Philip Antony Jeyaretnam (born 1964) is a Singaporean judge, lawyer and author who has been serving as a Judge of 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. It consists of the chief justice and the judges of the High Court. Judicial Commissioners are often appointed ...

since 1 November 2021, having been first appointed to the Bench as a Judicial Commissioner on 4 January 2021. Prior to his appointment to the Bench, he served as ASEAN chief executive officer and global vice-chair at

Dentons Dentons is the largest multinational law firm in the world. Dentons was ranked as the world's 4th- largest law firm by revenue, with $2.9B gross revenue by Global 200 ranking in the fiscal year 2021. The firm is called Dentons in all languages o ...

. He also served as President of the

Law Society of Singapore The Law Society of Singapore is an organisation which represents all lawyers in Singapore. It publishes the ''Law Gazette'' and operates a scheme for needy people to benefit from legal services free-of-charge. The Society also sets out rules for ...

between 2004 and 2007. Jeyaretnam was also one of the youngest lawyers to be appointed

Senior Counsel The title of Senior Counsel or State Counsel (post-nominal letters: SC) is given to a senior lawyer in some countries that were formerly part of the British Empire. "Senior Counsel" is used in current or former Commonwealth countries or jurisdicti ...

in 2003 at the age of 38.

Early life

Jeyaretnam is the younger son of

Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam ( ta, ஜோசுவா பெஞ்சமின் ஜெயரத்தினம்; 5 January 1926 – 30 September 2008), better known as J. B. Jeyaretnam or by his initials JBJ, was a Singaporean politician, law ...

, the first opposition politician to be elected to

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

in post-independence Singapore, and Margaret Walker. He is of

Sri Lankan Tamil Sri Lankan Tamils ( or ), also known as Ceylon Tamils or Eelam Tamils, are Tamils native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Today, they constitute a majority in the Northern Province, live in significant numbers in the Eastern Pr ...

and English descent. Growing up, he was "inspired by both isparents who were lawyers". He found his father's court work "exciting" due to "the probing, the cut and thrust, the interplay between two opponents" which "appealed to iscompetitive streak". Jeyaretnam also said that his "best days are spent right in the thrust of battle in court" where he gets to "uncover things, to get to the truth". His older brother,

Kenneth Jeyaretnam Kenneth Andrew Jeyaretnam (born 1959) is a Singaporean politician and hedge fund manager who has been serving as the secretary-general of the opposition Reform Party since 2009. He is the elder son of J. B. Jeyaretnam, a prominent opposition ...

, is the leader of the opposition Reform Party, which was founded by their father shortly before his death in 2008. Jeyaretnam received his early education at Raeburn Park School and the

United World College of South East Asia The United World College of South East Asia (UWCSEA) is an independent international school in Singapore, and is a member of the United World College (UWC) movement. The school provides a K–12 education consisting of five interlinking elemen ...

in Singapore, and at the

Charterhouse School (God having given, I gave) , established = , closed = , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , president ...

in Surrey, England. He then went on to

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus"), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th century through to the early 19th century ...

, where he read law and graduated with first class honours in 1986. He was admitted to the Singapore Bar in 1987 and was conferred the title of

in 2003, when he was only 38, one of the youngest lawyers to be appointed Senior Counsel.

Career

On 1 January 2011, Jeyaretnam was appointed as managing partner of

Rodyk & Davidson Dentons Rodyk & Davidson LLP is one of Singapore's largest law firms, with around 180 lawyers who are qualified in various jurisdictions such as those of Singapore, Australia, England and Wales and India, and with offices in Singapore and Myanma ...

, one of Singapore's leading law firms. In 2016, he led the firm's combination with

, forming Dentons Rodyk & Davidson LLP. He held the positions of Singapore chief executive officer and global vice-chair at

. Jeyaretnam is recognised as an expert in arbitration, construction law and litigation in major legal publications. Described by Legal500 as a 'star' and 'master tactician' in 2014, Jeyaretnam's recent and significant cases include representing ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' on issues arising from its coverage of the 1MDB affair and defending the Papua New Guinea Sustainable Development Programme against a suit by the Government of Papua New Guinea. Jeyaretnam received the C.C. Tan Award from the

in December 2020. This annual award is given to those who best exemplify the Bar's traditions of integrity, fairness and gentlemanly conduct. On 4 January 2021, Jeyaretnam was appointed as a judicial commissioner of the

Supreme Court of Singapore The Supreme Court of Singapore is a set of courts in Singapore, comprising the Court of Appeal and the High Court. It hears both civil and criminal matters. The Court of Appeal hears both civil and criminal appeals from the High Court. The ...

Boards and memberships

Jeyaretnam served an 11-year term as a member of the Public Service Commission and currently serves as a member of the

Presidential Council for Minority Rights The Presidential Council for Minority Rights (PCMR) is a non-elected government body in Singapore established in 1970, the main function of which is to scrutinize most of the bills passed by Parliament to ensure that they do not discriminate ...

. He served as the Chairman of

Maxwell Chambers Maxwell Chambers is an integrated alternative dispute resolution (ADR) complex located in Singapore. It provides hearing rooms and facilities for the conduct of ADR hearings in Singapore, as well as the regional offices of a number of ADR institut ...

from 2010 to 2020, for which public service he received the

Public Service Star The Bintang Bakti Masyarakat (English: Public Service Star) is a Singaporean decoration instituted in 1963, is awarded to any person who has rendered valuable public service to the people of Singapore, or who has distinguished themselves in the ...

in 2021. Prior to becoming a judge, he was a member of the SIAC Regional Panel of Arbitrators. In July 2005, Jeyaretnam was appointed as a board member of the Singapore

National Kidney Foundation The National Kidney Foundation, Inc. (NKF) is a voluntary health organization in the United States, headquartered in New York City, with over 30 local offices across the country. Its mission is to prevent kidney and urinary tract diseases, impr ...

by the Minister for Health to help restore proper governance and public trust. He is a former president of the

, and was Founding Chairman of the Society of Construction Law from 2002 to 2004. Jeyaretnam used to chair the Board of Trustees for the nonprofit arts group the Practice Performing Arts School founded by Kuo Pao Kun. In his view, the arts are as important as any other elements in the growth of a society. Writers, artists, composers, directors – whom he terms "ideas people" – are needed for a lively arts scene and that more should be done to encourage new ideas from artists. He also called for greater support from the private sector for "the serious arts", since the popular arts are commonly "funded by the market and community organisations".'Council Member – Philip Jeyaretnam', ''INSTEP'' Nov – Dec '05. Singapore : National Arts Council.

Personal life

Jeyaretnam is the son of

J. B. Jeyaretnam Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam ( ta, ஜோசுவா பெஞ்சமின் ஜெயரத்தினம்; 5 January 1926 – 30 September 2008), better known as J. B. Jeyaretnam or by his initials JBJ, was a Singaporean politician, law ...

, who was a prominent opposition politician in Singapore. His older brother,

, is the secretary-general of the opposition Reform Party. Jeyaretnam married Cindy Sim in 1988 but divorced in 2013. They have three children together.

Works

Jeyaretnam's collection of short stories, ''First Loves'', published in Singapore in 1987, claimed record sales on Singapore's ''Sunday Times'' best-seller book list. It won him the compliment as Singapore's "home-grown

Maugham Maugham is a surname most commonly associated with the English literary family. The name is a variant of Malham, Malgham, and Malghum. Families with the name originate from the area surrounding Malham and Kirkby Malham. Well-known persons with this ...

". ''First Loves'' and his debut novel ''Raffles Place Ragtime'' (1988) were both nominated for the Commonwealth Writers Prize (South-east Asia and the South Pacific). His second novel, ''Abraham's Promise'' (1995) won a highly commended book award from the National Book Development Council of Singapore. He was presented with the 'Young Artist of the Year' award in 1993, the Montblanc-NUS Centre for the Arts Literary Award in 1997, and a S.E.A. Write Award in 2003. In 1990, he was a

Fulbright Fellowship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

visitor to the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

International Writing Program The International Writing Program (IWP) is a writing residency for international artists in Iowa City, Iowa. Since 2014, the program offers online courses to many writers and poets around the world. Since its inception in 1967, the IWP has hosted o ...

and to the

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

. He was also an Adjunct Professor with the Department of Building at the

National University of Singapore The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national public research university in Singapore. Founded in 1905 as the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States Government Medical School, NUS is the oldest autonomous university in the c ...

from 2005 to 2013. In 2015, ''Abraham's Promise'' was selected by '' The Business Times'' as one of the Top 10 English Singapore books from 1965 to 2015, alongside titles by

Arthur Yap Arthur Yap Chioh Hiong (; 1943 – 19 June 2006) was a Singaporean poet, writer and painter. Biography Arthur Yap was born in Singapore, the sixth child of a carpenter and a housewife. Yap attended St Andrew's School and the University of Si ...

and

Daren Shiau Daren Shiau, BBM, PBM (Chinese: 萧维龙, born 1971), is a Singaporean novelist, poet, conservationist, and lawyer in private practice qualified in Singapore, England and Wales. He is an author of five books. Education Shiau was born in S ...

Novels

* ''Raffles Place Ragtime'' (1988, Times Books International; 2010, Marshall Cavendish Editions) * ''Abraham's Promise'' (1995, Times Books International; 2010, Marshall Cavendish Editions) * ''Tigers in Paradise: The Collected Works of Philip Jeyaretnam'' (2004, Times Editions)

Short Stories

* ''Campfire'' (1983, second-prize winner of the National Short Story Competition) * ''Evening Under Frangipani'' (1985, winner of the National Short Story Competition) * ''First Loves'' (1987, Times Books International; 2009, Marshall Cavendish Editions) * ''Strangler Fig'' (2014, collected in ''Singapore Noir'') * ''Moonshine in Singapore'' (2015, collected in Singathology)

Anthologies

Articles (professional)

* Co-author, "Injunctions and Interim Relief", Civil Litigation in Singapore (Sweet & Maxwell, 2016) * Co-author, "The Granting of Mareva Injunctions in Support of Foreign Court Proceedings" (2016) 28 SAcLJ 503 * Author, "The Presentation of Expert Evidence at Trial", Law and Practice of Commercial Litigation in Singapore (Sweet & Maxwell, 2015) * Author, "Indonesia Changes Course in Investor Protection", The Business Times, 26 June 2014 (Singapore: Singapore Press Holdings, 2014) * Author, "Myanmar and the New York Convention: Not Just A Piece Of Paper", The Business Times, 28 May 2014 (Singapore: Singapore Press Holdings, 2014) * Author, "S'pore's Role in Int'l Arbitration in Asia", The Business Times, 20 May 2014 (Singapore: Singapore Press Holdings, 2014) * Building and Construction Law, ''Singapore Academy of Law Annual Reviews'' (vols. 2000 – 2004; co-author)

Articles (non-professional)

* ''Inheritance'' (1991) – English-written essay, subsequently translated into German in 1993. * ''Raffles Place Reviewed ''(2016, The Straits Times) * ''Light Among The Shadows'' (2016, The Business Times Lifestyle)

References

External links

* https://dentons.rodyk.com/en/philip-jeyaretnam * https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=117979146&privcapId=8925911&previousCapId=8925911&previousTitle=Rodyk%20&%20Davidson%20LLP * http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_453_2005-01-14.html * https://www.supremecourt.gov.sg/who-we-are/the-supreme-court-bench {{DEFAULTSORT:Jeyaretnam, Philip Singaporean civil servants Judicial Commissioners of Singapore Singaporean novelists Singaporean male writers 1964 births Living people Members of the Public Service Commission (Singapore) Singaporean Senior Counsel S.E.A. Write Award winners Harvard Law School faculty National University of Singapore faculty University of Iowa faculty Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge International Writing Program alumni People educated at Charterhouse School Singaporean people of English descent Singaporean people of Sri Lankan Tamil descent Singaporean Anglicans 20th-century novelists Singaporean people of Indian descent 21st-century novelists 20th-century Singaporean lawyers 21st-century Singaporean judges 20th-century Singaporean writers 21st-century Singaporean writers People educated at a United World College