EMBRACING CHANGE IN AN EVOLVING WORLD...the Centre for Computational Law (CCLAW). Alongside our Centre for AI and Data Governance (CAIDG) established in 2018, we aim to produce groundbreaking

EMBRACING CHANGE IN AN EVOLVING WORLDANNUAL REPORT 2019

40 ACADEMIC PROGRAMMES

Overview of Academic ProgrammesUndergraduate ProgrammesPostgraduate ProgrammesGuest Speakers

50 PROFESSIONAL & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENTS

SMU Law AcademyPro Bono CentreOther Community Engagements

58 STUDENTS & ALUMNI

Student ClubsOther Student EventsStudent AchievementsAlumni EventsAlumni Achievements

TABLE OF CONTENTS

02 DEAN’S MESSAGE

03 MISSION STATEMENT

06 OUR PEOPLE

Advisory BoardDistinguished FellowsAdvisory Council for Law and TechnologyFaculty MembersPromotions and New Appointments

16 RESEARCH

Research ClustersResearch OverviewBook PublicationsResearch CentresOther Research HighlightsResearch ImpactResearch AwardsExternal Relations

36 KWA GEOK CHOO LAW LIBRARY

Three Years OldLaw LibrariansInK UpdatesLibrary EventsBook DisplaysBimonthly Newsletter (LawLIS)Workshops & Teaching

INNOVATIVE AND PRACTICE-RELEVANT

LEGAL TRAINING

SERVICE TO

COMMUNITY

MEANINGFUL AND IMPACTFUL

RESEARCH

DEAN’S MESSAGE MISSION STATEMENT

Professor Goh YihanDean, SMU School of Law

It is my pleasure to present you the SMU School of Law’s Annual Report for 2019. This Report highlights all the exciting things that the School has done and the achievements of our faculty members, students and alumni in the past year. As a Law School, our mission is to produce meaningful and impactful research, provide relevant legal training to our students, and apply our expertise to serve the community.

Pushing the frontiers of legal research, our faculty members continue to publish in leading law journals and organise high quality international conferences. We are also proud to be the recipient of a S$15 million grant from the National Research Foundation for the establishment of the Centre for Computational Law (CCLAW). Alongside our Centre for AI and Data Governance (CAIDG) established in 2018, we aim to produce groundbreaking research in the area of law and technology. In the same year, we also received a significant grant from the Ministry of Law to establish the Singapore International Dispute Resolution Academy (SIDRA).

Our graduates continue to enjoy high employability and command competitive salaries, and have steadily risen through the ranks in the industry. This is testament to the effectiveness of our curriculum and pedagogy, which we continuously innovate in anticipation of future market trends. To prepare our graduates for impending technology disruptions, we have grown our elective courses relating to law and technology. We have also launched, in collaboration with the School of Information Systems, the Bachelor of Science in Computing and Law.

Through the Legal Clinic run by our Pro Bono Centre and various other community outreach initiatives, our students have volunteered their time and energy in the spirit of giving back to society. On average, each student completes over 40 hours of pro bono work prior to graduation, far exceeding the mandatory 20 hours requirement. Our student clubs also run outreach activities to educate selected groups in the community on relevant aspects of the law.

All our achievements in the previous year would not have been possible without the combined efforts of our faculty members, students, alumni and external collaborators. They have been instrumental in setting the foundation upon which we will build to achieve more in the coming years.

Even as we celebrate our achievements, we are saddened by the passing of two giants of the law, both of whom had played instrumental and significant roles in helping the School. The first is the late Dr Yong Pung How who passed away on 9 January 2020. After retiring as the Chief Justice of Singapore, we were privileged to have Dr Yong as the founding Chairman of the School’s Advisory Board, offering both advice and encouragement at a crucial point of our institutional history. Amongst his numerous contributions, his generous gifts to the School enabled the establishment of the Yong Pung How Chair Professorship, two research centres (the SMU Centre for Cross-Border Commercial Law in Asia (CEBCLA) and the Applied Research Centre for Intellectual Assets and the Law in Asia (ARCIALA)), and the Yong Pung How Bursaries which have benefitted numerous students with financial needs. We will forever be indebted to Dr Yong’s unstinting support for our School.

We also remember the late Professor Michael Furmston, who passed away on 28 June 2020. An internationally acclaimed scholar on contract law, Professor Furmston came to Singapore in 2007 to serve as the founding Dean of the SMU School of Law. Having brought with him some 50 years of experience in academia, Professor Furmston laid the foundation for the School and guided it towards achieving many milestones. As a scholar, Professor Furmston was well liked by his colleagues and students for his generosity in nurturing the younger generation. We, whose lives Michael personally touched, will always be grateful to him.

Indeed, we will remember their guidance and generosity, without which we will not be at where we are today. We truly stand on the shoulders of giants. Both of them will be deeply missed.

SingaporeManagementUniversity Annual Report 2019

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OURPEOPLE

2

ADVISORY BOARD

1 MR V K RAJAH SCChairmanMember, Essex Court Chambers Duxton (Singapore Group Practice)

2 JUSTICE AEDIT ABDULLAHJudge Supreme Court of Singapore

3 MS JUTHIKA RAMANATHANChief Executive Office of the Chief Justice Supreme Court of Singapore

4 MR ANTONY COOK Associate General Counsel and Regional Director for Corporate, External and Legal Affairs for Asia Pacific Microsoft

5 DR CHENG TAI-HENGPartner and Global Co-Head, International Arbitration Sidley Austin LLP

6 MR DARYL CHEWManaging PartnerShearman & Sterling LLP Singapore Office

7 MR LAM CHEE KINManaging Director and Head Group Legal, Compliance & SecretariatDBS Bank

8 MR THAM LIJINGMemberEssex Court Chambers Duxton (Singapore Group Practice)

9 MS SOPHIE MATHUR Partner Global Co-Head of Innovation Linklaters Singapore Pte Ltd

10 MR WONG TAUR JIUNHead of Legal Rabobank Singapore

2 JUSTICE CHAO HICK TIN Senior Judge of the Supreme CourtFormer Attorney-General of SingaporeFormer Judge of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Singapore

DISTINGUISHED FELLOWS

1 MR V K RAJAH SC Member, Essex Court Chambers Duxton (Singapore Group Practice)Former Attorney-General of SingaporeFormer Judge of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Singapore

1 ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR WARREN CHIKSchool of LawSingapore Management University

2 MR JOEY PANGSenior Vice PresidentLegal & ComplianceDBS Bank

3 MR CHANG ZI QIANCo FounderINTELLLEX

ADVISORY COUNCIL FOR LAW AND TECHNOLOGY

4 MR ANTONY COOKAssociate General Counsel and Regional Director for Corporate, External and Legal Affairs for Asia Pacific Microsoft

5 MS DEBORAH IMDeputy Head of Legal APAC Facebook

6 MS SOPHIE MATHURPartner, Global Co-Head of Innovation Linklaters Singapore Pte Ltd

7 PROFESSOR ANDREW MURRAYProfessor of LawLondon School of Economics

8 MR RAJESH SREENIVASANPartner & Head, Technology Media & Telecommunications Rajah & Tann Singapore

9 MR BRIAN YEOHDeputy DirectorMonetary Authority of Singapore

1

6

2

7

3

8

4

9

5

10

5

1 2 3

6 7 8

4

OUR PEOPLE OUR PEOPLE

1


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*The figures on this page are accurate as of 31 December 2019.


BY DESIGNATION BY TRACK

Practice8Lecturers4

Tenure30Education2

BY HIGHEST DEGREE

JD3LLB/BA2

LLM/JSM/MA/BCL25

PhD/SJD13

LLD1

BY GENDER

Female14Male30

44 FACULTY MEMBERS*

MAARTJE DE VISSERAssociate Dean (Postgraduate Teaching & Curriculum)

Associate Professor of Law

PhD (Tilburg); MJur (Oxford); LLM (Maastricht)

GARY CHAN KOK YEWAssociate Dean (Faculty Matters & Research)

Professor of Law

LLM (University of London); LLB (NUS)

TAN SEOW HONAssociate Dean (Student, Staff & Alumni Affairs)(July 2017 to June 2019)

Associate Professor of Law

SJD, LLM (Harvard); LLB (NUS)

ALVIN SEE WEI LIANGAssociate Dean (Student, Staff & Alumni Affairs)(July 2019 till present)

Associate Professor of Law (Education)

BCL (Oxford); LLB (Leeds)

GOH YIHANDean Professor of Law

LLM (Harvard);LLB (NUS)

DAVID LLEWELYNDeputy Dean Professor of Law (Practice)

BCL (Oxford); LLB (Southampton)

LEE PEY WOANAssociate Dean (Undergraduate Teaching & Curriculum)

Professor of LawBCL (Oxford); LLB (King’s College London)

NADJA ALEXANDERProfessor of Law (Practice)

D.jur. (University of Tubingen)

DARIUS CHANAssociate Professor of Law (Practice)

LLM (NYU); LLB (NUS)

STEPHEN BULLAssociate Professor of Law (Practice)

LLM (Harvard); BA, LLB (Victoria University of Wellington)

CHAN WING CHEONGProfessor of Law

LLM (Cornell); BA in Jurisprudence (Oxford)

Assistant Professors9Senior Lecturer1Lecturers3

Professors13Associate Professors18

CHEN SIYUANAssociate Professor of Law

LLM (Harvard); LLB (NUS)


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KENNY CHNGAssistant Professor of Law

LLM (Harvard); LLB (SMU)

ADELINE CHONG SWEE LINGAssociate Professor of Law

PhD (Nottingham); LLB (Birmingham)

MARK FINDLAYProfessorial Research Fellow

LLD (Nottingham Trent); Dip in Criminology (MSc) (Edinburgh); LLM (Sydney); LLB/BA (ANU)

HENRY GAOAssociate Professor of Law

JD (Vanderbilt); LLM (UCL); LLB (China Youth Politics Institute)

CHRISTOPHER CHEN CHAO-HUNGAssociate Professor of Law

PhD (UCL); LLM (Michigan); LLM, LLB (National Taiwan University)

WARREN B. CHIKAssociate Professor of Law

LLM (UCL); LLM (Tulane); LLB (NUS)

LOO WEE LINGAssociate Professor of Law (Education)

LLM (Sydney); LLB (NUS)

PEARLIE KOHAssociate Professor of Law

LLM (Melbourne); LLB (NUS)

RATHNA N. KOMANAssociate Professor of Law (Practice)

LLM (Nottingham); LLB (Warwick)

LAU KWAN HOAssistant Professor of Law

LLM (NYU); LLB (NUS)

LIU KUNG-CHUNGLee Kong Chian Professor of Law (Practice)

PhD (Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich); LLM, LLB (National Taiwan University)

NICHOLAS LIULecturer of Law

JD (SMU); BA in English Literature (NUS)

LIM HOW KHANGAssistant Professor of Law and Information Systems (Practice)

LLB (NUS); MIT (Minor Thesis), BCompSci (Monash)

AURELIO GURREA MARTÍNEZAssistant Professor of Law

JSM (Stanford); MSc in Law and Finance (Oxford); PhD (CEU San Pablo University); LLB, BBA (University of Granada)

PASHA L. HSIEHAssociate Professor of Law

PhD in Political Science (Free University of Brussels); JD, LLM (Penn); LLB (National Chengchi University)

LOCKNIE HSUProfessor of Law


MALAVIKA JAYARAMAssistant Professor of Law (Practice)

LLM (Northwestern); LLB (National Law School of India University)


LOW KEE YANGAssociate Professor of Law

PhD, LLM (King’s College London); LLB (NUS)

BENJAMIN JOSHUA ONGAssistant Professor of Law

BCL, BA in Jurisprudence (Oxford)

ONG EE INGSenior Lecturer of Law

JD (George Mason University); MA in English Literature, BA in English and American Literature (Brown University)

VINCENT OOILecturer of Law

BA in Jurisprudence (Oxford)

JERROLD SOHLecturer of Law

LLB, BSocSci in Economics (NUS)

DORCAS QUEK ANDERSONAssistant Professor of Law


SAW CHENG LIMAssociate Professor of Law

LLM (Cambridge); LLB (NUS)


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ZHANG WEIAssistant Professor of Law

PhD in Jurisprudence and Social Policy (Berkeley); LLM (Harvard); MA in Civil Law (Waseda); LLB (Fudan)

YIP MANAssociate Professor of Law

BCL (Oxford); LLB (NUS)

OUR PEOPLE

YEO TIONG MINYong Pung How Chair Professor of Law

DPhil, BCL (Oxford); LLB (NUS)

EDWARD TIAssistant Professor of Law

PhD in Land Economy (Cambridge); MSc in Real Estate, LLB (NUS)

WAN WAI YEEProfessor of Law

BCL (Oxford); LLB (NUS)

PROMOTIONS AND NEW APPOINTMENTS

THAM CHEE HOProfessor of Law

DPhil, BCL (Oxford); LLB (NUS)

EUGENE TAN KHENG BOONAssociate Professor of Law

JSM (Stanford); MSc in Comparative Politics (LSE); LLB (NUS)

TANG HANG WUProfessor of Law

PhD, LLM (Cambridge); LLB (NUS)

OUR PEOPLE

FACULTY MOVEMENTS

Goh Yihan was promoted from Associate Professor of Law to Professor of Law

Lee Pey Woan was promoted from Associate Professor of Law to Professor of Law

Tham Chee Ho was promoted from Associate Professor of Law to Professor of Law

Wan Wai Yee was promoted from Associate Professor of Law to Professor of Law

Alvin See was promoted from Assistant Professor of Law (Education) to Associate Professor of Law (Education)

Loo Wee Ling was appointed as Associate Professor of Law (Education). She was formerly an Associate Professor of Law (Practice)

Ong Ee Ing was promoted from Lecturer of Law to Senior Lecturer of Law

Benjamin Joshua Ong was promoted from Lecturer of Law to Assistant Professor of Law

Darius Chan was appointed Associate Professor of Law (Practice)

Lim How Khang was appointed Assistant Professor of Law and Information Systems (Practice)

Malavika Jayaram was appointed Assistant Professor of Law (Practice)

Nicholas Liu was appointed Lecturer of Law

WU YING-CHIEHAssistant Professor

Left SMU in July 2019

KELVIN LOWAssociate Professor

Left SMU in December 2019

GARY LOWAssistant Professor


EUNICE CHUAAssistant Professor



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RESEARCH

RESEARCH CLUSTERS

ASIAN AND COMPARATIVELEGAL SYSTEMS

Comparative Law Singapore Legal System Chinese Commercial Law Law and Society Asian Legal Systems

PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL LAW,REGIONAL AND TRADE LAW

Public International Law Transborder Trade & Investment Law EU Law ASEAN Law Asian Intellectual Property Law

CORPORATE, FINANCEAND SECURITIES LAW

Company Law Securities Regulation Insolvency Law of Credit & Security Banking, Finance and the Law

PRIVATE LAW

Contract Law Equity & Trusts Unjust Enrichment & Restitution Tort Law Property Law

RESEARCH CLUSTERS

DISPUTE RESOLUTION

Law of Evidence Civil & Criminal Procedure Alternative Dispute Resolution & Conflict Management Arbitration Private International Law

LEGAL THEORY, ETHICSAND LEGAL EDUCATION

Legal Theory Ethics & Social Responsibility Law & Economics Law & Regulation Legal Education

PUBLIC INTEREST LAW,COMMUNITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

Family Law Criminal Law & Justice Animal Law

PUBLIC LAW

Constitutional Law Administrative Law

INNOVATION, TECHNOLOGYAND THE LAW

Law of Intellectual Property Information Technology Law Data Protection & Privacy Law Internet Law E-Commerce Law


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OVERVIEW

RESEARCHCENTRES RESEARCH

FOCUS AREAS

35

RESEARCHCLUSTERS

9FACULTY

PUBLICATIONSIN 2019

1500VER

BOOK PUBLICATIONS

BOOK PUBLICATIONS BY SOL FACULTY IN 2019 INCLUDE:1. Nadja Alexander and Chong Shouyu, The Singapore Convention

on Mediation – A Commentary (Wolters Kluwer, 2019)

2. Nadja Alexander, Joel Lee and Lum Kit-Wye, Singapore Mediation Handbook (LexisNexis, 2019)

3. Laurence Boulle and Nadja Alexander, Mediation: Skills and Techniques (LexisNexis, 3rd ed, 2019)

4. Chan Wing Cheong et al, Criminal Law in Sri Lanka (LexisNexis, 2019)

5. Aurelio Gurrea Martínez and Nydia Remolina León (eds), Fintech, Regtech y Legaltech: Fundamentos y Desafíos Regulatorios (Fintech, Regtech and Legaltech: Foundations and Regulatory Challenges) (Tirant lo Blanch, 2019)

6. Pasha L Hsieh and Bryan Mercurio (eds), ASEAN Law in the New Regional Economic Order: Global Trends and Shifting Paradigms

(Cambridge University Press, 2019)

7. Liu Kung-Chung (ed), Annotated Leading Copyright Cases in Major Asian Jurisdictions (City University of Hong Kong

Press, 2019)

8. Liu Kung-Chung (ed), Annotated Leading Trademark Cases in Major Asian Jurisdictions (Routledge, 2019)

9. Liu Kung-Chung and Julien Chaisse (eds), The Future of Asian Trade Deals and IP (Hart Publishing, 2019)

10. Liu Kung-Chung and Reto M Hilty (eds), SEPs, SSOs and FRAND: Asian and Global Perspectives on Fostering Innovation in Interconnectivity (Routledge, 2019)

11. Liu Kung-Chung and Uday S Racherla (eds), Innovation, Economic Development, and Intellectual Property in India and China (Springer, 2019)

12. William Cornish, David Llewelyn and Tanya Aplin, Intellectual Property: Patents, Copyright, Trade Marks and Allied Rights (Sweet and Maxwell, 9th ed, 2019)

13. Loo Wee Ling (ed), Principles of Singapore Business Law

(Cengage Learning Asia, 3rd ed, 2019)

14. Tang Hang Wu, Principles of the Law of Restitution in Singapore

(Academy Publishing, 2019)

15. Tang Hang Wu and Kelvin Low, Tan Sook Yee's Principles of Singapore Land Law (LexisNexis, 4th ed, 2019)

16. Tham Chee Ho, Understanding the Law of Assignment

(Cambridge University Press, 2019)

17. Zhang Wei, 资本的规则II (zi ben de gui ze / Law of Capital II) (China Legal Publishing House, 2019)

16 17

13 14 15

10 11 12

7 8 9

4 5 6

1 2 3

OUR RESEARCH FOCUS AREAS ARE:

BOOKS

20JOURNAL ARTICLES

55CASE

NOTES

12BOOK

CHAPTERS

77PUBLICATIONS IN 2019 INCLUDE:

TRANSNATIONALCOMMERCIAL LAW IN ASIA

DISPUTERESOLUTION

LAW ANDTECHNOLOGY

To know more about research at the SMU School of Law, see our Research Report 2019.


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https://law.smu.edu.sg/sites/law.smu.edu.sg/files/law/research/SMUSOL%20Research%20Report%202019_FINAL.pdf

Headed by Professor Mark Findlay (Director) and Associate Professor Warren Chik (Deputy Director), CAIDG was founded with the benefit of a S$4.5 million grant from the National Research Foundation (NRF) and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) of Singapore.

CAIDG focuses on three streams of research:

AI and Society

AI and Business

AI in Specific Industries

These research streams are complemented by the SMU-Microsoft Asian Dialogue on AI Governance and the AI Ethics Hub 4 Asia, which is aimed at developing conversations about the impact of ethics and principled design by looking at the whole anatomy of AI development and big data use.

In 2019, its first full year of operations, CAIDG’s research output included:

16working papers

12

research articles28

seminars

RESEARCH CENTRES

CAIDG highlights of 2019 include:

Panel discussion in collaboration with the International Women’s Forum (28 March 2019)

Roundtable discussion on “AI and Trust - The Future of Dispute Resolution and Industry” (4 April 2019)

Dialogue session with Mr Kent Walker, Chief Legal Officer of Google (5 April 2019)

ANU-SMU AI Research Colloquium (9–10 April 2019)

Inaugural World Legal Summit (1 August 2019)

Conference titled “AI and Commercial Law: Reimagining Trust, Governance and Private Law Rules” (5–6 December 2019)

AI and Commercial Law: Reimagining Trust, Governance and Private Law Rules

Held on 5–6 December 2019, this conference was co-convened by Professor Gary Chan and Associate Professor Yip Man. Attended by leading academics, practitioners and industry members from around the world, the conference hosted five topical sessions: AI in Asia and the Global Context; AI and Data Protection: New Regulatory Approaches; AI and Data Protection: Conceptions of Property and Trust; Evolution, Innovation and Adaptation in the Age of AI and Data; and AI and Tort Law.

CENTRE FOR AI AND DATA GOVERNANCE (CAIDG)

Led by Professor Liu Kung-Chung (Director), ARCIALA is a leading research centre undertaking industry-relevant studies and exploration into the treatment of intellectual assets in Singapore and Asia generally. Through its multi-faceted and cross-disciplinary approach, ARCIALA engages in thought-provoking research projects to promote interest, academic research and cooperation, and to nurture promising young scholars.

ARCIALA’s research focus includes annotating and contrasting leading intellectual property cases from major Asian jurisdictions; deciphering the intersections between intellectual property, competition law and trade law; and understanding the relationship between innovation, economic development and intellectual property. ARCIALA publishes a series of edited volumes and monographs on Asian intellectual property law.

RESEARCH CENTRES

ARCIALA highlights of 2019 include:

Mock Trial of Apple “Slide-To-Unlock” Patent (26 November 2019)

Artificial Intelligence and Intellectual Property Conference (28–29 November 2019)

Vis ionary IP Professors (VIPP) Roundtable (30 November 2019)

Artificial Intelligence and Intellectual Property Conference

24 speakers from nine jurisdictions examined six major themes: technology, business and basics of AI; AI and patent law; AI and copyright law; AI and intellectual property administration; AI software and big data governance; and AI and the greater picture. Experts from academia, industry and legal practice engaged in a lively discussion of cutting-edge issues related to AI.

APPLIED RESEARCH CENTRE FOR INTELLECTUAL ASSETS AND THE LAW IN ASIA (ARCIALA)

AI and Commercial Law Conference: Reimagining Trust, Governance and Private Law Rules

Artificial Intelligence and Intellectual Property Conference


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Under the leadership of Professor Tang Hang Wu (Director) and Associate Professor Yip Man (Deputy Director), CEBCLA facilitates research in all areas of commercial law, with a focus on the Asian context. It aims to be a leading Asian centre of research in commercial law informed by a variety of research methods, including doctrinal, theoretical, empirical, historical, sociological and comparative perspectives.

A key objective of CEBCLA is to serve as the meeting point and first port of call for scholars, leading practitioners, governments and policy makers pursuing rigorous, informed and significant research in commercial law in Asia. Through such interactions and dialogues, CEBCLA seeks to support the development of regional thought leadership in commercial law and research collaborations.

CEBCLA highlights of 2019 include:

Comparative Corporate Governance Conference (24–25 January 2019)

Journal of Equity Annual Conference (14 February 2019)

SMU-Cambridge Roundtable on Corporate Insolvency Law (5 April 2019)

Dentons Rodyk Dialogue (18 April 2019)

RESEARCH CENTRES

Yong Pung How Professorship of Law Lecture (22 May 2019)

Trusts and Wealth Management Conference (1–2 August 2019)

Jones Day Professorship of Commercial Law Lecture (6 August 2019)

Herbert Smith Freehills-SMU Asian Arbitration Lecture (2 October 2019)

Singapore Mediation Lecture (17 October 2019)

STEP Academic Community Symposium 2019 (7 November 2019)

Modern Studies in the Law of Trusts and Wealth Management Conference

The third edition of the conference, which took place on 1–2 August 2019, was on the theme “Asian Wealth and the Global Context”. Some of the world’s most distinguished trust and wealth management lawyers gathered in Singapore in August 2019 to discuss a range of legal issues at the forefront of this field. The conference was co-organised by CEBCLA, the University of York and the Singapore Academy of Law. The conference convenors were Professor Tang Hang Wu, Professor Richard Nolan (York) and Associate Professor Yip Man.

CENTRE FOR CROSS-BORDER COMMERCIAL LAW IN ASIA (CEBCLA)

RESEARCH CENTRES

Headed by Professor Nadja Alexander (Director) and Associate Professor Darius Chan (Deputy Director), SIDRA provides critical thought leadership in dispute resolution theory, practice and policy. It is a unique space giving Asian voices a strong presence in global conversations on mediation, negotiation and Appropriate Dispute Resolution. The SIDRA platform connects dispute resolution stakeholders across a range of jurisdictions, cultures and disciplines to exchange ideas and experiences with a view to growing shared vision for international dispute resolution.

Aided by a major S$9 million grant from the Ministry of Law, SIDRA also focuses on a number of path-breaking and geostrategic research projects, including on the Belt and Road Initiative as well as the maturation of Appropriate Dispute Resolution methods (including mediation and negotiation) in the 21st century. SIDRA’s ambitions firmly lie beyond ‘best practice’ as it seeks to identify ‘next practice’ in the field through thought leadership, think tank events and research and development.

SINGAPORE INTERNATIONAL DISPUTE RESOLUTION ACADEMY (SIDRA)

SIDRA highlights of 2019 include:

Cross-Border Mediation Accreditation Course (April 2019)

MANE Forum accompanying the signing of the Singapore Convention on Mediation (6 August 2019)

Mediation: A New Era (MANE) Forum

On 6 August 2019, SIDRA co-chaired the Mediation: A New Era (MANE) Forum, held in conjunction with the events surrounding the signing of the Singapore Convention on Mediation. SIDRA’s 2019 Preliminary Report on the International Dispute Resolution Survey (now published) was launched at the MANE Forum. The Survey aims to help corporations make strategic decisions on dispute resolution options, and to inform policy makers, dispute resolution institutions and legal service providers on the dispute resolution needs of corporations.

Modern Studies in the Law of Trusts and Wealth Management Conference

Mediation: A New Era (MANE) Forum


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The newest research centre of the SMU School of Law, CCLAW, is headed by Assistant Professor Lim How Khang (Director). Its flagship project is the Research Programme in Computational Law, which is the beneficiary of a major grant of S$15 million awarded by NRF. The programme aims to study and develop open source technologies for ‘smart’ contracts and ‘smart’ statutes, starting with the design and implementation of a domain-specific programming language (DSL) that allows for laws, rules and agreements to be expressed in code. This paves the way for ‘smart’ contracts and statutes that can be reliably executed by computers to enable precise

CENTRE FOR COMPUTATIONAL LAW (CCLAW)

and accurate performance and compliance. The eventual industry adoption of the DSL will facilitate the delivery of more efficient legal and regulatory services through digital systems, and will broaden access to justice.

Besides computational law research, CCLAW conducts research on the application of cutting-edge computational technology to legal, regulatory, compliance and governance problems. In doing so, CCLAW collaborates with research centres and institutional partners, as well as the technology industry and legal professions around the world.

RESEARCH CENTRES OTHER RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS

Asian Private Law Workshop

The 2nd Asian Private Law Workshop, which was co-organised by the SMU School of Law and the Law Faculty of the University of Hong Kong (HKU), was held at HKU on 16–17 May 2019. The participants hailed from four institutions (City University of Hong Kong, the National University of Singapore, HKU and SMU). The 12 papers that were presented covered a wide range of fascinating topics in private law. As with the inaugural edition held in Singapore in 2018, the aim of the Workshop was to provide a supportive environment for private law academics to present their works-in-progress and engage in constructive debates on their working papers. The convenors of the workshop were Professor Lusina Ho (HKU), Associate Professor Rebecca Lee (HKU), Associate Professor Yip Man and Associate Professor Alvin See.

Corporate Law Workshop

The SMU School of Law and Melbourne Law School co-organised a corporate law workshop on 23–24 May 2019. Co-convened by Professor Lee Pey Woan, Associate Professor Andrew Godwin (Melbourne) and Associate Professor Rosemary Langford (Melbourne), the workshop theme was “Trends and Challenges in Corporate Law – A Comparative Perspective”. The workshop saw several papers presented by leading scholars from Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore. These touched on Regtech, Initial Coin Offerings, whistle blowing, crowdfunding, M&A regulations, the conception of the corporation as a fund, variable capital companies, the regulation of financial conglomerates in China and the impact of technology on shareholder governance and board liabilities.

SMU-Herbert Smith Freehills CIBEL Centre Mini-Symposium

On 27 May 2019, the SMU School of Law and the Herbert Smith Freehills China International Business and Economic Law (CIBEL) Centre at the UNSW Law Faculty co-organised a mini-symposium. Chaired by Professor Gary Chan, and with CIBEL Centre co-Directors Professor Deborah Healey (UNSW) and Professor Wang Heng (UNSW) in attendance, the mini-symposium addressed a variety of topical legal issues relating to China’s business and economic environment, including the Belt and Road Initiative, cross-Asian competition laws and takeover regulations.

CONFERENCES, WORKSHOPS AND SEMINARS

In addition to the events organised by its five research centres in 2019, the SMU School of Law and its faculty members have also been active in other research activities.


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OTHER RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS

ICON·S (Singapore Chapter) Annual Conference

The annual conference of the Singapore Chapter of the International Society of Public Law (ICON·S) took place on 19 September 2019. Co-organised by the SMU School of Law and the Centre for Asian Legal Studies at the National University of Singapore (NUS), the 2019 conference was on the theme of “Interrogating Constitutionalism”. The conference is the result of close collaboration among the Singapore Chapter of ICON·S, the SMU School of Law and the NUS Faculty of Law. It was convened by Associate Professor Maartje de Visser and Associate Professor Jaclyn Neo (NUS), the founding co-chairs of the Singapore Chapter.

Recent Developments in the Law of Restitution in the UK and Singapore

This seminar was organised by the Law Society of Singapore and hosted by the SMU School of Law on 13 August 2019. The panel of speakers, consisting of Professor Graham Virgo QC (Hon) (Cambridge), Professor Tang Hang Wu and Associate Professor Yip Man, spoke on the recent developments in the law of restitution in the UK and Singapore. Chairing the seminar was Dr Stanley Lai SC (Head of Intellectual Property Practice, Allen & Gledhill LLP). The seminar concluded with a launch of Professor Tang’s new book, Principles of the Law of Restitution in Singapore (Academy Publishing, 2019).

Reflections on Singapore Land and Trust Law

Organised by CEBCLA, this seminar was held at the SMU School of Law on 22 July 2019. The speakers, Professor Tang Hang Wu, Professor Kelvin Low (City University of Hong Kong), Associate Professor Yip Man and Associate Professor Alvin See presented on recent developments in property law in Singapore. The seminar was held in conjunction with the launch of two new books: Tang Hang Wu and Kelvin Low, Tan Sook Yee’s Principles of Singapore Land Law (2019, LexisNexis, 4th edn) and Alvin See, Yip Man and Goh Yihan, Property and Trust Law in Singapore (2018, Kluwer). The event was graced by two doyens of property law, Professor Tan Sook Yee (NUS) and Associate Professor Lye Lin Heng (NUS), as chairs of the seminar.

Workshop on Constitutional Literacy

A workshop titled “Cultivating Constitutional Literacy in Asia” was organised by the SMU School of Law to engage civil society from seven Asian and three non-Asian jurisdictions on 10–11 October 2019. A distinguished line-up of speakers was invited from academia and governmental institutions. Associate Professor Maartje de Visser organised the workshop in partnership with the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung’s Rule of Law Programme Asia.

OTHER RESEARCH UPDATES

Our faculty members were invited to share their views and opinions with several governmental, regulatory and international organisations and think tanks in 2019.

Professor Tang Hang Wu and Professor Yeo Tiong Min SC (Hon) joined the Singapore Academy of Law’s Law Reform Committee as members to evaluate and report on the potential introduction of a statutory jurisdiction for the variation of trusts in Singapore.

Dean Professor Goh Yihan was an invited panellist at the Asia Business Conference held at Harvard Business School on 3 March 2019. The panel, which was titled “Business, Law and Technology: What the Future Holds”, explored the legal and policy challenges facing businesses and society in the light of rapid changes in technology such as AI, big data, blockchain and cybersecurity.

As the co-chair of the American Society of International Law (ASIL) Asia-Pacific Interest Group, Associate Professor Pasha Hsieh convened the panel “Asia’s Response to the US Indo-Pacific Strategy” at the ASIL Annual Meeting in Washington, DC from 27–30 March 2019. He was also invited by the Korean National Diplomatic Academy to present on Asian regionalism at the Jeju Forum in May 2019.

On 31 May 2019, Associate Professor Maartje de Visser moderated a roundtable discussion titled “Knowledge Sharing on Constitutions at Times of Political Crisis”, organised by the Supreme Court of the Philippines and the Philippine Judicial Academy in partnership with the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung.

Assistant Professor Aurelio Gurrea Martínez presented his paper on dual-class shares to the International Organization of Securities Commissions on 18 June 2019. Later on 4 November 2019, he also presented his findings on Singapore’s refreshed insolvency and restructuring framework to the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs within the Ministry of Corporate Affairs of India.

OTHER RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS

On 11–12 June 2019, Professor Locknie Hsu and Associate Professor Pasha Hsieh were invited by the Singapore Judicial College to give lectures on international business law to foreign government lawyers and legislative drafters under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Singapore Cooperation Programme.

On 20 August 2019, Associate Professor Yip Man was invited to address the Attorney-General’s Chambers of Singapore on trends and developments in the law of restitution. Later that year on 7 November, she delivered her keynote address on “The Narrow Doctrine of ‘Unconscionability’ Under Singapore Law” at the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners’ (STEP) Academic Community Symposium 2019.

Associate Professor Henry Gao received several invitations to speak overseas on various aspects of international trade, notably by the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council and the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada (Vancouver, 28–29 October 2019), United Nations (Berlin, 27–28 November 2019) and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (Bangkok, 2–3 December 2019, 9–10 December 2019).

On 11 November 2019, Senior Lecturer Ong Ee Ing gave a talk entitled “Legal Tech: the New Frontier” at the Law Society of Singapore. The talk was hosted by LexisNexis Singapore under the auspices of the Law Society’s “Tech-celerate for Law” program, which is a support scheme for the adoption of technology solutions by Singapore law practices.


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AMICUS CURIAE AND OTHER APPOINTMENTS

In 2019, three faculty members were each appointed as amicus curiae (‘friend of the court’) to render their assistance to the Singapore Court of Appeal.

In January, Professor Gary Chan was invited to provide his views on tortious damages for loss of a chance in Armstrong, Carol Ann v Quest Laboratories Pte Ltd [2020] 1 SLR 133.

In October, Dean Professor Goh Yihan addressed the law of contractual mistake in the context of algorithmic contracts and the proprietary nature of cryptocurrency in Quoine Pte Ltd v B2C2 Ltd [2020] 2 SLR 20.

In November, Professor Chan Wing Cheong provided his academic opinion in USB v USA [2020] SGCA 57 on the proper approach to the division of matrimonial assets under the Women’s Charter.

In addition to their academic roles at the SMU School of Law, Professor David Llewelyn is an IP Adjudicator at the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore, while Professor Tang Hang Wu is a Panel Member of the Strata Titles Boards.

EXTERNAL RESEARCH GRANTS

Our research centres have benefitted immensely from multi-million dollar grants by governmental agencies such as the NRF, the IMDA and the Ministry of Law. In addition to these research grants, our faculty members also received funding from various external sources.

Professor Locknie Hsu was awarded a grant by the Singapore Judicial College (SJC) for her project ‘Dispute Settlement Projects / Transactions in the Belt and Road Initiative’.

Assistant Professor Dorcas Quek Anderson and Assistant Professor Eunice Chua (now CEO, Financial Industry Disputes Resolution Centre) received funding from the SJC for their project ‘Mediation in the Family Justice Courts – Examining the Durability of Settlements’.

Lecturer Jerrold Soh received a grant from the SJC for his research on ‘The State of Legal Innovation in the Asia-Pacific’.

Professor Tang Hang Wu, Associate Professor Yip Man and Lecturer Vincent Ooi were awarded a grant by the Labuan International Business and Financial Centre to research on “Trends on Philanthropy Structuring in the Asian Context”.

Associate Professor Yip Man received funding from Chuo University (Japan) to further two projects between SMU and Chuo University.

CITATIONS BY COURTS AND GOVERNMENTAL BODIES

The research work of our faculty members was also heavily cited by the courts and other governmental and regulatory bodies. In 2019 alone, there were over 70 such citations.

OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS

Professor Nadja Alexander continued to be recognised as one of four Global Thought Leaders in the field of Mediation by Who’s Who Legal in 2019.

At the 31st Annual Conference of the Australasian Tax Teachers Association held at Curtin University on 16–18 January 2019, Lecturer Vincent Ooi’s co-authored paper titled “Taxation of Automation and Artificial Intelligence as a Tool of Labour Policy” won the Best Tax Research Paper Prize.

RESEARCH IMPACT RESEARCH AWARDS

Several faculty members received University-level awards in recognition of their excellence in research and

industry standing.

Yong Pung How Chair Professorship

Established by the Yong Shook Lin Trust, the Yong Pung How Chair Professorship is conferred on an eminent individual who has distinguished himself or herself in the legal profession. The professorship is presently held by Professor Yeo Tiong Min SC (Hon).

Della Suantio Fellowship

Established in 2012 by Dr Della Suantio Lee and the DS Lee Foundation, the award is given to junior faculty members to support academic and industry-relevant research, and participation in international research programmes that are crucial to improving the understanding of Asian businesses. The 2019 fellowship was awarded to Assistant Professor Dorcas Quek Anderson.

Lee Kong Chian Professorship/Fellowship

The Lee Kong Chian Professorships and Fellowships were established by the Lee Kong Chian Fund for Research Excellence founded by the Lee Foundation. The 2019 holders were:

Professor Liu Kung-Chung (Lee Kong Chian Professor)

Professor Nadja Alexander (Lee Kong Chian Fellow)

Professor Lee Pey Woan (Lee Kong Chian Fellow)

Professor Wan Wai Yee (Lee Kong Chian Fellow)

Associate Professor Pasha L Hsieh (Lee Kong Chian Fellow)

Associate Professor Alvin See Wei Liang (Lee Kong Chian Fellow)

Associate Professor Eugene Tan Kheng Boon (Lee Kong Chian Fellow)

Associate Professor Yip Man (Lee Kong Chian Fellow)


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EXTERNAL RELATIONS

Visiting Academics

The SMU School of Law has standing agreements on faculty exchange and research with leading universities. In addition to these formal arrangements, each year we host a number of scholars from other institutions, who deliver seminars and contribute to research collections. In 2019, we had the privilege of hosting the following scholars:

Professor Benjamin Geva(York University)

Professor Dov Greenbaum(IDC Herzliya, Israel)

Professor Birke Häcker(University of Oxford)

Professor John Murphy(Lancaster University)

Professor Su Yeong-Chin(National Chengchi University)

Professor Graham Virgo QC (Hon)(University of Cambridge)

Professor David B Wilkins(Harvard University)

Professor Lutz-Christian Wolff(Chinese University of Hong Kong)

Associate Professor Orkun Akseli(Durham University)

Associate Professor Andrea Stazi(European University of Rome)

Assistant Professor Carol Liao(University of British Columbia)

Dr Ardavan Arzandeh(Bristol University)

1 Associate Professor Orkun Akseli

2 Professor Lutz-Christian Wolff

3 Assistant Professor Carol Liao

4 Professor David B Wilkins

5 Professor John Murphy

6 Professor Birke Häcker

1

2

EXTERNAL RELATIONS

5

6

3

4


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Other Visitors

Aside from the more formal arrangements, the SMU School of Law also hosted a number of ad hoc visits.

On 10 January 2019, we had the privilege of receiving Justice Dominique Hascher for a sharing session. Justice Hascher is an International Judge of the Singapore International Commercial Court, a Judge at the Supreme Judicial Court of France, and the Secretary General of the Network of the Presidents of the Supreme Judicial Courts of the European Union.

On 21 February 2019, CEBCLA welcomed a delegation from Chuo University Faculty of Law (Japan) led by Professor Hisaei Chuck Ito. In a sharing session, Assistant Professor Lau Kwan Ho gave a lecture on Singapore business law and commercial dispute resolution, while the Japanese students presented on recent Japanese Supreme Court decisions on review of statutory protection for a minority shareholder.

On 12 September 2019, the SMU School of Law, in collaboration with the Singapore Academy of Law and The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, organised a lecture by The Right Honourable Lord Hughes of Ombersley on “Making the Rule of Law a Daily Reality”. Lord Hughes, a retired Justice of the UK Supreme Court, was the Treasurer of the Inner Temple.

On 11 September 2019, the SMU School of Law received a delegation from the National Chiao Tung University School of Law (Taiwan) consisting of Professor Wen-Chen Chang (Dean), Professor Min-Chiuan Wang and Associate Professor Wan-Tsui Chiang. The meeting, hosted by Associate Professor Pasha Hsieh and Associate Professor Alvin See, saw fruitful discussion on existing and future collaborations on research, teaching, and student exchange.

EXTERNAL RELATIONS

On 24 September 2019, Associate Professor Eugene Tan and Assistant Professor Kenny Chng hosted a delegation from Korea’s Central Administrative Appeals Commission (CAAC) consisting of Mr Kim Sang Bae (Standing Commissioner), Mr You Sang Cheul (Deputy Director) and Mr Kim Hyo-gon (Action Officer). The meeting involved presentations and comparative discussion of administrative law in South Korea and in Singapore.

On 25 November 2019, SMU School of Law hosted a forum on “Legal Research, Analysis & Writing”. Instructors from the three local law schools—SMU, NUS and SUSS—shared their respective experiences on pedagogy and designing activities to help students hone fundamental legal skills. The participants were Associate Professor Lim Lei Theng (NUS), Senior Lecturer Sonita Jeyapathy (NUS), Senior Lecturer Ranald Or (SUSS), Lecturer Melvin Loh (SUSS), Lecturer Tris Xavier (SUSS), Assistant Professor Dorcas Quek Anderson and Senior Lecturer Ong Ee Ing.

On 25 October 2019, CEBCLA hosted a contingent of LLM students from the University of Liechtenstein led by Professor Dr Francesco Schurr. Professor Tang Hang Wu (Director, CEBCLA) and Mr Mark Jacobsen (Partner, TSMP Law Corporation) delivered their presentations, which was followed by a discussion on the current issues in wealth management.

EXTERNAL RELATIONS


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KWA GEOK CHOO LAW LIBRARY


Law Librarians

Chai Yee Xin(Research Librarian)

Samantha Lim(Trainee Librarian)

A Personal Roadmap to Comparative Law

On 22 August 2019, the Law Library hosted a lunchtime talk by Professor Birke Häcker (Oxford University) on the topic of comparative law. The lunchtime talk was held at the Learning Lab, which gives a clear view of the serene Fort Canning Park.

Truth & Lies: Trust in Times of Information Disorder

SMU Libraries, together with the SMU School of Law, NTU’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) and Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) co-organised a forum entitled “Truth & Lies: Trust in Times of Information Disorder” at the Li Ka Shing Library on 3 April 2019. The speakers were Mr Edwin Tong SC (Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Law and Ministry of Health), SMU’s Assistant Professor of Sociology Michael Genkin and SUTD’s Professor Lim Sun Sun. The session was moderated by Associate Professor Eugene Tan.

Library Events

Three Years Old

Come 3 January 2020, the Kwa Geok Choo Law Library will turn three since it first opened its doors to the SMU community. Since then, there have been over 910,000 visits to the library hailing not only from the SMU community, but from around the world. As of 2019, the Kwa Geok Choo Law Library holds over 25,000 print and electronic law books in its collection for the SMU community to access.

InK Updates

SMU School of Law publications are made available online on the library’s institutional repository, InK. As of December 2019, 96 new law publications had been added to the repository with 51% of the publications providing full-text PDFs.

times in 2019.The lawpublicationswere downloaded 5,728


Book Displays

The Law Library hosted a thematic book display on fake news titled ‘How is online information handled in the post-truth era?’ to promote new titles on online information and the legal issues surrounding them.

Workshops & Teaching

In 2019, the law librarians provided the SMU School of Law with support in several ways including as follows:

Conducted 44 sessions on legal research skills which benefitted 2,194 users.

Collaborated with the instructors of two courses, LAW106 Legal Research & Writing and LGST101 Business Law, to teach foundational research skills to new students.

Collaborated with the SMU Law Society to provide a yearly internship workshop.

Provided ad hoc advice and database training to law students, research fellows and faculty members.

Bimonthly Newsletter (LawLIS)

In 2019, the law librarians launched a new bimonthly newsletter (LawLIS) to update faculty members on new resources and publications, law-related news, and changes to databases. Six issues updates have been sent to the law faculty so far covering the following topics: Law & Technology, Data Management, Legal Profession, Mediation, Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and Legal Industry.


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ACADEMICPROGRAMMES

OVERVIEW OF ACADEMIC PROGRAMMES

The SMU School of Law offers three courses and is home to a vibrant

community of around 800 students.

99.1%Overall

employment rate

671Total

enrolment

174were

freshmen

BACHELOR OF LAWS (LLB)The LLB is a 4-year meritorious honours programme with 36 course units (CU) worth of courses. The LLB curriculum, regularly revised to

meet the needs of a fast-changing economy, was originally formulated by legal academics and practitioners after extensive discussions, and

endorsed by the Ministry of Law and Singapore’s then Board of Legal Education.

27Intake for the specialised LLM in 2019

MASTER OF LAWS (LLM)The SMU LLM programme, with three specialised tracks, is carefully

designed to expand the legal knowledge of a legal professional in classic and novel areas of the law, while simultaneously equipping legal

professionals with the skill-sets essential to render on-point advice on cross-border transactions or deliver high-quality adjudication and

judicial administration results.

96Student body

41were freshmen

JURIS DOCTOR (JD)The JD programme is a post-graduate qualifying law degree for students who have undergraduate degrees in other disciplines

and those who have studied law in civil law countries and in other jurisdictions.

OVERVIEW OF ACADEMIC PROGRAMMES


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UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMMES

BSc (Computing & Law)

As the legal profession confronts the challenges posed by rapid automation and digitalisation, the SMU School of Law continually seeks to equip its students with the skills and knowledge relevant to a digital economy. In the year under review, the most significant stride taken in that direction was the launch of the BSc (Computing and Law), a 4-year direct honours undergraduate degree programme jointly offered by the School of Law and the School of Information Systems. This is a path-breaking offering as it is the first of its kind in the Asian region. Recognising the inevitable transformation of legal services in a context of rapid technological developments, the programme is aimed at equipping technical professionals with in-depth understanding of the fundamental goals, values and techniques of legal practice. Graduates of this programme may seek employment in legal, commercial or regulatory sectors or (subject to satisfactory performance) pursue a JD education to qualify for practice as an advocate and solicitor. Assistant Professor Lim How Khang is currently the Director of the programme. The first cohort of students to be admitted will commence studies in 2020.

Experiential Learning

The SMU teaching pedagogy includes amongst its distinctive pedagogical features a strong emphasis on experiential learning. This form of learning is frequently achieved through SMU-X courses, which are project-based courses taught by SMU faculty in conjunction with an industry partner who provides close mentorship for students tasked to devise solutions for real life problems. In 2019, we offered three SMU-X courses.

Professor Locknie Hsu launched a new SMU-X elective, Law & Digital Commerce aimed at exposing students to legal and policy issues in modern digital commerce. During the course, students interacted regularly and intensively with a wide range of industry experts from the government and private sectors, who guided them through diverse issues including digitalisation of trade documents, national and international laws on e-commerce, legal implications of blockchain technology and trade supply chains, international trade agreements and their impact on data privacy, storage and transfer. The course was very well received by students. One of them was even granted an internship at the Ministry of Trade and Industry to research on free trade agreement provisions in relation to e-commerce.

Clinical Legal Education

On 4 November 2019, the SMU School of Law entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the State Courts and the National University of Singapore to formalise the NUS & SMU Clerkship Programme. This clinical programme is designed to provide top law students with the opportunity to observe criminal and community cases under the supervision of senior District Judges. Through personalised interaction with the Judges in real-life court settings, participating students will gain a deeper understanding of the criminal justice system. This programme is the first law school clinical module for credit conducted in collaboration with the judiciary and the first joint NUS-SMU law module. The first group of SMU participants completed the programme in November 2019 with great appreciation of the high quality and rigour of the programme. The programme is co-ordinated by Professor Chan Wing Cheong together with representatives of the State Courts and NUS Law Faculty.

UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMMES

Legal Commentaries for Practice (Advanced Legal Writing) was another noteworthy SMU-X elective instructed by Senior Lecturer Ong Ee Ing in collaboration with the Asia Law Network (ALN), a law tech startup that provides practitioners a platform for publishing articles on topical legal issues. Students enrolled in this course were required to write legal commentaries on topical issues for publication on SMU Lexicon and cross-posted on ALN. In the process, students got to hone their writing and editing skills with particular focus on making the law accessible to the general public whilst preserving accuracy in content.

Senior Lecturer Ong Ee Ing also coordinated another SMU-X course, Launching an Online Financial Business - The Lawyer’s Role, which was taught in collaboration with lawyers from Linklaters. The other instructors were Associate Professor Christopher Chen and Associate Professor Warren Chik. In this course, students were required to advise a start-up on the launch of a potential online insurance platform. The students worked on the client’s journey from beginning to end. They started by understanding the client’s needs and obligations, followed by independent research and analysis, and finally presented their findings and solutions to the client.

Teaching Excellence

The SMU School of Law has a strong culture of commitment to teaching excellence. To honour the dedication of colleagues, the law school confers various awards for outstanding teaching performance each year. In 2019, the

award winners were:

For more information on the LLB programme at SMU, please see our website.

POSTGRADUATE TEACHING AWARDAssociate Professor

Saw Cheng Lim

Senior Lecturer Ong Ee Ing

MOST OUTSTANDING TEACHERAssociate Professor

Alvin See

MOST PROMISING TEACHERAssistant Professor

Kenny Chng

Assistant Professor Lau Kwan Ho

BEST ADJUNCT TEACHERMr Tan Boon Heng

TOP LGST TEACHERAssistant Professor

Benjamin Ong

DEAN’S TEACHING EXCELLENCE AWARD

Professor Gary Chan Kok Yew

Associate Professor Maartje De Visser

Associate Professor Tan Seow Hon

Associate Professor Yip Man

Assistant Professor Aurelio Gurrea Martínez


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http://learn.asialawnetwork.com/

https://smulexicon.com/

https://law.smu.edu.sg/llb

POSTGRADUATE PROGRAMMES

For more information on the JD programme at SMU, please see our website.

JURIS DOCTOR (JD)

POSTGRADUATE PROGRAMMES

MASTER OF LAWS (LLM)

LLM in Judicial Studies

The LLM in Judicial Studies track, which was created in partnership with the Singapore Judicial College, is slated to have its inaugural run in AY2020/2021. This special track is designed specifically for serving judges and judicial aspirants.

To encourage candidates of a high calibre to apply, two separate scholarships have been secured from external donors. These scholarships were announced by Dean Professor Goh Yihan at the SMU LLM Students & Alumni Networking Reception held on 23 October 2019.

The Lee Foundation has graciously agreed to support 6 scholarships: 4 scholarships for local candidates up to the value of S$20,000 and 2 scholarships for foreign candidates up to the value of S$40,000. This arrangement will benefit 5 cohorts of students and will take effect from the inaugural intake in AY 2020/2021 onwards.

Jones Day has made a gift of US$1 million in support of the new programme, making this the single largest donation from a law firm to the SMU School of Law. This gift will be used to fund 4 full-tuition fee scholarships for international candidates enrolled in the new LLM for the first two runs of the track, with 2 full-tuition scholarships per year for 12 additional years. In addition, there will be an annual Jones Day Top Student award, valued at $10,000, for 9 academic years.

For more information on the LLM programme at SMU, please see our website.

We are immensely grateful for the generous support of Jones Day and the Lee Foundation.

LLM in Cross-border Business and Finance Law in Asia

The number of LLM students for our signature Cross-border Business and Finance Law in Asia track has seen steady growth. The 2019 cohort is the largest to date, with a total of 27 students with part-time students making up a sizable number. As the new cohort brings with them considerable working experience, this raised the average working experience of the entire cohort to 11 years.

Dual LLM in Commercial Law (Singapore & London)

The Dual LLM in Commercial Law, a collaboration between the SMU School of Law and Queen Mary University of London, was not offered in AY2019/2020 due to a revision of the programme schedule. It will be re-introduced in AY2020/2021, starting in London in January 2020 for 6 months. Seven students have met the stringent conditions set by QMUL and SMU for this programme and will be embarking on the Singapore leg of their degree in the summer of 2020.

29Average age

4 yearsAverage work experience

1:1Male to female ratio

Rolling Admission

The School of Law introduced a rolling admission process for its Juris Doctor programme with effect from the 2019 admission exercise. This was to encourage early admissions and provide successful applicants more time to make the necessary financial and personal arrangements to ensure that they can devote themselves fully to their academic studies. Initial experiences with the new arrangement are promising, with the 2019 class being among the School’s largest yet, comprising a total of 43 candidates.

To allow prospective JD and LLM applicants to experience SMU’s signature interactive pedagogy first-hand, interested applicants are allowed to book a trial seminar.

Overseas Partnership

The School has concluded a partnership agreement with Bocconi University in Italy which allows final year Bocconi LLB students to join our LLM programme, with our upper-year JD students in turn allowed to enrol in the Bocconi’s LLM in the Law of Internet Technology. The students who choose this option will benefit by obtaining both a qualifying law degree from their home institutions as well as a master’s degree from the host institution within the duration normally allocated for the former.

New Facebook Page

A dedicated School of Law Postgraduate Facebook page has been created to provide a dedicated platform for the reporting of all events and achievements involving JD and LLM candidates/alumni. Alumni are warmly encouraged to inform the School of their achievements so that they can be celebrated on this page.

Profiles of JD students


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https://www.smu.edu.sg/programmes/postgraduate/juris-doctor

https://www.smu.edu.sg/programmes/postgraduate/master-laws

GUEST SPEAKERS

Our instructors regularly invite legal professionals to give guest lectures and share their experiences with our students. This adds a practical dimension to our legal curriculum, ensuring that it is relevant and up to date. In 2019, we were honoured to have several legal professionals speak to our students.

Course / Event Guest Speakers

Advanced Law of Obligations Chua Sui Tong (Managing Director, Rev Law LLC)

Foo Yuet Min (Director, Drew & Napier)

Katie Chung (Counsel, Norton Rose Fulbright)

Margaret Joan Ling (Partner, Allen & Gledhill)

Commercial Conflict of Laws Calvin Liang (Member, Essex Court Chambers Duxton)

Constitutional & Administrative Law

Owi Beng Ki (Deputy Solicitor-General & Senior Legislative Counsel, Attorney-General’s

Chambers, Singapore)

Ethics & Social Responsibility for Law

Anand Nalachandran (Director, TSMP Law Corporation)

Eric Teh (Global Head of Legal, Bank of Singapore)

Jason Chan SC (Partner, Allen & Gledhill)

Peggy Pao-Keerthi Pei Yu (Director, Attorney-General’s Chambers)

Family Law Michelle Woodworth (Director, Quahe Woo & Palmer LLC)

Financial and Securities Regulation

Rhys Goh (Partner, Allen & Gledhill)

International Commercial Arbitration

Hazel Tang (Counsel, International Chamber of Commerce)

Lester Poon (Business Development Manager, LawInOrder)

Phillippa Went (Business Project Manager, Opus 2 International)

William Hutcheson (Solutions Architect, Epiq Global)

Launching an Online Financial Business - The Lawyer’s Role (SMU-X)

Sophie Mathur (Partner, Linklaters)

Adrian Fisher (Partner, Linklaters)

Chua Peiying (Partner, Linklaters)

Joel Cheang (Managing Associate, Linklaters)

Peter Fairman (Associate, Linklaters)

GUEST SPEAKERS

Course / Event Guest Speakers

Law and Digital Commerce (SMU-X)

Andrew Cooke (Assistant General Counsel, Microsoft Asia)

Antony Cook (General Counsel, Microsoft Asia)

Antony Lewis (Director of Research, R3)

Bryan Tan (Partner, Pinsent Masons)

Chan Boon-Hiong (Director, Head of Market Advocacy, Deutsche Bank Singapore)

Chan Kah Mei (Deputy Director, Ministry of Trade & Industry)

Claudia Chan (Senior Director of Government Affairs for Southeast Asia, SAP)

Evelyn Lim (Executive Director (Tax Advisory), BDO LLP)

Goh Seow Hiong (Executive Director, Global Policy and Government Affairs (Asia Pacific),

Cisco Systems)

Ivan Koh (Director, Technology Governance Office, IMDA)

Joey Pang (Senior Vice President, Legal & Compliance, DBS Bank)

Lam Chee Kin (Managing Director & Head, Legal, Compliance & Secretariat, DBS Bank)

Loo Leong Seng (Chief Technology Officer, Global eTrade Services)

Manoj Harjani (Senior Lead Analyst, Digital Workplace Programme Office, Public Service)

Paul Griffin (Associate Professor, SMU School of Information Systems)

Paul Yuen (General Counsel, Monetary Authority of Singapore)

Seng Han Ting (Senior Legal Counsel, Monetary Authority of Singapore)

Serene Ho (Director, Networked Trade Platform Office, Singapore Customs)

Shaun Tan (Director, Corporate, External & Legal Affairs, Microsoft Singapore)

Teo Yi Lun (Tax and Private Client Services, BDO LLP)

Law of Property Brenda Chua (Assistant Controller of Residential Property, Singapore Land Authority;

Registrar, Strata Titles Boards)

Ivan Lee (Partner, Tito Isaac & Co)

Legal Commentaries for Practice (SMU-X)

Dunstan Ong (Programme Manager, Singapore Academy of Law)

Marc Chia (Co-Founder, Regall Pte Ltd)

Rodney Yap (Operations Manager, tesseract.io)

LLM Distinguished Practitioner Lecture

Charles Lim (General Counsel, GIC)

Louis Chan (General Counsel, Citibank)

Real Estate Law Wan Kwong Weng (Group Chief Corporate Officer & Group General Counsel, Mapletree)

Singapore Legal System Edwin Tong SC (Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Law and Ministry of Health)


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PROFESSIONAL & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENTS

SMU LAW ACADEMY (SMULA)

PROFESSIONAL & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENTS

The SMU School of Law continued its active engagement with the legal fraternity and the wider community in 2019.

We are grateful to our Donors and Sponsors who generously contributed in 2019 to bursaries, study awards, prizes, and scholarships for the benefit of our law students.

SMU LAW ACADEMY PRO BONO CENTRE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

SMU Law Academy (SMULA)Since its inception in January 2018, SMULA has organised 62 seminars, delivering a continuing legal education experience for more than 3,000 lawyers, in-house counsels, civil servants and others. Attendance for SMU Law Academy seminars have increased exponentially since its rebranding, with the most popular seminars attracting over 100 attendees.

In the late-May to mid-June 2019 period, SMULA organised its first 5-seminar series on commodities training. Based on overwhelmingly positive feedback, a second run is slated for early summer 2020.

The second edition of the Law Firm Management Symposium was held on 29 August 2019. The 2019 LFM Symposium featured a keynote address by Mrs Mildred Tan (co-chair of the Council for Board Diversity), which was followed by three substantive panel sessions devoted respectively to harnessing different aspects of diversity (including gender, age, ethnicity, socio-economic background) to enhance the quality of services provided and create a constructive internal work environment; strategies to caplitalise on business opportunities created by recent regional economic developments and the impact of technology on the management of law firms and

Assistant ProfessorAurelio Gurrea Martínez

Research Associate Nydia Remolina

PRO BONO PROGRAMMES

Pro Bono Centre (PBC)

The Pro Bono Centre (PBC), which is led by Professor Chan Wing Cheong, has continued to serve the community through its weekly free legal clinics. The PBC served 291 applicants in 2019, of whom more than 89% were ‘very satisfied’ or ‘quite satisfied’, who also said they would recommend the clinic to others.

In October 2019, the PBC was invited to attend the Judiciary Volunteers Appreciation Dinner organised by the Supreme Court, State Courts and Family Justice Courts. Fourth-year student Gerome Goh, representing participants in the Community Justice & Tribunals Division’s Student Representative Programme, received a Certificate of Appreciation from The Honourable the Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon.

Pro Bono Work by Students

We have continued our strong tradition of making pro bono work an integral part of our students’ legal education. LLB students and JD students are required to complete at least 80 hours and 50 hours of community service respectively, of which at least 20 hours must consist of approved pro bono work. Our students regularly exceed these requirements. On average each student has completed more than 40 hours of pro bono work.

The PBC continues to be the primary provider of pro bono placements for SMU law students. Besides the PBC itself, students completed their pro bono placements at several other organisations, including the Law Society Pro Bono Services, the Community Justice Centre, the State Courts, the Legal Aid Bureau, and various voluntary welfare organisations.

the delivery of legal services. More than 40 lawyers from 7 different ASEAN jurisdictions accepted the invitation to join the Symposium.

In its first collaboration with the SMU Academy, which is the University’s unit responsible for delivering continuous learning and training programmes in non-legal fields, the SMU Law Academy is now offering a series of LegalTech courses. The course comprises 6 modules that run for two days each and participants who complete all modules will obtain a Graduate Certificate in LegalTech. The interest in this Certificate has been very been encouraging: there will2 runs in 2019, with additional runs scheduled for 2020. The courses are taught by Assistant Professor Aurelio Gurrea Martínez, Research Associate Nydia Remolina and several other industry experts.


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PRO BONO PROGRAMMES

1

3 4

6

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There have been 3 new approved pro bono areas:

Since June 2019, our students have started giving legal awareness talks at Project X, TRANS Family Service Centre and Bethesda CARE on various topics such as employment rights, wills, elder abuse, and lasting powers of attorney (LPA). As an added service to the audience at the talks on LPAs, we have partnered 2 law firms (RHTLaw Asia LLP and Peter Low & Choo LLC) to certify LPAs for those who wish to execute one. Thus, in addition to providing information on LPAs, students also help members of the audience to utilise the information that they have been given.

In collaboration with the Agency for Integrated Care, students developed a guidebook to help voluntary welfare organisations which run nursing homes understand their personal data protection obligations and to share best practices in data management. This project is supervised by Associate Professor Warren Chik, who is also the deputy director of SMU’s Centre for AI and Data Governance.

In partnership with the NUS Centre for Pro Bono & Clinical Legal Education, students from the SMU and NUS law schools will assist litigants to apply in person for deputyship orders over their loved ones who do not have mental capacity.

In September 2019, the PBC launched a Pro Bono Challenge Competition to encourage students to initiate and carry out projects to serve unmet legal needs in Singapore, under the mentorship of practising lawyers. Prizes, generously supported by the RHT Rajan Menon Foundation, will be given out to those projects which make the most impact in the community.

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PRO BONO PROGRAMMES

Event highlights

1 Coffee Series Talk on 8 February 2019 by Mr Lionel Tay (Partner, Rajah & Tann Singapore) on cross border transactions and dealing with overseas government agencies and private investigators.

2 Coffee Series Talk on 10 May 2019 by Mr Eduardo Ramos-Gomez (Partner, Duane Morris & Selvam LLP) on gaining the trust of clients through portraying professionalism and confidence.

3 On 1 June 2019, members of the SMU Law Outreach Club, Benedict Koh, Daniel Yeap, and Ng Wei Qi gave a talk on the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act to the staff and volunteers of Project X.

4 On 5 October 2019, Amanda Chia, Darius Tan, Jesslyn Koh, Roxanne Hon, and Nur Liyana Kamaludin talked to senior citizens at TRANS Family Service Centre about Lasting Powers of Attorney.

5 On 9 October 2019, Tan Yoong San and Louis Lau spoke in Mandarin to senior citizens at TRANS Focus Centre on the topic of elder abuse, including the signs, causes, and avenues for help.

6 On 19 October 2019, Samantha Lim and Lydia Tan talked to senior citizens at Bethesda Care Senior Activity Centre on legal issues relating to wills.

7 On 2 November 2019, Liu Jiayi and Li Jiabao shared with senior citizens at Bethesda Care Senior Activity Centre on the importance of having a Lasting Power of Attorney.

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PRO BONO PROGRAMMES

International Exchange

On 15 January 2019, the PBC proudly hosted a delegation from Chulalongkorn University, Thailand. The 10 delegates consisted of Dr Pareena Srivanit (Dean), Dr Chachapon Jayaphorn (Vice Dean), Dr Piti Eiamchamroonlarp, Dr Pawat Satayanurung, and 6 students. The purpose of the visit was to learn first-hand

Recognising Supporters, Volunteers, and Students

about the pro bono activities at SMU and in Singapore generally, and to see what could be applied at their own institution. Dean Professor Goh Yihan welcomed the delegates and Professor Chan Wing Cheong shared with the delegates the pro bono culture at the SMU School of Law.

The PBC is grateful to all volunteer lawyers, students, and partners for their generous support. An appreciation dinner was held on 20 November 2019, which was graced by Mr Edwin Tong SC, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Law and Ministry of Health. At the event, the pro bono contributions of various individuals were given recognition.

Mr Richard Tan Ming Kirk was recognised as Volunteer Lawyer of the Year for having volunteered the most number of times at PBC legal clinics in 2019. He also received a 5-year Long Service Award.

Tan Wei Chieh and Susanna Abigail Yim were recognised for completing the most number of pro bono hours in the JD and LLB cohorts respectively (104.5 and 139.8 hours respectively).

In addition, 25 lawyers, 18 of whom are SMU alumni, received certificates of appreciation from Justice Tan Siong Thye, Chairman of the PBC’s Expert Panel, for their volunteering at PBC legal clinics.

14 JD graduates and 30 LLB graduates from the Class of 2019 received certificates of recognition from Mr Nandakumar Renganathan (Partner, RHTLaw Asia) for completing all of their university community service requirement in the form of approved pro bono work.

OTHER COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENTS

Engagement with Schools

On 15 July 2019, Associate Professor Eugene Tan visited Raffles Institution to share with the students about the study of law and the future of the legal profession. Also

On 4 September 2019, the SMU School of Law hosted a group of students from Anglo Chinese School (ACS) (Independent). Assistant Professor Benjamin Ong delivered a seminar titled “Equal Before the Law”, which explored some of the issues surrounding the concept of

equality, and also gave a glimpse into more fundamental issues that lie at the heart of various legal systems. Our students who were ACS (Independent) alumni also shared their experience studying law and student life at SMU.

joining the sharing session were two of our students who were former Rafflesians.


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STUDENTS & ALUMNI

STUDENT LIFE

STUDENT CLUBS

The SMU Law Society, fondly known as The Bar, is the representative body for law students. Under The Bar’s purview are nine sub-clubs, each providing students with the opportunity to pursue more specific areas of interests.

The 12th Management Committee

From Left to Right: Ysabel Tan (Professional Director), Brendan Lai (Public Relations Director), Leon Sim (Honorary Finance Secretary), Lee Wei Teng (Vice-President), Lau Yi Hang (President), Pethuel Ho (Honorary General Secretary), Tee Lin Sett Aung (Marketing Director), Hudson Wong (Academic Development Director), Fu Wan Ying (Events Director).

SMU Law Society (The Bar)

Other key events include:

The annual SMU Law Camp saw an attendance of more than 130 freshmen. Exciting activities included beach games at Sentosa, the Fake Moot and the Fright Night.

The annual law pageant, SMU Law Night, was a night of performances and many other fun things. Held at Wan Club, the event was attended by over 200 students as they watch the Law King and Law Queen pageants.

Two welfare events were held in celebration of the end of term, during which students enjoyed a sumptuous buffet and valuable bonding time. These events were kindly sponsored by Rajah & Tann Asia and Tan Kok Quan Partnership.

The Law Graduation Night 2019, which was held prior to the 2019 Commencement, celebrated the completion of the course by the graduating batch.

During the Chinese New Year Celebration, students and faculty members participated in a joyous “Lo Hei” session and students dressed up as a lion dancing crew that went around the school handing out goodies and “ang pow”.

During the Halloween Celebration, over 20 student participants dressed up in costumes of their favourite characters as they vied for the best-dressed award.

The Bar runs the Law Mentorship Programme which pairs up seniors and juniors with the aim of guiding the freshmen through their first year in law school. In 2019, the programme attracted more than 160 freshmen and over 50 mentors. This programme also saw, for the first

time, its extension to the Juris Doctor cohort. The Bar also organised introductory seminar sessions through which senior students addressed the freshmen on topics such as study and exam techniques, career tips and student life.

STUDENT LIFE

Constitutional Law & Criminal Justice Club (CCJC)

Moot Court Club (MCC)

Led by Jayakumar Suryanarayanan (President) and Victoria Liu (Vice President), CCJC organised 3 events in 2019. The first was a series of talks held at Eunoia Junior College in support of their inaugural Latitude Symposium. The talks, which gave the students a brief overview of what constitutional law was about, were well received. The second event was a Coffee Chat in the form of a networking

event held in collaboration with the Criminal Practice Committee of the Law Society of Singapore. Lawyers specialising in criminal practice shared their experience with students through a “speed-dating” styled networking session. Third, CCJC hosted Professor Michael Hor of the University of Hong Kong for a sharing session.

Under the leadership of Ian Chiang (President) and Joel Lee (Vice President), the MCC continued to promote a strong mooting culture at the law school. It assists in the organisation of moot competitions and the

identification of talented mooters. Aside from assisting in the organisation of moot practice rounds for first year students, the following events were organised or hosted by MCC in 2019:

The finals of the 9th edition of the Attorney- General’s Cup was held at the SMU School of Law on 29 August 2019. The Bench for the finals comprised Deputy Attorney-General Hri Kumar Nair SC, The Honourable Justice Kannan Ramesh and The Honourable Judicial Commissioner Mavis Chionh. The SMU team comprising Li Zizheng and Carissa Low were runners-up.

The 12th edition of the Howard Hunter Moot was held over the course of a month in July and August of 2019. The drafters of the problem were SMU law alumni Sui Yi Siong and Lyndon Choo. The judging panel for the finals consisted of Professor Chan Wing Cheong, Assistant Professor Benjamin Ong

and Mr Paul Tan (Partner, Rajah & Tann Singapore). The champions were Nur Liyana Binte Kamaludin (Best Speaker) and Jill Lim Xin Jie.

The 3rd edition of the Ian Fletcher International Insolvency Law Moot was hosted at the SMU School of Law on 29 to 31 March 2019. The SMU team, which consisted of Sharon Andres, Shermaine Ang, Lim Jun Ping and T Abirami was second runners-up. The team was coached by SMU law alumnus Clayton Chong.

Wong Partnership’s International Commercial Arbitration Moot Kickstarter (19 January 2019).

Drew & Napier’s Advocacy Cup Kickstarter (5 March 2019).


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STUDENT LIFE

Corporate & Commercial Law Club (CoCo)

Other events include: WLG Intellectual Property Moot (co-hosted

with the NUS Mooting and Debate Club)

A sharing session on IP practice by panellists Professor Liu Kung Chung, Ms Sandy Widjaja (Intellectual Property Office Singapore), Mr Goh Li-Ming (Juris Asia LLC) and Mr Nigel Na (a previous champion of the WLG Intellectual Property Moot).

FinTech talk by Assistant Professor Aurelio Gurrea Martínez, Associate Professor Christopher Chen and Research Associate Nydia Remolina covering topics such as FinTech and the blockchain technology, financing innovation and regulatory sandboxes, and initial coin offerings.

A sharing session titled Life in Corporate Practice by lawyers from Duane Morris & Selvam LLP: Mrs Arfat Selvam (Managing Director), Mr Matthew Poh and Mr Wayne Tan.

Led by Aaron Cheuk (President), Kit Ng (Vice President) and Seow Ling Ern (Vice President), CoCo Club organised several exciting events in 2019. Its flagship event is the annual BlackOak Transactional Negotiation Competition supported by BlackOak LLC. The one of a kind competition requires teams to negotiate in a boardroom setting for the best outcomes for their distressed clients. This year’s

competition saw a record number of participating teams from both SMU and NUS. The Finals was graced by an incredible judging panel comprising The Honourable Justice Vinodh Coomaraswamy from the Supreme Court of Singapore, SMU law alumnus Darius Tay from BlackOak LLC, Ms Angela Ee from Ernst & Young and Associate Professor Stephen Bull.

STUDENT LIFE

Legal Innovation & Technology (LIT) Club

Other exciting initiatives by the club include:

The Associate Authorship Programme in collaboration with LawTech.Asia which allowed our students, mentored by respectable members in the legal tech industry, to publish articles on LawTech. Asia’s website. Two students, Louis Lau and Danielle Sim, successfully published their pieces under this programme in 2019.

The LIT Student Contributor Programme, which aims to raise awareness of legal technology issues, gives students the opportunity to write and share short updates on recent legal tech issues every month.

During its Legal Tech Week 2019, the club organised a series of exciting workshops on Microsoft Excel, the Python programming language (in collaboration with SMU’s Business Intelligence and Analytics Club), and on the value of artificial intelligence in businesses (in collaboration with SMU’s Artificial Intelligence Club).

The Legal Tech Mentors programme, which comes under the Singapore Academy of Law’s LIFTED initiative, offered training to our students on legal tech software such as Clio, Opus2 and Intelllex. After being trained by SAL, our students had the opportunity to attend the TechLaw.Fest 2019, where they shared their newly acquired skills with legal practitioners.

The LawSkuBot, a telegram bot created by our student Wan Ding Yao (the club’s founding president), was enhanced to allow searches not only for Singapore case law but also for Singapore Hansard documents as well as UK case law.

Led by Aidan Goh (President) and Teo Jia En (Vice President), LIT Club organised several exciting events in 2019. Its flagship event is the Legal Innovation and Technology (LIT) Hackathon addressing the theme of technology in the legal industry. The event received strong support from the Singapore Academy of Law (SAL) and Rajah & Tann Technologies (R&TT). Over 50 participating students from 6 local tertiary institutions were tasked with coming up with innovative technological solutions to one of 12 problems faced by legal industry. Participants presented their solutions before an illustrious judging panel comprising Mr Yeong Zee Kin (Assistant Chief

Executive, Infocomm Media Development Authority), Mr Tan Ken Hwee (Chief Transformation & Innovation Officer, Supreme Court of Singapore), Mr Rajesh Sreenivasan (Partner, Rajah & Tann Singapore and Director, R&TT), Mr Michael Lew (Chief Operating Officer, R&TT) and Mr Garrett Teoh (Director, Accenture). The event was graced by Guest-of-Honour The Honourable Justice Lee Seiu Kin, who reminded everyone present of the growing importance of technology’s role in the legal sector and encouraged the organisers to make the LIT Hackathon an annual event to promote legal technology awareness among students.


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https://lawtech.asia/a-brief-analysis-of-the-legal-validity-of-smart-contracts-in-singapore/

https://lawtech.asia/open-source-development-of-legal-technology/

STUDENT LIFE

SMU Law Athletes (SMULA)

Led by Gabriel Aw (President) and Tan Tuan Ying (Vice President), SMU Law Athletes enjoyed a year filled with activities and events. The first event of the year, the Law Fraternity Games, saw SMU Law Athletes compete in a

variety of sports against the NUS Law School and the Law Society of Singapore. Overall, SMU Law Athletes displayed stellar performances to achieve victories in Frisbee, Netball, Women’s Floorball and Men’s Football.

STUDENT LIFE

SMU Law Outreach Club (SLOC)

SLOC also organised several other outreach initiatives:

Led by Benedict Koh (President), Charlene Goh (Vice President) and Chye Shu Li (Vice President), SLOC enjoyed a fruitful year with several meaningful events. SLOC’s annual signature event is the Law on Life Dialogue which sought to explore different perspectives on how legal knowledge can be utilised beyond traditional legal practice for the good of society. The 2019 dialogue, themed “For the Advancement of Society”, brought together a distinguished group of panellists: Mr Eugene Thuraisingam

(public interest lawyer), Ms Sylvia Lim (lawyer and Member of Parliament) and Mr Aaron Lee (lawyer and artistic poet). Moderated by Associate Professor Low Kee Yang, the panellists shared personal anecdotes and insights into how they eventually came to pursue their passion for improving society in their own ways. It was a light-hearted event which, at one point, included a bonus dance performance by Mr Aaron Lee’s wife, the renowned painter Mdm Namiko Chan.

Under its Law For All Community Project, SLOC partnered with our law alumna Low Seow Ling (Associate Director, Eden Law Corporation) to deliver a talk to senior citizens at Cornerstone Seniors Centre about the importance of making Wills and applying for Lasting Powers of Attorney.

Through partnerships with Raj Govin Law Practice and GS Lim & Partners, the Case-Based Internship Programme provided students with the opportunity to work on cases and to see them through to completion.

The Golden Years Project, which was co-organised with NUS Law, Law Society Pro Bono Services and Lions Befrienders, engaged senior citizens with a series of talks on Wills and Lasting Powers of Attorney.

SLOC assisted in the preparation and running of the Law Awareness Weeks@CDC 2019, a community project spearheaded by the Law Society Pro Bono Services and the 5 Community Development Councils (CDCs). SLOC members assisted volunteer lawyers by preparing for and facilitating legal awareness talks across Singapore.

Every year, SLOC assists in the Ministry of Education’s Moot Parliament Programme by volunteering to mentor teams of secondary school students in the drafting of mock parliamentary bills in response to pressing social issues.

SLOC also collaborates with the SMU Pro Bono Centre in providing various outreach talks.

Other memorable events include:

In the Inter-Faculty Games, which were held throughout the year, SMU Law Athletes competed in several sports

such as Climbing, Basketball, Touch Football, Handball, Athletics, Floorball, Football, Ultimate Frisbee and Badminton. Our men’s and women’s teams both achieved commendable second place finishes.

To allow law students to try their hand at a new sport, SMU Law Athletes collaborated with SMU Golf to conduct a golf workshop at an indoor simulator.

SMULA ended the year with the annual Law Night Bike, which gave students a break from the rigour of law school. The bicycle ride departed from the SMU School of Law with a stopover at Bedok for supper before completing the final leg at East Coast Park. Associate Professor Saw Cheng Lim joined the students in this exciting adventure.


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STUDENT LIFE

SMU Law International Relations Club (IRC)

Led by Felicia Tee (President) and Tan Yoong San (Vice President), IRC helps international students feel at home at SMU. Playing host to the exchange students, IRC organised a welcome gathering where they got to know one another while savouring a selection of local food. IRC also organised a field trip to the Singapore Supreme Court to help the exchange students to learn about the Singapore legal system and what court proceedings are like in Singapore. This provides valuable opportunity to exchange insights about the different legal systems around the world.

Not infrequently, IRC also hosts ad hoc visits by foreign law students. On 27 August 2019, SMU IRC hosted a group of 16 students and 2 academic staff from Ho Chi Minh City University of Law. Aside from the customary tour of the new School of Law building, the visitors were also given a glimpse into what studying law is like at SMU. SMU Law alumnus and Valedictorian of 2019, Nguyen Sinh Vuong,

returned to school to speak to them and shared about the differences between the legal systems of Singapore and Vietnam. At the end of the year, IRC held a gathering to bid farewell to the exchange students.

Lexicon: An SMU Law Student Publication

Under the leadership of Editors-in-Chief Joel Tay and Emily Tan, Lexicon’s two-year old law blog has steadily gained traction amongst students and the public. On top of its existing slate of commentaries on cases, current affairs, statutory developments, and case briefs under the Supreme Court Initiative, the blog also started to cover legal event reporting. In 2019 alone, a total of 27 posts were published and these attracted 11,292 views.

SMU Mediation & Negotiation Club

This is a new club established towards the end of 2019. Led by Li Jiabao (President) and Foo Chuan He (Vice President), the goal of the club is to raise awareness about the importance of amicable dispute resolution and to provide valuable learning opportunities through competitions and seminars.

OTHER STUDENT EVENTS

Freshmen Tea

On 29 August 2019, the Freshmen Tea was held to welcome the new cohort of law students. Dean Professor Goh Yihan gave an inspiring speech, offering several tips on how students can make the best of their time at law school. This was followed by a sharing session by a panel comprising Professor Goh Yihan, Professor Lee Pey Woan, Associate Professor Alvin See and Lecturer Nicholas Liu.

John H Jackson Moot Court Competition

As a proud sponsor of the John H Jackson Moot Court Competition, the SMU School of Law hosted the Asia-Pacific Round and award ceremony on 23–27 February 2019. The competition saw the participation of more than 120 students and coaches from the Asia-Pacific region. In conjunction with the competition, the School also organised a panel discussion on career opportunities in trade and investment law. The speakers included Dr Müslüm Yilmaz (Counsellor, WTO), Ms Wong Chian Voen (Director, Mayer Brown Consulting), Mr Minn Naing Oo (Partner, Allen & Gledhill) and Professor Bryan Mercurio (Chinese University of Hong Kong).

Awards Presentation Ceremony

Several students received top subject prizes and top student awards during the Award Presentation Ceremony held on 13 September 2019. We would like to congratulate them for their well-deserved achievements. We are also honoured to have Mr Anan Sivananthan (Partner, Bird & Bird ATMD) and Mr Kelly Yap (Partner & Head of Litigation, Oon & Bazul) present the prizes sponsored by their respective firms.


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Commencement 2019

At the School of Law’s 2019 Commencement Ceremony, which was held on 31 July 2019, 197 graduands received their degrees: 147 LLBs, 32 JDs and 18 LLMs. Among the LLB and JD graduands, 15 received the highest honour of summa cum laude. Nguyen Sinh Vuong (LLB, 2019) was awarded the DBS Bank Valedictorian Award, Lee Chuan (JD, 2019) received the Wee Chong Jin Prize for the Most Outstanding Juris Doctor Graduate, and Ng Jun Xuan (LLB, 2019) received the Kwa Geok Choo Top Law Student Award.

The event began with an inspiring speech by the Guest-of-Honour, The Honourable Justice Andrew Phang, who urged the graduands to strive for excellence in making meaningful impact to those around them. When it was the turn of Professor Goh Yihan to deliver his Dean’s Address, he indicated to the audience that he


had brought the wrong speaking notes and needed to retrieve the correct ones. After he exited the hall, the audience were treated to a light-hearted video showing him going around the university campus in search of the missing notes. Professor Goh eventually returned on stage to deliver his speech, in which he stressed the importance of kindness, gratitude and dreaming big. Both valedictorians for LLB and JD, Nguyen Sinh Vuong and Lee Chuan, also delivered heartfelt speeches with special dedications to faculty members, friends and loved ones who played important roles during their time at SMU.

We would like to congratulate the Class of 2019 and wish all of them every success in their endeavours.

PLEASE CLICK ON THE IMAGE ABOVE TO VIEW VIDEO IF IT DOES NOT RUN AUTOMATICALLY


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https://rb.gy/pfun62


Law as a Calling Lunchtime Talks

This series of lunchtime talks provides students with the opportunity to be inspired by persons who have persevered in doing good using their legal training. Students are encouraged to think about the role of law and the profession within the broader society and to see the human side of the law. This series is fully sponsored by the faculty members of the School of Law for the purpose of educating students to view law as more than a practice, and as a calling.

On 23 August 2019, we were honoured to have The Honourable the Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon speak to our students on finding meaning and purpose in legal practice. His Honour spoke about the centrality of the rule of law, its role in the promotion of the public good, and the special obligations that attach to membership of the Bar. His Honour urged the students to view the study and practice of law as pursuing a learned art in the spirit of public service. Finally, he drew the students’ attention to the amazing rate at which the legal landscape is changing and the need to think of new ways of growing within the legal profession.

On 22 January 2019, Ms Amy Tung (Director, Legal Services Unit at the Ministry of Social and Family Development) and Ms Joyce Low (Senior State Counsel, Attorney-General’s Chambers) shared about their work in family justice and how the family justice system had developed to support the needs of families.

Student Leaders Appreciation Tea

On 18 January 2019, the School of Law held an appreciation tea for leaders of the law clubs who have served in the previous year. Dean Professor Goh Yihan expressed a warm appreciation for their dedicated service for the past year.


On 16 January 2019, Associate Professor Ho Peng Kee (ex-Senior Minister of State) delivered a talk titled “Living Life in Phases – Passion, Action and Compassion”, The students were treated to stories of Professor Ho’s life revolving around the theme of how one phase of life prepares one for the next, and were challenged to make the most of opportunities to grow.

Get to Know Practice Lunchtime Talks

On 19 March 2019, Mr Bas Boris Visser (Global Head of Innovation and Business Change, Clifford Chance), Ms Naomi Herman (Regional Training Manager, Clifford Chance), and Ms Laura Collins Scott (Innovation Lead, Clifford Chance) spoke to our students about the increasing need for law firms to innovate technologically to meet changing client needs. The speakers shared about the exciting work that Clifford Chance has been doing in this area through Clifford Chance Applied Solutions, a newly formed technology subsidiary.

On 11 January 2019, Ms Mary Ong of (Partner, DCMO Law Practice) and Ms Ada Chua (Rajah and Tann Singapore) shared with our students about the trials and tribulations, and the joys and rewards, of family law practice.


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On 25 September 2019, our JD and LLM students visited Google’s Asia Pacific headquarters and learned about the legal and business operations of the company. We are grateful to Corrine Tan (Director of Legal, Southeast Asia) and her colleagues, Ms Li Lin Tan, Mr Lih Shiun Goh, and Ms Brenda Soh, for hosting the students.

On 22 August 2019, Professor Birke Häcker (Oxford University) gave a lunchtime talk to our law students about comparative law, its aim and purpose, its remit and limits, its uses and pitfalls, and why it is dangerous to assume that one methodology can fit all. She also shared her personal experience about the joys and challenges of living in two different legal worlds.

On 29 October 2019, the SMU School of Law was honoured to have Mr Edwin Tong SC (Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Law and Ministry of Health) deliver a lecture entitled “Law-making: An Art and Science” to our students. Mr Tong discussed how law and society shape each other, and the challenges of crafting laws to deal with Singapore’s constantly evolving social, economic, and technological landscape. The talk clearly struck a chord with the audience as about 150 questions were submitted online for the Q&A session.


On 20 August 2019, our LLM students visited the Singapore International Arbitration Centre and Maxwell Chambers on a study trip to learn about international arbitration. We would like to thank Associate Counsel Ms Lim Shi Jean (our law alumna) and Ms Vega Thea Elyssa for sharing on SIAC’s arbitration proceedings and internship opportunities.

On 14 March 2019, our LLM students participated in a study trip to the World Bank’s Singapore Office, where they learned about global development finance and business-friendly regulatory laws, as well as internships and job opportunities at the World Bank Group.

On 15 March 2019, our LLB, JD and LLM students met with the European Union Delegation to Singapore. Ambassador Barbara Plinkert provided an insightful explanation of the EU’s trade and investment agreements with Singapore and its relations with ASEAN generally.



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STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS

2019 marked a number of firsts for SMU. SMU finally made its debut in the Foreign Direct Investment Moot, and did it with aplomb. Up against 20+ teams in Seoul for the Asia-Pacific championship, SMU prevailed after 7 rounds of competition. In the international rounds in Miami, the team came in 3rd out of a field of more than 100 teams. With this result, SMU has established a strong presence in the investment arbitration landscape, given that it had previously reached the championship final of the Frankfurt Moot twice in 2015 and 2017 and also emerged 3rd in 2019. The FDI team comprised Ian Chiang, Chua Ching Wei, Theodora Ng, Benedict Koh, Marcus Chia, Wang Guanwei, and Daryl Loy.

SMU also made its debut in the Asia-Pacific regional for the Price Moot this year. Previously, SMU did not have to go through a regional round qualification. For the regional in Beijing this year, SMU won the championship as well as Best Memorials after 5 rounds of competition. Earlier in the year, it had come in 3rd in Oxford, adding to its

6 top-3 finishes in this competition, including the tournament-leading 3 Championships. The Price team comprised Jodi Siah, Terence Yeo, Allen Chong, Tan Yoong San, Naomi Lim, and Pethuel Ho.

Another Grand Slam Moot which SMU has the best track record in is the International Criminal Court Moot held in The Hague. Though SMU was unable to add a 5th championship final appearance to its tally, it did come in 3rd and secure a Best Memorial prize, another first for SMU. This result also solidified our presence in the international criminal law landscape, considering too that our Red Cross IHL team had managed to reach the championship final in Hong Kong earlier in the year. This was SMU’s 2nd appearance in the final, having placed in the top-3 on 6 other occasions. The ICC team comprised Ian Chiang, Audrey Choo, Theodore Toh, Ian Mah, and Stephanie Sim, while the IHL team comprised Lyndon Seow, Tan Bae Huey, and Huo Jiongrui.

Other top-3 finishes in 2019 include the Maritime Moot held in Rotterdam and the Fletcher Insolvency Moot held in Singapore. Although SMU did not go as far as it wanted in the Jessup and Vis competitions, it is the only Singapore university in the last decade to have reached the championship final for the Jessup (2013, 2014), Vis (2015, 2016), and Vis East (2015, 2016). SMU’s moots programme turns 10 in 2020 and we remain relentless in our pursuit to break new ground.

STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS

Wan Ding Yao, Foo Chuan He, Nechie Than Lwin, Emma Elisabeth Tang, Huang Zixian and Terrence Lerh clinched third place at the second edition of the Advocate Maximus Competition. The team also won the Best Written Submission award and was named 2nd Top Seeded Arbitration Counsel for the Preliminary Rounds.

Meher Malhotra, who participated in the AICHR Youth Debate on Human Rights 2019 held in Bangkok, was named Best Speaker for Motion 1: “ASEAN Member states should set quotas and schedules for tourists visiting national parks”.

In the inaugural Mediation Advocacy Competition 2019 held in Singapore, two of our teams were shortlisted out of 48 teams to participate in the semi-finals. The two teams comprised Nicole Leong Shi Min and Chan Wei Ling, and Benedict Koh Yen Hin and Sim Wei Qing respectively.

Audrey Koo Man Ling and Benedict Hoon Wei Yang represented SMU in the Singapore national round of the International Negotiation Competition. The team was awarded second place in a rigorous round. The team was coached by SMU law alumni Dexter Leow and Andy Yeo.

Our students performed outstandingly at the inaugural International Mediation Competition with several teams clinching awards:

Teams Achievement

Faith Hwang Zi Xin, Benedict Koh Yen Hin, Chye Shu Li and Seow Ling Ern

Gold Award for Mediation Advocacy Silver Award for Mediation

Alden Tan Ek Kai, Sambhavi Rajangam (with Aries Chen from SUSS)

Gold Award for Mediation Advocacy Bronze Award for Mediation

Dexter Chow Rui Ping, Justin Hoo, Ian Ng Yi Le and Darryl Hor Jun Heng

Bronze Award for Mediation Advocacy Bronze Award for Mediation

Michelle Cheong Shi Yun, Zhang Yuying and Grace Ho Jia Hui

Silver Award in Mediation Advocacy Gold Award for Mediation

Matthew Soo (with a team comprising NUS students)

Bronze Award for Mediation Advocacy Gold Award for Mediation

76 150+ 25Top-3 finishes in international

moots between 2011-2020Prizes and best memos

between 2011-2020Top-3 finishes in Grand

Slam Moots between 2011-2020


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ALUMNI EVENTS

The Mass Call Party, which took place on 31 August 2019, celebrated our Class of 2018 for being called to the Singapore Bar. The event had more than 60 attendees, including Deputy Dean Professor David Llewelyn, Associate Professor Alvin See and Associate Professor Stephen Bull. We wish them all the best in their endeavours as they embark on the next stage in their careers.

The SMU School of Law Alumni Appreciation Dinner, which took place on 18 January 2019, saw the return of our alumni across all cohorts. This was held in conjunction with the “Imagine Better” fundraising campaign which focuses on giving back to the university and the community at large. The event saw the unveiling of our new Donor Wall, a symbolic artwork depicting legal books with names on donors engraved on them. We are grateful to those who have kindly contributed.

Some of our alumni’s achievements in 2019 include:

Aaron Yoong (LLB, 2019), Gan Ee Kiat (JD, 2019) and Nguyen Sinh Vuong (LLB, 2019) were accepted into the prestigious Justices’ Law Clerk Programme.

Ann Yi-An Lai (LLM, 2019), who specialises in intellectual property law, was appointed as Partner at Chien Yeh & Associates (Taiwan).

Cephas Yee (LLB, 2014) was appointed Partner at Aquinas Law Alliance.

Charles Li (JD, 2012) was appointed Associate Director at Drew & Napier.

Chew Wan Lin (LLM, 2019) was appointed Senior Assistant Director at the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Chew Xiang (JD, 2012) was appointed Young Amicus Curiae in the case of PP v Tan Kok Ming Michael [2019] 5 SLR 926.

Chow Zi En (LLB, 2018) was appointed Legal Consultant at the World Bank’s Operations Policy Group in Washington, DC.

Fabian Tan (JD, 2011) was appointed Partner at Allen & Gledhill.

Fong Wei Li (JD, 2012) was appointed Director at DC Law.

Ivan Lee (LLB, 2015) was appointed Partner at Tito Isaac & Co.

Jo Tay (LLB & BBM, 2012) was appointed Young Amicus Curiae in the case of D Rashpal Singh Sandhu v PP [2019] SGHC 25.

Joshua Tan (LLB, 2014) was appointed Partner at Aquinas Law Alliance.

Justin Ee (LLB & BSocSc, 2011) was appointed Director at TSMP Law Corporation.

Lim Mei Shern (LLM, 2018) was appointed by capital markets platform iSTOX as its Head of Compliance.

Md Noor E Adnaan (LLB, 2014) was elected to the Council of the Law Society of Singapore.

Mimi Ahn (JD, 2013) was appointed Associate Director at Focus Law Asia.

Russell Low (LLB & BBM, 2011) was appointed the Chairman of the Board by Vietnam’s leading private healthcare provider Hoan My Medical Corporation.

Ruth Teng (LLB, 2011) was appointed Director (Legal) at the Health Sciences Authority.

Sui Yi Siong (LLB, 2014) won the Joseph Grimberg Outstanding Young Advocate Award.

2018 GRADUATE EMPLOYMENT SURVEY

ALUMNI ACHIEVEMENTS

The achievement of our graduates is the best testament to the quality of the education we provide. Our graduates are highly sought after, having close to full employment soon after graduation, with some of the highest starting salaries. Based on the 2018 Graduate Employment Survey published by the Ministry of Education in 2019, our fresh graduates enjoyed an overall employment rate of up to 94.4%, drawing a mean gross monthly salary of up to $5,256. This is a testament to the quality of our graduates and shows that our education approach fits market demands.

A good indicator of our alumni’s impact in the industry has been their steady rise through the ranks in both private practice and the business world. Many of them have gone on to make their mark in the profession, industry and academia. Some have even struck out on their own to establish their own private practices and legal technology start-ups.

ALUMNI ACHIEVEMENTS

94.4%

Overall Employment Rate

$5,256Mean Gross

Monthly Salary

For more information on our alumni achievements, see our most recent Alumni Newsletter.

The SMU LLM Students & Alumni Networking Reception was held on 23 October 2019. Over 50 people, including Dean Professor Goh Yihan, Deputy Dean Professor David Llewelyn and several LLM instructors, attended the reception.


School ofLaw

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Information is correct as of 31 December 2019

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