PROMINENT law don Michael Hor has been appointed a consultant at Peter Low LLC, at a time when the law firm is handling a slew of high-profile public interest cases.
Professor Hor, 54, dean of Hong Kong University's Law Faculty, holds a Singapore lawyer's practising certificate. This means he can appear in court if required.
The firm's managing director, Mr Peter Low, said: "Michael brings with him decades of thought leadership in constitutional law, criminal law, evidence law and criminal procedure rules both in Singapore and abroad. His appointment will add depth to our firm's established practice.
"As a law firm which regularly litigates cases involving novel points of law, we are excited to welcome Michael to the forefront of shaping the criminal law in Singapore."
Prof Hor had spent 25 years at the National University of Singapore, where he was a senior professor and one of two candidates shortlisted in 2009 to succeed then law dean Tan Cheng Han.
He had previously served as consultant to the Ministry of Law and the Singapore Law Society's Criminal Practice Committee.
At Peter Low LLC, the key cases lined up in the months ahead include the Aljunied-Hougang- Punggol East Town Council case. The firm is defending the town council against the Ministry of National Development's appeal over a High Court refusal of its application to appoint independent accountants to the town council.
Another case involves the appeal of Dr Ting Choon Meng, who lost a patent case against the Defence Ministry but went on to air his grievances in a video and article on a blog. A State Court judge had ordered last month that the items include a notice to say that certain statements made by Dr Ting have been declared false by the court. Dr Ting had been taken to court under the new Protection from Harassment Act and seeks to clarify a novel point - whether the Act was meant to cover such cases involving the Government.
The firm's director, Mr Choo Zheng Xi, said having Prof Hor on board will "enable us to provide our clients with holistic, comparative and cutting edge advice on all areas of criminal justice".
Yesterday, Prof Hor said: "In the last few decades, the legal system of Singapore has come to be the envy of other jurisdictions. It can justifiably boast of a judiciary, a profession, government legal officers and two law schools which are of the highest calibre.
"The mark of a mature legal system is a vibrant culture of criminal, constitutional and administrative law litigation, and Singapore is no exception.
"By accepting this consultancy, I hope, in a small way, to continue to contribute to the healthy development of what may be called public interest litigation in Singapore."
