Section 78(2) of the Legal Profession Act provides that no solicitor shall in connection with his practice as such, without the consent of the Attorney-General, employ or remunerate any person who to his knowledge had been employed as a public officer.
Please note that the above consent requirement does not apply to any public officer who is an advocate and solicitor or a qualified person under the Legal Profession Act, or in respect of whom the Attorney-General’s consent had previously been obtained (see section 78(3). Please note as well that employees of statutory boards are not considered “public officers” under section 78(2), thus the Attorney-General’s consent is not required in such cases.
Please also note that we are unable to advise private individuals on the applicability of section 78(2) to prospective solicitor’s clerks. If you take the view that section 78(2) applies, you may wish to forward the relevant documents (including the former public officer’s
curriculum vitae)
to
AGC_CIVIL@agc.gov.sg for our processing.