Raising Money for Legal Aid — The Law Society’s 7th Annual Charity Golf Tournament
The Society’s annual charity golf tournament in aid of the Society’s Criminal Legal Aid Scheme (‘CLAS’) was a great success this year. It saw all 36 flights sold and a total of 137 participants who played 18 holes of golf and raised an estimated $116,000 for a worthy cause, CLAS.
It was held at the Tampines Course at Tanah Merah Country Club on 29 August 2004 and the Tournament saw Eurokas donating their Saab 93 as the hole-in-one prize which was secured for the first time in the Tournament’s history by Harry Elias Partnership.
As always, the Society was both honoured by the presence and grateful for the personal support of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Law, Professor S Jayakumar, who acted as our Guest of Honour and through his personal efforts, sold 13 flights of the Tournament.
The organising Committee comprised Mr Sant Singh, the Chairman of the CLAS Committee and the following members:
Joseph
Liow Wang Wu — Straits Law Practice LLC
Kalyani Rajendran — Bernard Rada & Lee Law Corporation
Brendon Choa Sn-Yien — ACIES Law Corporation
Chia Boon Teck — Chia Yeo Partnership
Jeanny Ng — Jeanny Ng
Their excellent organisational efforts and that of the secretariat of the Society ensured all participants had an enjoyable round of morning golf.
Grateful thanks to our donors, the Honourable the Chief Justice Yong Pung How, Judges of the Supreme Court, law practices, members and especially The Lee Foundation and Singapore Pools Pte Ltd for their generous support.
The Society would also like to thank every sponsor and advertiser for their generous contributions.
Gokul Haridas
The Law Society of Singapore
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| Left to right: Mr Charles Lim, Mr Liew Mun Leong, Justice Lai Kew Chai and 2nd SG Lee Seiu Kin |
Left to right: Mr Troy Yeo, Ms Pauline Tan and Mr B Mohan Singh |
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Left to right: Mr Kitson Ng, Dr Chao Sik Ting, Ms Kalyani Rajendran and Mr Sant Singh |
Left to right: Mr Rajan Nair, Mr David Chua, Mr Tan Siah Yong and Mr Wong Hong Juan |
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Left to right: Mr Sharidar Jayakumar, Mr Foo Kok Swee, Prof S Jayakumar and Mr Sam Goi |
Mr Foo Kok Swee, 2nd runner-up and Prof S Jayakumar |
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Mr Jimmy Yim, SC and Prof S Jayakumar |
Left to right: Mr Nicholas Green, Ms Josephine Ee, Mr Joseph Liow and Ms Chan Lai Foong |
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Mr Sant Singh, Chairman, Criminal Legal Aid Scheme Committee and Charity Golf Tournament Committee |
Mr Chua Lee Ming receiving his prize from Mr Sant Singh |
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Mr Charles Lim receiving his prize at the lucky draw from Ms Jeanny Ng, committee member of CLAS |
Prof S Jayakumar making a speech |
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Mr George Tan (centre) presenting a prize to a lucky draw winner |
The tournament’s youngest golfer winning a lucky draw prize from Mr Philip Jeyaretnam, SC |
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Ms Jeanny Ng presenting Ms Pauline Tan with her prize |
Prof S Jayakumar presents the 1st runner-up prize to Mr K K Kuok |
Treading
on Common Ground
When I heard that there was a going to be a full-day conference on construction law to be conducted jointly by The Law Society of Singapore and the Society for Construction Law, the first thought that came to my mind was ‘I need to be there’. I was not expecting many to share my enthusiasm for the subject but found myself in the company of a full house of lawyers, inhouse counsel, developers, engineers, project managers, architects, managing agents and other participants in the construction industry.
The morning started with Mr Naresh Mahtani, the Chairperson for the session, welcoming all who were present to a day when they will enjoy and learn many new things. The morning session would focus on the subject of ‘Serious Building Defects’ while the afternoon session would deal with the ‘Legal Developments in 2003 and 2004’. He then called upon Mr Philip Jeyaretnam, SC the Chairman of the Society for Construction Law and the President of The Law Society to give his opening address.
Mr Jeyaretnam, SC very quickly informed us that the day’s session was to kick-off with two papers being presented by opposing counsel of an arbitration matter. He went on to emphasise the importance of lawyers and industry practitioners being able to exchange ideas and insight into the construction industry from multi-disciplinary perspectives.
To me, it was exciting to know that opposing counsel had joined their expertise and experience to present a joint paper affording us an insight into each counsel’s perspective on the same matter.
Mr Gordon Smith of DLA LLP started the session by walking us through UK, US, Australian and Singapore authorities on whether an owner of a building project is entitled to repair or demolish the building or the affected part where serious defects have appeared in the building.
Next, Mr Latiff Ibrahim of Harry Elias Partnership, opposing counsel to Mr Smith in the matter in question, presented his case on diminution of value when there are defects and principles for recovery of damages for defective buildings. He explained the common law position and further discussed the SIA Conditions of Contract and compared and contrasted the difference between the SIA Conditions of Contract with the PSSCOC. Finally, he set-out the relevant Building Control Act (Cap 29) provisions.
The views and arguments from opposing counsel to the matter were very enlightening and thought provoking. Mr Mahtani then presented the position from the Architect’s point of view, as he had advised the Architect in the same matter. During question time, the audience who needed little or no coaxing fired tough questions at both speakers.
Mr Kenneth Koh of UniLegal LLC next discussed several cases in relation to the subject of ‘Unforeseen Ground Conditions and Other Surprises’. He reiterated the necessity for correctly formatting claims arising from losses suffered through unforeseen ground conditions, especially when describing the manner in which the loss occurred. Mr Koh’s session ended with animated questions from the audience who fielded several ‘hypothetical’ questions on the subject.
Mr John Chung of Kelvin Chia Partnership took his turn after the break and he gave us a clear step-by-step understanding of Consultant’s Liability to Contractors. Mr Chung’s advantage as an architect and lawyer was apparent in his detailed analysis of the subject. Mr Chung elaborated the law relating to consultants, economic loss, design and certification. He further presented varying viewpoints of author authorities and case law.
Mr Lek Yi Siang of TSMP Law Corporation next examined the general rule and exceptions to the law on tortious liability for work done by independent contractors, citing legislations and case law.
Lunch break provided an excellent opportunity for all to mingle and discuss the issues that had been presented. It was quite evident from the clusters that had formed that many had made new friends.
After lunch, Mr YC Yang of Lee & Lee, the Chairperson for the afternoon, gave a quick overview of the session and called on Mr Edwin Lee of Rajah & Tann to kick off the afternoon session with an explanation of the Building Maintenance and Management Bill. Mr Lee walked us through the recent amendments to the Land Titles (Strata) Act (Cap 158) and discussed the different forms of resolutions in connection with Management Corporations. He set out some of the changes that affected Management Corporations, managing agents, subsidiary proprietors and developers.
Mr
Mohan Pillay of Wong Partnership then went over the 2004 revisions to the
PSSCOC focusing on variations, progress payments, the new provision to
display payment information, contractual set-offs and site conditions. Mr
Pillay’s account on the revisions was most informative especially since he
was involved in the review of the PSSCOC forum. He gave a very practical yet
focused treatment of the need for review and took great pains running
through one diagram after another to clearly set out the changes that have
taken place.
The topic of adjudication, an alternate form of dispute resolution particularly with regards to payment issues, was discussed comprehensively by Mr Jonathan Prudhoe of Trett Consulting. He put forward some of the pros and cons of adjudication and lessons from the UK experience. His clarification was most timely especially in light of the Government’s plans to table a bill allowing for adjudication as a means of quickly resolving disputes over payment issues.
Mr Chow Kok Fong of Equitas then took to the podium and gave a thorough explanation on the subject of ‘Security of Payment’ in the construction industry. He walked us through many of the payment issues and manner of claims that often arise in matters pertaining to construction. Mr Chow also examined a number of cases to stress the pertinence of having written contracts and payment certificates including response.
The final speaker for the day was Dr Mary Magdaline Netto who updated us on the latest developments in construction law education in Singapore.
The day culminated with the question and answer session that saw an animated interchange of questions and answers from a highly enthused audience. There just didn’t seem to be enough time for all the questions in the air.
Without doubt the conference created a greater understanding of the many issues surrounding serious building defects and the latest developments relating to the practice of construction law. It was evident that both the industry practitioners and legal practitioners benefited from the conference’s multi-faceted treatment of many of the current issues and developments within the construction industry.
For me, it was definitely enlightening in more ways than expected.
Following the conference, the Society for Construction Law held their Annual General Meeting (‘AGM’) at the same venue. Those who would like to know more or become a member, please contact Naresh@nexuslaw.com.sg.
Vimala
Chandrarajan
LexisNexis
