Good Counsel
Six new Senior Counsel appointed. If the article is right, since the SC scheme began in 2007, in the eleven years since (counting this one), ten lawyers have made SC before turning 40. The youngest to make SC (this is equivalent to the Queen's Counsel role in the UK) is Alvin Yeo of WongPartnership, who made SC at 37. Directory of Senior Counsel here.
From here: 'Another lawyer appointed as Senior Counsel is Hri Kumar. He said: "The only reason I am here is that I have had great teachers in the firm Drew and Napier, which I've been with for the whole of my legal career, and I don't think you can substitute something like that."'
(Would that everyone were so lucky, really)
And you can always trust TNP to give you a spin like this.
YOUNG SENIORS
By Karen Wong
January 07, 2008
MR HRI Kumar never really aspired to be a lawyer when he was a young boy.
Pictures: Jonathan Choo
But when he came to one of life's crossroads, he chose to read law instead of medicine.
That decision many years back paid off for him yesterday.
The law firm partner and Member of Parliament was appointed to the esteemed rank of senior counsel, together with five other lawyers.
The six new senior counsel appointed yesterday brings the total number here to 51.
Mr Kumar, 41, said with a grin: 'I wanted to be a race-car driver and a professional footballer. Once, I wanted to be a bus conductor because it seemed like they had an important job.'
In junior college, he read the three sciences - physics, chemistry and biology - and considered studying medicine, but eventually decided that it was not for him.
One of the reasons was because he didn't really enjoy dissecting animals in biology class. More than that, he said: 'I didn't feel like it was going to be my calling. The subject didn't really inspire me.'
It helped that one of his brothers, who is 10 years older than him, was already a lawyer.
So Mr Kumar went on to read law at the National University of Singapore.
On his appointment, Mr Kumar said: 'I'm very honoured, and it's also humbling. Now, much more will be expected of me. It's a great challenge.'
Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong announced the appointments at the opening of the legal year.
Being appointed is a mark of eminence within the legal profession, 'an accolade given to those who possess outstanding ability as advocates, extensive knowledge of the law and the highest professional standing'.
Another senior counsel appointed yesterday was Mr Cavinder Bull who, with Mr Kumar, is a partner in Drew & Napier.
The firm, headed by MrDavinder Singh, now has the most number of senior counsel, with seven among their ranks.
Mr Bull read law in Oxford and graduated with first-class honours.
Just 39, he is among the youngest appointed. Only in 'exceptional cases' are lawyers below the age of 40 appointed to senior counsel.
The youngest ever was Mr Alvin Yeo, at 37. Mr Davinder Singh and Justice VK Rajah, who were in the first batch of appointments in 1997, were 39 at that time.
Mr Bull, who went to Harvard on a Lee Kuan Yew scholarship to do a Masters in Law, said: 'I chose to go into law because I wanted to make a difference.'
'Making senior counsel sort of reminds me of that. It's the senior counsel who are involved with the most important cases and who also deal with the most significant legal issues of our day.'
So what keeps him going?
He said: 'I think that if you look for it, instead of being pre-occupied with the workload, there are many moments when you are making a difference in people's lives.'
Mr Bull had worked for a year as a Justice Law Clerk to the then Chief Justice Yong Pung How, before practising law.
Mr Bull's mother, who was a primary school teacher, raised him and his two elder sisters single-handedly after their father died when he was 15months old.
She is now 75 and lives with his family.
He said: 'When I told her about being appointed, she reminded me that God has always been good to me.'
Though,
Jan 11, 2008
By K.C. Vijayan
Judge to Senior Counsel: Be role models
A CALL has gone out to lawyers appointed as Senior Counsel to do more to give back to the profession.
Judge of Appeal V.K. Rajah has expressed disappointment that 'a small fraction of Senior Counsel may not be wholeheartedly discharging their role as role models for younger advocates'.
He called on all Senior Counsel to be more actively involved, either through the Law Society or the Singapore Academy of Law, for example, by working with the various committees in these bodies.
'I hope more, if not all, will step forward,' said Justice Rajah, one of the youngest Senior Counsel in the pioneer batch who carved a distinguished career and became an appeals judge. Justice Rajah also criticised the Senior Counsel Forum, an informal network of Senior Counsel, for being
'unfortunately rather lacking in vigour and direction'. He did not elaborate on this in an interview he gave Inter Se, a publication of the Singapore Academy of Law.
His comments were made in the broader context of his views on the role of Senior Counsel, his life as one and the advice he would give younger lawyers. Two other Senior Counsel, Mr Harry Elias and Ms Deborah Barker, also fielded these questions. A separate article in the magazine explained that members of the Forum keep in touch through e-mail and hold two dinners a year; among other things, they also look into how Senior Counsel can contribute to the
administration of justice here.
Senior Counsel Michael Hwang, who heads the Forum, cited the harried schedules of Senior Counsel as the main reason the Forum was not doing more for lawyers. They have to 'juggle with the higher expectations from the Bench, Bar and clients as a result of their appointments', he said.
Still, he said, Senior Counsel like former Law Society president Philip Jeyaretnam were shining examples who served the profession 'above and beyond the call of duty'. Justice Rajah, elsewhere in the interview, described the Senior Counsel title as 'an 'independent mark of quality' and that, as a group, they had made 'a serious difference to the litigation landscape in Singapore'. He added, however, it must be recognised that some 'extremely good lawyers' were, for one reason or another, not Senior Counsel, and that hiring one did not always guarantee victory in court.
As a case in point, he recalled a matrimonial case in which two well-known Senior Counsel were outargued by a 'feisty female' who represented herself.
The case was billed in a local daily (HA HA HA, I wonder which one... *snark*) as 'Jane and two Tarzans', he said, if his memory served him correctly.
'It was the talk of the town,' he added. Recalling his own appointment as a Senior Counsel 10 years ago, he said being part of the first batch
made it 'special' and 'a matter of considerable pride and satisfaction'.
He acknowledged that it benefited his practice with then law firm Rajah & Tann and encouraged him to grow the firm fast.
But he is ever aware that with the perks and privileges of becoming a Senior Counsel comes 'a responsibility to the legal fraternity to share knowledge and expertise'. Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong's speech at the opening of the new legal year last week also addressed this point.
He noted that while the committee that selects Senior Counsel used to focus on advocacy skills, legal knowledge and professional integrity as the main qualifying criteria, it will in future also consider the lawyer's contributions in the form of teaching, writing, research and committee work for the various law institutions.
(Guess that's how Pinsler made SC, then?)
Also, there are Wikipedia entries for Singaporean lawyers. *blinks* VK Rajah was part of the four-man law school moot team which won the Philip C. Jessup Cup in 1982, (allegedly the first for NUS). The other members of the team were Davinder Singh, Jimmy Yim, and Steven Chong.
(ALL of whom made SC).
From here: 'Another lawyer appointed as Senior Counsel is Hri Kumar. He said: "The only reason I am here is that I have had great teachers in the firm Drew and Napier, which I've been with for the whole of my legal career, and I don't think you can substitute something like that."'
(Would that everyone were so lucky, really)
And you can always trust TNP to give you a spin like this.
YOUNG SENIORS
By Karen Wong
January 07, 2008
MR HRI Kumar never really aspired to be a lawyer when he was a young boy.
Pictures: Jonathan Choo
But when he came to one of life's crossroads, he chose to read law instead of medicine.
That decision many years back paid off for him yesterday.
The law firm partner and Member of Parliament was appointed to the esteemed rank of senior counsel, together with five other lawyers.
The six new senior counsel appointed yesterday brings the total number here to 51.
Mr Kumar, 41, said with a grin: 'I wanted to be a race-car driver and a professional footballer. Once, I wanted to be a bus conductor because it seemed like they had an important job.'
In junior college, he read the three sciences - physics, chemistry and biology - and considered studying medicine, but eventually decided that it was not for him.
One of the reasons was because he didn't really enjoy dissecting animals in biology class. More than that, he said: 'I didn't feel like it was going to be my calling. The subject didn't really inspire me.'
It helped that one of his brothers, who is 10 years older than him, was already a lawyer.
So Mr Kumar went on to read law at the National University of Singapore.
On his appointment, Mr Kumar said: 'I'm very honoured, and it's also humbling. Now, much more will be expected of me. It's a great challenge.'
Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong announced the appointments at the opening of the legal year.
Being appointed is a mark of eminence within the legal profession, 'an accolade given to those who possess outstanding ability as advocates, extensive knowledge of the law and the highest professional standing'.
Another senior counsel appointed yesterday was Mr Cavinder Bull who, with Mr Kumar, is a partner in Drew & Napier.
The firm, headed by MrDavinder Singh, now has the most number of senior counsel, with seven among their ranks.
Mr Bull read law in Oxford and graduated with first-class honours.
Just 39, he is among the youngest appointed. Only in 'exceptional cases' are lawyers below the age of 40 appointed to senior counsel.
The youngest ever was Mr Alvin Yeo, at 37. Mr Davinder Singh and Justice VK Rajah, who were in the first batch of appointments in 1997, were 39 at that time.
Mr Bull, who went to Harvard on a Lee Kuan Yew scholarship to do a Masters in Law, said: 'I chose to go into law because I wanted to make a difference.'
'Making senior counsel sort of reminds me of that. It's the senior counsel who are involved with the most important cases and who also deal with the most significant legal issues of our day.'
So what keeps him going?
He said: 'I think that if you look for it, instead of being pre-occupied with the workload, there are many moments when you are making a difference in people's lives.'
Mr Bull had worked for a year as a Justice Law Clerk to the then Chief Justice Yong Pung How, before practising law.
Mr Bull's mother, who was a primary school teacher, raised him and his two elder sisters single-handedly after their father died when he was 15months old.
She is now 75 and lives with his family.
He said: 'When I told her about being appointed, she reminded me that God has always been good to me.'
Though,
Jan 11, 2008
By K.C. Vijayan
Judge to Senior Counsel: Be role models
A CALL has gone out to lawyers appointed as Senior Counsel to do more to give back to the profession.
Judge of Appeal V.K. Rajah has expressed disappointment that 'a small fraction of Senior Counsel may not be wholeheartedly discharging their role as role models for younger advocates'.
He called on all Senior Counsel to be more actively involved, either through the Law Society or the Singapore Academy of Law, for example, by working with the various committees in these bodies.
'I hope more, if not all, will step forward,' said Justice Rajah, one of the youngest Senior Counsel in the pioneer batch who carved a distinguished career and became an appeals judge. Justice Rajah also criticised the Senior Counsel Forum, an informal network of Senior Counsel, for being
'unfortunately rather lacking in vigour and direction'. He did not elaborate on this in an interview he gave Inter Se, a publication of the Singapore Academy of Law.
His comments were made in the broader context of his views on the role of Senior Counsel, his life as one and the advice he would give younger lawyers. Two other Senior Counsel, Mr Harry Elias and Ms Deborah Barker, also fielded these questions. A separate article in the magazine explained that members of the Forum keep in touch through e-mail and hold two dinners a year; among other things, they also look into how Senior Counsel can contribute to the
administration of justice here.
Senior Counsel Michael Hwang, who heads the Forum, cited the harried schedules of Senior Counsel as the main reason the Forum was not doing more for lawyers. They have to 'juggle with the higher expectations from the Bench, Bar and clients as a result of their appointments', he said.
Still, he said, Senior Counsel like former Law Society president Philip Jeyaretnam were shining examples who served the profession 'above and beyond the call of duty'. Justice Rajah, elsewhere in the interview, described the Senior Counsel title as 'an 'independent mark of quality' and that, as a group, they had made 'a serious difference to the litigation landscape in Singapore'. He added, however, it must be recognised that some 'extremely good lawyers' were, for one reason or another, not Senior Counsel, and that hiring one did not always guarantee victory in court.
As a case in point, he recalled a matrimonial case in which two well-known Senior Counsel were outargued by a 'feisty female' who represented herself.
The case was billed in a local daily (HA HA HA, I wonder which one... *snark*) as 'Jane and two Tarzans', he said, if his memory served him correctly.
'It was the talk of the town,' he added. Recalling his own appointment as a Senior Counsel 10 years ago, he said being part of the first batch
made it 'special' and 'a matter of considerable pride and satisfaction'.
He acknowledged that it benefited his practice with then law firm Rajah & Tann and encouraged him to grow the firm fast.
But he is ever aware that with the perks and privileges of becoming a Senior Counsel comes 'a responsibility to the legal fraternity to share knowledge and expertise'. Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong's speech at the opening of the new legal year last week also addressed this point.
He noted that while the committee that selects Senior Counsel used to focus on advocacy skills, legal knowledge and professional integrity as the main qualifying criteria, it will in future also consider the lawyer's contributions in the form of teaching, writing, research and committee work for the various law institutions.
(Guess that's how Pinsler made SC, then?)
Also, there are Wikipedia entries for Singaporean lawyers. *blinks* VK Rajah was part of the four-man law school moot team which won the Philip C. Jessup Cup in 1982, (allegedly the first for NUS). The other members of the team were Davinder Singh, Jimmy Yim, and Steven Chong.
(ALL of whom made SC).