OUR PEOPLE . MELVIN LOH

Our People

Melvin Loh

Counsel
___________________________________

Candidate, Master’s in Education Leadership (Ed.M.),
Harvard Graduate School of Education, Harvard University

Master of Laws (Judicial Studies),
Singapore Management University Yong Pung How School of Law, Dean’s List (2021)

Bachelor of Laws (Hons),
National University of Singapore (2011)

Advocate & Solicitor, Supreme Court of Singapore (2014)

melvinloh@peterlowllc.com

About Melvin Loh

Melvin is a Senior Lecturer with the School of Law, Singapore University of Social Sciences (‘SUSS’).A graduate of the Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore, and the Singapore Management University Yong Pung How School of Law, he specialises in mediation and negotiation, as well as criminal law. He has undergone extensive training in the field of appropriate dispute resolution, most recently at the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School. In 2023, he was awarded the SUSS Excellence in Teaching Award and the Staff Service Award for his work with SUSS.

In honour of his sterling contributions to the administration of justice,Melvin was awarded the Outstanding Court Volunteer Award 2023 (Advocate and Solicitor Category) by the Honourable Chief Justice of Singapore, Sundaresh Menon, on behalf of The Singapore Court.

Melvin is a Certified Mediator with the Singapore International Mediation Institute and an empaneled Associate Mediator and trainer with the Singapore Mediation Centre (‘SMC’). He is also an empaneled mediator with the Community Mediation Centre. With over a decade of experience in mediation, he has expertise in and has mediated a vast spectrum of cases both inside and outside the Courts, including criminal, family, commercial, and real estate, among others. He has also presented, taught, trained, and assessed in multiple international jurisdictions, including Hong Kong, India, Japan, Mongolia, New Zealand amongst others, in furtherance of the development of mediation. He is part of the Family Panel and a Certified Intellectual Property Mediator for SMC and the Law Society Mediation Scheme.

He has trained a wide spectrum of professionals of different backgrounds, including education, law enforcement, legal, medical, grassroots and community, private and public sectors as well as localand foreign judiciaries.

An active volunteer at heart, Melvin assists as an advocate and solicitor with various pro bono initiatives of the Law Society of Singapore, which include the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme (“CLAS”),Community Legal Clinics (“CLC”) and Legal Aid Bureau matters. Melvin also provides representation in matters through the Legal Assistance Scheme for Capital Offences (“LASCO”). He has also been appointed to the Disciplinary Panel of the Council for Estate Agencies, where he chairs Disciplinary Committees in hearing matters.

He serves as an Executive Committee member with the Mediation Committee of the Law Society of Singapore, as well as the CLAS and the CLC Committees of Pro Bono SG. He also serves as Honorary Treasurer of the Asia Pacific Institute of Experts.

Melvin is also a lifelong volunteer outside of his legal profession, giving time to help with various causes such as with at-risk families, youth, and foreign workers through grassroots and other avenues.

 Academic and Professional Experience

• • 2024 National Co-Representative for Singapore, International Negotiation Competition
    
  • 2024 Judge, International Negotiation Competition
    
  • 2024 Committee Member, Pro Bono Weeks Steering Committee, Pro Bono SG
  • 2024 Member, Student Advisory Board, Harvard Graduate School of Education, Harvard University
  • 2024 Senior Mediator, Sage Mediation Senior Mediator Panel
  • 2024 Faculty Leader, Sage Mediation Institute for Leadership Education
  • 2023 Counsel, Peter Low Chambers LLC
  • 2023 Harvard Mediation Intensive, Program on Negotiation, Harvard Law School
  • 2023 Senior Lecturer, School of Law, Singapore University of Social Sciences
  • 2023 Certified International Mediation Advocate, Sage Mediation
  • 2022 Singapore Mediation Centre (SMC) IP Certified Mediator, Intellectual Property Mediation
  • Certification (IPMC) Assessment, Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) and Singapore Mediation Centre
  • 2022 Member, Disciplinary Panel, Council for Estate Agencies (CEA)
  • 2022 Coach, Singapore International Dispute Resolution Academy (SIDRA), Singapore Management University
  • 2022 Associate Mediator, Law Society Mediation Scheme (LSMS) Panel of Mediators
  • 2022 Mediator, Community Mediation Centre, Ministry of Law
  • 2022 Adjudicator/Determinant for Dispute Resolution Schemes, Singapore Mediation Centre
  • 2020 Certified Mediator, Singapore International Mediation Institute
  • 2020 Founder and Administrator, Wong Lan Eng Law Study Award, Singapore University of Social Sciences
  • 2020 – 2023 Counsel, Grace Chacko Law Practice
  • 2020 Accredited International Mediator, Sage Mediation
  • 2020 Volunteer Lawyer, Defence Assist Scheme, The Law Society of Singapore
  • 2018 Lecturer, School of Law, Singapore University of Social Sciences
  • 2018 Facilitator, Professional Skills Practice, Mediation Advocacy, Trial Advocacy, Singapore Institute of Legal Education
  • 2017 Assisting Counsel for Legal Assistance for Capital Offences (LASCO)
  • 2016 Volunteer Lawyer, Law Society Pro Bono Services, Criminal Legal Aid Scheme (CLAS)
  • 2016 – 2020 Senior Associate, Continental Law LLP
  • 2014 Trainer, Coach, Assessor, Mentor, Singapore Mediation Centre (SMC)
  • 2014 Associate Faculty, Singapore University of Social Sciences
  • 2012 – 2016 Legal Counsel, Council for Estate Agencies
  • 2012 Co-Founder, Peacemakers’ Prize in Mediation, National University of Singapore
  • 2012 Advocate and Solicitor, Supreme Court of Singapore

Memberships and Professional Activities

• • 2024 National Co-Representative for Singapore, International Negotiation Competition
    
  • 2024 Judge, International Negotiation Competition
    
  • 2024 Vice Chairperson, Executive Committee, Pro Bono SG, Community Legal Clinics
    
  • 2023 Mentor, Singapore International Mediation Institute
  • 2023 Executive Committee, Mediation Committee, The Law Society of Singapore
  • 2023 Honorary Treasurer, Asia Pacific Institute of Experts
  • 2022 Professional Communication: Business Writing and Storytelling, The Economist
  • 2021 Higher Education Teaching Certificate, Harvard University, The Derek Bok Centre for Teaching and Learning
  • 2021 WSQ-Certified Training in Peer-to-Peer Mental Well-being Support@ Work SkillsFuture Singapore
  • 2020 Honorary Secretary, Asia Pacific Institute of Experts
  • 2020 Certified Mediator, Singapore International Mediation Institute
  • 2020 Executive Committee, Law Society Pro Bono Services, Community Legal Clinics
  • 2019 Executive Committee, Law Society Pro Bono Services, CLAS
  • 2018 Accredited Mediator, Family Panel, Singapore Mediation Centre, Family Justice Courts
  • 2017  WSQ Advanced Certificate in Training and Assessment (ACTA), SkillsFuture Singapore
  • 2016 Assigned Solicitor, Legal Aid Bureau
  • 2012 Associate Mediator, State Courts Centre for Dispute Resolution
  • 2012 Associate Mediator, SMC
  • 2012 Member, Volunteer, Law Society of Singapore
  • 2012 Member, Singapore Academy of Law
  • 2012 Advocate and Solicitor, Supreme Court of Singapore

     

 Professional Achievements

• • 2023 Outstanding Court Volunteer Award 2023 (Advocate & Solicitor Category), The Singapore Courts (SG Courts)

  • 2023 Singapore University of Social Sciences Staff Service Award

  • 2023 Singapore University of Social Sciences Excellence in Teaching Award

  • 2023 National University of Singapore Law Alumni Mentorship Programme (LAMP) Long-Service Award (5 years)

  • 2024 Singapore Mediation Centre Faculty Award-Assessor/Coach

 Selected Publications

• • Melvin Loh and Paul Cheong, Continuing on the Path to a Safer Singapore – A Commentary on the Criminal Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill, The Singapore Law Gazette, September 2021 Issue

  • Melvin Loh and Alexander Woon, Open Justice and Anonymity for the Accused, Opinion Pages, Straits Times 6 September 2021

  • Melvin Loh, Review of the Contemporary Issues in Mediation Volume 6, Singapore International Mediation Institute, World Scientific, 2021, in the Asian Journal on Mediation

  • Melvin Loh, Hello Neighbour? A Look at Community Mediation, [2022] Asian Journal on Mediation

  • Joel Lee, Marcus Lim and Melvin Loh, Contemporary Issues in Mediation Volume 8, Singapore International Mediation Institute, World Scientific, 2023

  • Melvin Loh, The Power of Stories- Advocating for Therapeutic Justice Through Mediation [2023] Asian Journal on Mediation

  • Melvin Loh, Commentary: 3 keys to better non-compete clauses in employment contracts — clarify, specify, and customise, Today, 20 February 2024

 Conference Papers

• • Melvin Loh, Weaving Therapeutic Justice into Singapore’s Family Justice System: Through the Lens of Mediation, International Conference on Business and Social Science, July 2023, Osaka, Japan
  • Melvin Loh, Community Mediation in Singapore: Lessons and Challenges, National Mediation Conference, September 2023, Wellington New Zealand

  • Melvin Loh, Mediating the balance between managing online criminal harms and the rights of the individual, International Conference on ‘Regulating Technology in Asia: Prospects and Challenges’, March 2024, Jakarta, Indonesia

  • Melvin Loh, Mediated Justice in Criminal Law: Perspectives from Asia, 21st Asian Law Institute (ASLI) Annual Conference, May 2024, Bangkok, Thailand

  • Melvin Loh and A/P Vanessa Liu, The Age of Misinformation: Considerations on the Implications of video- based misinformation in Singapore, International Conference on “Legislation and Regional Synergistic Development”, November 2024, Guangzhou, China.

Selected Interviews

• • Radio Interview on CNA938 about Sexual Harassment on 13 Jan 2021
  • Radio Interview on CNA938 about Sentencing Guidelines on 9 March 2021
  • CLAS Training Programme Module 16: Cheating Offences, 16 October 2021
  • How to Engage and Manage Legal Clinic Applicants: Capacity-Building Webinar for Community Legal Clinics, 22 February 2022
  • Free Aid for Migrant workers at new legal clinic at mosque in Little India, Straits Times, 8 May 2022
    
  • Interview on Channel 8 狮城有约 about landlord and tenancy issues, June 2023
  • Interview on Channel 8 狮城有约 about short term tenancy issues, 25 April 2023
  • A Fireside Chat with Leaders in Mediation: Navigating the Industry as Young Mediators and Mediation Counsel, Law Society of Singapore, 1 September 2023
  • Radio Interview on CNA938 about Dealing with Neighbourly Disputes on 23 Oct 2023
  • 与邻居的冲突 — 这可以解决吗?, Law Awareness Weeks@CDC 2023, 23 Oct 2023
  • What’s Next: Starting Your Mediation Journey, The Law Society of Singapore, 2 December 2023
  • Effective Risk Management: Assessment, Controls and Mitigation, National Council of Social Service (NCSS), 17 Jan 2024
  • Future senior counsel should be good mentors, inspirations to young lawyers, say members of legal community, Today, 17 January 2024
  • Attorney-General’s Chambers to decide on action against hotelier Ong Beng Seng after Iswaran’s corruption case concludes, Today, 18 January 2024
  • Explainer: What is a non-compete clause, and why can an ex-employee get sued after joining a competitor?, Today, 4 February 2024
  • CNA Explains: What are Pritam Singh’s charges, and could he be disqualified as an MP? Channel News Asia, 19 March 2024
  • Malaysia-Singapore Young Lawyers’ Summit 2024: Visualising the Future, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, March 2024
  • [PBSG] VolCapBSeries: Understanding Protection from Harassment Court, 16 May 2024
  • Masterclass in Negotiation, International Negotiation Competition 2024, Manaus, Brazil, July 2024.
  • Navigating the Future of Mediation: Promises and Challenges of an International Standard of Mediation Competency, The Law Society of Singapore, 30 August 2024
  • “Therapeutic Justice- Lenses”, Modern Families Conference, Hong Kong Family Law Association, Hong Kong, September 2024.
  • Advocacy Without Advocating: Making a Difference as a Young Lawyer in a Supporting Role, The Law Society of Singapore, 13 September 2024
  • This or That?, Beyond the Classroom, Radio Kingston WKNY, New York, USA, September 2024.
  • Lawyers weigh in on Iswaran’s jail term: Unusual for judge to give longer sentence than sought, Channel News Asia, 3 October 2024
  • Teaching & Learning Conversations: Applied Learning, Singapore University of Social Sciences, 13 November 2024