Selvam has led pro bono initiatives in Singapore for 17 years
The International Bar Association has handed its 2025 pro bono award to Singapore corporate lawyer Arfat Selvam, who spearheaded the Law Society of Singapore’s pro bono initiatives for 17 years.
Selvam was president of the Law Society of Singapore in 2003. She advocated for pro bono services to be expanded from providing legal aid to supporting community organizations working with unserved and underserved individuals.
She championed the establishment of sustainable pro bono structures in law firms and urged the development of policies allocating billable hours for pro bono work. She aimed to cultivate a culture that viewed pro bono as a core professional responsibility, as well as an increasingly pervasive culture within Duane Morris & Selvam, her law firm.
Selvam championed greater pro bono participation within the firm and mentored junior lawyers on pro bono work. She is a director of mental wellness charity Club Heal and was an active part of its corporate governance and whistleblowing processes, monitoring compliance with current legal requirements.
She received the Pro Bono Leadership Award from Duane Morris in 2018.
“Mrs Selvam delivered pro bono services for many years, both to individuals in need through legal clinics in relation to family matters and employment rights and to organisations supporting individuals in need, including a mental health charity,” the IBA judging panel said in a joint statement. “She was instrumental in ensuring that credit is given for pro bono hours worked and set an important example within her firm.”
Selvam described the award as “a renewed commitment for me to continue this work for positive change.”
“It is an incredible honour to receive the International Bar Association Pro Bono Award for this year. The world today is a challenging place, but we are capable of meeting that challenge and we should do it,” she said. “I would like to end by encouraging every lawyer to embrace pro bono. Find an area that you are passionate in, the community that you can help and give it your all. The impact that you will make is immense. The rewards are far greater than any fees or accolades that you may earn.”
The 2025 IBA Pro Bono Award was sponsored by LexisNexis.
