Former Fullerton Law Chambers co-founder Alfred Lim set up his own boutique, Meritus Law, at the end of 2022. The firm focuses on commercial dispute resolution and corporate work, with a client base ranging from international and domestic corporations to SOEs and high-net-worth individuals. Since its inception, the disputes arm of the firm has grown two-fold, welcoming an up-and-coming director and seasoned veteran from peer firms: Ushan Premaratne from Withers KhattarWong and aviation expert Rajaram Ramiah from RHTLaw Asia. The team has litigated on a wide range of contentious matters before all levels of the Singapore courts, including the SICC, and appeared in arbitration proceedings at the SIAC. The firm frequently picks up work from international law firms and domestic counterparts when conflicts arise.
The key leaders of the disputes team are managing director Lim, and directors Premaratne and Jaime Lye.
Among the various interesting and complex matters the team is currently handling, one highlight saw the firm defending a high-net-worth individual based in Malaysia against claims from a pair of former shareholders of a company that used to operate one of the biggest private education and training campuses in Singapore and nine other countries. The matter was heard over five weeks in the Singapore High Court in 2022 and the second tranche of trial, spanning three weeks, was heard at the end of 2023.
In another example of the complex and novel instructions the team takes on, it acted for a Malaysian company that filed a claim in the SIAC against a Timor-Leste company for breach of a supply of commodities contract. The client was successful in obtaining an award against the Timor-Leste company for the sum of $5.3 million and the team is working with lawyers in Timor-Leste to enforce the arbitral award. Given that the New York Convention came into force in Timor-Leste only recently, this will be the first test case on the validity and enforceability of a foreign arbitral award in the country.
Client feedback
“Clear and concise communication to us. Good and sound advice on the next steps and what to expect. Timeline planning and cost estimation. More importantly, they provide us with prompt updates after each progress.” – Commercial and transactions
“Good at everything from preparation to performing in court.” – Commercial and transactions
“Prompt follow-ups on the case and the provision of detailed and comprehensive advice.” – Commercial and transactions
“Excellent lawyers. I have followed Alfred Lim from his previous firms, where he represented me and again won against a large corporation refusing to pay invoices from my company.” – Commercial arbitration
“Good in engaging with clients and quick in response. The advice given from clients to the lawyer is always taken on board with positivity.” – Real estate
Alfred Lim
“He knows what he is dealing with.”
“I appreciate he is always listening to the client, understanding the issues.”
“Excellent attention to detail, extreme depth of knowledge, very personable. He has assembled a great team to help him.”
Jaime Lye
“Good communication and analytical skills. Judgement of case information is also accurate and sound. She also manages to think strategically and always solves the problem at hand.”
“Meticulous, responsive and dependable. Able to break down complex legal issues into an easily digestible form for clients.”
Ushan Premaratne
“Engages extremely well. Very thorough and, most important to me, is able to challenge client’s ideas.”
