Law firms big and small offer pro bono and charity services

People with dysfunctional circumstances or who cannot afford fees among those helped

- K.C. Vijayan

For Regent Law, a five-lawyer firm, pro bono services are offered to individuals such as those coming from the Law Society's Criminal Legal Aid Scheme (Clas) or referred from an MP's Meet-the-People Sessions.

The firm, which topped the fields of criminal and family laws in the Best Law Firms 2025 survey, has many clients who struggle with dysfunctional circumstances. Services may be provided without charge, depending on the merits of each case.

This means that clients who are unable to pay legal fees due are treated as pro bono cases, said managing director Mathew Kurian. "We don't go after the clients, we write off their bad debts as pro bono cases," he added.

Such moves helped earn the firm a place in the Offering Pro Bono Services law category in the Best Law Firms 2025 survey, which is based on the number of recommendations from respondents.

Lawyer Eugene Thuraisingam, whose law firm Eugene Thuraisingam LLP also made the list, underlined the importance of pro bono advocacy as a core value of the firm.

"As lawyers, we are privileged to have a certain skill set, and it is our duty to make those skills available, especially to those who are not able to afford it," he said. "It is only then that we can have a just society."