Speech by Mr Dinesh Dhillon, Chairman of Pro Bono SG, at the NUS Law Pro Bono Awards Ceremony 2026
SINGAPORE, 4 February 2026 –
Prof. Andrew Simester, Dean, NUS Faculty of Law,
Advisory Board Members of the NUS Law Centre for Pro Bono & Clinical Education (CPBCLE),
Awardees,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen.
A very good afternoon to all of you, and thank you for the privilege of being with you today.
This year marks the bicentennial of the Second Charter of Justice, and I thought it would be fitting to begin by reflecting on the role of lawyers in upholding the rule of law and how this relates to pro bono.
Two hundred years ago, that Charter laid the foundations of the rule of law in Singapore. Over time, those foundations have evolved. They have been shaped by our history, our values, and our unique social context into the legal system we rely on today.
I still remember my very first year at NUS Law – and that was in 1990 – taking Legal Method and Legal Systems, what is now part of the first-year skills program, covering legal analysis, research and communication, Singapore Law in context and Legal Theory. More than 30 years in practice have taught me that these methods and systems ultimately fuel mission and purpose.
I’ve come to believe that the true test of the rule of law lies in whether ordinary people are able to access justice in meaningful ways. That belief is what drew me to pro bono work, and it is the mission on which Pro Bono SG is built.
And that is why gatherings like today matter so much. The future of the rule of law does not rest only in Parliament, with judges or senior lawyers – it rests with students like you, and with the choices you make about how you use your legal training.
The Rule of Law and Singapore’s Prosperity
What is the rule of law? Many great jurists have sought to define, delineate, explore and explain the concept. As a law student, you might have had to grapple with Dicey’s formulations, refined and debated further by Hart, Raz and Dworkin. But let’s leave aside academic jurisprudence and at the risk of losing all nuance, let me present the rule of law in aphorisms. The law is supreme over arbitrary power. There is equality before the law. No person is above the law; no person is beneath its protection.
Perhaps we could approach it another way, by asking what happens when there is no rule of law. Tom Bingham, or Lord Bingham in his excellent book “The Rule of Law”, published in 2010, contends that the rule of law captures the fundamental truth propounded by the great philosopher John Locke in 1690 that “wherever law ends, tyranny begins.” I find it helpful the way this point was expressed by Jonathan Sacks or Lord Sacks in his “Essays on Ethics”. He writes: “The alternative to power is law: law freely accepted and freely obeyed. Only by observing the rule of law – law that applies equally to the rich and poor, the powerful and the powerless – do we escape the tragic cycle of freedom that begets conflict that leads to chaos, resulting in the use of force that generates tyranny”.
Modern Singapore is often referred to as an economic miracle. The miracle though is much more than economics. Ours is also a miracle of national solidarity regardless of race, language or religion. We built this miracle upon the foundation of the rule of law. And our continuing pursuit of happiness, prosperity and progress for our nation will depend on our adherence to the rule of law, building on its foundations and applying it to changing circumstances and modern contexts.
The link between the rule of law and economic stability and social justice is not tenuous. Dr Sanjai Bhagat, Provost Professor of Finance at the University of Colorado Boulder, published a paper, Economic Growth, Income Inequality, and the Rule of Law in the Harvard Business Law Review in 2020. It showed strong correlation between economic growth and adherence to the rule of law. The paper considered 134 countries during 1984 to 2019 and found a significant positive relation between the Rule of Law and GDP per capita. The paper also found that greater adherence to the Rule of Law related to reducing income inequality. Our national pledge has indeed proven prescient in embedding justice and equality as the basis for happiness, prosperity and progress in the heart of every Singaporean.
Pro Bono – Ensuring no one is beneath the law’s protection
What does this truth tell us about the role of the lawyer? We are the agents through whom the rule of law is enabled. Allow me to take us through the nature of our sacred calling briefly through the lens of history. In this regard, I am indebted to Professor Kevin Tan, for his magnificent research in “Fiat Justicia, Fifty Years of the Law Society in Singapore”.
The 2nd Charter of Justice was issued in 1826. The first Law Agent appointed in Singapore was William Napier in 1833. After Napier, no other Law Agent was admitted in Singapore until Christian Baumgarten, 13 years later in 1846. It was only in 1875 that Singapore’s first Bar Committee was formed. Legislation to mandate the establishment of a Bar Committee came by way of the 1907 Courts Ordinance. For almost 30 years, between 1907 and 1934, the Bar Committee played its part in enabling the Rule of Law in Singapore.
After the 2nd World War, the Bar Committee quickly rebuilt itself as Singapore moved towards national independence. After Singapore’s independence in 1965, a key architect of Singapore’s Legal Profession Act was the eminent Punch Coomaraswamy, who studied comparative legislation from the likes of Canada and Australia in formulating legislation to protect the independence of the bar and its duty to serve the public interest. That is the foundation of the Legal Profession Act today.
Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew spoke at the 1st Annual Dinner of the Singapore Law Society in 1967. He spoke of the need to develop a “conscientious Bar”, one that has “a social conscience towards one’s society”. He repeated this call to the Law Society in 1970, saying: “unless we learn quickly, as individuals and as functional and professional groups, to take a wider view and uphold first the public interest, and only next our own sectional interests, the democratic system cannot endure, let alone flourish”. For our Founding Father, an upstanding legal profession with a social conscience to uphold public interest was as important as the rule of law it supports.
Our first Law Minister, E.W. Barker said in Parliament in 1986, with his trademark directness: “it is the legal profession amongst all the professions that helps in the administration of Singapore. From the day a child is born, he may need legal help; questions as to whether he is legitimate or illegitimate. When he grows up into adulthood and buys property, he needs your help. When he has a fight with his neighbour or gets knocked down on the road, he needs your help. When he dies, he still needs your help! His estate, you look after his estate. So, the legal profession – I am not running down the others – helps this Government run the place.” In essence, society cannot function without lawyers, without law and order. This brings the need for pro bono into sharp focus. A person without access to justice is effectively locked out of the system, unable to access justice and equality so as to achieve happiness, progress, and prosperity. This is why our calling is a sacred one – the law brings life and enables human flourishing.
When you graduate, many of you will encounter the time sheet and billable rates. Remember this – It is certainly not our billing rates and hours that define us. Lawyers are valuable because of our values, the very values embedded in the Rule of Law. These include supremacy of law, equality before the law, accountability, fairness, justice, transparency, certainty and independence. These values are the drivers of happiness, prosperity and progress, and is why legal services are well worth paying for. These same values give justice a human face through pro bono lawyers to those who may be otherwise be locked out.
It is our values that in 1985 inspired the then President of the Law Society, Harry Elias to start the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme (CLAS). Until then, the government’s policy did not include the funding of criminal defence for the poor. CLAS started as a ground up initiative. Harry Elias in an interview in 2017 reflecting on the beginnings of CLAS said, “If the Law Society does not give help to the poor, it would be failing in its duty.” CLAS started within The Law Society as a light in the darkness, a light that has inspired, grown and spread through the years since. As the needs of CLAS grew, fund-raising became critically important, and it still is. After the financial crisis of 1997, it was then Law Minister, S Jayakumar who contacted then Law Society President, Giam Chin Toon SC, to organize a golf game to raise funds. They raised over $200,000. The seeds of a private-public partnership were planted.
In 2006, a committee of the Law Society chaired by Jimmy Yim SC and Malathi Das recommended the establishment of a Pro Bono Services Office. In August 2007, with the partnership of both the Ministry of Law and the Singapore Academy of Law, this was achieved.
In 2014, then President of the Law Society, Lok Vi Ming SC rolled out the Justice for All Project to celebrate Singapore’s 50th Anniversary as an independent State. There was unprecedented support for its flagship event, Just Walk. Since re-named Just Jalan, it will take place this year on 14 March 2026 with the Honorable Chief Justice as our Guest of Honour. Please do join us.
In 2015, enhanced CLAS was launched by the then Minister of Foreign Affairs and Law, K Shanmugam. For the first time, the government was committing funds in partnering the Pro Bono Services Office, thereby greatly increasing the number of assisted persons from 400 to 6,000 a year. Then President of the Law Society, Thio Shen Yi SC said “As our government donates public funds to us as an investment in increasing social capital, it symbolically represents the people of Singapore joining our volunteer lawyers to do our part. This is a privilege and a responsibility that the Law Society must not and does not take lightly.”
A major milestone in shaping the Society’s pro bono office was the CLAS Fellowship Program which started in 2015. This enabled secondees from law firms to pursue their passion for criminal law and pro bono work full time. Through a partnership with funding from the Ministry of Law in 2017, the Program expanded to include 2 full time CLAS Advocates. Today, 8 former CLAS Fellows are working full time at Pro Bono SG, and these include Sadhana Rai, Chief Representation Officer and Cai Chengying, Deputy CEO.
The Law Society’s charity arm and pro bono office was re-named Pro Bono SG in 2022 under the leadership of then President, Adrian Tan. This new name captured the point that the people of Singapore were moving beyond symbolism towards becoming noteworthy partners alongside the legal profession’s social mission.
After you finish going through all your textbooks and the different subjects, I urge you to always go back to the dictionary, because lawyers often forget this – what does justice mean in the dictionary? It is quite simple – it is about how you treat other people, and the dignity you give them
The National Council of Social Services launched its inaugural Social Service Professional Awards in July 2025. Pro Bono SG received 2 of the 13 individual awards, with Sadhana Rai receiving an Excellence Award and Cai Chengying receiving a Merit Award. This recognizes that lawyers provide an essential social service.
Today, Pro Bono SG partners Tian De Temple where we have an office in the Hougang heartland, serving the needy. We have legal clinics run out of Angullia Mosque. We have partnered the Realm of Tranquility in setting up a Community Legal Centre in Woodlands. Last year, we launched Singapore’s first Migrant Worker’s Legal Centre at Serangoon Road in partnership with NTUC’s Migrant Worker Centre. Pro Bono SG also hosts quarterly meetings of the Migrant Worker’s Group, a coalition of charities dedicated to the care of migrant workers in Singapore. We continue to partner People’s Association and the CDCs in legal clinics and the annual Law Awareness Weeks, to empower residents with practical legal guidance and knowledge. Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, David Neo announced last year that Temasek Shophouse will host a new one-stop support hub for charities, with Pro Bono SG as a strategic partner. Partnership and building proximity to those in need will continue to be a key strategy for the Law Society and Pro Bono SG.
Wellness and well-being of our legal profession
A fundamental challenge we must come to terms with is the tension between the commercialization of the legal profession and the need to sustain our values. In order to strike the right balance, it is imperative that we move beyond wellness towards well-being. Mark Crowley, the author of “The Power of Employee Well-Being”, says “you can’t just give employees yoga classes, meditation apps and football tables and assume you’re done”. Crowley argues that well-being is deeply tied to purpose. “Purpose is an alignment to who we are as human beings and what we’re meant to do.” It is only by rediscovering and imbedding the meaning and purpose behind our sacred calling, the critical role lawyers play in enabling access to justice and the rule of law that the profession can meaningfully sustain its mission to serve the public interest.
The reason I’m leaving this message with you is this: as you enter the profession, know your purpose, and know your mission. It will be the resilience you need, and it will give you what you need to sustain yourself through what can be a very rewarding career in the profession.
In closing, I want to acknowledge the role law students play in this space. As Chairman of Pro Bono SG, I’ve seen first-hand how closely we work with the University and its students. In the last financial year, over 450 students volunteered across our schemes, contributing in meaningful and practical ways.
The NUS Pro Bono Group, in particular, has been a long-standing partner, supporting Pro Bono SG’s initiatives such as Pro Bono Weeks, our community legal clinics through student note-takers, and CLAS attachments through the NUS CJC-CLAS programme. We’ve also engaged with various student project groups, including Syariah Law Friends and the Migrant Worker interest group, and we are grateful for the steady support of faculty colleagues.
This partnership reminds me that pro bono is not just something we speak about in principle, but something that is actively practised and sustained by working together. Through this little journey through history, I hope you leave inspired by the critical role all of you will play in shaping Singapore’s future as agents of the rule of law, the human face of access to justice, as beacons of justice and equality that leads to happiness, prosperity and progress. Thank you.