Two Singapore lawyers, whose clients include an ex-PM and alleged pirates, win global awards

When Senior Counsel Cavinder Bull was a year old, his father died.

His mother, a primary school teacher, had to raise three young children on her own.

Her doggedness in working hard to provide for the family, despite having to be very frugal, had a lasting impression on him.

On Nov 7, Mr Bull, the chief executive officer of Drew & Napier, and the firm’s director, Ms Blossom Hing, both Singaporeans, received accolades at the worldwide Lexology Index awards.

It was held at the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel in London.

Once described by an international legal ranking guide as a litigator who was doggedly determined in fighting for his clients, Mr Bull believes he learnt that from his mother.

Mr Bull, 56, who won the global award for commercial litigation lawyer of the year, told The Straits Times: “You can’t succeed as a litigator without grit and determination. I think that’s where I got it from.”

The recognition came on the back of successes in cases such as the claim for more than US$1 billion (S$1.34 billion) brought by former Georgian prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili against a unit of international bank Credit Suisse.

Mr Bull also represented the liquidators of collapsed oil trading firm Hin Leong in getting a judgment for US$3.5 billion against former oil tycoon Lim Oon Kuin, 82, and his two children.

Ms Hing, 51, was named restructuring and insolvency lawyer of the year.

She is currently advising on a confidential US$2 billion case involving cross-border corporate restructuring.

Ms Hing also acted for Mr Cheong Jun Yoong of DeFiance Capital, winning a bid for his claim against collapsed cryptocurrency hedge fund Three Arrows Capital to be heard in Singapore, rather than in the British Virgin Islands.

Lexology Index, a legal research service formerly known as Who’s Who Legal, presents awards to individuals and firms that have performed exceptionally based on its research.

An interesting life despite the rigours

Mr Bull graduated with first class honours in law from Oxford University.

He worked for the late chief justice Yong Pung How as a justices’ law clerk, and went to Harvard Law School for his master’s degree on a Lee Kuan Yew scholarship.

Being a litigator is intellectually demanding, time-consuming and sometimes emotionally taxing, he said.

But he gets to meet interesting people he would never have met otherwise.

They include the former prime minister of a European country, a Saudi prince, an Ethiopian sheikh, a TV actress, an international tennis star, an alleged pirate and a professional treasure hunter.

Some were clients, while others were witnesses he had to cross-examine.

He also acted for an English Premier League football club and several foreign governments.

Mr Bull noted that Singapore lawyers have the chance to take on significant cases reported in the international media because of the Government’s efforts to encourage international arbitration and to create the Singapore International Commercial Court.

Ms Hing has acted for alleged pirates, tycoons in industries such as pulp and paper, timber, shipping and healthcare, as well as commodity traders.

Practising law has given her the opportunity to study people and different industries and businesses, she said.

The intellectual aspect entails reading copious materials to work out legal arguments.

“But at the heart of it, being a lawyer is about telling your clients’ stories as best as you can from their perspective without judgment,” said Ms Hing.

In her final year at the National University of Singapore, she took part in the prestigious Philip C. Jessup international law moot court competition, where students participate in mock court proceedings.

Ms Hing said: “At the time, filled with naive idealism and a touch of youthful arrogance, I was quick to judge and thought there was always an intrinsic or objective ‘right’ or ‘good’ position.”

But the participants had to prepare arguments for both sides, and she learnt to see things from different perspectives. It was her “aha moment”, she said.

Memorable cases

Mr Bull recalled cross-examining a witness who was conveniently blaming all impropriety on a former employee who had moved overseas.

The witness claimed he had asked the former employee to testify for him, but she turned down his request.

“He was shocked when I asked him to tell us whether he recognised anyone in the public gallery because there she was, sitting there listening to him make a scapegoat of her,” said Mr Bull.

The former employee testified the next day, telling the court who was really responsible for the misdeeds.

A recent case that had made an impact on Ms Hing was when she acted for a construction company to restructure its debts in early 2020.

Soon after a payment deal was worked out with the company’s banks and subcontractors, the Covid-19 pandemic hit.

Ongoing projects were halted. The shutting down of a dormitory for disinfection added to costs.

But the company’s majority shareholder worked tirelessly to find new investors and constantly encouraged the legal and financial advisers to press on, she said.

She added: “It is one of the most inspiring cases I have done, that one person’s indomitable spirit and grit can keep hundreds of workers employed during Covid and save a company.”

Source: Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.

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