To Lee Ee Yang, the managing director of law firm Covenant Chambers, it seemed like a rather weak legal case.

A friend of his, a missionary, had chanced upon an Indian woman in a coffeeshop. The woman kept looking at the missionary and her friend, and when they left the coffeeshop, both of them heard God telling them to go back and talk to her.

They obeyed. They learnt that the Indian woman’s husband had died from a brain aneurysm while at work. The woman, Reeta, was left with two very young children to support, but the insurance company did not want to pay the $200,000 in workman compensation due to the deceased’s family.

The insurance company challenged the fact that the man’s death was work-related, arguing that the rupture of the brain vessel was a random event and not due to stress faced at work. They offered to pay 10 per cent – $20,000 – of the full workman compensation.

“When my missionary friend told me about this, I knew it was not a strong case,” recalled Ee Yang, 41.

“We not only had to prove that he was stressed due to work, but also that the work-related stress resulted in the bursting of the blood vessel.

“But I felt I needed to at least try to help this widow, even if we may end up failing.” 

Ee Yang (second from left), seated with his missionary friend June Chuah. In the foreground is Reeta, the widow whose legal case Ee Yang took up.

The insurance company engaged a foremost neurosurgeon to provide evidence and testify that the brain aneurysm was a random event.

“There was no doctor I could find who was willing to support our case. Another neurosurgeon said he did not want to be seen as going against the word of the other top neurosurgeon.”

Ee Yang was desperate. If he did not even have a witness, they would definitely lose the case.

While doing his quiet time one day, he cried out to God tearfully: “What do I do now with this case?”

He heard a reply: “Since the ones who treat the living don’t want to help you, why don’t you enlist the one who handles the dead?”

He recalled: “It felt strange and spooky to hear that. But God had just given me the idea to look for the pathologist who did the autopsy.”

He made an appointment to meet her and she agreed to testify on the cause of the man’s death.

A day before the trial, she sent him a research article with data from Japan that established the link between stress, blood pressure spikes and brain aneurysms.

In the end, Ee Yang won the case for the widow and she received the full compensation of $200,000 from the insurance company.

“I learnt that God works in mysterious ways and that prayer brings breakthrough. God is also a God who really cares about the needy, the widows and the fatherless in our midst,” said Ee Yang.

The reluctant litigator 

Ee Yang had a bumpy start to his legal career when he graduated from law school in 2007.

Ee Yang (top row, centre) at his law school graduation.

Thinking that he was not suited for litigation as he did not have the gift of the gab, he went through a tough first year working in the corporate department of one of the big four law firms in Singapore, WongPartnership.

“I was so stressed and paralysed by fear of work then.

“But because of that, every day I woke up earlier to spend one hour with God at a café opposite my office before I started my work day. That was how I gradually learnt how to hear from God,” said Ee Yang.

After one year, he switched to litigation and experienced God’s favour: He had many opportunities to shine in the big law firm.

Ee Yang at his work desk in WongPartnership.

But after four years at the firm: “I did not feel excited to act for big corporations who were suing one another. I felt called to the man on the street, as the Bible pays special attention to the weak and powerless,” he said.

A season of hiddenness in a small law firm

In 2012, he left the big firm life and its attendant big pay cheque to work in a small firm in Fortune Centre.

“The cases were lower profile but God gave me a vision to provide affordable legal services to all in the community,” said Ee Yang.

At that time, he was newly married and had to consider expenses such as the mortgage for his new home and supporting a newborn baby.

Ee Yang got married in 2011.

The firm did not offer him any fixed salary; he was placed on a profit-sharing scheme where he would earn more if he brought in more clients.

“My first pay check was $800 and I decided to honour God with my firstfruits by giving it all to Him.

“Subsequently, He blessed me with much work that streamed in so that I could give even more back to Him to support missionaries and other kingdom work,” said Ee Yang, who has three children now.  

Ee Yang and his wife and baby having their new home blessed by their pastor in 2012.

Ee Yang with his wife and three children in Hong Kong Disneyland in 2023.

The scholarship miracle 

In 2015, the Singapore Law Society sent all members an email that advertised the Singapore Academy of Law Overseas Scholarship Award.

The scholarship is open to individuals with fewer than 10 years post-qualification experience. Successful candidates would be sent to the United Kingdom to intern under the Queen’s Counsel and gain international exposure.

Ee Yang felt a very strong nudge from the Lord to apply.

“I told God that I didn’t even graduate with second upper class honours, why would they take me? But I felt the Lord told me to try regardless,” he said.

He applied and was interviewed by the Attorney General, two senior judges and a senior counsel.

“By God’s grace and favour, I was awarded the scholarship. Out of the five candidates who received the scholarship, four of them had first class honours. I was the only exception,” said Ee Yang.

On hindsight, God had a purpose in sending him there. The opportunity to go for the attachment at Essex Court Chambers in London was a catalytic event for Ee Yang.

Though he was there for only six weeks as he had to juggle it with a practice in Singapore, it grew his professional experience and stature.

Ee Yang during his UK attachment days.

One weekend in the UK, he went to the Bible College of Wales with his wife. He had heard about the missionaries sent by Cornerstone Church in Singapore to manage the college and wanted to check it out.

A structure at the Bible College of Wales which he visited in 2016.

During his visit, he got to know about the legacy of Rees Howells – the founder of the college – and bought a book about him titled Intercessor.

“I started to read the book and couldn’t put it down. I was convicted of subtle things that had crept into my heart, such as my ambition, love for money and pride,” he said.

“I want you to start a law firm”

In a bid to consecrate himself, he subsequently went on a 40-day fast where he only ate one meal a day.

At the end of 40 days, Ee Yang was exercising on a gym bike when he heard God whisper into his heart.

“I want you to start a law firm,” said a soft voice.

This came totally out of the blue for him as he had never thought about starting his own firm before.

He then sought God for further confirmation and asked Him for a name for the law firm.

The next day, as Ee Yang read Isaiah 59:2,1 the words “Covenant Chambers LLC” dropped into his heart. He knew it was the Lord’s confirmation as the word “covenant” is a legal term for contract but theologically it refers to the kind of relationship God wants with His children and which He died for.

“It’s relational, not transactional. And it is what we hope to cultivate with our colleagues and clients,” said Ee Yang, who is also vice-chairman at the Law Christian Fellowship and chairman of the board of elders at RiverLife Church.

Ee Yang (second from left) at the Law Christian Fellowship’s dedication service in 2013.

Ee Yang on a a mission trip to Pahang in 2013.

He spent the next three months looking for a premise and Covenant Chambers started operations at the turn of the next year on January 2, 2016.

Covenant Chambers’ first office in 2016.

The legal firm is in its ninth year, and has more than 20 lawyers now.

Almost every year, Covenant Chambers would handle a case significant enough to be reported in the news.

Ee Yang and his team have also handled pioneering cases in the area of revoking deathbed gifts as well as the law of deposits.

He has also tried to stay true to his vision of fighting for the underdog.

In 2017, he helped a woman in her 60s fight off unscrupulous moneylenders who had charged her excessive fees on loans she had taken.

In 2022, he helped relatives of a wealthy widow with dementia fend off efforts by “friends” who wanted to care for her and take charge of her considerable assets.

Ee Yang with his team after winning a case at the Court of Appeal this year.

In managing the law firm, Ee Yang’s key challenge lies in fulfilling the radical goal of building a sustainable culture for young lawyers who often find themselves burnt out in the industry.   

“We hope to build a firm where young legal eagles can thrive in a healthy ecosystem, while balancing the demands of building the practice.

“We hope to have a culture of trust in which young lawyers who have too much on their plate have a platform to voice out and have their feedback taken seriously,” he said.

Faith in the marketplace 

What has been the most fulfilling for Ee Yang, however, is people coming to know God through his firm.

Ee Yang with guests in his office.

There was a friend who came to him seeking divorce advice a few years ago. She asked him about the procedure for divorce and how the assets would be divided.

“I put on my lawyer’s hat and gave her professional advice. But after that, I took off my lawyer’s hat and asked her, as a friend, why she wanted a divorce,” said Ee Yang.

His genuine concern helped her open up. She shared with him that her husband was having an affair with a foreign woman. From her account, Ee Yang sensed that  the situation could involve black magic.

“She told me that was also what the spiritual leaders of another faith had told her.

“I asked her if she would like to try getting to know Jesus,” he said.

Ee Yang brought her to church and she gave her life to God.

Ee Yang joining in prayer during RiverLife Church’s anniversary service in 2023.

However, her marriage continued deteriorating. Ee Yang felt led to visit her home and remove certain religious items from her past. Thereafter, her husband miraculously had a change of heart. He ended the affair and returned to her. Now, he even follows his wife to church once in a while.

In another instance, after their weekly office devotion session, a pre-believing colleague of his was moved and came to him in tears. He invited her to church and she gave her life to God that weekend. Now, she and her husband attend his church every week.

Ee Yang speaking in church.

“I thank God for His faithfulness and goodness and for the opportunity to partake in what He is doing in this day and age,” said Ee Yang.

“He is a God of signs and wonders and He is still at work this day to bring the divine into our lives. May we see His fingerprints in our daily lives.”

RELATED STORIES: 

When God interrogated a lawyer

81-year-old CEO and evangelist to 300,000 strong crowd

She took the blame for her work partner’s shortcomings – and it rekindled his faith