Ryo Yap ’19 receives Lee Hsien Loong Award for Outstanding All-Round Achievement

NUS Law graduate Ryo Yap Zhe You ’19 was presented the Lee Hsien Loong Award for Outstanding All-Round Achievement (LHL-OAA) by Ms Indranee Rajah ’86 (Minister, Prime Minister’s Office, Second Minister for Finance and Second Minister for Education) at a Special Awards Presentation Ceremony held on 27 August 2019.

Established in 2009 and funded by an endowment donated by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, the LHL-OAA recognises outstanding academic and non-academic achievements of post-secondary students, particularly those who have made outstanding contributions to the community and demonstrated the spirit of innovation and enterprise. Each year, the award is presented to one university graduate.

Ryo is honoured to be chosen for this award and is thankful to his Torts tutor at NUS Law, Matthew Seet ’12, who nominated him and provided him with constant guidance and advice in law school.

“Receiving this award after graduating provided me with a timely reason to reflect on the four years I have spent at NUS Law,” Ryo said.

Ryo, who graduated in 2019 with Second Class Honours (Upper), excelled in his studies and was a recipient of numerous awards and prizes including the Dean’s List, the Clifford Chance Prize in International Commercial Arbitration (awarded to the top student for the subject) and the Wee Chong Jin Scholarship in Law. He also represented the school in local and international mooting competitions and his accolades include finishing as champions in the Attorney-General’s Cup in 2016 and the FDI Moot Asia-Pacific Regional Rounds in 2018.

He participated actively in extra-curricular activities and among several key appointments, served as President of the 37th Law Club Management Committee.

Outside of law school, he used his legal training to give back to the community. From 2015 to 2017, Ryo served as a member, and subsequently as the Vice-Head of the Military Justice Project, a student-led initiative that is premised upon enhancing the accessibility of legal assistance for national servicemen. In 2016, he was also amongst a team of students who had volunteered their services under the NUS Student Disciplinary Assistance Scheme, which provides NUS students facing disciplinary charges with basic legal assistance and support.

These initiatives demonstrated Ryo’s belief in the due process guarantees of individuals facing punishment.

When asked how he was able to cope with all his commitments in and out of law school, Ryo humbly replied that there were many others like him in his cohort.

He said, “I think my experience at the faculty was the norm rather than the exception – we have plenty of students who have accomplished so many amazing feats – and I think to some extent this environment [at NUS Law] inspires all of us to do a little better.”

Ryo is currently taking the preparatory course for Part B of the Singapore Bar Examinations and will be commencing work at Rajah and Tann Singapore as a Practice Trainee in January 2020 under the commercial litigation practice group.

Like many fresh graduates, he has no specific career aspirations yet but he believes his legal education has prepared him well for the future.

“In the short term, I am committed to honing my craft – to become a good lawyer whom my clients can depend on and trust to have their problems solved. I think a legal education is unique because it is one of the very few disciplines that engages both the abstract and the practical mind, and so allows one to develop a wide-ranging skillset to tackle problems at the personal and societal level. Needless to say, it also opens the door to a myriad of career opportunities.”

Thinking back on the last four years, Ryo is grateful for the experience at NUS Law.

“I would like to extend my utmost gratitude to the deanery and faculty staff who work tirelessly to ensure optimal conditions for the students to study the law, and for being ever so supportive of our extra-curricular pursuits. I also thank my friends at law school, who have inspired me through their immense capabilities and their passion in giving back to the community.”