VOL. 08 ISSUE 02 JUL - DEC 2009 ISSN: 0219-6441 Cover Story Justice LAI SIU CHIU ’72 Amaladass Fellowship Commencement 2009 A word from the Editor CONTENTS Vice-Deans’ Message 1 Law School Highlights reetings fellow alumni, supporters, colleagues and friends, Donors’ List 2 This is the fifth and final issue of LawLink that I have edited since I became Appointments of Judicial Commissioners 2 Gthe Law Alumni Director three years ago. I hope you have enjoyed reading Launch of Amaladass Fellowship 3 LawLink, as much as my lean team of two enjoyed producing it time and again. The 6th ASLI Conference in Hong Kong 4 I am going to take a year of sabbatical from end-February 2010 to accompany my twin Symposium on Health Care Challenges 5 daughters Heather Jane and Laura Jean through a challenging school examination year. for an Ageing Population The several alumnae with whom I have shared my thoughts have applauded my priority Collegiate Dinner 2009 8 in life. You see, for more than 20 years after my graduation from NUS, admission to the Singapore bar and obtaining my LLM, I have had a fulfilling career first in NYU@NUS Singapore Programme 9 legal practice in Singapore and London, then as an in-house legal counsel and group Visit by Chief Justice of Hong Kong 9 company secretary for three large groups of companies respectively, and at my alma Research Symposium on Comparative 10 mater. Now, I realise how much I care to contribute some meaningful influence on my Constitutionalism in South Asia children at a crucial period of their lives. Asian Deans’ Forum on Legal Education 11 I must say I have certainly enjoyed and continue to appreciate your friendship and 4th ICC Mediation Competition 12 support. I think the best thing I brought to this job was the network of law and SAL Litigation Internship Programme 17 business connections that I had previously known. My strategy has simply been to build bridges to strengthen bonds. In every project that I have managed, usually the initial Overseas Internship with 20 contact is made to a helpful alumnus or alumna. In these three years, some 50 alumni- UNAKRT Cambodia related events have been organised; ranging from smaller gatherings of 10-20 visitors SEP Experience in New Zealand 21 to campus, 11 class reunions and other lunch/dinner events with 50-100 guests, the Inaugural Singapore/Sydney 22 annual Collegiate Dinner with around 280-300 attendees, to larger-scale celebrations Law Schools Symposium including the Official Opening of Bukit Timah Campus and the Appreciation Dinner for the Benefactors of the NUS Faculty of Law. aLAWmnus Feature I am so grateful that you have been willing to participate and contribute or open doors Cover Story – Justice Lai Siu Chiu ‘72 14 to the appropriate parties in your organization. With your interest, we have continued Visit by Senior Minister of State 16 to develop our local and overseas internship programmes from strength to strength, to Associate Professor Ho Peng Kee ‘79 the present 70 internship positions in our database and not even counting the many Special Needs Trust Company 19 internship places offered to our students who apply directly to our alumni in law firms. Worrawong Atcharawongchai LLM ‘08 25 Donations in excess of $3 million have been made to the Faculty of Law during the Young Alumni 3-year period from January 2007 to date 090909. This is triple the amount of the previous 3-year period 2004-2006. From your generous donations, 20 new subject Class of 2009 Commencement 6 prizes, scholarships, bursaries, grants, a fellowship and a student loan fund have been established. Class Reunions 25th Anniversary Reunion of Class of ‘84 13 It has also been a great honour to serve as the secretary to the Law Advisory Board th since their appointment in February 2007, and secretary for the Faculty’s departmental 10 Anniversary Reunion of Class of ‘99 18 meetings. I am fascinated to witness top brains dissect issues and make decisions. 20th Anniversary Reunion of Class of ‘89 28 Chairman Professor Tommy Koh ’61, Dean Professor Tan Cheng Han SC ’87 and the other members of the Board (including their PAs), Deanery and Faculty have been Faculty Features absolutely wonderful and considerate to work closely with. May I add congratulations Associate Professor Chan Wing Cheong 26 to our two Board members, Dr Philip Pillai ’71 and Mr Steven Chong SC ’82, on their appointments as Judicial Commissioners. Assistant Professor Sandra Annette 27 Booysen PhD ‘09 Finally, I would record my heartfelt appreciation to Associate Dean Goh Mia Yang ’92, the legal managers and Faculty Update colleagues in the Faculty, and peers in other NUS departments such as Development Office, Office of Alumni Relations, Visiting Professors 23 Office of Admissions, Office of Corporate Relations and NUS Faculty Update 24 Career Centre, who have facilitated my work. Many thanks as well to the contributors of the various LawLink articles ClassAction and Christopher W.B for his administrative support. ClassAction 29 Happiness and good health to all! Upcoming Reunion Events 29 Joyce Khoo-Phua ’85 News from Office of Alumni Relations Editor of LawLink New Alumni Welcome Lunch 11 Associate Director Alumni Relations and Development Inspiring Mentor Award 11 LLB Hons (NUS), LLM (London) Commencement Dinner 2009 11 Advocate & Solicitor, Singapore Solicitor, England & Wales LawLink - NUS Faculty of Law 469G Bukit Timah Road Eu Tong Sen Building Singapore 259776. website : www.law.nus.edu.sg/alumni We want to hear from you, please contact us at: email : [email protected] • tel : (65) 6516 3616 • fax : (65) 6779 0979 Update your personal particulars at: www.law.nus.edu.sg/alumni/update_particulars.asp Design & Produced by Brownsea Services (S) Pte Ltd Administrative Staff National Day BBQ [ Vice-Deans’ Message ] his is the penultimate issue of LawLink before Dean Tan of international and transnational law. We have done so not only Cheng Han SC ’87 steps down and he has kindly invited in our core undergraduate and graduate programmes, through Tus to offer our thoughts and reflections on the Faculty subjects such as Comparative Legal Traditions (in the LLB) and from the perspective of our fourth and final year as his Vice- Common Law Legal System of Singapore (for civil law trained Deans. It is our privilege to do so. LLM students), but equally in a vast range of electives that invite students to examine such fields as International Commercial It has been a remarkable time to have been part of the Faculty Arbitration, World Trade Law, Public International Law, Conflicts administration. The practice of law is in a period of rapid of Law, as well as Islamic Law and various aspects of Chinese, transformation, with important challenges for legal education. European Union, Indian, Indonesia, Japanese, and Vietnamese Though we should hesitate before positing that “globalisation” Law. At the same time, we have sought (with the assistance of our represents something entirely new, the ease and frequency colleague Vice-Dean Amirthalingam Kumaralingam) to ensure of transnational interactions among states, businesses, and that as many of our students as possible have the opportunity individuals has created novel challenges for the practice of law, to spend a meaningful period of time abroad studying and challenges that law schools must confront. experiencing other legal systems. In the past few years, These challenges include: the ease these efforts have led to several and speed of telecommunication important double and concurrent which facilitates (for many, though It has been a remarkable time degree programmes with New York not all) trade and commerce University Law School, and several around the world, creating, to have been part of the Faculty more such programmes with other often unwittingly, complicated universities remain in the works. transnational legal relationships; administration. The practice Third, we have sought in our the rapid ascent of the transnational of law is in a period of rapid academic programmes to law firm increasingly advising demonstrate to our students that clients whose legal problems take transformation, with important law and legal education defy them quickly beyond national disciplinary boundaries. Law borders; the emergence and challenges for legal education. cannot be understood fully without empowerment of transnational an appreciation of its normative regulatory and dispute resolution and theoretical dimensions and bodies whose relationship to its social, political, historical, domestic legal orders gives rise to economic, and religious contexts. complex jurisdictional questions We have therefore sought to foster and competing legal norms. Of an environment in which these course, many legal problems still important contextual dimensions remain decidedly domestic, but of the legal system can be examined, even then, litigation will not always and to encourage a holistic approach be the best or the only answer to to problem-solving, rather than one a dispute: mediation, conciliation, that is seen solely and exclusively and arbitration are here to stay. through the lens of the law. Our It is against this backdrop and double-degree programmes in Law in this rapidly changing legal and Business, Law and Economics, environment that the NUS Faculty Law and Life Sciences and Law and of Law has had to prepare its students (both undergraduate and Public Policy are a testament to these efforts, as are our elective postgraduate). What sorts of tools and skills will tomorrow’s courses that employ a transdisciplinary approach to complex, lawyers need to confront the challenges of an evolving legal multifaceted problems that might unhelpfully be regarded as practice? This question has been front and centre for us in our strictly legal ones – from the sociological dimensions of family respective offices, and we have responded to it by facilitating law to the economics of competition and intellectual property and supporting the following programmes and initiatives of our law.