Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP

Partner, Shipping & International Trade

Leong Kah Wah is a partner of the firm’s Shipping & International Trade practice group.

He has appeared as lead counsel in landmark Court of Appeal judgments of the STX Mumbai and the Bunga Melati 5 and was appointed Senior Accredited Specialist (Shipping and Maritime) by the Singapore Academy of Law.

Kah Wah is ranked in Band 1 by Chambers Asia-Pacific and “is widely viewed as a prominent shipping litigator in Singapore. He assists clients with a range of complex matters, including in relation to debt restructuring, collisions and ship arrests".

In The Legal 500 Asia Pacific, Kah Wah is acknowledged as a Leading Lawyer and described as “one of top negotiators and legal advisors in the world in terms of maritime law. He's not just someone who gives a textbook answer, he explains how to deal with things to reach the ultimate solution” and “an outstanding and experienced wet shipping lawyer and a good advocate who proposes solutions rather than disagreeing with opposing counsel for the sake of it.”

Asialaw identifies Kah Wah as an Elite Practitioner and someone who is “able to listen and understand the client's position well enough to provide sound legal and commercial solutions”. He is also deservedly ranked as a Global Elite Thought Leader by Who’s Who Legal: Transport – Shipping 2024, and identified in Asian Legal Business’ Super 50 Disputes Lawyers 2022.

Besides shipping and international trade, he has extensive experience in handling commercial disputes in Court litigation, arbitration and mediation. His perspective on commercial disputes is highly sought after as his expertise is developed from his regular appointments as counsel, arbitrator and mediator in diverse commercial areas and industries. He is most comfortable arguing from first principles, as can be seen from his win in Re: Attilan Group Ltd [2018] 3 SLR 898, where the Singapore High Court agreed with his arguments in a green field area on the requirements of super priority financing in a scheme of arrangement. His acute sense of commercial fairness can also be seen in the published decisions he has delivered on tribunals constituted by the Income Tax Board of Review to hear and decide tax appeals.

Council, Singapore Shipping Association & Chair, Legal & Insurance Committee Member, Marine Insurance Committee, General Insurance Association Independent Director, Marco Polo Marine Limited President, Maritime Law Association of Singapore Principal Mediator, Singapore Mediation Centre Fellow, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb) Fellow, Singapore Institute of Arbitrators (FSIArb) Principal Lecturer and Subject Co-ordinator, Admiralty Practice, Singapore Institute of Legal Education Panel of Arbitrators, Singapore Chamber of Maritime Arbitration Panel of Arbitrators, Singapore International Arbitration Centre Senior Trainer, Law Society Advocacy Committee Counsel, Law Society of Singapore (disciplinary matters) Senior Mediator, Law Society Mediation Scheme

LLB (Hons), National University of Singapore, 1990 Advocate & Solicitor, Singapore Snr. Acc. Spec. (Maritime and Shipping), Singapore Academy of Law