Annual Dinner & Dance 2012



The Law Society Annual Dinner & Dance is the highlight in the legal profession’s social calendar where we celebrate and thank members who have made significant contributions to both the Law Society and the legal profession.
 
The 2012 Law Society Annual Dinner and Dance (the “Dinner”) held on 9 November 2012 at Pan Pacific Hotel was attended by approximately 500 guests, including the Guest-of-Honour, former Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong; The Honourable The Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon; the Honourable Attorney-General Steven Chong; Judge of Appeal Justice Chao Hick Tin; Honourable Judges of the Supreme Court,  Justice Woo Bih Li, Justice Andrew Ang, Justice Choo Han Teck, Justice Chan Seng Onn, Judicial Commissioner Vinodh Coomaraswamy; and other distinguished guests.
 
The Master of Ceremonies for the evening was our very own Adrian Tan, who added his characteristic touch of quick-witted humour to the evening.
 
In recognition of his significant contributions to the legal profession, former Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong was appointed an Honorary Member of the Law Society (Lifetime) at the Dinner. The prestigious C C Tan Award for 2012 was conferred on Mr Michael Hwang, SC.
 
The night’s revelry included a Jazz music performance by our member, Kelvin Kong and his band, accompanied by a pair of dancers “swinging” to the beat. The lucky draw segment showed an impressive ensemble, with the top prizes including a $10,000 travel voucher sponsored by Chrysler Jeep Automotive of Singapore, a three-night stay at any member hotel of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World and a Macbook Pro 13 inch 2.5GHz with retina display.
 
The Law Society would also like to thank our Main Sponsor, Chrysler Jeep Automotive of Singapore; Sponsors, Barworks Wine & Spirits Pte Ltd, Fat Cow, Le Saint Julien Restaurant Singapore, Lockton Companies (Singapore) Pte Ltd, Mad for Garlic, Mr Hamper Pte Ltd, Multi-Ray Business Gifts Pte Ltd, OTTO Ristorante, Giacomo Restaurant Pte Ltd, Small Luxury Hotels of the World, The Fullerton Hotel Singapore, The Moluccas Room, The Scarlet, Tony Roma’s, Wooloomooloo Steakhouse (Singapore), and individual Sponsor, Mr Chelva Retnam Rajah, SC for their generous sponsorship of the Dinner.

Winner of Lucky Draw First Prize, Stephanie Yuen Thio
 


The Grand Prize winner of Chrysler Jeep Automotive Pte Ltd’s $10,000 go-anywhere travel voucher was Stefanie Yuen Thio. When asked about winning the first prize, Stefanie said, "It was a lovely feeling to win the top prize, and I'm grateful to Chrysler Jeep for this amazing package! But it's something I feel I need to share so I'm currently checking with several charities whether there are needs that these travel vouchers could meet. For example, TWC2 (Transient Workers Count Too) and HOME (Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics) may be helping migrant workers who have no way to get home. If so, I'm hoping to redeem some air tickets for them to be able to rejoin their families, especially in time for the holiday season. It's too good a prize to keep for myself so I'm going to see how I can be a channel for this blessing to touch more people."

Citation for Honorary Member of the Law Society – Mr Chan Sek Keong


Mr Joseph Grimberg, SC reading the citation


Mr Chan Sek Keong making his speech


Mr Chan Sek Keong accepting the Honorary Membership from Mr Wong Meng Meng, SC


This citation presented by Mr Joseph Grimberg, SC was made in honour of Mr Chan Sek Keong who was conferred a lifetime Honorary Membership by the Law Society.
 
Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, Mr Attorney, Judges of the Supreme Court, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. This is an occasion both special and sad, because it is tonight that the Bar has an opportunity to say farewell to the greatly admired Mr Chan Sek Keong who, for six years, has presided over the administration of justice in this country with fair mindedness, wisdom, and a profound knowledge of the law.
 
On behalf of the Law Society, I am privileged to announce by this Citation that Mr Chan has been elected as one of its Honorary Members. He thus joins a distinguished fraternity which includes former Minister Mentor, and a select band of Judges, diplomats and lawyers.
 
Mr Chan was admitted as an Advocate and Solicitor in 1962, and began his career in Malaysia, with the old established firm of Bannon & Bailey, then with Braddell Brothers and finally with Shook Lin & Bok in Singapore. He spent 24 years in private practice before being appointed a Judicial Commissioner, then a Judge, and subsequently Attorney-General. In 2006, amid the quiet but widespread acclaim of the Bar, he was elevated to the highest judicial office of the land.
 
The Chief, as he then was, staunchly supported the work and mission of the Law Society, and the Bar in general. Shortly following his appointment, he stated in an interview that “when the legal profession has problems, I want to understand what they are, and see how I can contribute to the solution”, a typically constructive approach to his relationship with practitioners, and one that endured throughout his tenure.
 
It would be customary, on an occasion such as this, to mention some of the cases over which Mr Chan presided, but custom must give way to expedience for the simple reason that during his tenure as a Judicial Commissioner, Judge, and then Chief Justice, Mr Chan delivered hundreds of written judgments, dealing with a wide spectrum of issues. However, in recent months, he has produced two seminal decisions well worth mentioning, one pronouncing that legal powers, even constitutional powers, have limits; and the other, holding that the Court of Appeal has inherent jurisdiction to re-examine cases in which it might earlier have come to a conclusion which was in breach of the rules of natural justice.
 
During his period as a Judge, Mr Chan was asked by the Government to shed his judicial robes and take up cudgels for the country. He appeared, with Professor Tommy Koh, as Counsel for Singapore in the International Court at the Hague, concerning the Pedra Branca dispute, in which Singapore largely prevailed.
 
To the best of my recollection, only once in my career at the Bar, did I appear in a case in which Mr Chan was on the other side. This was a constitutional case, the only one which has ever come before the Constitutional Tribunal. The issue was whether the President of  Singapore, for whom I appeared with the then Mr Walter Woon, has the power to withhold his assent to a Bill seeking to amend his own prerogatives. I offered a fairly inconsequential opening, and left it to Mr Woon to make the substantive submission. Walter launched into a highly cerebral peroration, which I barely understood, following which Mr Chan performed his usual demolition job. We lost.
 
One wonders what Mr Chan, this gentle, soft spoken, brilliant man, will do with himself in retirement. Certainly, his wisdom and experience will be sought by the great and the good, by institutions and by academia. Whatever may be his choice, nothing will deflect him from his devotion to books, for reading is his consuming hobby. I have it on good authority that the Chan home is bursting with so many books, some 5000 of them, that they threaten to spill into Elizabeth’s precious garden. Once, a few years ago, I was at a beach resort in Malaysia with my family. By coincidence, the Chans were there too. One might have expected the Chief to be frolicking, well not frolicking, perhaps, more likely strolling, on the beach. On the contrary he was to be seen daily, sitting under a tree, reading. I tried hard, but failed to discern whether the book he had on his lap was a law journal or the work of one of the great philosophers, for philosophy is among Mr Chan’s varied interests. Some of you may have noticed that he ended a recent speech with a quote from Wittgenstein.
 
Before I close this brief citation, I’d like to say a word about the former Elizabeth Eber, but since 1965, Mrs Elizabeth Chan, the loyal and devoted wife of the Chief, and herself an accomplished lawyer. I hazard that her love and support have made signal contribution to her husband’s remarkable career.
 
We will miss you, Sek, but we take comfort in the thought that you will have your loyal consort, Elizabeth, with whom you have long shared happiness and sadly, grief, by your side. The thought of retirement may well be anathema to you, and to a multitude of others. I suspect that our country may wish to put the energy, wisdom and talents of a rare species to other uses. In any event, and whatever the future may hold, on behalf of us all I wish you many more years of the satisfaction you derive from your diverse interests. May your warmth, wisdom and wry humour lighten your own years, and bring joy to your devoted wife, and family, and your circle of friends.
 
I invite all present to show our appreciation of an outstanding lawyer and a great Chief Justice, by standing ovation.

The C C Tan Award


Vice-President Mr Lok Vi Ming, SC reading the citation for the C C Tan award


This citation by Vice-President Mr Lok Vi Ming, SC, was made in honour of Mr Michael Hwang, SC who was conferred the prestigious C C Tan Award for 2012.
 
For members of the profession who have had the privilege of knowing Mr Tan Chye Cheng, or C C Tan as he is fondly remembered by the Bar, they would likely say that he had throughout his long professional life embodied and exemplified the virtues of the legal profession – honesty, fair play and personal integrity.
 
The Council of the Law Society inaugurated the C C Tan award in 2003 in memory of C C Tan and presents this award annually to a member of the Bar who exemplifies these qualities, which are valued highly by all members of the Bar.
 
I am pleased to announce that the Council has decided to present this year’s C C Tan Award to Senior Counsel Michael Hwang. 
 
Michael was educated at undergraduate and postgraduate levels at Oxford University, where he was a college scholar and prize winner. After graduation, he took up a teaching appointment at the Faculty of Law at the University of Sydney before returning to Singapore to commence private practice in 1968 with Allen & Gledhill and helped build it into one of Singapore’s largest and most prestigious law firms.
 
In 1991, he was appointed a Judicial Commissioner of the Supreme Court of Singapore for a term of 2 years.  In 1997, he was amongst the first batch of 12 Senior Counsel to be appointed in Singapore.
 
Michael holds a string of international honours and titles; it will take me two courses of food to read them all. So here is a powerpoint of a sampling. You understand what I mean!
 
But it is for Michael’s work with the Law Society and his contribution to the legal profession here that we wish to honour today.
 
Michael’s long association with the Law Society stretches back over 30 years. In that span of time, he chaired, directed and inspired the work of numerous committees including:
1.Legal Workshop Committee from 1982 to 1985;
 
2.Legislation Committee from 1983 to 1985;
 
3.Legal Workshop & Continuing Education in 1986 to 1987;
 
4.Continuing Legal Education in 1998 to 1999 and again from 1993 to 1995;
 
5.Legislation & Special Assignments (Civil) Committee in 1990;
 
6.Ethics Committee from 2006 to 2007; and
 
7.International Relations Committee from 2011 to-date.
 
It is an association that culminated with his Presidency of the Law Society from 2008 to 2010.
 
Ask anyone who has ever appeared against Michael Hwang in court about what he or she thinks of the man and the response would invariably be, “Oh yes, a real gentleman.” A gentleman who’s always fair, honest and unfortunately for his opponent, also someone who almost always gets the result he wants.
 
Michael has a reputation somewhat as a “smiling assassin”. He deploys a potent combination of charm and wit first to disarm his opponent and then a bluster of keen legal firepower to ultimately vanquish his opponent. Typically, the opponent is lulled and before he knows it, he’s defeated. I am told Michael, as a footballer, once deployed similar tactics to devastating effect. Apparently, Allen & Gledhill when it was a much smaller outfit of perhaps 50 lawyers some 25-30 years ago, used to have regular sports sessions pitting pupils against lawyers; young lawyers against the senior ones. Michael, never one to back down from a challenge, signed up to play soccer against a team of pupils and young lawyers. With the game finely balanced, Michael apparently had the ball in midfield, and in a dazzling display of speed and dribbling craft (which only Ryan Giggs was able to emulate many years later in a FA Cup semi-final match for Manchester United against Arsenal), took on the entire defence of the younger team. As Michael dribbled, the entire defence defended backwards. Apparently no one in that defence had the heart nor the conviction to tackle Michael Hwang, and he scored.
 
Convinced he was amply gifted in football, Michael (I was told) volunteered to play for Allen & Gledhill in a couple of editions of the Wednesday Shield, and again none of his colleagues had the heart to counsel him otherwise. Everyone heaved a collective sigh of relief that Michael soon decided to hang up his boots and return fully to the pursuit of law in his career. 
 
Another ex-colleague of his tells me that Michael is the only lawyer he’s known in private practice who would insist that his bundle of authorities be provided (not exchanged) to the other side before the hearing date. Michael’s view is that the authorities are all there, and in any event, it is the advocate’s duty to provide all authorities (whether in one’s favour or not) to the Judge.
 
How accurately this describes Michael as an advocate of the highest standard. And how true to form; he in fact provided me with a copy of his acceptance speech even before I have given to him a copy of my citation for this award!
 
Ladies and gentleman, these qualities of honesty and fair play have made Michael what he is today; an internationally renowned and respected jurist and arbitrator and one of our best known and best loved lawyers. But what has made him really special to many of us at the Law Society has been his interest in and commitment to teaching and training young lawyers and ensuring that the best efforts go into imparting the best skills to them.
 
One event amply illustrates this. Michael was scheduled to speak at a Law Society event, “Legal Writing for Arbitrators” in February 2011. He kept his date at the event and to everyone’s surprise turned up, one entire arm in a sling. He had fractured his arm/wrist just the day before the event. Despite this unexpected accident, Michael proceeded to deliver a wonderful seminar for the next hour and a half. It was an act reminiscent of Franz Beckenbauer’s valiant efforts for the West German football team in the semi-finals of the 1970 World Cup.
 
But unlike Franz Beckenbauer, Michael was not fighting pain to carry the hopes of a nation. Not quite as lofty a duty, but to Michael, no less significant or meaningful. He was doing this because he had promised the Law Society he would do the seminar and because he believed in keeping the faith with our young lawyers; and no broken arm was going to be allowed to fracture that faith and commitment.
 
Ladies and gentlemen, Michael Hwang personifies the values celebrated by the C C Tan Award and he is an excellent model for younger lawyers to aspire to.
 
It is my honour now to welcome Michael Hwang Senior Counsel on stage to receive the C C Tan Award, 2012!
 
C C Tan Award Acceptance Speech


Mr Michael Hwang, SC making his acceptance speech


Mr Michael Hwang, SC receiving the C C Tan award from Mr Wong Meng Meng, SC


Law Society, I feel like I am the Man from Yesterday. That title I am happy to hand over to Wong Meng Meng as from the beginning of next year. But what will that leave me? I suppose I will have to be called The Man from the Day before Yesterday. But that word “Yesterday” has a special meaning for me, as I will explain at the end of this speech. I have read citations for previous winners of this award, so I am especially gratified that I have been recognised by my peers for maintaining certain standards of honour in the conduct of my professional practice. When I started practice many years ago, I remember being asked what kind of honours I was aiming for. I replied that I was looking for honour rather than honours, and all I wanted was to be held in high esteem by my peers for the quality of my work and the integrity of my conduct. In the practice of law, while I have always acted in the best interests of my clients, I am not one who will do anything to advance my client’s interests; in other words I do not have a “my client right or wrong” or “win at any cost” mentality. Whatever I do at work, I still have to feel proud of myself as a person, and judge myself, not only by what I did, but how I did it in the furtherance of my client’s cause, be it in court or in a transaction.
 
Let me illustrate by stories rather than by lectures. When I think back over my career, three or four things said to me about the way I practised stand out in my mind.
 
First story. I cross examined a defendant in a civil trial for half a day. While I cannot recall what the cross examination was about, in a cross examination of that length, it is not easy to avoid some personal allegation or other about the witness’ memory, accuracy, veracity or worse. At the end of the day the defendant came up to me outside the Court and said, “That was a very fair cross examination”. And I thought to myself that either I was the greatest gentleman advocate this side of the Straits of Johore, or I had somehow let him off the hook. However, since he settled the case the next day, I decided to elect for the greatest gentleman theory
 
Second story. I had to cross examine a legal expert from Indonesia (let me call him Prof X) and had to rely on the input of my own Indonesian legal expert to demonstrate that Prof X’s expert’s opinion was wrong. At the end of the cross examination, my own legal expert said to me: “I am glad you were not too hard on Prof X”. I replied: “But his opinion was wrong wasn’t it?“ And his answer was: “Yes, of course, but he is an old man, very distinguished, and treasures his dignity, and I would not like him to have been humiliated, so I am glad that you did not do that to him”. And that gave me food for thought as I realised that cross examiners hold the power to embarrass and even humiliate the person being cross examined and we should never exercise that power unless it is absolutely necessary to do so, and not as a matter of course. In fact, I once cross examined (rather gently) a lady witness, and her husband later engaged me to furnish an advisory opinion to his company, so being gentlemanly can sometimes have a positive effect on your practice
 
And on the other side of the coin, I also remember several clients (invariably in matrimonial cases) who discharged me on the grounds that I was not being aggressive enough to their spouse. Indeed, one client told me “You are being far too gentlemanly”. And I treated that as a badge of honour. Somehow, I cannot bring myself to say everything that such clients want me to say on their behalf to their spouses, because I don’t believe in being hurtful for its own sake if that does not advance my client’s case or objectives any further.
 
That leads me to the final story. I was once asked to sue a prominent Singapore law firm for helping to commit a fraud on my client. The fraud had been perpetrated by making a false mortgage of my client’s property purportedly signed by my client but which had actually been forged by another party, and this forged signature had been witnessed by a lawyer in this prominent law firm. These were serious allegations, and I had no intention of filing a writ making these allegations without giving the firm a chance to explain its side of the story. I made an appointment with its senior partner, and in fact met several partners of the firm where I explained my client’s instructions. They gave me their version, which was basically that their lawyer had witnessed in good faith, believing that the person signing was indeed my client (as her identity card was shown to the lawyer). I told them that, while I accepted that there was no conspiracy between the fraudster and the law firm, I would have to advise my client to sue them for negligence, which I eventually did. But on my way out, the senior partner said to me: “You are from the old school to come and speak to us before issuing the writ.” And the senior partner was right. I didn’t learn this from the books, but because I had seen this done when I was a young lawyer, and it left a lasting impression on me of the courtesies exchanged between very senior lawyers and the proper way to further your client’s interests while giving due consideration to the interests of our fellow practitioners.
 
These four statements I will remember for the rest of my career. And this gets us back (finally) to the meaning of the Man from Yesterday, a title which I will wear proudly to the extent it reflects the values of Yesteryear that I hold and which I hope will percolate down to our younger lawyers from watching other oldies in action. C C Tan was a fine example of such an oldie who left us a legacy of honourable conduct to emulate, and I hope I have in a small way carried on that tradition for others to follow. Thanks again to the Law Society for giving me this honour, and thanks to all of you for your warm response this evening.
 
Awards


Mr Gerald Singham (left) of Rodyk & Davidson LLP receiving the Volunteer of the Year award (large sized law practice) from Mr Wong Meng Meng, SC


Mr Patrick Tan (left) of Patrick Tan LLC receiving the Volunteer of the Year award (small sized law practice) from Mr Wong Meng Meng, SC


Ms Gloria James of Gloria James-Civetta & Co receiving the Volunteer of the Year award (sole practitioner law practice) from Mr Wong Meng Meng, SC


Mr Lee Kim Shin (left) receiving the Contributor of the Year award on behalf of Allen & Gledhill LLP from Mr Wong Meng Meng, SC


Volunteer of the Year
 
The Volunteer of the Year award is an annual award given to a law practice that has made significant non-monetary contribution to the Law Society’s work and activities for the 12-month period from 1 August 2011 to 31 July 2012. An award will be presented in each of the following categories:
•Large-sized law practices with 30 or more lawyers;
 
•Medium-sized law practices with more than five but fewer than 30 lawyers;
 
•Small-sized law practices with five or fewer lawyers; and
 
•Sole-practitioners.
 
Large-sized Law Practice
 
This year’s recipient of the Volunteer of the Year award for large-sized law practices is Rodyk & Davidson LLP.
 
Medium-sized Law Practice
 
The recipient of the Volunteer of the Year award for medium-sized law practices is Straits Law Practice LLC.
 
Small-sized Law Practice
 
The recipient of the Volunteer of the Year award for small-sized law practices is Patrick Tan LLC.
 
Sole Practitioner Law Practice
 
This year’s recipient of the Volunteer of the Year award for sole-practitioners is Gloria James Civetta & Co.
 
Contributor of the Year
 
The Contributor of the Year award is an annual award given to the law practice that has provided generous financial support to the activities of the Law Society by way of sponsorship or donation for the 12-month period from 1 August 2011 to 31 July 2012.
 
This year, the recipient of this category of the award is Allen & Gledhill LLP.
 
Pro Bono Ambassador of the Year
 
The Pro Bono Ambassador of the Year award is an annual award given to an individual who has an established track record of providing pro bonoservices for a period of five or more years.
 
The award is given to an individual who has shared and promoted the pro bonospirit and has encouraged lawyers to play a role in facilitating access to justice and in giving back to the community. The recipient of this award for 2012 is Mr George Lim Teong Jin, SC. 
 
Plaque of Appreciation
 
During the course of the year, the Law Society has been very privileged to have the generous support of members in carrying out the Society’s work. They have made significant contributions to the Society’s activities and the Society is grateful for their support.
 
Mr Seet Pek Hian Harold
 
Mr Harold Seet was a member of the Law Awareness Committee for many years and was Chairperson of the committee from 2008 to 2011. He contributed years of outstanding service and total commitment to the cause of the committee. During his tenure, he also actively liaised with the Family Court to provide legal clinics.
 
Mr Joseph Liow Wang Wu
 
Mr Joseph Liow has been a member of the Sports Committee since 1994 and was Chairperson from 2006 to 2011. He scouted for convenors during his tenure as Chairperson and increased the participation of the Bench and Legal Services in the Bench & Bar Games. He also generously sponsored the Sports Committee when necessary.
 
Mr Samuel Chacko
 
Mr Chacko has been an advocacy trainer since 2004, as well as a lead trainer for the advocacy workshops since 2007. He joined the Advocacy Committee in 2008 and has also assisted to update the core advocacy materials used in the workshops for the Part B course. This year, he also served as a moderator in the workshops.
 
Friends of the Law Society
 
The Friends of the Law Society Award is awarded to non-members for their significant contribution to the work of the Law Society.
 
Lien Foundation
 
The Law Society’s Law Awareness campaign for elderly “Law Cares” was made possible with the strong support from Lien Foundation. The Foundation supported the Law Awareness Committee in the form of donations, public relations consulting, networking and contacts.
 
Justice Choo Han Teck
 
Justice Choo has been an avid supporter of the Sports Committee and the Bench & Bar Games Games for many years. He provides valuable advice and mentorship to various games such as Tennis, Volleyball and Netball. He sponsors the teams’ jerseys and helps the teams to grow from strength to strength.
 
Mr R Athappan
 
Mr R Athappan has been a pillar of support for the professional indemnity scheme since inception in 1991. As a key underwriter, he has proven to be a loyal friend of the profession, readily accommodating and supporting the needs in term of expanded coverage and competitive premiums. 
 

Pro Bono Ambassador of the Year, Mr George Lim, SC (left)


Mr Joseph Liow Wang Wu (left)


Justice Choo Han Teck (left)


Mr R Athappan (left)