Singapore, 10 January 2022 — The Honourable the Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon announced the appointment of three new Senior Counsel at the Opening of Legal Year today. They are:

·         Mr Tan Puay Boon SC (honoris causa)[1] (陈佩文)

·         Ms Marina Chin Li Yuen SC (陈丽云)

·         Ms Koh Swee Yen SC (许翠云)

Applications for Senior Counsel opened in August 2021 and were reviewed by a Senior Counsel Selection Committee comprising:

·         The Honourable the Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon

·         The Honourable Attorney-General Lucien Wong SC

·         The Honourable Justice Andrew Phang, JA

·         The Honourable Justice Judith Prakash, JA

·         The Honourable Justice Tay Yong Kwang, JA

·         The Honourable Justice Steven Chong, JA

The three newly appointed Senior Counsel bring the total number recognised with the honour to 94 [2], out of 6,333 legal practitioners [3]. Details of new appointees, as well as background information on the Senior Counsel scheme, are appended in Annex A.

BACKGROUND

Senior Counsel are selected, pursuant to section 30 of the Legal Profession Act, Cap 161, by a Selection Committee. Appointment as Senior Counsel is an accolade given to those who possess outstanding ability as advocates, extensive knowledge of the law and the highest professional standing.

Persons holding office as Solicitor-General and Attorney-General are appointed Senior Counsel pursuant to sections 30(7) and 30(8) of the Legal Profession Act.

Senior Counsel who are appointed to a judicial office (other than as a judge of the Supreme Court) will cease to use the Senior Counsel designation for the period of service in judicial office.

Senior Counsel appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court will cease to use the designation altogether (unless he is appointed Attorney-General).

The list of Senior Counsel can be found at: https://www.sal.org.sg/Services/Appointments/Senior-Counsel/Directory.

BACKGROUND ON APPOINTMENT OF SENIOR COUNSEL (HONORIS CAUSA)

Members of the legal profession may be appointed Senior Counsel (honoris causa) to recognise their outstanding contribution to the development of the law. Such appointments will not be an annual practice, but will be made on very rare occasions. No application needs to be made, but Senior Counsel (honoris causa) will need to satisfy the basic criteria stated under section 30 of the Legal Profession Act.

Coverage

1. Senior Counsel 2022: Common Threads (SAL, 10 January 2022)

2. More digital innovations to support legal profession; 3 new Senior Counsel appointed (The Business Times, 10 January 2022)

3. Two women named as Senior Counsel hope to inspire younger women lawyers (The Straits Times, 10 January 2022)

4. Senior counsel success for pair of women commercial disputes lawyers in Singapore (The Global Legal Post, 11 January 2022)