Selvam is a Singapore boutique law firm with a litigation and arbitration practice that specialises in commercial and transaction, construction and family matters. It is experienced in cross-border disputes that bring in the expertise of its Duane Morris network offices in Shanghai, Vietnam, Myanmar and New York. The Selvam litigators act in local and international cases in the Singapore courts and are experienced in handling international commercial arbitrations under the major international arbitration conventions and rule systems, such as the SIAC and ICC rules. The firm has a growing reputation for contentious construction matters where it acts for Korean and Japanese construction companies. This is reflected in its climb up a notch in the rankings for construction. It is also active in the oil and gas industry, with its international disputes practice covering Vietnam, Myanmar and Mexico. The team has grown its ranks in the past few years and now comprises 11 qualified lawyers and four directors.
Sarbjit Singh Chopra is a key name in the firm’s dispute resolution team with expertise in commercial disputes, international arbitration, construction and family law. Other active lawyers to note include Ramiro Rodriguez and insolvency specialist Daniel Soo.
The firm was involved in a claim against one of the wealthiest people in Singapore and his family. This case is one of the largest claims ever for minority oppression in Singapore. The insolvency team acted for the Korea Development Bank as a creditor of vessels in a complex liquidation and judicial management of Xihe Holdings, their special purpose vehicles and Ocean Tankers.
Another interesting highlight had the team act for a plaintiff, the co-owner of a high-value property, in a property dispute with their former spouse. At the heart of the dispute is whether there was an oral agreement between the parties to deal with the property. The novel aspect was that this fight concerned a significant issue of law
– the Singapore High Court had to determine the standard to be applied in determining whether part performance of an oral agreement
is satisfied. In doing so, the court also considered the legal position on this issue in other Commonwealth jurisdictions. Subsequently, the Court of Appeal also had to deal with issues of
res judicata and the complex issue of whether the appellant himself was precluded by the doctrine of
res judicata from raising res judicata against the defendant.
In 2011, Duane Morris and Singapore-based Selvam entered into the first US-Singapore joint law venture to be approved by the city-state to leverage Selvam’s corporate practice across Asia. However, Selvam handles all Singapore law disputes matters as an independent entity, as joint law ventures restrict practice areas and litigation is not allowed. agreement has been satisfied or not; or is it a general principle, deciding whether satisfying part of an
