Chan Sek KeongThe Accidental Lawyer

Against All OddsInterview with Nicholas Aw

Be The ChangeSustainable Development from Scraps

THE ALUMNI MAGAZINE OF THE NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE FACULTY OF LAW

December 2012 I S S N : 0 2 1 9 - 6 4 4 1

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ContentsD E A N ’ S M E S S A G E

A law school, more so than most professional schools at a university, is people.

We have no laboratories; our research does not depend on expensive equipment. In our classes we use our share of information technology, but the primary means of instruction is the interaction between individuals. This includes teacher and student interaction, of course, but as we expand our project-based and clinical education programmes, it also includes student-student and student-client interactions.

The reputation of a law school depends, almost entirely, on the reputation of its people — its faculty and staff, its students, and its alumni — and their impact on the world.

As a result of the efforts of all these people, NUS Law has risen through the ranks of our peer law schools to consolidate our reputation as Asia’s leading law school, ranked by London’s QS Rankings as the 10th best in the world.

Let me share with you just a few examples of some of the achievements this year by our faculty, our students, and our alumni.

O U T S TA N D I N G FA C U LT YOur faculty continues to grow in number and prestige.

In 2012, we launched the new Centre for Asian Legal Studies, which is fast becoming a global centre of excellence for the study of law in Asia. Our aim is nothing less than to move the focus of Asian legal studies as a discipline from Europe and North America to Singapore.

NUS Law faculty, in addition to teaching, produced impactful scholarship — ranging from textbooks that define a field to insightful articles that reshape thinking about an issue. We continued to engage directly with the profession, notably through pro bono work that frequently involves students, but also on issues of law reform where our views are sought by government.

H I G H - A C H I E V I N G S T U D E N T SOur students continued to excel both in the classroom and beyond.

Among many academic prize winners, this year’s valedictorian, Amos Toh ’12, topped the first class honours list at NUS Law and then found out the next week that he had also come first in the Traditional LL.M. at NYU, where he completed his NUS LL.B. under our concurrent degree programme with NYU.

“ A L A W S C H O O L , M O R E S O

T H A N M O S T P R O F E S S I O N A L

S C H O O L S AT A U N I V E R S I T Y,

I S P E O P L E . ”

MESSAGE FROMTHE DEAN

Message From The Dean

L A W S C H O O L H I G H L I G H T SBenefactorsClass ActionNUS Law in the World’s Top Ten SchoolsNUS Law Establishes Centre for Asian Legal StudiesAsian Law Institute ConferenceNUS Law Alumni Mentor ProgrammeScholarships in Honour of Singapore’s First CJ

a L A W M N U S F E AT U R E SChan Sek Keong ’61: The Accidental LawyerAG Steven Chong ’82: The Art & Craft of LitigationPriscilla Shunmugam ’06: Dressed For SuccessNicholas Aw ’97: Against All OddsPamela Yeo ’11: Be the Change — Sustainable Development from Scraps

C L A S S R E U N I O N SHomecoming Dinner@BTC: A Reunion for the Classes of 1974 – 77Class of ’92 Reunion: The Event Worth Waiting ForAlumni Day 2012 at Bukit Timah CampusNUS International Business Law LL.M. Alumni Reception

FA C U LT Y F E AT U R ELong Service Award Tribute

Do you have news that you would like to share with

us, or have an announcement you want to make to

your old schoolmates? We want to hear from you!

Write to us at:

email:

lawlink@nus.edu.sg

tel:

(65) 6516 3616

fax:

(65) 6779 0979

Update your personal particulars at:

www.law.nus.edu.sg/alumni/update_particulars.asp

LawLink. NUS Faculty of Law

469G Bukit Timah Road,

Eu Tong Sen Building,

Singapore 259776

website:

www.nuslawlink.com

www.law.nus.edu.sg/alumni

03

05060708091011

1215182022

24

262829

30

Golden Years Project — Helping those in need

p 1 2

p 1 8

p 2 2

4 5

Other prizes established this year include the David Ernest S. Chelliah Medal and Prize and the Roger Fisher Prize in Negotiation. Such awards encourage our students to ever greater achievements, as well as honouring the names of individuals who offer role models and inspiration to us all.

E N G A G E D A L U M N IOur alumni continued to make us proud, with many achievements worthy of recognition. Among these, we celebrated with former Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong ’61 the end of an illustrious career on the bench. He is succeeded by another alumnus, Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon ’86. Another senior appointment was that of Attorney-General Steven Chong ’82, who also serves on our new Advisory Council, chaired by former Deputy Prime Minister Prof S. Jayakumar ’63.

Alumni contribute to the life of NUS Law in many ways. In November we launched a new NUS Law Alumni Mentor Programme (“LAMP”). This initiative links first and second year students with recent alumni, who can provide insights and guidance to the practice of law. At the same time, we hope the programme will provide an opportunity for greater engagement with our alumni.

Another way in which alumni can contribute is through donating to NUS Law. We are lucky to have the support of government in offering a solid foundation for our activities. But to reach the very top tier of law schools in the world — and to ensure that in doing so we do not leave deserving students behind — we must seek additional support from the wider community.

The Class of 1992 offers an example of how much of a difference this can make. At their 20th year reunion, they established a new Pro Bono Fund, which will encourage and support the pro bono activities of future generations of students. Other alumni support enables needy students to attend law school with less worry about the financial impact on their families, or enables us to expand our academic offerings by bringing in visiting faculty.

I hope you enjoy reading in these pages about some of the activities taking place at NUS Law. There are many other stories that we could share; I encourage you to pay us a visit to find out more.

DeanSimon Chesterman

Our students also had great success in mooting and other international competitions. Among other achievements, Benjamin Moh ’12 and Eddy Hirono ’13 won the International Negotiation Competition (INC) in Belfast, UK; second year LL.B. students Trent Ng ’15, Ramandeep Kaur ’15 and Larisa Cheng ’15 came in tops at the inaugural International Banking and Investment Law (IBAIL) Moot Court Competition 2012, held at Jaipur, India; while Kelvin Chong ’15 and Xiao Hongyu ’14 won the As ian Br i t i sh Parliamentary Debating Championships 2012, held in Jakarta, Indonesia.

We also had the opportunity to award new prizes and scholarships, notably our first Wee Chong Jin Scholarship in Law. The award is to support law students pursuing their undergraduate studies at NUS Law who embody similar values to the late Mr Wee. In celebration of their 110th anniversary, Allen & Gledhill also made a generous contribution to support academically outstanding but financially needy students.

BENEFACTORS

Law School Highlights

D E A N ’ S C I R C L E —A B O V E $ 1 , 0 0 0

Allen & Gledhill Scholarship

Allen & Gledhill LLP

Class of 1986 Bennett Lam Scholarship Fund

Chang Cheng Mei, Caroline ’86

Lee Ho Wah ’86

Sundaresh Menon ’86

Yeap Poh Leong, Andre ’86

David Ernest S. Chelliah Prize

Jazmyn Chelliah

Kwa Geok Choo Bursary

Aranda Investments Pte Ltd

Drew & Napier LLC

Heat Exchangers Specialist (S) Pte Ltd

Lee & Lee

Lee Hsien Loong

Tan Kwang Hwee

Wong Boon Huat

 

Kwa Geok Choo Distinguished Visitor

Wing Tai Foundation

WongPartnership LLP

 

Kwa Geok Choo Professorship in Property Law

Rajah & Tann LLP

Ngee Ann Kongsi

Singapore Press Holdings Limited

 

Kwa Geok Choo Scholarship

Tote Board

Aranda Investments Pte Ltd

Stamford Law Corporation

 

Lee Sheridan Legal Education Fund

Foo Tuat Yien ’76

KhattarWong LLP

Kronenburg Edmund Jerome ’96

Lai Siu Chiu ’72

NUS Law School Class of 1991

Teoh Su-Ling, Linda ’90

Tnee Zixian, Keith ’10

Wu Di

 

Lionel A. Sheridan Professorship of Law

Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara ’88

Koh Eng Tian ’61

Sachi Saurajen ’61

Goh Yong Hong ’61

 

Wee Chong Jin Scholarship In Law

Cecilia Wee Chong Jin & Family

 

From January 2012 – October 2012

A L U M N I C I R C L E — U P T O $ 1 , 0 0 0

 

Asia-Pacific Centre For Environmental Law (APCEL)

Lye Lin Heng, Irene ’73

 

APAA Book Prize

Asian Patent Attorneys Association —

Singapore Group

 

Class of 1992 Pro Bono Grant

Liow Wang Wu ’92

Yip Hsien Chang ’92

 

Law Club Book Grant

Allen & Gledhill LLP

Chew Sui Gek, Magdalene ’95

Harry Elias Partnership LLP

HOH Law Corporation

NUS Law Students

Shook Lin & Bok LLP

Straits Law Practice LLC

 

Lionel A. Sheridan Professorship of Law

Yusuf Jumabhoy

 

Kwa Geok Choo Bursary

Allalloy Dynaweld Pte Ltd

Chia Kuan Wee

Ho Gim Hai, Sam

Mclink Asia Pte Ltd

Rotating Offshore Systems Pte Ltd

 

Shook Lin & Bok Fund for Annual Maintenance

of Undergraduate and Graduate Student Lounges

Shook Lin & Bok LLP

FA C U LT Y C I R C L E —U P T O $ 5 0 0

 

Class of 1995 Award

Quark Kok Sin, David ’95

 

Faculty of Law General Account

Kwek Jin Peng, Yvonne ’06

Tan Wei Chean, Paul ’10

 

Kwa Geok Choo Bursary

Ang Carolyn

Annaik Limited

JS Process System Pte Ltd

L & P Blasting & Coating Co

Topsteel Solutions Asia Pte Ltd

 

Lee Sheridan Legal Education Fund

A Navanitha ’12

Ang Wei Ming, Gregory ’12

Chan Mei Sum ’12

Chen De Zhi, Daniel ’12

Chen Jing LLM ’12

Cheow Jing Xuan ’12

Dilip s/o Vasu Theavan ’12

Er Ewen ’12

Fatin Nadiah Bte Masud ’12

Gatot Prasetyo Soemartono PHD ’12

Jikku Seban George LLM ’12

Johannus Houston Tian Jin ’12

Koh Rui Zhen, Clara ’12

Lee Jian Le, Marcus ’11

Lee Ming-Le, Jonathan ’10

Li Weiduo ’12

Lim Ruo Lin ’12

Lim Xinxuan, Bernice ’12

Lim Zi Yao ’12

Muhammad Asfian Bin Mohaimi ’12

NUS America Foundation, Inc

Poh Zi Mi, Charmaine ’12

Poon Kal-Lynn ’12

Poon Pui Yee ’12

Prateek Sharma LLM ’12

Quek Jun Haw, Joey ’12

Quek Wei Bin ’12

Shen Haoyu LLM ’09

Tan Xiang Yun, Brenda ’12

Tan Yee Kiat ’12

Tatiana Anpilogova LLM ’09

Teng Xiang Ting ’12

Teo Chin Ghee ’12

Wong Jian Jie, Ronald ’12

Wong Peck LLM ’10

Wong Shengzhi, Kelvin ’12

Wong Sook Jing, Sabrina ’12

Xi An ’12

Zhong Chonglu LLM ’12

 

Tort Law Prize

Sweet & Maxwell Asia

* Some donors have asked that their

contributions be made anonymously.

Valedictorian Amos Toh delivers his moving

speech at this year’s commencement.

Coach Associate Professor Joel Lee, Benjamin

Moh ’12, Eddy Hirono ’13, INC Exco member

Professor Nancy Schultz.

Mrs Cecilia Wee Chong Jin (centre) introducing

the biography, The First Chief: Wee Chong

Jin — A Judicial Portrait, to the inaugural Wee

Chong Jin Scholarship in Law recipients —

NUS law undergraduate Seng Han Ting (left)

and SMU law undergraduate Eugene Neo

Zhi Wei (right).

Mentors and Mentees get a chance to meet

each other at the recent official launch of the

programme on campus.

6 7

CLASS ACTION

Congratulations to Emeritus Professor Koh Kheng Lian ’61 who has been awarded the 2012 Elizabeth Haub Prize for Environmental Law. Founded in 1973, the prize is adminis-tered by the International Council of Environ-mental Law (ICEL) and Stockholm University. Laureates in recent years have included Pro-fessors Edith Brown-Weiss, Laurence Boisson de Chazournes, and Philippe Sand. The Prize, which includes a diploma and a gold medal, will be awarded at a ceremony in Stockholm next year.

In its explanation of decision, the Interna-tional Jury stated: “The Prize is awarded in recognition of her important and pioneering contributions to the development and evolu-tion of environmental law in Singapore and in the whole ASEAN region. Her contribu-tions have been particularly significant as re-gards both capacity building and scholarship in the field of ASEAN environmental law.”

Bryna Yeo ’07 and Louis Ng ’08 were married in a lovely solemnisation and dinner on 22 September, 2012. The wedding was well at-tended by family, friends and members of the bench and bar. Louis and Bryna are grateful for the love and support of family, friends and colleagues over the years, and look for-ward to a lifetime together.

Congratulations to Valerie Oh ’03 and Dean Cher ’03 on their cute bundle of joy! Here’s baby Claire celebrating her 1st month with proud parents Valerie and Dean.

Law School Highlights

R E U N I O N S !

Are you celebrating a land-

mark year in 2013? If you are

from the following classes:

Class of ’73 – 40th Anniversary

Class of ’78 – 35th Anniversary

Class of ’83 – 30th Anniversary

Class of ’88 – 25th Anniversary

Class of ’93 – 20th Anniversary

Class of ’98 – 16th Anniversary

Class of ’03 – 10th Anniversary

The Alumni Relations team

can help to organise your

Reunion. Please contact us at

email:

lawlink@nus.edu.sg

or

tel:

(65) 6516 3616.

Law School Highlights

The National University of Singapore’s Faculty of Law (NUS Law) leads the way for Asia, as it moves up the rankings to being among the top 10 law schools in the world. In the latest release of “2012 World University Rankings by Subject” by London-based Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), NUS Law is placed at 10th position in Law, shooting up from its previous ranking of 24th in 2011.

“NUS Law is Asia’s Global Law School and aspires to be one of the very best law schools in the world. This latest recognition of our achievements is testimony to the hard work of our faculty and students, but also the successes of our alumni,” says Professor Simon Chesterman, Dean of NUS Law. “I am particularly pleased that this news will create even more opportunities for our graduates to make an impact in their chosen field, in Singapore and around the world.”

NUS LAW IN THE WORLD’S TOP TEN SCHOOLS

“ I A M PA R T I C U L A R LY P L E A S E D T H AT T H I S

N E W S W I L L C R E AT E E V E N M O R E O P P O R T U N I T I E S

F O R O U R G R A D U AT E S T O M A K E A N I M PA C T

I N T H E I R C H O S E N F I E L D , I N S I N G A P O R E

A N D A R O U N D T H E W O R L D . ”

Climbing up 14 places from last year to be placed among the world’s top ten law schools of 2012, NUS Law reaffirms its position as Asia’s Global Law School, being the only law school from Asia to join the likes of top universities such as Harvard and Oxford.

Students of NUS Law are given rigorous legal training, together with personal and professional skills that allow them to expand beyond their boundaries. This includes an opportunity to spend a semester or more at partner law schools in over 15 countries, or completing the final year with a Masters of Laws degree from New York University or Boston University. Together with the NUS Centre for International Law, it also recently announced the creation of the Singapore International Arbitration Academy, which welcomed its first candidates in November this year.

98

Law School Highlights

NUS LAW ESTABLISHES CENTRE FOR ASIAN LEGAL STUDIES

In February this year, the National Univers i ty of S ingapore (NUS) Faculty of Law established a major new centre that will be a leading forum for research on Asian law. The Centre for Asian Legal Studies (CALS) i s headed by Professor Andrew Harding.

The decision to launch the Centre is part of a strategy to position NUS Law as Asia’s Global Law School. Legal developments in Asia are now of critical importance to Singapore and to the entire world.

“The Centre for Asian Legal Studies establishes NUS Law as a global centre of excellence for the study of law in Asia,” said NUS Law Dean Professor Simon Chesterman. “Andrew Harding is a renowned scholar in the field who has made ma jor cont r ibut ions in As ian and comparative legal studies, as well as law and development. Together with other NUS Law faculty working in the field and our network of partners, I am confident that he will move the focus of Asian legal studies as a discipline from Europe and North America to Singapore.”

The Centre is the first of its kind to be established in Asia. It builds on NUS Law’s collaborations with other law schools around the region as part of the Asian Law Institute (ASLI). This network has brought 86 visiting fellows from partner universities to NUS and organised successful annual conferences since 2004.

CALS will focus on cutting edge Asian law research, publications,

and events. It will concentrate in particular on justice and law reform issues across Asia, seeking to foreground Asian perspectives on these issues.

In recent years, NUS Law has hired an outstanding group of younger scholars specialising on East, South, and South-East Asia. This Centre offers the chance to capitalise on those developments and provide a critical mass for comparative work.

The Director of CALS, Professor Andrew Harding began his academic career at NUS Law, before moving on to SOAS, University of London, where he was appointed Head of the Law School, and latterly the University of Victoria in Canada, where he was Director of the Centre for Asia-Pacific Initiatives and Chair in Asia-Pacific Legal Relations.

“ T h e r e c e n t o p e n i n g u p o f Myanmar/Burma highlights the importance of the research CALS wi l l be doing,” said Professor H a r d i n g . “ N U S L a w h a s a n unrivalled cluster of scholars with relevant expertise. Having CALS as a focal point will enable us to

understand the role of law in such developments — and perhaps have an influence on the role law plays in shaping the country’s future.”

CALS will play a role in developing legal scholarship in the region. It will build on NUS Law’s capacity-building work in areas such as Aceh, Indonesia, as well as offering regional scholars to spend time in Singapore to research, teach, and participate in conferences.

The Centre will also attract top students and researchers from around the world. But it is also likely to be of interest to practitioners, government, and the media for its expertise on country-specific and regional trends.

An upcoming event is the NUS-SMU-HKU Symposium 2013, which will discuss the topic titled, “Rights in As ia — Naming, Blaming & Claiming”. The event will take place from 10 to 11 January at NUS Law. To find out more about events by CALS, you are welcome to email us at cals@nus.edu.sg.

Law School Highlights

ASIAN LAW INSTITUTE CONFERERENCE

NUS Law hosted the ninth Annual Conference of the Asian Law Institute (ASLI) from 31 May to 1 June this year, attracting participants from no less than twenty-eight countries ranging from neighbouring Asian countries to as far afield as Italy, Belgium and Brazil.

Executive Director of ASLI, Assistant Professor Sundram Peter Soosay, reports.

ASLI exists to encourage collaboration among scholars in Asia and those working on legal research related to Asia. The annual ASLI conference has been firmly established as a highlight of the academic calendar for many teachers and scholars, drawing enthusiastic participants from around the world. This year was no exception.

The theme of this year’s conference was “Law: An Asian Identity?” Participants were asked to consider the ways in which legal systems across Asia address the legal needs of their populations:

» Is there a distinctive Asian approach or approaches, as is sometimes assumed, a peculiarly Asian way of doing law?

» Are the much-debated “Asian values” a demonstrable influence; or is the reality rather one of rich and growing diversity, with the various legal systems across Asia all finding their own way to solutions appropriate to their unique needs and expectations?

» If so, what similarities and differences can be observed across the larger practice of law in Asia? Is there discernible convergence as we move into the twenty-first century?

These questions and more were explored repeatedly over the two days, often with fascinating results.

On the morning of the first day of the conference, the keynote speech was delivered by Former Deputy Prime Minister Professor S. Jayakumar ’63.

In the course of the conference, over 130 papers were presented across seven parallel sessions on a wide

range of topics, with the papers organised under seven general categories:

» Corporate Law and Governance Business Law » International and Comparative Law » Human Rights » Criminal and Public Law » Law and Development; and » Legal Theory.

Participants presented research on matters as diverse as asset partitioning in China, tort law in Vietnam, anti-terrorism law in Indonesia, arbitration law in Malaysia and the law of evidence in Singapore. The sessions gave participants an invaluable opportunity to learn something of the experience of their neighbours and generated enthusiastic discussion, an engagement that we are sure will continue as participants go on to cultivate the many warm relationships initiated over the two-day conference.

At the Opening Dinner, NUS marked a new milestone by launching the Center for Asian Legal Studies (CALS). CALS was honored to have had our former Dean, Professor Tan Cheng Han SC ’87, launch the centre.

The Distinguished Lecture this year was delivered by Professor Tommy Koh ’61 (pictured above), Am-bassador-At-Large at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Professor Koh’s lecture was titled “Law and Justice: An Asian Perspective”. Professor Koh drew from his own experience as a diplomat in his usual insightful and entertaining manner, to the great appreciation of the audience. The lecture was followed by an engaging question and answer session with the Director of ASLI, Professor Andrew Harding.

The conference was closed with a presentation by Professor R Venkata Rao, Vice Chancellor of the National Law School of India, Bangalore. The National Law School will be hosting the conference in 2013, a particular honour as the conference enters its tenth year.

As Professor Rao put it to the audience: “Bangalore beckons.” We hope to see you there!

“ T H E R E C E N T O P E N I N G

U P O F M YA N M A R /

B U R M A H I G H L I G H T S

T H E I M P O R TA N C E O F

T H E R E S E A R C H C A L S

W I L L B E D O I N G ”

Prof Harding heads the Centre for Asian Legal Studies.

10 11

Law School Highlights

NUS LAW ALUMNI MENTOR PROGRAMME

Law students now have an opportu-nity for greater engagement with the faculty’s alumni. A joint collabora-tion between the Career Centre@Law and the Law Alumni Office, the NUS Law Alumni Mentor Programme (LAMP) links first and second year law students with recent alumni who are willing to pledge their time to provide mentorship and guidance to student mentees on the practice of law.

best qualities in a lawyer: young men and women of outstanding academic ability who are also deeply engaged in their communities,” said Professor Simon Chesterman, Dean of NUS Faculty of Law. “As NUS Law strives to be one of the very best law schools in the world, it is important that we do so without leaving deserving students behind. Through the generosity of the Wee family, these scholarships help us achieve that aim — while also celebrating the memory of an outstanding jurist and a role model for the next generation of lawyers and judges.”

The inaugural Wee Chong Jin scholars, fourth-year NUS law student Seng Han Ting and second-year SMU law student Eugene Neo Zhi Wei, were announced at the Wee Chong Jin Scholarship Appreciation Event held on 26 September 2012, at the Supreme Court. Both students were elated to receive from Mrs Cecilia Wee a biography of the late Mr Wee, entitled ‘The First Chief: Wee Chong Jin — A Judicial Portrait’, which will enable them to get a full appreciation of Mr Wee’s contributions to the Judiciary and judicial sys- tem of Singapore.

The appreciation event was graced by Guest-of-Honour, then Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong. Also present at the event was Puan Noor Aishah, wife of former President of the Republic of Singapore Yusof Ishak.

SCHOLARSHIPS IN HONOUR OF SINGAPORE’S FIRST CJ

Law School Highlights

The family of the late Mr Wee Chong Jin, the Republic of Singapore’s first Chief Justice, has set up an endowed fund for students at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Singapore Management University (SMU).

With the gift, NUS will establish up to two Wee Chong Jin Scholarships in Law, while SMU will establish one Wee Chong Jin Scholarship in Law and the Wee Chong Jin Prize for the Most Outstanding Juris Doctor Graduate.

“Chong Jin was loved and well-respected by many. My children and I felt that bequeathing scholarships for needy undergraduates in his name was a meaning-ful way to remember him by. We hope that present and future students in both law schools will be in-spired by the qualities of integrity, passion and hard work which marked his lifetime achievements and le-gal career,” said Mrs Cecilia Wee Chong Jin, wife of the late Mr Wee Chong Jin.

NUS will award up to two Scholarships a year, valued at S$10,000 each. The award is to support law students pursuing their undergraduate studies in NUS Faculty of Law who embody similar values to the late Mr Wee. The candidate should be a law student who is active in community or charity work, and display a spirit of sportsmanship and collegiality.

“The Wee Chong Jin Scholarships in Law will help financially needy students who epitomise the very

“ C E L E B R AT I N G T H E M E M O R Y O F A N

O U T S TA N D I N G J U R I S T A N D A R O L E

M O D E L F O R T H E N E X T G E N E R AT I O N

O F L A W Y E R S A N D J U D G E S ”

NUS law undergraduate Seng Han Ting (left) and SMU law

undergraduate Eugene Neo Zhi Wei (right) receiving the

biography, The First Chief: Wee Chong Jin — A Judicial

Portrait, from Mrs Cecilia Wee Chong Jin (centre).

Puan Noor Aishah (in blue outfit), wife of former

President of the Republic of Singapore Yusof Ishak

seated among guests.

Under this programme, student mentees will benefit from the shared experience of the alumni mentors, providing them with information that will better equip them in their professional development.

Officially launched on 8 Novem-ber 2012, LAMP has 87 registered mentors and 133 mentees to date, a number that is set to increase. At the official launch held at the faculty, mentors and mentees had the opportunity to meet and mingle over a buffet dinner, as an introduction to one another.

“As an undergraduate, your ex-posure to legal practice is almost zilch — save of course if you do internships over the holidays, but even that is quite different. Hav-ing a mentor practitioner to share their personal experiences, to clar-ify doubts and answer questions, is an invaluable opportunity for students. The mentors, being re-cent graduates, are easy to talk to because there isn’t any communica-tion barrier that normally accrues from generation gaps. I’m defi-nitely going to tap on this platform to gain an insight into life as a practicing lawyer and be more pre-pared for what lies ahead of me!” shares Kenny Low, president of the NUS Law Club, and a mentee in the programme.

Sunil Sudheesan, from RHT Taylor Wess ing, who s igned up as a mentor, said: “I was very pleased to learn of and part ic ipate in LAMP. LAMP will hopefully give those students participating insight into the realities of practice and wil l s imilarly give mentors the opportunity to keep in touch with the positive developments in Law School. As a mentor, I hope to enrich my mentees with the varied experience I enjoyed in Law School and the vagaries of practice I have

seen as a young (well maybe not anymore) lawyer. F inal ly, I am happy that NUS Law School is taking an added step in its preparation of its students for practice. We alumni are proud of where we come from, but the batches that follow us will have more to be grateful for with innovative programmes such as LAMP.”

Partic ipants are required to commit to the programme for a period of one year, where they are expected to meet each other in person at least once a semester.

Other than having a one-to-one meeting each semester, Mentors and Mentees will get to interact with each other at planned events which includes the launch and a closing celebration. During these interactions, Mentors can share their professional experiences or about life in general, enriching the mentees’ and equipping them to make informed decisions about their future.

For more information on the programme, please visit: http://law.nus.edu.sg/lamp.html

Mrs Wee addresses the event.

12 13

CHAN SEK KEONG ’61:THE ACCIDENTAL LAWYER

aLawmnus Features

When Mr Chan became the Chief Justice six years ago, he was the first local law graduate to helm the highest court in the land. But it was just the latest in a series

of firsts in a glittering career that spanned close to half a century.

By Teh Joo Lin ’14

In 1961, Mr Chan was in the pioneer batch of law graduates from the then University of Malaya, the forerunner of the National University of Singapore.

In public service, he was appointed Singapore’s first judicial commissioner in 1986. In 1992, he was also the first local graduate to become the Attorney-General.

But all this was far from his mind when he decided to settle in Singapore after he was called to the Bar in Malaysia.

In an email interview with LawLink, the recently retired Chief Justice explained why he ended up practising here: “Because the girl I was then courting, and later married, was living in Singapore.”

D AT E W I T H D E S T I N YBy his own admission, Mr Chan “became a law student by accident”.

He had already been admitted into the arts faculty of the University of Malaya in Singapore — for the term of Sept 1957 — when Dr Lionel Astor Sheridan, the first Professor of Law and Head of the Law Department, travelled to his school in Ipoh. The professor was recruiting students for the new law course.

He said, “My English Literature teacher, Dr A Etherton, pulled me aside one day and told me that I should study law instead of some arts subject, like History or Economics, as I had a ‘crafty’ (in the good sense of the word) mind. I put the suggestion to my father, but he left it to me to decide. Since in those days, I thought that the teacher knew best about his students’ intellectual ability, I acted as advised.”

He came to law school armed with a sharp memory, which he is legendary for.

Mr Chan explained that in school, he was “made the class scribe” because he knew “a little more English than his classmates”.

He said, “My function was to take down all the new words used by the English teacher (he was a Cambridge graduate) and read them out in the next class whenever a student, when asked, did not remember the meaning. So, I developed a good memory from the exercise and also, as a lawyer, made sure that when I go to court I would know more about the legal issues than my opponent.”

The pioneer batch of local law graduates is widely-acknowledged as the most illustrious class ever. Mr Chan’s class roster reads like a list of “Who’s Who”.

Professor Tommy Koh went on to become Singapore’s ambassador to the United States and the United Nations. There is former law dean Thio Su Mien and former law society president T P B Menon. Former police commissioner Goh Yong Hong was also their classmate.

In the book ‘The Law In His Hands: A Tribute to Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong’, he said, “I can’t recall that life in law school then was either difficult or was exciting… But social life in the campus was certainly exciting.”

He met his wife there.“After staying (I wouldn’t want

to use the word ‘living’) one week at the Dunearn Road hostel, a class-mate recommended that I move to Kingsmead Hall where he was liv-ing. I was glad I did as Kingsmead Hall was an infinitely more peace-ful and civilised place for somewhat disoriented students from up coun-try. Incidentally, it was also during my stay in Kingsmead Hall that I met the girl (Ms Elisabeth Eber) that I was destined to marry a few years later,” he said.

C A L L E D T O T H E B A RAn aim of many fledging lawyers is to have their court cases appear in the law reports and/or noted in the law journals. After he graduated, Mr Chan achieved just that — but as his own petitioner in applying for admission to the Malayan Bar.

The Bar Council objected to his application to abridge the period of pupillage he had to serve under the delayed legislation recognising

the LL.B. (Hons) degree. He had in fact completed his six months’ pupillage. Mr Chan had already performed h i s pupi l lage with Bannon & Bailey in Kuala Lumpur. The sticking point was that the law recognising the law degree had been delayed.

He petitioned to be called once the legislation was passed.

Girded for battle, the Bar Coun-cil of the Federation of Malaya, represented by its Chairman, then the leading advocate in the coun-try, opposed the petition on the ground that the Advocates and Solicitors Ordinance required that the applicant to show that he had sufficient “reasons” to justify an abridgement of time. He argued that Mr Chan could muster up just one reason, ie: delay in the passing of the legislation.

The Bar Counci l ’s object ion was rejected by Justice H T Ong, a formidable judge who later became Chief Justice of the States of Malaya.

The experience would set the tone for Mr Chan’s career in the judiciary. He has been said to be a

fair judge who keeps a close eye on fairness and justice as he navigates a field of legal technicalities.

Before he entered public service, Mr Chan practised with Braddell Brothers and then Shook Lin & Bok. 

Over 25 years in private practice, he became Singapore’s leading corporate lawyer — the go-to guy for many banks, accountants and businesses.

So it was perhaps inevitable that he was called upon to lend his expertise in the aftermath of what may remain the largest corporate collapse in Singapore history.

Marine salvage company Pan-Electric sank into receivership after it failed to repay hundreds of millions in loans, dragging down with it scores of other businesses and bankrupting stockbroking firms that had been caught up in financing deals called forward contracts. This caused an unprecedented three-day closure of the Singapore and Kuala Lumpur stock exchanges.

But for Mr Chan, the closure in 1985 would have lasted beyond three days.

He said: “The Stock Exchange, which had closed for three days, had to open the next day, as other-wise it might have been a setback for Singapore’s goal to be a finan-cial centre.”

On receiving instructions from certain officers of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, he set about drafting a lifeboat agree-ment (which he first dictated to a secretary) within a couple of hours, so that it could be signed by all the stockbrokers and fund-ing banks by the wee hours of the morning.Class of 1961: The first local law school graduates.

The first batch of students during lecture.

There’s a lot going on right now at the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC). What are your more pressing commitments?When I decided to do this job, I had a couple of priorities.

First, I was sensitive to the fact that we’ve had a number of AGs over the last few years. So I wanted to ensure that there would be stability and consistency. So I spent some time understanding the changes introduced by my predecessor AG Sundaresh Menon ’86 — who was my partner at Rajah & Tann for many years — I wanted to ensure that I understood the thinking behind his policies and could carry through those policies. And that was my way of demonstrating to my officers that this would be a fairly seamless change.

Second, I wanted to know the nature of the work; because this is like a big law firm. But it is unique in the sense that unlike private practice which is profit driven, here, I don’t have to look for the next brief and I have no billing targets to meet. However in discharging my duties, I must bear in mind the social impact of my decision, about public perception of the office.

Public confidence in the judiciary and in the prosecution arm is critical to our society. One of my big challenges, moving forward, is to strike a balance in deciding when and how to engage the social media. I have done it in the last month because I felt it was necessary. But it is not always possible for this office to respond to every criticism, every comment.

The third is to examine what refinements can be introduced in the working relationship between AGC and the enforcement agencies to maintain a fair, efficient and effective criminal justice system. I have initiated a couple of projects since I came on board. My senior officers are working through the details for implementation.

14 15

The exchange re-opened for business on the fourth day.

Over the next few days, he helped the stockbroking firms to execute debentures — in the form of floating charges — as secu- rity for bank loans. As required under the law, he went on to register the details of the charges before billing the Stock Exchange for the work.

But to his “utter surprise, they refused to pay on the ground that I had overcharged them. So, I wrote them a polite letter and informed them that I would send a full bill for work done and could have it taxed, as the bill would be much higher than the one I had sent.”

After a few days, the Stock Exchange paid the bill, presumably after receiving advice from another firm of lawyers.

Mr Chan counts the episode as his most memorable experience as a lawyer.

T I M E AT T H E B E N C HMr Chan’s achievements as an attorney-general and judge are a matter of public record. Recently, Law Minister K. Shanmugam described him as one of Singapore’s greatest jurists. Still, it bears reminder that by the time he retired after his 75th birthday, some 380 judgments bore his name.

Recent landmark decis ions included United Overseas Bank Bebe bte Mohammad in 2006, a land law case that reiterated the centrality of certainty in land dealings in Singapore.

He said of his decisions: “My role is to administer justice. Every judgment is satisfying when I feel that my decision is the correct decision on the evidence and in the circumstances of the case. Judicial satisfaction is best enjoyed vicariously.”

While he does not recall a particularly hard judgement to make, the toughest cases were always been those that attracted the hangman’s noose.

He said: “The hardest cases are usually the capital cases, but that may not be because of

AG STEVEN CHONG ’82:THE ART & CRAFT OF LITIGATION

aLawmnus Features

Attorney-General Steven Chong ’82 assumed office as the seventh Attorney-General of Singapore on 25 June 2012. He speaks to

Victor Katheyas ’13 about encouraging young lawyers, and maintaining passion and professionalism in the law.

(Photos by Kelvin Ma ’03, Mofyphotos)

aLawmnus Features

“ T H E Y A LW AY S H A V E Y O U R

I N T E R E S T AT H E A R T A N D

W A N T T H E B E S T F O R Y O U . ”

Classmates from the Class of 1961 together again at

the Bukit Timah Campus

the law but of your own feeling about the consequences of your decision.

“Sentencing was particularly challenging and difficult.”

His experience has led him to conclude that judges are probably born and not made.

“I think the qualities of a judge are more innate than acquired. Some people have a judicial temperament. Some don’t. Some lawyers can tolerate a lot of tedium: some may not be able to adjust to an isolated existence,” he said.

E X PA N D I N G L E G A L S C E N EMr Chan leaves the legal limelight at a time when the industry is expanding, with more foreign law firms and law graduates entering the fray.

In his self-effacing manner, Mr Chan said he might not be able to do well if he had been a law student today.

He said: “Legal practice today is much more competitive and therefore more chal-lenging and difficult for young lawyers to get judicial or peer recognition. I would have a very hard time surviving, much less prosper-ing, in today’s environment.”

He has some advice for future lawyers: “Listen to your teachers. They always have your interest at heart and want the best for you. Your success is their pride.”

He also urged practitioners to remember that law serves a social purpose — to hold society together.

He said: “The law is still a noble pro-fession when it is used to fulfil its social purpose. Lawyers should use and apply the law wisely for their clients as a body of ethical and moral principles.”

 T H E R O A D A H E A DMr Chan said that he would stay in contact with legal practice “if my services are needed, and I can meet the need.”

Meanwhile, he will spend time reading “all the books I have collected but not read.”

So far, his only fixed plan is the one that led him to pack his bags for Singapore in the first place.

“(I have) no firm or specific plan, except to spend more time with my family,” he said.

A H I S T O RY- M A K I N G C L A S S

You were part of the Class of 1982. This is a class that Professor Robert C. Beckman remembers very fondly. ( Editor: see Professor Beckman’s interview in the May 2012 issue of LawLink. ) This class has produced Judges of Appeal, Attorneys-General, Senior Counsel, Deans, professors and managing partners. What was it like to be part of that class?First, it was a very small class — no more than 80 of us. Because it was a small cohort, we knew each other quite well. So, if you ask me did we think we were special (laughing), I can say yes? (Laughs harder)

I think if you had asked me, when we were in Law School, that in thirty years’ time two of my classmates would be in the Court of Appeal, that I would be the Attorney-General, that Davinder (Singh SC ’82) would be the Managing Partner of Drew & Napier, I probably wouldn’t have thought that would happen!

But did I think that we would produce some great lawyers? I would say, “yes”. I think it was a very special class. Several of my classmates became my colleagues. Davinder was my partner for 15 years at Drew & Napier. Jimmy (Yim ’82) was my partner for close to 10 years. Leena Pinsler ’82 was my partner for 15 years in Drew and thereafter at Rajah & Tann. VK (Justice V K Rajah ’82) was my partner in Rajah & Tann for six years before he went to the Bench. Justice Phang and Justice Rajah were my fellow judges on the Bench. So I was very fortunate to have worked with a number of my classmates.

In my new office as the AG, I work with government agencies like the Singapore Land Authority — Chief Executive Vincent Hoong ’82 was my classmate. Head of Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority, Juthika Ramanathan ’82, was also my classmate.

H I S S H O RT- L I V E D F O O T B A L L C A R E E R

What do you remember best of your Law School days?Nothing to do with law. Football!

Because our class was very small, we didn’t have that many sportsmen. So our soccer team was our squash team, tennis team and our captain’s ballteam. In short, our all-purpose sports team.

When we were in final year, we got to the finals of inter-year soccer competition. In the finals we played the first year team and, if my memory serves me right, more than half that team represented the faculty and a number of them played for the university.

I “volunteered” to play goalie, even though I was more comfortable playing as a left-winger. (Laughs)

The whole game was in our half, because they were attacking us throughout the match. We had one shot where the ball crossed the other half,and Peter Ng ’82 scored the only goal of the match.

Through that miracle, we became unexpected and some would say undeserving champions of the inter-year soccer. (Laughs) That was quite a coup.

A L L - S TA R J E S S U P T E A MI suppose the most significant event, which defined my time in NUS, was my participation in the Jessup Moots. It was an incredible experience. Other Jessup mooters from my class eventually became my partners — Davinder, Jimmy and VK. I am the only member of the team who can say, “I was a partner with all three of them” (not at the same time).

So between football and the Jessups, if you had to choose…The Jessups, definitely! Fantastic experience. Our win in football was a fluke!

We were fortunate: one of our former Law School lecturers, Ralph Tyler III (who taught us evidence) had returned to practice in Washington DC — we slept in his living room in the advanced stages of the competition because we couldn’t afford a hotel. That was because in those days, funding was limited to only two students. After our win, we wrote a paper to convince the faculty to send four members to have any decent chance to do well in the competition. It was accepted. Subsequent teams benefitted from our recommendation.

We were there to have a good time! We were watching movies, enjoying ourselves… we hardly spent anytime sparring with each other. By then, we were either ready or not.

We didn’t have a coach with us at the competition unlike many of the other teams. While preparing in Singapore, Prof Beckman advised us closely. We did many, many drafts, and we barely made the submission deadline, because the critical period leading to the deadline was also our exam period. I remembered

when we finished our last exam paper, we camped in Beckman’s house overnight to finalise the submissions.

Our Respondent’s memorial won the Richard Baxter prize for the best overall memorial. In the printing, we actually missed out part of a sentence. So when we reviewed it, we realised that the sentence ended abruptly… But we still won! (Laughs) Best memorial of the entire competition! (Laughs harder)

Y O U N G L A W Y E R S A N D L I T I G AT I O N

Having been on the Bench for a while, do you think the lack of court exposure is palpable among younger lawyers?In the trials that I had presided over, it was quite rare to have young lawyers acting as first chair. It has to do with awareness by clients. Perhaps due to rankings in law directories or the status of Senior Counsel, clients are now more aware of who they want to represent them. In my time, the clients would choose a law firm. They wouldn’t always insist on specific senior partners handling the cases. They were quite prepared in most cases to accept the recommendations of the senior partners.

Today, clients will say, “I want so-and-so to argue the case.” You know, with litigation and cross-exam-ination, you develop those skills through experience — getting it right, getting it wrong, and improving. There is simply no substitute for first-hand experience.

So what’s the solution if you’re a young lawyer, and you’re just doing memos for your senior partners?I think the solution is for the big law firms to be more willing to get their younger lawyers to do more independent work.

I was glad when they did it, because I was there to guide them, to encourage them. That was my part in encouraging the young to participate in the trial process.

As a young lawyer, you take a lot more ownership and pride in your work if you are first chair, you know you have no safety net when you go to court, you tend

to be more prepared. When you win a case, when you achieve a certain result, the satisfaction is infinitely higher than if you are second or third chair. You will also learn when the outcome is unfavourable by examining where you went wrong. I think the lack of opportunity to do independent work has contributed to the high attrition rate among the younger set.

M A I N TA I N I N G T H E PA S S I O N

What advice do you have with regard to keeping yourself sufficiently motivated when you work? Many lawyers from my generation will leave at some point. At every stage of your career there are chal-lenges, but there are milestones for you to cross which would spur you to carry on.

It’s very important to maintain the passion because it is a stressful and demanding calling. As a profession, people expect high standards from you. They pay top dollar for you. And it’s not easy to always maintain the interest level if you don’t maintain your passion in the profession.

One thing I did, in my early years — I was very keen in shipping/admiralty practice — it was important to translate the enthusiasm in the practice to interest in the industry. I made it a point to keep myself updated on the commercial developments in the maritime world — the freight market, bunker prices, changes in the top management of leading shipping and insurance companies etc. In this way, I could speak the language of the industry. I regularly delivered papers at Conferences. This helps you to gain recognition amongst your peers and the industry leaders. The recognition will in turn motivate you to carry on, because you know that you are making a significant contribution to your practice.

Read the full interview in the August issue of LawLink at www.nuslawlink.com.

“ Y O U K N O W Y O U

H A V E N O S A F E T Y

N E T W H E N Y O U

G O T O C O U R T,

Y O U T E N D T O B E

M O R E P R E PA R E D . ”

16 17

aLawmnus Features

18 19

PRISCILLA SHUNMUGAM ’06: DRESSED FOR SUCCESS

How did you feel to be among those featured at the Paris Fashion Week? Every designer dreams of having a show at Paris Fashion Week, you know? But making it there in less than two years is something else altogether. It was an incredibly humbling experience, yet at the same time it made me realise how much potential the label has, quite simply because we have a point of view that matters and matters well.

What inspires your selection of designs to showcase at the Fashion Week? We showed our Spring/Summer 2013 collection which is essentially a ready-to-wear line of cheongsams in contemporary silhouettes and interpretations based on a field study of old architecture across Asia. It is sometimes as literal as referencing tiles, minarets, arches and turning these into design elements, and other times the references are more cognitive.

What are your upcoming business development plans? The business has grown alarmingly fast and has left me playing catch up most of the time. In the next year or so we hope to become better and more efficient what we do and of course, to expand our presence to key fashion capitals across the world, if not Asia. The options are plenty — the trick lies is knowing how to say no.

How has your experience at NUS Law helped you? I’m incredibly proud of my time at Law School and I always tell journalists that. While I struggled to find my footing in the beginning, I graduated with a kind of clarity and discipline that I doubt I could have honed elsewhere. The most important thing Law School taught me was to have the audacity to think about what I should do with the rest of my adult life.

Known for its line of contemporary fashion infused with Asian influence for the stylish women of today, local fashion label Ong-Shunmugam was among the outstanding local names chosen to debut their latest selection at this year’s

Paris Fashion Week. LawLink catches up with its founder, Priscilla Shunmugam’06, who shares with us her experience, and a glimpse into the glamorous event.

“ T H E M O S T I M P O R TA N T

T H I N G L A W S C H O O L

TA U G H T M E W A S T O

H A V E T H E A U D A C I T Y

T O T H I N K A B O U T

W H AT I S H O U L D D O

W I T H T H E R E S T O F

M Y A D U LT L I F E . ”

Priscilla in a media interview at Paris Fashion Week. Spring/Summer 2013 collection.

aLawmnus Features

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PAMELA YEO ’11: BE THE CHANGE —

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT FROM SCRAPS

Managing a business that turns scrap metals into fashionable jewelry, Law graduate Pamela Yeo together with Ng Sook Zhen ’11 and Adeline Heng from SMU, has walked the road less travelled to promote peace and sustainable development in countries affected by conflicts.

Saught, a social business co-founded by the trio, creates jewellery from landmines and unexploded ordnance to support sustainability in post-conflict countries. The products are then up for purchase through an online store (http://saught.com.sg/) set up earlier this year, where the proceeds are reinvested into the company to further sustainability efforts. The company’s vision is “to create a work integration model implemented across post-conflict countries. We want to create an international community of advocates through our collaborative model, championing for peace building efforts.”

While many law students look forward to starting their legal career after graduation, Pamela and her friends took a leap of faith in pursuing her calling.

H U M B L E B E G I N N I N G S In 2011, they obtained the NUS Enterprise’s Innovation & Entrepreneurship Practicum Grant, established Saught and entered into partnership with the Cambodian Mine.

The business seeks to provide a solution that is a re-sult from international and civil conflict. According to the company, post conflict countries often find them-selves in an active pursuit of peace. With landmines and unexploded ordnance continuing to plague the country, it becomes unsafe for locals to carry on their daily lives for fear of these explosive remnants of war. The destruction of infrastructure also leads to situations of poverty due to a lack of employment opportunities.

It was a challenge starting a business while juggling final year studies, completing Part B and training contracts. However, the thought of giving up never did come up, as the company focused on three main groups that stand to benefit from their social business model:

» The de-mining/munitions-cutting organisations in Cambodia — The jewellery pieces serve as a plat-form for advocacy for problems of indiscriminate weaponry used during war, and its repercussions

» NGO artisanal workshops — They support and help grow their social impact to fight poverty and build capacity

» Designers and design students — An opportunity to do good with their talents, and to have their work and inspiration showcased internationally

B A C K E D B Y L E G A L E D U C AT I O NRecently nominated as a finalist of the “Yahoo! Singapore 9”, a campaign which honours young Singaporeans under the age of 35, Pamela attributes part of her success in pursuing her cause to her legal education background. She hopes that her legal background has honed her advocacy skills and abilities to translate that to the social business and the social causes that they campaigned for.

“In fact, Sook Zhen and I had much support from Prof Stephen Phua in the Business and Finance for Lawyers class in 2011! We were just getting Saught off the ground then, and used our work for the Live Business project under his module. He provided much guidance and insight for us as we started out,” she shared.

On her best memories of NUS Law, Pamela recalls fondly, “definitely around the beautiful campus grounds — the meaningful and insightful conversations enjoyed with friends, an environment where there is a genuine thirst for knowledge, and teachers so generous with their time and sharing their wisdom. I loved classes by Prof Thio Li Ann — her Human Rights, and Public International Law classes always sparked off great debates; and mediation classes by Prof Joel Lee, which were conducted in such an interactive manner.”

She hopes to see Saught grow and expand their impact to other post-conflict countries such as Sri Lanka, Timor-Leste, and Laos. All of us at NUS Law wish her the very best in her pursuit!

Lawlink speaks to Pamela Yeo, founder of Saught about the social business and how her education at NUS Law has helped her.

By Celestine Chan

“AN ENVIRONMENT

WHERE THERE IS

A GENUINE THIRST

FOR KNOWLEDGE,

AND TEACHERS SO

GENEROUS WITH

THEIR TIME

AND SHARING

THEIR WISDOM”

aLawmnus Features

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Class Reunions

HOMECOMING DINNER @ BTC: A REUNION FOR THE CLASSES OF 1974 – 77

By Bernard Doray ’76

They say some things never change. The reunion of 77 law graduates from the years of 1974 to 1977 together with about 10 lecturers of that era was testament to that. After almost 38 years, and although some may have gone broad or bald, their characteristic attributes remained unchanged.

First there was Chandra Mohan ’76; the organised one. His reliable lecture notes helped many in his cohort of 1976 sail through law school. True to form, he headed the organising committee for the reunion with diligence and responsibility, ensuring that everything moved like clockwork and delivered on time.

Of course, he was ably supported by the organising committee comprising Mohandas Naidu ’74, John Abraham ’74, S Radakrishnan ’75, Aziz Tayabali ’75, Denis Tan ’75, Carla Barker ’75, Bernard Doray ’76, Bobby Chia ’76, Peter Low ’77, Sujatha Bhargavan ’77, Sarjit Singh ’77, Belinda Ang ’77, and NUS Law Faculty colleagues, Trina Gan ’04, Goh Mia Yang ’92, Zafira Yusoff, and NUS Development Office colleagues, Emilie Jouno and Gregory Lee.

Then there was Radakrishnan, a student unionist and USSU President who graduated in 1975. As always he had everyone cracking up with his recollections of the student union uprisings, cutting classes and yet finishing law school. (Were they much smarter then?)

John Abraham (formerly and fondly known as Mahinder) and once a great varsity and national athlete, graduated in 1974 but recalled how he almost ‘graduated’ after his first year in law school, if not for the kind intervention of the then Vice Dean Mrs Tan Sook Yee.

Then there was Kim Seah Teck Kim ’77; the serious one. From top student to Assoc Prof, and finally making it as law practioner. Deborah Barker and Edmond Pereira ’76 as MCs kept the tone of the evening reminiscent with their oratorical skills and never at a loss for words.

Everyone remembered them as our university debaters who made us proud and especially Edmond for his disc jockey skills by night at a local club to pay his way through law school. His raspy voice remained unmistakable not withstanding long years at the Bar!

The Dean of NUS Law, Prof Simon Chesterman opened the evening with a warm welcome message. Prof Tommy Koh ’61, Dean to most of us in our undergraduate days, demonstrated his customary selflessness in delivering a message that touched the hearts of all. He highlighted the widening gap between the have and have-nots and urged the well heeled among us who have benefitted from a university education to give back to society.

Mrs Tan Sook Yee took the honours for the evening though. She appeared at the reunion brimming with unmatched eloquence reminding all the “boys” of their major crush as students. Undoubtedly, it was an evening where most of us relived wonderful memories, notwithstanding wet weather. The photo montage put together by Bobby Chia and the accompanying mischievous jingles of yesteryear by the “Elderly Brothers” (recorded by the Class of ’72) was a hit.

While the reunion catered food and beer from the timeless NUSS Guild House, it also reminded us of our poorer undergraduate days when students hung out at the old Guild House at Evans Road to sniff out the best looking girls from Eusoff College, and concurrently attempt to scrounge a free beer from seniors who had made it on graduation.

And so the night ended remembering those who had passed on, thanking the organisers and those who had come from as far away as Europe and Australia

Soh Eng Kiau & Rosita Yeo

Gathering by Class of 1977 with Professor Geoffrey

Bartholomew & Professor Tan Sook Yee

Gathering at University Road.

Trishaw pageant in 1972.

and of course the many Malaysian friends who made up almost half the cohort of the ’70s.

At the end, as we move on to our autumn years it is all about our collective experiences and memories. May we always stay connected to our alma mater and give back to the law faculty, NUS and society with compassion and kindness. To all our friends who were there (and those who could not make it this time), hoping to meet again, sooner rather than later. Thanks for the memories!

“ AT T H E E N D , A S W E M O V E O N T O O U R

A U T U M N Y E A R S I T I S A L L A B O U T O U R

C O L L E C T I V E E X P E R I E N C E S A N D M E M O R I E S . ”

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Class Reunions

Twenty years have flown by in a blink of an eye. The Class of ’92 held our 20th year reunion on 2 November. This was preceded by many mass emails, Facebook posts, last-minute persua-sions (read badgering) on the phone, voice-mails, instant messaging trying to round up everyone.

Almost 90 classmates, a number that is close to half of the class attended the reunion, and it was the biggest turnout of the three reunions we organised so far.

The Dean, Prof Simon Chesterman gave the opening speech, followed by our AV man, Andrew Chan speaking in remembrance of Winston Wong, our c las smate who had suddenly passed away earl ier this year and leading the group in a minute of silence in Winston’s memory. Gregory Vijayendran closed the serious part of the night with an exhortation of the pro bono grant the class is creating and shaping, and encouraged everyone to contribute.

The fun part was trying to recognise one another! Many have gone greyer, some have complete ly lo s t the i r hair, while a few lucky ones looked practically unchanged over the years, whether attributable to good genes or external help.

The best part about this reunion was not only that we had a chance to meet up, but that it served as a catalyst for many of us to renew old friendships that were developed during the best years of our lives and to arrange further catch-ups. For those who had missed this, the fun continues on our Facebook group page so check us out — “NUS Law Faculty — Class of 1992”!

CLASS OF ’92 REUNION:

THE EVENT WORTH WAITING FOR

By Judy Chang ’92

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NUS INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS LAW LL.M ALUMNI RECEPTION

By Alexander Grafe, LL.M ’10

The fourth annual National University of Singapore (NUS) International Business Law (IBL) Masters of Law (LL.M.) programme alumni reception took place on 20th October, 2012. This year, the gathering was hosted on the top floor of the Four Seasons Hotel in Shanghai, China.

The reception became a forum for over 170 participants including both current and former students, prominent members of the local and international community, recruitment directors and head-hunters, and industry friends.

Guan Jian Jun, Deputy President of the Shanghai Bar Association, delivered one of two key-note speeches on the importance of developing the legal industry within China.

Doreen Jaeger-Soong, Managing Director of Hughes-Castel, delivered the second key-note speech identifying the ever growing demand for lawyers within China for both international and Chinese lawyers. As an added surprise, Professor Simon Chesterman, Dean of NUS Law, addressed the participants of the reception on the big-screen.

In 2005, the NUS, in partnership with the East China University School of Political Science and Law (ECUPL), established a unique opportunity for students and lawyers to pursue graduate legal studies in two growing global financial hubs, Singapore and Shanghai, with a focus on international business law. The alumni consist of a global network of highly-accomplished lawyers and students.

For more information, visit www.nusiblalumni.com

Class Reunions

ALUMNI DAY 2012 AT BUKIT TIMAH CAMPUSNUS alumni flocked back to the Bukit Timah Campus for Alumni Day 2012.

Trina Gan ’04 reports

The 8th of July, 2012 saw a record number of 900 NUS alumni coming back to the Bukit Timah campus for Alumni Day @ Bukit Timah Campus.

Organised by the NUS Office of Alumni Relations, the annual event is always popular with our alumni, particularly those who spent their undergraduate years on the campus. Especially well-represented at this year’s Alumni Day was Law School’s pioneer class, represented by then Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong ’61 (accompanied by his wife Elisabeth Chan ’64), S Rajendran ’61, Sachi Saugen ’61, and T P B Menon ’61.

Alumni were treated to a night of laughter and mem-ories, with a programme that included performances by alumni, as well as a photo exhibition consisting of pic-tures contributed by alumni themselves.

Sounds like fun? It certainly was! Make sure to join us for Alumni Day next year!

Class Reunions

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Name of Staff

Prof Teo Keang SoodProf Loy Wee LoonProf Tan Cheng HanAssoc Prof Gary BellProf S JayakumarAssoc Prof Daniel Seng Kiat Boon

Years of Service

202015151010

Professor Teo Keang Sood,

celebrating 20 years of service.

Most memorable moment: Every time when I know that I have done good teaching in class.

Look forward to most in their work: That has to be meeting my students in class — teaching and interacting with them.

“ E V E R Y T I M E W H E N

I K N O W T H AT I H A V E

D O N E G O O D T E A C H I N G

I N C L A S S . ”

Assoc Prof Gary Bell,

celebrating 15 years of service.

“In 2002, a team of s tudents I was coaching won the Vis Moot i n i n t e r n a t i o n a l c o m m e r c i a l arbitration in Vienna. They were the best of 108 teams from all over the world. They made me feel very privileged and proud of teaching at a law school that attracts such fantastic, smart and hardworking students. The corporate name of McGill University, where I went to law school and first taught law, is the 'Royal Institution for the Advancement of Learning'. Maybe that is why my former Dean at McGill used to welcome the first year class by addressing them as ‘Dear fellow students of the law’. It is a privilege to be an academic: I am paid to learn through research and teaching, and to share what I have learned through teaching and publications. To me, there could be no better job. I am looking forward to learning more, which is why I became an academic in the first place.”

LONG SERVICE AWARDS TRIBUTE

Faculty Feature

Professor Leong Wai Kum,

celebrating 35 years of service.

“The years have flown by. It appears to be true that time flies when you enjoy yourself. I can say with some honesty that I look forward to work each day. There have been many good moments over the years but one that is memorable to me was when, fairly early in my career, Mrs Lu Sinclair who was a formidable Registrar of NUS in her t ime, telephoned me one afternoon. She told me that, having looked into the points I earlier raised with her, she agreed that married female s taff members have the legal right to continue to use their own surname and that the salutation ‘Ms’ had become the appropriate salutation of such women. I was touched by her kindness. Back then ‘Prof’ was reserved only for full professors and I was happy to be the first married woman to be formally addressed as ‘Ms’ instead of ‘Madam’. Mrs Sinclair made a considered educated response even though the suggestion emanated from a junior colleague.”

Name of Staff

Prof Leong Wai KumProf Woon Cheong Ming, WalterProf M SornarajahAssoc Prof Ng Siew KuanProf Thio Li-annAssoc Prof Chan Wing Cheong

Years of Service

353025252020

NUS Law is proud to celebrate together with our outstanding academics who received Long Service Awards this year. When LawLink asked our awardees to share their most memorable moment and what look forward to most in their work at NUS Law...here’s what they shared.

Professor Walter Woon Cheong Meng ’81,

celebrating 30 years of service.

“I came back to NUS after thirteen years away because I felt that this was my natural habitat. Contact with the students is what I enjoy most. They haven’t yet lost their idealism and become jaded or cynical. In any case, as a profession we are responsible for training the generations that come after. Senior lawyers have always been involved in professional education. This is the only way to ensure that the aspiring lawyers are properly fitted to survive in the real world.”

“ I F E LT T H AT T H I S W A S

M Y N AT U R A L H A B I TAT ”

Congratulations to all our long service award recipients!

Professor Tan Cheng Han S.C. ’87,

celebrating 15 years of service.

Most memorable moment: It would have to be the day in early-2001 when I was summoned to the Vice-Chancellor’s office where I was told that he wanted me to succeed Prof Chin as Dean. I remember suddenly feeling the weight of responsibility and wondering if I was up to the demands of the office!

Look forward to most in their work: I enjoy very much interacting with the student body. They are by and large a good bunch of young people and aside from the law, I’ve had conversations with them about sports , gaming, movies, music and relationships.

“ I R E M E M B E R

S U D D E N LY F E E L I N G

T H E W E I G H T O F

R E S P O N S I B I L I T Y ”

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