Rajah & Tann is arguably the most visible among Singapore’s ‘Big Four’ law firms in the southeast Asian market. It occupies the top tier across an array of practice areas and sectors with well-established teams in both the transactional and contentious arena. The firm has outstanding experience in complex and high-value cross-border matters, closely working with its R&T Asia network with specialised industry expertise. The firm has a traditional strength in dispute resolution backed by the largest litigation practice in Singapore with seven senior counsels. This year the firm proves its dominance again with its ascension into the ‘Outstanding’ tier for corporate and M&A. Key names include Angela Lim for banking and finance, Kim Huat Chia for capital markets and corporate and M&A, Kala Anandarajah for competition, Francis Xavier and Andre Yeap for dispute resolution, Arnold Tan for investment funds, Patrick Ang and Eng Beng Lee for restructuring and insolvency, and Rajesh Sreenivasan for technology and telecommunications. The construction team welcomed counsel Divyesh Menon from Mayer Brown and partner Vanina Sucharitkul from Herbert Smith Freehills. Capital markets specialist Yoke Ping Cheng and competition partner Dominique Lombardi retired during the research period. Investment funds specialist Carmen Lee departed for Chan & Goh, while one IP partner left for RPC.
Client feedback
“The team at Rajah & Tann is always highly responsive, consistently delivers expert and quality legal advice and, most importantly, constant assurance that they are professionals who have the backs of their clients on all transactions” – Banking and finance
“Solutions oriented, quick and customer-centric.” – Banking and finance
“Over the years, Rajah & Tann have become increasingly progressive as a law firm. They have been focusing on talent development, which has resulted in motivated lawyers who are able to apply technical legal knowledge to their clients' businesses, to render highly valuable advice.” – Competition/antitrust
“Experts in what they do, they can take pragmatic positions which are consistent with the legal framework. They provide timely advice.” – Competition/antitrust
“R&T listened carefully to the dispute and analysed the wide spectrum of issues arisen therefrom. Its advice is always for the interest of the client. They avoided dispute and offered innovative solutions. It saves costs and time for the client.” – Construction
“They understand the industry and offer practical advice.” – Construction
“Succeeded in appeal. Top-class arguments and submission.” – Construction
“Very professional, prompt and active advisory. Spot-on teamwork.” – Corporate and M&A
“Broad experience, practice-based approach.” – Corporate and M&A
“Some teams at Rajah & Tann stand out. Such as, the corporate team led by Evelyn Wee, who is very experienced and commercial in M&A transaction, with a good understanding of the commercial needs of the client and an ability to keep her cool no matter the situation; the employment team led by Kala Anandarajah, who provides excellent practical advice combined with a good understanding of the commercial goals of the client; and the TMT team led by Ben Cheong, who is able to assist clients with analysing complex intellectual property situations with pragmatic advice in a short period of time.” – Corporate and M&A
“Their success depended on the flexible and practical attitude over their assistance by the leaders of the competition law team, Kala Anandarajah and Dominique Lombardi. In addition, they are very responsive. It went so well, which benefited our client and also created a name for their practice.” – Corporate and M&A
“Knowledge, experience and client focus.” – Dispute resolution
“Market leaders, client-oriented, well regarded in Singapore.” – Dispute resolution
“Responded to me promptly, managed expectations and took a balanced view.” – Dispute resolution
“They have a deep bench of experienced lawyers and have the largest network in southeast Asia.” – Dispute resolution
“They tailor solutions to each client.” – Insurance
“Comprehensive and clear advice with a commercial angle.” – Insurance
“A team of extremely skilled and competent lawyers who understand our business and the regulatory environment and market we operate in. They are quick to respond and provide commercially viable and practical advice without fudging.” – Insurance
“Highly responsive, gave sharp and balanced advice that was clear, practical and readily applicable to the circumstances.” – Labour and employment
“R&T have the strongest ’wet’ shipping practice in Singapore and, with their sister firm in Malaysia, are able to straddle the two jurisdictions in which we work. Their communication is clear, direct and modern.” – Oil and gas
“It is very customer-centric. They own the client's problem and their advice format matches commercial requirements.” – Privacy and data protection
“R&T provides good-quality service at a very good pace and at very reasonable costs. We've also been working with them for a while now, and they are very commercial and understand our needs very well.” – Private equity
“Reliability, commitment and leadership when managing a file. Rajah & Tann speedily assembles a competent team on short notice and possesses deep knowledge in the field of specialty.” – Real estate
“High level of professionalism with a can-do attitude. Very accountable and adopt a client-first approach and this really shows through across all teams. R&T will always be our number one choice law firm and we will opt to use them throughout the region wherever they have offices.” – Real estate
“R&T partners are highly competent, responsive, multi-disciplinary, fun to work with and provide commercially sensible and practical advice.” – Restructuring and insolvency
“Positive approach, motivated, knowledgeable and supportive.” – Restructuring and insolvency
“They think out of the box, analyse the matter and provide solutions.” – Shipping
“Speedy and practical advice.” – Shipping
“Able to understand the client's intention and expectations, striking a balance of achieving the client's commercial goals and at the same time safeguarding the client's interest.” – Shipping
“They think outside the box and have very strong and very well substantiated tax legal opinions.” – Tax
“Good knowledge on the GST and are able to provide the strengths and weaknesses of the case.” – Tax
“Communication is excellent, they provide expertise, good counsel and in-depth knowledge of the topic.” – Tax
“Rajah & Tann had a thorough knowledge of the GST law in Singapore.” – Tax
“Commercially oriented advice that balances between legality and practicality.” – Technology and telecommunications
Dedi Ahmad
“Detailed, practical advice with reasonable fees.”
Kala Anandarajah
“Kala is very passionate about her work and CSR activities. Kala makes it a point to understand her client's business thoroughly in order to provide highly practical legal advice. In addition, she has been building a team of lawyers who have a very progressive mindset and understand the client's needs fully.”
“Kala is a veteran lawyer with years of experience under her belt. She is a guru in competition law in Singapore and beyond. I trust her advice. She takes pains to understand your business in order to calibrate the risks. ChatGPT can tell you what the law says but Kala will customise it to suit your business.”
“Kala listens well and understands the nuances of the circumstances. She is able to maintain a clear objectivity, and at the same time provides her opinion based on a well-balanced assessment of the relevant facts.”
Patrick Ang
“Highly competent, responsive, fun to work with and offers commercially sensible and practical advice and solutions.”
Jainil Bhandari
“Jainil is extremely bright, has great knowledge of the areas of law within which he operates, and is very personable and easy to deal with.”
Shemane Chan
“Proactive, very knowledgeable and good communications.”
Benjamin Cheong
“Benjamin has proven time and again to be adaptable and he understands the commercial structure and interests when providing legal advice.”
“He has great customer engagement; he owns the customer's problem.”
Beng Chye Chua
“Great communication skills, extremely client-focused, technically strong and able to generate creative solutions.”
Norman Ho
“Responsible manager with deep industry knowledge that takes on tight timelines and leadership.”
Xin Mei Lee
“Xin Mei is our go-to lawyer for highly structured and complex leveraged and acquisition financings. She is a high-calibre and top-tier legal talent with an extremely astute mind. She is always able to grasp quickly the nuances in highly complex transactions and is extremely knowledgeable on both legal and commercial issues. She is extremely dedicated, always responsive and highly reliable – you can always count on her to deliver high-quality work even under compressed deadlines. She is also highly personable, connects well with her clients and demonstrates great leadership. She is solution-oriented and is always patient in taking the time to explain concepts to clients.”
“Solutions-oriented, quick and customer-centric.”
Kah Wah Leong
“Able to listen and understand the client's position well enough, and provides sound legal and commercial solutions.”
Murali Pillai
“Murali is an extremely skilled, competent and intuitive lawyer. He is able to catch on to the issues very quickly and provide clear, sensible, practical and commercially viable solutions and advice. He also has excellent interpersonal skills and is able to be empathetic and a good listener.”
Avinash Pradhan
“Impressed by his knowledge and skills. Top-class lawyer in construction cases.”
Vikna Rajah
“Very kind man who is very well educated, experienced, responsive and gives you the feeling he will do everything he can to help the case to a successful solution.”
“Very good tax knowledge and he is able to apply it to actual business transactions.”
“We appreciate his communications and depth of knowledge.”
“Vikna was able to advise on the best arguments to take at various stages of litigation.”
Chee Siong Sim
“Chee Siong's client relationship is very good, always responsive and accessible. He is very creative and offers innovative solutions all the time. I am very impressed by his advice and work.”
Lip San Soh
“Has industry knowledge and picks up quickly on issues. Able to articulate advice clearly.”
Zixiang Sun
“Zixiang is very client oriented and understands our needs well. He's very communicative and also brings to the table a wealth of expertise and knowledge about the industry.”
Kevin Tan
“Kevin Tan is an excellent lawyer. He is extremely bright, commercially savvy, responsive to clients’ needs, and adept at handling complex legal issues while keeping our interests at the forefront of any legal strategy. He was crucial to achieving a great result for us.”
“Responsive, thinks well in his responses.”
“Kevin is a first-rate lawyer, far above the rest. I found he was able to provide pinpoint solutions each and every time.”
“Kevin is a very clear-thinking lawyer, who is extremely well-prepared and researched for his dispute resolution cases. He is also very eloquent in court and is able to respond very quickly and pick apart witnesses in cross-examination.”
Kendall Tan
“Provides solutions as problems arise, thinks out of the box.”
Elaine Tay
“Responsive and thorough. Client-focussed and a problem-solver.”
Benjamin Tay
“My go-to lawyer for all deals where possible.”
Bala V
“Warmth and people skills.”
Ying Shuang Wang
“Practical and commercial.”
Desmond Wee
“Easy and approachable, very knowledgeable and always available. Listens carefully and closely and derives the crux of the matter sharply and quickly. Always spot on, he’s a great counsel.”
Evelyn Wee
“Evelyn has been a star among the R&T team. She is very experienced and commercial in M&A transactions with a good understanding of the commercial needs of the client and an ability to keep her cool no matter the situation. She has excellent negotiation skill and is in control of every situation.”
Work highlights
Acted for Provident Capital on its $359 million investment into Animoca Brands.
Advised Temasek Holdings on its Series C investment into eFishery.
Key clients
Baring PE Asia Fund, Saison International, Float Private, Trust IQ
Work highlights
Successfully acted for Prudential Assurance Company Singapore in an $8 million High Court suit against its former group financial service director and a company owned by said director.
Represented the Singaporean and Malaysian headquarters of a top 50 Fortune 500 company against a former country director who had wrongfully exfiltrated nearly 1,400 pages of highly confidential documents, financial information and business plans.
Work highlights
Advising Netease Interactive in a copyright infringement and passing off dispute with a fellow giant in the online games industry, Riot Games. This promises to be a landmark case that will examine and determine, for the first time in Singapore, the nature of various copyrights in video games, as well as the protectability of video game concepts and the line that divides ideas from expression in the video game context.
Key clients
BlocTech Investment Group, FIFA, Greenwood F&B, Lazada.
Work highlights
Successfully represented the plaintiff, a prominent US national, in obtaining the first-ever proprietary and Mareva injunction against “persons unknown” for stolen cryptocurrency in Singapore.
Acting for White Energy Company in the assessment of damages involving a $1 billion coal dispute against PT Bayan.
Key clients
Hajime Shinji, National Oilwell Varco Norway, Senda International Capital, Vedanta Resources.
Work highlights
Acted for the interim judicial managers, judicial managers and liquidators of the SAMTrade group of companies who have been investigated for irregular trading activities involving multiple global stakeholders.
Assisted Shanghai Huaxin Group in its claims against various entities for the recovery of receivables, which form a substantial component of the company’s assets. This is the first case where a Hong Kong Court has recognised and assisted mainland liquidators.
Work highlights
Acted for Temasek Holdings as a controlling shareholder of Sembcorp Marine and a substantial shareholder of Keppel Corporation, on the merger of Sembcorp Marine and Keppel Offshore & Marine, to form an enlarged group listed on the SGX-ST with Temasek as its largest shareholder.
Represented DBS Trustee in its capacity as a trustee of Mapletree North Asia Commercial Trust (MNACT) on the proposed merger of Mapletree Commercial Trust (MCT) and MNACT by way of an acquisition by MCT of all issued and paid-up units of MNACT held by unit-holders by way of a trust scheme of arrangement.
Key clients
Baluran, Bridgetown 2 Holdings, Duchess Avenue, Link REIT, Sunseap Group
Work highlights
Acted for Bridgetown 2 Holdings on its $1.78 billion merger with PropertyGuru and listing on the NYSE.
Advised CLSA Singapore as issue manager in the spin-off and introductory listing of Yangzijiang Financial Holding on the SGX-ST Main Board.
Key clients
AEM Holdings, Citigroup Global Markets, Credit Suisse Singapore, Hong Leong Asia Investments, Koh Brothers Eco Engineering, Metech International, SAC Capital Private, Startree Investments, TML Holdings.
Work highlights
Acted for Entegris on antitrust aspects of its acquisition of all shares of CMC Materials, valued at $6.5 billion.
Key clients
Cuscaden Peak, Echo Healthcare Management, HSBC, Sunseap Group.
Work highlights
Acted for Credit Guarantee & Investment Facility on credit guarantees that represent Singapore’s first-ever healthcare social bond.
Advised HSBC, OCBC, Qatar National Bank and RHB Bank in a market-first sustainability-linked loan in the macro environment.
Key clients
BoC, BNP Paribas, CIMB Group Holdings, DBS Bank, HSBC, MUFG Bank, OUE Commercial REIT.
Work highlights
Advised Sanofi Manufacturing on its $638 million investment in a leading-edge production site in Singapore to supply the Asian region and complement existing manufacturing capacities in Europe and North America.
Engaged by Vim Engineering for its appeal against a High Court decision in a significant dispute involving contractual conditions when making variation claims.
Work highlights
Advising multiple banks on the suspected massive fraud by Agritrade International.
Acting for the owners of M/V Alnic MC in its dispute arising from a collision with USS John S McCain in the westbound lane of the Singapore traffic separation scheme.
Work highlights
Advised ByteDance and its subsidiaries in their expansion into southeast Asia.
Assisted Ant Financial Group on its launch of a blockchain-backed smart contract platform for cross-border trade by small and medium enterprises.
Key clients
Bayer, Starbucks Coffee.
