Singapore Academy of Law – Valedictory Dinner
26 September 2025
Welcome Address
By Jimmy Yim, SC
Justice Belinda Ang – Justice of the Court of Appeal, Justice Woo Bih Li – President of the Appellate Division, Justice Ang Cheng Hock and Justice Hri Kumar – Justice of the Court of Appeal designates, Judges of Appellate Division, Judges and Judicial Commissioners, distinguished guests, and my learned friends at the Bar,
Good evening.
- This evening marks a historic beginning – the first of many. A celebration of the lives of lawyers and their journey through the law. This inaugural dinner is primarily to members of the SAL who have reached the legal retirement age of 63.
- Tonight is deeply meaningful for all of us who have journeyed 4 decades or more in the law. I suspect I was invited to address you because I meet that criterion too. In that sense, I stand before you not merely as a speaker, but as one among peers of the same vintage.
- For a start, it is not every day Counsel gets to address 21 distinguished Judges and Judicial Commissioners. Thus, it is a singular honour to deliver this welcome address at the inaugural Valedictory Dinner of the Singapore Academy of Law.
- The Academy, from its inception in 1988 has sought to bring together the many stakeholders of our legal fraternity—across the judiciary, private practice, public service and academia — united in a shared pursuit of legal excellence, scholarship and service to the rule of law.
- This dinner was conceived by the President of the SAL, Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, following the publication of the Ethics and Professional Standards Committee (EPSC) report earlier this year. One of the points recognised in that seminal report is the importance of a collegiate spirit amongst all of us, who each have a role in upholding the Rule of Law, the foundation of all stable and prosperous civil societies.
- Earlier on 5th and 6th May this year, the Academy hosted the 1st Mass Admissions Dinner to welcome our newly called colleagues entering the profession, in which we emphasized the importance of integrity, honor and justice within the college of officers of the Law. Tonight, we host a different dinner – a victory dinner to honour us who have journeyed long in the law, having served it with quiet distinction, and have now reached a high milestone. To be clear, this is not a retirement dinner but a dinner to celebrate our long and successful career in the Law. It is to prove to all – the sustainability of our profession that it is most worthwhile to stay on course, a matter that Gen Z and the Millennials entering the profession may need to better appreciate and the uniqueness of the profession.
- With some four decades in legal practice under each of our belt, we have individually and collectively witnessed the remarkable transformation of Singapore’s legal landscape — from sweeping legislative reforms across all areas of law and procedure, to the introduction of new Rules of Court that strengthen due process, and the transformative role of technology in every aspect of modern legal practice.
- And yet, at the heart of the profession, some things remain the same: the importance of strong ethical values, warm friendships at the Bar and with the Bench, and the unwavering need for constancy and commitment.
- Let me take a walk down memory lane—it feels like just yesterday when in one of my earliest trials I had a face off against Justice Tan Siong Thye, then DPP Tan, in Singapore’s first prosecution under the Skill Development Fund back in 1984. The Fund, as we know, was started by the Government to encourage upgrading of skills to improve productivity of this small but great nation. My client was the managing director of an aerospace company operating in Loyang and he was charged with making excessive claims against the Fund. It was very exciting and at the same time intimidating for a young lawyer to carry the formidable task of facing off against a more experienced and a more matured lawyer – DPP Tan. But DPP Tan (as he then was) was gracious and kind to me— these qualities I have noticed that have remained unchanged over the years, allowing our friendship to grow steadily over time. Despite being adversaries in the Court process, it was a pleasant experience that created a lasting impression on a young lawyer. An interesting facet of trials in the 80s, we can all remember – was the daily logistics of transporting volumes of the Malayan Law Journal and English Reports to and from court – a biceps building exercise. Photocopies of law reports were not yet the norm until the Evidence Act was amended in 1996.
- When legal opinions from London QCs were sent to us via fax machines in the 80s, some of us would stand around those huge machines marveling at the speed and volume of printed words coming from afar — a far cry compared to the sparse content of telegrams, which had been in use for 150 years up to then. Needless to say, one technology replaces another. In contrast, today we exchange thousands of pages of documents digitally across law firms and even around the globe. Today, we communicate instantly via Zoom and WhatsApp—free of charge and without any lip sync delay between audio and video signals in Skype calls. Zoom was only introduced in 2013.
- Then, you may recall that before CJ Yong’s legendary efforts in the 90s to clear backlog, trials were typically held some five to seven or more years from the time a writ was filed. Today, Case Management actively monitors progress, and we would be reprimanded if we fail to advance the case at every stage. I think the KPI is about 1.5 years to trial from filing the Originating Claim. With the 2021 Rules, we now have the Single Application Pending Trial (SAPT), intended to cover most if not all of both parties’ interlocutory applications in one omnibus application. AEICs are to be drafted before the SAPT; compare that to those early days – when we would be scrambling to look for the witnesses after years from the filing of the action, searching for witnesses and unsure if they were still around in Singapore or even alive.
- In the recording of evidence of trial, my seniors like Justice Woo Bih Li’s advice to me then was “watch the Judge’s pen” so that the Judge’s handwritten notes could keep up. It was very good advice from a senior because we could get a strong adverse signal from the Bench if we spoke at trial at conversational speed. By contrast, no trial will proceed these days unless prior transcription arrangements have been made. I still recall an off-the-cuff jocular remark by CJ Yong Pung How in the early 1990s, wondering whether transcription recording might promote a post-lunch judicial cat nap during trial —since evidence was being recorded mechanically rather than by the Judges’ hands.
- Today, as we all know, documents are filed electronically and many courts and Counsel do not use anything more than a laptop or tablet to follow all pleadings and documents filed. AI tools are assisting us to draft documents within minutes. Witness interviews are automatically transcribed and court files are securely stored electronically and easily transmissible. The Covid pandemic of 2020 sped up our adoption of these digital tools. Hearings and meetings virtually over digital platforms like Zoom are common – unlike in 1999 when I argued the Sonica Industries Ltd v Fu Yu Manufacturing Ltd [1999] 3 SLR(R) 119 (SGCA), over whether teleconferencing be allowed for 2 witnesses from abroad. It went all the way to the Court of Appeal. Opposing me was Justice Kannan Ramesh, assisting Tan Kok Quan, SC. Again, the experience with my learned opponents was professional and pleasant. Today on remote hearings to take evidence, certain courts or arbitral tribunals require us to justify why remote hearings should not be used for less critical overseas witnesses.
- The expansion of the legal profession over the past four decades is also a remarkable development. From a Bar of around 1,200 lawyers in the early 1980s, we now have over 6,600 in private practice, several thousand more serving in-house and public sector roles, and approximately 1,500 foreign practitioners registered in Singapore, not counting the numerous who are flying in and flying out. It is an increase of almost 600% of lawyers officially practicing in Singapore compared to the 80s. With this increase, the legal market has undoubtedly become far more competitive. On top of that, our monthly calendars are now filled with entries of local and international conferences and events to attend.
- But an enduring value of the legal profession is the warm friendships forged through our years of practice. Ours is a unique eco-system, where there will invariably be at least one lawyer on the opposing side, whether you are a transactional lawyer or disputes lawyer. In the best traditions of the profession, we refer to our opponent as our “learned friend” and friends, indeed, we should be. Thus, I am very pleased that I can count so many of you as my friends, our friendships strengthened over these decades.
- It is this tradition of friendship at the Bar and ethical grounding that has helped sustain us through the times.
- But the life of lawyering has not come without cost. Many of us have faced health and mental challenges at times, family pressures and other demands bear on us. Some of our heroes have fallen. This, too, is part of our collective story. But through it all, we have persevered, survived and triumphed in the face of challenges with the support of our families and friends. Indeed, reflecting on this, what an extraordinary and incredible journey it has been for each of us—to have come this far, and we are still continue forging ahead with purpose and pride.
- Let me not end on this note:
- A new generation — Gen Z — and the Millennials will soon join our ranks. They are bold, better informed than when we were at their age, with clear views of what they want to get out of life, and many have come from more affluent backgrounds than ours. They are digitally native, and globally minded. But they need our guidance on the road ahead. They need the wisdom of our experience. They need to understand and absorb the core values that have held our profession together for generations.
- The Gen Z and Millennials must know that our lives in the Law have been rich and rewarding, deep and varied in human experience. We have laughed and cried with our clients. We have lived a purposeful and meaningful life being lawyers.
- Enter – mentorship – You will agree that mentorship has played a defining role in many of our own early lives as young lawyers.
- We remember the late Joseph Grimberg SC, whose influence on the Bar and Bench cannot be overstated. He was mentor to many of the finest legal minds of our generation — Justice of the Court of Appeal Steven Chong, Davinder Singh SC, Minister for Home Affairs/Coordinating Minister for National Security and former Minister for Law Mr K Shanmugam SC, George Tan SC and Kenneth Tan SC to name but a few. His legacy lives on not only in judgments and cases he appeared in, but in the high professional standards and ethical values of those he had mentored. For me, I count myself deeply fortunate to have had the learned and versatile Michael Hwang SC as my pupil master and mentor. He is still in practice at 81. What an amazing guy. Those mentors have shaped our values and thinking, broadened our perspectives of legal practice and life, and taught us the meaning of professionalism, integrity and justice in the law.
- We each carry a deep sense of gratitude to many and an undeniable sense of gratefulness that we have come this far. Let us, in our golden years, give back to the profession that has shaped our lives – just as our mentors have once guided and shaped us.
- In closing, on behalf of the Singapore Academy of Law, I offer my warmest congratulations to each of you who has journeyed through the trials and triumphs of legal life with honour, resilience, and quiet dignity.
- May I now invite all of you—except our Judges, of course—who have crossed the age of 63 to rise with me, raise your glasses, and join in a toast: Congratulations and cheers to our shared journey. To our enduring friendships at the Bar and Bench. And to a life honourably spent in the law.
- Have a great evening. Thank you.