Cavinder Bull SC is a Singaporean lawyer and the chief executive officer of the law firm Drew & Napier. He has served in this position since August 2017,[1] upon the departure of Davinder Singh to start his own practice.[2] He has an active practice in complex litigation and international arbitration[3] and is considered one of the top 15 litigators in South-East Asia.[4]
Cavinder Bull | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| Education | University of Oxford (BA) Harvard University (LLM) |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
| Years active | 1993–present |
| Known for | CEO of Drew & Napier |
Career
editLegal career
editBull graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (first class honours) in Jurisprudence from Trinity College, Oxford University in 1992, and was called to the Bar of England and Wales the next year.[5][6] He was ranked fourth in the Bar Exams; when he returned to Singapore, he topped the local Bar Exam.[5] He served as a Justices' Law Clerk to former Chief Justice Yong Pung How before joining Drew & Napier in 1994,[7] and left for Harvard Law School in 1995 on a Lee Kuan Yew Scholarship to pursue a Master of Laws.[5][6] He then passed the New York Bar Exams and joined Sullivan & Cromwell as a litigation associate.[5][8]
Bull re-joined Drew & Napier in late 1997 and was made a partner in 1998. He is involved in commercial litigation and is cited by Chambers Global and Asia Pacific Legal 500 as one of Singapore's top lawyers.[5][9] In 2008, he was appointed Senior Counsel at the age of 39, an accolade rarely accorded to those under 40 years of age.[10] Bull is also occasionally involved in academic writings, having written on subjects such as civil procedure.[11] He has sat on various review committees, such as one chaired by the Attorney-General in 2006 regarding the supply of foreign lawyers in Singapore,[12] and was reported to be looking into developing a mechanism "to handle disputes amongst businesses" in Singapore and China.[13]
Bull sits on several professional bodies, including Vice-President of the SIAC Court of Arbitration, a member of the Governing Board of the International Council for Commercial Arbitration, and Vice-President of the Asia Pacific Regional Arbitration Group.[14] Bull was also appointed to the Disciplinary Tribunal of the International Association of Athletics Federations[15] and also a member of the NUS Law Advisory Council.[16] He was previously also the Co-Chairman of the Singapore Exchange Disciplinary Committee, where he served for six years.[17]
Bull has been involved in several high profile and high value matters in the course of his career including a US$1.27 billion case involving Georgia's former prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili,[18] a civil case acting for the liquidators against Hin Leong founder Lim Oon Kuin,[19] securing a S$3.5 billion judgment in that case,[20] and a case of fraud by thumb drive inventor Henn Tan.[21] Bull was also on the Disciplinary Tribunal which fined Eugene Thuraisingam for a poem that was in contempt of court in 2018.[22] He also represented Lee Kwan Yew's former lawyer Kwa Kim Li in disciplinary proceedings as a result of a complaint made by Lee Hsien Yang.[23]
Other Appointments
editDirectorships
edit- Singapore Technologies Electronics (2009–2012)
- National Healthcare Group (2009–2012)
- Singapore University of Technology and Design (2009–2015)
- Ascendas Property Fund Trustee (2010–2013)
- Agri‑Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (2004–2010)
Personal life
editBull and his two elder sisters were raised single-handedly by his mother after his father died when he was 15 months old.[24] He studied at Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) and Anglo-Chinese Junior College.[25][26]
References
edit- ^ "On The Move". The Straits Times. 7 August 2017. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
- ^ Lum, Selina (24 January 2019). "Top litigator Davinder Singh to leave Drew & Napier and set up own firm". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
- ^ "Drew & Napier's Directors: Cavinder Bull, SC". www.drewnapier.com. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
- ^ "Drew & Napier LLC: Newsroom". www.drewnapier.com. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
- ^ a b c d e Cavinder Bull Archived 9 January 2008 at the Wayback Machine, www.drewandnapier.com, accessed 7 January 2008.
- ^ a b THE SPECIAL ACADEMIC AWARDS 1995 PRESENTATION CEREMONY Archived 19 January 2008 at the Wayback Machine, www.moe.gov.sg, 12 August 1995, accessed 7 January 2008.
- ^ Wong, Karen, "Young Seniors", The New Paper, 6 January 2008.
- ^ Candidates Who Passed The July 1996 NYS Bar Exam Archived 24 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine, www.nylawyer.com, accessed 7 January 2008.
- ^ Chambers Commentary — Dispute Resolution Archived 9 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine, www.chambersandpartners.com.
- ^ Loh, Dominique, "Six appointed Senior Counsel at opening of Legal Year 2008", www.channelnewsasia.com, 5 January 2008, accessed 7 January 2008.
- ^ Civil Procedure Archived 22 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine, www.singaporelaw.sg, accessed 7 January 2008.
- ^ Government Accepts Key Recommendations of the Third Committee on the Supply of Lawyers Archived 21 November 2008 at the Wayback Machine, www.wwlegal.com, 17 August 2006, accessed 7 January 2008.
- ^ Low, Dominic (7 April 2022). "New S'pore-China legal team to look into business dispute resolution". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
- ^ "Cavinder Bull SIAC Profile" (PDF). Singapore International Arbitration Centre.
- ^ "Members of the Joint Experts Team" (PDF).
- ^ "NUS Law Advisory Council". law.nus.edu.sg. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
- ^ Pillai, Sharanya (16 June 2023). "SGX RegCo appoints new chairman, members for disciplinary committee". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
- ^ "Ex-Georgia PM blames Credit Suisse unit for $1.78b losses in Singapore case". The Straits Times. 6 September 2022. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
- ^ Correspondent, Grace LeongSenior Business (10 August 2023). "Civil trial against Hin Leong founder O.K. Lim and his two children starts". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
{{cite news}}:|last=has generic name (help) - ^ "Drew secures $3.5 bln judgment against Lim family in Hin Leong case | Asian Legal Business". www.legalbusinessonline.com. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
- ^ Wong, Shiying (11 October 2022). "Thumb drive inventor and Trek 2000 founder Henn Tan jailed for accounting fraud". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
- ^ Wong, Cara (29 October 2018). "Lawyer Eugene Thuraisingam fined again over poem that was in contempt of court". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
- ^ "Lee Kuan Yew's lawyer ordered to pay S$13,000 in penalties over misconduct in relation to wills". TODAY. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
- ^ Wong, Karen (6 January 2008). "Young Seniors - S'pore gets 6 new senior counsel" (PDF). The New Paper.
- ^ "Page 4 Advertisements Column 2". Singapore Monitor. 8 August 1984. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
- ^ "Teachers take a close look at army life". The Straits Times. 27 August 1987. Retrieved 11 September 2017.