Adrian Tan Explained

Adrian Tan
Office:President of the Law Society of Singapore
Predecessor:Gregory Vijayendran SC
Termstart:1 January 2022
Termend:8 July 2023
Birth Date:1966 2, df=y
Birth Place:Singapore
Death Place:Singapore
Module:
Child:yes
Hide:no
Headercolor:transparent
T:陳錦海
S:陈锦海
P:Chén Jǐnhǎi
Successor:Lisa Sam Hui Min

Adrian Tan Gim Hai (4 February 1966 – 8 July 2023) was a Singaporean lawyer and author. Known for writing the Teenage Textbook series of books in the 1980s, he was the 27th president of the Law Society of Singapore and a partner at TSMP Law Corporation.[1]

Early life and education

Tan was born in Singapore to an ethnic Chinese family of Hainanese descent. His parents were both teachers, and he grew up in a Housing Development Board (HDB) flat.[2]

As a child, Tan attended the Anglo-Chinese School and Hwa Chong Junior College. Tan was later conscripted into the army as a writer for Pioneer, the MINDEF magazine.[3] [4] After his A-levels, he was offered a teaching scholarship to study English at the University of East Anglia. He turned down the scholarship to study law at the National University of Singapore (NUS). While in university, Tan represented NUS as a debater in international competitions and televised debates in Singapore.[5] He later completed a second, joint-honours degree in computer science and psychology from the Open University in 2004, while working as a lawyer.[6]

Career

While an undergraduate law student at NUS, Tan wrote the novels The Teenage Textbook (1988) and The Teenage Workbook (1989), which became bestsellers that sold over 50,000 copies.[7] [8] The Teenage Textbook was also made into a stage play by The Necessary Stage in 1997;[9] a film in 1998, which topped the box office in Singapore for four weeks;[10] a 2017 musical titled The Teenage Textbook Musical;[11] and a 2021 TV series on Channel 5.[12] In 2015, The Teenage Textbook was listed by The Business Times as one of the top 10 English Singapore books from 1965 to 2015.[13] Tan also was a consultant for the Channel 5 television legal drama The Pupil.[14] Tan was invited to a National Library Board festival but later boycotted it over the board's decision to withdraw from its libraries children's books that depicted same-sex families.[15]

After graduating from NUS with a Bachelor of Laws degree, Tan began his legal career in 1991 at Drew and Napier, a large Singaporean firm. He initially practiced conveyancing law, but switched over to litigation thereafter, where he worked under Davinder Singh.[16] In 1999, Tan left Drew for a two-year stint as general counsel of a technology firm, following which he returned to Drew. Eventually, after 22 years at Drew, Tan left to work for Stamford Law (now Morgan Lewis Stamford) in 2013. In 2018, Tan resigned from Stamford to work at TSMP Law.[17] Tan practiced litigation, and specialised in intellectual property, information technology, real estate, and shareholder oppression disputes.[18] He was also the honorary counsel of the Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped, where he advocated for voting rights for the blind.[19] [20] He was also a member of the boards of the Law Society Pro Bono Services,[21] Maxwell Chambers,[22] and Arts House Limited,[23] and was a member of the Speak Good English Movement committee.[24]

From 2013 to 2021, Tan was a member of the Law Society Council, serving as treasurer in 2016 and vice president in 2017.[25] [26] [27] In 2022, he was appointed president. As president of the law society, he was known for his public outreach on legal issues,[28] such as the HDB's ban on cats,[29] the 2022 bar exam cheating scandal, and Richard Branson's comments on the death penalty in Singapore.[30] Tan gave his only Opening of the Legal Year speech as Law Society president in 2023, where he addressed attrition rates in the legal profession.[31]

Personal life and death

Tan was married without any children.[32] He was diagnosed with cancer in March 2022,[33] and died on 8 July 2023, at age 57.[34] At a memorial service celebrating his life, Tan was said to be someone who "had very little ego", was a champion of the legal profession and who "cared for the less fortunate."[35]

After his death, a collection of essays by Tan on the issues he cared about and commented on, was published in a book entitled, "If I were King of Singapore."[36]

Notable cases

Notes and References

  1. News: Quah. Michelle. New Law Society president to help lawyers feel inspired again, prevent exodus of talent. The Business Times. 23 November 2021.
  2. Web site: Profile: Law Society President Adrian Tan's First Media Interview after Cancer Diagnosis – Dare to be your truest self . 30 September 2022 . www.singaporelawwatch.sg . en-US.
  3. Web site: PIONEER – To Enlighten and to Entertain . 9 July 2023 . www.mindef.gov.sg . en.
  4. Book: Giving Strength to Our Nation: The SAF and Its People . Ministry of Defence . 344–347.
  5. News: Double honours for NUS team in Asean debate . The Straits Times . 19 November 2021.
  6. Web site: Mr Adrian Tan . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20210614014115/https://www.legal500.com/firms/32267-tsmp-law-corporation/32708-singapore-singapore/lawyers/693587-adrian-tan/ . 14 June 2021 . 23 November 2021 . The Legal 500.
  7. News: 5 June 1990 . He fries sushi... . 3 . .
  8. News: Second Teenage book proves a fast-selling winner . The Straits Times . 22 November 2021.
  9. News: The Teenage Textbook . The Necessary Stage Archives . 22 November 2021.
  10. Web site: The Teenage Textbook Movie Singapore Classics Reignited . 22 November 2021 . Peatix.
  11. Web site: The Teenage Textbook Musical . 23 November 2021 . National Arts Council, Singapore.
  12. News: Mui Ee, Sissy and Tom are back: Teenage Textbook TV series to premiere in March . CNA Lifestyle . 22 November 2021.
  13. Web site: Yusof . Helmi . Tomes that show us how we live . 5 January 2015 . The Business Times . Singapore Press Holdings.
  14. Web site: Rebecca Lim Might Have Quit Showbiz If Not For The Pupil . 10 February 2023 . 8days . en.
  15. Web site: 12 July 2014 . Writers boycott NLB event over book ban . 8 July 2023 . The New Paper . en.
  16. Web site: Hui . Eva Teh Jing . 4 August 2022 . Both Sides Now: In Conversation with Mr Adrian Tan and Mr Anil Changaroth . 30 September 2022 . The Singapore Law Gazette . en-US.
  17. News: Quah . Michelle . Law firm sharpening its edge in digital age . The Business Times . 23 November 2021.
  18. Web site: Adrian Tan . 23 November 2021 . TSMP Law Corporation.
  19. Web site: Minutes of the 67th Annual General Meeting held on 26 June 2021 . 23 November 2021 . Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped.
  20. Web site: Giving Starts with Awareness . 17 January 2023 . www.psd.gov.sg . en.
  21. Web site: Charity Info . 23 November 2021 . Law Society Pro Bono Services.
  22. Web site: Maxwell Chambers Board of Directors . 22 November 2021 . Maxwell Chambers.
  23. Web site: Arts House Limited About Us Our Board . 22 November 2021 . Arts House Limited.
  24. News: Lim . Paul . 'Speak Good English' campaign to focus on common mistakes . Today . 23 November 2021.
  25. Web site: Media Release – Law Society of Singapore Election 2022 . 23 November 2021.
  26. Web site: Annual Report 2016 . 23 November 2021 . The Law Society of Singapore . 4.
  27. Web site: Annual Report 2017 . 23 November 2021 . The Law Society of Singapore . 4.
  28. Web site: 'A true Renaissance Man': Shanmugam leads tributes to late Law Society president Adrian Tan . 9 July 2023 . CNA . en.
  29. Web site: Lawyer, advocate for cats: New LawSoc president Adrian Tan vows to remain vocal on public issues via social media . 28 July 2022 . TODAY . en.
  30. Web site: LawSoc president Adrian Tan calls out Richard Branson's 'feeble excuse' for declining debate on death penalty . 5 November 2022 . www.singaporelawwatch.sg . en-US.
  31. Web site: 'Noticeable' rise in breaches of standards in legal profession: Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon . 8 July 2023 . CNA . en.
  32. Web site: The Multi-Hyphenate Holds Court . 10 February 2023 . E-Magazine . en.
  33. Web site: 'Until the clock runs out': Law Society president Adrian Tan reveals he has cancer, says will fight illness and continue his work . 28 July 2022 . CNA . en.
  34. Web site: Law Society president Adrian Tan dies aged 57 . 8 July 2023 . CNA . en.
  35. News: Correspondent . Theresa TanSenior Social Affairs . 2023-07-31 . Late Law Society president Adrian Tan had a ‘good legal mind and a good heart’: Shanmugam . en . The Straits Times . 2023-11-30 . 0585-3923.
  36. Web site: If I Were King of Singapore . 2024-04-08 . Epigram . en.
  37. https://www.singaporelawwatch.sg/Portals/0/Docs/Judgments/%5B2017%5D%20SGCA%2036.pdf Ramachandran Jayakumar and another v Woo Hon Wai and others and another matter [2017] SGCA 36] collective sales.

    Publications

    External links

    ]

  38. https://www.elitigation.sg/gdviewer/s/2015_SGCA_54 Lim Li Meng Dominic and others v Ching Pui Sim Sally and another and another matter [2015] SGCA 54] Thomson View, and Shunfu Ville[37]
  39. https://www.elitigation.sg/gdviewer/s/2015_SGCA_55 Y.E.S. F&B Group Pte Ltd v Soup Restaurant Singapore Pte Ltd (formerly known as Soup Restaurant (Causeway Point) Pte Ltd) [2015] SGCA 55]
    • Acted as counsel in proceedings concerning Gilstead Court,[37]
  40. https://www.elitigation.sg/gdviewer/s/2016_SGCA_33 Singsung Pte Ltd v LG 26 Electronics Pte Ltd (trading as L S Electrical Trading) [2016] SGCA 33]
    • Y.E.S. F&B Group Pte Ltd v Soup Restaurant Singapore Pte Ltd (formerly known as Soup Restaurant (Causeway Point) Pte Ltd) [2015] SGCA 55[37]
  41. https://www.elitigation.sg/gdviewer/SUPCT/gd/2018_SGCA_44 Turf Club Auto Emporium Pte Ltd v Yeo Boong Hua [2018] SGCA 44]
    • Singsung Pte Ltd v LG 26 Electronics Pte Ltd (trading as L S Electrical Trading) [2016] SGCA 33[37]
  42. https://www.elitigation.sg/gdviewer/gd/2017_SGCA_23/pdf Wee Shuo Woon v HT S.R.L [2017] SGCA 23]
    • Turf Club Auto Emporium Pte Ltd v Yeo Boong Hua [2018] SGCA 44[37]

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Adrian Tan".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.