‘Leading firm in Southeast Asia’ Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP has a ’well-established and highly regarded’ international arbitration practice, with expertise in high-value cross-border litigation and arbitration proceedings. The department is particularly well versed in government-related work, joint venture, international construction and natural resources. The team is jointly led by ‘master strategist’ Kelvin Poon SC and Avinash Pradhan, who enjoys a strong reputation in multiple fields, including corporate finance, M&A, joint venture, and shareholder disputes. For one client, Devathas Satianathan and Andre Yeap SC’s ’knowledge of international commercial law and arbitration is outstanding’. The team continues to grow, with the arrival of Divyesh Menon from Mayer Brown in August 2022, and Vanina Sucharitkul from Herbert Smith Freehills LLP in March 2023.
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Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘R&T is one of Singapore's largest and oldest law firms. This equates to a deep bench of relationships and knowledge across the legal fraternity which allows R&T to tailor each dispute resolution process to accentuate the arguments that are most effective for a particular judge or arbitrator or opposing counsel. Their large team also ensures that they have more capacity than other firms to research, uncover and make important, detailed arguments to advocate on behalf of their clients. It also allowed them to flex the size of the team up and down based on the requirements of the case as needed. The R&T team was also very diverse by ethnicity, gender, backgrounds and case experiences which enabled them to come up with more diverse and effective arguments for our case.’
‘Vikram Nair is the most commercially astute lawyer I have come across. He is able to combine a good understanding of the numbers and an innate understanding of many different types of businesses given his background as a former Management Consultant at McKinsey with a deep understanding of the law. He is thus able to boil down complex commercial disputes into clear cut legal matters for the tribunal or court to decide. He is particularly strong on cross-examination with both experts and witnesses.
- 'Kevin Tan is a very strong, strategic and eloquent lawyer. He is able to focus the tribunal's attention on the most important legal arguments of a case. I appreciated his dedication and diligence in preparing his clients for opening statements, cross-examination and trial. ’
‘The lawyers involved make themselves available and think out of the box, looking for solutions when the need arises.’
‘We have worked together with Rajah & Tann on a couple of disputes cases over the last 12 months. I would describe the team as flexible, open minded, diligent, and well-suited to working together in a colloborative capacity. ’
‘Kelvin Poon and David Tan. Kelvin is a master strategist. David is the hardworking senior associate who is always up to date on the research and is always taking the initiative for efficient case management. ’
‘Rajah & Tann is a leading firm in South East Asia. Its large arbitration practice is well established and highly regarded.’
‘Devathas and Andre Yeap SC's knowledge of international commercial laws and Arbitration was outstanding. Their approach to the counsel and client briefing them was also very professional. It was a pleasure working with them.
Key clients
- Large Indian conglomerate
- The Republic of the Philippines
- Vedanta Limited
- Various Southeast Asian entities
- National Bank of Fujairah
- Roberto 16 Pte Ltd (Owners of “Di Matteo”) and the Standard P&I Club (as the shipowner’s P & I insurer)
- Hilton Group
- Phnom Penh SEZ Plc
- FIMBank plc
- National Oilwell Varco Norway AS
- York International Pte Ltd
- A Japanese corporation
Work highlights
- Representing the Republic of the Philippines (the Government)in arbitration proceedings before the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). The dispute centred on claims for breach of contract brought by two large multi-national oil and gas companies, Chevron and Shell(the Claimants) against the Government in relation to Claimants’ liability to pay income taxes due to the Government.
- Representing Vedanta in two matters relating to a Singapore-seated treaty arbitration under the UNCITRAL Rules arising from its claims, which are valued in excess of US$3 billion, against the Republic of India under the United Kingdom-India Bilateral Investment Treaty arising from India’s retrospective usage of legislation to impose capital gain taxes and interest in relation to certain sale proceeds.
- Acting in a dispute with a foreign investor over gaming interests in a Southeast Asian country. The foreign investor has alleged that it was wrongfully deprived of its profits stemming from those interests. The matter is fixed for hearing in February 2022.
Lawyers
Hall of Fame
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Practice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Kelvin Poon SC, Avinash Pradhan