NUS Law wins UMNUS Friendly Moot Competition

NUS Law congratulates Tan Fong Han ’20, Violet Huang ’20, Elizabeth Teoh ’20 and Kimberly Lim ’19 for emerging as champions of the 11th annual University of Malaya and National University of Singapore (UMNUS) Friendly Moot Competition, and Elizabeth for clinching the Best Oralist Award.

In light of the endemic issue of overworking in the legal industry, this year’s moot problem was whether a law firm owes a duty to protect its employees’ mental well-being, and whether the firm had breached this duty. The competition was presided over by retired Federal Court Judge Tan Sri James Foong Cheng Yuan, Dato’ Lim Chee Wee and retired Court of Appeal Judge Dato’ Mah Weng Kwai. It consisted of written memorials and one round of oral submissions.

The NUS team represented the employee who suffered psychiatric illness due to work stress. The team enjoyed the relevance and intellectual rigour of the problem, tackling a lack of local precedents and the difficulties of showing how mental illness is reasonably foreseeable. With the help of the team’s coach, alumni and members of the faculty, the team prevailed in spite of such challenges, gaining confidence and showing clarity in their submissions.

Tan Fong Han, a member of the team, said: “We were warmly received by the students of University of Malaya. Aside from the moot itself, their hospitality made this short trip a memorable one. We look forward to welcoming them in Singapore next year.’

The team would like to thank their coach Parveen Kaur ’16, mooting alumni David Isidore Tan ’16, Joshua Hiew ’17, Sarah Hew ’12, David Fong ’13 and Daryl Yong ’15, Associate Professor Eleanor Wong ’85 and Associate Professor Lim Lei Theng ’92, for their never-ending guidance and support.