Beyond Financial Aid
How the Singapore Institute of Legal Education’s Part B Donated Bursaries Fund Helps Dreams Meet Justice
This column article features two recipients of the Singapore Institute of Legal Education’s Part B Donated Bursaries Fund, established in 2025. The article gives some background to the establishment of the bursary fund, and Ryan Tan and Colin Tan’s stories provide a narrative of how pursuit of their respective callings in the legal profession have been shaped by their passion for law and experiences, and will hopefully inspire all who wish to pursue law to know that every aspiring lawyer, regardless of their background, deserves a chance to pursue a meaninful career in the law.
Every aspiring lawyer’s journey to the Bar begins before entering a courtroom. It is built upon tireless hours of studying, resilience through exams, and the belief that one’s financial background should never dictate a future in law. As Singapore’s legal landscape continues to flourish, admission to the Singapore Bar remains a privilege, but may also pose a challenge to some who may not be able to afford the fees involved.,
In 2025, the Singapore Institute of Legal Education (SILE) established the SILE Part B Donated Bursaries Fund, which comprises generous donations contributed by members of the legal fraternity and in particular, members of the Faculty of the Part B Course in Singapore, who hold the conviction to assist financially disadvantaged candidates for the Singapore Bar with the Part B Course and Examinations fees. The key donors have established the following bursaries: (a) The Jeffrey Chan Wah Teck and Family Bursary, (b) The Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Prolegis Bursary, (c) The Chester Toh Bursary, and (d) The OTP Law Corporation Bursary. Other donors include Mr Willy Tay (who is Principal Examiner of the Personal Injury and Property Damage Part B module), Mr Ryan David Lim (Principal Examiner of the Criminal Litigation Part B Module), and Mr Christopher Koh Theng Jer (Princpal Examiner of the Mergers and Acquisitions Part B Module).
The SILE Secretariat administers the Part B Donated Bursaries Fund. Two bursary recipients who were awarded full bursaries in 2025, Ryan Tan and Colin Tan, share their stories which capture the essence of the bursary fund. Their journeys go beyond financial relief as the support provided serves as assurance that their aspirations are seen, supported, and valued.
Ryan Tan – A Life in Dispute Resolution
Ryan Tan
Ryan Tan, who obtained a full bursary from the Part B Donated Bursaries Fund in 2025, graduated from SMU’s Yong Pung How School of Law with an LLB (Summa Cum Laude). He will train at Drew and Napier LLC from January 2026 in a legal team specialising in cryptocurrency litigation and arbitration. Even before being admitted to the Bar, he had been an active participant in SMU’s mooting program, competing internationally in moots across three years of law school.
The most memorable of Ryan’s moot experiences would be Team SMU’s win in the Red Cross International Humanitarian Law Moot in March 2025, which was especially impactful to him after having been previously knocked out in the quarter-finals of the competition.
“The moment we were announced as the winners still feels incredibly surreal,” Ryan noted. Ryan also notes that the team effort was crucial, and wants to acknowledge his “all-star” teammates, Eugene, John and Damien, as well as their coaches Ezra and Lixin, all of whom were instrumental in the team’s victory.
When asked about his career choice as well as his chosen area of practice, he said that he wishes to focus on litigation and dispute resolution, and continue honing his craft in advocacy. He believes that the work is “extremely interesting” and is one he will surely continue with in the distant future.
Ryan’s interest in law was sparked by his engagement in the Junior College Law Program. There, his group was presented with a hypothetical scenario of a man who had robbed a store. His group analysed the statement of facts and noticed inconsistencies in the witness testimony and the statement of facts, which resulted in them arguing that the plea of guilt was unsafe. This exposure to the law early on cemented his will and desire to puruse law as a career and wanting to “ensure that justice is done in every single case”.
When asked about how the Part B bursary supported him in his Part B journey, he said, “I am very grateful that the bursary has given me the financial stability throughout the next few months to do what I enjoy best, which is to research into law. My mother’s chronic condition alongside my sister’s recent diagnosis has caused significant immediate financial strain, and I greatly appreciate the bursary covering Part B course costs to tide us over in the interim.”
Ryan believes that the time during Part B is a “golden opportunity” for researching into more esoteric topics especially before hectic work life begins. Recently, Ryan assisted in researching on the intersection between AI and copyright ownership, and has finished summarising case law on ancillary orders for injunctions for a recent book project. In the future, he hopes to delve into pressing legal issues related to the right of access to water in armed conflicts.
When encouraged to share on how he would like to contribute to the legal profession in the future, he said that “if the opportunity arises, I would love to be an adjunct lecturer at SMU for a foundational course,” so future law students, do look out for him!
Colin Tan: Commitment to Community Strengthened by Purpose
Colin Tan
As for Colin Tan, the pursuit of law is a commitment to using his education to uplift others. Coming from a family of limited formal education, Colin’s parents worked tirelessly to provide for him despite enduring financial difficulties.
“My mother had to undergo treatment for cancer, and my father approached his retirement age. This greatly dampened my family’s earning ability. Without support from the various generous donors, I would have had to undergo great difficulty in my education.” expressed Colin.
Yet, rather than merely focusing on his own success, Colin has chosen to give back. He explained, “I volunteer every week with my community legal clinic, providing access to legal information and resources to members of the community who are facing legal-related issues.”
Colin will undertake his practice training contract at Allen and Gledhill LLP come January 2026 and focus on corporate law. However, Colin also has a concurrent interest and passion for community law, and says:
“I made this choice for two reasons: Professionally, I believe that a good lawyer is one who is not just an expert in their practice, but one who also has a good broad understanding across the various practices. Personally, I believe that the legal profession should aim to better the lives of people.”
Throughout his trajectory balancing profession and service, Colin came to discover that most of his memorable experiences stemmed from his time with his community legal clinic.
“These experiences are memorable because I get to visualise, first-hand, how very fundamental knowledge (legal, procedural, or otherwise) can have a profound impact on the legal issues that different people face, and being able to assist in attaining these positive impacts has left me with many memorable experiences.”
One case in particular was when he assisted an applicant filing for a divorce. Diagnosed with terminal cancer, the applicant had barely months left to live. The situation was fraught with complications as the defendant allegedly took advantage of the applicant’s medical condition by intentionally delaying proceedings. Colin and his team assisted the applicant to draft a letter in the applicant’s name, which the applicant used to take the matter forward. Colin shares that “this experience was memorable because it did not involve much law or procedure, but it certainly made a difference to the applicant and the applicant’s supportive family members.”
Looking ahead, Colin hopes to deepen his understanding of both the legal profession and his place within it as he prepares for his Part B Examinations, and before he undertakes practice training at Allen & Gledhill LLP. As he strives towards being successfully called to the Bar as an Advocate and Solicitor, he wishes to continue to be able to provide pro bono advice at his legal clinic, reflecting his core belief in giving back to the community that has supported him.
“There is, presently, a mismatch between the demand for pro bono work and the supply of trained lawyers who are able to provide them,” he mentioned, “which is why being called to the Bar as a lawyer will allow me to reduce this imbalance and ultimately, contribute to the legal profession and society as a whole.”
Further, being awarded a bursary from the Part B Donated Bursaries Fund allows Colin to focus fully on the Part B Course and Examinations and the final stretch before his call to the Bar, and at the same time, allow him to have the freedom to pursue his passion for community work.
The Strength of a Shared Purpose
Ryan and Colin’s stories underscore the purpose of the SILE Part B Donated Bursaries Fund, which seeks to nurture a legal environment where merit and opportunity can work hand in hand to serve society. The Fund holds firmly to the notion that every aspiring lawyer, regardless of their background, deserves a chance to pursue a meaninful career in the law. Ultimately, law remains a noble profession. It is through the generosity of donors and the dedication of recipients that the profession continues to grow.
More information on the Part B Donated Bursaries Fund may be found at https://www.sile.edu.sg/part-b-bursary/. Those who are interested in contributing as donors to this meaningful cause are warmly invited to contact [email protected].
Note: SILE would like to express its gratefulness to Marcio Sandy Moniaga and Philemon Goh for their helpful assistance with the article.
