SINGAPORE – Different factions of the Law Society have met to resolve some unhappiness over the election of Mr Dinesh Singh Dhillon
as the new president of the Law Society of Singapore
.
Speaking to The Straits Times on the night of Dec 10, Senior Counsel Jimmy Yim revealed that the meeting involved three factions.
The groups comprised two members of the current Law Society council including president Lisa Sam; the four office-bearers of the incoming council including Mr Dhillon; and veteran lawyers Peter Cuthbert Low and Chandra Mohan Nair.
Mr Low and Mr Nair, both former Law Society presidents, are leading the group that had called for an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to discuss the impact of Mr Dhillon’s appointment on the independence of the Bar.
This is because Mr Dhillon – a non-elected member of the council – was elected president of the society.
Mr Yim said he had brought the three groups together to meet Law Minister Edwin Tong on Dec 3.
He said the solution offered was to recognise that Mr Dhillon was properly elected under the law, while respecting the expectations that Law Society members may have regarding how their president is elected.
The senior counsel said it was agreed that Mr Dinesh should serve as president in 2026, and if he wants to continue, he would have to stand for election among the general membership in October 2026.
Despite the compromise, the EGM will go ahead as scheduled on Dec 22, for lawyers to vote and place on the record that only someone who has been elected by general members of the society should be chosen as president.
In Singapore, lawyers vote every October for members of the Law Society council, the highest body within the society responsible for managing its affairs. The society has about 6,400 members.
