Philip Jeyaretnam appointed Judicial Commissioner of the Supreme Court

THE President has appointed Philip Jeyaretnam as a Judicial Commissioner of the Supreme Court on the advice of the Prime Minister, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said on Monday.

His term will span a year, starting Jan 4, 2021.

A leading commercial litigator and international arbitration counsel, Mr Jeyaretnam is the global vice-chair and Asean chief executive officer at Dentons. He was conferred the title of Senior Counsel in 2003 at the age of 38, making him one of the youngest lawyers to be appointed senior counsel.

He is widely recognised as a leading expert in arbitration, construction law and litigation in all major legal publications, the PMO said in its statement.

Having served as managing partner of Dentons Rodyk since 2011, he has been instrumental in helping Singapore's oldest law firm realise its regional ambitions. It now has more than 300 lawyers across South-east Asia.

With this appointment, the Supreme Court will have a total of 25 Judges (including the Chief Justice and four Judges of Appeal), six Judicial Commissioners, four Senior Judges and 17 International Judges.

Meanwhile, Dentons Rodyk announced on Monday that its deputy managing partner, Gerald Singham, has been appointed managing partner of Dentons Rodyk & Davidson with effect from Jan 1, 2021.

Mr Singham, who has spent his entire professional career with Dentons Rodyk, has been deputy managing partner since 2011. He also serves on the boards of several companies and statutory boards.

He will continue to lead the firm's competition practice in Singapore. He is named in numerous legal guides and directories, including the Chambers Asia-Pacific and The Legal 500 Asia Pacific, and was awarded the Public Service Star (Bar) National Day award by the President for his contributions to the community.