Contributions and Participation with NUS Law School

Advocacy Tutorials:
As the largest litigation practice in Singapore, Drew & Napier lawyers have consistently served as advocacy tutors at the Law Faculty over the years to help develop the next generation of formidable litigators. Our classes have been hugely popular with students, mainly because our lawyers seek to imbue their students with a real-life sense of litigation practice in Singapore.

Apart from giving their students a rigorous grounding in advocacy skills and court craft, our lawyers also take the time to socialise with their students and to share their professional experiences with them over a meal. Classes are typically held at Drew & Napier as a means of bringing students out of the university and into the working environment of a large law firm.

Many of our students develop a keen interest in litigation and typically go on to do internships with us as an extended tutelage on the art of advocacy.

Advocacy Cup:
Each year, Drew sponsors the Advocacy Cup Competition organised by the Law Faculty's Mooting and Debating Club.

This competition gives law students a chance to showcase their talents and skills as advocates. The response and participation rate in this competition is traditionally very high, not least because the competitors stand to win many attractive prizes. The prizes include, a cash prize of S$1,000 (for the winner), internship places with the firm, and a fully sponsored trip to the ALSA International Students' Conference organised by the Australian Law Students' Association ("ALSA").

The winner and 1st runner-up in the Advocacy Cup Competition will also have the opportunity of competing in the International Witness Examination Competition organised by ALSA, and will be trained by senior litigators in the firm for the event.

The Advocacy Cup Competition is therefore not only an opportunity for law students to hone their advocacy skills, it is also a gateway and springboard to a whole host of other opportunities for law students with aspirations of becoming one of the best litigators of their time.

ALSA Conference 2007:
The winner of the Advocacy Cup 2007, Vanathi Kayla Subramaniam, and the first runner-up, Mustafiz Mohammed Nabil, represented NUS Law School at this year’s ALSA Conference in Canberra.  Both Vanathi and Nabil were coached by Drew & Napier litigators for the competition.  The trainers were Lawrence Tan, Abraham Vergis, Blossom Hing, Celeste Ang, Gary Low, Sham Sabnani, Joanna Koh, Eugene Tan, Daryl Mok, Wilson Wong and Joan Lim.

We are proud that Vanathi has, in the face of keen and formidable competition, emerged the champion in this year’s ALSA Witness Examination Competition, defeating numerous contestants from top universities in Australia and New Zealand.  Drew is delighted that Vanathi will be joining us as a pupil after her graduation in 2008.

“The Grand Finals was a most splendid experience. It was held in a courtroom of the Federal Court, and the lights that read “Court in Session” were switched on. As I walked into the courtroom, I was surprised to see that the place was packed. There were people sitting on the floor, squeezing in the corners, and an excess of people that were denied entry to the courtroom because of the lack of space. There was a sense of anticipation and a buzz that filled the courtroom and I knew then that I had to meet up to their expectations. Then the show began and I enjoyed every part of it.

The funny thing is I did not set out to win the competition. Each time I competed in a round of competition, I set only a basic goal for myself: I wanted to be competent, and did not want to embarrass myself. That’s all I wanted, but somehow I won the competition. So I am grateful for the experience, and hope to remember it for a long time to come." - Vanathi

Negotiations Workshop:
Our lawyers are also co-teachers, facilitators and friends of participants in the Negotiation Workshop.

The course is a skills-based workshop and is designed to assist participants in learning about and attaining a basic level of competency as a negotiator. The tutors tell stories about prisoners and oranges, cajole students into embracing the interest-based model of negotiation, train teams who are entered in the International Negotiation Competition, and occasionally accompany such teams to Paris and other exotic destinations.

Other activities and contributions we participate in:

• NUS Law Careers Fair
• Legal Case Studies Course
• NUS Orientation Beach Bash