SINGAPORE: After weeks of debate within the legal community over the election of the Law Society of Singapore (LawSoc) president, a majority of members at an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on Monday (Dec 22) voted for a resolution for Mr Dinesh Singh Dhillon to step aside as incoming president.
Senior counsel Tan Cheng Han is set to assume the role instead.
The EGM was held at Wyndham Singapore Hotel at 5pm to vote on a Dec 17 resolution, in which Mr Dhillon agreed to step aside as LawSoc president in 2026 “in the interest of preserving unity” for the Bar.
Lawyers began streaming in to register from at least an hour before, forming a long queue to enter the venue even after the meeting had started.
In total, more than 500 lawyers turned up, with chairs having to be added to the packed ballroom. Mr Dhillon and Professor Tan were among the lawyers present.
Senior lawyers Peter Cuthbert Low and Chandra Mohan K Nair, who first voiced concerns over independence following Mr Dhillon’s appointment as incoming president and had requisitioned for the EGM, were also at the meeting.
The proceedings began at about 5.20pm and was led by the sitting LawSoc president Lisa Sam.
In the meeting that lasted more than two hours, the members discussed various issues faced by the LawSoc in recent months, including independence of the Bar and whether office-holders should first be elected into the LawSoc council.
LawSoc is also facing an internal workplace harassment probe conducted by TSMP Law, though this was not a matter of discussion during the EGM.
At several points, lawyers streamed out of the closed-door meeting to the reception counter to scan a QR code in order to vote.
Several rounds of voting were conducted, including one to amend the consent resolution to state that the LawSoc president shall be an elected member of the council. This vote was passed by a majority, replacing an original clause in the document that stated the council will draft and circulate proposed eligibility criteria for office bearer positions within two months of taking office.
At the close of the meeting, a majority voted in favour of the consent resolution. Out of a total of 428 votes, 370 (86.5 per cent) voted for the amended consent resolution, while there were 58 votes against.
The incoming council will convene in the coming weeks to vote for the president and vice-president roles as a matter of formality.
When approached after the meeting, Ms Sam and Mr Dhillon declined to comment.
In a statement issued by LawSoc, Prof Tan, a senior consultant at Wong Partnership, said: “I am pleased that in the best traditions of the Bar, the profession has reached a sensible and reasonable outcome.
“This reflects the strength and cohesiveness of the Singapore legal community. I want to pay tribute to the members of the Law Society for their considered and valuable engagement. I also want to thank Dinesh for the spirit in which he ran for the presidency and the grace and dignity he has demonstrated in recent weeks.”
Mr Chandra Mohan told CNA that he was “very satisfied with the outcome”.
“As far as the president of the Law Society is concerned, (an) overwhelming majority … indicated that they want the president elected by the members, and then, having got into council, council then elects the president.
“So it is actually the members’ wish that the president must be voted in by members,” he said.