Love in conversation

People of NUS Law

As NUS Law prepares to move to our new home at the Kent Ridge campus, we celebrate our time at the current Bukit Timah campus through a series of heartwarming stories. What makes this campus special goes beyond its beautiful location and collection of historic buildings; it is the people that have walked these grounds that make the campus what it is. In this series, we showcase the people and heart of NUS Law.

It wasn’t sparks that flew when Andrew Chua ’17 and Marrissa Karuna ’16 first met each other 12 years ago, but a medley of fruit and vegetables. For the then strangers, that experience could not be more different. As competitors in a game of captain’s ball with a twist, goalkeeper Andrew caught every lettuce, grape and orange. “The goalkeeper of that other orientation group gave us no chance,” Marrissa said, remembering her frustration, while Andrew recollected cheekily that “that was the first time that I saw Marrissa grumpy because her team lost terribly”.

A month later, they were introduced after being assigned to the same group for an NUS-SMU orientation, and that first impression soon turned into attraction. What drew them together was the way talking to each other felt natural, with Marrissa admitting with a smile that she thought he was cute. Andrew, not especially outgoing by nature, found himself opening up. “She was easy and fun to talk to. I remember being able to have free-flowing conversations with her, and that was a special feeling.” Marrissa’s feelings were similarly in sync. “He was very perceptive and genuine, and there was a softer side to him that seemed visible only to me. As we got to know each other better, I liked him more and more.”

From their undergraduate days to working life and now, as parents to a one-year old boy, the couple have ridden through the crests and troughs of life together through easy, honest conversation. Today, Andrew is an Associate Director at Drew & Napier, with his practice focusing on criminal defence, investigations, as well as civil and commercial litigation. Marrissa works at Secretlab as an in-house Legal Counsel in Risk and Compliance, overseeing markets that span the Asia-Pacific, the United States and Europe.

The ‘Old’ Days

Andrew described his law school days as fun, crazy times. “I spent more time playing football with the NUS varsity team than doing ‘law things’,” he jokingly said of his early years as an undergraduate. Marrissa, who was an orientation group leader and in the Law Students’ International Relations Club, chimed in that events such as Picnic Under The Stars and Block B parties were highlights of campus life. But what really brought law school to life for them was mooting.

Andrew honed his craft through participating in the Harry Elias Partnership Moot in his first year, a team moot in Sydney in his second, and the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot (Vis Moot) in Vienna, Austria, in his final year. That meant spending nights on campus until the wee hours in preparation, but he found a partner in Marrissa—her pathway ran through the B.A. Mallal Moot in Year 2, a mooting course in Year 4, and the Vis Moot (a year before Andrew), where the intensity of facing international teams sharpened her ability to argue and listen. “Preparing for our moots were particularly stressful periods and we would run arguments by each other,” Andrew shared.

Those years at NUS Law strengthened their bond: they fondly remembered taking lunches at Mr Prata and the Wine Company nearby (both have shuttered), studying at the CJ Koh Law Library, decompression walks along the Upper and Lower Quads, and watching the glow of sunsets over the Botanic Gardens.

For Andrew, being at the Bukit Timah campus carried a special meaning—it was the realisation of a dream to study there, after childhood visits to the then Singapore Management University-occupied campus where his father taught Economics. “I used to think that it was such a beautiful place and always wondered what it would be like to study there. Many years later, I actually did!”

Supporting Each Other

Beyond campus, their conversation matured into purposeful discussions on life. NUS Law gave them the fundamentals to analyse legal problems with rigour—a discipline both call on daily; but in negotiating the demands of practice, they have relied on each other. “I represent all sorts of people who do some of the most heinous things that you can think of,” said Andrew, and he’s frank that he wouldn’t be doing it without Marrissa’s support.

Marrissa explained: “We are always in conversation on the purpose behind our respective careers. When we were both in practice, it was important that we both felt that the time invested in work was worth it.”

One of the major turning points in her life came when she gave birth to their son, and chose to leave Allen & Gledhill in June 2025 after practising as a litigator for eight years. Motherhood reframed her sense of work-life balance, and hitting billable targets while raising a child felt incompatible with the life she wanted. After months of discussion with Andrew, some of which took place over late-night Hai Di Lao dinners, she decided to explore an in-house path. “It really helps to be able to talk things out with someone who understands (both the legal world and you) and has your interests as a priority.”

The Young Family

After seven years of dating, the Covid-19 outbreak happened. Andrew and Marrissa who by then viewed each other as life partners, decided to get engaged in June 2021, despite restrictions allowing gatherings of only two. When restrictions were lifted a year later, they got married and threw a big celebration. They soon embarked on a new chapter of life, with the birth of their son.

Their busy calendar has become a choreography of care. They tag-team—ensuring at least one parent is home, deferring unfinished work until after bedtime, and reserving Saturday nights for date nights. Their relationship isn’t filled with grand gestures, but built through talk and small joys that keep their commitments in harmony. “We like to travel, try new food together, hike, go on motorcycle rides and play with our little boy,” they shared.

As a family, they are each other’s anchor and sail. “I always try to remind Marrissa that the most important thing is to enjoy the work and do something that is meaningful,” said Andrew, stressing that accolades are secondary. And for him, Marrissa is the listening ear when cases get tough, the steady presence at home when he misses their son’s bedtime, and the voice that nudges him towards rest during intense periods at work.

Reflection

From moot court to meeting rooms, from Upper Quad sunsets to late-night dinners, from two people in orientation to three at the breakfast table, their relationship has seen the changing seasons of life. What has remained constant is conversation: when two people learn that talking is how you build trust, and listening is how you keep it. It’s a love story, yes—but one powered by a long, ongoing conversation about purpose and a life of meaning.