Events

SCCA Legal Eagle Challenge is Singapore’s first in-house counsel competition for law students and is back for its third year. Participants will again assume the role of a General Counsel in a realistic simulation of the work done by in-house counsels every day.

As a law student, you would have learnt about the different types of corporate entities in Singapore in your first few years of law school. See how this book knowledge comes to life in this case scenario where you will be the General Counsel of a fictional Energy Solutions Provider (“Energy Co”). Energy Co is looking to participate in an overseas project and Energy Co’s board of directors wants your thoughts on the ideal corporate structure, ESG issues and dispute resolution mechanisms.

Announcements

1 May 2022: Registration is open!

10 June 2022: We are pleased to announce the SCCA Legal Eagle Challenge Masterclass 2022 which allows attendees to listen to thought leaders on hot issues of corporate structuring, dispute resolution clauses and ESG. Please see below for more details on our wonderful speakers.

This year, our Masterclass is also open to the public, so if you would like to attend, please register here.

13 June 2022: Team leaders should have received an e-mail on how to submit clarifications. Clarifications must be submitted before 15 June 2022 12pm

23 June 2022: Team leaders should have received the responses to the submitted clarifications. Participants are reminded to attend the Masterclass on 25 June 2022 9.30am-12.30pm. 

5 July 2022: Last day of submissions! Team leads are requested finalize there submissions by today, 11:59pm. 

19 July 2022: The preliminary rounds for the SCCA’s Legal Eagle Challenge 2022 have concluded, and only 6 finalist teams will advance to the finals.

In alphabetical order of the team leads, here are the finalist teams:

1. Adele Neo | Zaher Bin Wahab | Tan Kah Keng | Ellis Kusumo (SUSS)
2. Chen Hao | Chan Jun Hao Anselm | McCully Ayrton Leonard (NUS)
3. Kenishia Chang Qing Hui | Kavya Anand | Adrina Ang Lina | Kendra Thaddaeus Tang (TP)
4. Khor Jia Wei | Ong Yong Hui, Nicholas | Chee Rui Yang, Clifford | Chong Qiao Xin Cherry (NUS)
5. Kuan Jie Min| Liu Enqi | Elijah Koh Hung | Leow Zhi Yong (SMU)
6. Lim Zheng Ting Walden | Kenneth He Zhi Jing | Ng Xuen Yi, Alexe (SMU)

Finalist teams will move on to the cross-disciplinary consultations where they will get advice from industry experts in the lead up to the finals. The finals will be held on Saturday, 30 July 2022, at Temasek Polytechnic and is open to the public. If you would like to attend, please register here.

Organisers

Organising Head 

Serene Gan

Organising Committee Members

Jerrick Lim (Legal Counsel, Atlas)

Gerald Tan (Regional Legal Counsel, Amadeus)

Key Dates

1 June 2022: Registration deadline

25 June 2022: Masterclass (Online workshop for all participants)

5 July 2022: Submission

23 July 2022: Cross Disciplinary Consultation (For Finalists teams only)

30 July 2022: Finals

Awards

Winning Team - $1,000 cash prize & internships at WongPartnership - kindly sponsored by WongPartnership

Most Innovative Team - $800 cash prize kindly sponsored by LexisNexis

Most Business Savvy Team

Best Communicator (individual) - $200 cash prize kindly sponsored by LexisNexis

The above awardees will be given the rare opportunity to have a 1-hour coffee chat session with a senior legal leader to network and to find out more about the in-house profession.

Finalist Judges for 2022

CHAN YING JIAN

Chief Financial Officer

Yeo Hiap Seng

Ying Jian graduated summa cum laude (with Highest Distinction) from the Singapore Management University with double degree in Business Management (Finance) and Accountancy, under the SMU Scholarship. He is also a Chartered Accountant of Singapore (CA Singapore) and a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). He started his career in 2008 as an equity research analyst with J.P. Morgan Securities, rising to the position of Vice President, Sector Head of Agri-Commodities and Consumer Staples for the ASEAN region. Ying Jian was named the “Top Earnings Estimator” for the Retail and Consumer Products sector at the 2012 Thomson Reuters Analyst Awards, and the “Top Stock Picker” in the same sector in 2014. In August 2014, Ying Jian joined BreadTalk Group Limited, where he was subsequently appointed Group CFO in June 2015, at the age of 32. He was also concurrently the Group Chief Investment Officer from October 2019. During his tenure, Ying Jian oversaw two highly oversubscribed bond issuance exercise and the S$80 million acquisition of Food Junction – the largest in the Group’s history. Subsequent to BreadTalk Group, Ying Jian joined The Learning Lab in March 2020 as its CFO and IT Director, where he navigated its business through the COVID-19 pandemic, and led business development and expansion. Following that, he was the Group CFO of Yeo Hiap Seng Limited from July 2021 to August 2022. Ying Jian was awarded the Rising Star (Professional Accountant in Business) at the Singapore Accountancy Awards in 2018. He was also accorded the SMU Alumni Rising Star Award in 2015.

DANIEL CHOO

Associate General Counsel and Privacy Responsible (APAC), Asia Pacific 

Bruker

Daniel is currently Associate General Counsel and Privacy Responsible (APAC), Asia Pacific at Bruker (NASDAQ: BRKR), a German & American based manufacturer of high-performance scientific instruments and medical devices. Daniel heads the APAC legal team that covers legal & compliance, M&A, data protection/privacy matters for China, India, Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. Daniel graduated with a degree in law from University of Leeds.  He holds active IAPP Certificates such as CIPP/A, CIPM and CIPP/E.

In addition. Daniel serves as Co-President of the Singapore Corporate Counsel Association (SCCA), Co-Chair of Data Protection & Cybersecurity Chapter and Vice Chair of Student Chapter. He is also part of the Executive Committee (representing SCCA) with In-house Counsel Worldwide (ICW) and APCCA (Asia Pacific Corporate Counsel Alliance).

QUAK FI LING 

Joint Head of the Private Equity and Sustainability & Responsible Business Practices

Wong Partnership

Fi Ling is the Joint Head of the Private Equity and Sustainability & Responsible Business Practices and a Partner in the Mergers & Acquisitions Practice. Her main practice areas are mergers and acquisitions, privatisations, private equity investments and corporate and commercial transactions. Fi Ling graduated from the National University of Singapore and is admitted to the Singapore Bar.

Our Masterclass Speakers for 2022

Esther Chang

Executive Director, UN Global Compact Network Singapore

Ms Esther Chang is the Executive Director of Global Compact Network Singapore (GCNS). She leads GCNS initiatives to raise awareness and adoption of corporate sustainability efforts in Singapore and the region. She serves as the main liaison between GCNS and the United Nations Global Compact. Passionate about creating positive change in society and problem solving, Ms Chang has dedicated her career in the nonprofit sector and has worked for leading healthcare and education organisations, as well as grassroots NGOs in Canada and Singapore. She champions multilateral partnerships to responsibly invest in and develop sustainable solutions at scale. She is an active volunteer in human rights and social welfare causes. Ms Chang has a B.Sc (Hons) in Life Sciences from Queen's University (Canada) and completed post-graduate studies in Fundraising and Volunteer Management (Humber College, Canada) and Sustainability Leadership (University of Cambridge, UK). She is CFRE certified since 2012, an internationally recognized accreditation for philanthropic fundraising administered by CFRE International.

Lynnette Lee

Deputy Counsel, Singapore International Arbitration Centre

Lynnette graduated with an LL.B. (Hons) from Monash Law School, Melbourne, Australia and holds a Bachelor of Communication Studies (Hons) from the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. She is admitted to practice as an Advocate & Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Singapore. During law school, Lynnette participated in moot court competitions, which included representing Monash at the FDI Moot.

Prior to joining SIAC, Lynnette practiced with Singapore law firms and worked at the chambers of a leading international arbitrator. She also worked with the Legal Aid Bureau in Singapore as a legal executive.

Mr Paul Tan

Co-Founder, Kreston ACA PAC

Paul holds a Masters of Business Administration degree from the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom.  He is a practicing member of Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA).  He is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA).  In 2016, he was admitted as an ICAEW Chartered Accountant.  He is also a Member of the Singapore Institute of Directors (SID), an Accredited Tax Advisor (ATA) for both Income and GST, a Licensed Insolvency Practitioner under Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018 and a Practicing Management Consultant (PMC). Paul has more than 25 years’ experience in managing a wide variety of complex assignments, which includes extensive exposure to audit and assurance, tax advisory and investigation, internal audit, corporate recovery, M&A deals including financial and tax due diligence. More recently, he was the lead consultant for several Singapore Government agencies-supported business consulting engagements. Paul currently also serves as an independent director on the Boards of three Singapore public listed companies; Serial System Ltd, Second Chance Properties Ltd and China Sunsine Chemical Holdings Ltd.

QUAK Fi Ling is the Joint Head of the Private Equity and Sustainability & Responsible Business Practices and a Partner in the Mergers & Acquisitions Practice. Her main practice areas are mergers and acquisitions, privatisations, private equity investments and corporate and commercial transactions.

Fi Ling graduated from the National University of Singapore and is admitted to the Singapore Bar.

Siddharth Jha

Centre Manager (International Partnerships) 

Siddharth is Centre Manager at SIMC overseeing international mediation in South Asia, including India.  He also plays an active role in SIMC’s learning & development arm, including mediation training, among other responsibilities.  Prior to joining SIMC, he worked in the Bombay Chamber of Commerce & Industry with a focus on developing the Chamber's Mediation Centre, and managed the Legal & IPR committee. He is a trained mediator, legal professional and had served as a Judicial Clerk with the Supreme Court of India. Siddharth graduated from Gujarat National Law University and holds an LLM in Dispute Resolution from Pepperdine University School of Law, USA. He is called to the Indian Bar and is proactively involved in evangelising the concept of mediation.

TIONG Teck Wee is the Joint Head of the Sustainability & Responsible Business Practice and a Partner in the Commercial & Corporate Disputes Practice.

His main areas of practice are in multijurisdictional, complex, high-value commercial and corporate disputes. Teck Wee has represented and acted for global private, public, and state-owned clients from various jurisdictions (such as Singapore, Malaysia, India, Japan, PRC and U.S.) in the Singapore High Court and in international arbitrations under the rules of major arbitral institutions (such as the SIAC and ICC), and in ad hoc arbitrations under the UNCITRAL Rules. Teck Wee has also advised and acted for both private investors and State parties in investment treaty arbitrations. Teck Wee has represented and acted for clients in a variety of disputes across a range of industries including general contractual disputes, shareholders' and joint venture disputes, minority oppression claims, banking and finance, private equity funds, commodities trading, and construction disputes. Teck Wee also regularly appears before the Singapore High Court to assist clients in the enforcement of arbitral awards and to set aside and/or challenge the enforcement of arbitral awards.

Cross Disciplinary Consultation 2022

This year, our budding General Counsels will be required to cover the potential tax implications of the corporate structure they are proposing that Energy Co utilise in order to structure their transaction. In this regard, we are proud to announce that the Nanyang Business School Tax Advisory Club has agreed to work with us on this segment. 

The Nanyang Business School Tax Advisory Club (TAC) started in 2006 as a non-profit student body that strives to increase the NBS community’s exposure to the tax discipline. With more than 300 members, the committee operates with the mission to promote the learning and sharing of tax knowledge, raise the level of professional competency, and increase the vibrancy of the Nanyang Business School (NBS) tax community. Thus, TAC brings about greater awareness on tax and advisory services among students and is the point of contact for students as well as the Big 4 accounting firms and professional bodies that are reaching out to the NBS students.

Under the guidance of the club’s advisor Professor Jow Lee Ying, and strong support from both the NBS Undergraduate Programme Office (UPO) and Student Affairs Office (SAO), TAC has organised various events in the past. These include corporate visits to the Big 4 accounting firms, Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS), the annual tax filing workshop conducted for all NTU clubs, the Tax Appreciation Workshop for TAC members, and the annual National Tax Competition (NTC).

Speaker for the Cross Disciplinary Consultation

We are also pleased to announce that as part of the Cross Disciplinary Consultation, we have engaged with a senior member of the accounting profession to give us a view on how in house teams working in the financial and tax advisory space can work closely with their legal colleagues to provide better advice to a company.

Chan Ying Jian

CFO of Yeo Hiap Seng

Ying Jian graduated summa cum laude (with Highest Distinction) from the Singapore Management University with double degree in Business Management (Finance) and Accountancy, under the SMU Scholarship. He is also a Chartered Accountant of Singapore (CA Singapore) and a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). He started his career in 2008 as an equity research analyst with J.P. Morgan Securities, rising to the position of Vice President, Sector Head of Agri-Commodities and Consumer Staples for the ASEAN region. Ying Jian was named the “Top Earnings Estimator” for the Retail and Consumer Products sector at the 2012 Thomson Reuters Analyst Awards, and the “Top Stock Picker” in the same sector in 2014. In August 2014, Ying Jian joined BreadTalk Group Limited, where he was subsequently appointed Group CFO in June 2015, at the age of 32. He was also concurrently the Group Chief Investment Officer from October 2019. During his tenure, Ying Jian oversaw two highly oversubscribed bond issuance exercise and the S$80 million acquisition of Food Junction – the largest in the Group’s history. Subsequent to BreadTalk Group, Ying Jian joined The Learning Lab in March 2020 as its CFO and IT Director, where he navigated its business through the COVID-19 pandemic, and led business development and expansion. Following that, he was the Group CFO of Yeo Hiap Seng Limited from July 2021 to August 2022. Ying Jian was awarded the Rising Star (Professional Accountant in Business) at the Singapore Accountancy Awards in 2018. He was also accorded the SMU Alumni Rising Star Award in 2015.

Coffee Chat Senior Legal Leaders

The SCCA Legal Eagles Organising Committee would like to thank the following luminaries and leaders of the in-house legal profession who have agreed to speak to the prize winners.

Antony Lee

Deputy General Counsel, Asia Pacific, General Counsel, Singapore, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited

Antony Lee is the General Counsel for HSBC Singapore and has held that appointment since Feb 2006.  He also has a regional role as Deputy General Counsel, Asia Pacific for HSBC with a focus on supporting HSBC’s ASEAN agenda and the legal teams from the other ASEAN countries.  He manages a department of 30 lawyers and para-legals that is responsible for the management of legal matters for all HSBC entities in Singapore.  

Prior to joining HSBC, Antony has worked in various capacities in the banking sector and in private legal practice where he has acquired broad experience in financial services and corporate law and commercial litigation. Antony is an accredited mediator of the Singapore Mediation Centre.

Kelvin Kwek

General Counsel, South East Asia & Oceania RHQ, Samsung Electronics

Kelvin Kwek is Samsung Electronics' General Counsel in the South East Asia & Oceania Region, overseeing the legal and compliance affairs of more than a dozen Samsung subsidiaries across the region. Kelvin has over 20 years of private practice and in-house legal experience. Kelvin graduated from Monash University, Australia with an LL.B (Hons) and a Bachelor of Economics. He is qualified to practice law in Australia and Singapore. Kelvin is also an accredited mediator with the Singapore Mediation Center, and is certified as a Certified Information Privacy Manager (CIPM) by the International Association of Privacy Professionals. 

Penny Koo

General Counsel and Company Secretary, AIA Singapore

Ms Penny Koo is AIA Singapore’s General Counsel and Company Secretary, responsible for advancing AIA Singapore’s business growth and transformational strategies in a compliant, fair, responsible and sustainable manner. She leads her legal and corporate secretarial team in providing strategic legal and governance advice and commercial-minded, practical legal solutions to AIA Singapore and its subsidiaries. Penny and her team have received various accolades from Asian Law Business journal, IHC magazine and the SCCA. Other than legal practice, she is passionate about health and wellness, mentorship and empowerment.

Samson Leo 

Co-Founder and Chief Legal Officer – FazzFinancial (formerly known as xfers)

Samson Leo is currently the Chief Legal Officer of Fazz Financial Group and Xfers, which are both high-growth “Fintech 250” companies. Since his time as co-founder and Chief Legal Officer in Xfers, he has grown Xfers from a 3-person start-up to a regional company with more than 200 people across Singapore, Indonesia, Taiwan, Vietnam and Philippines. Today, he heads the Fazz Financial Group’s legal team of 6 legal counsels in Singapore & Indonesia, and oversees the FFG Compliance committee consisting of senior compliance professionals and their team.

Prior to co-founding Xfers, Samson was a corporate lawyer in a Singapore “Big-Four” law firm,  WongPartnership LLP, where he worked on capital markets and financial regulatory matters. He graduated from the National University of Singapore with a Bachelor of Laws and was called to the Singapore Bar in 2012.

Trina Ha 

Chief Legal Counsel 

Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) 

Ms Trina Ha is the Director of the Legal Department at IPOS where she manages the legal affairs of the IP office including supporting IP policy reform and advising on IP issues in international agreements.   She jointly spearheads the Copyright Review with the Ministry of Law. Prior to joining public service, Trina was in private practice where she specialised in matters involving the protection, management and exploitation of intellectual property rights, particularly in the media and entertainment sectors.  During her time in legal practice, she was ranked annually since 2007 in the intellectual property industry and TMT industry by the Asia Pacific Legal 500.   She is also listed in the 2020, 2021 and 2022 editions of the IAM Strategy 300: The World’s Leading IP Strategists guide. 

Our Partners for 2022

Cross-Disciplinary Consultation Partner

The Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA) is the national accountancy body of Singapore. ISCA’s vision is to be a world-class accountancy body of trusted professionals, contributing towards an innovative and sustainable economy. There are over 33,000 ISCA members making their stride in businesses across industries in Singapore and around the world. 

Established in 1963, ISCA is an advocate of the interests of the profession. Complementing its global mindset with Asian insights, ISCA leverages its regional expertise, knowledge, and networks with diverse stakeholders to contribute towards the advancement of the accountancy profession. 

ISCA is the Designated Entity to confer the Chartered Accountant of Singapore – CA (Singapore) – designation. 

ISCA is a member of Chartered Accountants Worldwide, a global family that brings together the members of leading institutes to create a community of over 1.8 million Chartered Accountants and students in more than 190 countries. 

For more information, visit www.isca.org.sg.

Partner 2022

LexisNexis Legal & Professional is a leading global provider of information and analytics that enable professionals in legal, corporate, government and non-profit organizations to improve decision-making and achieve better business outcomes. We are a part of RELX Group, serving customers in more than 130 countries with 10,000 employees worldwide. Our information network contains 3 petabytes of legal and news data with 65 billion documents. That’s 150 times the size of Wikipedia and doubling every three years.

For over 100 years, LexisNexis has delivered best-in-class legal content, data and analytics from the leading minds in the profession. Across the globe, we combine content, technology and analytics to advance the rule of law and shape a more just world where all are equal under the law.

For more information, please visit www.lexisnexis.com.sg

Partner 2022

Headquartered in Singapore, WongPartnership is an award-winning law firm and one of the largest in the country. As a leading provider of legal services, we offer our clients access to our offices in China and Myanmar, and in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Philippines, through the member firms of WPG, a regional law network. Our expertise spans the full suite of legal services to include both advisory and transactional work where we have been involved in landmark corporate transactions, as well as complex and high-profile litigation and arbitration matters.

Our Sustainability & Responsible Business Practice adopts a multidisciplinary approach that draws on our experienced team of practitioners from various practice groups to provide a comprehensive suite of legal solutions to help our clients meet their sustainability and ESG related goals and ambitions. Our Sustainability & Responsible Business Practice advises on amongst other things, green and sustainability-linked financing, sustainable investments, and sustainable business solutions such as clean and renewable energy, waste management, green building and sustainable infrastructure, and carbon trading.

Explore our practices here.