About
Esplanade Law
Esplanade comes from Esplanare, which means “to make level” in Latin. That is the heart of what we do.
es·pla·nade
/ˌɛs.pləˈneɪd/|/ˈɛs.plə.nɑːd/
noun (plural esplanades)
- 1.A long, open, level stretch of ground, usually beside the sea or a river, along which people walk for pleasure; a promenade.
- 2.An open, level space in front of a large building or in the middle of a town.
- 3.Fortification. The open, level ground left between a fortress or citadel and the houses of the town, kept flat and clear.
Etymology
Late 16th century. From French esplanade, which took it from Italian spianata and Spanish esplanada. These go back to the Latin explanare: to flatten, to make level (ex- “out” + planus“flat, level”). The same Latin verb gives English explain: to make plain.
The first esplanades were military. They were the open, level ground left between a fortress and the town, kept flat and clear. Over time the word moved from fortifications to promenades, and from there to the waterfront walks found in many port cities.
Why we chose Esplanade
The place
In Singapore, the open field in front of the former City Hall and the former Supreme Court is the Padang. It is shown as an open square on the Jackson Plan of 1828, and was also known as the Plain. The waterfront beside it has long been called the Esplanade.
For much of Singapore’s modern history, the Supreme Court stood at the edge of this open ground, until the court moved to its present building. The old Supreme Court and City Hall buildings now house the National Gallery Singapore.
Levelling the field
We chose the name for both meanings. Singapore’s Courts used to stand at the field next to the Esplanade. And an esplanade is level ground.
Litigation is rarely level. Our clients are usually facing someone with more power or more money: the police, CAD, CPIB, IRAS or another State agency, which has statutory powers to compel documents and interviews, or a commercial opponent with a larger legal team. We cannot change who is on the other side. What we can do is prepare the case thoroughly, test the evidence early and make sure our client’s position is properly put. That is what we mean by levelling the field.
The word has one more meaning we hold ourselves to. It shares its root with explain, to make plain. Whatever the matter, we tell our clients plainly where they stand.
Cheryl Ng
Managing Director, Esplanade Law LLC
Cheryl Ng is the Managing Director of Esplanade Law LLC. She is an Advocate & Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Singapore (2013), a Solicitor of England and Wales (2022) and a Certified Fraud Examiner (2024). She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (2025) and the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators (2025). Cheryl is also an accredited mediator with Sage Mediation and a level 1 mediator with the Singapore International Mediation Institute. She graduated in law with honours from the Singapore Management University in 2012. She is also qualified as an independent arbitrator and mediator.
Cheryl was one of the pioneering Public Defenders at the Ministry of Law’s Public Defender’s Office, where, as Senior Assistant Director, she helped set up the office’s systems and processes, acted as lead counsel and trained junior Public Defenders.
Her criminal practice covers offences against the person, sexual offences, property and financial crime, drug offences including capital charges, corruption and fraud. She has appeared as lead counsel in trials, appeals and sentencing hearings in the State Courts, the High Court and the Court of Appeal, and in military courts martial. Her civil and regulatory practice covers commercial litigation and arbitration, injunctions, shareholder disputes, tax disputes, and investigations by IRAS, MAS and SGX.
She has done pro bono work under the Legal Assistance Scheme for Capital Offences and the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme (2014 – 2022), and served as co-vice-chairperson of the Law Society’s Criminal Practice Committee (2020 – 2022). She wrote the annotation of the Probation of Offenders Act for LexisNexis Annotated Statutes of Singapore (2022). She works in English and Mandarin.
Qualifications
LLB (Hons), Singapore Management University
2012
Advocate & Solicitor, Supreme Court of Singapore
2013
Solicitor, England and Wales
2022
Certified Fraud Examiner
2024
Fellow, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
2025
Fellow, Singapore Institute of Arbitrators
2025
Under investigation, charged, or in a dispute?
Call or WhatsApp us. We will tell you where you stand and what should happen next.