school of l aw alumni newslet ter augus t 2018 edition
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DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE
D ir ector’s me ssag e Dear Alumni, A new academic year has just started. Our alumni cohort has grown again with Commencement on Aug 3. You may wish to watch our commencement video by clicking this link. We have included some photos in this newsletter too. We appreciate many of you who volunteered to be mentors of students. Those of you who haven’t signed up but wish to do so may check this link. Do hurry up and sign up as this round of registration for mentors closes on 31 Aug 2018. This academic year, the School of Law is initiating an exciting project that involves alumni, faculty, students, and industry partners. We’re embarking on a year-long SMU School of Law Imagine Better Campaign, which you will soon learn more about through a letter from the Dean. Along with fundraising for the School of Law and also in support of bursaries for Dr Tan Seow Hon students who need financial aid, we are embarking on a Associate Professor of Law meaningful series of outreach events to equip the community with basic knowledge of the law as it impacts them and with Associate Dean (Student, basic dispute resolution skills. Through this, we hope not Alumni and Staff Affairs) just to serve the community at large, but also to instil in all Director, Alumni Relations participants the value of sharing our knowledge and skills and using our special expertise in service of the good. We hope that many of you will participate in this campaign in one way or another. There will be a fun dinner in January 2019 during which we hope to unveil an alumni wall. More about all of these, soon. In April we consolidated the existing alumni groups under a new School of Law Alumni Chapter, with a central executive committee. We wish to thank the previous office holders for their dedication and long service, and welcome the new office holders (Page 24). Class of 2017, do join us for the mass call party on the roof terrace of the School of Law on 1 September. Please RSVP here. Do keep in touch, and contact our new manager overseeing alumni matters, Adrian Neo, or myself, if you have any updates or wish to volunteer in any way. Thanks once again for the amazing heart that many of you have for your alma mater and the future generations of students. Associate Prof (Dr) Tan Seow Hon
SOL Alumni Newsletter | August 2018
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CONTENT 2 director’s message 4 special feature: the magical professor 6 school news & EVENTS 12 faculty & staff 16 student news & Events 24 alumni news & Events »» Teddy Law & Lawraine at Commencement Tea
29 commencement 2018 highlights
News to share with us? Please drop us an email at: adrianjneo@smu.edu.sg
School of Law Newsletter Team: Assoc Prof Tan Seow Hon Assoc Prof Chen Siyuan Asst Prof Kenny Chng Adrian John Neo
SOL Alumni Newsletter | August 2018
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S P E C I A L F E AT U R E
T h e m agiCAL PROF e ssor an interview by asst prof kenny chng Generations of School of Law students have benefitted from Professor David Smith’s patient tutelage and kind instruction. In our interview with the legendarily well-loved teacher, who will be retiring soon, he gave us a fascinating insight into his motivations and influences, and took the opportunity to impart some words of wisdom to our alumni.
My students here have not only been smart, hardworking and inquisitive, but also - something I value very much - extremely kind and good natured. I have enjoyed every moment in the classroom at SMU. The warmth and compassion of my SMU students is something I shall never forget.
SOL Alumni Newsletter | August 2018
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Do you have any reflections on your time at SMU? My ten years at SMU have been simply wonderful. This is due entirely to having amazing students and supportive, thoughtful and stimulating colleagues. I taught at Harvard for 30 or so years and had some remarkable students who I still keep in touch with. I feel just as positive about my SMU LLB and JD students as I do about those Harvard students. My students here have not only been smart, hardworking and inquisitive, but also - something I value very much - extremely kind and good-natured. I have enjoyed every moment in the classroom at SMU. The warmth and compassion of my SMU students is something I shall never forget. You’ve achieved excellence on many frontiers and we would like to learn from you. What would you say is the guiding principle in your life? I suppose the guiding principle is something that I picked up from my childhood - an appreciation of everyone, no matter their circumstance or walk of life. I had my first job at the age of 12 working in a local pharmacy - taking out the garbage, washing windows, dusting shelves and waiting on customers. I loved the variety of people who came into the store. Through the doors of the store came people of all stripes and circumstances. I liked them all. And I liked their life stories no matter what they did. This, I suppose, has carried over into my teaching. As far as students are concerned, I see talent and promise in all of them. Each person has her or his own talent and potential and I believe in the phenomenon of late bloomers. Today’s quiet student is going to be tomorrow’s accomplished lawyer.I often told my students not to be taken captive by someone else’s ideas of success. Be true to yourself. There are many ways and contexts in which to become a great lawyer. Anything else that you’d like to share with us? I suppose I should say a word about magic which shows up sporadically in my teaching. I was introduced to magic by one of the TB patients I met as a boy. He had performed in something called vaudeville in New York City. He did magic comedy which I thought was great because, no matter how bad you are, you can give the impression that it was intended. I do try to tie magic I do to themes of the course. In Torts, in connection with Rylands v. Fletcher I would have water come out of nowhere. In Ethics, in relation to the coming water scarcity in the world, I have water disappear. What I reget is not being able to discuss the sources of these illusions since there is an ethical code where a magician cannot reveal her or his secrets. But I would have loved to show law students that there are many ways to achieve a particular illustion, just as there are many ways in which the lawyer-negotiator can draw on imagination and experience to help a client achieve a particular goal. The client may be fixated on a particular approach which the opposite party doesn’t like - or which you don’t like because it is unethical. So, like a magician, you do need a hatful of options. What are your plans for the future? I intend to get back to fiction writing. I also expect to do some short-term teaching at the Centre for Legal Excellence in Uganda, where I have done some teaching in the past. Most importantly, I plan to brush up on my magic. One of the classes presented me with a magic kit which I now need to immerse myself in. Perhaps I’ll show up on Youtube one day.
SOL Alumni Newsletter | August 2018
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SCHOOL NEWS
recent developments at the school of l aw
launch of LLM in judicial studies 26 July 2018 - The School of Law officially launched its new Master of Laws in Judicial Studies on 26th July 2018 with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Singapore Judicial College. The LLM in Judicial Studies is designed to provide advanced training for judges and judicial aspirants in and outside of Singapore. The Singapore Judicial College will be actively involved in teaching candidates enrolled in this programme, which is the first of its kind in this region.We look forward to welcome the inaugural batch in August 2019. If this sounds exciting to you or your associates, mark your calendar applications open on 1 October 2018.
SOL Alumni Newsletter | August 2018
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recent developments at the school of l aw
School of law AWARDED significant research grant to address governance of ai and data use, in support of the development of singapore’s digital economy 5 June 2018 - We are delighted to announce that the School of Law has been awarded a major grant of S$4.5 million from the National Research Foundation (NRF) and the Infocomm Media Development Agency (IMDA) to helm a five-year Research Programme on the Governance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Data Use. A new research centre will be opened to spearhead research efforts under the Programme. The award follows a competitive application process that was open to all Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) in January 2018. More broadly, the School of Law is committed to producing research that has meaningful impact in the real world. This Programme is a cornerstone of our forward strategy of engaging in cutting-edge issues brought about by technology and affecting the law and beyond.Ultimately, we hope to future-proof our graduates with a forward-looking and innovative curriculum that integrates theory and practice in an era marked by fast-paced technological advancements. The School of Law looks forward to working with potential collaborators in this important space.
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SCHOOL NEWS
a rcial a events the future is crypto?: an interndisciplinary workshop on the blockchain revolution 19 February 2018 - Organized by the Applied Research Centre for Intellectual Assets and the Law in Asia (ARCIALA), School of Law, SMU, the workshop was fully packed with more than 100 participants. Juan Llanos, a pioneer in the blockchain industry, kicked off the workshop with a thought provoking talk on how blockchain may transform the manner in which we perceive regulation. Juan stressed the importance of ‘algorithmic regulation’, which consists of adaptive rule making, and regulation aimed at achieving the desired outcome, coupled with real time monitoring to determine if the desired outcome has been reached, and is capable of being facilitated by blockchain based systems. Such ‘algorithmic regulation’ contrasts with regulation based on paper rule making, and ex-post facto monitoring and auditing.
Continuing with the notion of disruptive technologies, Dan Hunter, Founding Dean of Swinburne Law School, and an expert in artificial intelligence, elaborated on the growing uses of blockchain in the legal field, such as the maintenance of registries, and in particular, the maintenance of records, tracking of licenses and assignments, at the copyright registry. He also warned about the neglected need to change legal education as we know it. Eliza Mik and Kelvin Low demystified popular misperceptions regarding blockchain. While Juan and Dan discussed the power of harnessing technology to improve efficiency, and
SOL Alumni Newsletter | August 2018
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a rcial a events thereby eliminating human intercession, Eliza and Kelvin identified areas where human intermediaries would continue to be needed, and concomitantly highlighted the soft spots of technology. For instance, the ‘oracle’ problem lends an air of centralization to blockchain, which is a technology premised on decentralization. Unsurprisingly, the talk led to a heated debate, with several panelists and members of the audience cross firing challenging questions. The second session was industry-oriented and witnessed three talks on the tokenization of physical assets. Marcelo CASIL, the founder of Maecenas, discussed the tokenization of art, through a blockchain based system. Chen Shien, the company counsel for Digix, discussed the use of blockchain services in the tokenization of gold, and the ability to use a decentralized autonomous organization (‘DAO’) for DAO holders to vote for their favored projects. Lastly, Stanley Yong, IBM world lead on Central Bank Digital Currency, elaborated on the tokenization of fiat currency, and the desirability of establishing a central bank digital currency. IP and cultural industries in southeast asia conference 1 February 2018 - ARCIALA, together with the Wee Kim Wee Centre hosted the Conference “IP and Cultural Industries in South East Asia” at SMU. The Conference was co-hosted by the National Gallery Singapore. The convenors of the conference were Visiting Professor Irene Calboli and Assoc Prof Kwok Kian Chow from SMU.
At this conference, we brought together legal experts, artists, museum curators, and government officials to discuss the role of IP law to protect and promote arts and culturale heritage in Southeast Asia. Selected papers from the conference will be published in an edited volume.
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SCHOOL NEWS
cebcl a events dentons rodyk dialogue 2018 - international trade in the age of brexit and trump 8 May 2018 - The second annual Dentons Rodyk Dialogue was jointly organised by SMU Centre for Cross Border Commercial Law in Asia and law firm Dentons Rodyk. Titled “International Trade in the Age of Brexit and Trump”, the Dialogue was graced by Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations Mr S Iswaran – who is also the Minister for Communications and Information – as its Guest-of-Honour, and also featured former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Law Professor Tania Voon from the University of Melbourne and Ho Kwon Ping, Chairman of the SMU Board of Trustees and Executive Chairman of Banyan Tree Holdings.
Mr Iswaran made the point that many forms of disruptions have taken place globally and the realm of international trade has not been spared. Globally, governments, corporations and indivduals are grappling with the impact of these disruptions on international trade, particularly in the wake of Brexit and in the era of Trump. Mr Iswaran added that despite, and especially due to, anti-globalisation sentiments and recent trade tensions, countries must stand united in the face of change. Following on from Mr Iswaran, in his speech on “The Fiction of Free Trade”, Mr Ho Kwon Ping suggested the concept of shielding “geriatric industries” from competition, similar to how infant industries in developing countries were protected in earlier decades.
SOL Alumni Newsletter | August 2018
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cebcl a events research forum: expanding the scope of dispute resolution and access to justice: the use of mediation in the courts 12 March 2018 - SMU was privileged to have scholars, judges and lawyers from many countries attend the above research forum organised by the Centre for Cross-Border Commercial Law in Asia and supported by Singapore International Dispute Resolution Academy and Singapore International Mediation Institute. Justice Belinda Ang, chairperson of Singapore Mediation Centre, opened the forum by sharing the Singapore courts’ journey in increasing access to justice by using a range of techniques to encourage or mandate mediation and by partnering with private mediation service providers.
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FA C U L T Y N E W S
RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS The following faculty were featured by the Office of Research and Tech Transfer in recent months. For further details and information on the research, please access the links through the synopses below. IMPROVING CONNECTIVITY BETWEEN ASEAN’s LEGAL SYSTEMS TO ADDRESS COMMERCIAL ISSUES The above report by Professor Locknie Hsu, Associate Professor Pearlie Koh and Associate Professor Yip Man, calls on ASEAN member states to work towards transboundary legal frameworks which better support e-commerce and businesses seeking to use emerging digital technologies. Following the launch of the report in March 2018, the researchers were invited by the ASEAN Secretariat to share highlights of the report with ASEAN officials in Lao PDR. The ‘how’ of justice Assistant Professor Dorcas Quek Anderson examines how dispute resolution processes can ensure that justice is served - both in outcome and in process.
turning disputes into win-win relationships A stint at a not-for-profit mediation centre inspired Assistant Professor Eunice Chua to study how legal disputes can be resolved more amicably for all parties involved.
SOL Alumni Newsletter | August 2018
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RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS law through a philosopher’s lens Associate Professor Tan Seow Hon probes the law’s philosophical foundations in order to enrich its practice.
balancing foreign judgements against domestic policies Assistant Professor Kenny Chng writes on how judges should balance universal norms of justice and the sovereignty of individual nations when deciding to use the public policy doctrine.
re search AWARDS
The SMU School of Law would like to congratulate our faculty (left to right) Professor Nadja Alexander, Associate Professor Wan Wai Yee, Associate Professor Lee Pey Woan, Associate Professor Yip Man and Associate Professor Pasha Hsieh for being awarded the Lee Kong Chian Fellowship for Research Excellence, which will run from 30 June 2018 to 30 June 2019.
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FA C U L T Y & S TA F F
FACUlt y farewell lunch Earlier in May, we held an appreciation lunch for a few of our pioneering colleagues Austin Pulle, Chandra Mohan, David Smith and Woody Hunter. They have been with us from the very start and played very important roles in getting the School to where it is today. We will always be grateful and wish them all the very best. They will always be part of the School of Law family! We also said goodbye to Irene Carboli, who completed her visiting stint with us, and helped in the development of ARCIALA, our IP Law Centre.
judiciary lunch The School of Law hosted a lunch for our judiciary on 17 March 2018. Dean Goh Yihan thanked Chief Justice Menon and all judges for setting aside their precious time to attend the lunch. More than 50 judges and faculty members attended the event and members of the legal fraternity had a great time catching up with one another.
SOL Alumni Newsletter | August 2018
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A WARM welc ome to our SOL FAMILY The School of Law would like to extend a warm welcome to our new faculty and staff. FACULTY Dr Aurelio Gurrea-Martinez (left) joins us as Assistant Professor, specialising in Corporate Law. Dr Jiang Huiqin (right) joins CEBCLA as Yong Pung How Research Fellow.
Mr Vincent Ooi (left) joins us as Lecturer and specialises in Tax Law, Equity and Trusts and Private Client Law. Mr Jerrold Soh (centre) joins us as Lecturer and specialises in Empirical Legal Studies, Law and Economics and Law and Technology. Mr Lau Kwan Ho (right) joins us as Assistant Professor, specialising in Contract Law, Corporate Law and the Legal Profession.
ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF We would like to welcome Mr Adrian John Neo (left) who joins the SOL General Office as Manager in charge of Publicity, Outreach and Alumni Affairs and Ms Adeline Teo (right) who joins CEBCLA as Senior Assistant Manager.
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STUDENTS
l aw as calling lunch serie s This lunch series is sponsored by the faculty members of the School of Law, who hope to give our students an opportunity to be inspired by people who have persevered in doing good, to facilitate our students’ understanding of the role that the law and the profession play alongside other structures in society, and to help them see the “human” side of law. Mr Jason Wong, the previous Deputy Director/Chief of Staff of the Singapore Prison Service, CEO of Singapore Corporation of Rehabilitative Enterprises, and Senior Director of Rehabilitation and Protection at the Ministry of Social and Family Development, shared at the inaugural “Law as Calling Lunch Series” in January. His talk was entitled, “Transforming Lives In and Out of Prison”. He was accompanied by Mr Anil David, CEO of Agape Connecting People, an ex-convict who overcame odds to set up a call centre which hires inmates, the disabled, and others. In March, we hosted the president of the Law Society, Mr Gregory Vijayendran, a partner practicing commercial litigation at Rajah & Tann, who spoke to our students on the topic, “Doing Good as Lawyers”. Mr Vijayendran shared on law as a noble profession, the kinds of good a lawyer can hope to do in private practice, cultivating a pro bono lifestyle over the long haul, promoting a culture of mentoring in the legal profession, and how to find meaning in legal practice.
SOL Alumni Newsletter | August 2018
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mooting news by asSOC prof chen siyuan
SMU mooters continue to make their mark in international competitions this season. Perhaps the most notable result was the ICC team’s victory at The Hague: Ilene Chua, Tracy Gani, Lee Chuan, Ng Pei Qi, Tessa Tan, and Yu Zhengyi (coaches: Beverly Lim (LLB’17), Sampson Lim (LLB’17), Edmund Koh (LLB’11), Nicholas Liu (JD’15)) brought home SMU’s third championship of the tournament after reaching SMU’s fourth consecutive championship final. With this result, SMU has improved its tournamentbest record despite only debuting in the eighth edition of this Grand Slam Moot, which is the world’s largest and most prestigious competition on international criminal law. Pei Qi also took home Best Oralist accolades (2nd for Victim’s Representative and 3rd overall), SMU’s first such awards, while Tracy, having won the Price Moot the previous year, entered the history books of international moots by being only the third ever mooter to have won multiple Grand Slams. In the Price Moot competition, the SMU team comprising Chen Lixin, Grace Goh, Nguyen Sinh Vuong, Shaun Ou, Kartik Singh, and Aaron Yoong reached the championship final also for the fourth year running. Although the Philippines prevailed, reaching the final meant that SMU improved its overall tournamentbest record to 3 championships and 2 1strunner-up titles despite only debuting in the third edition of this Grand Slam Moot in 2010. Grace and Shaun also took home Best Oralist honours, with Grace being named Best Finals Oralist.
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STUDENTS
mooting news To top it all off, the team won its third ever Best Memorials title. The remaining IM results this season are summarised below, and the current tally for the IM Programme is 64 top-3 finishes (23 championships/22 1st-runners-up/19 2nd-runners-up): Jessup (Chia Chen Wei, Shriram Jayakumar, Alexander Lee, Dominic Liew, Melissa Ng): won 5th national round in last 6 years with Alex and Shriram also winning joint Best Oralist. In DC, Alex and Melissa attained SMU’s highest ever Best Oralist rankings (7th and 9th). Coached by Nicholas Liu (JD’15).
Vis and Vis East (Chan Wei Liang, Andrew Chia, Goh Yong Ngee, Gary Leow, Gladys Lim, Lim Joe Jee, Kenneth Loh, Trishna Menon, Stephanie Sim): HK team placed in the top-3 for 4th year running, with Joe Jee picking up an Honourable Mention for Best Oralist.
Vienna team made knockouts for 7th year running, with Kenneth and Trishnan picking up Honourable Mentions. Pre-Moot team reached octo-finals and Best Memorial. Coached by Deya Shankar Dubey (LLB’14), Jacob Quek (LLB’15), Eden Li (LLB/BBM’16), Tan Jun Hong (LLB’16), Wong Yan Yee (LLB’17).
Frankfurt (Chan Mei An, Kellyn Lee, Claire Lim, Priscilla Santa Nicole Maria): reached quarter-final. Coached by Daniel Liu (LLB’13), Luis Duhart (JD’17), Sean Sim (LLB’17).
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mooting news Fletcher (Shermaine Ang, Brian Huang, Darren Lim, Zeng Yu): placed in the top-3. Coached by Clayton Chong (LLB’14), Jacob Quek (LLB’15).
Red Cross (Megan Ho, Ian Mah, Jodi Siah, Yap San Zhi): placed in the top-3 and came in third for Best Memorial. Coached by Sui Yi Siong (LLB’14).
International Maritime Arbitration (Isaiah Zhao, Berwin Chua, Fuong Han Peow, Sean Lee, Theodore Toh, Terence Yeo): reached quarter-final with Terence coming in 3rd for Best Oralist. Team also won Best Team in General Rounds. Coached by Aleksandar Georgiev (LLB’13), Carren Thung (LLB’14).
Air (Lyndon Choo, Charlotte Tang, Wayne Yeo): reached championship final on SMU’s debut, with Charlotte coming in 2nd for Best Oralist. Coached by Shaun Pereira (LLB’13), Daniel Ho (LLB’17), Eden Li (LLB/BBM’16), Tan Jun Hong (LLB’16).
In the Private Law Moot, (Shriram Jayakumar, Iris Ng, Kartik Singh): placed in the top-3 with Shriram winning Best Oralist and Kartik coming in 3rd. In the Nuremberg Moot, the SMU team (Chen Lixin, Lyndon Choo, Lim Joee Jee, Stephanie Sim, Aaron Yoong) placed in the top-3 as well.
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STUDENTS
UPDATES from the bar by the smu law society valentine’s day 2018 Though endless piles of readings and the stress from assignments may prove too much to bear at times, we can always count on the friends we have at the School of Law to encourage us to press on. The Bar’s annual highly anticipated rose sales gave the School of Law community a chance to celebrate friendships made and memories shared with one another on this special day. Through a special collaboration with Oreo, students received a free box of Oreo Thins with every rose purchase, making the gift that extra bit sweeter for friends and loved ones. the bar’s welfare drives 2018 The inside joke about law students treating law school as our second home has always hit home for us (pun intended)! When crunch time hits and we’re stacked with projects, tests and everything in between, it can get pretty overwhelming for most of us. That’s when The Bar steps in to take care of students’ welfare – to ensure law students stay motivated (and sane) with good food.
ramly burger mid-term welfare By week 7, we’re often hit hard, feeling burnt out and questioning how we’re not even halfway through the semester, in dire need of a break. Our Mid-Term Welfare Drive was held at our very own School of Law rooftop where we had our favourite childhood Ramly Burger, freshly flipped in front of our eyes at the live station. Students were also treated to the ever-popular Thai Iced Milk Tea from ChaTrueMae to beat the heat.
SOL Alumni Newsletter | August 2018
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UPDATES from the bar kopi ai mai? Running low on caffeine and tired of facing the problem of having too short a break to run to get our coffee fix, The Bar realised we had to do something about this. Hence, we held the inaugural Kopi AiMai? coffee welfare drive where students could choose from an array of their java favourites and grab a pick-me-up in between their classes without ever having to leave the School of Law. The student community were also encouraged to pen down some words of encouragement for their fellow peers while waiting for their freshly brewed cuppa.
TKQP END-of-semester welfare On the last day of the semester, The Bar held its traditional End-of-Semester Welfare, kindly sponsored by Tan Kok Quan Partnership. The welfare featured a sumptuous buffet spread, complete with crowd favourites like cereal prawns, prawn paste chicken and dessert to top it off. It was a great way to unite the student body through delicious food and the opportunity to mingle with some of the firm’s associates. Students were able to treat themselves to a good break before hitting the books for the last push towards finals, ending the semester on a great note.
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STUDENTS
UPDATES from the bar COMPUTATIONAL THINKING WORKSHOP The newly formed Legal Innovation and Technology club conducted a workshop introducing law students to the fundamental principles of computational thinking. In the works is a workshop applying the principles to a formal programming language Python.
2017 new york competition
times
writing
Congratulations to Averill Chow for winning the 2017 New York Times Writing Competition! Averill’s essay on migration won the top prize in the tertiary category and can be downloaded here. Last year, another School of Law student, Chow Zi En (LLB ’17), achieved 2nd place in the university category.
CJ’s cup 2018 The School of Law’s team of students and an alumni took part in The CJ’s Cup Charity Futsal 2018 edition and emerged as Cup Champions out of 17 participating teams representing law firms, the three law schools and Yellow Ribbon Fund beneficiaries. The School of Law team battled to top their group, overcame long time rivals NUS Law 2-0 in the semi-final before clinching the cup with a convincing 3-0 win against TSMP Law Corporation.
SOL Alumni Newsletter | August 2018
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UPDATES from the bar LAW GRADUATION NIGHT The annual Law Grad Night was held at Star Loft at Star Vista on 12 July. It was a glitzy affair with seniors dressed to the nines. Along with a sumptuous buffet which included fun live stations serving Thai rolled ice cream, there were photo booths to capture fond memories of the night. The night ended with a lucky draw by Dean Goh Yihan.
LAW CAMP 2018 The School of Law welcomed freshmen through the Law Camp held on 7-9 July.
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ALUMNI
a lumni chap ter
NEW SCHOOL OF LAW ALUMNI CHAPTER All four SOL Alumni Groups (LLB, JD, LLM, and IMAG) have been consolidated under the SOL Alumni Chapter, while retaining their autonomy for initiating events specific to each group. The SOL Alumni Chapter’s executive committee is made up of a chairperson, two LLB representatives, one JD representative, one LLM representative, and one IMAG representative. The first executive committee of the SOL Alumni Chapter consists of Shaun Pereira LLB ’13 (Chairperson), Nicholas Poon LLB’11 and Chua Jian Zhi LLB’14 (LLB representatives), Leow Jiamin JD’13 (JD Representative), Teo Xiang Zheng LLM’14 (LLM representative), and Eden Li LLB ’16 (IMAG representative). Each of the four groups in turn consists of class representatives or committee members. Dean Goh and Associate Dean Tan Seow Hon met up with the former and new office holders in a dinner in April. Previous office holders and class representatives of the second LLB. Alumni Group’s exco, Jo Tay LLB’12, Eunice Lim LLB’11, Sarah Liyana LLB’12, Lin Chunlong LLB’13, and Marcus Li LLB’14, deserve special mention for their long service, and the School wishes to register our thanks for their support.
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a lumni events JD ALUMNI GATHERING The annual JD alumni gathering was held on 30 April 2018. Current JD students, alumni and faculty gathered over an evening of good food and took the time to unwind and catch up with each other.Click here for more photos!
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ALUMNI
a lumni events Our International Moots Alumni Group had their third reunion, but unlike previous editions, the event this time comprised a special movie screening, dinner, and a fundraiser. The movie, “All Rise”, is a documentary featuring 7 teams from around the world that took part in the 2014 Jessup Moot. One of the teams was SMU, which had reached the international championship final the year before. The documentary traces the journey of each of the 7 teams, including SMU’s road to the 2014 championship final. The achievements of the 2013 and 2014 SMU Jessup teams have since paved the way to SMU placing in the top-3 in international moots 64 other times, a testament to the commitment of the school’s alumni coaches and judges.
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a lumni newS LLB ALUMNI We would like to extend our congratulations to Tan Jun Hong (LLB’16) for winning the 2018 YSIAC Essay Competition organised by the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC). There was a record number of entries this year (116). Participants were invited to either write about waiving the right to set aside an award or SIAC’s Proposal on CrossInstitution Consolidation Protocol. For his win, Jun Hong will receive $3000 and a complimentary pass to the SIAC Congress 2018.
We would also like to extend our congratulations to Chow Zi En (LLB’17) for being awarded the School of Law Postgraduate Scholarship. Valued at SGD80,000, the scholarship will enable Zi En to further her postgraduate studies, where she will be undertaking an LLM at New York University from this month. “I’m very thankful to have been awarded the SOL PG Scholarship and I look forward to immersing myself in the vibrant international law scene at New York, and exchanging views with classmates from diverse backgrounds across the globe. My time at SMU has put me in good stead for a meaningful LLM – SMU’s interactive pedagogy has helped me cultivate critical analytical skills and my involvement in the International Moots program has provided a very valuable perspective into international law. Through this year at NYU, I aspire to gain deeper insights into international law in the hopes of carving a career in this area.” Zi En is also a recipient of the Kathryn Agguire Worth Memorial Scholarship and the New York University School of Law Dean’s Graduate Award. We wish Zi En all the best in her endeavours.
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ALUMNI
a lumni newS JD ALUMNI Jasmine Toh (JD’17 - left) was in joint 4th position in the recent Part B of the Singapore Bar Exams. Her fellow JD Classmate, Chen Xizi (centre), was awarded the Best Candidate in Wills, Probate and Administration Practice. In addition to LLM Alumna Jolie Giouw, John Tan (JD’11 - right) was also listed in Singapore Business Review’s list of most promising legal luminaries aged 40 and under in 2017. LLM ALUMNI We would like to congratulate Mr Kazumasa Miyashita (LLM’17) for the publication of his book, “M&A Contracts”. Mr Miyashita is a Japan-qualified lawyer and is currently Counsel of Industrial Growth Platform, Inc. (IGPI) in Tokyo. He was formerly Counsel of IGPI in Singapore. Written in Japanese, the book covers various types of agreements used in mergers & acquisitions, including commonly used clauses, providing an easy to follow reference guide for creating M&A contracts.
Ms Jolie Giouw (LLM’17), Counsel at Bird and Bird ATMD LLP was named in Singapore Business Review’s list of most promising legal luminaries aged 40 and under in 2017. Singapore Business Review’s list of most influential lawyers aged 40 and under in 2017 puts together 20 legal luminaries at the top of their fields. The 20 lawyers in the list were selected from hundreds of nominees with specialisations ranging from disputes resolution and litigation, mergers and acquisitions, finance, and construction to intellectual property, copyright, media law, family law, and energy.
SOL Alumni Newsletter | August 2018
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c ommencement 2018
We would like to congratulate all our graduates from the Class of 2018. We wish them every success in their future endeavours and look forward to having them make their mark as professionals who are not only confident and capable, but who also bear virtues of empathy and kindness as they serve the community. For more pictures from Commencement 2018, visit our Facebook page.
SOL Alumni Newsletter | August 2018
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*Information contained herein is accurate at time of production - 16 August 2018
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