Speakers | lawawarenessweek2018

After living in Singapore for over 16years and mostly working for MNCs, Lyn established her very own Singapore law firm in 2015, Lyn Boxall LLC)

Lyn believes that the law should be understandable by individuals who are affected by it – that the law should be helping people and not confusing them. This is the reason why she has been a strong advocate for many years of ‘plain English’ for legal documents and for legal advice.

Lyn has a strong interest in fairness for individuals. She supports consumer rights and protection from harassment, especially in the workplace.

Darren specializes in family law. These include divorce proceedings, ancillary matters, mediation, as well as Court applications for discovery, personal protection order, variation and enforcement of Court orders.

Darren has a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) from the University of Leicester.

Darren is admitted as an Advocate and Solicitor in Singapore and speaks English, Malay, Mandarin, Japanese and French.

Rajan set up a boutique family law firm, Rajan Chettiar & Co in April 2003 which is today known as Rajan Chettiar LLC, which specialises in all aspects of family and personal laws.

He is also an Associate Mediator with the Singapore Mediation Centre and volunteers as a mediation at the State Courts Centre for Dispute Resolution and Family Justice Courts Family Dispute Resolution Centre and the Community Mediation Centre.

He is a collaborative lawyer, child representative, parent coordinator and a private mediator.

Keyan is a Senior Associate in Fortis Law Corporation’s Private Client Practice Group. His principal areas of practice are in private client matters and dispute resolution.

Keyan has acted in and handled a variety of contentious and non-contentious private client matters for both local and international clients, including family disputes, divorce, mediation, estate planning and applications for Grant of Probate and Letters of Administration.

He graduated with a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) from the University of Bristol and is admitted as an Advocate and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Singapore.

Elaine Ho is a transactions lawyer qualified in 3 jurisdictions (England and Wales, New York and Singapore) with substantial experience in banking and finance, funds, mergers and acquisitions as well as regulatory matters.

Elaine an active contributor to the community, serving as chairperson of the Ageing Gracefully at Home project launched in Chinatown and also in various other capacities in other community organisations. She also sits on the Law Society Pro Bono’s Law Awareness Committee and Community Legal Clinics Committee.

Dharma has worked extensively in the public and private sectors over the last two decades holding various positions of responsibilities.

Dharma is now a practising lawyer in her own firm and has been working in various fields of the law like corporate, commercial, civil, criminal and family litigation. She often gives talks and training sessions to government bodies and family service centres.

She currently runs her own firm (Dharma Law LLC) with other lawyers and has practice areas in estate matters, criminal, family, conveyancing and general litigation matters.

Nur Amalina B Kamal

Amalina is a Senior Associate with Eden Law Corporation. Her practice is firmly rooted in community law, spanning matrimonial disputes, family violence, maintenance, adoption, estate planning and deputyship applications. In her practice, she advocates for collaborative dispute resolution as a means for parties to formulate their own legal solutions, tailor-made to their unique post-divorce circumstances.

Amalina is also the firm’s Syariah law specialist, advising on Syariah matrimonial matters and Syariah-compliant estates.

Jeffrey is an Associate at Fortis Law Corporation, and a member of the firm’s Private Client Practice Group.
Jeffrey’s main areas of practice are family-related matters including family disputes and divorce, wills and probate which include estate planning issues, as well as property disputes including landlord-tenant disputes.

Jeffrey graduated with a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Melbourne. He is admitted both as an Advocate and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Singapore, and as an Australian Lawyer and Officer of the Supreme Court of Victoria, Australia.

Steven is an advocate and solicitor specializing in insurance, reinsurance, O&G, International shipping & trade, cross border, community law and he is a chartered arbitrator and certified mediator and adjudicator.

Steven was awarded the Public Service Medal (PBM) by the President of Singapore in 2005 and was one of only 2 recipients awarded the “Outstanding Volunteer Award" by the Minister of Law and was awarded the “Minister of Law Appreciation Award” in 2011. In 2012, Steven was awarded Public Service Star (BBM) for his many contributions to the community.

June is the Managing Director of Eden Law Corporation, a low bono private law firm committed to providing competent and affordable legal representation to clients of modest means and underprivileged communities throughout Singapore. She is primarily involved in matrimonial litigation - ranging from divorce, to guardianship, to cross-border divorce and custody matters. In particular, she has a keen interest in matrimonial matters involving child abductions/relocations and foreign wives living in and outside of Singapore.

June volunteers her legal services with the Law Society’s Pro Bono Services Office, the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme, the Legal Aid Bureau, the Community Justice Centre and HOME, a charity concerned with the rights of migrant workers in Singapore.

Seow Ling is an Associate Director with Eden Law Corporation. She believes that legal representation should be within every individual's reach and plays her part in achieving this lofty goal by offering equitable, affordable and sustainable access to her legal services.

Fluent in Mandarin, Seow Ling represents many PRC and Taiwanese nationals in their matrimonial matters.

Seow Ling is especially interested in the area of Estate Planning. She particularly enjoys formulating sustainable estate planning solutions for families with elderly individuals, clients suffering from dementia and other intellectual disabilities. To this end, she volunteers her legal services with the Special Needs Trust Company and the Ministry of Social and Family Development on the Panel Deputy Scheme.

Ling Ling is a Partner of RHTLaw Taylor Wessing. She has 10 years of experience in the legal industry.

Ling Ling takes on cases in family and matrimonial law, criminal law in addition to commercial cases requiring litigation in court.

Ling Ling has served in the Office of the Public Guardian, Ministry of Social and Family Development, as a Policy Advisor and later became Assistant Director, Legal.

Besides civil and commercial cases, Ling Ling also enjoys working on complex criminal matters, with a focus on white collar crimes and capital offences

Halijah Mohamad

Halijah graduated from National University of Singapore (LLB hons) in 1983 and was called to the S’pore Bar in January 1984. She set up her own law practice Halijah Mohamad & Co in February 1995, handling primarily family law matters (both civil and syariah).

She had been involved in representations made to Select Committee on several bills including amendments to Administration of Muslim Law Act, Women's Charter, Penal Code, and Maintenance of Parents Bill. Halijah was also involved in the preparation NGO Shadow Reports on Convention of Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) submitted to United Nations (CEDAW Committee).

Bin Hong is currently a Senior Associate with Peter Low & Choo LLC, a boutique law practice specializing in litigation and dispute resolution.

Bin Hong is passionate about law and issues relating to the elderly and the mentally capacitated, he works closely with organisations such as the Ministry of Social & Family Development, Agency of Integrated Care, Office of Public Guardian, as well as various nursing homes and family service centres in Singapore where he provides legal advice and other related services.

Maheswary Emmanuel Premanth

Maheswary Emmanuel was called to the Bar of England and Wales (Middle Temple) in 1987. She was admitted to the Singapore Bar in 1989 and has been in active practice since then.

Maheshwary also volunteers on-site legal clinics at the State Court, a pro bono service of the Law Society of Singapore.

Maheshwary has had the distinction of being on the Executive Committee of the Singapore Association of Women Lawyers since 1995 serving as Honorary Secretary and Treasurer and as a member of the panel of editors in SAWL’s publications for the layman, namely, “You & the Law” and “Teens & the Law”.

Mr. Samuel Seow is the founder and Managing Director of Samuel Seow Law Corporation and is also Foreign Legal Advisor to Seow & Associates, its associated legal practice founded in Malaysia.
Samuel’s expertise is in the field of intellectual property law and general commercial and corporate law, and he has extensive experience in dealing with a wide range of transactions, with a special focus on the application of these laws to the entertainment, arts and media industries.

Samuel is also acclaimed as a speaker on topics relating to law and entrepreneurship and has been invited to speak at many events throughout the world.

A lover of the arts, Samuel takes pride that Samuel Seow Law Corporation has been awarded the Distinguished Patron of the Arts award from the National Arts Council for the past consecutive years.

Siraj Shaik Aziz is a CLAS (Criminal Legal Aid Scheme) Fellow.

He works full-time in the Law Society Pro Bono Services Office acting exclusively for CLAS applicants who have qualified for legal aid at both the State Courts and Supreme Court.

Siraj handles a wide range of cases involving offences under the Penal Code and other statutes. He has also been actively involved in the consultation process for proposed legislative changes to the criminal justice framework.

Sujatha Selvakumar

Sujatha believes that a strong and reliable justice system is critical to a secure society and a growing economy. The success of our society relies in large part on the trust we all put in the rule of law and the knowledge that the courts will be there to enforce our rights should something go wrong. Hence is it equally critical that legal representation is within reach for every individual.

Sujatha was admitted as an Advocate and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Singapore in 2011.

Sujatha has extensive experience in civil and commercial litigation. She was one of five pioneer Criminal Legal Aid Scheme Fellows in 2015 and continues to assist those in need.

Rashidah Kader Saheer

Rashidah is an Advocate and Solicitors of the Supreme Court of Singapore. She was also called to the English Bar in 1995 and is a Barrister-at-Law of England and Wales.

Having been in practice since 1997, Rashidah has had a varied practice to-date, spanning from civil and criminal litigation to family litigation.

Rashidah has handled various matters, including conducting trials and appeals in the Singapore High Court, State Courts and Syariah Court.

She spends a substantial portion of her time on pro bono work as she believes in making justice affordable for everyone.

Rashidah has also undergone mediation training and has facilitated mediation services for the Small Claims Tribunal.

Richard is the founder and current Managing Director of R. S. Solomon LLC, a full-service law practice in Singapore.

Richard is a general litigator focusing on commercial, criminal and family matters. Effectively bilingual in English and Chinese, Richard is one of the People's Republic of China Embassy's 5 panel lawyers in Singapore.

Richard is also the Singapore representative of the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, which currently has 41 overseas appointees representing 22 countries/cities worldwide.

Since 2015, he has been speaking frequently in public on a wide range of legal topics.

Berlin Soh is an Associate in Fortis Law Corporation’s Private Client Practice Group.

In the course of her legal experience, she has represented clients across a range of family law issues including family disputes, divorces, maintenance for children and wife.

Berlin believes in collaborative dispute resolution, especially when children are involved.

Apart from family-related disputes, Berlin has also advised clients on matters relating to estate planning and incapacity issues. This includes drafting of wills, application for Grant of Probate and Letters of Administration, execution of Lasting Power of Attorneys (LPA) and deputyship applications.

Jeh Yaw is a member of the Honourable Society of Inner Temple and was called to the Bar in England and Wales. He has worked in both the public and private sectors, including as a Deputy Public Prosecutor / State Counsel with the Attorney-General’s Chambers, government ministries, statutory boards and corporate counsel in the private organisations.

As corporate counsel, Jeh Yaw has oversight of legal issues traversing general corporate, industry regulations and day-to-day operations. These included advising, negotiating and drafting documentation related to finance, investment joint venture, intellectual property, real estate, as well as diverse supplies and services contracts. Participation in transactions was end-to-end, requiring constant contact with management and collaboration from day one with colleagues from commercial, technical, investment, finance, audit and corporate communications.

Jin Song is an Associate Director with Eden Law Corporation. He believes in developing a strong, personal relationship with his clients so that he is able to put their best case forward.

Jin Song's practice spans a wide range of areas, from civil litigation and international arbitration cases to contested divorce and guardianship matters to criminal matters. He is keenly interested in offences committed by children and young persons, and has also represented clients accused of capital offences such as murder and drug trafficking.

Jin Song volunteers his legal services at AWARE, providing legal advice to victims of serious sexual crimes at the legal clinics run by the Sexual Assault Care Centre.

Shen Kiat enjoys the practice of community law. It is compatible with his personality as a values-driven approach practice built upon the foundations of wisdom, empathy, patience, reasonableness and technical competence. He sits on a Law Society Committee that advises both practitioners and government bodies on probate practice and succession planning and has helped to develop the certification course with Ministry of Social and Family Development and the Singapore University of Social Sciences on the Professional Deputies and Donees Scheme.

Shen Kiat believes every client has a story to tell. They give him the characters, the setting, the plot, the conflict and the desired outcomes, and his role is to provide a resolution.

Two main principles that guide Shen Kiat's approach to life:
(1) Act Justly, Love Mercy and Walk Humbly with God.
(2) Look upon the world as his neighbour.

Patrick Tan is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Fortis Law Corporation. His areas of practice include commercial litigation and arbitration, wealth management, and private client matters. He is a Notary Public Commissioner for Oaths, a Fellow of the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators, as well as an accredited Associate Mediator, appointed by the Singapore Mediation Centre and the Primary Dispute Resolution Centre of the State Courts of Singapore. He also currently serves as a Volunteer Mediator for Small Claims Tribunal, State Courts of Singapore, as well as State Courts-SMC panel of mediators for the Volunteer Mediator Programme (Magistrate Complaints). In addition, he is also a Legal advisor for Singapore Estate Agents Association.

In 2005, Patrick was nominated for the Spirit of Enterprise Award in Singapore for founding M/s Patrick Tan & Associates (now known as Fortis Law).

Patrick speaks fluent English, Mandarin, Hokkien and Cantonese. In his spare time, he enjoys golfing, fishing, running, swimming, cycling and travelling.

Gerald Mursjid Wiyatno

Gerald is a regional employment law specialist with Squire Patton Boggs for APAC.

Gerald has experience in all aspects of employment and immigration work, both contentious and non-contentious and in respect of various South-east Asian countries. He advises on all things employment (minimum benefits and protections, workplace discrimination, health and safety, employment aspects of tax, insolvency and personal data and etc.) and all types of employment documentation. His work extends to undertaking employment due diligence work.

As part of his public outreach, he has given several employment law public presentations and responded to employment-related Public Consultations in his personal capacity or on behalf of third party entity. Channel NewsAsia has interviewed him multiple times on national television for his professional views on various employment matters.

Cory is the Associate to prominent criminal lawyer Josephus Tan at Invictus Law Corporation. Like his mentor Josephus, Cory specialises in criminal law.

Cory is also familiar with cases involving community law (family law, neighbourly disputes, harassment etc.), estate & legacy matters, and basic contractual/commercial disputes.

Cory was previously a police officer and had spent much time interacting with the community. As a lawyer, he continues to devote countless hours to spreading legal awareness.

Cory graduated from the University of Warwick (UK). He is fluent in English and Mandarin.

Melissa is a Senior Associate in Fortis Law Corporation’s Private Client Practice Group.

Melissa’s main areas of practice are family, civil and commercial matters. In the course of her legal career, Melissa has represented clients in divorce and ancillary disputes, contested-estate disputes, and also in commercial arbitrations and contractual disputes.

Apart from contentious work, Melissa has also advised clients on non-contentious matters such as the drafting of wills, estate matters including estate planning, probate and administration applications, and mental incapacity issues including Lasting Power of Attorney and deputyship applications.

Mohammad Rizuan Bin Mohammad Yasin

Rizuan graduated from the University of Manchester in 2014 and was called to the bar as an Advocate and Solicitor in 2016.

Rizuan’s wide aread of practice since his time as a trainee, as seen him involved in a gamust of Civil matters in the highcourt. He has also assisted in Criminal (Capital) matters such as Drug Trafficking offences. He also practices Divorce Law (General) and Syariah Law (Muslims) including Muslim Estate Planning (Wasiat and Hibah).

Apart from the aforementioned, Rizuan keeps himself regularly updated on the state of the law in Singapore.

Muntaz Zainuddin

Muntaz was called to the Singapore Bar, after completion of her Graduate LL.B. from the National University of Singapore (“NUS”).

Muntaz’s work experience and educational background has honed her into a versatile advocate & solicitor. Her practice specialization is in matrimonial, criminal and employment law. Muntaz is also an accredited Mediator and is a committee member serving in practice committees in the Law Society of Singapore. She is fluent in both English and Malay.

Outside of work, Muntaz is an avid sportswoman and plays netball as well as treks regularly. Her philosophy in handling her cases is the same as when she plays sports – Never play to lose and if you win, win fairly.