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The 6th NUS Law Pro Bono Awards Ceremony
On 23 March 2022 the 6th NUS Law Pro Bono Awards Ceremony was held at the Wee Chong Jin Moot Court, and live-streamed over Zoom. At this year’s Awards Ceremony, we recognised the outstanding pro bono contributions of NUS Law students and faculty.
Professor Simon Chesterman, Dean of NUS Faculty of Law, delivered his welcome address via Zoom and congratulated the award and grant winners, and all NUS Law students that partake wholeheartedly in pro bono projects. We were honoured to have Mr Gregory Vijayendran SC ’92, Immediate Past President of the Law Society of Singapore and Partner at Rajah & Tann, attend as our Guest of Honour to deliver the keynote address where he highlighted the value of complementing academic excellence with being involved in pro bono projects.
Professor Simon Chesterman (Dean, NUS Law) delivering the welcome address
Guest of Honour Mr Gregory Vijayendran SC ’92, Immediate Past President of the Law Society Singapore and Partner Rajah & Tann, delivering the keynote address
Pro Bono Awards
Two categories of Pro Bono Awards were awarded – the Pro Bono Innovation Award and the Pro Bono Special Recognition Award. These awards recognised the outstanding pro bono contributions of our students during Academic Year 2020/2021.
The recipient of the Pro Bono Innovation Award was Chan Yong Sheng Abraham. He was awarded for spearheading the NUS-FIDReC project. This project provides NUS Law students with the opportunity to work with the Financial Industry Disputes Resolution Centre (FIDReC) to assist victims of financial scams and to raise legal awareness of these scams amongst individuals who may be particularly vulnerable to them.
There were 13 recipients of the Pro Bono Special Recognition Award. Alvina Chitra Logan, Ryan Tian and Lim Jingzhen Jerrick were awarded for their work as leaders of the NUS – Rajah & Tann PDPA Compliance Assistance Scheme project. This project involves NUS Law students reviewing the policies and processes of various charities, to ensure that their documentation and practices are compliant with the Personal Data Protection Act.
Lai Sin Yee and Tan Yean San were awarded for their work as senior student representatives in the State Courts Student Representatives Programme. The programme aids litigants-in-persons in the Community Justice and Tribunals Division of the State Courts.
Brandon Wong Wei Lun and Reeve Chia Jing were awarded for their achievements whilst serving as the Head and Vice Head of The Recourse Initiative, which is a student-led initiative that seeks to provide, in meritorious cases, post-appeal recourse for individuals who believe that they have been wrongfully convicted or that their sentence is manifestly excessive.
Benjiro Tan Zheng Yuan was awarded for his involvement in five pro bono projects where he sought to help needy beneficiaries navigate the criminal justice system or raise awareness of aspects of criminal law.
Chloe Natasha Caenaro was awarded for her dedication towards increasing legal awareness amongst youth and for inspiring others to do likewise. Chloe was involved in the Legal Education & Awareness Programme and PLAY (Project Legal Awareness for Youths) Mentorship.
Alison Ng was awarded for her efforts to raise legal awareness amongst needy members of the community by being involved in projects such as University Court Friends, Pioneer Legal Clinic and legal awareness talks.
Finally, the following three awardees played pivotal roles in the COV-AID project. Established in 2020, the project provides an online database for individuals and businesses to learn more about the legal implications arising from COVID-19. Bryan Foo Shi Sheng was COV-AID’s head of publicity, Cheyenne Lim Yi-Ting was the main website designer, and Cheung Chun Man was COV-AID’s Outreach Head.
Pro Bono Award recipients with Guest of Honour, Mr Gregory Vijayendran SC ’92
This year’s Pro Bono Awards Ceremony also included a surprise award for Associate Professor Helena Whalen-Bridge LLM ’02, who has been the professor guiding the NUS Pro Bono Group since its inception in 2005. Former Pro Bono Group Presidents Mr Jonathan Tan ’20 and Mr Hairul Siddeeq ’19 created a video, that was played during the ceremony, encapsulating the impact of A/P Helena’s 18 years of dedication to NUS Law’s pro bono landscape.
(L to R): Mr Gregory Vijayendran SC ’92, Associate Professor Helena Whalen-Bridge LLM ’02 and Professor Kumaralingam Amirthalingam
Associate Professor Helena Whalen-Bridge LLM ’02 receiving flowers from Mr Jonathan Tan ’20
Pro Bono Grants
The Centre for Pro Bono and Clinical Legal Education administers three pro bono grants: The NUS Law Class of 1992 Pro Bono Grant, The NUS Law Class of 2017 Pro Bono Grant and The RHTLaw Asia Subhas Anandan Pro Bono Grant.
The NUS Law Class of 1992 Pro Bono Grant is awarded to pro bono projects that galvanises attention and efforts towards a worthy cause to which NUS Law students can provide significant contributions. Two projects were awarded this grant – Building of Bridges and Parachute.
(L to R): Ms Judy Chang ’92, Charisse Peh Xue Qi, Joanne Teo Min-Yi, Mr Andrew Chan ’92, Kwek Shu En Annabel, Tan E-Shane Christabelle and Mr Gregory Vijayendran SC ’92
Mr Andrew Chan ’92 presenting the NUS Law Class of 1992 Pro Bono Grant to Building of Bridges representative Charisse Peh Xue Qi (left) and Parachute representative Kwek Shu En Annabel (right)
The NUS Law Class of 2017 Pro Bono Grant is awarded to projects targeted at pro bono efforts or community service. The projects are weighed on the basis of, among other things, innovativeness, impact on the beneficiary, sustainability and contributions to NUS Law students’ learning journey. Two projects were awarded this grant – Law and You and PLAY (Project Legal Awareness for Youths) Mentorship.
(L to R): Adriel Ho Jian Yao, Lo Yin Peng, Mr Gregory Vijayendran SC ’92, Mr Mr Yee Guang Yi ’17, Mr Vu Lan Nguyen ’17 and Lim Jing Kai Joshua
Mr Vu Lan Nguyen ’17 presenting the NUS Law Class of 2017 Pro Bono Grant to Law and You representative Adriel Ho Jian Yao (left) and PLAY Mentorship representative Lim Jing Kai Joshua (right)
The final grant awarded was the RHTLaw Asia Subhas Anandan Pro Bono Grant. The grant was established by RHTLaw Asia in honour of their founding partner Mr Subhas Anandan ’70 and with the hopes of continuing his work. The grant was awarded to the NUS Law Criminal Justice Club.
(L to R): Mr Nandakumar Renganathan, Mr Gregory Vijayendran SC ’92, Sheares Tiong, Assistant Professor Benny Tan ’12
Mr Nandakumar Renganathan presenting the RHTLaw Asia Subhas Anandan Pro Bono Grant to NUS Law Criminal Justice Club representative Sheares Tiong
The Centre for Pro Bono and Clinical Legal Education wishes to thank Guest of Honour Mr Gregory Vijayendran SC ’92, our grant donors, pro bono partners, advisory board members and NUS Law students for their continued support and collaborative efforts to ensure the furtherance of the pro bono spirit at NUS Law.
Please contact the Centre for Pro Bono and Clinical Legal Education at probono@nus.edu.sg with any pro bono or clinical legal education queries.