Interning in Singapore, what it is really like.
Singapore is the most competitive place in the region to get a legal internship, and the most expensive place to spend four weeks. It is also a common law jurisdiction working in English, so nothing is lost in translation. Here is what the work looks like, what it costs you, and how to get in.
What the law is like there.
Common law, descended from the same English roots as Australian law. Judgments read the way you are used to, and you can follow argument in court from day one.
English. The courts, the pleadings and the firm all work in it.
Heavily commercial. Banking and finance, shipping and trade, construction, and a large international arbitration practice. Less street level litigation than you would see in Kuala Lumpur.
What an internship there actually looks like.
Singapore firms take interns, but the international firms run structured vacation schemes with deadlines months ahead and a lot of applicants, many of them from Singapore, the United Kingdom and Australia. A cold email in March for a June start rarely works.
Research memos, bundles, and sitting in on client and counsel conferences. Arbitration work is largely document based, so expect more desk than courtroom.
Rent is the problem. Four weeks of a room in Singapore often costs more than the entire Lawgistics placement fee in Kuala Lumpur, and most internships there are unpaid or pay a small stipend.
Four things to check.
- Which pass you need to intern legally. Singapore has its own rules and the firm must tell you before you book anything. Check the Ministry of Manpower website yourself as well.
- Whether the internship is with a law practice or a company's in house team, because the work is very different.
- Whether the firm will give you anything in writing about supervision and what you will be doing.
- What you will spend. Work out rent, transport and food for four weeks before you say yes.
We do not give immigration advice and we never guess at entry rules. Use the official immigration website for wherever you are going, and make the firm put the answer in writing.
We recommend Malaysia. We can still match you here.
Kuala Lumpur is the placement Lawgistics runs itself, and it is what we recommend first: a civil litigation firm, court twice a week, an apartment of your own, and someone reachable while you are in the country. If you are set on somewhere else, tell us and we will approach firms there and introduce you properly.
Outside Kuala Lumpur we match you and nothing more. No accommodation, no transport, no meals, and nobody from us on the ground if something goes wrong. You arrange all of that yourself, and nothing is promised until a firm says yes.
The ones students actually ask.
Can an Australian law student intern in Singapore?
Yes. Singapore firms and in house teams take Australian law students, most commonly through a firm's own vacation scheme or an introduction. You need the correct pass to do it legally, and the firm should confirm which one before you book flights.
Is a Singapore legal internship paid?
Usually not, or a small stipend at best. Assume you are covering rent, food and transport yourself, and that Singapore is one of the most expensive cities in Asia to do that in.
Do I need to speak Mandarin to intern in Singapore?
No. Singapore's courts and law firms work in English. Mandarin, Malay or Tamil help socially and occasionally with clients, but the legal work is in English.
Can Lawgistics get me an internship in Singapore?
We can approach firms and introduce you, which is a match rather than a placement. We do not run anything in Singapore, so there is no accommodation, transport or support from us there. Kuala Lumpur is the one we run ourselves.
More on the options: interning overseas, where to intern, or the matching quiz.
Kuala Lumpur, four weeks, every month.
A civil litigation firm, live files, a mentor at the firm, court twice a week, Malay lessons twice a week and an apartment of your own. $2,900 for 2026 intakes, usually $3,900. Flights and travel insurance are your own.
Set on somewhere else? Tell us where and we will approach firms for you.