Lawyer Feature: Ronald JJ Wong from Covenant Chambers LLC

I practise in commercial litigation, and corporate advisory and transactions. I practise in these areas because there is great satisfaction in intellectually engaging many different areas of law which apply in a myriad of circumstances, while serving people to try and achieve just outcomes (for litigation), and to meet people’s objectives efficiently and fairly through meticulous drafting and strategic planning (for corporate advisory).

I only wanted to be a lawyer after I got into law school. Studying the law and thinking about justice in the various cases I read excited and challenged me. Then I started volunteering with an NGO which aids migrant workers. I saw how lawyering could help people especially those at the margins, whether through legal representation or other forms of advocacy.

I believe that lawyering is about serving people to bring about justice, well-being and peace. The law strives towards achieving justice, that is good, right and fair relations among people. It is not perfect, but as lawyers we do our best to bring clarity to the matters to ensure that just outcomes are achieved. Further, navigating the legal system can be quite distressing for people. It’s our job to ease that burden and bring peace. These values and goals motivate me.

Some people think there can never be ethical lawyers because lawyers are supposed to turn ‘black into white’. There are many honourable ethical lawyers, and no, they don’t twist facts into ‘alternative facts’.

Apart from legal practice (which is a business), I think if I had the resources, I’d found a sustainable living eco-community where every person would live in harmony with one another and with creation, and every person–including people with disabilities–would have a role to contribute to the life of the community. But that’s almost utopian. I think the disintegration of many aspects of life and institutions have resulted in unsustainable development, inequity and marginalisation.

I try not to hold to material things too tightly. But I do treasure my journals, because in them I record down my life journey and blessings over the years. Reviewing them from time to time help me remember to be grateful to God and to the people in my life.

1. I jumped with my hockey teammates from the 2nd floor to the ground floor back in junior college. When I was in junior college, some hockey teammates and I were in a camp in school. We jumped off from the 2nd floor–or was it the 3rd floor?–onto a gym mat on the ground floor. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.

2. I used to code in primary school and secondary school. I started with QBasic (which ran on MS-DOS) and Visual Basic. I think drafting legal documents is a bit like coding. I do get a thrill from good drafting. Coders get a thrill from good code.

3. I used to and still dabble in theatre and other creative pursuits. I’ve produced some theatre shows at an amateur level, written some plays and prose which have been published, and more recently did a short film.

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Read more about Ronald or find out more about his firm Covenant Chambers LLC.

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Ronald will be one of the lawyer panelists speaking on how startups can work with lawyers to address their evolving legal needs as they progress through their funding stages. Come hear him share crucial legal tips based on his experience and knowledge in advising startups.