Ms. Annia Hsu of Eldan Law LLP won the first runner-up prize of the Christopher Bathurst Prize 2017.
The prize seeks to honour the memory of the late Christopher Bathurst QC (1934-2009), who was a member of the Fountain Court Chambers. His cases included the landmark decision of Caparo v Dickman [1990] 2 AC 605 and in more recent years he developed a substantial arbitration practice in Singapore. The prize is open to full-time students enrolled at the National University of Singapore Faculty of Law or the Singapore Management University School of Law, and lawyers under 30 years old qualified under the Legal Profession Act. The prize is supported by the Singapore Academy of Law.
Participants were asked to submit a piece of written work (of not more than 3,500 words) on whether the benefits of confidential arbitrations always outweigh the downsides.
Ever to the point, Annia said that the answer must be no, and her reasons are set out in full in the written piece. When asked about what motivated her to join the competition, Annia attributes her interest and views on the topic to her experience in assisting the partners with arbitration matters in the firm.
As Eldan has a vibrant practice in dispute resolution spanning across court litigation, arbitration and adjudication, Annia felt that her work has enabled her to use her practical experience to compare the various dispute resolution mechanisms available and also gave her a unique perspective on the essay prompt.
Annia’s winning entry may be accessed here: https://www.sal.org.sg/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=lNThdbjc5AU%3d&portalid=0