AMY SEOW'S JOURNEY FROM COMPETITIVE SPORTS TO RESOLVING COMPLEX LEGAL DISPUTES

Her perspective on why empathy matters in conflict resolution

BY MATHANGI ELANGOVAN

At the heart of every legal dispute, there’s more than just the battle of interests—there’s the human story. For Ms Amy Seow, co-founder and one of the three directors of Adroit Law LLC, this truth is something she discovered through both her competitive sports background and years of experience in the legal world. Drawing inspiration from her love for competition, Amy's journey into law began with a strong foundation in sports, chiefly tennis and basketball. Little did she know how her approach to dispute resolution and conflict management in the legal realm would evolve.

A COMPETITIVE SPIRIT EVOLVING INTO CONFLICT RESOLUTION

Amy's entry into the legal field after completing her law degree at Oxford University, began as a disputes lawyer. After serving as a Justices’ Law Clerk and then joining the commercial disputes team at Rajah & Tann, she decided to carve her own path by co-founding the boutique disputes outfit Adroit Law LLC. The name “Adroit” was chosen to embody nimbleness and skillfulness, qualities that Amy believes are essential to managing disputes effectively.

Her initial drive to pursue a career in disputes was influenced by her competitive sports background. “In tennis and basketball, it's all about competition—winning and losing. I thought that’s how disputes worked too,” Amy recalls. As she progressed in her career, however, her perspective evolved. She began to understand that true resolution wasn’t about ‘winning’ in the traditional sense; it is about finding sustainable solutions that satisfied all parties involved.

FROM FIGHTING TO UNDERSTANDING: THE CORE OF DISPUTE RESOLUTION

Amy’s approach to dispute resolution is deeply rooted in empathy and relationship-building. She realised that long-term success in resolving disputes requires more than just overpowering the other side—it requires strategically understanding and navigating the human elements of a dispute.

A key insight came during a negotiation course she took while pursuing her LLM at Columbia University. “The most useful thing I’ve learned is that you need to truly listen to all parties involved, whether they are on your side or not. You need to understand their interests, incentives, motivations, and what they ultimately want from the dispute resolution process,” she explains. This insight, which she uses every day in her practice, has proven crucial when working with clients who come to her when they are in crisis, their counterparties seem immovable and the whole situation seems very stuck.

 

“We take on complex commercial disputes at Adroit Law, and these often have a cross-border element. It is essential to understand the cultural contexts and ways of doing business in each situation, to effectively unlock each case.”

Amy emphasises that one of the most important aspects of her work is managing the interpersonal and emotional dynamics that often accompany disputes. “Clients come to us scared, angry, or anxious. Every letter, every court direction feels monumental to them. As lawyers, it’s easy for us to treat these as routine aspects of our practice, but to our clients, they can be life-altering events,” Amy says.

 

THE HUMAN ELEMENT IN COMMERCIAL DISPUTES

A recurring theme in Amy’s approach is the recognition that behind every business dispute, there are people—individuals whose personal interests and values shape their commercial decisions. “Even in large commercial cases, we can’t forget that there are human beings behind the companies,” she explains. One particularly memorable case involved a high-stakes minority oppression claim where allegations were made against the conduct of one of the directors of the company. Amy’s ability to humanise the dispute and defend the actions of her client was immensely rewarding for both her and her client, as she was able to help resolve issues that went beyond just the commercial aspects of the case.

In the fast-paced world of business, it’s easy to lose sight of the personal factors at play, but for Amy, this human element is crucial to achieving a meaningful and lasting resolution.

One of Amy’s first priorities in managing disputes is to build trust with her clients. “The client needs to know that I am in their corner, fighting with them,” she says. This bond is crucial in ensuring that clients not only trust the legal advice given to them and also feel supported throughout the process.

This level of emotional intelligence and empathy is something Amy has consistently focused on throughout her career, and it is a key reason why clients continue to choose Adroit Law LLC for their complex commercial dispute resolution needs.

THE ROLE OF INTEGRAF IN SHAPING THE FUTURE OF DISPUTE RESOLUTION

Beyond her work at Adroit Law LLC, Amy has also played a pivotal role in shaping the future of dispute resolution in Singapore. As a volunteer and advisor with INTEGRAF—a new initiative under the Singapore Mediation Centre (SMC)—Amy helped conceptualise a new approach to managing disputes. INTEGRAF, which provides disputing parties guidance to unbundle disputes and apply the most appropriate dispute resolution mechanism to each aspect of a dispute, based on their unique needs.

“We often see that while parties are aware of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods, they don’t always know how to choose the right one,” Amy explains. Her experience in fast-moving disputes led her to realise that many lawyers, too, may not have the perspective to guide clients through the ADR options effectively in the heat of the case, as they would naturally be taking a side in the dispute.

By offering an external, unbiased perspective, INTEGRAF provides a way to streamline the ADR process, helping parties make more informed decisions about how to resolve their conflicts. Amy believes that this type of third-party advisory service could be transformative for many industries and types of disputes.

PREPARING FOR THE FUTURE: TECHNOLOGY AND SOFT SKILLS

Looking ahead, Amy believes that technology, particularly AI, will continue to change the landscape of dispute resolution. Indeed, with AI’s ability to quickly analyse documents and identify patterns, legal professionals will be able to focus more on the strategic and human elements of dispute resolution.

“Technology can make things faster, but the real value will still lie in lawyers who can bring human empathy, creativity, strategic thinking, and the ability to navigate complex interpersonal relationships to the table,” she asserts.

ADVICE FOR ASPIRING DISPUTE LAWYERS

For younger lawyers considering a career in dispute resolution, Amy has one crucial piece of advice: “Sometimes, when our mandate is to demolish our opponents, we have to stand in our client’s corner and do so. But it’s not always about fighting, at the end of the day disputes practice is about resolving. It could also be about understanding the other party’s perspective and finding common ground to craft solutions that are durable and beneficial for all parties involved.”

Amy Seow, a disputes lawyer, is a co-founder of Adroit Law LLC and one of the three directors at the firm. Connect with her here.