Leon Vincent Chan

Key information

Email: leon.chan.21@ucl.ac.uk

Leon C

MPhil/PhD Candidate in Family Law

LLB (Hons), National University of Singapore; LLM, University of Toronto

Leon joined the Faculty of Laws as a MPhil/PhD Candidate in Sep 2022. His thesis seeks to explore a theoretical basis for the financial provision – especially the division of matrimonial assets based on the best interests of the child(ren) – using illustrations from Singapore; Ontario, Canada; and England and Wales, United Kingdom. Leon’s research is supported by a full scholarship.

After graduating with both a Bachelor of Laws and Master of Laws degrees concurrently from the inaugural National University of Singapore – University of Toronto Exchange Plus programme in 2018, Leon was called to the Singapore bar in 2019.

Leon’s research interests are in family law and medical law, particularly in laws relating to children. He has since published in leading generalist and specialist journals, including the Civil Justice Quarterly; International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family; Child and Family Law Quarterly; Hong Kong Law Journal; Singapore Academy of Law Journal; and Asian Journal of Mediation. A co-authored annotation on Singapore’s Women’s Charter is forthcoming.

Currently, Leon is a Co-Managing Editor of the UCL Journal of Law and Jurisprudence. He is also a member of the Family Law & Children's Rights Working Group in Singapore.

Leon’s full profile may be found on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leon-vincent-chan-4b933b48/

Research Supervisors:

Areas of expertise:

Family Law, Medical Law

Research interests:

Family law; Medical law; Quantitative and qualitative research methodologies

Academic/professional memberships:

  • Member, Family Law & Children’s Rights Working Group (Singapore Academy of Law).
  • Advocate and Solicitor (Singapore)

Professional experience:

Prior to commencing his PhD at UCL, Leon was a Research Associate at the Centre for Asian Legal Studies, National University of Singapore, Faculty of Law. He remains an Associate Editor with the Asian Journal of Comparative Law (Cambridge University Press).

Leon also trained at Drew & Napier LLC in family law disputes and practised as a Legal Associate in the litigation department at Allen & Gledhill LLP with a focus on medical law.

Publications:

  • Wong Kai Yun, Leon Vincent Chan, and Jonathan Chan, Women’s Charter – Annotated Laws of Singapore (Singapore: LexisNexis, 2022) (forthcoming).
  • Leon Vincent Chan and Richard Xu, ‘Trends in the Division of Matrimonial Assets in Singapore: An Empirical Study of the Family Court, High Court, and Court of Appeal Decisions between 2015 and 2020’ (2022) 36:1 International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family ebac009 1.
  • Leon Vincent Chan, ‘When the Mule Refuses to Drink from the Water: An Empirical Study on Parental Alienation in Singapore’ (2022) 34:1 Child and Family Law Quarterly 81.
  • Leon Vincent Chan and Andrea Ang, ‘No-Fault Divorce: The Step in the Right Direction towards Therapeutic Justice’ (2022) 52:1 Hong Kong Law Journal 183.
  • Leon Vincent Chan and Jonathan Chan, ‘Family Conference 2021: Big Questions in a Small World: International Issues in Singapore Family Practice’ Singapore Law Gazette (Nov 2021).
  • Leon Vincent Chan, ‘Taming the Unruly Public Policy Horse in Private International Law in Family Law: A Pragmatic Singaporean Approach to the Recognition of Foreign Same-Sex Marriages and Divorces’ (2021) 35:1 International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family ebab010 1.
  • Leon Vincent Chan and Sim Bing Wen, ‘The Garnishment of Monies in Joint Bank Accounts: Timing Ltd v Tay Toh Hin and another [2020] SGHC 169; and Timing Ltd v Tay Toh Hin and another [2021] SGHC 5’ (2021) 40:4 Civil Justice Quarterly 256.
  • Leon Vincent Chan, ‘The (Non-)Expiration of Parental Responsibility: Balancing the Child’s Wishes, Second Families, and Parents’ Ability in Maintenance for Adult Children’ (2021) 33 Singapore Academy of Law Journal 645.
  • Jonathan Chan and Leon Vincent Chan, ‘Family Law Conference 2020: Through the Therapeutic Justice Lens’ Singapore Law Gazette (Oct 2020).
  • Leon Vincent Chan, ‘The beginning of the end of the broad-brush approach? – a case comment of UQP v UQQ [2019] SGHCF 7’ Issue 1/April 2019, SLW Commentary.
  • Leon Vincent Chan, ‘Divorce Mediation in Singapore: Bringing the Voice of the Child to the Table’ [2018] Asian Journal on Mediation 21.
  • Leon Vincent Chan, ‘The Unfounded Fears towards Equal Division of Matrimonial Assets in Singapore’ [2018] 30 Singapore Academy of Law Journal 797.