Issue 1: November 2018
Editors’ Foreword Welcome to a new academic year! First and foremost, we would like to thank the editorial committee 2017/2018 for their hard work, producing the well-received Singapore Comparative Law Review 2018 and setting the bar high for UKSLSS’s annual publication. This year, we are particularly excited to announce our monthly Newsletter series, delivered directly to your mailbox! The Newsletter will comprise updates and details on our upcoming events, a segment on law-related news in Singapore and UK, as well as a ‘Features’ section which include a special selection of past interviews, as well as new ones with distinguished guests from the legal industry. These will be customised and made accessible specially for you by our online editors, in easy-toread snippets that keep you abreast of the latest legal developments. We are incredibly excited to announce that the Singapore Comparative Law Review 2019 (“SCLR”) is now officially open for submissions! As we celebrate 20 years of the society’s genesis, this year’s edition will be rooted in the theme of ‘Tradition vs Modernity’. The aim is to critique existing laws and suggest applicable changes based on a comparative approach. We are also privileged to continue having former Chief Justice of Singapore (2006-2012) Chan Sek Keong as our patron this year. Please refer to our Facebook page for more details regarding the categories of articles available, expectations of each category and the link for submission of article outlines. Please also be informed that the deadline for submission of article outlines for SCLR 2019 has been extended to 22nd December 2018. With that said, we hope you will enjoy the first edition of our newsletter, with sincere thanks to our current President, Cheng Jun and Marketing Director, Si Wen for their contributions. Should you have any interest to write for the newsletter or have any feedback regarding our content, feel free to email us at vice.president@ukslss.com or editorial@ukslss.com. We look forward to hearing from you. Best Regards Joshua Wang (Vice President) Edwin Teong (Editor-In-Chief)
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Kyle Koh
Associate Shearman & Sterling LLP Singapore University College London, Class of 2013 By: Lee Kay Howe LONDON, or Singapore? Project finance, or arbitration?
Often, our career choices are framed in terms of bywords - metonyms for which our knowledge barely extends beyond two-line responses to overly-concerned aunties at new year gatherings. But what does it really mean to work in London? What does it mean to pick a specialisation? In this feature, your correspondent speaks to Kyle Koh of the UCL Class of 2013 about his experiences working as a project finance lawyer with Shearman and Sterling - first in London, and now in Singapore - to better understand the considerations that informed the decisions he took as a young Singaporean student in the UK which led up to his career.
Where to work?
Perhaps the most important career decision facing the Singaporean law student is - where do I start my career? For Kyle, it was the training and exposure available at a London law firm that tipped the scales in favour of the British capital. Despite the uncertainties surrounding Brexit, “London,” Kyle notes, is still the “portal to the global market of English law-governed deals and disputes” with a training contract in a London firm giving “a breadth of exposure that you can’t get in Singapore firms”. An added advantage is that City firms take legal training seriously, a benefit which has prepared him well for his work now in project finance. For any student who prioritises training and exposure, London seems to be the place to be. Of course, there are numerous considerations to be taken when deciding where to begin one’s career. Quality of training and breadth of exposure are but two of many metrics that one uses to plan a career. Singapore is, after all, home. Family, work hours, remuneration - these are all factors that come into play, depending on your priorities. Choosing a firm, of course, bears similar considerations. With that in mind, it is perhaps surprising that Shearman and Sterling “barely registered” on Kyle’s mind at the
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time, the young associate having only heard about the firm incidentally through a contact. The firm, however, eventually won him over for a number of reasons. First, as an international practice, apart from giving Kyle a worldly perspective, Shearman and Sterling also gave him the important option of moving back to Singapore one day, with offices located in the city-state as well. Remuneration, of course, is also an important factor, with Shearman and Sterling giving good compensation relative to peer firms. “At the top tier you’ll likely be working tough hours anyway,” Kyle remarks candidly. Beyond this, the relatively small trainee intake (15 - 20) of the firm allowed him greater attention from his senior colleagues, complementing the firm’s strong focus in both transactions (Finance, Project Finance and Mergers and Acquisitions) and disputes (Arbitration), which allowed him to experiment with both types of work during his training contract. Needless to say, these are all important considerations to bear in mind when choosing a firm.
A day in the life of an associate
What, then, about the actual work that lawyers do? Naturally, life as a junior lawyer is not all fun and games - but it is perhaps not as bad as some make it out to be. Work for Kyle starts at 9.30 am every day, and although there are about two or three days a week where he will leave the office at about 10 pm - 12 am, he shares that he gets off at “more reasonable hours” the rest of the time. This, of course, depends on the practice area, and sometimes, the size of the office. Comparing Shearman and Sterling’s London and Singapore offices, Kyle notes the smaller Singapore office (with 25 lawyers to the 180 fee-earners in London) lends to a “cozier, more casual feel”, which can be “flatter” than the already “pretty egalitarian” teams in London. Whilst this gives more opportunities to wander across practice groups and speak to lawyers of widely varying
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specialisations, Kyle remarks that this flexibility can be a “double-edged sword”. Whilst you do not have to be around unless there is work to do, you are expected to be contactable 24/7 if there is. Work life can also vary significantly by practice area. In transactional departments, such as Finance or M&A, a junior lawyer’s job revolves around coordinating various parties, whether by email or by phone, and drafting the documents that underlie the transaction at hand. A junior lawyer here would thus, have to deal with a constant flow of email traffic that has to be monitored while amending contracts or other legal documents. Contentious and advisory departments, on the other hand, tend to involve longer periods of quiet focus, marked by research and drafting. But, Kyle reminds, these accounts merely describe a typical day, and exceptions are sure to abound.
Specialising
As any first-year student of law would know, individual parts of the law can bear significant differences. Naturally, these differences can affect the work done by lawyers. Whilst a full exploration of all the different types of law is unfortunately beyond the scope of this feature, your correspondent has endeavoured to shine the spotlight on a less familiar area of the law. Happy to share about the world of project finance, Kyle explains that this subject-area is typically understood as the financing of infrastructure, energy or mining projects by commercial lenders, development banks and/or multilateral institutions. This, he notes, often occurs where the government does not want to take the risk or does not have the resources to fund such a project. In his work, Kyle has done projects on wind farms in Pakistan, natural gas infrastructure in Mozambique, solar power plants in Egypt, and a large $14bn refinery and petrochemical integrated complex in Malaysia. The large and strategic nature of these projects means that almost invariably, project finance lawyers have to work closely with governments to ensure the project proceeds smoothly. You also work with lawyers from the jurisdiction where the project is physically located. Giving greater detail, Kyle shares that, in broad terms, when project finance lawyers represent lenders, their role is to draft loan documents that govern the loan, and ensure that the drafting protects the lenders from the borrower’s risk of default. They also have to ensure that the borrower’s arrangements with other entities do not jeopardize the borrower’s credit position or increase the overall risk to the lenders.
When Kyle and his colleagues represent borrowers, they have to ensure that the borrowers do not agree to terms with the lenders that are too onerous in the long term, and that their agreements with other parties are “bankable”, meaning that the terms in such documents are sufficiently amenable to financial institutions such that they are willing to extend credit to the project. Whilst this area of the law may not be the first to come to the mind of a young law student, it is a possible avenue of exploration.
What can I do as a law student?
Between the compulsion of peer pressure and the ever-looming deadlines for spring weeks and vacation schemes, preparing for future careers can sometimes feel overwhelming. Certainly, Kyle advises, it is a good idea to participate in law-related competions, noting how his passion for advocacy helped him in the Jessup moots whilst he was at UCL. It goes almost without saying that studying hard and achieving good grades are an imperative as well. At the same time, however, one should not, as Kyle says “squander your holidays in an office”. Somewhat counter-intuitively, Kyle advises young law students to “explore the world and try new things while you’re abroad.” As long as humans (and not algorithms) make the hiring decisions, it does make sense to build a personal narrative that law firms find compelling. Why not enjoy yourself and build up your credentials at the same time? It is advice that your correspondent will certainly take and apply with great relish.
“Explore the world and try new things while you’re abroad.” Parting words
In making our career decisions, it is always important to have access to the best information in order to make informed decisions that we can be happy with down the road. It is perhaps impossible to know everything entailed by the choices we make; but the research we do and the information we seek out can make a huge difference when it comes down to it. And thus, whether it be London or Singapore, project finance or arbitration or indeed any other career decision that comes our way, we hope this feature has helped shed some light on the profession and helped make your decision an easier one to make.
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CONVERSATION WITH
Jerrold Soh Co-Founder Lex Quanta
National University of Singapore, Class of 2018
By: Kelvin Tan
KELVIN Tan sat down with Jerrold Soh, one of four
new case, and you want to have a very quick sense of what the outcome will be like, that’s when an outcome simulator will be useful. You can enter in the facts and within 5-10 minutes, you can get a first-cut outcome. We don’t claim that the simulator will be a 100% exact, but it will be akin to briefly reading through the case law for an hour and getting a sense of what the likely outcome will be.
Kelvin: For the uninitiated amongst us, would you mind giving us a brief summary of what Lex Quanta is, and the services that it provides?
Kelvin: How would you put such common law rules into the simulator? Because each case is so unique, especially in the family law context, how do you reduce the intricacies of each case to something a computer can understand?
founders of Lex Quanta, at Collision 8, home to the Singapore Academy of Law’s Future Law Innovation Programme (FLIP). FLIP is an initiative aimed at cultivating and supporting legal tech start-ups, and amongst those firms which have benefitted is Lex Quanta, a start-up which aims to build legallysensitive data analytics solutions.
Jerrold: Okay, so as a start-up, Lex Quanta does two things. Firstly, we provide data consultancy services to legal organizations on how to structure, manage and exploit the data they have. Oftentimes, this data is in a form not immediately usable for machine learning and other purposes. So, we’re talking about documents, sometimes not even scanned, which present a unique challenge for data science in general. As such, Lex Quanta comes in to suggest ways for them to use and structure their data. Secondly, we create our own legal software; the main thing I can talk about is our outcome simulator for the division of matrimonial assets under Singaporean divorce law. To put it simply, after you input some facts, the system can tell you, based on what it has learned from the case law, an estimation of what the division will be like. That’s what you would call an AI system that does an outcome simulation. So that’s what we do in general. Consultancy and our own software. Kelvin: How might a lawyer use Lex Quanta to help him? Jerrold: For lawyers, the main value right now is in saving research time. For example, if you get a 4
Jerrold: That’s a very good question; I can’t share too much about this, but essentially, when you build a model, you try to capture patterns within that domain. As lawyers, we know that the judges don’t pull out random numbers but follow set frameworks when arriving at their decision. Specifically, with regard to divorce, there is case law in the division of matrimonial assets talking about calculating ratios for division and aggregating them. So that would be the case of ANJ v ANK, a Court of Appeal case. We try and look at how the judges decide, and what data points they rely on. Some would be the number of children, how each party has contributed to taking care of the children, taking care of the household, how long the marriage has lasted and so on. The main thing is that there are patterns in the case law, as the case law is not decided at random. So, we try to look at these patterns, and we try to convert these patterns into something the computer can understand. Kelvin: One touted advantage for AI applications like Lex Quanta is that it would help to drive down legal costs for private clients/start-ups. Have any such private individuals approached you to use Lex
CONVERSATION WITH Quanta for their own purposes yet? Jerrold: We’ve had a few people approach us, but Lex Quanta is not as of yet open to the public. There are various concerns about doing so, and we are still in the phase of testing it out with lawyers first. We want to make sure we get it right, as we don’t want to wrongly advise the public. Kelvin: So, the plan is to expand Lex Quanta to private use in the future? Jerrold: That is one possibility, but we haven’t actively looked at it to be honest, as we are still focusing on getting it to become a tool for lawyers. Kelvin: Why did you choose for Lex Quanta to be involved in the field of family law? Jerrold: I think that there were a few reasons why. The first reason really is that we found sufficient data and the legal framework surrounding the framework of division was sufficiently amenable to data techniques. Second thing is that family law is one area where we could make some impact, not least because there are actually a lot of divorces in Singapore; for example, there are at least 6500 divorces a year, for non-Muslims alone. Given this, if we had to do a simulator for complex commercial litigation, of which there might only be 3 cases a year, the impact might be smaller for example. Kelvin: Have the number of applications of Lex Quanta since been increased, or going forward in the future, what do you hope to achieve for Lex Quanta? For instance, I read that you hoped to extend the simulator’s abilities to IP/traffic disputes. I suppose it follows from what you said previously that as long as the case law in an area is sufficiently established, you can theoretically expand Lex Quanta to that area. Jerrold: We look at a few things; first question is, is there enough data? Second question is whether the area is so complex that a model would not be able to capture the nuances; we talk about highly complex commercial disputes. I won’t say it’s impossible, but it would definitely be much more challenging. Thirdly, we look at the impact; if there are only a few cases a year, there’s not much point in simulating such cases. If it’s something like the UK, where they have a board which does parking ticket appeals, which a lot of people get, then the impact would be much larger.
Kelvin: There has always been talk about how junior lawyers will be increasingly replaced by AI. What space do you think there is for junior lawyers to value-add or differentiate their services? Jerrold: The most direct value I can think of is being able to understand what the technology can or cannot do; something as simple as operating the software may be something that comes more naturally to people who have grown up with technology around them. That said, I wouldn’t want to generalize, as I’ve seen some people my age who can’t deal with software at all. Of course, some people from the older generations are also excellent with software. But if you’re a young lawyer who’s not good at software, you should get better with it, because you’ll have to deal with it a lot more than previous generations would have had to. The second thing is that technology will likely free you up to get more specialized in the legal nuances. It’ll be such that you will spend less time proofreading or getting to know the nuances, and you can take that time to study the law more in depth to really learn the more valuable skills. Kelvin: Do you think that the Singapore legal industry is doing enough to push for the use of more advanced technology? (For e.g., in my limited experience as an intern in law firms in Singapore, most of the heavy lifting, if not all, is still done by practice trainees or associates.) Jerrold: So, when you speak of the legal industry, I think that I can unpack that into a few different groups of people. There are law firms, the government, and other organizations like the Law Society. I think in Singapore, it’s quite interesting as over the course of the last few years, there has been a lot of interest from all three types of organization in trying to pushfor tech adoption. This is important, as it’s not just AI we’re looking at; we’re looking at baseline technology, which could be just using Microsoft Word or Excel better. But that alone delivers a lot of value add. Going to AI specifically, I think everybody is interested in it from various angles. However, fortunately or unfortunately, I’ll be honest in saying that the software hasn’t really matured in the sense that we are still in the phase of testing and getting it right. So, it may take some time before it becomes something that every lawyer in a firm can use. I think it will get there, but it will take some time. 5
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Right now, as far as I know, in law firms, there will probably be a small group of people working on testing it and understanding how it works. And once the software gets to a stage of accuracy that is sufficient, you will suddenly see that they will publicize that “the whole firm can use it”. So, we are still not at that level yet, but we are getting there. For government, not just in the legal section of the government, they have been pretty much dragging people along. SAL has been very proactive; they’ve come up with the FLIP program, they’ve come up with workshops and conferences to get people talking about legal tech and to connect people. I think this is already very encouraging, and it has helped us directly as a start-up. If you ask me whether they should do more, honestly, I would say that they might not need to do anymore; there’s also the issue of doing too much where the government crowds out the private sector. If they do everything, what’s left for us to do? I think it’s okay now; the balance is not possible to objectively define. Such things take time as well; it’s not like you can pump in a million dollars and the next year you have AI everywhere. It’s a long journey, and people have to be patient.
Kelvin: What problems, if any, might you foresee for the use of AI or more modern technology in the legal field? Jerrold: I think the main problem would be communication issues between users, often lawyers, and the technology developers. There are a lot of things that AI can do, but also a lot that it cannot do. It must be properly communicated about what to expect, and what not to expect. Lawyers might think that the software can do everything, when inreality, it might just be one facet of a larger legal issue. So that might be a problem. On the other hand, the tech people might not understand what the lawyers actually want, so they might create something which is technically difficult but solves a problem which is non-existent. So I think we need solid, 2-way communication to have useful AI. Kelvin: How about over-reliance? Jerrold: I think these issues, as well as issues about ethics and regulation, will be worked through as time passes, as it does with all technology. Eventually, we hit a point where we learn how to regulate and manage it. 6
Kelvin: What advice might you give to a current law student or fresh graduate in this transitional period of technological change? Jerrold: I think I can honestly say that the best advice is not to listen to advice; based on my personal experience, when people give advice, it’s always based on their own historical experiences. It might not be true for the future that people studying now would have to deal with. When I was in my 1st year, I was asking around for advice on whether I should do my Law and Economics degree in NUS, which almost everyone told me was useless. I think that’s valid advice, because it’s based on what historically has been the case;looking at the last 200 years, is economics useful for legal practice? More likely than not, no. But in the course of the few years I was in law school, there were many changes, and it just happened that the change was aligned with some of the skills I picked up in my Economics degree, which I did anyway, in spite of the advice I received. So, that has helped me get to a place where I want to be. The main point of that is you can listen to advice but do what you would do as a lawyer and read the primary sources; think to yourself whether it makes sense or not and look at different points of view. You have to predict what your own future would be; in 5 years’ time, AI might not even be a thing; there might be a big explosion where people realize AI is useless; it has happened before in the 1980s, though I don’t think it will happen again. I think the best piece of advice I received from a very capable lawyer is that everything you know will make you a better lawyer; so be open-minded, get lots of knowledge from different areas. The situation now might be such that you really have to understand the technology or the corporate/ financial implications of something before you advise on something. For instance, for ICOs, if you don’t understand blockchain or tokens, how can you advise a client? For many years, it was possible for a software lawyer to not know much but still be a good lawyer, though with AI, it’s highly unlikely the same can be done. Kelvin: Thank you for your time!
In partnership with the Singapore Young Professionals Network Community (SYNC), this event is held every year for students who wish to find out more about the application process for vacation schemes and training contracts. This year’s panel will be made up of Singaporean associates working in a wide array of major law firms here in London, from Ashurst and Linklaters to Wilmer Hale. The networking segment will be conducted by UKSLSS alumni who hold training contract offers, or are currently trainees at firms ranging from Linklaters, Mayer Brown, Freshfields to Latham & Watkins! They have been through the entire application process, and will be there to help you do the same. The event is open to students of all years, so whether you are looking for tips for your vacation schemes applications or simply just want to get to learn more about life as a lawyer here in London, you’re most welcome to sign up through the link on our Facebook page. In conjunction with UKSLSS’s 20th Anniversary, we also have an exclusive 20% off transport fees for students arriving from outside of London. See you there!
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The UKSLSS was established in November 1998 under the auspices of Contact Singapore, London. It aims to represent the interests of Singaporeans studying law in the United Kingdom (UK). Although catering primarily to all Singaporeans studying law in the UK, the UKSLSS welcomes students of all nationalities who are interested in knowing more about Singapore and its legal scene. This November, our society has reached the twentieth year of our establishment! To celebrate, we have incorporated the colour gold into our logo, and we will have a slew of initiatives to mark the anniversary. For this year only, our merchandise will follow this theme, so do come for all our events to collect the available limited-edition merchandise, inclusive of tote bags and even notebooks with gilt edges! We thank you for your constant support throughout the years, and we look forward to serving you this year through our many events and publications. Thank you! The UKSLSS Exco of 2018/19 8