Lead counsel Dinesh Singh Dhillon, the president-elect of the Law Society of Singapore (LawSoc), has chosen to give up his position.
He did so in the light of “legitimate concerns” raised by members, according to The Straits Times.
They’d called for an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) to seek a vote of no confidence in the council members who’d voted for him.
But what exactly were these concerns, and who is Dinesh anyway?
Veteran lawyer
The man in question is a veteran lawyer who is co-head of Allen & Gledhill’s international arbitration practice.
He was a member of the 2025 LawSoc council, previously honorary treasurer, and chairman of Pro Bono SG.
On Nov. 17, the LawSoc announced that it had elected Dinesh to helm the council, following an internal vote.
He was slated to replace outgoing president Lisa Sam Hui Min.
Non-elected elect
But this prompted backlash among members of the legal community.
As it turns out, Dinesh was a member of the council — but he’d been appointed, not elected.
Typically, council members are voted in by the members of the LawSoc.
But under the Legal Profession Act, the Law Minister, currently Edwin Tong, can appoint up to three members to sit on the council.
Dinesh was one of the three in the 2025 circle. This means he joined the council as a statutory member, not an elected one.
The LawSoc council consists of 21 people — three ministerial appointees, three co-opted by the council, and 15 elected members.
All council members serve a two-year term.
Independence of the bar questioned
Following the election, a group of lawyers called for an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to protest Dinesh’s presidency.
These included former LawSoc presidents Peter Cuthbert Low and Chandra Mohan K Nair, who proposed and seconded the motion respectively.
The group argued that only someone who had been elected by members of the LawSoc should serve as its president.
This was to “uphold confidence in the independence of the bar”, according to the letter.
The EGM was subsequently called for Dec. 22, some time after the initial request was made to the LawSoc on Nov. 24.
Read more at
https://mothership.sg/2025/12/law-society-president-elect-independence/
