CIVIL & COMMERCIAL LITIGATION
Civil and commercial litigation is at the heart of our disputes practice. We cover the full spectrum at all levels of the Court hierarchy. We are often engaged well before a matter matures into litigation, giving us the opportunity to work with a client and shape their position in an evolving dispute. This has proven to be a critical success factor for many.

Practice Areas:

• Disputes arising from an a wide range of financial instruments eg guarantees, performance bonds, swaps, notes, corporate bonds, trusts as well as other commercial agreements in general.
• Disputes arising from Development Contracts
• Joint Venture claims and disputes
• Claims arising from specialized and technical transactions- eg the sale, installation or upgrading of equipment and plants or in engineering and procurement contracts (EPC), contracts for specialty products in the manufacturing industry and other sectors.
• Commodity sales contracts
• Disputes arising from the sale or the acquisition of companies and business assets performance and deliverables, rights of set off as well as claims for consequential losses.
• Tort actions – negligence & professional negligence, trespass, defamation etc.

With the growing awareness for governance and standards, the law concerning fiduciary obligations by directors, joint venture partners and senior management personnel has gained prominence.

CORPORATE LITIGATION
Our Clientele are made up almost entirely of corporations, bringing us into heart of the ecosystem of corporate structuring and transactional disputes. We have represented companies and their shareholders in a wide range of situations.

Practice Areas:

• Regulatory disputes and compliance with the statutory provisions in governing legislation
• Shareholder disputes and disputes arising from Joint Venture and Collaboration Agreements or the circumvention of exclusivity provisions
• Oppression petitions
• Minority shareholder disputes or joint venture partners and related disputes which emanate from take-overs and mergers
• Debt recovery and restructuring, inclusive of obtaining protective orders to facilitate schemes of arrangement.

Employment law is one of our areas of specialization and has been a traditional core practice area. We act exclusively for employers and trade unions of employers. We are able to offer a client a complete range of services in respect of individual and collective disputes.

• ADVISORY SERVICES
  Advisory services on contracts of employment, collective agreements and terms and conditions of employment and corporate policies for the promotion of standards and corporate governance.
  We have the depth to formulate complex contracts and reward systems for senior management and roles within the new and emerging economic sectors.

• DISPUTE RESOLUTION
  In contentious work, we support our Clients in individual and collective disputes. We are frequently engaged from the inception of a grievance or the point at which disciplinary proceedings or fiduciary investigations commence and in respect of any consequent proceedings in the Industrial Court and beyond.
  We have always appreciated the criticality of strategic advice, to assess supporting evidence and to provide guidance and analysis of documents and data in a given course of action.
  Our representation services encompasses all levels, including in the judicial review or appeals in the High Court and thereafter in the Court of Appeal and the Federal Court of Malaysia.

• COLLECTIVE DISPUTES
  Our strong presence in Collective trade disputes distinguishes us from many other practices. This entails the representation of companies or industries through trade unions of employers or employer associations.
  We have handled complex disputes pertaining to the fixation of wages and rates of pay and benefits, and lead the way for companies who seek to restructure their remuneration systems and other terms of employment.
  We have been in forefront in disputes involving the creation and the introduction of Productivity Linked Wage Systems (PLWS) to phase conventional wage models.

• MANAGING CHANGE
  Advise and consultancy on the change of ownership of businesses, take overs and mergers as well as the restructuring of businesses and business assets and their implications on the manpower position.
  An important area of advice that we undertake concern the implications of such transactions on trade unions and collective agreements as well as the downsizing of businesses either through retrenchment exercises or voluntary separation schemes.

• REGULATORY ADVICE
  Employment law is driven by a wide range of regulatory legislation. We advise and act for companies on issues arising from the major employment legislations (Industrial Relations Act 1967, Employment Act 1955, Trade Unions Act 1959 and others). These would encompass disputes over the registration, recognition and competence of trade unions as well as the referral and non referral of disputes to the Industrial Court. In this regard we have acted for our clients both as applicants and as respondents.

Our practice in the field of commercial law is wide ranging, diverse and fast growing. Driven by the new economy it encompasses a wide range of contracts in generalized or specialized categories.

• CONTRACTS & TRANSACTIONS GENERALLY
  We have a strong practice base in contracts for the supply of commodities and manufactured products eg. agri-products, or speciality products within the agriculture sector (oleo-chemical products, wheat, soy, cocoa), high precession engineering products (finished products or products for supply within the industry), metals and minerals.

• PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT & JOINT MANUFACTURING
  These are complex relationships concerning products and services targeted for the energy sector, financial services (automation and IT equipment), steel & related products, healthcare and the upgrading of plant and equipment through the introduction of automation and new generation technology.
  Across the value chain we have advised and formulated Joint Development Agreements and initiatives for the formulation of new products, services or for engineered improvements.
  We have also advised upon financial structures that support such ventures.

In this practice division we are almost evenly engaged both in the context of advisory services and dispute resolution. Our strength is drawn from indepth knowledge of contract law, standard contract forms, sectorial practices and trade practices. It is an exciting practice Division which places us at the forefront of a Client’s R&D and cross border activity.

Our Public Law Practice Division originated from our regular appearances in the judicial review of Awards of the Industrial Court and other statutory decision makers. Judicial Review remains the primary mode of challenge for such decisions, as there are no rights of appeal.

The rapid development of Public Law scene in Malaysia over the last 2 decades has set the stage for for greater intervention and accountability by public decision makers. It has also set the scene for tactical applications.

Our Public Law practice spans:

• Advise to corporate clients, professional bodies and trades on a wide range of regulatory issues and engagement with statutory bodies;
• Challenges of decisions of Statutory Tribunals;
• The review of the actions of market regulators, planning authorities, local councils and other bodies established under an Act of Parliament;
• Appeals for compensation in land acquisition cases, where we work closely with specialized and reputable valuers and related experts in the preparation of valuation reports and other related documentation and field studies.

Joint Ventures, EPC Contracts and related transactions are the fastest growing segment in our cross border practice.

Our clients come from all sides of the spectrum and include developers, specialist service providers, owners and operators.

The projects range from:

• housing development projects, 
• large scale commercial developments, including hotels and leisure assets; 
• hospitals, medical equipment and technology;
• energy, mining, minerals;
• infrastructure development projects.

Numerous leading developers and internationally recognized service providers form part of our regular clientele. Our scope cuts across a wide spectrum in the engineering field, including civil engineering, mechanical and electrical engineering as well EPC contracts.

The contractual structures we have worked on include:

• main contracts with the Awarding entity;
• intermediate level contracts;
• consortial arrangements & joint venture structures;
• PPP (Public Private Partnership) Structures.

This is an area of our practice where we are deeply involved from an early stage of the evolution and conceptualization of the project:

• Pre-Tender/ Pre-Award Stage:
  Close hand support to establish contractual structures to support the key relationships of the parties. Significant foresight and strategic considerations are required to establish flexibility to enable our Clients to realign their affiliations & to effect strategic changes.
  We are able to support our clients through government relations not only in our home jurisdiction but also in each of our key markets in Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. 
• Post Award Stage:
  An Award of a project is the height of achievement. But the devil is in the detail.
  Our teams have been able to support our clients on a broad front – concluding the definitive terms of the Letter of Award or Contract and support through the phases of contractual implementation.
  We are able to draft and to advise upon schemes of sub-contracting which hedge against the key risk areas in a project – design, time, cost, the back to back principle, payment security, step in rights etc. 
• Sub-Contracting & Sourcing
  Apart from drafting and structuring sub-contracts, our consulting arms are able to establish sourcing networks which conform with private and governmental procurement regulations as well as governance standards.

We are able to leverage extensively upon our network of key professionals and intermediaries across jurisdictions to address the cross border dimensions of such projects, thus creating a “home ground” advantage in challenging and competitive situations.

We have todate represented clients in a wide range of projects in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, the UAE, Bahrain, India and the UK

The emergence of Arbitration as a preferred means of dispute resolution in construction disputes and an ever widening range of commercial agreements has increasingly drawn us into the field of Arbitration.

We are able to provide a full range of services in this regard in Malaysia, Singapore and in the Middle East. Our activities encompass the presentation and defence of claims, making applications for interim relief and the full spectrum of preparation in terms of putting together experts and other professionals to collate supporting evidence and to undertake all necessary investigations and verifications of facts and figures.

Our close association with key professionals in material jurisdictions such as the Asia Pacific, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom has provided us with a significant advantage in being able to offer effective representation in arbitration proceedings in these jurisdictions.

We represent clients in a wide range of property and construction related matters and at every stage of the construction process. Our Clients come from all sides of the spectrum and include leading developers and their partners. The project profile includes residential development projects, large scale commercial developments, hotels, leisure and wellness.

We have also structured and implemented joint ventures for the development of various classes of real estate assets.

Over the years we had in collaboration with our affiliates been able to provide bespoke services in:

• Contractual structures & mechanisms, including complex structures for the acquisition of, investment in and the divestment of real estate assets, in Malaysia, the Asia Pacific Region, London and Europe generally;
• Procuring market access for developer clients outside Malaysia to divest their development products;
• Structuring financial models for developers and purchasers of high end assets especially those from overseas in relation to the mobility of their funds and the procurement of finance.

We are able to facilitate the purchasers of high end properties via the establishment of private wealth structures, these include:

• The establishment of vehicles that are either on shore or off shore for the holding of the asset;
• The securitization of the asset for cash buyers who wish to monetize the asset after purchase;
• To advise upon systems for the appropriation of rental income for overseas buyers;
• Providing the necessary interphase for overseas buyers to raise finance either from Malaysia or from other major financial capitals. We have strong working relations with financial institutions in Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, the UK and Middle East.

There hasn’t been a year that goes by without some bright prospect in the field of alternative energy coming through our doors, vowing to be the solution to the earth’s future.

Gladly our practice in the field of Energy is grounded upon realities. Our castles, if any, are built firmly on the ground.

We entered this sector through our advisory practice. We had supported Consortiums and EPC Contractors in a wide range of disputes with – sub-contractors, suppliers, consultants and employers

At the outset of a contract we have provided drafting support and expert advise on the construction of the Main Contract, Tender Documents and Submissions. We then advised Consortium Leaders on a wide range of contractual and governance issues.

During the implementation period of the project, we have been able to provide a comprehensive support structure to deal with the full range of issues which may arise with the employer- including time extension, design risk and liability, equipment supply disputes, issues with vendors and contractors as well as regulators and state authorities. We have had experience with dispute resolution boards (DRBs) and related arbitration proceedings.

The entry into the field of energy was largely in sync with our clientele in the plantation sector who had gradually invested a segment of their produce to the advancement bio-fuel. Along side with this, we have a credible portfolio of firms who have ventured into the field of alternative energy (solar, wind, bio-fuel) as well as conventional power generation and have secured firm supply agreements for the off take.

We have established a the full infrastructure that is needed not only in terms of legal skills but also in respect of the complementary disciplines to support a client though out the lifespan or the value chain of a given project.

We entered this sector by our representation of landowners, especially large plantations in regard to land acquisition appeals, claims for land encroachment and material extraction and the disposal of materials after earth works. Each of these cases invited attention to the treatment of minerals and the regulatory framework thereof.

The opening of the economies of Central Asia, the former Soviet Union, Australia and growing confidence in Africa increasingly drew us into this sector. It was an interesting playing field, but one which was far from even. Risks, returns and governance varied vastly.

We have been able to represent our clients in the acquisition of rights and tenements and to complement that with the full suite of support services.

This is also an area where we have been able to successfully leverage upon our network to manage domestic issues of compliance and regulation.

As our Clients’ operations gained stability, other priorities emerged, chief among this were capital markets and corporate finance considerations.

Our capabilities in this field started with the personal interest of our Head of Chambers in the collection of art and antiques.

With the emergence of our Private Wealth practice, we extended our experiences to clients who were building up an investment grade collection of art, antiques or even jewelry. Over time, we were able to provide a full spectrum of services which today encompasses- the acquisition, finance, import and export of art pieces and other works with the accompanying insurance advisory services. We have been able to facilitate acquisitions even from well regulated jurisdictions and to have negotiated and met the requirements for the export and relocation of works abroad.

Aside from acquisitions we have advised clients upon investment structuring which allows for investor participation into larger acquisitions, placements, securitization and divestments for capital gain. While our clients are principally buyers and investors we have had occasion to render advise to artists and creators of works in the dealings with galleries and agents.

This is an interesting segment of our practice, while it employs many of the core aspects of our practice it has never ceased to add a dash of colour and excitement to life.