A marketing plan for a Singapore law firm, and the four things Part 5 takes off the table

A Singapore law practice may advertise itself. Rule 41 of the Legal Profession (Professional Conduct) Rules 2015 says so in terms: "Subject to these Rules, a legal practitioner may" publicise "the legal practitioner's practice, or the practice of a law practice of which the legal practitioner is a director, a partner or an employee". So a marketing plan here is not an exercise in finding a loophole. It is an ordinary plan with four specific items removed, and the four removals are what make it different from a plan for any other professional service. They are the success rate, the comparison with another practice, the paid referral, and the claim nobody can check. Everything in this page is quoted from the Rules as published on Singapore Statutes Online at sso.agc.gov.sg/SL/LPA1966-S706-2015, read on 29 October 2026 at HTTP 200, with the page stating "Status: Current version as at 29 Oct 2026" and its own timeline giving the most recent amendment as S 334/2022 with effect from 4 May 2022.

Google Keyword Planner, queried against the Singapore geo target 2702 for this plan on 26 October 2026, reports 10 searches a month for law firm marketing plan, and that is the figure for the normalised group rather than a total of phrasings. Small demand, high stakes per reader, which is the right shape for a page that quotes the rulebook instead of summarising it.

What counts as publicity, in the words of rule 2

Start here, because every later decision depends on how wide the definition is, and it is wider than most plans assume. Rule 2 states that "publicity" means "any form of advertisement", and includes any advertisement that "is printed or contained in any medium for the communication of information" or that "appears in, or is communicated through or retrievable from, any mass medium (electronic or otherwise) or the Internet".

Read the second limb slowly. The test is not whether something was bought as advertising. It is whether it is retrievable from the Internet. A practice area page, a partner biography, a directory profile, a conference abstract on a third party website and a LinkedIn article are all inside that definition on its face, and all of them are therefore inside Part 5.

Rule 42(1) then puts the responsibility in one place: "A legal practitioner must ensure that any publicity relating to the legal practitioner's practice complies with these Rules, whether that publicity is by the legal practitioner or by any other person on the legal practitioner's behalf." An agency, a freelance writer and a directory that lists you are all covered by the words "any other person", so the brief you give them is part of your compliance and not a separate matter.

The four removals, each with the words that make them

What comes out of the plan	The rule and its words
The success rate, in any form	Rule 43(1)(b) requires that the publicity "does not make any direct or indirect mention of" (among other things) "the success rate of the legal practitioner, the law practice or any member of the law practice". The words "direct or indirect" are the operative ones: a percentage, a win count and a phrase meaning the same thing are all mentions
Any comparison with another practice on fees or quality	Rule 43(1)(c) requires that the publicity "does not make any comparison or criticism in relation to the fees charged, or the quality of the services provided, by any other legal practitioner or law practice". That rules out a price comparison page, a cheaper than claim and a criticism of a competitor's service
Rewarding a referrer	Rule 39(2)(b) requires the practitioner "must not reward the referror by the payment of any commission or other form of consideration". The phrase "or other form of consideration" reaches past cash, which is the part that catches a reciprocal arrangement
Anything that cannot be checked	Rule 44(2) states that publicity is misleading, deceptive, inaccurate or false if "it contains a material misrepresentation", if "it omits to state a material fact", if "it contains any information which cannot be verified", or if "it is likely to create an unjustified expectation about the results that can be achieved by the legal practitioner or the law practice of which the legal practitioner is a director, a partner or an employee"

Rule 44(1) sits above all four and sets the standard a reader of the publicity would apply, refusing publicity in a manner which "may reasonably be regarded as being misleading, deceptive, inaccurate, false or unbefitting the dignity of the legal profession". And rule 42(3) gives the remedy: where the Council determines that publicity is contrary to the Rules, it "may order the legal practitioner or law practice to alter, withdraw, remove or discontinue the publicity". So the consequence of getting this wrong is a page coming down, which is also a planning reason to get the claims file right the first time.

The one claim you are allowed to make, and the seven things that support it

Expertise is claimable. Rule 43(1)(a) requires that "any claim to expertise or specialisation can be justified", and rule 43(2) then lists what may be taken into account in justifying it: "academic qualifications", "experience", "proportion of working time involved", "level of success achieved", "complexity of law and practice", "significance of the matters involving the legal practitioner or the law practice of which the legal practitioner is a director, a partner or an employee", and "assessment by peers".

That list is the most useful paragraph in Part 5 for a marketing plan, because it converts a vague instruction into a file you can build. For every specialisation your website claims, keep a one page record naming which of those seven factors supports it and where the evidence sits. Years in practice, the share of the practitioner's time in that area, the qualification, the peer recognition. A claim with that record behind it is justifiable in the sense the rule uses, and a claim with nothing behind it is a sentence to delete rather than a sentence to soften.

The plan, in the order it survives the rules

• The page set, built on the client's situation rather than on the practice's structure. One page per practice area, one per office, one per fee earner, and then the situation pages people actually search: what happens at a first hearing, how long probate takes, what a tenancy dispute costs to run. None of these touch the four removals, because they describe process rather than outcome.
• The claims file described above. Written before the pages, because it decides which sentences the pages can carry.
• The confidentiality pass on every case study. Rule 43(1)(b) bars direct or indirect mention of "any past case in which, or any client for whom" the practice acted "if the provision of any such information will result in a breach of any duty of confidentiality owed to a client or former client". A matter described in enough detail to be persuasive is often a matter described in enough detail to be identified, so the useful form is the anonymised process rather than the anonymised result.
• Intake. Nothing in Part 5 touches how fast you answer the phone, and it is the part of the plan with the largest effect on whether any of the rest pays. An enquiry answered in minutes is a different business from the same enquiry answered in days.
• The referral question, settled in writing. See the next section, because this is where a plan most often inherits a problem from a supplier.
• Publishing, on a schedule you can keep. The commentary a practice publishes on new legislation is publicity under rule 2 and is the one form of it that compounds, because it is useful when nobody is buying and findable when somebody is.

Where bought leads collide with rule 39

Rule 39(1) is broad: "A legal practitioner or law practice must not tout for business or do anything which is likely to lead to a reasonable inference that the thing was done for the purpose of touting." Rule 43(4) repeats the point so it cannot be read around, stating that "These Rules do not permit the doing of anything which may reasonably be regarded as touting". And rule 39(2) then sets out what a practice must do where there is reason to believe a client was referred by somebody else, including that it "must maintain the independence and integrity of the legal profession", "must advise the client impartially and independently", "must not allow the referral to affect in any way the advice given to the client", and "must communicate directly with the client to obtain or confirm instructions when providing advice and at all appropriate stages of the transaction".

Set that beside how lead supply is normally sold and the problem is immediate. A pay per lead arrangement is a payment to a referrer, and "any commission or other form of consideration" is the language of rule 39(2)(b). Before a practice signs anything in this category it is worth knowing which of the several businesses sold under the phrase lead generation is actually on offer, and our page on buying lead generation as a service in Singapore and the five things a cheap quote has already decided separates them. The distinction between paying for a lead and paying for advertising is the one to put to counsel in writing.

Conveyancing has its own regime. Rule 40(1) requires that a referral agreement for a conveyancing service "is made in writing" and contains named terms, including that the referrer undertakes to comply with the Rules, that the practice may terminate for breach, and that any publicity of the referrer "must not suggest" that "the conveyancing service is free" or "that different charges are payable for the conveyancing service, depending on whether the client instructs the legal practitioner or law practice".

Sponsorship, clinics and the two rules that limit what you may put your name to

Both of these are common items in a law firm plan and both are narrower than they look.

On sponsorship, rule 45(1) permits a practice to contribute to good causes "whether by way of donation, sponsorship, subscription or the provision of free services", and permits the recipient to acknowledge it publicly. Rule 45(2) then limits what the acknowledgment may say: it must not state information about the practice except, in the case of a contribution by a law practice, "the name of the law practice". A sponsor board carrying your practice areas and a tagline is outside that. Rule 45(3) separately permits endowing "prizes and scholarships at any school or educational institution", with the practice identified as the endower.

On free legal advice, rule 47(1) permits a practitioner to give it "at or through any facility established with a view to providing legal assistance to members of the public", and rule 47(3) then states that in the course of doing so the practitioner must not "distribute any of the legal practitioner's business cards or any brochure, leaflet or pamphlet" relating to the practice, and must not "act for any person to whom the legal practitioner has given such free legal advice, unless the legal practitioner acts for that person in a pro bono capacity". A clinic is community work under these Rules and not a top of funnel channel, and a plan that budgets it as lead generation has misread it.

One more, easily missed in a brand refresh: rule 42(4) requires that publicity "does not make use of the armorial bearings of the Society".

The overseas pair, which is the question to take to counsel

Rule 48(1) states that a practitioner may publicise in a country other than Singapore, "and where the legal practitioner does so, rules 43 to 47 do not apply". Rule 48(2) requires that such publicity "is not conducted in a manner that is contrary to the laws of that country". Rule 49 then defines where publicity happens: "publicity is conducted in a jurisdiction in which the publicity is reasonably expected to be received or accessible in the normal course of events", and "publicity is not conducted in a jurisdiction if the receipt of the publicity in the jurisdiction is incidental".

For a Singapore practice with a website, that pair is a real question rather than a formality, because a website is accessible everywhere and the rules that apply turn on where receipt is reasonably expected rather than on where the server is. This page quotes the Rules and is not legal advice. The sensible step is to put rule 48 and rule 49 in front of a Singapore lawyer with your own market list beside them, and to do it before a campaign aimed at overseas clients is built rather than after.

Rule 38 is the backstop over all of it, barring any "business, trade or calling" which "derogates from the dignity of the legal profession" or "is likely to unfairly attract business in the practice of law", and rule 37 states the principle the whole Part is read against, that a practitioner "must not engage in publicity, or procure any work or engagement" in circumstances "which affect the dignity and standing of the legal profession".

Questions a Singapore law practice asks about marketing itself

Can a Singapore law firm advertise at all

Yes. Rule 41 permits a practitioner to publicise the practice, subject to the Rules, and permits the practitioner to allow employees of the practice to do so. The restrictions in Part 5 are specific rather than general, which is why a plan here is an ordinary plan with named items removed.

Can we publish client testimonials

A testimonial that mentions a past case or a client runs into rule 43(1)(b), which bars direct or indirect mention of a past case or a client where that would breach a duty of confidentiality owed to a client or former client, and a testimonial about the outcome runs into rule 44(2) on unjustified expectations about results. Written consent does not dispose of the second point. Testimony about the experience of being represented is a different thing from testimony about what was won.

Is a comparison page against other Singapore firms allowed

Rule 43(1)(c) requires that publicity makes no comparison or criticism in relation to the fees charged, or the quality of the services provided, by any other practitioner or practice. A page whose purpose is to rank firms on fees or service quality is the thing that rule describes.

Can we pay a directory or an agency

Paying for advertising and paying a referrer for a client are different arrangements, and rule 39(2)(b) is about the second. The question to settle in writing with any supplier is what the fee is consideration for. Rule 42(1) also makes the practice responsible for publicity placed by any other person on its behalf, so the supplier's copy is your copy.

Who decides whether our publicity is compliant

Rule 42(3) gives the Council the power to determine that publicity is contrary to the Rules and to order the practice to alter, withdraw, remove or discontinue it. Rule 42(2) also puts a duty on a practitioner who becomes aware of an impropriety to use best endeavours "to procure the rectification or withdrawal of the publicity, and to prevent the recurrence of the impropriety".

What should the first three months of a plan contain

The claims file, the practice area and situation pages that come out of it, and intake. Those three carry no exposure under Part 5 and they are what every later channel depends on. Paid media and sponsorship are both easier to judge once there is something to send a reader to.

Does any of this differ from how a firm abroad would plan

The structure is similar and the constraints are not. A United States firm plans against its own state bar's communications rules, and our page on digital marketing for law firms, the pages, the ethics rules and the intake covers that version, with the page inventory that transfers and the rules that do not. For the cost side of publishing commentary, our page on content marketing for law firms and why the fee earner hour is the real cost prices the part of the plan that looks free.

The answer a client gets before they ever reach your website

Part 5 governs what a practice says about itself, and rule 2 defines publicity to include anything "retrievable from" the Internet. There is now a layer between that definition and a client: somebody with a tenancy dispute or a shareholder quarrel asks an assistant which Singapore firms handle it, and the reply names two or three practices and draws on directory profiles, commentary and firm pages to do it. Nobody placed that, nobody paid for it, and whether a given output falls inside rule 2 is a question for a Singapore lawyer rather than for a marketing plan. What is not in doubt is where the material came from. It came from publicity the practice is already responsible for under rule 42(1), including publicity put up by other people on its behalf, which means the first practical step is simply knowing what is being said and which pages it was assembled from. AI Knows Us takes that reading on a date across the assistants and shows the sources behind each answer it records, which turns an invisible layer into something a partner can read and correct at the source.