What started out as a lively work party last December took a bit of an unfortunate twist for me and turned into a special kind of nightmare after falling asleep in the back of a cab having had a few too many drinks. I spent that night in a cell, and got out on bail just over 12 hours later with a charge 332 of the Penal Code – Voluntarily Causing Hurt to Deter a Public Servant.

Being a non-Singaporean who’d never had the slightest brush with the law before, I was scared and confused, relying on Google and other expats who’ve been in similar situations as a source of help. I also went to no less than 5 different lawyers for consultation – some decent, some not so great – but they all shared one thing in common: they weren’t optimistic that this wouldn’t end up in a conviction, and every single one told me to expect a timeline of at least 6 months. Having had all these chats, I was left in a pretty dark place.

I had actually engaged another lawyer when I read the glowing reviews about Gino on this very page, and what appealed to me the most was the fact that a lot of his past clients highlighted a reduced waiting time on charges similar to mine. I went in to see Gino the next day, we sat down in a room with his paralegal (who obviously also knows his stuff), and I felt immediately at ease. Gino is loud, down-to-earth, and he cuts to the chase. He didn’t sugarcoat, but he was the only lawyer that made me feel that not all hope was lost. I made the decision to switch to Gino, and the rest was history.

My charge was dropped on a stern warning less than 2 months from the time that Gino and his team sent out the letter of representation to the AGC, which was was even a few weeks quicker than we’d expected. Gino and his team were always responsive, transparent, and honest. In fact, I’d made a mistake of overpaying their invoice at one point, they notified me immediately upon discovery, and wrote me a cheque the same day for the amount. I can’t thank these guys enough – for not only getting me the best possible outcome for my case, but also for making me feel safe and keeping me positive through a really agonising and difficult time of my life. I’m not one to usually leave reviews, but I want everyone going through a tough time to know how great these guys were in handling my case. Thanks Gino, Keegan, Paul, and everyone else at Abbots Chambers!