Law Society to release audit report on workplace issues after redaction process

SINGAPORE: The Law Society said on Thursday (Aug 20) it will release the full report of an audit that uncovered workplace culture and governance issues, after its members called for its release at a closed-door dialogue.

In an email to its members, the Law Society said it "intends to release the report of the audit committee as soon as practicable", as long as the confidentiality of interviewees was protected and those facing material allegations were given a chance to respond.

The council, which met on Tuesday following its Aug 13 closed-door meeting, said interviewees were to be given until Sep 7 to request redactions before the report is made available to members.

The audit committee, which conducted its investigation independently of the council, had appointed TSMP Law Corporation to investigate allegations raised about the Law Society's governance.

No council member was part of the audit committee, which also appointed Senior Counsel Cavinder Bull, to advise it on the conduct of the investigation.

The council said interviews conducted by TSMP had been carried out on the understanding that responses would remain confidential and be used only for the investigation, which was why it was unable to respond to a petition received two days before the Aug 13 dialogue.

Following calls from members for more information, the council said it had considered how to release the report while maintaining the confidentiality assurances given to interviewees.

By Aug 24, the council intends to write to all interviewees to allow them to redact their names from the TSMP report and their interview transcripts if they choose to.

Interviewees will also be allowed to redact all or part of their transcripts, with corresponding redactions made to the TSMP report.

Members will have until Sep 7 to respond. 

"They will be informed that if they do not reply by this date, their statement will not be disclosed as they have not waived the confidentiality promised to them," said LawSoc.

The council added that people who face material allegations will be given a right of response as a matter of fairness if those allegations were not put to them during the investigation.

This may include people who were invited to participate in the investigation but did not provide an interview.

"Such individuals will be given up to Sep 21, 2026, to provide their responses or 14 days after the relevant transcripts have been sent to them as the Society may need some time to ensure that all redactions are properly reflected in the documents that will eventually be sent to members," said LawSoc.

"At a minimum, the TSMP report will have to be redacted carefully based on the responses of the interviewees."

The audit committee report will be released "as soon as practicable" after this process is completed, the council added.

The Law Society represents lawyers and maintains standards of the legal profession in Singapore. Its current council, led by Senior Counsel Professor Tan Cheng Han as president, took office in 2026.

Council presidents from 2022 to 2025 were the late Mr Adrian Tan, Senior Counsel Jason Chan and Ms Lisa Sam.

Allegations of poor workplace culture and governance at the bar association first surfaced in an anonymous email to the law and manpower ministries on Sep 13, 2025. 

The Law Society's audit committee, comprising members and non-members, investigated the allegations independently of the council. It presented its findings to the council on Jun 5 and sent the report to the law ministry on Jul 1.

On Aug 5, Law Minister Edwin Tong called on the Law Society to release the full report to its members, saying "these are matters which should be taken seriously and addressed thoroughly".

"It is therefore important for members to have a frank and constructive exchange with the council, and this has to be supported by the disclosure of sufficient information for the issues to be properly understood and considered.

"In particular, the relevant reports (with appropriate redactions to protect the interviewees) should be made available to members, so that they can form their own views."