Appointment of Attorney-General (Mar 2010)

Prof Walter Woon Cheong Ming was appointed the Attorney-General on 11 April 2008 for a period of two years. His current term of office expires on 10 April 2010. He has decided to return to the Law Faculty of the National University of Singapore to resume his teaching appointment.

During his tenure, Prof Woon made important contributions to the Attorney-General’s Chambers. He created a separate division for subordinate courts prosecution to enhance the development of criminal litigation skills. Prof Woon also took a keen interest in the induction of talent into the Legal Service and ensured the recruitment of many young and talented lawyers into the Service. During his term, several officers from AGC were appointed as Senior Counsel, in recognition of their contributions and abilities.

Prof Woon represented Singapore in the negotiation of the ASEAN Charter, which is a landmark constitutional document for ASEAN. He has raised Singapore’s international profile by hosting the International Association of Prosecutors Conference in Singapore in 2008 and playing an active role in various international legal fora. He also played an instrumental role in setting up the Centre for International Law at NUS to build international law expertise in Singapore and the region.

The Government thanks Prof Woon for his contributions during his term as Attorney-General, and wishes him all the best in his future endeavours.

The President, concurring with the advice of the Prime Minister, has decided to appoint Mr Sundaresh Menon, Senior Counsel and Managing Partner of Rajah & Tann LLP, as the Attorney-General. His CV is attached. Mr Menon will take office from 1 October 2010, after he has cleared his other commitments. His term will be for a period of two years in the first instance.

The President has appointed Mrs Koh Juat Jong, Solicitor-General, as Acting Attorney-General from 11 April 2010 to 30 September 2010.

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Curriculum Vitae of Mr Sundaresh Menon

Mr Sundaresh Menon is currently Managing Partner of Rajah & Tann LLP.

Mr Menon graduated with First Class Honours from the National University of Singapore in 1986 and later took a Masters degree from Harvard Law School in 1991. He has been practising for more than 20 years, and is recognised as one of Singapore’s and Asia’s leading lawyers in the fields of commercial litigation and arbitration, insolvency and construction law.

Mr Menon is also Deputy Chairman of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC). He has served on arbitration tribunals in various jurisdictions, and represented Singapore at International Arbitration forums.

Mr Menon was appointed a Judicial Commissioner of the Supreme Court between April 2006 and March 2007. During his term, he presided over a number of major commercial and criminal matters, and issued 29 judgements covering a wide range of legal areas. He was appointed Senior Counsel in January 2008.

Mr Menon is married with three children.