Faculty Profile

• LL.M., Harvard University, 2008
• LL.B. (First Class Honours), National University of Singapore, 2003
• Advocate and Solicitor, Singapore, 2007
• Certified Mediator, Singapore International Mediation Institute (SIMI), 2018
• Accredited Mediator, International Mediation Institution (IMI), 2016

Academic Positions Held

Current Appointment:

• Associate Professor of Law, School of Law, Singapore Management University, January 2023-Present

Previous Appointments:

• Assistant Professor of Law, School of Law, Singapore Management University, July 2016-December 2022
• Associate Dean (Student, Staff & Alumni Affairs), Jan 2021-Jun 2022
• Visiting Researcher, Harvard University, 2009-2010

Other Positions

• International Mediator, Singapore International Mediation Centre, 2019-Present
• Principal Mediator, Singapore Mediation Centre, 2010-Present
• Fellow, National Center for Technology and Dispute Resolution (USA), 2018-Present
• District Judge, State Courts Singapore, 2009-2016
• Assistant Registrar, Supreme Court of Singapore, 2005-2007
• Assistant Director, Singapore Mediation Centre, 2005-2007
• Justices' Law Clerk, Supreme Court of Singapore, 2003-2005
• Deputy Public Prosecutor, Attorney-General’s Chambers, 2003

Honours and Awards

• D.S. Lee Foundation Fellowship, 2022
• School of Law's Dean's Excellence Teaching Award, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023
• School of Law's Nominee for SMU's Most Innovative Teacher Award, 2021 
• Della Suantio Fellowship, 2019
• School of Law’s Nominee for SMU’s Most Promising Teaching Award, 2018 & 2019
• SMU School of Law’s Most Promising Teacher Award, 2017
• Singapore Legal Service Scholarship, 2007

Course Taught in SMU

• Legal Research and Writing
• Deal-Making and Dispute Resolution: Negotiation in an Age of Disruption

Research Areas / Areas of Specialisation

• Dispute Resolution
• Courts and Access to Justice
• Civil Procedure and Evidence Law
• Empirical Legal Research in Dispute Resolution

Current Projects

• Examining the impact of communication media on negotiation, mediation and Online Dispute Resolution 

Selected Publications

Please refer to attached Curriculum Vitae and SSRN page for full publication details.

• 'To Negotiate, Mediate or Litigate? Examining the Durability of Divorce Outcomes in the Singapore Family Courts' (with Eunice Chua and Ning Yilin) (2022) 60(3) Family Court Review 434 - 457
• 'Counting the Cost of Enlarging the Role of ADR in Funding Civil Justice' (2021) 4 Erasmus Law Review 256 - 269
• 'The Importance of Ethics in the Practice of Mediation' (2021) Asian Journal on Mediation 27 - 45
• ‘Blowing Hot and Cold in Litigation: Abuse of Process, Election or Approbation and Reprobation? BWG v BWF [2020] SGCA 36’ (2021) 21(1) The Oxford University Commonwealth Law Journal 134 - 146
• ‘A Matter of Interpretation? Understanding and Applying Mediation Standards for the Cross-Border Enforcement of Mediated Settlement Agreements’ (2020) 38 Conflict Resolution Quarterly 27 - 45
• ‘The Evolving Concept of Access to Justice in Singapore’s Mediation Movement’ (2020) 16(2) International Journal of Law in Context 128 - 145
• ‘The Singapore Convention on Mediation: Supplying the Missing Piece of the Puzzle for Dispute Resolution’ (2020) Journal of the Malaysian Judiciary (July 2020) 194 - 220
• ‘Taking Disputes Online in a Pandemic-Stricken World: Do We Necessarily Lose More than We Gain?’ in Aurelio Gurrea-Martínez, Goh Yihan & Mark Findlay (eds), Law and COVID-19 (SSRN) 215 - 234
• ‘The Convergence of ADR and ODR within the Courts: The Impact on Access to Justice’ (2019) 38(1) Civil Justice Quarterly 126 - 143
• ‘Defining the Limits to Abuse of Process: Lim Geok Lin Andy v Yap Jin Meng Bryan [2017] SGCA 46' (2018) 37(1) Civil Justice Quarterly 40 - 47
• ‘Ethical Concerns in Court-Connected Online Dispute Resolution’ (2018) 1-2 International Journal of Online Dispute Resolution 20 – 38
• ‘How Should the Courts Know Whether a Dispute is Ready and Suitable for Mediation? An Empirical Analysis of the Singapore Courts’ Referral of Civil Disputes to Mediation’ (2018) 23(2) Harvard Negotiation Law Review 265 – 317 (with Eunice Chua and Tra My Ngo)
• ‘Judicial Mediation: From Debates to Renewal’ (2018) 19(3) Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution 613 – 651 (with Jean-Francois Roberge)
• ‘Managing the Inter-Cultural Dimensions of a Mediation Effectively - A Proposed Pre-Mediation Intake Instrument’ (2017) 28 Australasian Dispute Resolution Journal 89 – 97 (with Diana Knight)
• ‘The Mediation Act 2016 - A Coming of Age for Mediation in Singapore?’ (2017) Singapore Academy of Law Journal 275 – 293
• ‘Supporting Party Autonomy in the Enforcement of Cross-Border Mediated Settlement Agreements: A Brave New World or Unchartered Territory?’ in Burkhard Hess & Loic Cadiet (eds), Privatizing Dispute Resolution and Its Limits, pp 349 – 482 (Nomos, Max Planck Institute of Procedural Law, 2019)
• 'Mandatory Mediation: An Oxymoron? Examining the Feasibility of Implementing a Court-Mandated Mediation Program’(2010) 11.2 Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution 479 – 509