Senior Counsel Jimmy Yim, chairman of Drew & Napier, and former Law Society vice-president Samuel Chacko have both been elected to the Law Society of Singapore's council, according to results released by the society on Thursday (Oct 22). The two lawyers had led separate groups of candidates in a closely fought election that followed a difficult year for the professional body.
The vote filled seven of the council's 15 elected seats, which became available after two-year terms ended. Neither candidate group won every seat it contested.
Why it matters
The council is the highest body within the Law Society, which serves as the statutory representative body and bar association for all lawyers in Singapore. The election came after months of controversy over allegations of workplace bullying, concerns about the society's work culture and a dispute over its presidency, CNA reported.
The campaign was also notable for how two main groups of candidates competed for support, an unusual feature of this year's contest.
How the votes fell
Yim returned to the council after roughly 20 years away, drawing 1,296 votes in the senior category. Chacko was re-elected with 976 votes, followed by Remy Choo Zheng Xi of RCLT Law with 849 and Debby Lim, a senior partner at Dentons Rodyk, with 719. Those four took the senior-category seats, which are reserved for lawyers with more than 15 years of practice. The five unsuccessful candidates in that category received between 313 and 710 votes each.
Nine candidates had competed for the four senior seats. In the middle category, open to lawyers with five to 15 years of practice, Thaddaeus Aaron Tan won the single available seat. Foo Hsien Weng and Siddartha Bodi secured the two junior-category seats, which are for lawyers with less than five years in practice.
Chacko, Choo and Tan are current council members, while Yim, Lim, Foo and Bodi are new to the council.
Yim's two running mates did not win seats. Mohamed Ibrahim Mohamed Yakub, founder of Achievers law firm, and Kay Pang, founder of Kay Pang Law Practice, both stood in the senior category. Only one of the four other lawyers backed by Chacko was elected: Lim. The others were Bryan Tan, a director at Nair, Jen & Tan, in the middle category, and Sylvester Gabriel Tan of Bayfront Law and Sherwyn Lee of Tito Isaac & Co in the junior category.
Petitions, a website and a LinkedIn pitch
Yim's campaign followed his submission of a petition to the Law Society in August that more than 100 members signed. The petition asked that members be given access to the full report of the society's investigation into allegations of workplace bullying and poor work culture. The report was later withheld at the request of the police after a police report alleged that some matters disclosed in the audit committee's report could point to possible offences.
Yim and his running mates said they had visited more than 100 law firms and set up a dedicated website to seek support. The site, lawsoccouncil2027.com, carried videos, a manifesto, leaflets and the slogan "A Time to Step Forward." It described the group as practising lawyers who believe the Law Society can and must do better — for members, the profession and Singapore.
Chacko, who lost a bid for the Law Society presidency last year in an election that prompted concerns among some lawyers about the independence of the Bar, used a LinkedIn post on Oct 12 to seek votes for himself and four other lawyers. He wrote that during 2024, when he was elected, he had concentrated on training for practitioners, fair recovery of the cost of providing legal services and the independence of the Bar, and said those priorities now sit within the society's Joint Charter. He asked voters to return him to the council. Chacko had run against Dinesh Singh Dhillon in the internal council election for the 2026 presidency but was defeated.
Choo stood individually in the senior category and was contesting in that category for the first time.
Now that the elected members are in place, the council must choose a president, two vice-presidents and a treasurer from among its members by Jan 1, 2027.
