Shook Lin & Bok a part of Singapore’s story: Minister
In its 100-year history, law firm Shook Lin & Bok, which produced two Chief Justices, has come to be part of the Singapore story.
Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Indranee Rajah, in hailing the firm's centenary, said it added something unique to the rich tapestry that is Singapore and comes at a time when the Government is positioning the country for more growth opportunities.
"This is a firm with a sterling history," said Ms Indranee, who is also Second Minister for Finance and Education.
"The firm's founders set high standards of integrity, quality, commitment, professionalism, mutual respect and collaboration - guiding principles which Shook Lin & Bok's lawyers continue to hold themselves to today," she said last Friday.
Cambridge-educated lawyer Yong Shook Lin set up Shook Lin in 1918 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaya. He was later joined by Oxford-trained Queen's Scholar Tan Teow Bok and the firm became Shook Lin & Bok.
It eventually became one of the best known and largest law firms in Malaya. In 1964, Mr Thean Lip Ping, a partner in the firm, came to Singapore to set up what was meant to be a Singapore branch office.
After the city's separation from Malaysia, it became an independent law firm.
The firm progressed rapidly and became one of the country's largest law firms.
"Shook Lin & Bok has produced some prominent members of Singapore's legal fraternity including the former Chief Justices Yong Pung How and Chan Sek Keong, Justices LP Thean, Philip Pillai and Vinodh Coomaraswamy and Senior Counsel Sarjit Singh Gill," noted Ms Indranee.
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