“With his extensive experience in corporate law at the head of Singapore’s largest law firm, Mr Lucien Wong will provide a fresh perspective when he takes over as Attorney-General in January, lawyers said yesterday,” reported The Straits Times about the country’s “first A-G who has not spent time on the bench or at the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC)”.
Wong had been appointed managing partner of the firm in 1998, and became chairman in 2012. “Under Wong’s leadership, Allen & Gledhill has established itself as a top player in Singapore’s legal services market. According to The Lawyer’s 2016 Asia Pacific 150 report, Allen & Gledhill is the second largest firm in Singapore by number of lawyers and ranked 39th across Asia Pacific,” reported The Lawyer.
Wong takes over from former judge of appeal VK Rajah, who was appointed in 2014.
It seems unlikely that a law firm partner without significant disputes experience would ever be appointed attorney general in India, seeing as the job here mainly involves litigation and is primarily a party-political appointment (although some may qualify on the second metric).
India’s current attorney general is Mukul Rohatgi, who succeeded the late Goolam Vahanvati.
Comments
This is what I love about LI, it more often than not speaks young lawyer's ke "Mann ki Baat"
An A.G. is typically required to have (at least on paper) the necessary experience/ credentials to be appointed as a judge of a superior court. This news is pretty baffling actually, given that all previous Singapore A.G.s have either been on the bench or at the AG's Chambers. I am wondering how a lawyer with no disputes experience or court craft will do justice to the job.
@ LI Team: Get well soon guys. Don't rely on over the counter drugs if you have fever along with the cold.
Re AG's, does anyone know about the profile of the job in Singapore? Could be that it's much more desk-based and advisory, giving legal opinions and the like and managing other counsel, rather than turning up in the SC every day?
Like this can be very intriguing.
Ask the Parsi boys, ask the Marathi maanoos, why they pay so less, whyyyyyy!!!
https://www.agc.gov.sg/Who_We_Are/Overvi ew.aspx
Of course, the AG is assisted by area experts, but he must exercise his own judgment. I can say from personal experience (and practising lawyers in top Singaporean firms will agree) that a transactional lawyer is not as well-suited as an experienced disputes lawyer (or a former judge) to advise on legislation and legal action. My comment was based on the reasoning that the everyday practice as well as the cognitive process of a disputes lawyer revolves around statutes, case law and judicial trends, while a transactional lawyer analyses law occasionally at best (and almost never if the lawyer heads a law firm).
P.S. Being the curious cat that I am, will try rosehip tea soon.