'A jewel in the dark' at SMU's new law school building

ST PHOTO: DESMOND WEE

Situated on the slopes of Fort Canning Hill, the dome-shaped Kwa Geok Choo Law Library is among the iconic features of the Singapore Management University's new School of Law building, which was officially opened yesterday.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who was the guest of honour at the opening ceremony, took a tour of the 2,200 sq m law library named after his mother and other facilities, including a new dedicated moot court.

In his speech, Mr Lee shared anecdotes about his late mother, Madam Kwa, who was a conveyancing lawyer for more than 30 years. He said that she "would have been proud to have a law library named after her".

Mr Lee also said law schools will need to encourage cross- disciplinary learning, so that graduates are able to tackle the challenges faced by the legal sector from disruption and new technologies.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on March 16, 2017, with the headline 'A jewel in the dark' at SMU's new law school building. Subscribe