In football, similar to law, one small mistake can turn a victory into an embarrassing defeat. A recent Asian Football Confederation Champions League Two match saw a top Japanese team's victory turn into a huge nightmare due to an oversight.

Whether on the pitch or in the Courtroom, attention to detail matters.

Written by our Associate Wilkie Lee.

The boardroom tussle in City Developments Limited Group (“CDL”) dominated the Singapore news headlines last week, when Kwek Leng Beng took legal action against his son, Sherman Kwek, and other directors over an alleged boardroom “coup”.

This family feud has taken the spotlight, including allegations over a last-minute court “ambush”. How could a court hearing have been convened at such short notice? Is it fair that a party was not given the chance to be represented? Who won?

Written by our Associate Director Veronica Teo and Associate Samuel Lum.

The rapid evolution of conversational and generative AI continues, with Moonshot AI’s launch of Kimi AI 1.5 adding to an already dynamic landscape. As AI becomes an integral part of industries from virtual assistants to specialized solutions, discussions on AI governance and regulation are more important than ever.

In Singapore, AI regulations follow a sector-specific approach, balancing innovation with oversight. From legal practice to finance and healthcare, industry guidelines shape how AI is implemented responsibly.

As the digital economy continues to expand, Singapore has been proactive in refining its regulatory framework to address the burgeoning cryptocurrency sector. Two key legislative instruments have undergone significant amendments to ensure robust oversight and consumer protection: the Payment Services Act 2019 (PSA) and the Financial Services and Markets Act 2022 (FSMA).

This is Focus Law Asia’s second article on cryptocurrency in a series of five, where we introduce the recent changes to the PSA and FSMA pertaining to digital token service providers.

Written by our Director Mimi Ahn.

Singapore is a long-established international disputes resolution hub. In particular, the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (the “SIAC”) is the dispute resolution forum of choice of many global businesses.

Under the SIAC Rules 2016, SIAC administered more than 3,000 international cases which involved parties from more than 100 jurisdictions across a range of seats and governing laws.

SIAC has recently introduced the 7th edition of the Arbitration Rules of the SIAC (“SIAC Rules 2025”), effective from 1 January 2025. These changes underscore the SIAC’s commitment to broadening its scope of services by enhancing efficiency, flexibility and transparency in arbitration proceedings, increasing accessibility, and expanding its global reach.

Our Senior Associate Genesa Tan provides an overview of the new SIAC Rules 2025.

To simplify legal procedure and increase access to justice, the Family Justice Rules (FJR) have undergone a major overhaul, with the new rules recently coming into force on 15 October 2024 (and with the revamped e-Litigation filing system having since caused some upheaval to the lives of family lawyers, if we’re being honest).

From what used to be a giant set of rules before, the FJR is now neatly divided into 4 smaller, self-explanatory volumes, comprising:

• Family Justice (General) Rules 2024

• Family Justice (Probate and Other Matters) Rules 2024

• Family Justice (Protection from Harassment) Rules 2024

• Family Justice (Criminal Proceedings in Youth Courts) Rules 2024

One of the most anticipated of the myriad changes to the FJR is the introduction of the new Maintenance Enforcement Process (MEP), through which the court’s powers have been broadened to better assist spouses or parents to enforce unpaid maintenance orders for themselves and/or their children.

The MEP will be implemented in phases, beginning with the first phase that was rolled out just last week on 16 January 2025.

Our Director Hannah Cheang provides an overview of the revised procedure and powers of the Court under the new MEP.

As Bitcoin continues to fluctuate around the US$100,000 mark in anticipation of the inauguration of a US administration, it is a welcome state of affairs for Singapore, with its ever-growing cryptocurrency industry and blockchain infrastructure.

Focus Law Asia will be embarking on a five-part series, exploring the need-to-knows of Singapore cryptocurrency and blockchain regulations. This article provides a general overview of the key legislation governing crypto-related businesses in Singapore.

Written by our Director Mimi Ahn

The SingPost Sackings: What Can We Learn?

Just days before Christmas, SingPost sacked three top executives, sending waves through the business world. As the saga continues, some key lessons are emerging:

• The importance of robust whistleblowing policies.

• Leaders must be able to cut through "noise" to make decisions.

• How summary dismissals can backfire if not carefully planned.

Keen to learn more? Our Director Gordon Lim shares his takeaways.