On publications, professional conduct, and positive peers.

So every year, the Singapore Academy of Law publishes its Annual Review of Singapore Cases. The publication contains summaries of noteworthy cases released in the previous year, split up into chapters comprising various areas of law (Criminal Law, Company Law, Intellectual Property Law, etc). The chapters are authored by various "leading practitioners and academics [who] contribute on their areas of specialty by way of comment, analyses and criticisms".¹

Since 2020,² I've authored the Legal Profession chapter, and this year's chapter has just been released.³

But:

Today's post isn't really about me.

Today's post is not even really about the cases covered in the chapter - although this year, we do have some eye-catching cases involving the suppression of evidence before the Court, the dangers of social media, and a lawyer writing to 3rd parties to complain about unpaid legal bills. For the practitioners amongst us, have a read if you'd like a digestible⁴ summary of the developments which I consider relevant to our ability to continue practicing.

Today's post is about my colleagues at Covenant Chambers LLC.

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You see, back in March, I was struggling to deliver the first draft to SAL. And this was after already (a) obtaining a time extension; and (b) tapping on the fantastically reliable Rebecca Soh (who had just joined the firm that month).

There were just so many cases to get through! And this was on top of a whole laundry list of matters to manage, thanks to my professional move which had just taken place the month before.⁵

And so, more with hope than expectation, I sent out an SOS to my (newish) colleagues, asking if anyone could be so kind as to help prepare a draft summary of one case of their choosing. I had no high expectations: after all, I was asking folks to volunteer for unpaid National Service, and I was new to the firm.

What I did not expect, however, was that in a span of less than 2 hours, I would have volunteers...

...and not just 1 or 2, but 5.

I was, quite frankly, bowled over by the kindness of my colleagues.

So this post goes out to, in no particular order, Sara Ng, Jing En Tay, James Tan, Ezra Wong, and Darryl Lau, for your generosity in my time of need.

And also not forgetting Rebecca Soh, who did way more than everyone else combined (but was unfortunately not given a choice in the matter), as well as Isabelle Guan who collated the relevant cases.

You are appreciated.