Blossom Hing, a director at Drew & Napier, speaks about a memorable case where she was lead counsel, learned about resilience, and dealt with a dramatic witness fainting, and a client who started a successful company in his 70s.

Can you share a memorable case or project that significantly impacted your career and why it stands out?

My first trial where I acted as lead counsel is particularly memorable. It was not only my first trial but it also allowed me to appear before the Court of Appeal for the first time as lead counsel when the other side appealed. As a trial lawyer, it was immensely satisfying to lead a case from the taking of instructions to inter-locutory applications to trial and then on to appeal, with a positive outcome at every stage.

Second, the trial had plenty of drama as at the end of my cross-examination of a key witness, the witness turned pale and promptly fainted. Emergency medical help came in the form of a flashing ambulance arriving at court to ferry the witness to hospital. Thankfully the wit-ness recovered and the trial resumed after some days.

Most importantly, my first trial had a great impact on my career as it showed me what it means to be resilient. The client was a semi-literate gentleman who came to Singapore from Malaysia in his teens. Through sheer hard work and steely determination, he went from sleeping on a mattress on the floor of a warehouse belonging to his employers to building a company worth more than S$500m. Over the years, he gave shares of his company to his relatives in a bid to look after them. Alas, his company became financially distressed during the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990’s and my client was forced to transfer majority control of his company to relatives who then ousted him from management. For some 20 years, my client quietly endured the indignity of what his relatives did to him while he rebuilt his financial resources. When he was in a position to do so, he hired me to act for him. With a successful outcome from the litigation, my client, who was then in his 70’s, started a new company which has since grown from strength to strength.

This case taught me that resilience is key to ensuring success, not only in court, but also in life. We must never give up and there are always new beginnings.