Grays LLC v Law Society of Singapore: Professional Conduct Complaint

Grays LLC applied to the High Court of Singapore under s 96 of the Legal Profession Act for the Law Society of Singapore to appoint a Disciplinary Committee to investigate a complaint against two members of Tan Peng Chin LLC, Mr. Mark Lim Fung Chian and Ms. Leong Kit Wan. The complaint alleged breaches of the Legal Profession (Professional Conduct) Rules arising from letters concerning a dispute over transcripts in a prior suit. The High Court, presided over by Justice Kan Ting Chiu, dismissed Grays LLC's application, agreeing with the inquiry committee's and the Council's finding that the complaint should not be forwarded to a Disciplinary Committee for investigation.

1. Case Overview

1.1 Court

High Court

1.2 Outcome

Plaintiff's application is dismissed with costs.

1.3 Case Type

Civil

1.4 Judgment Type

Grounds of Decision

1.5 Jurisdiction

Singapore

1.6 Description

Grays LLC sought investigation into Law Society members' conduct. The court dismissed the application, finding no basis for disciplinary action.

1.7 Decision Date

11 May 2008

2. Parties and Outcomes

Party Name	Role	Type	Outcome	Outcome Type	Counsels
Law Society of Singapore	Defendant	Statutory Board	Application Dismissed	Won	Arvind Daas Naaidu of Shook Lin & Bok LLP Vinodh Coomaraswamy SC of Shook Lin & Bok LLP
Grays LLC	Plaintiff	Corporation	Application Dismissed	Lost	Jones Simon Dominic of Grays LLC Ramani Muniyandi of Grays LLC Shiever Subramanium of Grays LLC

3. Judges

Judge Name	Title	Delivered Judgment
Kan Ting Chiu	Judge	Yes

4. Counsels

Counsel Name	Organization
Arvind Daas Naaidu	Shook Lin & Bok LLP
Vinodh Coomaraswamy SC	Shook Lin & Bok LLP
Jones Simon Dominic	Grays LLC
Ramani Muniyandi	Grays LLC
Shiever Subramanium	Grays LLC

4. Facts

Grays LLC filed a complaint against two lawyers from Tan Peng Chin LLC.
The complaint stemmed from letters written by the respondents regarding transcripts in a prior suit.
Grays LLC alleged breaches of Rules 47 and 53A of the Legal Profession (Professional Conduct) Rules.
An inquiry committee was formed and recommended dismissal of the complaint.
Grays LLC applied to the High Court for the appointment of a Disciplinary Committee.
The dispute centered on the cost and acquisition of trial transcripts from Wordwave International Asia Limited.
Wordwave claimed Grays LLC misled them into providing transcripts at a discounted rate.

5. Formal Citations

Grays LLC v Law Society of Singapore, OS 540/2007, [2008] SGHC 70

6. Timeline

Date	Event
2005-10-31	Wee Swee Teow & Co contacted Wordwave International Ltd regarding transcripts.
2006-02-02	Simon Dominic Jones telephoned Mark Lim to inquire about transcript costs.
2006-02-03	Grays LLC contacted Wordwave for transcripts.
2006-02-06	Tan Peng Chin LLC informed Grays LLC of client's instructions regarding transcripts.
2006-02-08	Wordwave International Asia Ltd sent a fax to Tan Peng Chin LLC.
2006-02-10	Tan Peng Chin LLC sent a letter to Grays LLC regarding transcripts.
2006-02-13	Grays LLC responded to Tan Peng Chin LLC's letter.
2006-02-14	Tan Peng Chin LLC sent two letters to Grays LLC.
2006-02-16	Wordwave International Asia Ltd sent a letter to Grays LLC and Tan Peng Chin LLC.
2006-03-20	Grays LLC filed a letter of complaint against Mark Lim and Leong Kit Wan.
2006-10-11	Inquiry committee held a hearing.
2007-04-03	Simon Dominic Jones filed an affidavit.
2007-06-25	Peter Madhavan filed an affidavit.
2007-08-14	Simon Dominic Jones filed a subsequent affidavit.
2008-05-12	Judgment reserved.

7. Legal Issues

Professional Misconduct
- Outcome: The court found no basis to forward the complaint to a Disciplinary Committee.
- Category: Substantive
- Sub-Issues:
  - Breach of Legal Profession (Professional Conduct) Rules
  - Unfairness to professional colleagues
  - Taking unfair advantage
Fairness of Inquiry Committee Proceedings
- Outcome: The court held that the inquiry committee acted fairly and that the complainant was not entitled to the respondent's written explanation or an oral hearing.
- Category: Procedural
- Sub-Issues:
  - Right to an oral hearing
  - Disclosure of respondent's written explanation
  - Bias of inquiry committee
- Related Cases:
  - [1995] 2 SLR 323
  - [1988] SLR 236

8. Remedies Sought

Appointment of a Disciplinary Committee

9. Cause of Actions

Breach of Legal Profession (Professional Conduct) Rules

10. Practice Areas

Regulatory Law
Litigation

11. Industries

Legal Services

12. Cited Cases

Case Name	Court	Affirmed	Citation	Jurisdiction	Significance
Seet Melvin v The Law Society of Singapore	Court of Appeal	Yes	[1995] 2 SLR 323	Singapore	Endorsed the finding that the concept of fairness in Inquiry Committee proceedings need not extend to affording the complainant a right to an oral hearing.
Yusuf Jumabhoy v The Law Society of Singapore	N/A	Yes	[1988] SLR 236	Singapore	Established that the concept of fairness in Inquiry Committee proceedings need not extend to affording the complainant a right to an oral hearing.

13. Applicable Rules

Rule Name
Rules 47 of the Legal Profession (Professional Conduct) Rules
Rule 53A of the Legal Profession (Professional Conduct) Rules

14. Applicable Statutes

Statute Name	Jurisdiction
Legal Profession Act (Cap 161, 1985 Ed)	Singapore
s 96 of the Legal Profession Act	Singapore
s 85(1) of the Legal Profession Act	Singapore
s 86(6) of the Legal Profession Act	Singapore

15. Key Terms and Keywords

15.1 Key Terms

Legal Profession Act
Legal Profession (Professional Conduct) Rules
Inquiry committee
Disciplinary Committee
Transcripts
Professional misconduct
Wordwave International Asia Limited

15.2 Keywords

Legal Profession Act
Professional Conduct Rules
Disciplinary Committee
Law Society
Singapore
Grays LLC

17. Areas of Law

Area Name	Relevance Score
Legal Profession Act	90
Professional Ethics	85
Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility	80

16. Subjects

Legal Ethics
Professional Responsibility
Disciplinary Proceedings