From the Desk of Thio Shen Yi – Much has been written about Darren Tan. His story, while inspirational, also contains a delicious irony: ex-convict turned lawyer. After he got called to the bar and his story was publicised, we received unsolicited kudos and compliments from various quarters for our willingness to give Darren a second chance by hiring him as a lawyer. Let me set the record straight. Many people took greater leaps of faith than we did. They had nothing to gain from helping him. - His prison officer, Deputy Superintendent Angeline Chua, helped Darren to get the Yellow Ribbon Bursary to fund his law school fees. She went the extra mile. - Associate Professor Eleanor Wong interviewed him in prison, and convinced the law faculty to accept him. She went the extra mile. - Professor Tan Cheng Han, my friend and the then Dean, called me when Darren was looking for a training contract, and lobbied me to give him an interview even though we were full. He went the extra mile. - The Attorney Generals Chambers and the Law Society took pains to look into his case and give due consideration to whether they should allow an ex-convict to hold a practicing certificate. They did not object to his call. They went the extra mile. There are many others who have walked the extra mile for Darren. We just happen to be the latest port of call in his journey. Our role was unremarkable: to give Darren a chance at an interview. He still had to impress us. And he did. Up to that point, Darrens overall grades were marginally above average. His first year grades were understandably poorer than most of our applicants (he had had to re-learn English). There was a marked improvement in his 2nd and 3rd year results, but the overall grades were still not at the level we were used to seeing. But its not all about grades. We assess all candidates holistically. We want to understand an applicants grit, their EQ, their hunger, their savvy, their character. Darren was then, and remains, a man driven with purpose. Part of that was to realise his dream, becoming a lawyer. Another is selfless - a desire to give back, to prevent kids from falling into the same vicious cycle that he did as a teenager, and to prove that second chances exist. I was both touched and awed by his sincerity and his dedication. What I saw was what I got. We did for Darren what we would do for any late applicant; assess them holistically, look for all-rounders, and only give them a training contract if they impress us one way or another. But a training contract is essentially a 6 month interview, and does not necessarily lead to a job. If we had evaluated his performance more charitably because of his background, that would have been grossly unfair to all the other bright practice trainees competing for retention at TSMP. Our decision to hire Darren as a commercial litigator was based entirely on merit. There was no free pass, we didnt give chance. While he brought some unique skill sets - street-smarts, maturity, multiple language skills and resourcefulness - he performed as well as his peers on technical skills, legal analysis and commercial knowledge. We are grateful to everyone who has reached out to congratulate us on our good deed. But regret to report that we can’t take credit for any altruism. If we did anything, it was to evaluate Darren the way we do all our candidates – holistically. We say that our lawyers are more than the sum total of their academic results and extra curricular records – all this was, was us walking the talk.
Posted on: Mon, 25 Aug 2014 03:32:00 +0000
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