Ryan David Lim

Graduating with first class honours from the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom, Ryan spent over three years as Deputy Public Prosecutor and State Counsel with the Attorney-General’s Chambers before being called to the bar in 2017. Prior to joining IRB, he was a senior associate at one of Singapore’s “Big Four” law firms.

Ryan is a general disputes lawyer who counsels and advises individuals and organisations on a wide range of problems, with a focus on crime, private client work and IP / technology. Patient and empathetic, he is committed to achieving good outcomes for his clients.

Main Practice Areas

First, Ryan is a seasoned criminal litigator, having acted for both sides of the bar at the trial and appellate level. He has defended clients in a wide variety of criminal matters both white-collar and blue-collar, including corruption, murder, forgery, drug offences and sexual offences. He also regularly advises individuals and organisations on regulatory and compliance matters.

Second, Ryan has specialist experience in private client and trust work, having assisted many high net worth clients with their wealth and succession plans via through trusts, wills, LPAs and the set-up of family offices. He also regularly handles deputyship applications and estate disputes.

Third, Ryan is well-versed in intellectual property and technology matters. He holds a Graduate Certificate in Intellectual Property from NUS. During his time in the Legal Service, he spent a rotation at IPOS and was and was part of a cross-divisional technology crime division at the Attorney-General’s Chambers, where he prosecuted the first cases under the Protection from Harassment Act and the Remote Gambling Act.

Work Highlights

• Criminal law: Successfully obtained a double reduction of a murder charge to one for voluntarily causing grievous hurt, then voluntarily causing simple hurt, obtaining a final sentence of 8 months’ imprisonment.
• Criminal law: Defended a senior officer of a public-listed company on corruption and falsification charges over the course of a 14-day trial.
• Criminal law: Advised and represented a senior officer of a large multinational technology company in relation to investigations by the Corrupt Practices Investigations Bureau.
• Criminal law: As prosecutor, secured the then-highest sentence ever meted out for an operator of one of the largest online vice rings (PP v Chew Tiong Wei).
• Criminal law: Jointly prosecuted the first local case involving the fraudulent registration and sale of SIM cards under the Computer Misuse and Cybersecurity Act (PP v Tan Chinn).
• Private client: Assisted the head of a global technology company on succession planning issues, including drafting custom lasting powers of attorney.
• Private client: Assisted an ultra-high net worth Indonesian family in immigration and family office applications, including obtaining tax exemption under MAS’s section 13R and 13X schemes.
• Private client: Assisted major institutional trustees in drafting and reviewing their standard trust agreements.
• Private client: Acted for a major institutional trustee in a cy-près application for the variation of the terms of a charitable trust.
• Intellectual property: Advised numerous SMEs on IP protection, including trade mark registration and protection of copyright.

Publications

• Ryan David Lim and Selene Yap, “Composition - Legal and Theoretical Foundations” (2015) 27 SAcLJ 462.