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Update on the Tan Yock Lin Memorial Fund – Remembering a Gentle Legal Giant
It has been more than a year since we bade farewell to Professor Tan Yock Lin in July 2023, and his tragic loss is still keenly felt at the faculty. 
An engineering graduate of the Imperial College, London and a law graduate of Oxford University, Yock Lin joined NUS Law in 1982, was made Professor in 2000, and remained as an academic at the Faculty for the rest of his 40-year career. He taught and wrote in diverse areas of the law including Evidence, Criminal Procedure, Trusts and Equity, Conflicts of Laws, Personal Property, and the Legal Profession; most recently, on Commercial Conflict of Laws. He was a beloved teacher to scores of students across his decades at NUS Law.
Yock Lin’s generosity to his students mirrored his relationship with his colleagues at NUS Law. He was a dedicated colleague and a mentor to many throughout his career, including some of his most junior colleagues. In 2022, he was appointed an Emeritus Professor in recognition of his distinguished career and his outstanding contributions to the field of law.
The campaign for the Tan Yock Lin Memorial Fund was started by his colleagues in end-2023 to establish an endowed subject prize or bursary to be named after Yock Lin. As fundraising progressed, a target of $75,000 was set to establish an endowed prize, and we look forward to the launch of a prize in the field of Conflict of Laws that will be named in Yock Lin’s honour and awarded from Academic Year 2025/26 onwards.
The campaign recently received a boost from the Class of 1994 and the Class of 1999, who rallied together at their respective class reunions to support this meaningful cause in memory of the inimitable Prof Tan.
With the generous support of colleagues, former students and friends, close to $50,000 has been raised, bringing the campaign closer to its target of $75,000. All contributions are welcome, and anyone who would like to make a donation may do so via the online donation link or scan the QR code below:
