Celebrating 
Our 40^th Anniversary

It was 6pm on a warm sultry Friday evening. Traffic whizzed by and pedestrians strolled along the five-foot way. Suddenly, the stultified air was broken by the sound of clanging cymbals. 39 South Bridge Road roared to life as two sprightly lions took centrestage. As passersby gawked and tourists came into the building to snap pictures, the lions pranced away, moving to the beat of the cymbals and drums. The spectacular lion dance performance culminated in the unveiling of a commemorative calligraphy scroll – ‘Speaking up for justice’ – a fitting symbol of the 40 years of service and leadership embodied by the Law Society 
of Singapore (see cover).

The occasion was none other than the 40^th anniversary celebrations of the Law Society. About 100 members and invited guests came together to celebrate this memorable occasion on 9 February 2007. A cake-cutting ceremony followed the lion dance display as Society President, Mr Philip Jeyaretnam, SC, together with 7 past Presidents, namely, Mr TPB Menon, Mr Giam Chin Toon, SC, Mr C R Rajah, SC, Mr Peter Cuthbert Low, Mr Chandra Mohan K Nair, Mr George Lim, and Mrs Arfat Selvam, did 
the honours.

As the sun began to set, the celebrations continued in the breezy open air rooftop, where an Asian buffet spread stood. Entertainment was provided by Rajah & Tann’s very own in-house band, The Illegals, comprising their lawyers and support staff. As the band played different genres of music from rock to evergreen to pop, members began to relax and unwind, helped along of course by the provision of copious amounts of beer.

While some guests preferred to linger and chat with friends on the rooftop, at 8pm, the finale to the evening was taking place in the conference room on the second floor. Five teams were preparing to slug it out over a word contest of Catchphrase. To further promote camaraderie amongst members and the Council, each team was joined by a Council member, namely Mr Philip Jeyaretnam, SC, Mr Yap Teong Liang, Mr Thio Shen Yi, Mr Pradeep Kumar Gobind and Mr Lee Terk Yang.

The team from Shook Lin & Bok, going by the ominous name of The Phrase Police, with a grand total score of 45, outsmarted the other teams from Yeo-Leong & Peh LLC (aka Fuzzy Lawgic); the combined team of Hin Tat Augustine & Partners and WongPartnership (known as Rcatchersye); and the combined team from Unilegal LLC, Legalworks Law Corporation and Rayney Wong & Eric Ng (calling themselves The CDR Gang), to clinch the top prize of exclusive molecular gastronomy dining vouchers at The Aurum, kindly sponsored by the Lifebrandz group.

The losing teams were not too deflated, however, even though some of them actually had negative scores at the end of the game, as all contestants happily went home with a bottle of wine each, generously sponsored by The Moomba Wine Shop. The prizes for Catchphrase were given out by Vice President, Mr Michael Hwang, SC.

There was one last prize to hand out still. In the five weeks leading up to the celebrations, the Society had held a ‘Know the Law Society’ quiz where seven questions about the Society, its functions, departments, committees and welfare schemes were posed, and answers published in random order twice a week in the e-mail bulletin, eJus News. The contest attracted over 30 entries, and the lucky winner picked who had all correct and complete answers was Mr Abdul Rohim Sarip of A Rohim Noor Lila & Partners, who walked away with the grand prize of a fabulous Glycine (Lagunare Chronometer) watch worth $3000, courtesy of 
The Hour Glass.

For those who are wondering why they did not win, did you by any chance answer ‘Colombo Court Building’ to the question ‘Where was the Law Society’s first secretariat office premises located?’ This was the question that had tripped up many a participant. The correct answer of course is ‘the ground floor of the old Supreme Court building’.

The Society would like to thank the master of ceremonies for the evening, Mr Andrew Ong, who did a great job, carrying out his duties with much aplomb and humour. We would also like to thank our sponsors for their generous support and kind sponsorship, and to members who attended the occasion and made it all the more special by their presence.

Sharmaine Lau

The Law Society of Singapore

Captiom:

L to R: Mr TPB Menon, Mr C R Rajah, SC, Mr Giam Chin Toon, SC, Mrs Arfat Selvam, Mr Chandra Mohan K Nair, Mr Philip Jeyaretnam, SC, Mr George Lim and Mr Peter Cuthbert Low

Some of the past Presidents catching up with one another

‘The Illegals’ from Rajah & Tann

The CDR Gang, comprising lawyers from Unilegal LLC, Legalworks Law Corporation, and Rayney Wong & Eric Ng

The team from Yeo-Leong & Peh LLC

The team from Allen & Gledhill

The team from Shook Lin & Bok with Mr Philip Jeyaretnam, SC was the clear winner of the Catchphrase contest

Langga Kings, made up of lawyers from Hin Tat Augustine & Partners and WongPartnership

(left): Mr Michael Hwang, SC presenting the Shook Lin & Bok team captain with dining vouchers to The Aurum
(right): Mr Abdul Rohim Sarip with his prize of a Glycine Lagunare Chronometer watch