Contact
weiming.tan@covenantchambers.com
Education / Qualifications
LL.B. (Hons) (King's College London)
BCL (Oxford)Advocate & Solicitor (Singapore)
Focus Areas
Civil and Commercial Litigation
Criminal Law
Equity and Trusts
Insolvency Law
Assistant Professor Weiming Tan
Counsel
Weiming is an Assistant Professor at the National University of Singapore’s faculty of law. His research areas are in equity and trusts, commercial remedies, and insolvency law. His work is published in leading international journals including the Modern Law Review, Journal of Equity, Trust Law International, Journal of Business Law, and Civil Justice Quarterly. In Tan Teck Kee v Ratan Kumar Rai [2022] SGCA 62, the Singapore Court of Appeal cited Weiming’s work with approval. In addition, the High Court of Singapore in Commodities Intelligence Centre Pte Ltd v Mako International Trd Pte Ltd [2022] SGHC 131 has similarly referred to his work.
Besides teaching and researching at NUS, Weiming regularly delivers seminars to the wider legal profession in Singapore. In addition, he has given papers at conferences and workshops in London, Cambridge, Oxford, and Perth.
Prior to entering academia, Weiming was in full-time legal practice. He started his legal career as a pupil at Drew & Napier LLC. He then joined the Attorney-General’s Chambers as a Deputy Public Prosecutor and State Counsel, specialising in complex commercial crimes. In addition, Weiming had a stint with the Insolvency and Public Trustee’s Office as an Assistant Official Assignee and Public Trustee. While in the Legal Service, he was also an adjunct faculty at the Singapore Management University teaching business law.
Weiming obtained his LL.B from King’s College London, where he graduated 2nd in rank amongst his cohort. He was awarded the Harold Potter Memorial Prize and Lexis Nexis Book Prize for being the top student in his second year. He also received subject prizes for equity and trusts, and tort law. In addition, Weiming holds a Bachelor of Civil Law from the University of Oxford, where he clinched the South Square Chambers Prize for ranking first in Corporate Insolvency.
Some of his white-collar matters include:
Securing the conviction of two co-accused persons on six charges of Fraudulent Trading under s340(5) of the Companies Act after a 20-day trial;
Conducted a trial involving three co-accused directors for Criminal Breach of Trust (s408 of Penal Code) and Corruption (s6(b) of Prevention of Corruption Act);
Prosecuted a foreign exchange agent for Criminal Breach of Trust (s409 of Penal Code);
Successfully submitted for a new sentencing framework under s128L(5A) of the Customs Act. The Court endorsed the recommended approach as “cogent, principled and consistent with the precedents”;
Appeared against a Senior Counsel in the prosecution of a director for Forgery and Criminal Breach of Trust offences; and
Directed investigations and launched the prosecution of a former director of a publicly listed company and his associates for a spectrum of offences in the Penal Code, Companies Act, and Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act. The sums involved are in excess of $26 million.
Besides white-collar criminal work, Weiming also has experience prosecuting and defending persons involved in sexual, harassment, and violent offences.
Some of his private law matters include:
Assisted in a High Court trial concerning contractual interpretation (of indemnities), the doctrine of mistake (common and unilateral), contractual misrepresentation (fraudulent and negligent), and penalties;
Assisted in a trial concerning the Sale of Goods Act; and
Clerked for a presiding arbitrator in an international arbitration involving a complex sale and purchase agreement. The matter engaged issues on conflict of laws, arbitration law, the law on guarantees, and limitation periods.
Publications
• Tan Weiming, 'Directors, Concurrent Fiduciary Duties, and Ad Hoc Fiduciary Relationships' (2024) The Conveyancer and Property Lawyer
• Tan Weiming, 'Unpacking The Enigma of Equitable Compensation for Breaches in Equity' (2022) 5 Journal of Business Law 407
• Tan Weiming, 'Negotiating New Curves Along Chancery Lane: Four More Questions on Fiduciaries' (2022) 35 (4) Trust Law International 197
• Tan Weiming, 'Peering Through Equity's Prism: A Fiduciary's Duty of Care or a Fiduciary Duty of Care?' (2021) 15 Journal of Equity 181
• Tan Weiming, 'The Perils of Judicial Copying and the Presumption of Judicial Integrity: Lim Chee Huat v Public Prosecutor [2019] SGHC 132' (2020) 39 (1) Civil Justice Quarterly 12
Assistant Professor Weiming Tan
Counsel
Weiming is an Assistant Professor at the National University of Singapore’s faculty of law. His research areas are in equity and trusts, commercial remedies, and insolvency law. His work is published in leading international journals including the Modern Law Review, Journal of Equity, Trust Law International, Journal of Business Law, and Civil Justice Quarterly. In Tan Teck Kee v Ratan Kumar Rai [2022] SGCA 62, the Singapore Court of Appeal cited Weiming’s work with approval. In addition, the High Court of Singapore in Commodities Intelligence Centre Pte Ltd v Mako International Trd Pte Ltd [2022] SGHC 131 has similarly referred to his work.
Besides teaching and researching at NUS, Weiming regularly delivers seminars to the wider legal profession in Singapore. In addition, he has given papers at conferences and workshops in London, Cambridge, Oxford, and Perth.
Prior to entering academia, Weiming was in full-time legal practice. He started his legal career as a pupil at Drew & Napier LLC. He then joined the Attorney-General’s Chambers as a Deputy Public Prosecutor and State Counsel, specialising in complex commercial crimes. In addition, Weiming had a stint with the Insolvency and Public Trustee’s Office as an Assistant Official Assignee and Public Trustee. While in the Legal Service, he was also an adjunct faculty at the Singapore Management University teaching business law.
Weiming obtained his LL.B from King’s College London, where he graduated 2nd in rank amongst his cohort. He was awarded the Harold Potter Memorial Prize and Lexis Nexis Book Prize for being the top student in his second year. He also received subject prizes for equity and trusts, and tort law. In addition, Weiming holds a Bachelor of Civil Law from the University of Oxford, where he clinched the South Square Chambers Prize for ranking first in Corporate Insolvency.
Some of his white-collar matters include:
Securing the conviction of two co-accused persons on six charges of Fraudulent Trading under s340(5) of the Companies Act after a 20-day trial;
Conducted a trial involving three co-accused directors for Criminal Breach of Trust (s408 of Penal Code) and Corruption (s6(b) of Prevention of Corruption Act);
Prosecuted a foreign exchange agent for Criminal Breach of Trust (s409 of Penal Code);
Successfully submitted for a new sentencing framework under s128L(5A) of the Customs Act. The Court endorsed the recommended approach as “cogent, principled and consistent with the precedents”;
Appeared against a Senior Counsel in the prosecution of a director for Forgery and Criminal Breach of Trust offences; and
Directed investigations and launched the prosecution of a former director of a publicly listed company and his associates for a spectrum of offences in the Penal Code, Companies Act, and Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act. The sums involved are in excess of $26 million.
Besides white-collar criminal work, Weiming also has experience prosecuting and defending persons involved in sexual, harassment, and violent offences.
Some of his private law matters include:
Assisted in a High Court trial concerning contractual interpretation (of indemnities), the doctrine of mistake (common and unilateral), contractual misrepresentation (fraudulent and negligent), and penalties;
Assisted in a trial concerning the Sale of Goods Act; and
Clerked for a presiding arbitrator in an international arbitration involving a complex sale and purchase agreement. The matter engaged issues on conflict of laws, arbitration law, the law on guarantees, and limitation periods.
Publications
• Tan Weiming, 'Directors, Concurrent Fiduciary Duties, and Ad Hoc Fiduciary Relationships' (2024) The Conveyancer and Property Lawyer
• Tan Weiming, 'Unpacking The Enigma of Equitable Compensation for Breaches in Equity' (2022) 5 Journal of Business Law 407
• Tan Weiming, 'Negotiating New Curves Along Chancery Lane: Four More Questions on Fiduciaries' (2022) 35 (4) Trust Law International 197
• Tan Weiming, 'Peering Through Equity's Prism: A Fiduciary's Duty of Care or a Fiduciary Duty of Care?' (2021) 15 Journal of Equity 181
• Tan Weiming, 'The Perils of Judicial Copying and the Presumption of Judicial Integrity: Lim Chee Huat v Public Prosecutor [2019] SGHC 132' (2020) 39 (1) Civil Justice Quarterly 12
Contact
weiming.tan@covenantchambers.com
Education / Qualifications
LL.B. (Hons) (King's College London)
BCL (Oxford)Advocate & Solicitor (Singapore)
Focus Areas
Civil and Commercial Litigation
Criminal Law
Equity and Trusts
Insolvency Law