SINGAPORE — Law Society president Adrian Tan died on Saturday (July 8) after battling cancer for more than a year. He was 57. 

Mr Tan, a partner at TSMP Law Corporation, was diagnosed with cancer in March last year and went public last July about his condition in a post on professional networking site LinkedIn. 

He described how he began to feel ill a month before his diagnosis but had brushed it off. It was only when he "felt so bad" that he saw a doctor and was then diagnosed with cancer.

He did not say what kind of cancer he was but said he would "fight cancer, fight my cases in court, and fight for lawyers as their president, until the clock runs out”.

Following his diagnosis, Mr Tan was started on an aggressive treatment regime, which involved chemotherapy, immunotherapy and hormone therapy. 

Mr Tan, who began his tenure as LawSoc president on Jan 1, 2022, had been a vocal presence on social media on a range of subjects, from the legal industry to social issues.

In an interview with TODAY after his election, he said that will continue to share his views on legal issues because he “believes in the curative powers of the law”.

He added that LawSoc wants to explore how it can give young lawyers a greater say in their work and in the industry, “as they are the ones with the enthusiasm and the ideas to lead us forward”.

In April last year, Mr Tan defended the legal profession after it was criticised over a case involving trainee lawyers who cheated in the Bar exams, calling the comments “misguided”.

Mr Tan, a lawyer for more than 30 years, was also well-known for writing The Teenage Textbook and The Teenage Workbook in the late 1980s, two bestsellers that were later adapted into a movie and television series. CNA