Statute Details
- Title: Legal Profession (Conditional Fee Agreement) Regulations 2022
- Act Code: LPA1966-S333-2022
- Legislative Type: Subsidiary legislation (SL)
- Authorising Act: Legal Profession Act 1966
- Enacting Power: Section 115B(7) of the Legal Profession Act 1966
- Commencement: 4 May 2022
- Citation: SL 333/2022 (No. S 333)
- Status: Current version as at 27 Mar 2026
- Key Provisions:
- Regulation 1: Citation and commencement
- Regulation 2: Definitions (including cross-references to arbitration legislation and the Legal Profession Act)
- Regulation 3: “Prescribed proceedings” (contentious matters to which conditional fee agreements may relate)
- Regulation 4: Pre-contract information and client acknowledgment requirements
- Regulation 5: Mandatory terms and conditions of conditional fee agreements (and variations)
What Is This Legislation About?
The Legal Profession (Conditional Fee Agreement) Regulations 2022 (“CFAR 2022”) set out the Singapore rules for how solicitors, foreign lawyers, and law practice entities may enter into conditional fee agreements with clients in certain types of contentious disputes. In plain language, the Regulations are designed to regulate contingency-style fee arrangements—particularly those that may include an uplift fee—so that clients understand the financial consequences and retain key protections.
Conditional fee agreements are not a free-for-all. The Regulations limit the kinds of proceedings that can be covered (“prescribed proceedings”), require specific pre-contract disclosures in plain language, and mandate minimum contractual terms—especially around cooling-off periods and how variations to the agreement must be handled. The overall policy is consumer protection and transparency in a high-stakes area of legal services, where clients may be under time pressure or may not fully appreciate how costs and remuneration can change depending on outcomes.
Practically, CFAR 2022 complements the Legal Profession Act 1966 framework. The Regulations operationalise the statutory concept of conditional fee agreements by defining relevant terms, specifying the scope of eligible disputes, and prescribing the procedural and contractual safeguards that must be followed before and after a conditional fee agreement is signed.
What Are the Key Provisions?
1) Scope: “Prescribed proceedings” (Regulation 3)
A central feature of CFAR 2022 is that conditional fee agreements may relate only to certain contentious proceedings. Regulation 3 provides an enumerated list of proceedings that qualify as “contentious proceedings” for the purposes of the definition of “prescribed proceedings” in section 115A(1) of the Legal Profession Act 1966.
The list is broad and internationally oriented. It includes: (a) arbitration proceedings whether in Singapore or elsewhere; (b) court proceedings arising from or connected with those arbitration proceedings; (c) applications for a stay of proceedings relating to arbitration agreements; and (d) proceedings for or connected with enforcement of awards (including foreign awards). It also covers similar or equivalent proceedings outside Singapore, ensuring that the regime is not circumvented by choosing a different forum.
Importantly for cross-border practice, Regulation 3 also includes mediation proceedings that arise out of or are connected with the arbitration/court/enforcement/stay matters, as well as mediation connected to applications for stays or enforcement. In addition, it expressly includes proceedings in the Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC) while they remain in the SICC, and appeal proceedings arising from decisions made in SICC proceedings. Finally, it includes mediation proceedings arising out of SICC proceedings.
2) Mandatory pre-contract information and client acknowledgment (Regulation 4)
Before a conditional fee agreement is entered into, Regulation 4 imposes a procedural duty on the solicitor/foreign lawyer/law practice entity. The entity must ensure two things: (1) the specified information is provided in plain language to the client; and (2) the client signs and dates an acknowledgment that the client has received and understood the information.
The required information is set out in Regulation 4(2). It must include: (a) the nature and operation of the conditional fee agreement, including (but not limited to) the terms that will be required under Regulation 5; (b) the client’s right to seek independent legal advice before entering the agreement; (c) a specific warning that any uplift fee (if any) is not recoverable from the person mentioned in section 115C(1) of the Act; and (d) a clear statement that, despite the existence of the conditional fee agreement, the client remains liable for any costs orders that may be made against the client by a court of justice or an arbitral tribunal.
Regulation 4(3) adds a record-keeping requirement: the acknowledgment must be kept together with the conditional fee agreement. For practitioners, this is not merely administrative. It is a compliance safeguard that may be critical if the agreement is later challenged or if there is a dispute about whether the client was properly informed.
3) Mandatory terms in the conditional fee agreement (Regulation 5)
Regulation 5 is the contractual “minimum content” rule. It provides that every conditional fee agreement must include terms relating to all listed items. Failure to include any of these mandatory terms risks non-compliance and may undermine enforceability or expose the lawyer to regulatory consequences.
Key mandatory terms include:
- Specified circumstances: The agreement must include particulars of the specified circumstances referenced in the definition of “conditional fee agreement” in section 115A(1) of the Act. This ensures the agreement is tied to the statutory concept and not drafted too generally.
- Uplift fee mechanics (if applicable): If the agreement provides for an uplift fee, it must set out the basis of calculation and provide an estimate or range of estimates of the resulting uplift fee quantum. This is designed to prevent “black box” uplift calculations.
- Cooling-off period after signing: The agreement must include a 5-day cooling-off period starting immediately after the agreement is entered into, during which either party may terminate by written notice.
- Variations must be written and agreed: Any variation must be in writing and expressly agreed to by all parties.
- Cooling-off period for costs-related variations: If a variation relates to the issue of costs (including where relevant the particulars mentioned in the specified circumstances or uplift fee basis), there must be a 3-day cooling-off period starting immediately after the variation is entered into. Either party may terminate the variation by written notice during that period.
- Effect of terminating a variation: The agreement must state that terminating the variation agreement does not affect the validity of the original conditional fee agreement and is not a ground for terminating the original agreement.
- Client liability during cooling-off periods: On termination during the cooling-off period(s), the client is not liable for remuneration or costs incurred during the cooling-off period except for remuneration or costs for any service performed during that period that was expressly instructed by or agreed to by the client.
4) Practical compliance implications
Taken together, Regulations 4 and 5 create a structured process: (i) confirm the dispute is within “prescribed proceedings”; (ii) provide mandatory plain-language disclosures and obtain a signed acknowledgment; (iii) ensure the conditional fee agreement contains all required terms; and (iv) build in cooling-off and variation safeguards. For firms, this typically means using compliant templates and implementing a workflow that captures client acknowledgment and termination rights.
How Is This Legislation Structured?
CFAR 2022 is a short instrument with five regulations. The structure is straightforward:
Regulation 1 sets out the citation and commencement date (4 May 2022). Regulation 2 provides definitions and cross-references to the Arbitration Act 2001, the International Arbitration Act 1994, and the Legal Profession Act 1966 (including definitions relevant to arbitration agreements, awards, and the Singapore International Commercial Court). Regulation 3 defines the category of proceedings that qualify as “prescribed proceedings” for conditional fee agreements.
Regulation 4 addresses the pre-contract information and acknowledgment requirements. Regulation 5 then sets out the mandatory terms and conditions that must appear in every conditional fee agreement, including cooling-off periods and rules for variations—particularly those affecting costs.
Who Does This Legislation Apply To?
The Regulations apply to persons who may enter into conditional fee agreements under the Legal Profession Act 1966 framework—specifically, a solicitor, a foreign lawyer, or a law practice entity (as those terms are used in the Act). The obligations in Regulation 4 (plain-language disclosure and client acknowledgment) and Regulation 5 (mandatory terms) are directed at these professional entities.
On the client side, the Regulations are designed to protect clients who are considering contingency-style arrangements for eligible contentious matters. The scope of eligible matters is controlled by Regulation 3, meaning that even if a client wants a conditional fee agreement, the lawyer must ensure the agreement relates to one of the prescribed proceedings (including arbitration, related court proceedings, enforcement/stay applications, SICC proceedings, and connected mediation proceedings).
Why Is This Legislation Important?
CFAR 2022 is important because it operationalises conditional fee agreements in Singapore with a clear compliance framework. Conditional fee arrangements can affect a client’s financial exposure and expectations about costs. The Regulations therefore focus on transparency (plain-language disclosure), informed consent (signed acknowledgment), and contractual fairness (cooling-off periods and controlled variation rules).
From an enforcement and risk perspective, the Regulations create objective benchmarks. For example, the requirement that the client be told (in plain language) that any uplift fee is not recoverable from the specified person under section 115C(1) of the Act is a targeted disclosure intended to prevent misunderstandings about who ultimately bears the uplift component. Similarly, the explicit statement that the client remains liable for costs orders ensures that clients do not assume that a conditional fee agreement automatically shields them from adverse costs consequences.
For practitioners, the cooling-off provisions are particularly practical. A 5-day cooling-off period after signing provides a window to reconsider, while a 3-day cooling-off period for costs-related variations adds an additional layer of protection when the financial risk profile changes after the initial agreement. The rule that termination of a variation does not affect the validity of the original agreement also reduces uncertainty and encourages structured negotiation without destabilising the core retainer.
Overall, CFAR 2022 helps ensure that conditional fee agreements are used responsibly in arbitration and related dispute contexts, including cross-border and SICC matters, while maintaining client protections aligned with the Legal Profession Act 1966.
Related Legislation
- Legal Profession Act 1966 (including sections 115A, 115B, 115C and the framework for conditional fee agreements)
- Arbitration Act 2001 (definitions and provisions referenced for arbitration agreements, awards, and stay/enforcement contexts)
- International Arbitration Act 1994 (definitions and provisions referenced for international arbitration agreements, awards, and foreign awards)
Source Documents
This article provides an overview of the Legal Profession (Conditional Fee Agreement) Regulations 2022 for legal research and educational purposes. It does not constitute legal advice. Readers should consult the official text for authoritative provisions.