MP among three lawyers appointed Senior Counsel

Singapore

MURALI Pillai, who has his plate full as a lawyer and Member of Parliament, has proved his case that one can wear several hats and be successful at them. He is one of three to be named Senior Counsel on Monday.

Jason Chan Tai-Hui and Mohamed Faizal Mohamed Abdul Kadir are the other two legal practitioners who also earned the title, with their outstanding ability as advocates, extensive knowledge of the law and the highest professional standing.

They joined the elite ranks of Singapore's equivalent of Britain's Queen's Counsel, who at the latest count stand at 88.

Mr Pillai, a litigator with 24 years of experience, has argued several landmark cases, including a recent one that ultimately secured an acquittal for a businessman and his trading firm.

His clients were spared a three-month jail term, S$1 million in total fines and forfeiture of Madagascan rosewood logs worth US$50 million, when their convictions for illegally importing the logs were quashed at the end of a five-year saga.

A current case that the 52-year-old equity partner with Rajah & Tann Singapore is working on is a high-stakes lawsuit for Prudential Assurance Company Singapore. The insurance heavyweight has taken its former top agency manager to court for allegedly instigating the exodus of 244 agents to join rival Aviva Singapore.

Outside of court, he is MP for Bukit Batok after winning the single-seat ward in a by-election in 2016. Mr Murali said: "Law and community work are my twin passions. In fact, it's law that gave me an opportunity to become a community leader through pro bono work."

Mr Chan, a commercial and criminal litigator like Mr Pillai, is a partner at Allen & Gledhill and co-head of its white collar and investigations practice. Leveraging his experience as a former prosecutor and judicial officer, the 42-year-old advises on regulatory and white-collar criminal cases, including market misconduct, regulatory breaches, corporate fraud and corruption.

He was one of the lawyers defending City Harvest Church pastor Kong Hee in his trial on criminal breach of trust of the church's funds.

Mr Chan studied law on a Public Service Commission scholarship, graduating with a first-class honours degree from National University of Singapore (NUS). Additionally, he has a master's degree in law from Columbia University in New York on a Legal Service Commission scholarship.

Mr Chan was once named the best oralist at the championship round for an international law moot court competition.

Mr Faizal has a first-class honours law degree from NUS and a master's law degree from Harvard University. His Harvard thesis earned him the International Insolvency Institute Gold Medal.

He commenced his career in the Supreme Court where the 39-year-old assisted the judiciary in research as a Justices' Law Clerk. He currently serves at the AGC as a deputy chief prosecutor and senior state counsel.

Mr Faizal has a desire to make a difference through education. He set up and funded scholarships in Bedok View Secondary and Tampines Junior College, where he studied. He was one of the recipients of the President's Volunteerism and Philanthropy Awards in 2015.

He has also established a book grant - aptly named the Phoenix Grant - for lower-income law students at NUS to encourage them to rise above their financial circumstances.