When crime pays: Surge in Singapore white-collar offences nudging lawyers, firms towards criminal law work

Once seen as the poor cousin of corporate law, criminal defence work is becoming more lucrative in Singapore as a surge in white-collar crime pushes legal fees higher, lawyers say.

To seize opportunities as the caseload increases, firms that traditionally focused on civil disputes or corporate law are now offering white-collar defence services.

Tania Chin, director and head of TSMP Law Corporation’s criminal litigation and investigations practice, joined the firm in January as part of those efforts.

Singapore’s high digital penetration has led to a dramatic increase in cybercrimes over the last decade, she noted.

WongPartnership has long handled “typical” white-collar crime, and is now seeing more such cases involving corruption, bribery, criminal breach of trust, and cheating.

Melanie Ho, partner and co-head of its white-collar and enforcement practice, said: “Additionally, we have seen an emergence of new white-collar crime cases and offences involving cybercrime, money laundering, market misconduct and scam-related offences.”

Scam and cybercrime cases climbed 49.6 per cent in 2023 to reach 50,376 cases, up from 33,669 in 2022 and just 11,135 in 2019, according to Singapore Police Force data.

Most of these – 92.4 per cent in 2023 – were scams, including those enabled by malware.

In contrast, there were 19,966 reported physical crime cases in 2023, down from 20,193 in 2022, and 23,980 in 2019.

The sophistication of cyber and financial crimes is driving up legal fees, lawyers say, as handling such cases generally requires more people and man-hours.

Said Mohamed Baiross, managing partner of IRB Law: “As the cases become more intricate, especially with international business dealings and advanced technologies, the effort required has naturally pushed fees higher.”

The Business Times understands that the going rate for experienced criminal lawyers – such as a partner with at least 10 years’ experience – can range from S$800 all the way to S$2,000 per hour.

For more complex cases, where multiple lawyers are involved, legal fees can accumulate quickly.

It therefore helps that those accused of white-collar crime tend to have deeper pockets.

Sunil Sudheesan, director and head of Quahe Woo & Palmer’s criminal law department, noted: “We still charge based on time costs, but the significance of white-collar cases is that the clients are more affluent in nature – this helps with bill collection.”

Changing perceptions

In response to rising demand for legal services in white-collar crime, industry supply has also risen.

Historically, criminal law has been seen as less financially rewarding than corporate law. However, with more high-profile white-collar crime cases, that perception is changing.

Said Chin: “With the proliferation of white-collar crime, we’re seeing more law firms offer white-collar defence services.”

Sudheesan added: “The trend now is for large law firms with large teams who have the capacity to handle large civil disputes (to move) into the complex financial crime space.”

He noted that some civil lawyers now position themselves as “white-collar criminal lawyers”, suggesting a shift to crime work.

Still, there is a shortage of criminal lawyers who specialise in defending complex financial crimes or corporate fraud.

Jeremy Pereira, special counsel in Withers KhattarWong’s criminal litigation team, pointed out that the complexity and high stakes of these cases can be daunting for new entrants.

Sudheesan added that to deal with such crimes, lawyers need a wider range of knowledge – though this might come at the expense of in-depth knowledge of criminal procedures.

As white-collar crime rises further amid a continued shortage of specialised lawyers, lawyers say fees for such work can only go up further. 

The growth in demand is fuelled by increased regulatory scrutiny, more cybercrime, and the evolving complexity of financial fraud, Pereira said.

Added Baiross: “The increased need for expertise and extensive investigation will likely keep fees on the rise as well.”

Source: Business Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.

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