So, who am I?

 

“I like to describe myself first and foremost as a father. I have 3 lovely children, who have given me more purpose and meaning in life than a 25-year career as a litigation and then commercial lawyer. Their compassion, generosity, charity, determination and leadership is inspiring to me. Some people want to attribute the source of those qualities to me or my wife but, in my mind, those qualities comes from us, themselves, each other and everyone else, in their community”.

 

What a great opening!

 

 

Narinder was born and raised in Singapore. His father worked in the civil service, first as a Prosecutor, then a Magistrate and then as a District Court Judge. It was through his father that Narinder was taught the value of humility and where the distinction between right and wrong was clearly defined.

 

When Narinder was 18 he was required to perform National Service. Although Narinder would have preferred a position as a clerk, he ended up becoming a Platoon Sergeant in the Guards Infantry. It was during his Service that Narinder learnt about leadership and how to overcome his fears. Although challenging, Narinder is proud of the time he served in the Armed Services and feels the life lessons were invaluable.

 

At the age of 21, Narinder decided to read law. Although his father advised against a career in law, Narinder believed he had spent enough time during his younger years in his father’s Courtroom to know a thing or two about the law. As Narinder puts it, “boy, I was wrong”!

Narinder completed his legal studies at the University of Leicester in England and was then admitted as Barrister of Lincoln’s Inn in London. Having returned to Singapore in 1991, all wide eyed and eager to learn, Narinder landed his first position in a law firm.  Working in the law firm was not what Narinder expected. He describes the firm as being male dominated and that if you were not a part of the “boys club” that you would go nowhere.

 

 

So Narinder decided to leave. He found a position in a one man, one woman firm where he says he leant to jump off the deep end and survive. It was after being with the firm for 6 months that Narinder was given the opportunity to appear as legal counsel for his first trial. During this period Narinder practiced mainly insurance and Family Law litigation, however he also had the opportunity to dabble a little in Criminal Law.

 

While in Singapore, Narinder joined a volunteer organisation that provided Legal Aid for criminal matters. Having had a few interesting cases, the one case that Narinder remembers relates to that of a foreign worker who was to be deported for a minor infraction. Although he prepared a good defence for his client and delivered a long and impassioned plea in mitigation, Narinder was unable to avoid a conviction because the Judge “applied the Law”.

 

Narinder said that he started to lose his passion and became disillusioned. He witnessed poor treatment of so called “illegal immigrants” and this offended his sense of justice. “I saw the law applied, there was justice in its lawyer sense, i.e., the application of the law, but it did not satisfy my sense of moral and social justice”.

Narinder decided to join his parents and sister in Perth in 1997. He attended UWA where he completed a Graduate Diploma in Management. After graduation, Narinder decided to stay in Perth and try and practice Law again.

The year of 2001 was a big one for Narinder. He was admitted as a barrister and Solicitor in WA, and got married to his wife Sapna who is a paediatrician. Soon thereafter his first child was born and in the following years Narinder and Sapna would be blessed with another two children.

 

 

Narinder worked in a medium sized Law firm for the next 15 years. His practice was in Property and Commercial matters and it involved a lot of hard work. Narinder saw the job as a means of eventual financial security, with the end goal of being in a position where he would be able to help those less fortunate and to address his desire for social justice.

 

In 2017, Narinder left the Law firm where he had spent many years. He liked the work and the legal challenges that he encountered, and he enjoyed supervising and teaching the young lawyers, but there was something missing. It was time to hit the reset button. It was a new beginning. A chance to do things the right way and not be led by the sole imperative of commerce, money.

 

Last year, Narinder did his first Pro-Bono representing an asylum seeker in an appeal in the Federal Court. He was the instructing Solicitor and the Barrister was one of his young lawyers, an up and coming barrister.

 

“I need to feed my thirst for moral and social justice, i.e., the right thing to do. I will do more pro bono and continue to assist people who struggle to meet the financial demands for access to justice, for the right reasons and not just to satisfy a social conscience for a bigger commercial benefit”.

 

We are very lucky to have Narinder as a new member of the Rotary Club of Heirisson.

 

[Thank you Richard Nolan for these comprehensive notes capturing Jessy's talk. Editor]