PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE




Every year for the last 11 years since 2003, the Law Society names one of our members to receive the C C Tan award. The award is given to a member who exemplifies the virtues of the legal profession – honesty, fair play and personal integrity.

This year’s award was presented to Mr George Lim, SC at the Law Society’s Dinner & Dance on 15 November 2013. George’s credentials for the award are well summed up by Vice-President Thio Shen Yi’s citation at the award ceremony thus:

George has the reputation of a senior lawyer possessed with integrity, fairness and wisdom, combined with an engaging and amicable temperament, qualities required of a top class mediator. We all know that George is a passionate evangelist of mediation. In 1997, he helped to set up the Singapore Mediation Centre (“SMC”), and in 2013, George was identified by the International Who’s Who of Commercial Mediation as being among the world’s leading commercial mediators.

George sits on the Board of the SMC, and has been mediating cases regularly at the Centre since 1997. I can personally attest to his effectiveness as he has often cajoled, harangued or sweet talked what I considered intractable clients into settling. He has, through the SMC, trained lawyers and judges in mediation, sharing his expertise with, inter alia, the Philippine Judicial Academy; Malaysian Bar Council; Thai Judiciary; Ministry of Labour, Fiji; and the High Court of Nigeria.

George will not be an unfamiliar face on the stage. In 2012, he was appointed the Law Society’s fifth Pro Bono Ambassador – a role he was eminently suited for with his unwavering conviction in ensuring access to justice.

George, together with some lawyers, founded the Law Society’s Criminal Legal Aid Scheme (“CLAS”). Not satisfied with starting CLAS, he also volunteered and took on its first assignment as well – a shoplifting offence, which was withdrawn after his representations.

George also chaired the Law Society’s Law Awareness Committee from 1993 to 1996 and is currently a member of the Law Society’s Pro Bono Management Committee.

George, of course, does possess the good qualities of courteous, honest and effective lawyering in great abundance and is a worthy recipient of the award. But what also impressed me was George’s professional journey getting to where he is today; a journey he took with three classmates that was to play out into an enduring professional partnership and an enriching friendship for well over 20 years. George’s journey reassures us that a satisfying and happy practice in the law does not necessarily have to be found in a large or international practice. It really does not. It encourages us to find the friends who can best walk the journey with us, men and women whom we trust enough for us to mutually shape each other’s values and principles and to share each other’s hopes and aspirations. It encourages us to do the small things right. It reminds us that even in the aggressive and unrelentless arena of dispute resolution, slaying your opponents or their clients isn’t necessarily the goal all the time. George’s well-known commitment to mediation reminds us of this. The lawyer’s role isn’t diminished nor is his client’s interest compromised when one searches for a solution to a bad situation through mediation. When a lawyer truly seeks a mediated resolution, he isn’t being chicken. He is trying to be a peacemaker.

Reproduced below is George Lim’s acceptance speech for the C C Tan Award 2013:

Some of you may know my personal story. I grew up in a poor family. I was the sixth and youngest child in my family, and my mother passed away when I was three. My father remarried and had five other children. So you can imagine the challenges we faced. It was a difficult childhood. I struggled through law school with the help of my siblings, and had to give tuition to pay for my fees.

It has not been an easy journey for me. So it means a lot to me to stand here, and be recognised by you, my peers. Thank you, Law Society, and my gratitude to all of you.

I would like to share the honour of this award with some people who have helped me along my legal journey.

• Harry Elias, SC, for being my pupil master 32 years ago;

• Joe Grimberg, SC, for helping me to appreciate the best traditions of the Bar.

One of the highlights of my legal career was to appear as Joe’s junior in a case at the Privy Council. Many of you have read the judgments of Lord Diplock. Well, Joe and I had the privilege of appearing before him, and submitting to him and two other law lords! At least Joe did; I merely carried the bags.

The other group of persons I would like to acknowledge are my colleagues from Wee Tay & Lim. I would like to specially thank Pan Lee, Keow Ming and Alex, who have been my partners for the past 26 years, and who were my classmates in law school.

We have very different personalities, and like many other partners, have different views on how to manage the firm. But somehow, thankfully, we have managed to keep together all these years. One of the most difficult ethical decisions we had to make as a firm was in 1988, when we were asked to act in the controversial case of Chng Suan Tze v Minister of Home Affairs & Others, which is now a landmark public law case. Not many lawyers wanted to act in that case, but we felt that we would be letting the profession down, and reneging on the oaths that we took as lawyers, if we did not do so. Acting in that case took a few years off each of our lives, but looking back now, I supposed it helped to bind us together. Sometimes, taking on a case for reasons other than money can have unexpected rewards!

The practice of law in Singapore has evolved greatly in the past three decades. When I started practice, a large firm meant 30 lawyers. Today, our large law firms each have more than 300 lawyers. With time billing, the practice of law has become much more business-like.

Many of us worry about the future of the profession. While change is inevitable, how do we ensure that law remains accessible to the ordinary Singaporean? While money needs to be made, are we able to remember that acting in the best interests of our clients is paramount?

Last month, I met a group of young law graduates undergoing their Part B course. They were a really nice bunch – smart and idealistic. The eager young minds of tomorrow. But I learnt from them that many firms were working their trainee lawyers very hard – up to 10, 11pm, some even 1am – every night!

Please do not get me wrong. I too believe in the value of hard work. But the focus during a training contract ought to be to teach the trainee. My personal plea to the profession is this – please do not burn out our young lawyers to meet billing targets. Instead, take time to talk to them, nurture them, and imbibe in them the best traditions of the Bar.

Recently, I conducted a mediation involving a young boy who had been involved in an accident and was in a vegetative state. Three parties were involved and the case was headed for a full-blown trial lasting more than two weeks on the issue of liability alone.

The boy’s parents came to the mediation, and their grief was evident. We were all affected, and I think nobody wanted to make them go through the ordeal of a trial if possible. We arrived at a settlement that evening, and I must say I was really proud to see the lawyers representing the three parties work so hard together to carve out a settlement agreement. This was a classic case of lawyers acting in the best interests of their clients.

Each year, thousands of students apply for a place in law, but only a small fraction of those who apply are given places. Practising law today may not be easy. But let’s remember that it is a privilege to be a lawyer.

Not all of us who graduate and get called will turn out to be brilliant lawyers. However, all of us can try to practise law with a conscience.

Well said, George. And congratulations for having pursued and found a Happy Practice.
 

►  Lok Vi Ming, Senior Counsel
      President
      The Law Society of Singapore