Senior Counsel Jason Chan is new Law Society president
The Law Society of Singapore has elected Mr Jason Chan Tai-Hui as its 28th president.
In a press statement on Sunday, the council of the Law Society said Mr Chan’s term as president will take immediate effect, and will continue until Dec 31.
The election was held following the death of its 27th president Adrian Tan.
A partner with Singapore law firm Allen & Gledhill, Mr Chan was appointed senior counsel in 2020.
He was a prosecutor and judicial officer before he joined the law firm in 2010.
Mr Chan’s practice focuses on “complex commercial litigation, investigations and arbitration”, according to his biodata on the firm’s website.
Before his election, Mr Chan, 46, served as vice-president of the Law Society’s executive committee for 2023.
Mr Gregory Vijayendran, who was president of the Law Society from 2017 to 2021, described Mr Chan as “the best man for the job”, noting that he would be a “worthy elected successor” to Mr Tan.
“Jason, an important team member during my service term, will not only finish the unfinished this year but also stamp his own intelligent, insightful and introspective brand of leadership on the president’s office,” he said.
Mr Peter Low, society president from 1993 to 1994, said the organisation faces “a few immediate challenges and needs to work in tandem with the judiciary, the law officers and the Government”.
“I’m delighted to hear that a well-regarded senior counsel has promptly stepped forward to lead the Bar, a mission which necessarily takes a lawyer away from much personal time and away from his law practice,” he said.
Mr Tan died on July 8 at 57 after fighting cancer for more than a year.
The TSMP Law Corporation partner was diagnosed with cancer in March 2022 and announced his rare condition in a LinkedIn post on July 28 that year, without disclosing what type of cancer it was.
In his post, Mr Tan said he would “fight cancer, fight my cases in court and fight for lawyers as their president until the clock runs out”.
He had just been appointed president of the society in January that year and had been working remotely as his immune system was compromised.
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now