LAU Kwan Ho
Full-time Faculty
Associate Professor of Law; Senate ExCo Member
Yong Pung How School of Law
YPHSL
- LL.M., New York University, 2012
- LL.B. (First Class Honours), National University of Singapore, 2012
- Advocate & Solicitor (Singapore)
Academic Positions Held
Current Appointment:
- Associate Professor of Law, Singapore Management University, Jul 2025 to Present
Previous Appointment:
- Assistant Professor of Law, Singapore Management University, Jul 2018 to Jun 2025
- Deputy Director, Centre for Commercial Law in Asia, Singapore Management University, Jan 2021 to Jun 2024
Other Positions
- Senate Member, Singapore Management University, 2022 to Present
- Professorial Fellow, AGC-Legal Service Academy, 2022 to Present
- Senior Associate (2016-2018), Associate (2014-2015), Allen & Gledhill LLP
- Justices’ Law Clerk, Supreme Court of Singapore, 2012-2014
- Member, Singapore Academy of Law, 2012 to Present
Honours & Awards
- Postgraduate Teaching Award, 2024
- University Most Promising Teacher Award, 2022
- Lee Kong Chian Fellowship, 2021, 2022 and 2023
- DS Lee Foundation Fellowship, 2020
- Top LGST Teacher Award, 2020
- Most Promising Teacher Award, 2019
Courses Taught in SMU
- Law of Contract
- Business Law
- Corporate Law
Research Areas / Areas of Specialisation
- Contract Law
- Legal Profession
- Private Law
Selected Publications
- "A Call for Clarity in Contractual Accessions to Shareholder and Partnership Agreements" (2025) 45 Legal Studies 96-112 (link)
- "Recovering Cost of Cure Damages: The Necessity of Showing an Intention to Cure” (2024) 140 Law Quarterly Review 342-346
- "Novation and Advance Consent" (2022) 81 Cambridge Law Journal 581-609 (link)
- "No Oral Modification Clauses: Autonomy, Certainty or Presumption?" (2021) 80 Cambridge Law Journal 443-446
- “Negligence and the Unfair Contract Terms Act: Experiences in Hong Kong and Singapore Compared” [2021] Journal of Business Law 596-624
- “Precedent Within the High Court” (2020) 40 Legal Studies 397-418
- “Contractual Estoppel and the Fork in the Road” [2019] Lloyd’s Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly 334–343
- “Taking Bills of Exchange into Arbitration” (2018) 134 Law Quarterly Review 548–552
- “Injunctive Relief: But Let’s Agree Not to Have It?” (2016) 79 Modern Law Review 468–476
Research Areas and Areas of Expertise
Strategic Priorities
HighlightsLau Kwan Ho is a leading scholar in contract and private law whose research has shaped judicial thinking and legal practice in Singapore and the wider Commonwealth, with significant contributions to legal education, comparative law, and the development of the legal profession.
Widely cited by courts in Singapore and Hong Kong, Commonwealth judges, regulatory bodies, and leading academic treatises; combines rigorous doctrinal analysis with practical insights for legal reform and education; recognised for advancing understanding of contract law in digital and comparative contexts; impactful in shaping legal policy and professional standards.
Focused research areas include Doctrinal and comparative analysis of contract and private law; implied terms and novation; remedies and damages in contract and data rights; intersections of law and technology; judicial precedent and decision-making; legal profession and education reform.
Widely cited by courts in Singapore and Hong Kong, Commonwealth judges, regulatory bodies, and leading academic treatises; combines rigorous doctrinal analysis with practical insights for legal reform and education; recognised for advancing understanding of contract law in digital and comparative contexts; impactful in shaping legal policy and professional standards.
Focused research areas include Doctrinal and comparative analysis of contract and private law; implied terms and novation; remedies and damages in contract and data rights; intersections of law and technology; judicial precedent and decision-making; legal profession and education reform.
Areas of Expertise
Contract Law
Past Awarded Grant
- Southeast Asia-Taiwan Sustainable Trade Law and Relations, Ministry of Education (Collaborator)
- Research Programme in Computational Law, National Research Foundation (Co-Investigator)
Latest Publications
Showing up to 6 latest publications from the past 5 years.
- KH LauLegal Studies 45 (1), 96-112, 2025
- CSB LEOW, KH Lau
- KH Lau, B LeowJW Carter 2 (3), 186, 2025
- B Leow, KH LauThe Law Teacher 58 (3), 433-435, 2024
- KH LAUJW Carter 2 (1), 50, 2024
- KH LauSweet and Maxwell 140, 342, 2024
This highlights are AI-generated content using the faculty's CV.
- LL.M., New York University, 2012
- LL.B. (First Class Honours), National University of Singapore, 2012
- Advocate & Solicitor (Singapore)
Academic Positions Held
Current Appointment:
- Associate Professor of Law, Singapore Management University, Jul 2025 to Present
Previous Appointment:
- Assistant Professor of Law, Singapore Management University, Jul 2018 to Jun 2025
- Deputy Director, Centre for Commercial Law in Asia, Singapore Management University, Jan 2021 to Jun 2024
Other Positions
- Senate Member, Singapore Management University, 2022 to Present
- Professorial Fellow, AGC-Legal Service Academy, 2022 to Present
- Senior Associate (2016-2018), Associate (2014-2015), Allen & Gledhill LLP
- Justices’ Law Clerk, Supreme Court of Singapore, 2012-2014
- Member, Singapore Academy of Law, 2012 to Present
Honours & Awards
- Postgraduate Teaching Award, 2024
- University Most Promising Teacher Award, 2022
- Lee Kong Chian Fellowship, 2021, 2022 and 2023
- DS Lee Foundation Fellowship, 2020
- Top LGST Teacher Award, 2020
- Most Promising Teacher Award, 2019
Courses Taught in SMU
- Law of Contract
- Business Law
- Corporate Law
Research Areas / Areas of Specialisation
- Contract Law
- Legal Profession
- Private Law
Selected Publications
- "A Call for Clarity in Contractual Accessions to Shareholder and Partnership Agreements" (2025) 45 Legal Studies 96-112 (link)
- "Recovering Cost of Cure Damages: The Necessity of Showing an Intention to Cure” (2024) 140 Law Quarterly Review 342-346
- "Novation and Advance Consent" (2022) 81 Cambridge Law Journal 581-609 (link)
- "No Oral Modification Clauses: Autonomy, Certainty or Presumption?" (2021) 80 Cambridge Law Journal 443-446
- “Negligence and the Unfair Contract Terms Act: Experiences in Hong Kong and Singapore Compared” [2021] Journal of Business Law 596-624
- “Precedent Within the High Court” (2020) 40 Legal Studies 397-418
- “Contractual Estoppel and the Fork in the Road” [2019] Lloyd’s Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly 334–343
- “Taking Bills of Exchange into Arbitration” (2018) 134 Law Quarterly Review 548–552
- “Injunctive Relief: But Let’s Agree Not to Have It?” (2016) 79 Modern Law Review 468–476