During this time, he underwent training at the Teachers' Training College and obtained a Certificate in Education in 1967. Chiam decided to have a change of career so he read law at the Inner Temple and qualified as a barrister-at-law in 1974. When he returned to Singapore, he was called to the bar as an advocate and solicitor. He worked at Philip Wong & Co between 1974 and 1976 before leaving to set up his own law firm, Chiam & Co, in 1976. He closed Chiam & Co in 2002 to serve as a full-time Member of Parliament. Political career Chiam first entered politics in the 1976 general election when he contested as an independent candidate in Cairnhill SMC against Lim Kim San, a candidate from the governing People's Action Party (PAP) who had been a Cabinet minister since 1965. He lost after garnering 31.83% of the vote against Lim's 68.17%. During the 1979 by-elections, Chiam contested in Potong Pasir SMC as an independent candidate against Howe Yoon Chong, then a new PAP candidate. However, he lost to Howe after garnering 33.15% of the vote against Howe's 66.85%. Singapore Democratic Party Chiam founded the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) on 6 August 1980, ahead of the 1980 general election which will held on 23 December 1980, and served as the party's secretary-general. He contested in the 1980 general election as a SDP candidate in Potong Pasir SMC, but lost to Howe Yoon Chong again with 40.95% of the vote against Howe's 59.05%. Lawsuits against Howe and Dhanabalan In 1981, Chiam sued Minister for Defence Howe Yoon Chong and Minister for Foreign Affairs S. Dhanabalan for slandering him during the speeches they made in 1980. Howe had called Chiam a "twice unsuccessful lawyer" and "a lawyer who is not even very good at law", while Dhanabalan had called Chiam "a two-bit lawyer orchestrating a three-piece band whose members only appear once every four or five years". J. B. Jeyaretnam, a lawyer who was also a Member of Parliament (MP) from the opposition Workers' Party (WP), represented Chiam in filing a writ in the High Court seeking damages from Howe and Dhanabalan. Dhanabalan eventually publicly apologised to Chiam, while Howe publicly withdrew his imputations against Chiam's professional capacity and competence and offered compensation. Chiam accepted their apologies and withdrew the lawsuits against them. Member of Parliament During the 1984 general election, Chiam contested