Senior Counsel Jimmy Yim and former Law Society of Singapore vice-president Samuel Chacko both won seats on the society's council in an election held on Thursday, 22 October 2026, according to CNA. The two lawyers had each led separate slates of candidates in a closely fought contest. The vote took place after a difficult year for the professional body, which faced allegations of workplace bullying, questions about its internal culture and a dispute over its presidency.
Mr Yim, who chairs Drew & Napier, received more than 1,000 votes and returns to the council after roughly two decades away. Mr Chacko, who previously served as a vice-president, was re-elected. CNA reports that neither slate achieved a complete victory. Both of Mr Yim's running mates lost, and only one of the four other lawyers backed by Mr Chacko won a seat.
Why it matters
The council is the top decision-making body of the Law Society, the statutory organisation that represents and acts as the bar association for every lawyer in Singapore. Seven of its 15 elected seats were open this year because two-year terms had ended, meaning nearly half the elected membership was decided by voters. The result shapes who will steer the society through a period in which its handling of internal complaints and the independence of the Bar have drawn public attention from members of the legal profession.
How the seats were decided
Nine candidates competed for four seats in the senior category, which is reserved for lawyers with more than 15 years in practice. Mr Yim topped the poll with 1,296 votes, followed by Mr Chacko on 976, Remy Choo Zheng Xi of RCLT Law on 849 and Debby Lim, a senior partner at Dentons Rodyk, on 719. The five unsuccessful senior-category candidates received between 313 and 710 votes each, CNA reports.
In the middle category, for lawyers with five to 15 years of practice, three candidates sought a single seat and Thaddaeus Aaron Tan won it. Four candidates contested two junior-category seats, open to lawyers with under five years of practice, and Foo Hsien Weng and Siddartha Bodi were elected.
Mr Chacko, Mr Choo and Mr Tan already sat on the council. Mr Yim, Ms Lim, Mr Foo and Mr Bodi are new members. According to CNA, Mr Choo was standing in the senior category for the first time.
An unusual campaign
This year's race stood out for the way candidates organised into two main groups rather than running largely as individuals. Mr Yim and his running mates, Mohamed Ibrahim Mohamed Yakub, founder of Achievers law firm, and Kay Pang, founder of Kay Pang Law Practice, said they had called on more than 100 law firms. They also set up a campaign website, lawsoccouncil2027.com, which carried videos, a manifesto, leaflets and the slogan "A Time to Step Forward". The site stated that the group believed the Law Society could and must perform better for its members, the profession and Singapore.
Mr Chacko used a LinkedIn post on 12 October to ask for votes for himself and four other lawyers: Ms Lim in the senior category, Nair, Jen & Tan director Bryan Tan in the middle category, and Sylvester Gabriel Tan of Bayfront Law and Sherwyn Lee of Tito Isaac & Co in the junior category. In that post he said that during 2024, when he was elected, he had concentrated on training for practitioners, fair recovery of the cost of providing legal services and the independence of the Bar, and that these priorities are now part of the society's Joint Charter.
Mr Yim's return follows a petition he filed with the Law Society in August that carried more than 100 signatures. It asked that members be given the full report of the society's investigation into claims of workplace bullying and a poor working culture. The report was later withheld at the request of the police after a police report was made alleging that some matters set out in the audit committee's report could point to possible offences.
Mr Chacko had contested the Law Society presidency last year without success, in an election that prompted some lawyers to raise concerns about the independence of the Bar. He ran against Dinesh Singh Dhillon in the internal council vote for the 2026 presidency and lost.
The newly elected council must now choose a president, two vice-presidents and a treasurer from among its own members by 1 January 2027.
