firms and international law firms in Singapore are mostly solicitors, and they are also the most common legal service providers for Chinese enterprises conducting business in Singapore. Their service capabilities directly determine the level of supporting support for Singapore as an international business center.

讼务律师的核心职责是出庭代理，尤其是新加坡高等法院、上诉法院、最高法院的重大疑难诉讼案件，以及国际仲裁案件的庭审代理，需具备极强的庭审辩论、法律适用与争议解决能力。 尽管所有执业律师都具备出庭资格，但新加坡法律服务市场形成了自然的专业分工：多数商事律师聚焦非诉业务，仅少数律师专门深耕讼务领域，专注于高端诉讼与仲裁出庭服务，形成了专业壁垒。

The core responsibility of a advocate is to represent clients in court, especially in major and difficult litigation cases in the High Court, Court of Appeal, and Supreme Court of Singapore, as well as in international arbitration cases. They need to have strong abilities in courtroom debate, legal application, and dispute resolution. Although all practicing lawyers are qualified to appear in court, the legal services market in Singapore has formed a natural division of labor: most commercial lawyers focus on non litigation services, while only a few lawyers specialize in the litigation field, focusing on high-end litigation and arbitration court services, forming a professional barrier.

新加坡的资深大律师制度相当于英国的御用大律师（QC），是法律职业的最高荣誉，由新加坡首席大法官每年亲自任命，授予人数极少（每年仅5-10名），核心授予条件包括：在新加坡执业满10年以上，具备极高的专业能力与行业口碑，品德良好，在重大疑难案件的办理、法律制度完善等领域有突出贡献。

The Senior Counsel system in Singapore is equivalent to the Queen's Counsel (QC) system in the UK, which is the highest honor in the legal profession. It is personally appointed by the Chief Justice of Singapore every year and is awarded to a very small number of people (only 5-10 per year). The core conditions for awarding include: having practiced in Singapore for more than 10 years, possessing high professional competence and industry reputation, having good moral character, and making outstanding contributions in the handling of major difficult cases and the improvement of the legal system.

资深大律师仅负责重大诉讼、仲裁案件的出庭代理，以及重大商事项目的法律意见出具，不直接对接普通商事客户，通常由事务律师委托参与案件，是新加坡法律职业专业性的核心标杆，也是其争议解决公信力的重要保障。

Senior Counsel are only responsible for representing major litigation and arbitration cases in court, as well as providing legal opinions on major commercial projects. They do not directly interface with ordinary commercial clients and are usually entrusted by solicitor to participate in cases. They are the core benchmark of Singapore's legal profession professionalism and an important guarantee of its dispute resolution credibility.

新加坡律师资格准入制度始终围绕“保障执业质量、吸引全球法律人才”两大核心目标，2023年新加坡律政部修订《法律职业（资格）规则》，对律师资格考试体系进行了全面改革，形成了“学术合规-职业考试-结构化实习”的三阶准入体系，既提升了准入的专业性门槛，又为国际法律人才提供了更灵活的准入路径。

The qualification admission system for lawyers in Singapore has always focused on the two core goals of "ensuring the quality of practice and attracting global legal talents". In 2023, the Singapore Ministry of Justice revised the "Legal Professional (Qualification) Rules" and comprehensively reformed the lawyer qualification examination system, forming a three-level admission system of "academic compliance professional examination structured internship", which not only raised the professional threshold for admission, but also provided a more flexible admission path for international legal talents.

改革后，无论是新加坡本土三所认可法学院（新加坡国立大学、新加坡管理大学、新加坡社科大学）的法律毕业生，还是全球认可的外国法学院毕业生，均需通过统一的三阶准入体系，方可获得新加坡律师执业资格：

After the reform, law graduates from the three recognized law schools in Singapore (NUS, SMU, and SUSS), as well as graduates from globally recognized foreign law schools, are required to pass a unified three-tier admission system in order to obtain the qualification to practice law in Singapore

1. 学术合规阶段：完成新加坡律政部认可的普通法法律学位，确保申请人具备基础的普通法法律知识体系；

Academic compliance stage: Complete a common law law degree recognized by the Singapore Department of Justice to ensure that the applicant has a basic knowledge of common law law;

2. 职业考试阶段：通过新加坡律师资格考试的Part A与Part B两个模块，分别考核法律专业知识与实务技能；

Vocational examination stage: passing the Part A and Part B modules of the Singapore Bar Examination, respectively assessing legal professional knowledge and practical skills;

3. 实习阶段：完成6个月的结构化培训合同，在新加坡本地律所接受标准化的实务培训，通过律所考核后方可正式执业。

Internship stage: Complete a 6-month structured training contract, receive standardized practical training at a local law firm in Singapore, and pass the law firm assessment before officially practicing.

1. Part A考试：针对外国法律毕业生的专业门槛优化

Part A Exam: Optimization of Professional Threshold for Foreign Law Graduates

Part A考试是针对外国法学院毕业生的专业考核，核心测试申请人对新加坡核心法律制度的掌握程度，改革后调整为8门必考科目：合同法、侵权法、物权法、公司法、刑事法、宪法与行政法、证据法、法律职业伦理，全面覆盖新加坡执业所需的基础法律知识。 同时，改革提升了考试的灵活性：考试频次从每年1次增加至每年2次，允许申请人分科目报考，无需一次性通过全部科目；对于在普通法司法管辖区执业满5年以上的资深外国律师，可申请豁免Part A考试，直接进入Part B考试环节，大幅缩短了国际资深律师的准入周期。

Part A exam is a professional assessment for graduates of foreign law schools. The core test is the degree of the applicants' mastery of Singapore's core legal system. After the reform, it has been adjusted to 8 compulsory subjects: contract law, tort law, property law, company law, criminal law, constitutional and administrative law, evidence law, and legal professional ethics, which comprehensively cover the basic legal knowledge required for practicing in Singapore. At the same time, the reform has enhanced the flexibility of exams: the frequency of exams has increased from once a year to twice a year, allowing applicants to apply for different subjects without having to pass all subjects at once; For senior foreign lawyers who have practiced in common law jurisdictions for more than 5 years, they can apply for exemption from the Part A examination and directly enter the Part B examination stage, greatly shortening the admission period for international senior lawyers.

2. Part B考试：强化实务能力与国际业务适配性

Part B Exam: Strengthening Practical Skills and International Business Adaptability

Part B是执业技能考试，也是改革的核心重点，从原来的“通用技能考核”升级为“贴合市场需求的实务模块考核”，新增了跨境交易合规、国际仲裁实务、数字经济与科技法律、企业合规管理等模块，更适配新加坡作为国际商事中心的法律服务需求，确保新执业律师具备处理跨境商事业务的能力。

Part B is the professional skills examination and the core focus of the reform. It has been upgraded from the original "general skills assessment" to the "practical module assessment that meets market demand", adding modules such as cross-border transaction compliance, international arbitration practice, digital economy and technology law, and enterprise compliance management, which are more suitable for Singapore's legal service needs as an international business center and ensure that new practicing lawyers have the ability to handle cross-border commercial business.

3. 实习制度：从“时长要求”转向“质量要求”

Internship system: shifting from "duration requirements" to "quality requirements"

改革前，新加坡律师执业需完成12个月的实习，改革后缩短为6个月的结构化培训合同，同时明确要求律所必须为实习律师提供标准化的实务培训，覆盖非诉、诉讼、争议解决等核心领域，由资深律师一对一指导，避免实习沦为“打杂”，确保实习律师真正获得执业所需的实务能力。

Before the reform, Singaporean lawyers were required to complete a 12-month internship, which was shortened to a structured training contract of 6 months after the reform. At the same time, it is explicitly required that law firms must provide standardized practical training for intern lawyers, covering core areas such as non litigation, litigation, and dispute resolution, with one-on-one guidance from senior lawyers to avoid internships becoming "miscellaneous" and ensure that intern lawyers truly acquire the practical skills required for practice.

新加坡能成为全球排名前三的国际争议解决中心，核心载体之一便是Maxwell Chambers（麦士威国际争议解决中心），它是全球首个一站式综合型国际争议解决平台，也是新加坡法律服务生态的核心竞争力之一。

One of the core carriers for Singapore to become one of the top three international dispute resolution centers in the world is Maxwell Chambers, which is the world's first one-stop comprehensive international dispute resolution platform and one of the core competitiveness of Singapore's legal service ecosystem.

Maxwell Chambers成立于2010年，位于新加坡市中心核心区域，定位为“中立、开放、全链条的国际争议解决基础设施”，与传统仲裁机构不同，它不直接受理仲裁案件、不干预案件审理，仅为全球争议解决机构、仲裁员、当事人提供全流程配套服务，形成了独特的运营模式。

Maxwell Chambers was founded in 2010 and is located in the core area of Singapore's city center. It is positioned as a "neutral, open, and fully connected international dispute resolution infrastructure". Unlike traditional arbitration institutions, it does not directly accept arbitration cases or intervene in case hearings, but only provides full process supporting services for global dispute resolution institutions, arbitrators, and parties, forming a unique operating model.

Maxwell Chambers的核心运营逻辑，是聚集全球顶级的争议解决机构，打造一站式的争议解决生态。截至2025年，全球超过30家顶级争议解决机构在此设立了区域总部、办公室或庭审中心，包括：新加坡国际仲裁中心（SIAC）、ICC国际商会仲裁院亚洲办公室、伦敦国际仲裁院（LCIA）亚太办公室、香港国际仲裁中心（HKIAC）新加坡办公室、世界知识产权组织（WIPO）仲裁与调解中心亚洲办公室，以及中国国际经济贸易仲裁委员会（CIETAC）新加坡庭审中心等。 所有入驻机构均可使用Maxwell Chambers的庭审设施、行政配套与品牌资源，无需单独租赁办公场地、搭建配套团队，大幅降低了机构的运营成本，也让当事人可以在同一个平台对接全球主流的争议解决机构，选择最适配的争议解决规则。

The core operational logic of Maxwell Chambers is to gather top dispute resolution institutions from around the world and create a one-stop dispute resolution ecosystem. By 2025, over 30 top dispute resolution institutions worldwide have established regional headquarters, offices, or trial centers here, including the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), ICC International Chamber of Commerce Asia Office, London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) Asia Pacific Office, Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) Singapore Office, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Arbitration and Mediation Centre Asia Office, and China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC) Singapore Trial Center. All registered institutions can use Maxwell Chambers' trial facilities, administrative facilities, and brand resources without the need to rent office space or build supporting teams separately, greatly reducing the operating costs of the institutions. It also allows parties to connect with mainstream dispute resolution institutions worldwide on the same platform and choose the most suitable dispute resolution rules.

Maxwell Chambers为全球顶级的独立仲裁员、调解员提供专属办公室与全流程行政支持，目前已有超过200名来自全球30多个国家的资深仲裁员、调解员在此入驻，包括新加坡资深大律师、英国御用大律师、各国顶级法律专家，覆盖跨境投资、国际贸易、基建工程、海事海商、知识产权等全领域。这种模式打破了地域限制，让全球当事人可以直接对接顶级仲裁专业人士，同时为仲裁员提供了标准化的庭审、秘书、会务配套，大幅提升了案件处理的效率，也让新加坡成为全球仲裁员的首选执业地之一。

Maxwell Chambers provides dedicated offices and full process administrative support for the world's top independent arbitrators and mediators. Currently, over 200 senior arbitrators and mediators from more than 30 countries around the world have settled here, including senior lawyers from Singapore, UK, and top legal experts from various countries, covering a wide range of fields such as cross-border investment, international trade, infrastructure engineering, maritime commerce, and intellectual property. This model breaks geographical limitations, allowing global parties to directly connect with top arbitration professionals, while providing standardized trial, secretarial, and conference facilities for arbitrators, greatly improving the efficiency of case handling and making Singapore one of the preferred places for arbitrators worldwide to practice.

Maxwell Chambers打造了全球顶级的争议解决配套设施，包括30多间不同规格的高端庭审室、听证室、保密会议室，配备同声传译系统、高清视频会议系统、电子证据展示系统，支持全球跨境线上线下结合的庭审，满足国际仲裁的保密、高效需求；同时配套了专业法律图书馆、商务中心、餐饮服务等全链条设施，实现了“从案件开庭到文书出具”的全流程一站式服务。 截至2025年，Maxwell Chambers已累计处理超过1万起国际仲裁、调解案件，当事人来自全球100多个国家和地区，其中超过30%的案件涉及中资企业，已成为中资企业处理东南亚跨境争议的首选平台。

Maxwell Chambers has built world-class dispute resolution facilities, including over 30 high-end trial rooms, hearing rooms, and confidential conference rooms of different specifications, equipped with simultaneous interpretation systems, high-definition video conferencing systems, and electronic evidence display systems, supporting cross-border online and offline court hearings worldwide and meeting the confidentiality and efficiency needs of international arbitration; At the same time, it is equipped with professional legal libraries, business centers, catering services and other full chain facilities, achieving a one-stop service for the entire process from case hearings to document issuance. As of 2025, Maxwell Chambers has handled over 10000 international arbitration and mediation cases involving parties from more than 100 countries and regions worldwide, with over 30% of cases involving Chinese enterprises. It has become the preferred platform for Chinese enterprises to handle cross-border disputes in Southeast Asia.

新加坡作为国际法律服务枢纽，核心优势之一是其开放、灵活、分层的外国律所准入政策，既不设置过度的市场保护壁垒，又通过分类管理实现了市场的有序竞争，为全球律所进入新加坡市场提供了多元适配的路径。 根据新加坡《法律职业法》与律政部的相关规则，外国律所与律师入驻新加坡主要分为四大类型，覆盖不同规模、不同需求的机构与个人：

As an international legal service hub, one of Singapore's core advantages is its open, flexible, and tiered foreign law firm access policy, which neither sets excessive market protection barriers nor achieves orderly competition in the market through classified management, providing a diverse and adaptable path for global law firms to enter the Singapore market. According to the Singapore Legal Profession Act and relevant rules of the Ministry of Justice, foreign law firms and lawyers entering Singapore are mainly divided into four types, covering institutions and individuals of different sizes and needs:

FLP是外国律所进入新加坡的最基础模式，申请门槛极低：只要在母国合法执业满3年以上、无不良执业记录的外国律所，均可向新加坡律政部申请设立分所，审批周期仅1-2个月。 FLP可雇佣注册外国律师，从事其母国法律、国际公法、国际商事仲裁相关的法律服务，可直接对接客户、出具母国法律意见、参与跨境交易的非诉服务；限制仅在于：不能单独从事新加坡本地法律的诉讼业务，不能出具新加坡法律的正式法律意见（需与新加坡本地律所合作完成）。该模式适合首次进入新加坡市场、聚焦跨境国际业务的外国律所，也是多数中国律所进入新加坡的首选模式。

FLP is the most basic mode for foreign law firms to enter Singapore, with extremely low application thresholds: any foreign law firm that has been legally practicing in their home country for more than 3 years and has no adverse practice records can apply to the Singapore Ministry of Justice to establish a branch office, with an approval period of only 1-2 months. FLP can hire registered foreign lawyers to provide legal services related to their home country's laws, international public law, and international commercial arbitration. They can directly connect with clients, provide home country legal opinions, and participate in non litigation services for cross-border transactions; The only limitation is that one cannot independently engage in litigation business under local Singaporean law and cannot provide formal legal opinions on Singaporean law (which must be completed in cooperation with local law firms in Singapore). This model is suitable for foreign law firms entering the Singapore market for the first time and focusing on cross-border international business, and is also the preferred mode for most Chinese law firms entering Singapore.

JLV是新加坡最具特色的开放政策，指外国律所与新加坡本地律所成立联合执业机构，可同时从事外国法律与新加坡本地法律的全链条业务，包括新加坡法律的诉讼、非诉、合规等全部服务，完全打通了本地与国际法律服务的壁垒。JLV的申请门槛相对较高：要求外国律所全球执业人数满100人，合作的新加坡本地律所执业人数满20人，需向律政部提交明确的合作计划与业务规划，通过审批后方可设立。目前，全球顶级的“魔圈所”“白鞋所”，以及中国的金杜、方达、中伦等红圈所，均通过JLV模式在新加坡布局，实现了跨境业务的全链条覆盖。

JLV is Singapore's most distinctive open policy, which refers to the establishment of joint practice institutions between foreign law firms and local law firms in Singapore, which can simultaneously engage in the full chain of business of foreign law and local law in Singapore, including litigation, non litigation, compliance and other services of Singaporean law, completely breaking down the barriers between local and international legal services. The application threshold for JLV is relatively high: foreign law firms are required to have a global practicing population of at least 100 people, and local law firms in Singapore that cooperate with them must have a practicing population of at least 20 people. Clear cooperation plans and business plans must be submitted to the Ministry of Justice for approval before they can be established. At present, the world's top "magic circle" and "white shoe" institutions, as well as China's red circle institutions such as King&Wood Mallesons, Fangda, and Zhonglun, have all established their presence in Singapore through the JLV model, achieving full chain coverage of cross-border business.

FLA是比JLV更灵活的合作模式，外国律所无需设立合资机构，仅需与新加坡本地律所签订正式的联盟协议，即可共享客户资源、办公场地、专业团队，联合为客户提供跨境法律服务，无需经过律政部的严格审批，仅需完成备案即可。 该模式适合中小规模的外国律所，或仅需与本地律所开展项目制合作的机构，无需承担合资运营的成本，即可实现本地与国际业务的联动。

FLA is a more flexible cooperation model than JLV. Foreign law firms do not need to establish joint ventures, but only need to sign formal alliance agreements with local law firms in Singapore to share client resources, office space, and professional teams, and jointly provide cross-border legal services to clients without strict approval from the Ministry of Justice. They only need to complete filing. This model is suitable for small and medium-sized foreign law firms, or institutions that only need to carry out project-based cooperation with local law firms, without bearing the cost of joint venture operation, and can achieve linkage between local and international business.

对于单个外国律师，可申请成为新加坡注册外国律师，在外国律所新加坡分所或本地律所执业，从事其母国法律或国际法律业务；对于在普通法司法管辖区执业满5年以上的资深律师，可通过2023年改革后的豁免路径，免考Part A考试，仅需通过Part B考试即可获得新加坡本地律师执业资格，大幅降低了国际法律人才的入驻门槛。

For individual foreign lawyers, they can apply to become registered foreign lawyers in Singapore, practice at the Singapore branch of foreign law firms or local law firms, and engage in their home country law or international legal business; For senior lawyers who have practiced in common law jurisdictions for more than 5 years, they can be exempted from the Part A examination through the 2023 reform, and only need to pass the Part B examination to obtain the qualification to practice as a local lawyer in Singapore, significantly reducing the entry threshold for international legal talents.

从律师职业体系的设计，到争议解决基础设施的搭建，再到开放的市场准入政策，新加坡形成了全球领先的法律服务生态，其核心优势可总结为四大方面：

From the design of the legal profession system, to the construction of dispute resolution infrastructure, to open market access policies, Singapore has formed a globally leading legal service ecosystem, and its core advantages can be summarized into four aspects:

一是法律体系的兼容性与公信力。新加坡作为普通法司法管辖区，法律规则与全球主流商事体系兼容，司法独立、裁判公正，其法院判决与仲裁裁决可通过《纽约公约》《海牙公约》在全球160多个国家和地区执行，是全球商业主体高度信任的法律管辖地。

The first is the compatibility and credibility of the legal system. As a common law jurisdiction, Singapore's legal rules are compatible with the global mainstream business system, and its judiciary is independent and impartial. Its court judgments and arbitration awards can be enforced in more than 160 countries and regions around the world through the New York Convention and The Hague Convention, making it a highly trusted legal jurisdiction for global business entities.

二是专业人才的聚集效应。通过灵活的资格准入政策，新加坡聚集了来自全球30多个国家的法律专业人才，可提供覆盖全球主要司法管辖区的法律服务，实现了“跨境业务、本地解决”的全链条服务能力，完美适配东南亚跨境商事活动的需求。

The second is the gathering effect of professional talents. Through flexible qualification access policies, Singapore has gathered legal professionals from over 30 countries around the world, providing legal services covering major jurisdictions worldwide, achieving full chain service capabilities of "cross-border business, local resolution", and perfectly adapting to the needs of Southeast Asian cross-border commercial activities.

三是争议解决的全链条生态。以Maxwell Chambers为核心，新加坡聚集了全球主流的争议解决机构、顶级仲裁员与调解员，形成了从调解、仲裁到诉讼执行的全链条争议解决体系，是全球公认的国际仲裁三大中心之一，也是亚洲跨境商事争议的首选解决地。

The third is the full chain ecology of dispute resolution. With Maxwell Chambers at its core, Singapore has gathered mainstream dispute resolution institutions, top arbitrators, and mediators from around the world, forming a full chain dispute resolution system from mediation, arbitration to litigation enforcement. It is recognized as one of the three major centers of international arbitration and the preferred place for resolving cross-border commercial disputes in Asia.

四是开放包容的市场环境与政策优势。分层的律所准入政策，让不同规模的全球律所都能找到适配的市场进入路径，形成了本地律所、国际顶级律所、区域律所共存的多元化竞争格局；同时新加坡的税收政策极具吸引力，企业所得税仅17%，个人所得税最高22%，远低于香港、英国、美国等地区，进一步吸引了全球法律服务机构与人才的入驻。

The fourth is an open and inclusive market environment and policy advantages. The tiered law firm admission policy enables global law firms of different sizes to find suitable market entry paths, forming a diversified competitive landscape where local law firms, top international law firms, and regional law firms coexist; At the same time, Singapore's tax policies are highly attractive, with a corporate income tax of only 17% and a personal income tax of up to 22%, far lower than regions such as Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, and the United States, further attracting global legal service agencies and talents to settle in.

对于布局东南亚的中资企业而言，新加坡完善的法律服务生态，是其跨境业务合规与风险防控的核心保障；对于中国律所与法律从业者而言，新加坡开放的准入政策，也是中国法律服务机构出海、布局东南亚市场的绝佳跳板。

For Chinese enterprises expanding into Southeast Asia, Singapore's well-established legal service ecosystem is the core guarantee for their cross-border business compliance and risk prevention; For Chinese law firms and legal practitioners, Singapore's open access policy is also an excellent springboard for Chinese legal service institutions to go global and expand into the Southeast Asian market.