SESSION 1: 2002-2012

The session was a highly interesting one. Alex Wong was his usual affable self as the moderator of the dialogue. We heard from past Chairs who regaled the audience with stories about how the Society was started and the challenges it faced. Justice Jeyaretnam was the founding Chairman of the Society and he talked about reaching out to members of the construction bar and construction companies to get their support. These individuals would meet in his office. One useful tip that we took away was that wine is a helpful lubricant in in getting everyone to work together!

What was also interesting was that every past Chair took on his chairmanship at a time when significant events were taking place. Chow Kok Fong became the chairperson at the time of the collapse of the Nicoll Highway and the enactment of the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act. In Naresh Mahtani’s time, there were significant construction projects in Singapore such as the construction of Marina Bay Sands, Resorts World as well as the opening of the new Supreme Court building. Mohan Pillay’s time was marked by the 2008 financial crisis while it faced its worst experience with haze in recent memory during Chris Nunns’ time.

It was inspiring to hear from these past Chairs, as it was a good reminder that we stand on the shoulders of giants. For example, the Construction Law 101 series of training sessions was started in Mohan’s time, as was the tradition of having a light-hearted speech at the end of the Annual Dinner. All in all, it was an enjoyable session and one that should be repeated in the not-so-distant future!

Contributed by:

Ashok Rai – Associate Director, Cairnhill Law LLC

SESSION 2: 2012-2022

As the current Chair, Lee Chau Ee Lee kicked off the second session, continuing the journey through time from 2012 to present in the same engaging format as the first.  As Chair from 2012-2014, Anil Changaroth recounted how his introduction to the hotseat came at a time of stability for the Society, with previous Chairs and Council members (himself included) having worked hard to provide this.  Anil remembered his desire to focus on maintaining this stability through continuity within the Council, while reaching out to the industry to engage the next generation of members.

Following Anil as Chair from 2014-2016 was Darren Benger.  Darren similarly recalls inheriting strong foundations for the Society, from the standpoints of membership, finances, events and administration. Among other things, he placed particular focus on international connectivity, which saw the formation of the International Liaisons sub-committee with Immediate Past Chair Anil at the helm.  Darren’s term also saw the inaugural SCL(S) “Focus on Asia” Construction Law Conference in September 2015, which will be returning for a third instalment later this year.

Our host from the first session, Alex Wong, followed Darren into the Chair in 2016.  Alex recalled his tenure being punctuated by the Trump/Kim summit in Singapore in 2018, being an event of global significance held in our own back yard. During his time as Chair, Alex saw a potential threat on the horizon in the shape of Singapore Academy of Law’s Specialist Accreditation Scheme.  However, he was pleased to share with the audience that SCL(S) ended up being a key partner to SAL on the implementation of the Scheme.

We then heard from Toh Chen Han, who was Chair from 2018-2020.  Following a familiar theme, Chen Han remembers taking over during a time of relative stability for SCL(S), with regular events and courses such as Construction 101 continuing to prove popular. He placed focus on engaging with the great minds who had sat as Chair before him, while continuing to engage with the next generation of members. This saw the launch of the Biennial SCL(S) Essay Competition in 2020 for local students to participate in. However, Chen Han faced a big challenge towards the end of his tenure in the form of COVID-19.  As we all remember well, this curtailed almost all in-person events, and required a quick pivot towards SCL(S)’s first ever webinar being held in May 2020.

Bringing the audience to the present, Chau Ee then took the floor to discuss his time as Chair since 2020.  While looking to serve the industry and maintain the sustained success of SCL(S) built over the previous two decades, the shadow of COVID-19 continued to loom large over his time as Chair.  With in-person events being indefinitely shelved, he wanted the Society to stay relevant, and to continue reaching and engaging with its current and future members. This was achieved through delivery of many successful and well attended webinars, which have paved the way towards ‘hybrid’ events such as the Annual Construction Law Conference in September 2021. Following the theme of that event, Chau Ee briefly touched upon key challenges and opportunities facing the industry such as sustainability, collaborative contracting, new technologies, all set against the backdrop of emergence from a global pandemic. 

Chau Ee touched base with each of the speakers again to hear the greatest challenges they faced during their time as Chair. A common theme in the responses given was that each Chair felt the benefit of the hard work that had gone before them, as well as the unwavering support of the Council.  Special mention was made by all to June and her team at Intellitrain for providing secretariat services to the Society over the past decade.

Chau Ee rounded off proceedings by thanking all the speakers for their insights, and reminding the audience of the SCL(S) 20^th anniversary events coming up later in the year.

Contributed by:

Chris Rudland – Director, Construction Solutions, FTI Consulting

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