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Singapore Academy of Law 
Annual Report 2022-2023

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

ABOUT US

SAL@35​

KEY HIGHLIGHTS​​

CUTTING-EDGE CONTENT​

LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT

PROVIDING TRUST SERVICES​

FINANCIALS

Message from the President

The legal services sector today is experiencing a time of transformation, precipitated in particular by the rise of generative artificial intelligence (“AI”). Faced with this reality, the Academy has nonetheless remained steadfast in its mission to future-proof its systems and equip its members for the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. There are three particular points I would highlight.

First, we have developed and diversified our resources to provide models and standards for our members. We launched a new series of Singapore Law Reports featuring selected decisions of the State Courts, the Family Courts and the Youth Courts, to promote awareness of these important aspects of our local jurisprudence. We also enhanced our efforts to serve the needs of corporate lawyers by forming the Corporate Law Practice Committee.

Second, we continued to invest in intellectual capital by introducing a suite of new learning and development programmes. The Junior Lawyers Professional Certification Programme, which will be offered to lawyers with less than five years of post-qualification experience from 2025, aims to set the industry standard for the holistic development of young lawyers. The Academy’s specialist accreditation scheme for Data and Digital Economy has also been extended to suitable in-house counsel.

Third, we have harnessed technology as a key enabler in the delivery of the Academy’s services. Several improvements have been made to the LawNet portal to make the research experience more intuitive for users. We are also exploring the integration of generative AI with LawNet, as the Academy collaborates with the Infocomm Media Development Authority to fine-tune a large language model for Singapore law using the LawNet dataset. The Academy Library has also developed from an online reader to an online library, where subscribers enjoy unlimited access to its collection of Academy Publishing resources, as well as better search, cross-referencing and footnoting features.

On behalf of the Academy, I thank our members and staff for their invaluable contributions and continuing support, which have made these achievements possible. I am confident that the Academy’s work will continue to play a critical role in supporting the legal services sector as we navigate the road ahead.

Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon

President, Singapore Academy of Law

About Us

The Singapore Academy of Law (SAL) is on a mission to make Singapore the legal hub of Asia by equipping its members with the insights and tools they need to stay ahead.

Executive Board

as of 1 December 2023

Chief Justice
Sundaresh Menon

President, SAL 
Chair, Board of Governors,
Asian Business Law Institute

Attorney-General Lucien Wong SC

Vice-President, SAL

Mr Jason Chan SC

Vice-President, SAL
President of the Law Society of Singapore

Justice Aedit Abdullah

Chair, Promotion of Legal Technology Innovation Committee

Justice Andre Francis Maniam

Representative for Singapore Mediation Centre

Justice Debbie Ong

Chair, Learning and Professional Development Committee

Justice Kannan Ramesh

Chair, Legal Research and Publications Committee

Justice Kwek Mean Luck

Chair, Statutory and Corporate Services Committee

Justice Goh Yihan

Co-Chair, Legal Research and Publications Committee
Co-Chair, Learning and Professional Development Committee

Deputy A-G Ang Cheng Hock SC

Chair, Professional Affairs and Membership Committee

Deputy A-G Lionel Yee SC

Representative for Legal Service Commission

SAL membership

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Active SAL Members

Including the 430 who were inducted at Mass Call 2023

  • Private Practitioners: 42%
  • In-house legal: 15%
  • Singapore Judiciary/Legal Service Officer: 6%
  • Academics: 1%
  • Students: 5%
  • Non-practitioners: 1%
  • Foreign lawyers: 2%
  • Unspecified/others: 28%

The Singapore Academy of Law (SAL) marked its 35th anniversary in 2023 with

a renewed dedication to honour and service.

The SAL motto, honor est in honorante, is a reminder that honour lies in honouring: one becomes honourable only through the honour one bestows upon fellow members of the profession, the court and the public.

The motto was introduced by SAL’s first President Chief Justice Wee Chong Jin in 1988, at the address he delivered at that year’s Annual Dinner of the Law Society.

The SAL motto honor est in honorante was central in the design of SAL’s first logo which continues to be used as its ceremonial crest today

Starting a new tradition

From 2023, a lapel pin in the shape of SAL’s ceremonial crest bearing the motto will be issued to every SAL member. The pin will also bear the member’s unique admission number. The start of this new tradition was announced by Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon at Mass Call 2023.
This pin serves not only to identify the wearer as an Advocate and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Singapore, but also serves as a reminder of our obligation to uphold the high standards and ethics of this noble profession. I hope you will wear it with honour and a profound sense of service whenever you discharge your duties as an officer of the court.

Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon

President, SAL

More than 430 Advocates and Solicitors who were called to the Bar at Mass Call 2023 were the first the be issued with a custom lapel pin from SAL. Pictured above, new SAL member Mr Matthew Cheng and his parents. 

New SAL members and their loved ones celebrate being called to the Bar at Mass Call 2023.

Milestones

SAL’s development over the last 35 years has been closely intertwined with that of the legal profession.

Anniversary Dinner & Conferment Ceremony

Throughout his career in both academia and the Judiciary, the great passion of Justice Phang’s professional life has been Singapore law.  In contributing to its development, he has served not just the legal community, but also our nation. 

CITATION FOR THE HONOURABLE SENIOR JUDGE JUSTICE ANDREW PHANG

SAL celebrated its 35th anniversary with an appreciation dinner on 22 November 2023 to thank its committee members for their devoted service and contributions. The highlight of the evening was the conferment of Honorary Member for Life and Fellow for Life on Justice Andrew Phang.
SAL at 35: Marking SAL’s 35th anniversary are (from left): Professor Jayakumar, Honorary Member for Life; Justice Andrew Phang, Honorary Member for Life; Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, President, SAL; Justice Chao Hick Tin, Honorary Member for Life; Mr Yeong Zee Kin, Chief Executive, SAL
Justice Phang joins the ranks of seven others who have been bestowed this honour:

Mr Lee Kuan Yew (1990)
Former Chief Justice Dr Wee Chong Jin (1992)
Dr David Marshall (1992)
Former Chief Justice Mr Yong Pung How (2007)
Former Deputy Prime Minister Professor S Jayakumar (2008)
Former Chief Justice Mr Chan Sek Keong (2013)
Justice Chao Hick Tin (2018)

Key Highlights of 2022 – 2023

SAL Appreciation Dinner and Awards Night 2022

Senior Counsel Reception

Academy Publishing’s 15th Anniversary

Operationalisation of LawNet Technology Services

Appointment of Mr Yeong Zee Kin as SAL CE

Cutting-Edge Content

The content developed by SAL continues to be a standards-bearer in the industry, raising the profile of Singapore law and helping members make sense of it in a clear and accessible manner. The content is developed by dedicated teams at Academy Publishing and the Asian Business Law Institute (“ABLI”), a subsidiary of SAL.

While Covid might have cloistered us in our home offices for most part of the past three years, Academy Publishing’s work did not abate. In total, 16 volumes of law reports, 17 new books, 27 journals, 83 SAL Practitioner articles and the monthly Civil Litigation Update were published in (the pandemic) period. 

 

THE HONOURABLE JUSTICE KANNAN RAMESH

CO-CHAIR, LEGAL RESEARCH AND PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE, SAL

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Did You Know?

Almost all of SAL’s content is distributed through LawNet, which is continually improved to support new content forms. This past year, Academy Library, SAL’s e-reading service, was enhanced with better search, cross-referencing and footnoting features. A subscription service was also launched in August 2023. This follows a similar improvement to LawNet Asian Insights, which was enhanced with summaries of key Asian news, content-specific access control, and previews of latest articles in April 2022.

  • 20,119 pages of Supreme Court cases and 13,710 pages of State Courts cases published as unreported judgments on LawNet.
  • The SLR (State Courts, Family Courts and Youth Courts) series was launched in January 2023. As at 31 March 2023, 17 SLR State Courts (SLR(StC)) cases, amounting to 336 pages, were published on LawNet.
  • As of 31 March 2023, the following resources were available on LawNet:
    • 85 of the 138 precedents in the database were reviewed, updated and republished.
    • 857 pieces of commissioned content and 38 pieces of original content in the form of interviews with subject matter experts and commentary were published on LawNet Asian Insights.
    • 263 sets of pleadings uploaded in the Pleadings database.
    • 3,471 items were published on LawNet Legal Research
    • OpenLaw was further updated with judgments from 2000
  • The second tranche of Venture Capital Investment Model Agreement (“VIMA”) documents was released in September 2022.
  • An advocacy guide on civil commercial litigation was launched in September 2022 to provide developmental milestones and areas of exposure that junior litigators should progressively seek to unlock.

A Learning and Development
Institute of Choice

The learning and professional development of the legal profession has been the raison d’être for SAL since day one. In the years since, it has emerged as a learning and development institute of choice for the profession, with a blend of standard-setting signature events, structured training and topical discussions on pertinent topics. More than 6,500 members attended at least one SAL training programme last year.

Grooming the next generation of leaders is key to realising SAL’s vision of making Singapore the legal hub of Asia. In line with this, SAL makes leadership training a priority, with flagship programmes like the SAL-INSEAD Legal Leadership Programme enjoying record attendance last year. SAL also organises training sessions that help members make sense of dicey and complex legal issues. Through these, they are also exposed to legal trends and developments in overseas jurisdictions.

Attending the SAL – INSEAD Legal Leadership Programme made me rethink my approach to work trips, to be more structured and strategic. I now map out what sectors interest me and potential clients in that jurisdiction and think about how to connect with them.

MS SHOBNA CHANDRAN

MANAGING DIRECTOR, SHOBNA CHANDRAN LLC

Recognising excellence

Every year, SAL presents scholarships, prizes and awards to expand access to the legal profession and recognise excellence within it:

Senior Counsel


Two new Senior Counsel were appointed:

  • Mr Kelvin Poon SC
  • Mr Wong Woon Kwong SC
Special Accreditation

As the sole specialist accreditation body for the legal profession, SAL’s accreditation matters. This past year, 11 Data and Digital Economy Law and 12 Building and Construction Law practitioners were accredited as specialists in their respective fields.

Justice Kannan Ramesh presenting the certificates of accreditation to...

ROW 1

(1-4)
Senior Accredited Specialists in Building and Construction Law 

(5-8)
Accredited Specialists in Building and Construction Law 

ROW 2

(1-4)
Accredited Specialists in Building and Construction Law 

(5-8)
Senior Accredited Specialists in Data and Digital Economy Law 

ROW 3

(1-3)
Senior Accredited Specialists in Data and Digital Economy Law 

(4-7)
Accredited Specialists in Data and Digital Economy Law 

SAL Scholarships
Three scholars were awarded the SAL Undergraduate Scholarship 2022:
  • Ang Boon Jie – National University of Singapore
  • Bernice Ng – Singapore Management University
  • Manpreet Kaur D/O Kulwant Singh – Singapore University of Social Sciences
The Singapore Law Merit Award

This year’s awardee is Professor Simon Chesterman, who has drawn attention to scholarship in Singapore in the areas of data protection and AI governance.

The SAL Merit Awards

These are presented to members for their service in promoting and advancing the objectives of the Academy. This year’s awardees are:

Mr Ng Jern-Fei KC for helping to raise the profile of foreign lawyers in Singapore and engage them in SAL’s work.

Dr Stanley Lai SC for his contributions to TechLaw.Fest.

Mr Thio Shen Yi SC for his leadership of SAL’s Corporate Social Responsibility Working Group, which has raised over $1 million for the YRF-STAR Bursary.

Other Prizes

  • Christopher Bathurst Prize 

Ms Magdalene Ong received the Christopher Bathurst Prize 2022, which is an essay-writing competition for young lawyers.

  • ECC-SAL Mooting Competition

Ms Ayana Ki and Ms Melody Lau won the ECC-SAL International Mooting Competition, which challenges young lawyers and law students to showcase their advocacy skills.

Providing Trust Services

SAL remains SAL’s a trusted custodian of confidential information and documents, with several statutory functions.

Authentication of notarial certificates and legalisation of public documents.

SAL provides stakeholding services for sale and purchase transactions

For newly developed private residential properties, commercial properties and executive condominiums under certain statutory schemes

SAL manages the national Wills Registry

Through which the public can deposit and enquire about wills deposited in the registry.

SAL helped bring alternative dispute resolution into the mainstream in 1997, when it set up the Singapore Mediation Centre, a first-of-its-kind institution.

Today, it continues to be a market leader, mediating 366 matters in the past year. Training remains an important activity for SMC, with courses for fresh graduates (Part B Mediation Course), non-legal professionals and SAL members as well.

The appointment of Commissioners for Oaths and Notaries Public
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Commissioner for Oaths

Appointed from 1 October 2022 to 30 September 2023

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Commissioner for Oaths

Appointed from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023

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Notaries Public

Appointed from 1 October 2022 to 30 September 2023

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Notaries Public

Appointed from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023

Sharing Beyond Borders

As a symbol of its excellence, SAL has been invited to share its experience in managing and digitalising public trust services with global partners.

The SAL team with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malaysia, during the latter’s study visit to Singapore in August 2022.

SAL’s Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer Mr Paul Neo introducing the e-Register system at the HCCH Conference in Manila in October 2022.

Two overseas training courses were conducted for the Arbitration Centre and the Ministry of Employment, Productivity & Industrial Relations, both of Brunei Darussalam.

Annual Report 2022-2023

Financial statements

The SAL Senate, which manages the affairs of SAL and its properties. View the current SAL Senate and the Executive Board here.

Seated

Row 1

Row 2

Row 3

Not in picture

The day-to-day running of SAL is managed by the SAL Leadership Team.

Row 1

Row 2

Row 3

TechLaw.Fest 2022

20 – 22 July 2022

The metaverse, its applications and implications for the legal profession and regulatory frameworks were some of the topics deliberated at the event, cementing its position as the region’s premeier law and tech conference.

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day hybrid format

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participants

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countries

SAL Appreciation Dinner
and Awards Night

31 August 2022 ​

Hugs and warm handshakes were aplenty, as members of the profession gathered for the first SAL Appreciation Dinner & Awards Night held since the pandemic. The dinner was a chance to thank the many members who contribute tirelessly to the various activities of the Academy.

Singapore Mediation Lecture 2022​

6 September 2022

This year’s edition, co-organised with Harry Elias Partnership, attracted more than 500 participants. It featured Professor Wang Gangwu, Chairman of East Asia Institute, National University of Singapore as its distinguished speaker and provided a historical perspective of dispute resolution in the region and the lessons the profession could adopt for today.

SAL Annual Lecture​

17 November 2022

The Right Honourable Richard Wagner PC became the third Chief Justice of Canada to grace the SAL Annual Lecture rostrum. His Honour's lecture provided a Canadian perspective on the concept of judicial independence, and was both insightful and engaging.

Senior Counsel reception

12 January 2023

To mark 25 years of the Senior Counsel scheme, SAL organised the first-ever SC reception. The exclusive community gathered to explore ways they could uplift and support the development of the wider profession.

Imprints 2023​

7 February 2023​

Imprints, Academy Publishing (AP)’s annual “thank you” event to its authors and contributors, returned following the pandemic, in time to mark AP’s 15th anniversary. Three new titles were launched at the event, bringing the total number of AP publications to 75.

Operationalisation of
LawNet Technology Services​

1 April 2023​

LawNet Technology Services (“LTS”) is helmed by a team of technology professionals and governed by a board of directors who will provide expert guidance on IT governance, including the procurement and development of IT projects. Mr Kenta Kusano, who joined the SAL Group in 2022 as its Chief Technology & Innovation Officer, will head LTS as its Chief Executive.

Resize_1920x1280_Yeong Zee Kin (1) (2)

Appointment of Mr Yeong Zee Kin as SAL CE

1 April 2023

In February, SAL announced the appointment of Mr Yeong Zee Kin as its Chief Executive . Mr Yeong succeeds Mr Rama Tiwari, who stepped down earlier in the year.