Basis for contracting
- Andrew Pullen is Fountain Court Chambers’ first barrister based in Singapore. In order to comply with Singapore immigration and employment law, Mr Pullen is employed by and practises primarily through Andrew Pullen Law Practice Private Limited, a private limited company incorporated under the laws of Singapore (“APLP”). Mr Pullen therefore generally accepts instructions on the basis that the agreement for the provision of legal services will be entered into by APLP, rather than by Mr Pullen personally.
- Exceptionally, for example when a matter requires the carrying out of “reserved legal activities”, Mr Pullen may agree to provide legal services directly, in which case any agreement for the provision of legal services will be entered into by Mr Pullen personally.
- The contractual terms on which instructions are accepted in any given matter will make clear whether APLP or Mr Pullen personally is party to the agreement for provision of legal services in that matter. Unless otherwise agreed, those contractual terms will be based on the General Terms and Conditions for the Supply of Legal Services by Barristers to Solicitors in Commercial Matters agreed between the Commercial Bar Association and City of London Law Society, with appropriate modifications. APLP’s terms can be found here; Mr Pullen’s terms for matters where he contracts personally are found here.
Regulatory
- Whilst Mr Pullen, as a barrister, is an authorised person regulated by the Bar Standards Board in England and Wales, APLP is not an authorised person within the meaning of the Legal Services Act 2007 (UK). Accordingly, APLP does not carry out “reserved legal activities” within the meaning of the Legal Services Act 2007.
- APLP is licensed as a foreign law practice under the Legal Profession Act (Singapore).
Managing conflicts of interest
- Mr Pullen is the sole director and sole shareholder of APLP and is the only lawyer employed by APLP.
- In recognition of this, for the purposes of assessing whether a conflict of interest would arise or has arisen, or whether there is any other professional impediment rendering it inappropriate for APLP and/or Mr Pullen to act in any particular case, any interests or duties of APLP arising from its acceptance of instructions to provide legal services are automatically treated as interests or duties of Mr Pullen, and vice-versa. A term to this effect is included in the terms on which APLP and Mr Pullen accept instructions.
Complaints
- As a member of Fountain Court Chambers, Mr Pullen is subject to Chambers’ Quality Assurance and Complaints Policy (the “Complaints Policy”), which is published on Fountain Court Chambers’ website here. The Complaints Policy applies both to matters where Mr Pullen is instructed as an employee of APLP and to matters where Mr Pullen is instructed personally. Further details of how the Complaints Policy applies to matters where Mr Pullen is instructed as an employee of APLP are set out in APLP’s contractual terms of business.
- As a barrister, Mr Pullen is subject to the Legal Ombudsman scheme established under Part 6 of the Legal Services Act 2007.
- In respect of matters where Mr Pullen is instructed as an employee of APLP, APLP (or Mr Pullen on its behalf) will agree voluntarily to submit to the Legal Ombudsman scheme. Further details are set out in APLP’s contractual terms of business.
