Alvin Yeo
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Alvin Yeo Khirn Hai (; 28 March 1962 – 30 July 2022) was a Singaporean lawyer and politician who co-founded WongPartnership, one of the Big Four law firms in Singapore. As a member of the governing
People's Action Party The People's Action Party (PAP) is a major Conservatism, conservative political party in Singapore and is the governing contemporary political party represented in the Parliament of Singapore, followed by the opposition Workers' Party of Singap ...
(PAP), he was the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Nanyang division of
Hong Kah GRC Hong Kah Group Representation Constituency was a defunct five-member Group Representation Constituency located in the western area of Singapore. The constituency covered the areas of Bukit Batok, Choa Chu Kang, Upper Bukit Timah, Jurong West an ...
between 2006 and 2011, and later
Chua Chu Kang GRC The Chua Chu Kang Group Representation Constituency is a four-member Group Representation Constituency located in the western area of Singapore. The GRC has four wards: Chua Chu Kang, Tengah, Keat Hong and Brickland. Only a small portion of t ...
between 2011 and 2015.


Education

Yeo obtained his
LLB A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...
from
King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...
in 1985. He was thereafter admitted to the English Bar in 1986 before being admitted to the Singapore Bar in 1987.


Career


Politics

Yeo was a member of the
People's Action Party The People's Action Party (PAP) is a major Conservatism, conservative political party in Singapore and is the governing contemporary political party represented in the Parliament of Singapore, followed by the opposition Workers' Party of Singap ...
. He served as Member of Parliament for
Hong Kah GRC Hong Kah Group Representation Constituency was a defunct five-member Group Representation Constituency located in the western area of Singapore. The constituency covered the areas of Bukit Batok, Choa Chu Kang, Upper Bukit Timah, Jurong West an ...
from 2006 to 2011, and for
Chua Chu Kang GRC The Chua Chu Kang Group Representation Constituency is a four-member Group Representation Constituency located in the western area of Singapore. The GRC has four wards: Chua Chu Kang, Tengah, Keat Hong and Brickland. Only a small portion of t ...
from 2011 to 2015. At the 2015 general elections, he retired from politics, with Yee Chia Hsing succeeding in his seat, even as the GRC was downsized from a five member to a four member GRC. During his time as a Member of Parliament, he was Chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Home Affairs and Law. Yeo has been described as a caring MP who was "the perfect gentleman" during his time in politics.


Legal

Yeo was called to the bar in 1988. In 1992, Yeo founded the law firm, WongPartnership along with Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara,
Sundaresh Menon Sundaresh Menon (born 26 February 1962) is a Singaporean lawyer and judge who has served as the fourth Chief Justice of Singapore since 2012 after being appointed by president Tony Tan. He is the first Singapore-born Chief Justice and the secon ...
, and Wong Meng Meng (the lawyer the firm is named after). In 2000, Yeo was appointed as a senior counsel, making him the youngest ever lawyer to be named at just 37 years of age. He had an illustrious career as a litigator, specialising in banking and corporate disputes as well as construction related matters. he also handled billion dollar and international claims in his career. He has been called a "giant in the legal fraternity". On 31 July 2017, a complaint of possible overcharging by Yeo was made by three Court of Appeal judges to the Law Society. The legal bill that was sent to a wealthy widow, who Yeo represented between November 2010 to June 2015 in series of legal proceedings was . The judges were concerned by the amount charged and with the client's lack of mental capacity. The bill was later discounted by 32.5 percent. On 19 June 2019, a Law Society disciplinary tribunal dismissed the complaint. On 24 June 2019, the Law Society sought a review of the tribunal to the
High Court of Singapore The High Court of Singapore is the lower division of the Supreme Court of Singapore, the upper division being the Court of Appeal of Singapore, Court of Appeal. The High Court consists of the Chief Justice of Singapore, chief justice and the ju ...
. On 8 January 2020, the High Court later ordered for another round of disciplinary tribunal hearings after having found that the original charges brought on by Law Society were not framed properly as they excluded considerations for the client's lack of mental capacity, and also that the original tribunal had decided that the mental capacity issues were not within the scope of complaint, contrary to some of the initial concerns raised by the Appeal judges. On objections from Yeo's lawyers that he would have to be investigated again, the High Court judge presiding over the matter, Justice Valerie Thean, called the situation "unfortunate" and cited a 2008 parliamentary act that forbids any judicial review while disciplinary proceedings are ongoing, and thus the Court could only review the matter after the disciplinary proceedings completed. Justice Thean also noted that Yeo was fully prepared to defend himself in any new disciplinary proceedings. Yeo was the chairman and senior partner of WongPartnership, a position he occupied from 2007. Prior to this, he was Managing Partner of the firm. A distinguished lawyer who has been described as brilliant and warm, Yeo tripled the size of WongPartnership during his tenure there and was inducted into the Hall of Fame by Legal 500 in 2021. He also developed its regional network in Asean, China and the Middle East.


Business

After
Peter Lim Peter Lim Eng Hock (born 21 May 1953) is a Singaporean business magnate who was a stockbroker and an investor in palm oil, and is now a private investor focused on healthcare, property, sports, and education. In 2024, he was ranked 26th on F ...
owned
Valencia CF Valencia Club de Fútbol, S. A. D. (; ), commonly referred to as Valencia CF or simply Valencia, is a Spanish professional Association football, football club based in Valencia, Spain, that currently plays in La Liga, the top tier of the Spani ...
in 2014, he appointed a new board of directors which included Yeo. Yeo held the directorship until his death in 2022.


Personal life

Yeo was married to Chan Hee Lien and had two children. He died on 30 July 2022 from cancer, aged 60. He was an
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
fan, who enjoyed watching football.


Accolades

* 2017 – Outstanding Contribution to the Legal Profession, Chambers Asia-Pacific


References


External links


Alvin Yeo's CV
on WongPartnership's website {{DEFAULTSORT:Yeo, Alvin 1962 births 2022 deaths Deaths from cancer in Singapore Alumni of King's College London Members of the Parliament of Singapore 20th-century Singaporean lawyers Singaporean people of Chinese descent Singaporean Senior Counsel People's Action Party politicians Anglo-Chinese School alumni Singaporean Christians