Following last year’s inaugural success, the Singapore Corporate Counsel Association (SCCA) held its Legal Eagle Challenge for law students. The virtual event on 31 July invited students to act as fictional general counsel and advise a board of directors on social media policy.
The fundraising initiative for Willing Hearts, a charity providing daily meals to vulnerable communities, saw six teams shortlisted by preliminary judges for workshops from employment, public relations and data protection experts on how a company should develop its strategy.
Koh Juat May, the president of the Institute of Public Relations of Singapore (IPRS), who was also one of the judges and a member of a fictional board of directors, said: “The competition brought together our legal and communications minds to yield the best possible policies to manage complex social media issues affecting people and company reputations today.”
The workshop was opened by Patrick Tay, assistant secretary-general of the National Trade Union Congress of Singapore. Veronica Lai, the chief corporate officer of Singaporean telecoms company Starhub, shared pointers on crafting company policies.
Chun How Bay, the director of consumer services and investigation at the Personal Data Protection Commission of Singapore, wrapped up the workshop and shared personal data considerations in employees’ use of social media.
The six teams then discussed their draft of social media policy as general counsel with IPRS student volunteers who took the role of corporate communications heads. Finally, the teams presented their recommendations before boards of directors comprising: Koh of the IPRS; Andrew Ong, head of legal and compliance, Asia-Pacific for elevator company KONE; and Daniel Chia, head of human resources at Samsung Electronics Singapore.
The award winners were:
- Winning team: Andrea Danielle Lee, Crystal Chew Tong En, Elton Ching Xiangwei, and Valerie Wong Le Yee from Singapore Management University;
- Most innovative team: Ajay Nair, Zephan Hwang Yu Liang, Muhammad Syazwan Bin Ramli, and Kesia Yang Jing Ying from the National University of Singapore;
- Most business-savvy team: Grace Anastasia Lim Si Min, Kara Kang Mei Hui, Poon Chong Ming, and Samuel Wong Liang Yeong from Singapore Management University;
- Best communicator (individual): Georgina Teo Wei Ting from Singapore University of Social Sciences.
