Allen & Gledhill’s dispute resolution practice is among the largest in Singapore, with a team of over 120 lawyers and more than 50 partners handling high-stakes cases across varied sectors. Led by co-heads veteran litigators Andrew Yeo and William Ong, the department integrates specialists in commercial litigation, international arbitration, insolvency, construction, employment, intellectual property, and white-collar crime, enabling a coordinated approach on complex matters. The firm’s extensive regional network amplifies its cross-border capabilities, making it go-to counsel for multi-jurisdictional disputes in South-east Asia.
Last year, the firm maintained its position at the forefront of commercial and transactions disputes. It represented clients in some of the most significant Singapore court cases of this period, often involving international elements. For instance, the firm acted in major post-M&A and shareholder litigations before the Singapore International Commercial Court, achieving successful outcomes in disputes arising from cross-border investments and joint ventures. Another notable example was a high-value private equity share sale dispute spanning Singapore, Thailand and the Maldives, which a team resolved through a favourable settlement just ahead of trial, securing the client’s exit on near-original terms.
International arbitration is a longstanding pillar of the practice, and the firm continued to excel in this arena. Last year the arbitration team, led by prominent practitioners like Chong Yee Leong and Dinesh Dhillon, handled numerous high-value arbitrations seated in Singapore and beyond. The team achieved full victories in several cross-border cases, including a multi-party infrastructure dispute and a billion-dollar media rights arbitration. The group’s deep regional experience in sectors such as construction, energy and telecommunications, coupled with team members’ prior stints at arbitral institutions, has been instrumental in navigating these complex cases.
The firm also remained at the cutting edge of insolvency and restructuring disputes, often intertwined with fraud and asset recovery. It continued to play a lead role in litigation arising from one of Asia’s largest commodities trading collapses, coordinating multi–party proceedings on behalf of creditors to trace and recover assets across jurisdictions. Its lawyers have been heavily involved in the aftermath of this high-profile oil trading insolvency, managing Singapore court actions and cross-border injunctions to secure over US$200 million in contested assets. In parallel, the firm successfully represented bank syndicates in complex enforcement actions following the collapse of a major marine fuel trading group, navigating issues of fraud and competing claims in Singapore and abroad. These matters highlight the practice’s expertise in restructuring disputes, where Allen & Gledhill has helped shape precedent on issues like creditors’ rights and cross-border insolvency recognition.
In the shipping and maritime arena, the firm’s dedicated team continued to advise on significant disputes across the shipping, trade and offshore sectors. The firm regularly handles high-stakes maritime litigation and arbitrations involving collisions, cargo failures, ship arrests and financing claims, often with parallel actions in foreign jurisdictions. Its maritime lawyers acted for clients in complex contentious matters ranging from vessel casualties in Asian waters to fraud-related commodity trade disputes connected to shipping contracts. Notably, the firm is lead counsel in ongoing Singapore court cases addressing allegations of bribery, money laundering and sanctions breaches in the shipping and oil trading industries. With senior practitioners like Kenny Yap and Yap Yin Soon anchoring this practice, the firm offers broad expertise that covers both wet admiralty incidents, and dry shipping and trade contract disputes.
Allen & Gledhill continues to bolster its track record in construction and engineering disputes. The firm’s construction litigators have been engaged in a number of high-value infrastructure project disputes across the region. In 2025, the team successfully defended contractors and owners in separate ICC and SIAC arbitrations arising from delayed mega-projects in Southeast Asia, leveraging deep knowledge of technical construction issues and local law nuances. Domestically, the firm continued to act in complex building and engineering claims. In one highlight, the shipping disputes team advised on a high-profile industrial facility defect case that tested novel points of Singapore law on negligence and causation.
Employee and labour-related disputes have been another area of notable activity. The firm secured a landmark ruling in a test case defining employers’ rights to enforce performance-based termination provisions. The firm represented two international brokerage firms in a Singapore High Court lawsuit against a former senior employee, in which the court upheld the employers’ right to terminate the employee for poor performance and to recover approximately US$2 million in advanced cash payments. The decision was one of the first of its kind in Singapore. It clarified crucial issues around bonus discretion and so-called “golden hello” payments, providing guidance for companies across the financial sector. The employment disputes team, led by partners with dual expertise in employment and litigation such as Sanjiv Rajan and Tay Yong Seng, has been sought after for complex cases involving restrictive covenants, mass retrenchments, and workplace misconduct investigations.
The firm’s capabilities in intellectual property (IP) and technology disputes were equally in evidence last year. Under the stewardship of senior counsel and practice head Dr Stanley Lai, the group handled a range of contentious IP matters for blue-chip clients. For example, the firm represented a prominent US-based software company in a local technology dispute involving claims of misuse of confidential information, which was resolved on favourable terms via a global settlement. The team also continues to advise on patent infringement suits and trademark enforcement actions spanning multiple Asian jurisdictions, often coordinating closely with foreign counsel.
White-collar crime and investigations remains a dynamic facet of the firm’s disputes practice. Its white-collar & investigations group, jointly led by former prosecutors Jason Chan and Aaron Lee, has been involved in many of Singapore’s headline investigations. The team has been engaged on the defence side of the city-state’s largest anti-money-laundering probe, a sweeping multi-agency investigation that made global news for uncovering over S$3 billion in illicit assets. The firm also continued to act for relevant parties in the ongoing 1MDB corruption scandal in Malaysia and related proceedings, drawing on its deep knowledge of financial regulations and cross-border enforcement. Additionally, the firm has represented executives and companies in a range of corruption, securities fraud and tax evasion cases locally, often achieving discreet resolutions.
The firm’s recent caseload showcases a blend of scale, breadth and sophistication. It has demonstrated an ability to coordinate across practices and jurisdictions, solving complex disputes that cut across commercial and financial law, technical industries, and criminal enforcement. By handling a docket that ranges from multi-billion dollar arbitrations and insolvency workouts to precedent-setting court cases and government investigations, the firm affirms its position as a leader in dispute resolution.
“Their legal expertise and commercial strategy, as well as their ability to evaluate cases from a holistic point of view that considers both the Claimant’s and the Defendant’s perspectives, stand out.” - Banking and financial services
“They handled every aspect of the litigation process.” - Banking and financial services
“The lawyers understand clients’ needs and ensure their legal advice addresses the client’s concerns. A&G is communicative and ensures we are kept well-informed of updates to our matters.” - Banking and financial services
“The firm has top-drawer personnel and a highly professional setup. They are a pleasure to work with.” - Banking and financial services
“They have good knowledge of the law and practice, and they are pragmatic.” - Commercial and transactions
“The lawyers are extremely concise with their advice—sharp, succinct, and always solution-focused. Their turnaround time is extremely fast.” - Commercial and transactions
“They are prompt and knowledgeable, and they can discern what is required at each stage of the debt or claim recovery process.” - Commercial and transactions
“They expedited the drafting and review of documents provided by the bank.” - Commercial and transactions
“A&G is able to break down the case into different parts, provide analysis from multiple angles and viewpoints, and offer options for clients.” - Commercial arbitration
“They provide in-depth, comprehensive analysis and deliver timely responses.” - Energy
“The team understood the intricacies of real estate regulations and delved deep into past records to establish a data-centric basis that bolstered the merits of our appeal. At the same time, they framed the content in a way that took into account the nuances of the competing needs of both the private and regulatory sectors, providing good guidance.” - Government and regulatory
“Everything was excellent. A&G explained Singapore law and procedure to us every step of the way, met all deadlines, and worked in tandem with our U.S. counsel and us on a strategy that secured our desired outcome.” - Intellectual property
“They are prompt and provide sound legal advice.” - International arbitration
“The lawyers provide bilingual legal services, have an excellent commercial mindset, and offer very practical legal advice.” - International arbitration
“They are responsive and knowledgeable.” - Labor and employment
“Every lawyer has strong industry knowledge and provides prompt, practical responses.” - Labor and employment
“They offered sound, professional support throughout the REIT listing process.” - Real estate
“They quickly grasp the key points and communicate them clearly.” - Shipping
“The team had a good understanding of our case and mounted a powerful defence for us. They provided timely progress updates and were easy to communicate with.” - Shipping
Afzal Ali
“He is prompt, a good litigator, and has sound legal knowledge.”
Megan Chua
“She demonstrates diligence and logical thinking, and she has the ability to look at a case from both the claimant’s and the defendant’s perspectives to craft either an offense or a defence.”
Xinying Chua
“She is very competent, highly professional, and more than sufficiently skilled.”
Benjamin Koh
“He is analytical, offers commercial solutions, and provides timely advice and updates.”
Stanley Lai
“Stanley is the premier IP legal counsel in Singapore; he wrote the textbook that is taught in law schools in Asia.”
Pee Hua Long
“She manages all aspects of her work and her team well, and communicates clearly.”
Sanjiv Rajan
“He is responsive and well-connected within the Singapore firm and its international affiliates.”
Daniel Seow
“He takes the time to explain our concerns and their solutions. He is patient when dealing with us, and he is always solution-oriented.”
Xeauwei Tan
“She is communicative and easily reachable. She provides very clear explanations for her suggested approaches and understands our business.”
“She has a very sharp and incisive mind and can understand the context and constraints very quickly, which is commendable because the industry requires a deep understanding of different administrative regimes across various departments. She is also very accessible,
and communication is two-way. She understands the client’s concerns and limitations instead of being plainly and overly prescriptive.”
Yong Seng Tay
“He is very bright, energetic, street-smart, and very wise.”
“Yong Seng Tay has a refined intellect and is unafraid to be direct, exercising all rigour when dealing with counterparties. He sails a tight ship and is astute in reading changes in the wind and tides.”
“He has in-depth industry knowledge and provides prompt responses.”
“He is quick to respond, and his advice is pragmatic.”
Erik Widjaja
"He provides comprehensive advice."
"He provides bilingual legal services and very practical legal advice and solutions."
"Eric understands and clarifies the facts to the court, defending our position in the best possible way against unreasonable accusations."
"He made sure the case progressed in line with our expectations."
"He is knowledgeable and able to think outside the box to resolve issues. He is practical as well, considering the limitations we faced since the services had already been rendered, which meant we were not able to exercise our right to suspend work."
