Singapore recently lifted the ban on conditional fee
agreements ("CFAs") in proceedings before the Singapore
International Arbitration Centre ("SIAC") and certain
proceedings in the Singapore International Commercial Court
("SICC").
Features of the New CFA Framework
From 4 May 2022, lawyers in Singapore can enter into CFAs with
clients for international and domestic arbitration proceedings
(including arbitrations conducted under the SIAC rules) and certain
proceedings in the SICC. CFAs are defined by the Legal Profession
(Conditional Fee Agreement) Regulations 2022 ("CFA
Regulations") to mean agreements providing for the
remuneration and costs in respect of contentious proceedings
conducted by lawyers in Singapore to be payable only in specified
circumstances. Examples of CFAs permitted by the new framework
include "win, more fee", "no win, no fee", and
"no win, less fee" agreements.