Kevin Y. L. Tan was born and educated in Singapore. He graduated with LLB(Hons) from the Faculty of Law of the National University of Singapore (NUS) in 1986 and obtained his LLM (Master of Laws) and JSD (Doctor in the Science of Law) at Yale Law School. From 1986 to 2000, he taught at the Law Faculty at NUS and started his own consultancy in 2000. Beyond his university duties, he has been active in many organisations, notably the Heritage Society of Singapore. He has also published widely in his areas of specialization and has written and edited some 30 books on the law, history and politics of Singapore.