Going beyond books
Ask Eliora Joseph if she had ever envisioned herself becoming a lawyer and the answer would probably be “No.” Yet the seeds of passion had already been sown in the soil of her early childhood.
“Poring over law cases, and reading precedents and textbooks, is a big part of law school. So, if you love reading, that would definitely help you in this discipline,” she elaborates. Now a Year 3 student at NUS Law, Eliora has also realised that intellectual rigour and advocacy are the two aspects of law she loves most.
Although Eliora happened to stumble into mooting, a competitive test of one’s advocacy skills, at NUS Law, she quickly realised she had a knack for it. In her first overseas moot, Eliora placed seventh in the individual category of the Novice Arbitration Mooting Competition 2021 and subsequently made it to the semi-finals at the Asia-Pacific Commercial Mediation Competition 2022.
Eliora’s drive to succeed saw her finally clinching the top spot at the WongPartnership International Commercial Arbitration Moot (ICAM) in 2023: “When the finals came, I was shocked when I entered the moot court and saw the nametags of the judges, who were some of the most prominent names in the field! To be honest, at that point, my priority was not to embarrass myself in front of these distinguished professionals. I guess I gave a decent speech because I was named the champion of the moot competition.”
Eliora (right) taking a commemorative photo with then Judicial Commissioner Goh Yihan at the WongPartnership International Commercial Arbitration Moot (ICAM) in 2023, where she was named the champion of the competition.
All in this together
To Eliora, NUS Law’s culture is academically rigorous while still being warm and collegiate — her professors and peers stimulate her intellectually but also feel like family. Like many freshmen, Eliora encountered some bumps along the road in Year 1 and was disappointed in her performance in the Contract Law mid-year exams. But her concerns were cast in a different light when Associate Professor Sandra Annette Booysen affirmed the quality of her paper. The timely encouragement buoyed her morale and spurred Eliora on to do well in her Contract Law finals.
A strong tradition of mentorship prevails in NUS Law, with many seniors willing to offer their experiences and personal networks to help Eliora and her peers chart their careers and future. Eliora elaborates that her law seniors have created a website to share their study notes with juniors, concluding that “no one had to tackle classes alone.”
Eliora (first from left) hanging out with her NUS Law friends, Dillon and Brandan.
A personal struggle she experienced in Year 2 attests to the close-knit support system that buttressed Eliora during this trying period. “I was juggling a heavy academic and extracurricular workload with three leadership positions. Being time-starved, I started to fall behind in my studies which created a lot of stress and self-doubt as I questioned whether I was cut out for law or whether I self-sabotaged through over-extending,” she shares. Thankfully, she had the support of two of her closest friends in Law School, Brandan and Dillon. “When I was struggling to find time to catch up on reading materials and completing tutorials for Property Law, my friends would offer their notes, company, and most importantly, coffee,” she recounts with fond appreciation.
To unwind, Eliora cites taking spin classes, hunting for great coffee and even hitting the grass to play touch rugby as some of her favourite ways to destress: “Most of the activities I'm involved with in school are very intellectual, so it feels good to touch grass (literally) and run around! Playing this sport has definitely taught me to be a better team player. It’s also really nice having the opportunity to meet juniors and seniors through playing the sport together during MedLaw Touch Rugby sessions.”
Eliora representing NUS Law in MedLaw Touch Rugby at the NUS University Sports Centre.
A whole new world
As a recipient of the NUS Merit Scholarship, Eliora has seen many doors of opportunity open up to her, such as the NUS student ambassador programme. As a student ambassador, Eliora got to hone her communication skills while making friends from other faculties and helping students applying to NUS by participating in live Q&A chats and information-sharing sessions on Zoom.
On top of benefits such as a generous living allowance and guaranteed offers of on-campus accommodation for the first two years of undergraduate studies, the bond-free NUS Merit Scholarship also guarantees an offer of a Student Exchange Programme (SEP) for one semester with one of NUS’ overseas partner universities.
Eliora (first row, first from right) having a Friendsgiving house party with fellow exchange students at Georgetown University.
This became a life-changing chapter for Eliora, who chose to do her SEP at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington DC. For the 21-year-old, this was her first time living away from home in a strange but exciting new world by herself — an experience she plunged into with heady relish.
One of the courses that has expanded her intellectual horizon while on SEP is Artificial Intelligence and Law, which goes beyond legal doctrine and explores the technical workings of Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems, such as neural networks, large language models, decision trees, and more. With a basic understanding of how these systems work, future lawyers like Eliora are empowered to become better advocates when the need arises.
Of course, it isn’t just all work and no play. Like most students who go on global programmes, Eliora jumped at the chance to live her best life — embarking on weekend hiking adventures to the stunning US National Parks and immersing herself in the melting pot of cultures at Georgetown University by forging meaningful friendships with fellow exchange students from all over the world.
Eliora taking a photo of the panoramic view while on a hike at Shenandoah National Park in Virginia, USA.
A friendship struck with a Dutch student has inspired her to pick up Dutch on Duolingo, while her Spanish friends have also introduced her to a whole new world of Latin music. “One new hobby I have picked up is cooking. Eating out is very expensive in the US, so I’ve learnt to cook a variety of Asian dishes. My housemates have remarked that I have “mastered the art of zi char”, which is such high praise. I’ll only know if that is valid when I let my family at home try my cooking, though!” she laughs.
Touching lives, helping others
Growing up, Eliora always had a close relationship with her parents, who instilled in her the core values of hard work and compassion, which shaped her desire to contribute and help others. “I would like to express my gratitude to my parents for being really supportive throughout my law school journey — from encouraging me to apply to law, to watching my moot competitions — they’ve been an instrumental part of my law school journey,” Eliora adds.
Now, as an NUS Merit Scholar, Eliora has been working with beneficiaries across multiple avenues to make a tangible difference in her area of expertise.
For the past two years, Eliora has been volunteering pro-bono in her spare time through the NUS-Rajah & Tann PDPA Pro Bono Compliance Assistance Scheme, helping Voluntary Welfare Organisations (VWOs) to ensure their paperwork is compliant with the law. To her, working with non-profit organisations is particularly meaningful as it ensures that these VWOs are able to continue supporting various at-risk groups such as low-income communities and intellectually challenged children.
Her passion for helping marginalised communities extends beyond the borders of Singapore — even while on SEP at Georgetown University, Eliora has participated in several legal clinics, where she has assisted Latin American refugees seeking asylum in the US with their legal applications. Through this, she was exposed to stories of struggle she might not have gotten to see in Singapore: “I met someone who hid for years from their homeland’s military regime. All these real-life stories really taught me to be grateful for our safety and security back home. It also strengthens my resolve to study law in order to harness my knowledge to help many others like them.”
Reflecting on her journey thus far, Eliora concludes that NUS has empowered her with the requisite legal competencies as one of the top legal schools in the world:
For good
More than becoming a good lawyer however, she hopes to also become a good person and an advocate for the disadvantaged:
Counting mental wellness, environmental issues and socio-economic empowerment as the issues closest to her heart, this future lawyer hopes to be a force for good and create a kinder, safer society for others.