LVM Law Chambers LLC

Building, Construction & Infrastructure, International Arbitration, Litigation & Appeals, Private Clients, Wealth & Trusts

Associate Director

Qabir’s main areas of practice are complex commercial disputes, private wealth disputes, arbitration and appellate matters. Since joining LVM Law Chambers in 2017, he has acted as lead and assisting counsel in a broad range of disputes before the High Court and Court of Appeal, as well as arbitral tribunals. These include leading cases such as Oxley Consortium Pte Ltd v Geetex Enterprises Singapore (Pte) Ltd [2021] 2 SLR 782; [2020] SGHC 235, the first reported judgments interpreting the standard form contract imposed on property developers by the Sale of Commercial Properties Rules; and Charles Lim Teng Siang and another v Hong Choon Hau and another [2021] 2 SLR 153, where a five-judge Court of Appeal clarified the Singapore legal approach to “no oral modification” contractual clauses in light of differing schools of thought.

Prior to joining LVM Law Chambers, Qabir was part of the commercial disputes practice in one of Singapore’s largest firms, where he also completed his training contract under the supervision of a leading Senior Counsel. There, he acted for clients in a wide range of complex, multi-jurisdictional commercial disputes, spanning both litigation and arbitration. These included a multi-jurisdictional arbitral dispute concerning shares in a holding company for various South-East Asian infrastructure projects worth over US$1.5 billion, and L Capital Jones and another v Maniach Pte Ltd, a five-judge Court of Appeal decision reversing several previous Court of Appeal decisions on a key point of appellate civil procedure concerning the need for respondents to file cross-appeals.

Qabir has been described by clients as “a good listener and able to digest what the client wants”. He has been praised by the High Court for his “written submissions and invaluable assistance which facilitated the swift conclusion” of “a rather complicated assessment of damages”.

Beyond his disputes resolution practice, Qabir co-authors the Costs chapter of the Singapore Civil Procedure textbook (better known as the White Book), and has done so since its 2020 edition. He also volunteers with the Legal Aid Bureau as an assigned solicitor. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Qabir was appointed as an assessor under the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Act to adjudicate disputes arising out of event cancellations due to the pandemic.

Qabir graduated magna cum laude from the Singapore Management University in 2015. During his time as a student, Qabir represented the university in various international moot competitions, including the Philip C. Jessup Moot and the Willem C. Vis (East) Moot. Qabir continues to assist with Singapore Management University’s International Moots programme as a guest judge, and previously coached its 2017 and 2018 LawAsia Moot teams to successive championships.

English

Member, Law Society of Singapore Member, Singapore Academy of Law