A family lawyer who relishes the chance to “stand up to bullies”, he believes the future of his field lies in mastering cross-border conflicts, sharper advocacy, and elevating the Family Bar.
It’s fitting that we talk to Mr Clement Yap about the complexities of family law—just a few weeks after he welcomed his second child, a girl, to his own family.
Clement, a partner at Harry Elias Partnership LLC, is a family lawyer through and through. Perhaps influenced by early stints at The New Paper, he was drawn to the opportunity to “deal with real people, not corporations”. He’s quick to dismiss the notion that family law is easy or soft. In fact, he argues that it’s become more complex than ever.
That complexity shows up most clearly in cross-border divorces. Once relatively straightforward, such cases are now significantly knottier in an age of global mobility. “For instance, you may have an expatriate couple of different nationalities based in Singapore who have moved around the world. The issue then becomes: where will the divorce be heard, and which country should grant it?”
The question of assets—which can be significant in these cases—further complicates matters. “One spouse would want the divorce proceedings to be heard in jurisdictions like California or London, where there’s a baseline 50-50 division of assets, whereas the other spouse would want the divorce proceedings to be heard in Singapore where no such baseline exists .”
Cross-border disputes also extend to child abduction cases—where a child is taken from Singapore or brought here from another jurisdiction—as well as situations where clients seek to challenge foreign divorce orders by applying for a supplementary order in Singapore.
All this, Clement explains, is ultimately a conflict-of-laws problem, and a skillset that family lawyers cannot afford to ignore. “Family law modules in school cover domestic issues very well, but they don’t touch on cross-border matters. That’s where the gap in legal knowledge really is.”
To help close that gap, Clement teaches Specialised Topics in Family Law as an Adjunct Assistant Professor at NUS—covering conflict of laws, international child abduction and the enforcement of foreign orders. It is his way of strengthening the next generation of practitioners.
Clement, from Mentee to Mentor
Clement has spent more than 9 years at Harry Elias Partnership LLP
Beyond the courtroom and classroom, Clement sees mentorship as another way to strengthen the Family Bar. After all, he notes that mentoring has played an important part in his career. He recalls how his boss, Carrie Gill, mentored him by providing ample opportunities to do minor hearings. The constant drum of work allowed him to quickly raise his game as a lawyer.
“She had me argue cases, with her sitting in to supervise. I had so many more hours in front of a judge, and so many more opportunities to speak and argue. By the end of my three years as a junior lawyer, I think I was quite advanced for my level.”
He remains grateful for this generosity. “It takes a special kind of boss to be able to let go and allow someone else to take the limelight,” he adds.
Her style has an impact on the way he leads his own team of three associates and two paralegals. “I think my leadership style largely mirrors hers. I want to put my people in the deep end as fast as possible. That’s the fastest way they grow. I also try not to micromanage.”
This commitment to lifting the Family Bar shapes his wider mission too. As family lawyers handle increasingly sophisticated and cross-border matters, Clement believes the profession deserves a rebrand—one that reflects its evolving demands and skillsets.
“Family lawyers go to court at least every week,” he notes. “Because of the nature and volume of our matters, we get a lot more litigation and mediation exposure. This accelerates our growth as lawyers.” In his view, practitioners operating at advanced levels can more than hold their own against specialists in fields like international arbitration.
It is this spirit of raising the profession that guides his work today—whether through teaching, mentoring or advocacy within the Family Bar.
Join Clement and his fellow trainers Goh Kok Yeow, Raymond Yeo, Shaun Ho, Tan Kah Wai and District Judge Amy Tung at the upcoming Family Law Masterclass for the Advanced Practitioner, where attendees will gain a comprehensive overview of advanced family law issues, including cross-border family matters, co-mingling of assets and pre-nuptial agreements.
Find out more and register here.