Local lawyer receives international honour for his human rights litigation work

Lawyer Remy Choo was presented with the International Bar Association's Outstanding Young Lawyer of the Year award in Washington, DC on Sept 19, 2016. PHOTO: FACEBOOK/ REMY CHOO

Local lawyer Remy Choo has become the first Singaporean to clinch the International Bar Association's (IBA) Outstanding Young Lawyer of the Year Award.

Mr Choo, 30, was presented with his prize at the association's annual conference in Washington, DC on Monday (Sept 19, US time) morning.

The IBA was founded in 1947 and has over 80,000 members from more than 160 countries. The award is open to all lawyers under the age of 35 and recognises the honorees for their professional excellence, ethical reputation, and community service.

Mr Choo's award citation commended him for his work in the "unpopular and challenging area of human rights litigation".

He has been involved in cases such as teenager Benjamin Lim's death amid a police investigation, blogger Alex Au's charges of contempt of court, and the Section 377A constitutional challenge.

He wrote on Facebook that he hoped his win would show young lawyers that professional success and a positive social impact were not mutually exclusive goals.

"Being the first Singaporean to win this award is particularly special to me," Mr Choo wrote, "so for the IBA newsletter I picked a photo taken on Cavenagh bridge, with a uniquely Singapore bumboat passing by just in time to make it into the newsletter with me."

Last year, Mr Choo was named the civil society advocate of the year at the Singapore Advocacy Awards.

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