Getting to Know Our New Council Members

The Law Gazette speaks to new Council Members Mr Gan Hiang Chye (‘GHC’), Mr Wong Siew Hong (‘WSH’), Mr Andrew Ong (‘AO’) and Mr Wong Tsung Wei (‘WTW’) about their views on the legal profession, their aspirations for Council work and what they are really like in person.

Q:        Tell us about yourself.

GHC:      As I am answering this in the light of day, I shan’t    talk about my Mr Hyde-self. Unfortunately that  then eliminates any claim to an interesting  personality. I guess I am just a chappie who does   his best in all his endeavours.

WSH:      I graduated in 1987, was called to the Bar in 1988 and practised till 2000, when I took a hiatus   from legal practice and became a private  investigator doing anti-piracy work for IPR  clients. I am now a director in a mid-sized practice and most of my work is still focused on the  product security and anti-counterfeiting aspects 
 of trade marks, patents and copyright.

AO:          I started life in the in the legal service and was an  assistant registrar for three years before moving  to private practice in 1992. Those were three of the most fulfilling years in my entire working  career. I am blessed with a supportive wife and  four wonderful kids who I consider to be  my greatest achievement as a human being thus far. I have a passion for anything culinary, horological and oenological.

WTW:     Shortly after completing pupillage, I decided that I wanted to take the path less trodden. I took up a position under the Bioethics Advisory Committee,  which was established by the Cabinet to address ethical, legal and social issues arising from biomedical sciences research in Singapore. 
Working under the Committee members, each an expert in his or her field, was a wonderful experience, but after some time, the legal profession called out to me, and I realised that I 
wanted to return to practice. I’ve been back in  practice for about two and a half years since, and  I haven’t regretted it.

Q:        Is there any particular area that you would  like to focus on during your term in Council?

GHC:      Payment of money by clients into the hands of 
solicitors for completion of conveyancing  transactions and for holding as stakeholders.

WSH:      Yes, to work on possible reforms with regards to the rights accorded to children, young persons and mentally disabled persons who have been accused of offences.

AO:          I have been active in the Law Society Advocacy 
Programme and will continue in that role. Other  than a firm commitment I have made to devote  time and effort, I have no lofty ideas about wanting  to address particular issues pertaining to the  profession immediately in my participation in  Council. I am a new kid on the block and I am here to serve. My place will be in the job which my President and fellow Council members call upon me to  undertake. So we shall see.

WTW:     As a young lawyer, I believe that newly qualified lawyers or other young lawyers need and should get 
more help and support professionally. In turn, I’m  also hopeful that more of us will become more  involved, not simply in the Law Society, but in the  profession as a whole.

Q:        What are your views on the state of legal   practice today?

GHC:      In the field of legal practice, as in all if not most  other professions, businesses and trades, with the increased sophistication of society, consumers of  the services provided have become very discerning, many stridently so. Legal practice has become more  challenging but not insurmountable and it’s still a  profession which I would readily recommend.

WSH:      The legal profession is at a watershed. The challenges include systemic issues in retaining young lawyers  in the profession; the scandals involving defalcation  that have rocked public confidence in recent years. These are trying times. But they are also times for hope.

AO:          I think it has matured nicely and our general competency, even on the world stage, is something we can all be proud of. But I think we have lost some 
 virtues of the past in the process and we need to take stock, comprehend and not lose our way.

                Personally, I am saddened by the image of the lawyer in today’s context, with the spate of negative  developments concerning lawyers in the press because 
  of the errant few. We need to regain not just the image 
 but the ideal, without compromise or exception,   that a lawyer’s word is his bond and you can take 
           anything away but his honour. That is a long and   arduous road but every step counts and to steer that,    you need a strong Council and leadership.

WTW:     The legal profession today is in a state of flux. Things  are changing rapidly, particularly with the   government’s recent recommendations regarding   the supply of lawyers. I’m hopeful that there will be   positive reactions.

Q:        What is your wish for lawyers and the   practice of law for 2007?

GHC:      That things to go well enough for everyone to be upbeat   and to be glad to be in the profession.

WSH:      That the profession as a whole will rise to the occasion and prove the naysayers who are saying that lawyers,  and the legal profession as a whole, are irrelevant or worse, wrong.

AO:          Seeing professionalism and duty to the court and  clients being paramount in everything we do,  developing a stronger sense of respect and interaction  between Bench and Bar (I accept that we have to earn it), camaraderie and utmost respect at the Bar, and a  strong and fearless Council from year to year.

WTW:     That we will see renewed public confidence in the  profession, and renewed vigour in the profession itself.

Q:        In what way(s) have you benefited most from  being a lawyer?

GHC:      Cultivating a sense of self-worth and the feel-good  factor of recognising the independence that the profession confers because it is possible to earn a few  bucks just by hanging up the practising certificate, having a desk and a PC.

WSH:      In my own small way, I have been able to help a few  people along the way. They are people I would otherwise not have met. They helped me realise my  own vulnerabilities and mortality and they taught me  what the Bible had meant about not looking for the mote in my brother’s eye.

AO:          Clarity of thought, I think, has to be the greatest thing I have learnt. As well as when to shut the trap.  Timing is everything.

WTW:     Being able to use my knowledge and expertise to help my clients can be a rewarding experience, and it shows me that it’s not just a job.

 Q:        Would you say that law is a business or a calling?

GHC:      The business part comes easier if law is one’s calling.

WSH:      The practice of law cannot but be a business. But over   and above that, it is a calling. If we treat it purely as business, then we would indeed be doomed to  irrelevance.

AO:          I am convinced it is both. In today’s world, one has to have the mindset and manage legal practice exactly like a business, and a sophisticated one at that, to  survive. But make no mistake, the day you begin to  lose the feeling that what you do is a calling is the day   you should examine your priorities and career options.  Those are my own private thoughts anyway and I   accept that they may be somewhat extreme.

WTW:     One might say that the law did indeed call out to me!

Q:        Complete this sentence. ‘If I could live my life  over again, I would …’

GHC:      … be a millionaire professional soccer player. Better   to kick than be kicked.’ (Just joking … that’s Mr  Hyde sticking his head out).

WSH:      … do it all over again.’

AO:          … get a earring, several Harley Davidsons, a couple  of tattoos and join a rock band for a couple of years, work as a cordon bleu chef for the next few years, 
                   spearhead a relief mission in some third world country  and then get a law degree and practise law at the    highest level. Nothing too fancy.’

WTW:     … not change a thing.’ Life is too short for regrets.

Q:        Which person, book or event has affected   you the most and why?

GHC:      When I was still in primary school, I read Thor Heyerdahl’s Kon Tiki because it was lying around in  the house. The author and his crew sailed on a kind of    raft from Peru across the Pacific Ocean and landed   after three months on one of the Polynesian islands.  Whenever I get too despairing of the human race  for one reason or another, the thought of the courage  and the endurance and the spirit of adventure of these sailors lifts me up.

WSH:      The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. It is a beautiful parable. It has the quality of eloquent brevity that is inherent in haiku, and it illustrates the point that we  have to search the world in order to learn that our treasures are at home all along; that as persons we  have to pass through knowledge to arrive at understanding.

AO:          My late grandfather. He was a simple man, patriarch   of a family of nine children and many grandchildren. His life to me exemplifies everything a decent human being should aspire to – looking out for the family above all else, humility and selflessness, fortitude and  industry, incredible honour and dignity right to the end. I miss him to this day.

WTW:     I think all of your experiences shape your life, so it’s difficult, and probably unfair, to point to just one. I do, however, draw inspiration from people like JetBlue founder David Neeleman, Dell founder  Michael Dell, and Warren Buffett, who all proved that   great things start from mere ideas.

Q:        It is said that you can tell a man’s character by the tie he wears. So which would you don: stripes, polka dots, checks, curved patterns (eg paisley), novelty (eg cats, dogs,  cars), or bow tie? (Please select one that   appeals most to you, not what you would   wear to court.) *

GHC:      I have decided that I wouldn’t wear neck ties any more if I can help it.

WSH:      My favourites are actually silk ties of solid colours,   but with patterns woven into the weave.

AO:          All black. In support of my favourite team and just in case I need to attend court unexpectedly.

WTW:     If I had to wear a tie, I would prefer one with stripes,  and preferably blue.

Q:        What principle or maxim do you like to live your life by?

GHC:      I try never to be harsh to or hurt a person, if I can  help it. When we hurt a person, we also hurt the   whole circle of people who love him/her, ie their  parents, siblings, children, best friends and so on.

WSH:      Carpe diem.

AO:          Humility in spirit. Fearlessness in conviction. Respect   from friend and foe. Honour above all else.

WTW:     In truth, I don’t live my life by any particular principle   or maxim. I did read somewhere once, however, that  the most important thing is to always be able to look    at yourself in the mirror, without regrets.

Sharmaine Lau

The Law Society of Singapore

*Stripes in a tie express a desire for orderliness, professionalism, dependability and conservatism, a ‘power’ tie; polka dots indicate a desire to please; checks express a desire for order; curved patterns speak of the wearer’s desire for freedom and relaxation and shows one to be creative and easy-going; novelty ties tell people that you are a fun, quirky person; bow ties are the domain of the free-spirited non-conformist with an intellectual or creative bent. For solid colours, blue is calming and signifies faithfulness, loyalty, openness, freedom, responsibility and respect for others. Black can signal detachment, seclusion, elegance, security.