Ben Chester CHEONG

Prior to entering legal academia, Ben Chester has worked with various stakeholders, including financial institutions, on cross-border banking and finance transactions, equity and debt offerings and exchange listings, and international debt restructurings and liability management. Ben Chester has published peer-reviewed papers in International Company and Commercial Law Review (published by Sweet & Maxwell), International Cybersecurity Law Review (published by Springer Nature), Company Lawyer (published by Sweet & Maxwell), SN Social Sciences (published by Springer Nature) and the Singapore Academy of Law Journal (published by Academy Publishing). His opinion-editorials have appeared in The Straits Times, The Business Times, and Singapore Policy Journal. Ben Chester has also published in the Singapore Law Gazette, Singapore Institute of Directors (SID) Bulletin, TODAY, Oxford Business Law Blog, Singapore Law Blog, and Post-Pandemic University. Ben Chester holds a Master's degree in Law from the University of Cambridge, a Bachelor's degree in Law (with 1st class honours) from the University of Exeter, and placed 3rd out of 664 candidates (3 distinctions) in the Singapore Bar Examinations (Part B). Ben Chester is dual-qualified to practice law as an Advocate and Solicitor in Singapore and as a Solicitor in England & Wales. He is also an accredited mediator with the Singapore International Mediation Institute.

• Master of Law (LL.M.), University of Cambridge
• Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.), First Class Honours, University of Exeter
• Singapore Bar Exams (also known as Part B), ranked 3rd out of 664 candidates with 3 distinctions and placed on SILE Commendation List – Singapore law qualifying exams
• Qualified Lawyers Transfer Scheme, Solicitors Regulation Authority, completed and passed MCT and OSCE – UK law qualifying exams

• Advised and assisted on multiple bilateral and syndicated financings based on Loan Market Association and Asia Pacific Loan Market Association standards, including drafting, reviewing and negotiating with lenders and borrowers on facility agreements, collating conditions precedent documentation and managing conditions precedent checklist, drafting, reviewing and amending both Singapore law and English law legal opinions, and drafting CP satisfaction letters, fee letters, side letters, borrower’s certificate, corporation authorisations and other ancillary finance documents, including corporate guarantees, deed of assignments and charges over accounts.
• Other non-transactional banking work experience includes providing legal advice on specific provisions within an APLMA-standard facility agreement, guarantees and indemnities, comfort letters and restraint of trade provisions, among others
• Represented a number of Indian, Singapore and Indonesian multinational companies and lead managers on their Rule 144A and Regulation S debt and equity offerings
• Advised companies on their exchange offer and consent solicitation exercises in relation to convertible bonds
• Advised on financial regulatory matters, including on digital token platforms and products regulated under the Payment Services Act, Financial Services and Markets Act, Securities and Futures Act and the Financial Advisers Act
• Advised on aspects of legal issues in emerging technology, including non-fungible tokens, blockchain technology, metaverse and digital assets

• SUSS Award for Teaching Excellence 2022
• SUSS Award for Teaching Excellence – Honourable Mention 2021
• Placed on the SILE Commendation List for coming in joint 3rd (with one other) out of 664 candidates in the Part B of the Singapore Bar Examinations 2016 with 3 distinctions in Advanced Corporate Practice, Family Law Practice and Ethics & Professional Responsibility
• Stones Solicitors LLP Prize for the best LL.B. dissertation, 2014
• Dean's Commendation 2013/14 (awarded to less than 1 in 40 students)
• Dean's Commendation 2012/13 (awarded to less than 1 in 40 students)
• Highest mark in the Commercial Law module, 2013

• Committee Member, Corporate Committee, Singapore Institute of Directors
• Accredited Mediator, Singapore International Mediation Institute
• Treasurer, Asia Pacific Institute of Experts
• Committee Member, Community Legal Clinics, Law Society Pro Bono Services
• Member, The Law Society of Singapore
• Member, Law Society of England & Wales
• Member, Singapore Academy of Law
• Member, The Society of Legal Scholars
• Life Member, The Oxford & Cambridge Society of Singapore

• “The Governance of SPACs and DCS Companies”, SID Bulletin 2022 Q3
• “Judiciary and Law Enforcement in Singapore Inc.”, Singapore Policy Journal (19 June 2022)
• “Oppression claims in family businesses and the appropriate remedy” (2022) 33(7) International Company and Commercial Law Review 399-408 [access through Westlaw]
• “Rectification of Contracts Arising from Common Mistake: Sun Electric Pte Ltd v Menrva Solutions Pte Ltd [2021] 5 SLR 648”, Singapore Academy of Law Journal (published on e-First 10 June 2022)
• “Avatars in the metaverse: potential legal issues and remedies” (2022) International Cybersecurity Law Review (published online on 7 June 2022)
• “Inquorate meetings—Recent developments in Singapore” (2022) 43(6) The Company Lawyer 196-202 [access through Westlaw]
• “Benefits and pitfalls of blockchain marriages”, The Straits Times (25 March 2022)
• “The Quintet of Cases on Breaches of Fiduciary Duties, Causation and Abuse of Process Clarifications from the Court of Appeal in Beyonics Asia Pacific Ltd v Goh Chan Peng [2021] SGCA(I) 2” (2022) 34 Singapore Academy of Law Journal 213-228
• “Application of Blockchain-enabled Technology: Regulating Non-fungible Tokens (NFTs) in Singapore”, Singapore Law Gazette (January 2022)
• “Legal Risks Beneath Blockchain-enabled Smart Contracts”, Singapore Law Gazette (January 2021)