JLP - Appeals

The Honourable Justice Debbie Ong

Judge of the Appellate Division, Supreme Court of Singapore

Justice Debbie Ong was appointed a Judge of the Appellate Division on 1 November 2022. She was appointed Judicial Commissioner in 2014 and Supreme Court Judge on 30 September 2017. She was concurrently appointed Presiding Judge of the Family Justice Courts from October 2017 to September 2023.

Justice Ong earned her Bachelor of Laws from the National University of Singapore (NUS) in 1989 and Master of Laws at the University of Cambridge in 1991. She was admitted as an advocate and solicitor in Singapore in 1990.

Her legal career began as an academic at NUS’s Faculty of Law in 1989, specialising in family law. While teaching, she also assisted the Family Court as a court mediator and the Supreme Court as amicus curiae. She was a member to various boards and councils, such as the Review Board constituted under the Children and Young Persons Act. Justice Ong currently co-chairs the SAL's Learning and Professional Development Committee.

The Honourable Justice Vinodh Sabesan Coomaraswamy

Judge of the General Division, Supreme Court of Singapore

Justice Vinodh Coomaraswamy was appointed Judicial Commissioner in 2012 and a High Court Judge in 2013.

He graduated with a Bachelor of Laws from Nottingham University in 1990, and a Bachelor of Civil Law from Oxford University in 1998. He won first prize in the 1991 Trinity Bar Examinations, and later that year was called to the Bar of England & Wales by the Inner Temple. He was admitted as an advocate and solicitor in Singapore in 1992.

He began his legal career in Shook Lin & Bok in 1992 and became a partner in 1996. He was appointed Senior Counsel in 2005. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators. He was also admitted in New South Wales (2005) and in New York (2007).

The Honourable Justice Ang Cheng Hock

Judge of the General Division, Supreme Court of Singapore

Justice Ang Cheng Hock was re-appointed as a Judge of the High Court on 1 May 2025. He returned to the Supreme Court bench after serving as a Deputy Attorney-General at the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) for over two and a half years.

Justice Ang graduated with a Bachelor of Laws (1st Class Honours) from the National University of Singapore in 1995. After being called to bar in 1996, he spent a year as a Justices’ Law Clerk in the Supreme Court. Thereafter, he obtained a Master of Laws from Yale Law School and then practised at Davis Polk & Wardwell, a New York law firm. In 1999, on returning to Singapore, he joined Allen & Gledhill, where he was a litigator. He became a partner of the firm in 2000 and later served on the firm’s executive committee from 2010 to 2018.

In 2009, he became one of the youngest lawyers to be appointed as a Senior Counsel at the age of 38. He was elevated to the bench as a Judicial Commissioner in 2018 and a Judge of the High Court in 2019. While on the bench, he heard a wide range of cases from civil and commercial disputes to criminal matters. In 2022, Justice Ang resigned as a judge to assume his role as a Deputy Attorney-General. At the AGC, he oversaw the work of its Civil Division and its Advocacy Group. He also supervised several high-profile criminal prosecutions.

Gan Kam Yuin

Assistant Registrar, Supreme Court

District Judge

Kam Yuin graduated from the National University of Singapore and maintained an active practice for more than 27 years before entering the Judicial Service in 2019. Her strong background as a practitioner has enriched her time at the Supreme Court.

During her years at the Bar, Kam Yuin practised mainly in commercial litigation and civil dispute resolution, including mediation and arbitration. She was lead counsel in a wide range of matters at all levels of the Singapore judicial system, including the Court of Appeal and the Singapore International Commercial Court. In addition, she undertook advisory and drafting work for clients from diverse industries and backgrounds.

Believing that a great deal of learning takes place in the spaces between us, Kam Yuin welcomes opportunities to engage with young lawyers and encourage them in the acquisition of the good foundational skills needed for a long and rewarding career at the Bar.

Hon Paul Heath KC

Bankside Chambers

Hon Paul Heath KC was called to the New Zealand Bar in 1978, practised as a barrister and solicitor until 1998, when he was appointed Queen’s Counsel. In March 2002, after serving for five years as a consultant (two years) and member (three years) of the New Zealand Law Commission, Paul was appointed as a Judge of the High Court of New Zealand. Between 2003 and 2017, he sat as an ad hoc member of the Court of Appeal on numerous occasions, on both the Civil Appeal Division and Criminal Appeal Division. Paul was also a Commercial List Judge and a member of the Commercial Panel of the High Court when he retired from the Bench in April 2018, and joined Bankside Chambers. He is an Associate Member at South Square in London, the leading set of insolvency and restructuring chambers.

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Paul continues to undertake judicial work in four jurisdictions: he is a Judge of the Court of First Instance of the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) Courts, a Judge of the Court of Appeal of Fiji, a Judge of the Court of Appeal of Tonga and Chief Justice of the Pitcairn Islands.

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Apart from his judicial work, Paul practises primarily as an arbitrator, both in domestic and international arbitrations. He also provides commercial mediation services and strategic advice in complex disputes, particularly in his specialist field of insolvency and restructuring. He is one of a number of members of Bankside Chambers available to take arbitration and other assignments in Singapore, under the name of Bankside Singapore. That group has a room at Maxwell Chambers in Singapore.

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‍While a member of the New Zealand Law Commission (an independent statutory law reform agency), Paul was the Commissioner in charge of a project called Improving the Arbitration Act 1996. Although completed under Paul’s supervision, a report was published in February 2003. A number of its recommendations were incorporated in 2007 Amendments to the Arbitration Act. After his retirement from the Bench, Paul was engaged to advise the Parliamentary Select Committee dealing with the Arbitration Amendment Bill then before Parliament.

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Paul is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK) and a Fellow of the Arbitrators’ and Mediators’ Institute of New Zealand. He is on the panel of arbitrators available for appointment through (among other institutions) the Singapore International Arbitration Centre and the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre. In New Zealand, he is a member of panels for the appointment of arbitrators that have been established by the Arbitrators’ and Mediators’ Institute of New Zealand and the New Zealand International Arbitration Centre.

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‍In June 2019, Paul was appointed as a member of P.R.I.M.E Finance’s Panel of Experts for Dispute Resolution. He is also available as an arbitrator and mediator through the Arbitration and Mediation Unit recently established by South Square in London. He is currently undertaking a number of both international and domestic arbitrations, and has also been involved in a cross border mediation held virtually.

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Paul’s specialist area of practice is insolvency law; in particular, cross border insolvency.  In 1999 and 2000, he was New Zealand’s delegate to Working Group V of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law and chaired two of its meetings when holding the position of Vice Chair. He has been involved in much judicial education in this area; most recently on assignments from the World Bank and INSOL International in India and Peoples’ Republic of China. Paul has also been engaged by the Asian Development Bank as a consultant on court related projects in Myanmar and Sri Lanka. He is one of the co-consulting editors of the leading New Zealand text on insolvency law, Heath & Whale on Insolvency. In 2000, Paul was inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy.  He is also a Life Member of the Restructuring, Insolvency and Turnaround Association of New Zealand (RITANZ).

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In recognition of his acknowledged skills in both insolvency and dispute resolution, Paul is currently Co Chair of INSOL International’s ADR Colloquium, which is considering how private dispute resolution can complement the role of courts in dealing with cross border insolvency disputes under legislation based (primarily) on the UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross Border Insolvency.

Foo Chee Hock 

• The first Dean of the Singapore Judicial College, Supreme Court of Singapore;

• Adjunct Professor in NUS teaching a course entitled, "Reform of Civil Procedure";

• Appointed Senior Counsel in 2019;

• Served almost 40 years in the then Legal Service of Singapore;

• Formerly, Judicial Commissioner of the Supreme Court of Singapore; and

• Formerly, Registrar of the Supreme Court of Singapore.    

Lee Eng Beng, SC

Senior Partner

Chair, Rajah & Tann Asia

Lee Eng Beng SC is a Senior Partner of Rajah & Tann Singapore and the Chair Person of Rajah & Tann Asia, one of the largest legal networks in Southeast Asia. 

He has an active practice in commercial litigation and arbitration, with emphasis on banking and financing disputes, debt enforcement and insolvency litigation, shareholders’ and joint venture disputes, and general commercial disputes.  He has appeared as appellate counsel in many landmark cases. 

He has also handled a wide range of insolvency and banking advisory work, and the debt restructuring of large businesses and public listed companies.  He has published widely in the fields of insolvency law and commercial law generally, and his articles are often judicially cited in the Singapore courts.

Professor Steven Elliott, KC
Barrister, One Essex Court 
Professor (Professional Practice), NUS

Professor Steven Elliott KC practises commercial law as a member of One Essex Court in London and in Singapore. He has an international litigation and arbitration practice that has encompassed proceedings in many of the English law-based jurisdictions as well as proceedings under a variety of institutional rules.

His disputes experience ranges from large-scale and hard-fought fraud claims to appeals raising innovative points of law. He has acted in appeals to the House of Lords and the UK Supreme Court, appeals to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, and a reference to a Grand Chamber of the European Court of Justice.

Originally qualified in British Columbia, Professor Elliott has been a member of the English Bar since 2001 and a member of the Bar of the Eastern Caribbean (Virgin Islands) since 2007. He is licensed to practise English law in Singapore and is an associate member of the Law Society of Singapore.

Professor Elliott holds a BA (Hons) from Queen’s University in Canada, a JD (Hons) from the University of Toronto, and a DPhil from the University of Oxford (Merton College). His doctorate concerned remedies for breach of trust. He served as a judicial assistant to the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales as well as a clerk to the British Columbia Court of Appeal.

Professor Elliott’s research concentrates on private law topics, especially equity and trusts as well as commercial remedies. He is general editor of Snell’s Equity and an author of The Law of Rescission amongst others works. His writings have been referred to in decisions of apex courts in England as well as in several of the main Commonwealth jurisdictions, including Singapore.

Mark Seah

Senior Partner, Dentons Rodyk

Mark Seah is a Senior Partner in Dentons Rodyk’s Dispute Resolution department and co-heads the Commercial Litigation practice. A member of the firm’s Executive Committee, he is also the firm’s Singapore-Australasia Relationship Partner.

Mark commands a strong practice in commercial litigation and arbitration involving complex, high value disputes concerning employment, shareholder and corporate matters, Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues, commodities, international trade, supply chains, energy, restructuring and insolvency and derivatives. Mark has acted in significant cross-border litigation involving in excess of US$1 billion, and has represented prominent companies including some of the world’s largest, governments, state owned entities and leading banks.

Leow Jiamin
Deputy Director(Legal Faculty), Singapore Academy of Law

Leow Jiamin is a Deputy Director (Legal Faculty) in the Learning and Professional Development Cluster of the Singapore Academy of Law. 

Prior to joining SAL, Jiamin was a disputes resolution Partner at WongPartnership LLP and handled a wide range of Court and arbitration matters ranging from commercial and corporate disputes, cross border disputes, fraud, asset recovery, to intellectual property disputes. Being fluent in business and legal Mandarin, she also regularly acted for Mandarin-speaking and Chinese clients.

As a junior lawyer, Jiamin spent a number of years at Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP, handling both contentious (from intellectual property to general disputes before both the High Court and Court of Appeal) and non-contentious matters, and was mentioned in Legal 500 (Asia Pacific) in 2019 as well as IAM Patent 1000 (Singapore) in 2020.

She also regularly speaks at conferences, teaches at universities, and contributes to various industry publications in respect of emerging issues in Singapore law, all of which contributes to the development of Singapore law. These include the Asian Business Law Institute’s ABLI-SAL Cryptoasset Series - Cryptoassets and Civil Procedure Law (Singapore edition) and moderated the panel on Resolving A.I. and Technology Disputes at the TechLaw.Fest 2024.

Jiamin joined SAL in April 2025 and gained her qualifications in adult education from the Institute of Adult Learning (IAL) in May 2025.

Simran Toor
Consultant, Singapore Academy of Law

Simran Toor is a consultant at the Singapore Academy of Law. With a career spanning over two decades, she has established herself as an experienced and impactful advocate for her clients, and a thought leader for gender equality.

Simran began her legal journey as a criminal prosecutor at the Attorney-General’s Chambers of Singapore. Thereafter, as a disputes partner at WongPartnership LLP, Simran specialised in white-collar and financial crime, regulatory investigations, and prosecution work for government bodies. She played a pivotal role in the in numerous complex litigation cases, and provided strategic advice in many high-profile matters, and co-authored  several chapters in prominent legal publications, including the Chambers White-Collar Crime 2021 guide and the Chambers Anti-Corruption Law and Practice guide.

Simran’s commitment to fostering a supportive and inclusive legal community is evident in her numerous roles and contributions.

She served as an elected member of the Council of the Law Society of Singapore for 12 years, where she championed access to justice issues and equitable treatment for women lawyers. In 2019, she co-founded the Women in Practice Committee. As Co-Chairperson, she spearheaded initiatives to support women in law, and to combat bullying and harassment within the legal profession.

In 2022, Simran was appointed the first CEO of SG Her Empowerment (SHE), a non-profit organisation dedicated to tackling gender inequality and empowering women in the digital age. Under her leadership, SHE launched initiatives to support victims of online harm, harassment, and non-consensual image sharing, and undertook crucial research to advocate for policy change.

Simran sits on the boards of KidStart Singapore Limited, a Government organisation that provides help and support to help underprivileged children under the age of 6 thrive, and I Love Children, an charity that advocates for better fertility awareness in Singapore. She has also contributed to the Birthday Book, a collection of essays by Singaporean thought leaders, on the topic of unconscious gender bias.  

K Gopalan

Consultant, Ethics & Professional Development, Singapore Academy of Law

• Formerly Director and Head of Department, Regulatory Department, Law Society of Singapore (2013 to 2023)

• Duties included leading a team of 5 lawyers and 2 paralegals, overseeing compliance with Part VII of the Legal Profession Act, Disciplinary Proceedings against Advocates & Solicitors, compliance with Solicitors Accounts Rules, managing Compensation Fund claims, managing the Professional Indemnity Insurance Scheme for legal practitioners, overseeing inadequate professional service complaints against practitioners, generally conduct and discipline of lawyers.

• Also conducted courses, seminars and talks  for practitioners on Professional Responsibility and Compliance with the Solicitors Accounts Rules

• Facilitator, Ethics & Professional Responsibility, SILE (2015 to 2024)

• Private Legal Practice (1980 to 2013) principally in Civil Litigation. Real Estate Law, Family Law & Probate Practice and Insurance Law

• IRAS officer from 1978 to 1980

Category of Individuals

Singapore Citizens and Singapore Permanent Residents

Employer-sponsored and self-sponsored Singapore Citizens aged 40 years old and above

SME-sponsored local employees (i.e. Singapore Citizens and Singapore Permanent Residents)

Funding Source

SkillsFuture Funding (Baseline)

SkillsFuture Mid-career Enhanced Subsidy

SkillsFuture Enhanced Training Support for SMEs

Course Fee

$1,600

$1,600

SkillsFuture Funding 

$800

$1,120

Total Nett Fee

$800 

$480

GST of Course Fee (9% x $1,600)

$144

$144 

Total Fee Payable to SAL

(including 9% GST)

$944 

$624 

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