Letter from the Dean - NUS Law
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Letter from the Dean
March 2021
Dear Members of the NUS Law Community
I began writing these letters to our stakeholders the better part of a decade ago. Newly appointed as Dean,
I said that we were at a pivotal moment in our development. Increasingly recognised as Asia’s leading law
school, NUS Law had the opportunity to become one of the very best law schools in the world – in terms of
our academic programmes and our research, but also for the unique role that we play in Singapore, and that
Singapore plays internationally.
As I write this tenth letter, the landscape of legal education has been transformed – by globalisation, by
technology, and of course by the pandemic. Yet, I remain optimistic for our future. Rankings should be taken
with a grain of salt, but the past decade has seen our position rise from 22nd to joining the top 10 law schools
in the world in the most recent QS Rankings. More meaningful measures are the quality and prospects of our
students, the faculty we attract and the impact they have on the profession and the world. As these pages
demonstrate, my colleagues and our students continue to rise to every challenge placed before them.
Students in masks attending lessons during COVID-19
There is no room for complacency, however. In my sixth letter, written on the occasion of NUS Law’s 60th
anniversary, I recalled the Red Queen’s advice to Alice in Wonderland: just to stay in one place you have to
run as fast as you can; if you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that.
Rest assured that we are not standing still. Among other things, we are increasing opportunities for students
with diverse backgrounds and skills to enter law school. This makes it easier for those with backgrounds in
technology, or coming from schools with lower representation in NUS Law, to join and enrich our community.
We are also committed to being inclusive on faculty hiring, encouraging applications by individuals who
embody and embrace our values of excellence through diversity. Expanding our talent pool in this way is not
merely a question of equity: it lays broader and deeper foundations for our future success.
Being part of all these changes over the past 10 years – running alongside my colleagues, students, and our
alumni – has been the highlight of my professional life. Reviewing the achievements documented in these
pages fills me with pride in what we have achieved. And it renews my optimism about what is still to come.
1
Leadership
Mindy Chen-Wishart took up the post of Dean of the Oxford Law Faculty. Mindy
is a Professor of the Law of Contract at Oxford University and a Tutorial Fellow in
Law at Merton College. Since 2006, she has also held a fractional appointment as
a Professor at NUS Law – a position that she will continue in her new role.
Mindy Chen-Wishart
S Jayakumar ’63 was appointed NUS Pro-Chancellor and Emeritus Professor.
A graduate of our third cohort (LLB ’63), Jayakumar joined NUS Law in 1964,
rising to become Dean a decade later. He took leave from 1980 in order to enter
politics, serving as Minister for Law, Home Affairs, Foreign Affairs, and Labour,
as well as holding the positions of Deputy Prime Minister, Senior Minister, and
Coordinating Minister for National Security. He has also served as Singapore’s
Ambassador to the United Nations and was a member of its delegation to the
Law of the Sea Conference.
S Jayakumar ’63
Ho Hock Lai ’89 became the inaugural Coomaraswamy Professor of the Law of Evidence. This new Chair was
created in honour of the late Punch Coomaraswamy and his wife, Kaila Coomaraswamy. The Coomaraswamy
Professorship in the Law of Evidence has been endowed to advance Punch Coomaraswamy’s life-long love of
the law of evidence and to commemorate his commitment and contribution to equipping the faculty’s first
generation of students with a sound grasp of the theory, principles, and application of the law of evidence
in Singapore. Hock Lai is a graduate of NUS Law, who went on to obtain a BCL from Oxford in 1993 and a
PhD from Cambridge in 2003. He joined the faculty in 1991 as a Senior Tutor and progressed through the
ranks to full professor in 2009. Along the way, he has held several leadership positions, including Director
of Continuing Legal Education, Chair of the Faculty Search Committee, and Chair of the Faculty Promotion
and Tenure Committee, as well as serving as a member of the University Promotion and Tenure Committee.
Michael Bridge was appointed as the Geoffrey Bartholomew Professor.
He has held various senior appointments throughout his career, including
Executive Dean at UCL and Head of School at the University of Nottingham,
and he has held visiting professorships at leading universities around the
world. His research interests span across a range of areas within the broad
field of commercial law, including contracts, secured transactions, international
and domestic sale of goods, private international law, comparative law, and
personal property law. He revived the study of personal property law with his
Michael Bridge various books, the most important of which are the Law of Security and Title
Based Financing and the Law of Personal Property. He is the General Editor of
Benjamin’s Sale of Goods, a leading treatise in the field, and his works are cited by the highest courts in
the Commonwealth.
Andrew Simester became the Amaladass Professor of Criminal Justice on 1 July 2020. He has held visiting
positions at Oxford and Uppsala, from which he has also received an honorary doctorate. In 2015, he was
appointed to the Edmund-Davies Professorship in Criminal Law at King’s College London. This prestigious
Chair has been held by leading lights in criminal law in the United Kingdom, including Alan Norrie, Jeremy
Horder, and Andrew Ashworth, the last of whom went on to hold the Vinerian Chair at Oxford. Andrew’s
research focuses on the fields of criminal law and legal philosophy. He has established himself internationally
as a leading scholar who writes seamlessly across theory, philosophy, principle, and doctrine.
2
Andrew Simester and Andrew Halpin have been appointed as Co-Directors for the Centre for Legal
Theory (CLT). The Centre will continue with its efforts to strengthen the international standing it has acquired,
through supporting both individual and collaborative projects of its members across a broad range of
theoretical interests, developing strategic alliances with legal theory communities elsewhere, and exploring
emerging opportunities for dialogue between Western and Asian theoretical approaches towards law.
Jayagowry Appalasamy assumed the role of Head of Administration, succeeding former Associate Dean
for Administration, Goh Mia Yang ’92, who has moved on to take on the role of Senior Associate Dean
in the NUS Office of Student Affairs. We thank Mia Yang for her many years of service, which includes
additional responsibilities as Director of Administration for the Bukit Timah Campus Cluster (embracing Law,
the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, the Centre for International Law, and the East Asian Institute).
Jaya brings a wealth of experience managing events and research funding, and is well-known to those
involved with the Asian Law Institute and the Asian Society of International Law. Prior to joining NUS Law,
she spent more than a dozen years in the Ministry of Home Affairs as a senior administrator in the Singapore
Police Force. Among other activities, she continues to serve in the Singapore Armed Forces Volunteer Corps
(as an Auxiliary security trooper) and is an active grassroots volunteer. I am confident that she will continue
to ensure that our educational and research mission is carried out as efficiently and effectively as possible.
As for myself, I was honoured to be elected Co-President of the Law Schools Global League, a partnership
of 31 law schools that we helped establish in 2012. I will serve alongside Martin Hogg, Dean of Edinburgh
Law School, for a two-year term that takes the League into its second decade. The League complements and
enhances the educational and research missions of its members. But it can also provide unique opportunities
for students and faculty through legal tech venture days, career opportunities at international organisations,
and a partnership with the International Bar Association to ensure that our members’ diverse curricula
properly address the changing needs of practice.
Simon Chesterman
3
Faculty Promotions
Leong Wai Kum, Chin Tet Yung and Robert
Beckman were appointed Emeritus Professors
in recognition of their distinguished careers and
outstanding contributions to the field of law.
In her four decades of teaching, Wai Kum has trained
a generation of students in both the compulsory
module of Torts and her area of deepest expertise:
Family Law. Her defining book Elements of Family
Law in Singapore was first published in 2007, with
Leong Wai Kum, Chin Tet Yung and Robert Beckman
a second edition in 2012 and a third edition in 2018.
Chin served as Dean of the faculty from 1992 to 2001, a period that saw the launch of exchange programmes
with partner universities around the world and the establishment of NUS Law’s first two research centres –
APCEL and the Centre for Commercial Law Studies, the latter succeeded today by the EW Barker Centre for
Law & Business.
With a global reputation as a scholar of Ocean Law, and as an expert on the South China Sea, Bob has played
a transformative role in the lives of most of Singapore’s international lawyers and the many international
students with whom he has had contact. His pioneering work on the Jessup Moot led NUS Law to a record
number of victories. With the support of the legendary 1982 Jessup Team, Singapore’s National Round of the
competition was recently named after him.
Wayne Courtney was promoted to full Professor. Wayne holds a PhD and
undergraduate degrees in law and science from the University of Sydney, and
a degree in computer science from the University of Tasmania. He joined NUS
Law five years ago from Sydney, where he had been an Associate Professor and
Associate Dean. Before entering academia, he practised as a commercial lawyer
in a leading Australian law firm. His field of expertise is the law of contract in
common law jurisdictions. He takes a doctrinal approach to his research, finding
new insights and connections in the law as it stands, and also challenging
conventional thinking about contract doctrine. He draws on theory and policy to Wayne Courtney
contextualise and illuminate his doctrinal analysis.
Christian Hofmann LLM ’13 was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure. Christian’s legal education
began in Germany and includes a doctorate from Martin-Luther-Universitaet Halle-Wittenberg (summa cum
laude) and a Habilitation at Humboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin. He was a lecturer for several years and joined
the German Central Bank before being appointed Professor of Private and Business Law in Liechtenstein. In
2012, he moved to Singapore and earned LLM degrees from NYU and NUS before joining the faculty as an
Assistant Professor in 2013. In NUS Law, he is also one of the co-coordinators of the Civil Law Cluster in the
Centre for Asian Legal Studies and has been an active member of the Centre for Banking & Finance Law
(CBFL). He has also taken on the new position of Head (Central Banking & Financial Regulation) within CBFL.
Lynette J. Chua ’03 was appointed Rector of Elm College, one of the three
residential colleges at Yale-NUS. As Rector, Lynette is responsible for the intellectual
and cultural life of the residential college. She organises Rector’s Teas and works
with the Assistant Dean, Dean of Faculty, Dean of Students, Residential Fellows,
and the residential college council to support programmes aimed at community
building, student advising, wellness, and crisis management. The appointment
gives Lynette a dual administrative role at Yale-NUS, where she is also Head of
Studies for the Law-Liberal Arts Double-Degree Programme (DDP), a position to
Lynette J. Chua ’03 which she was appointed in January 2019.
4
Wee Meng Seng ’93 was appointed as Co-Director of the Asian Law Institute
(ASLI) on 1 July 2020. Meng Seng has served as Deputy Director in ASLI in the
past alongside Andrew Harding. Among other things, his work on cross-border
insolvency has established him as a regional expert in this important area.
He also represents NUS on the SAL Promotion of Singapore Law Committee.
Meng Seng remains in his position as Deputy Director of the EW Barker Centre
for Law & Business.
Wee Meng Seng ’93
Justin Tan ’10 was promoted to Senior Lecturer. Justin holds a LLB (First Class
Honours) and a Bachelor of Business Administration from NUS, as well as an
LLM in Tax Law from NYU. He practised tax law at Baker & McKenzie.Wong &
Leow, before joining NUS Law as a Sheridan Fellow in 2014 and as a Lecturer
since 2017. His teaching experience includes Torts, Singapore Law in Context,
and Tax Implications of Commercial Cross-Border Transactions, as well as Law
and Public Policy for NUS Scale. Justin’s research has been published in the
Asia-Pacific Tax Bulletin, Torts Law Journal, SJLS, and SAcLJ. He also volunteers at
the Legal Aid Bureau and has done pro bono work to assist VWOs with their data Justin Tan ’10
protection obligations.
Faculty Achievements
Kumaralingam Amirthalingam was appointed as amicus curiae to the Court of Appeal in the criminal
appeal of Abdul Karim bin Mohamed Kuppai Khan v Public Prosecutor to submit on the charging practices of
the Prosecution. He was also appointed as Expert Adviser to the Ministry of Law and as Co-convenor for the
Part A Bar Examinations in Criminal Law at the Singapore Institute of Legal Education. He was re-appointed
to the Singapore Medical Council Complaints Panel and Standing Complaints Committee.
Andrew Harding LLM ’84 was awarded a MacCormick Fellowship to visit at
Edinburgh Law School. The fellowship is named in honour of Professor Sir Neil
MacCormick (1941–2009), Regius Professor of Public Law and the Law of Nature
and Nations at the University of Edinburgh from 1972 to 2008. In recognition of
his achievements, his work and his distinguished career, he was also awarded the
Honorary Doctor of Laws from Thammasat University, Thailand.
Andrew Harding LLM ’84
Koh Kheng Lian ’61 LLM ’66 PhD ’72 was awarded the “Environmental Lawyer
of the Year 2020 (ASEAN)” by the Asian Research Institute for Environmental Law,
for her scholarship in environmental law, and for the promotion of the concept
of ASEAN Environmental Law. In a tribute to Kheng Lian, Emeritus Professor Ben
Boer noted her remarkable academic specialization in ASEAN environmental law.
She was a consultant to the Asian Development Bank in capacity building for
environmental law, and under her leadership, APCEL rose to become the region’s
reputed centre of excellence for capacity building in environmental law in the Koh Kheng Lian ’61
Asia- Pacific region. LLM ’66 PhD ’72
5
Lan Luh Luh ’89 was appointed as a member to the Singapore Law Society Inquiry Panel committee with
effect from 2020. She was also appointed by the Singapore Institute of Legal Education as the Subject
Coordinator for the Part A Bar Examinations in Company Law (with effect from 2021), succeeding Walter
Woon ’81.
Joel Lee was appointed to serve at the Singapore Construction Mediation Centre’s Advisory Panel. He was
also appointed as a Specialist Visiting Professor for the Master of Arts in Mediation and Conflict Resolution
at the Maharashtra National Law University Mumbai, and as an Expert Advisor to the Expert Committee on
Mediation under the Mediation and Conciliation Project Committee of the Supreme Court of India. He was
also recognized in “Who’s Who Legal 2020” as Global Leader in Mediation.
Ernest Lim ’02 was awarded the 2020 Society of Legal Scholars Peter Birks Book Prize for Outstanding
Legal Scholarship (joint second prize) − the premier law book prize in the English-speaking world − for his
monograph, A Case for Shareholders' Fiduciary Duties in Common Law Asia (Cambridge University Press,
2019). This book reconceptualises the role of shareholders as one that should include fiduciary duties. It
demonstrates why, when, by whom and how fiduciary duties should be imposed and how they could be
enforced. It debunks the long-standing orthodoxy that shareholders can generally vote as they please;
proposes a new conception of corporate interest; and addresses the deficiencies in the law regulating conflicts
of interest involving controlling and institutional shareholders.
Lin Lin LLM ’06 PhD ’10 was appointed as the Senior Fellow at the University of Melbourne and taught an
inventive course on Commercial Law in Asia at the Melbourne Law School in 2020. She was also appointed
as the mediator of the Hainan International Commercial Mediation Center, and a member of the Editorial
Committee of Singapore Venture Capital Investment Model Agreements (VIMA) Handbook, a project led
by the Singapore Academy of Law and Singapore Venture Capital and Private Equity Association, of which,
she is the only member from academia. Lin Lin was also appointed as a Guest Editor of the European
Business Organization Law Review, a leading law journal on business law, broadly defined and including both
European Union law and the laws of the Member States and other European countries.
Jaclyn Neo ’03 was appointed Professorial Fellow to the AGC Academy and elected
to the Executive Committee of the ASEAN Law Association (Singapore). Established
in 1979, the ASEAN Law Association is a non-governmental organisation that
brings together the ASEAN legal fraternity of judges, government, and practising
lawyers and teachers of law. Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon ’86 is currently the
elected President of the ASEAN Law Association and the Singapore committee is
chaired by Supreme Court Justice Lee Seiu Kin ’86.
Jaclyn Neo ’03 Jaclyn was also appointed to the editorial board of the Journal of Law and Religion,
one of the oldest and most established journals in the subject area. In addition,
she joined the dynamic editorial team at ICONnect (the blog of the International Journal of Constitutional
Law), an international academic blog on public law. She also joined an eminent Panel of International Jury for
the Baxter Family Competition on Federalism 2020-2021.
Jeffrey Pinsler SC was reappointed as a Member of the Board of Governors of the Singapore Judicial
College and the Professional Conduct Council of Singapore.
6
Stephen Phua ’88 received the Public Service Medal for his contributions as the
Chairman of the Home Team Corps Council. He was also appointed as Member
of the Independent Review Panel at the Ministry of Home Affairs and a Member
of Curriculum and Education Development at the IRAS Tax Academy.
Stephen Phua ’88
Dan W. Puchniak was appointed as an Associate of Melbourne Law School’s Asian Law Centre, a Member
of the Supervisory Council for the Seoul National University Asia-Pacific Law Institute, an Editorial Board
Member of the Chinese Journal of Comparative Law, and an International Editorial Board Member of the
Moscow University Herald (Series 11, Law, published by Lomonosov Moscow State University).
Umakanth Varottil PhD ’10 and Dan W. Puchniak
were appointed as Research Members of the European
Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI). Members are
appointed on the basis of their significant contribution
to the field of corporate governance study and are
selected on the basis of strict criteria by a committee.
ECGI distributes the work of the research members
through its extensive global network which comprises
of practitioner, academic and institutional members. Umakanth Varottil PhD ’10 Dan W. Puchniak
Wee Meng Seng ’93 gave a Mandarin public lecture on 11 December 2020, organised by Fudan University,
under its Chung Hui Distinguished Lecture Series, on the topic "The Lessons of English Insolvency Law for
China: Culture, Doctrines and Experiment". Chung Hui Distinguished Lecture Series is the most prestigious
lecture series at Fudan Law, where leading legal scholars from around the world share research insights with
the faculty and students from Fudan Law, other law schools in China, the judiciary, the legal profession and
the general public.
In addition, Meng Seng co-wrote a policy paper with Chen Li LLM ’10 & ’11 on reforms to China’s cross-
border insolvency law, which was submitted to the Chinese government in 2020. Response to the views
expressed have been positive and the Chinese government has started to research the reforms of China’s
cross-border insolvency law.
Tan Zhong Xing ’12 received the University-level
2020 Annual Teaching Excellence Award.
At the faculty level, Cheah Wui Ling ’03 LLM ’06,
Jean Ho Qing Ying ’03, Christian Hofmann LLM
’13, Rachel Leow Pei Si ’11, Benny Tan Zhi Peng
’12, and Sandra Booysen LLM ’03 PhD ’09 received
the 2020 Annual Teaching Excellence Award.
Jean Ho Qing Ying ’03 Benny Tan Zhi Peng ’12
7
2020 Faculty Annual Teaching Excellence Awards
Recruiting and Retaining the Best Faculty
We welcomed new and returning faculty to NUS Law, laying strong foundations for the future of legal
education and research.
NUS Law welcomed Timothy Liau ’14 as an Assistant Professor. Timothy
graduated top of his class, after which he joined the faculty as one of our
inaugural batch of Sheridan Fellows. He left for graduate studies at Oxford as a
Clarendon Scholar, where he read for the BCL (2016), MPhil (2017), and recently
completed the DPhil (2020). He taught Commercial Remedies in the BCL and was
a Stipendiary Lecturer at Merton College, Oxford, where he was also a Graduate
Prize Scholar. His primary research interests are private law and commercial
law. He also maintains a wider interest in the philosophy of private law, and
Timothy Liau ’14 is particularly interested in remedial questions. Recent publications include a
chapter on “Proprietary Restitution” in a Handbook on Unjust Enrichment and
Restitution (Edward Elgar Publishing 2020), and a forthcoming article in Lloyd’s Maritime and Commercial
Law Quarterly on “Birksian themes and their impact in England and Singapore”. He is currently working on
a monograph, entitled “Standing in Private Law”.
Ang Si Yi joined NUS Law as an Assistant Professor under the Practice Track
scheme, which has been expanded to grow our clinical faculty and increase
experiential learning opportunities for our students. Si Yi graduated from the
University of Queensland, Australia in 2012 and was called to the Singapore
Bar in 2014. Si Yi started her career in a boutique litigation firm, focusing on
commercial litigation and international arbitration. Prior to joining us, Si Yi was a
Senior Associate with Drew & Napier LLC.
Ang Si Yi
8
Ryan Whalen joined us as an Assistant Professor. Ryan’s research takes a data-
driven approach to understanding the law and legal systems, with a particular
focus on intellectual property law, computational legal studies methodology, and
legal technology. His work unites traditional doctrinal analyses with empirical
techniques drawn from diverse fields including machine learning, natural language
processing, network analysis, and data science. Ryan holds a BA (Hons) from Saint
Mary’s University (Canada), an MA from National Chengchi University (Taiwan),
a JD from the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, and a PhD from
Ryan Whalen Northwestern University. While at Northwestern, Ryan served as the editor-in-
chief of the Northwestern University Law Review. Prior to joining NUS Law, Ryan
held positions at the University of Hong Kong and Dalhousie University.
Kenneth Khoo ’15 joined us as a Lecturer. Previously a Sheridan Fellow, Kenneth
graduated from NUS with a Bachelor of Laws (First Class Honours) and a Bachelor
of Social Sciences (Economics) (First Class Honours), from the London School of
Economics and Political Science with a Master of Science in Economics in 2018,
and from Yale Law School with a Master of Laws in 2019. He also received the
Ministry of Trade and Industry (Economist Service) Prize for Best Thesis in Economics
from NUS. Kenneth has research and teaching interests in hybrid areas where Law
and Economics intersect, especially in commercial subjects like Competition Law,
Corporate Law and Contract Law. His work has been published in local and foreign Kenneth Khoo ’15
journals like the Journal of Competition Law and Economics and the Singapore
Journal of Legal Studies. He is currently a doctoral student at Yale University.
Allen Sng Kiat Peng ’18 was appointed as Sheridan Fellow. Allen graduated from NUS Law in 2018 with
First Class Honours and was awarded the NUSS Medal for Outstanding Achievement and the Outstanding
Undergraduate Research Prize. Allen has provided advisory services to the Finance and Projects Department
of Baker & McKenzie.Wong & Leow, and has worked on several financial technology related transactions,
including developing consumer financing structures for a platform operator and developing crowdlending
platforms. Allen has a strong passion for public service work. He presently heads the NUS In-Person Deputyship
Application Programme, of which he was a volunteer since 2015, and is a member of the SAL Law Reform
Subcommittee for Civil Remedies. Allen also previously assisted the Family Justice Courts on a law reform
project between 2016-2017, improving access to justice for litigants-in-persons in deputyship applications.
Tan Weiming also joined us as Sheridan Fellow. His research interests are primarily in areas of Chancery
Law, remedies and restitution for wrongs. He obtained his Bachelor of Laws from King’s College London,
ranking second amongst his cohort. Weiming also holds a Bachelor of Civil Law from the University of
Oxford, where he clinched the South Square Chambers prize for Corporate Insolvency Law. Prior to joining
the National University of Singapore, Weiming served as a Deputy Public Prosecutor and State Counsel in the
Attorney-General’s Chambers. He also had a stint at the Insolvency and Public Trustee’s Office as an Assistant
Official Assignee and Public Trustee. While in practice, Weiming was also an adjunct faculty at the Singapore
Management University teaching Business Law to undergraduates.
We also welcomed Daryl Yong Jun Wei ’15 as an Instructor. Daryl previously served as a Teaching Assistant,
prior to which he practised with Drew & Napier.
9
Research Excellence
NUS Law continues to produce outstanding scholarship across the spectrum of legal research. In addition to
dozens of scholarly articles and book chapters, as well as scores of conference papers, the following books
were published in 2020:
Contract Law in Singapore: Handbook on Good Treaty Practice
Cases, Materials and Commentary
by Jill Barrett and Robert Beckman
by Burton Ong ’99 and (Cambridge University Press)
Benjamin Wong ’15
(Academy Publishing)
Creative Licence: Property Rights: A Re-Examination
The Regulation of Media
in Singapore by James Penner
(Oxford University Press)
by Benny Tan ’12 and
Eleanor Wong ’85
(Academy Publishing)
Constitutional and Administrative Shadows Across the Golden Land:
Law in Singapore: Cases, Myanmar’s Opening, Foreign
Materials and Commentary Influence and Investment
by Kevin Tan ’86 and Thio Li-ann by Simon S C Tay ’86
(Academy Publishing) (World Scientific)
Criminal Defences under the Sustainability and Corporate
Penal Code of Bhutan Mechanisms in Asia
by Stanley Yeo ’76 and by Ernest Lim ’02
Dema Lham (Cambridge University Press)
(Kuensel)
10We also welcomed the following new editions:
Benjamin’s Sale of goods Strata Title in Singapore and
(11th Edition) Malaysia (6th Edition)
by Michael Bridge (gen ed) by Teo Keang Sood
(Sweet & Maxwell) (LexisNexis)
Carver on Charterparties The Modern Contract of
(2nd Edition) Guarantee (4th Edition)
by Howard Bennett, Julia Dias, by Waye Courtney
Stephen Girvin, Stephen Hofmeyr, (Sweet & Maxwell)
Simon Kerr, Alexander MacDonald,
Peter MacDonald Eggers, and
Richard Sarll
(Sweet & Maxwell)
Evidence and the Litigation The Sale of Goods
(7th Edition) (4th Edition)
by Jeffrey Pinsler SC by Michael Bridge
(LexisNexis) (Oxford University Press)
Lye Lin Heng’s Landlord and Tenant
Law in Singapore (2nd Edition)
Lye Lin Heng ’73, Koh Swee Yen
’04 and Elaine Chew ’09
(LexisNexis)
Our faculty also edited major works on a variety of topics of national and international significance.
These include:
ASEAN-EU Partnership: Fifty Secrets of Singapore’s Success
The Untold Story
by Tommy Koh ’61
by Tommy Koh ’61 and (Straits Times Press)
Lay Hwee Yeo
(World Scientific)
11Authoritarian Legality in Asia: India on Our Minds
Formation, Development and
Transition by Tommy Koh ’61 and
Hernaikh Singh
by Chen Weitseng and (World Scientific Publishing)
Fu Hualing (eds)
(Cambridge University Press)
Climate Change Litigation in the Routledge Handbook of Freedom
Asia Pacific of Religion or Belief
by Jolene Lin Dip.Sing.Law ’05 By Silvio Ferrari, Mark Hill QC,
and Douglas A. Kysar Arif A Jamal and Rossella Bottoni
(Cambridge University Press) (Routledge International
Handbooks)
Computational Legal Studies: Singapore Journal of Legal Studies
The Promise and Challenge of (Special Issue)
Data-Driven Research
by Lin Lin LLM ’06 PhD ’10
by Ryan Whalen and Dora Neo
(Edward Elgar Publishing)
Constitutional Change in The Cambridge Handbook of
Singapore: Reforming the Copyright Limitations and Exceptions
Elected Presidency
by Shyamkrishna Balganesh,
by Jaclyn Neo ’03 and Ng-Loy Wee Loon ’87 and
Swati Jhaveri Sun Haochen LLM ’06
(Routledge) (Cambridge University Press)
Contemporary Issues in The Chinese Journal of
Mediation Volume 5 Comparative Law (Special Issue)
by Joel Lee and Marcus Lim ’12 by Wee Meng Seng ’93 and
(World Scientific) Wang Jiangyu
(Oxford University Press)
European Business Organization The Reform Decade: Corporate and
Law Review (Special Issue) Commercial Law in India
by Lin Lin LLM ’06 PhD ’10 by Umakanth Varottil PhD ’10,
and Hans Tjio Mihir Naniwadekar and V. Niranjan
(Springer) (Eastern Book Company)
12Impact
In addition to producing a scholarship that changes the way law is thought about, many colleagues also had
a direct impact on how it is practised.
Tan Hsien-Li PhD ’09 spoke at the “Asian Legislative Experts Symposium (ALES)
– Legislations on Infectious Diseases and cooperative measures of Asia countries
in the post COVID-19 era” on 25 November 2020. The event was co-hosted
by The Republic of Korea, Ministry of Government Legislation and the Korea
Legislation Research Institute. On Human Rights Day, 10 December 2020, Hsien-
Li and Alison Duxbury discussed their co-authored book “Can ASEAN Take
Human Rights Seriously” at a webinar hosted by the ASEAN Intergovernmental
Commission on Human Rights – Indonesia (AICHR Indonesia). Other panellists
Tan Hsien-Li PhD ’09 included Yuyun Wahyuningrun (AICHR Indonesia representative) and Eric Paulsen
(former AICHR Malaysia representative).
Joel Lee’s book “An Asian Perspective on Mediation” was identified by the Bar Council of India as a
recommended reading for all Universities and Centres of Legal Education in India offering an LLB degree in a
mandatory course “Mediation with Conciliation”.
Helena Whalen-Bridge LLM ’02’s article “Negative Narrative: Reconsidering Client Portrayals” won the
Legal Writing Institute Teresa Godwin Phelps Award for Scholarship in Legal Communication. The Selection
Committee unanimously recommended Helena for the prize, which is the highest honour for research in
legal rhetoric. The Phelps Award honours and draws attention to individual works of outstanding scholarship
specific to the legal writing discipline that are published in any given calendar year, and it is meant to set
aspirational standards for others writing in the field.
Dora Neo was appointed by UNIDROIT (the International Institute for the
Unification of Private Law) to its Model Law on Warehouse Receipts Working
Group. The Working Group will develop a comprehensive draft for a Model
Law on Warehouse Receipts over the period 2020-2022. The completed draft
will be submitted for intergovernmental negotiations through an UNCITRAL
Working Group.
Dora Neo
Arif Jamal and Jaclyn Neo ’03 convened the second edition of the Muslim Law Practice Course in February
2020. The Course is a collaboration between Centre for Asian Legal Studies, the Syariah Court of Singapore
and the MUIS Academy, and supported by the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY). Spanning
three modules over one and a half days, the course provided more systematic training in Muslim law for
practitioners.
Teo Keang Sood’s publications on land law and strata title were cited by the Singapore High Court in Yeo
Sok Hoon & Ors v Tan Thiam Chye & Anor [2020] SGHC 202 at [95] and [98], and Chan Sze Ying v MCST
Plan No 2948 [2020] SGHC 88 at [56]; and by the Malaysian Federal Court, Court of Appeal and High Court
in Weng Lee Granite Quarry Sdn Bhd v Majlis Perbandaran Seberang Perai [2020] 1 MLJ 211 at [25], Ideal
Advantage Sdn Bhd v Perbadanan Pengurusan Palm Spring @ Damansara and Anor appeal [2020] 4 MLJ 93
at [39], [82], [87] and [92], and Asia Plywood Co Sdn Bhd v Aeon Co (M) Bhd & Anor [2020] 8 MLJ 736 at
[37] respectively.
13The Court of Appeal handed down judgment in Saravanan s/o Chandaram v
Public Prosecutor [2020] SGCA 43 in which Kumaralingam Amirthalingam
appeared as amicus curiae. Accepting his key submissions, the Court overruled
its own long-standing precedent, significantly changing the law on some aspects
of drug trafficking.
Kumaralingam Amirthalingam
Koh Kheng Lian ’61 LLM ’66 PhD ’72 participated
at the Odyssey Connect conference on 4-5 February
2020, The Hague. Kheng Lian gave an introduction of
the Singapore Model AI Governance Framework,
2020 with ICEL members, Professor Victor Tafur
and headed by its Executive Governor, Professor
N A Robinson, and members of the Sargasso
Sea Commission, Professors David Freestone and
Howard Roe.
Singapore Model AI Governance Framework, 2020
Student Appointments
Congratulations to six of our alumni from the
Class of 2020, who have been selected as Justices’
Law Clerks (JLC). As JLCs, Megan Chua ’20, Ho
Linming ’20, Jonathan Tan ’20, Huang Qianwei
Violet ’20, Chong Ren Jie ’20 and Perry Peh ’20
(not in picture) will undertake legal research, draft
bench memorandums and provide hearing related
assistance to Judges of the High Court and the Court
of Appeal.
Justices’ Law Clerks from the Class of 2020
The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) has
launched a new “Young IP Mediators” initiative. NUS
Law’s alumni Levin Lin ’20 and Chloe Chua ’20, and
current student Utsav Rakshit ’21, were appointed
as Young IP Mediators recently. This appointment
enables them to gain experience and exposure to
real life cases with real stakes and consequences, and
allows them to play a part in promoting the use of
mediation, something they strongly believe in.
Levin Lin ’20, Chloe Chua ’20 and Utsav Rakshit ’21
14Student Achievements
The year 2020 presented obvious challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Classes and exams shifted to
Zoom and other virtual formats, while extra-curricular activities presented their own challenges. Yet it was
wonderful to see how quickly and successfully our students adapted to the new normal.
NUS Law defended its title as Regional Champions in the 24th Annual Stetson International Environmental
Moot Court Competition. The NUS Law team, comprising Caryn Mark ’20, Fok Theng Fong ’21, and
Stanley Woo ’22, eventually faced the University of Philippines in the Championship Round, emerging
as Regional Champions and winning the prize for Second Best Memorial. The other team comprising
Zhang Wen ’21, Glenn Ang ’22, and Mark Tang ’22 were Semi-finalists and clinched the prize for Best
Memorial, while Theng Fong was awarded the Best Oralist in the Championship Round and 5th Best Oralist
of the Regional Round.
We also clinched top awards at the 2020 Lex
Infinitum Competition held in Goa, India, from 8 to
11 January 2020. The competition aims to promote
the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution in India
as well as abroad. After seven intense rounds of
negotiation against two dozen international teams,
Arjit Pandey ’22 and Darren Chen ’22 emerged
as Champions in the Negotiating Team category
while Nikhil Angappan ’21 was Champion in the
Mediator category. Nikhil was also presented the Dr.
M.R.K. Prasad Lex Infinitum Incentive Award as the
2020 Lex Infinitum Best Mediator from an International Team.
Natalee Ho ’20, Violet Huang ’20, Gwendolyn
Oh ’21, Lydia Lee ’20, and Tan Fong Han ’20
emerged as Champions of the 2020 Singapore
National Round of the Philip C. Jessup International
Law Moot Court Competition. NUS Law swept all of
the prizes, including Best Memorial of the National
Round. Natalee also received the Best Oralist Award.
2020 Phillip C. Jessup International Law
Moot Court Competition
The Finals of the Wong Partnership International
Commercial Arbitration Moot 2020 were held on
3 March 2020. Ernest Low ’22, Darryl Ong ’22,
and Nicole Seah ’22 were awarded the Champion,
First and Second Runners-up respectively, while
Ashleigh Gan ’22 was awarded the Best Memo.
Wong Partnership International Commercial
Arbitration Moot 2020
15Bodi Siddartha ’22, Nadine Quah ’21,
Nah Sze Perng ’23, and Thomas Lee ’21 clinched
the First Place Brief at the 3rd INTA Asia-Pacific Moot
Court Competition. Stella Teng ’22, Ernest Low
’22, Vidya Singanathan ’22, and Alex Chia ’22
won the prize for Second Place Brief.
3rd INTA Asia-Pacific Moot Court Competition
Christine Saw Hui Ying ’20, Li Xingyi ’20, and
Yomna Mohamed Abdelaziz Elewa LLM ’20
brought home the champion trophy of the 34th Jean-
Pictet Humanitarian Law Competition 2020 to NUS
for the second time.
Jean-Pictet Humanitarian Law Competition
Shilpa Krishnan ’22, Wesley Chai ’22, and Jiang Zhifeng ’23 emerged as the Asia-Pacific Regional
Runners-up of the Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition 2020.
As our competitions shifted online, the NUS Law
team of Isabella Tan ’21 and Nikhil Angappan ’21,
won first place in the virtual National Round of the
International Negotiation Competition (INC) 2020,
between NUS Law and SMU Law.
International Negotiation Competition (INC) 2020
We also placed first at the virtual APAC Friendly
of the International Criminal Court Moot Court
Competition 2020 for Best Government Team, Best
Prosecution Team and Team with the Highest Average
Scores. Huang Wanting ’20 and Choo Qian Ke ’21
were named the Best Oralists.
International Criminal Court Moot Court Competition 2020
16The NUS Law team comprising Ryan Kwan
’21, Rachel Ang ’20, Abigail Wong ’20, and
Priscilla Seah ’21 were first runners-up in the 6th
Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) Competition Law Moot
Competition. Ryan was awarded Best Advocate and
Rachel received an Honourable Mention for her
advocacy skills.
6th Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) Competition
Law Moot Competition
The inaugural three-day International Online Mediation Competition, organised by the ADR ODR International
in partnership with the European Institute for Conflict Resolution (EICR), was held from 24 to 26 July 2020.
A total of the 34 teams from 17 countries participated, and of these, 12 teams were students from
NUS Law.
International Online Mediation Competition
NEGOTIATION CATEGORY MEDIATION CATEGORY
Champions First Runners-Up
• Keith Kaixian Wong ’21 • Esther Lee ’22
• Ong Kye Jing ’21 • Johanna Lim ’23
• Rochelle Lim ’21 • Nichelle Chee ’23
• Coach: Tay Hui Lyi ’21
First Runners-Up
• Coach: Tan Pei Han ’22
• Ryan Jay Naidu ’23
• Tristan Tan ’23 Top Four (Mediation)
• Vishnu Menon ’23 • Cheyenne Lim ’23
• Coach: Louis Chew ’21 • Jolene Gina Abelarde ’23
• Coach: Audity Binte Tareq ’22 • Nicole Marie Christopher ’23
• Coach: Tay Hui Lyi ’21
• Coach: Tan Pei Han ’22
17The inaugural Legal Eagle Challenge 2020,
organised by the Singapore Corporate Counsel
Association (“SCCA”), concluded on 8 August.
This was Singapore’s first in-house competition for
law students, and this year’s Challenge invited law
students to step into the shoes of a fictional charity’s
General Counsel and advise its board of directors on
issues facing the charity due to COVID-19.
Two teams from NUS Law made it to the Finals.
The winning team comprising Bodi Siddartha ’22,
The inaugural Legal Eagle Challenge 2020 Seah Ding Hang ’22, Wee Min ’22, and Yang
Siqi ’22, impressed the judges with an excellent
presentation that seamlessly switched between providing legal advice and weighing the pros and cons for
each legal option.
The second NUS Law team in the finals was awarded the Most Business Savvy Team Award. The team
members Alison Ng ’23, Johanna Lim Ziyun ’23, Lai Sin Yee ’23, and Nichelle Chee Sijie ’23, overcame
technical issues and put up a strong performance with a presentation that included a cost benefit analysis
accurately addressing the commercial concerns of the board.
Alfred Li ’20 and Timothy Chong ’21 were
champion and first runner-up respectively at the
4th Maritime Law Association of Singapore (MLAS)
Maritime Mooting Competition.
4th Maritime Law Association of Singapore (MLAS)
Maritime Mooting Competition.
NUS Law won the first and third places in the 4th ADC-
ICC Asia-Pacific Commercial Mediation Competition
that took place virtually from 30 August - 1 September
2020. The champion team comprised of Eugene
Lau ’21, Jonathan Lee ’21, Kim Haeyoung ’21,
and Chan You Quan ’22. The team that came in 3rd
comprised of Jaypy Pillay ’22, Lee Yee Teng ’22,
and Joel See ’23.
4th ADC-ICC Asia-Pacific Commercial Mediation Competition
18Abigail Wong ’20, Choo Qian Ke ’21, Lee Hyun
Jo ’21, and Lim Jia Ren ’21 emerged as First and
Second Runners-up respectively in the Linklaters-
Denis Chang’s Chambers Law Moot Competition
2020.
Linklaters-Denis Chang’s Chambers
Law Moot Competition 2020
NUS Law took the top position at the B.A. Mallal Moot
2020, which was conducted virtually in October.
Kevin Tang ’23 took the top prize, Kyna Chew
’23 and Melvinder Singh ’23 were the second
runners-up, and Phoon Yi Hao ’23 took the Best
Memorial Award.
B.A. Mallal Moot 2020
Samuel Wittberger ’21, Lai Shueh Chien ’21, Vidya Singanathan ’22, and Adam Ho ’22 took the 5th
position in the 2020 FDI Moot Global Oral Rounds. In addition, Samuel Wittberger and Vidya Singanathan
were awarded 2nd and 16th Best Oralists in the competition.
The NUS Law contingent took the top prize at
the 19th Intercollegiate Negotiation Competition
(INC) organised by Sophia University. The students,
comprising of Tay Hui Ting ’24, Samuel Wee
’24, Jeriel Teo ’24, Kaezeel Yeo ’24, Glenda Tan
’24, Matilda Mag ’24, Yoon Shwe Yee ’24, and
Edwin Chan ’24, received the prestigious Sumitomo
Competition Award and the Squire Patton Boggs
Award, awarded to the university that achieved the
highest number of total scores.
19th Intercollegiate Negotiation Competition (INC)
Student Life
For several decades, the graduating class of NUS Law
has written and staged a musical production - both
as a swan song to their years in school, and to raise
funds for charity. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic,
the Class of 2020’s performance faced even more
challenges than normal. Law IV 2020: Undue
Influence was a musical about a bona fide murder
mystery, comprising 16 songs, choreographed dance
sequences, multifunctional stage sets towering over
the stage, and a new record to sponsorships. Unable
to be performed in person, the musical was recorded Law IV 2020: Undue Influence
and streamed on YouTube, with a “live” première on
22 May 2020. It has since reached a viewership of thousands - more than the three scheduled performances
could have reached.
19Service to the Community
Centre for Pro Bono & Clinical Legal Education
Eleanor Wong ’85 has been appointed Director of the Centre for Pro Bono &
Clinical Legal Education (CPBCLE), with Sonita Jeyapathy ’03 and Benny Tan
’12 as Deputy Directors from July 2020.
Under its new leadership, the Centre is broadening and deepening the experiential
learning opportunities for NUS Law’s students in both the pro bono and clinical
programmes.
Eleanor Wong ’85 In relation to law clinics, the Centre is partnering with practitioners and external
organizations to increase opportunities for our students, especially in litigation
work. In addition to our existing partnership with the Legal Aid Bureau, under which students get exposure to
matrimonial cases, we have also established clinics where students assist in Criminal Legal Aid Scheme cases
and Legal Aid Scheme for Capital Offences matters.
The Centre also administers the Singapore Institute of Legal Education pro bono programme for law students,
and works closely with student groups like the Pro Bono Group and the Criminal Justice Club to generate
opportunities for our students to experience and assist in pro bono projects. Early in the pandemic, many
in-person opportunities were cancelled or postponed. However, as Singapore adapted to conditions, new
remote or hybrid ways of serving the community were established and activities picked up. Examples of
such opportunities, which our students assisted in, include the Parachute Project, COV-AID, the Simplified
Insolvency Programme and the Re-align Framework (schemes by the Ministry of Law to help small companies
that require support to restructure their debts or wind up their businesses in a quicker or lower-cost manner,
and to provide businesses with a quick and fair way to renegotiate selected contracts respectively).
Eleanor has served as Vice Dean for Student Affairs since January 2015. Among other achievements, she
has transformed our approach to career services, creating new ways for students to develop professional
experience while at law school through initiatives like Talent Connect and Attorney Assessment. Adding
CPBCLE to her portfolio will provide an opportunity to broaden and deepen the experiential learning
opportunities for our students in both the pro bono and clinical programmes, and will build on administrative
synergies between the Student Affairs and CPBCLE missions.
Sonita has served as Deputy Director of the Legal Skills Programme since January
2013. In that role, Sonita has been actively involved in the full spectrum of
offerings in the Legal Skills Programme. This includes the foundational first-year
Legal Analysis, Research and Communication (LARC) module and Corporate
Deals, the second-year transactional skills module. She is already a familiar face
at CPBCLE, having run several corporate legal clinics as electives for third and
final year law students. As Deputy Director of the Centre, she will have primary
oversight for administering the Centre’s corporate clinical programmes.
Sonita Jeyapathy ’03
Benny joined NUS Law after a stint as Deputy Public Prosecutor with the Attorney-
General’s Chambers. He was an adjunct instructor for LARC before joining the
faculty where he today focuses on criminal and sentencing law, and criminal
evidence and procedure. He has also acted, on an ad hoc and pro bono basis,
as defence counsel in criminal cases. As Deputy Director of the Centre, his main
role will be overseeing the compulsory pro bono programme for the students,
as well as coordinating contentious and litigation-based (eg. criminal law, family
law) clinics.
Benny Tan ’12
20Parachute Project
Parachute is a new collaboration between NUS Pro Bono Group (PBG) (Faculty of Law Advisor, Associate
Professor Helena Whalen-Bridge LLM ’02), Students for a Safer NUS (SafeNUS), and NUS Victim Care Unit
(VCU).
Victims of sexual assault often lack information and resources regarding the steps and processes they have to
go through, should they wish to take action. This project aims to produce a one-stop information platform
for victims of sexual assault and friends of victims within the NUS community.
In Parachute, member law students from PBG conduct research on the current laws on sexual assault,
sentencing, and other relevant areas, such as doxxing and defamation. With contributions from SafeNUS and
the VCU, this information will be publicised on a joint platform. The information will also be utilised by VCU’s
care officers in answering questions posed by victims, as part of their support services.
COV-AID
Amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, NUS Law proudly celebrated our students’ efforts to establish a
new pro bono project called COV-AID. COV-AID was born out of our students’ desire to play their part in
helping the public comprehend the vast array of laws, regulations, and legal issues arising from the pandemic.
Launched on Singapore’s National Day, 9 August 2020, COV-AID pays tribute to our front-liners who are
leading the nation’s fight against the pandemic.
The COV-AID website serves as a comprehensive one-stop portal presenting explanations on how to navigate
COVID-19-related laws, government grants, and relief programmes. Another unique feature is “Academics
on Pandemics”, which showcases thought leadership essays by NUS Law academics and guest professors on
how COVID-19 has disrupted lives and the economy. Notable essays include contributions by NUS President
Tan Eng Chye, Ambassador Tommy Koh ’61, Iris Chiu ’97, Tan Hsien-Li PhD ’09, and Tan Zhong Xing
’12. The third flagship feature is “Conversations with Lawyers”, presenting interviews with top lawyers on
how the pandemic affects their work and the future of legal practice. Speakers include President of the Law
Society Gregory Vijayendran ’92, Malathi Das ’92, Connie Heng ’95, Shirin Tang ’00, Daryl Chew ’06,
Aidil Zulkifli ’10, and Seow Tzi Yang ’11.
The team behind COV-AID comprises the founder Anders Seah ’22, co-founder Mark Tang ’22 (both Law
3’s), and a core team of dedicated members advised by Alan Tan ’93. The team, in turn, supervises nearly
80 law students involved in a variety of tasks, including researching laws and authoring guides on safe
distancing, legal reliefs, Stay-at-Home Notices, and the attendant policies on business, religious, construction,
wedding, sporting and court activities. An outstanding feature of the project is the valuable experience
gleaned by students in interacting with and interviewing nearly 20 leading lawyers on how the pandemic has
affected areas of legal practice such as banking, family law, employment, construction, taxation, intellectual
property, insolvency, competition, and tech innovation.
COV-AID Executive Committee
21Alumni Relations & Development
Over the years, NUS Law alumni have been vital to the success and reputation of the faculty, and 2020
was no exception. Our alumni have continued to make us proud with many stellar achievements worthy of
recognition. The following is just a fraction of their accomplishments.
In judicial appointments, Dedar Singh Gill ’83 and Mavis Chionh LLM ’05 were elevated to Judges of the
High Court, and Vincent Hoong ’82 was appointed as Presiding Judge of the State Courts of Singapore. In
addition, Andre Francis Maniam ’90 and Kwek Mean Luck Dip.Sing.Law ’96 were appointed as Judicial
Commissioners of the Supreme Court. In October 2020, Guy Ghazali ’05 started in her new role as Senior
President of the Syariah Court.
At the 2020 General Election, a total of 12 of our
alumni were elected to Parliament to represent
both the PAP and the Workers’ Party. They are
K. Shanmugam ’84, Indranee Thurai Rajah ’86,
Sylvia Lim ’88, Lim Biow Chuan ’88, Murali Pillai
’92 LLM ’00, Edwin Tong ’94, Patrick Tay ’95
LLM ’99, Desmond Lee ’01, Rahayu Mahzam
’03, Christopher de Souza Grad.Dip.Sing.Law
’03, Vikram Nair Grad.Dip.Sing.Law ’05, and Zhulkarnain bin Abdul Rahim ’05 Raj Joshua Thomas ’12
Zhulkarnain bin Abdul Rahim ’05. In January this
year, Raj Joshua Thomas ’12 was appointed as one
of the nine new Nominated Members of Parliament.
For the third year running,
all three Senior Counsels
appointed in 2021 are
alumni from NUS Law.
They are Abraham
Vergis ’98, Goh Yihan
’06, and Kristy Tan ’04.
They join the 64 alumni
Abraham Vergis ’98 Goh Yihan ’06 Kristy Tan ’04 (out of a total of 91
Senior Counsels) who
have been recognized
with this title.
Last August, Rena Lee ’92 LLM ’98 took over the reins as Chief Executive of the Intellectual Property Office
of Singapore from Daren Tang ’97, who has taken up the post of Director General of the World Intellectual
Property Office (see our feature in the most recent LawLink).
During the National Day Awards, S Jayakumar ’63 was conferred the Order of Temasek (with High Distinction)
in recognition of his many years of dedicated service to the nation. Chandra Mohan K Nair, PBM ’76,
George Lim Teong Jin, PBM ’81, and Latiff Bin Ibrahim, PBM ’85 were awarded the Public Service Star,
and David Chong Gek Sian ’84 received the Public Administration Medal (Gold) (Bar). Toh Hwee Lian ’90,
Kevin Ng Choong Yeong ’92, Hay Hung Chun Dip.Sing.Law ’95, and Edwin San Ong Kyar ’99 were
awarded the Public Administration Medal (Silver); and Karen Ang Aiping ’05, Looi Kwok Peng ’85, and
Denise Wong Jin-hua ’94 received the Public Administration Medal (Bronze).
22Other recipients include Kevin Yong Ee Wen ’06 who received The Commendation Medal, and Lee Chin
Seon ’87, Faridah Eryani Bte Pairin ’91, Stephen Phua Lye Huat ’88, and Tan Ken Hwee ’94 who all
received the Public Service Medal. Last but not least, Lau Wing Yum ’87, Alan Tan Khee Jin ’93, Anilkumar
Kishinchand Samtani ’93 LLM ’97, Kan Shuk Weng ’93, Terence Chua Seng Leng Dip.Sing.Law ’95,
Michael Ewing-Chow Hur Kuang ’95, Christopher Ong Siu Jin ’97, Foo Chi Hsia ’94, and Koh Kew
Soon ’96 were all recognised with Long Service Awards.
Veronica Lai ’92, Chief Corporate Officer at Starhub, was given the Chief Legal Officer Award 2020
(Singapore Company/Business Category) by the Singapore Corporate Counsel Association.
At the Asian Legal
Business (ALB) SE Asia
Law Awards, Davinder
Singh ’82 was named
Dispute Resolution
Lawyer of the Year,
Blossom Hing ’96 was
named Woman Lawyer
Davinder Singh ’82 Blossom Hing ’96 Renita Sophia Crasta ’06 of the Year (Law Firm)
and Renita Sophia
Crasta ’06 was recognised as Young Lawyer of the Year (In-House). ALB also featured Huay Yee Kwan ’04,
Lin Shumin ’08, Monica Chong Wan Yee ’11, and Lynn Ariel Soh ’08 in their annual “40 Under 40” list,
which recognises outstanding lawyers across Asia.
The Singapore Business Review named Eunice Yao ’06, Cheryl Tan ’07, Shaun Lee ’08, Tania Chin ’08,
Xiao Hui Ting ’08, Gerald Goh Grad.Dip.Sing.Law ’09, Edwin Chia ’10, and Kennedy Chen ’10 among
Singapore’s 21 most influential lawyers aged 40 and below.
Our alumni were also recognised for their commitment to serving the community.
Eugene Thuraisingam ’00 received the Law Society Pro Bono Ambassador
Award 2020 in recognition of his established track record of providing pro bono
services for a period of five or more years.
Eugene Thuraisingam ’00
The artistic talents of lawyer Tan Boon Wah ’00 LLM ’03 were recognised in
November when he received the Golden Horse Award for Best Original Film Song
for “Your Name Engraved Herein” at the Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan.
We are deeply grateful that despite the challenges and uncertainties brought
about by COVID-19, our alumni continued to show strong support for NUS Law
and our students. Thanks to the wonders of Zoom, alumni were able to continue
Tan Boon Wah ’00 LLM ’03 giving of their time and expertise as mentors, adjunct professors, coaches for
moot competitions, speakers at our career talks, and advisors to student groups
such as the Pro Bono Group.
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