The third was deciding to leave practice after a few years to explore the trust industry. I think having been out in the industry helps me now that I’m back in practice because of my familiarity with the issues and the network of contacts I have built up over the years. I made a decision back then to define myself as a “trust professional” rather than a “trust lawyer”, and that expanded my horizons tremendously.
9. How do you balance work and family life? Do you think you spend enough time with your family, or on your personal hobbies?
Terence: For the first - practice was a milestone and winning several cases was a good boost. I handled the liquidation of a stock exchange brokerage company that was reported in the newspapers. I worked on an interesting case on rent control involving a tenant of the Raffles Hotel, one of the last of these cases; and I handled a couple of road traffic accident cases that were interesting, involving goreng pisang and multi media evidence, very unusual back in the 80s.
The question of balance is a tricky one. It presupposes we know what balance is and what it looks like practically. Maybe the (real) question we should all ask ourselves is how we find fulfillment and meaning in life.
Second, EDB was a great place to work, with much for a lawyer to learn. I was there during the era of Tan Chin Nam and Philip Yeo, two great and inspiring leaders.
Terence: I think that we do spend enough quality time together as a family; we have dinners together every day, and we try to spend some time together on weekends especially during and after church, although the attractions of the computers and smartphones can be difficult to resist. Even when I am travelling, we try to Skype every night, and say our prayers together as a family. I would like to spend more time on my personal hobbies but I have also noticed that when I do have time I might end up not doing them anyway so it’s not a major issue. I have been able to indulge myself in my hobbies when I travel and I do catch the latest movies on the plane so I don’t feel like I am unable to balance work and personal fun.
Third - my work in Thomson multimedia; helping to manage not only good times like setting up joint ventures in China, but also when we were trying to take care of our fellow employees when we sold off our businesses. 7. What are some of the sacrifices you have had to make over the course of your career? With the benefit of hindsight, would you still have made the same sacrifices that you did? David: Anytime you make a choice, you close the door on something. I suppose that something you give up could be considered a sacrifice. In that context, in deciding to stay on in this area of work, I will never know where I might now be if I had made the switch to a different field years ago. I find the area of finance and asset management fascinating and if I could go back in time, I don’t think I would have chosen to study law. Having said that, life has to be lived in the present and with an eye on the future. We strive to do the best in our current circumstances based on the resources and talents given to us. I don’t have any regrets. I am where I’m supposed to be and I’m doing what I’m supposed to do. Terence: Practice takes a lot of your time, energy and attention, and I am glad I did not have to sacrifice time with the family as I got married late and started a family after I had left practice. I salute all those lawyers who manage to balance family and a successful career as practicing lawyers. I don’t think being an in-house counsel has meant a lot of sacrifice; yes, you do spend time away from the family when you are travelling, but it makes the time you do spend all the more precious and not to be wasted. Quality time, not quantity, is the key. 8. What do you think the biggest challenge of your job is? David: Building and sustaining a viable practice, because at the end of the day a practice is a business. A business needs to be profitable if it is to survive and be of service to others. Terence: Remaining humble yet remembering that you have specialist skills and knowledge that require you to step up at the right time. It’s all about timing and opportunity.
David: I would like to spend more time with my family and on my hobbies, but as it is I think that I am fortunate enough to have most weeknights and almost all weekends to myself.
In any case, achieving balance (based on your own concept or understanding of what it is and what it entails) requires active / conscious decision-making.
10. What is it like to juggle your triple identity as a father and husband at home, and a lawyer in the workplace? Do these roles come into conflict often, if at all? David: Any act which requires juggling is not easy. Juggling is required because of competing demands and finite resources (principally, time). Where there is competition, there will be conflict, hence having a mechanism in place to deal with it when it arises is important. In this regard, I think it is important to realise that in our juggling act, some of the items in the air are rubber balls and others are eggs. Rubber balls, if dropped, will bounce back. Not so for eggs. We need to know what our eggs and rubber balls are. We need wisdom. Terence: No; work is work. That being said, the stress of work can sometimes intrude and impact and affect the way I behave as father and husband, and vice versa. The best way to resolve them is to avoid them altogether and learn to switch off before you reach home. 11. Are there any rules or guidelines that you set for yourself in compartmentalising your life? David: I’ve given up a long time back. It was an exercise in futility for me and I suspect it is because this is not possible. Every aspect of our life is intertwined. Terence: Yes; try not to talk about work at the dinner table, unless you want to share an interesting insight or life lesson arising from work. Talking about work can sometimes make me forget where I am, and I start bringing home the stress of work to the dinner table. That is not acceptable.
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