Avinash Pradhan is the Deputy Head of Rajah & Tann Singapore’s International Arbitration Practice and the Co-Head of South Asia Desk. He also practises in Malaysia as a Partner of Christopher & Lee Ong, a firm within the Rajah & Tann Asia network.
Avinash has been recognised in Who’s Who Legal for his “superb advocacy skills and ability to explain complex concepts easily”. The Legal 500 Asia Pacific records that Avinash “thinks around corners to chase down every avenue of attack”.
Avinash has wide-ranging experience in international arbitration, both institutional and ad hoc, and he regularly appears as counsel in Court proceedings. Avinash’s experience includes banking, corporate finance, hospitality, M&A, joint venture and shareholder disputes. Avinash also has broad experience of project disputes in the construction, infrastructure & energy sectors.
Much of Avinash’s practice has involved factually and legally complex matters, and he is experienced in the management of large-scale litigation and arbitration. Avinash is also familiar with the techniques for dealing with cross-border disputes and disputes involving a conflict between international arbitration proceedings and court litigation. For Avinash, disputes are to be approached strategically and commercially, and he places emphasis on a client-centric focus to the process.
Avinash has also been recognised in Best Lawyers since 2017 as one of Singapore’s leading lawyers in arbitration, mediation and international arbitration. Avinash won the Lexology Client Choice Awards (2021) for Construction in Singapore and is recognised in asialaw Profiles (2019) as a leading lawyer in Dispute Resolution. Avinash was recognised in the ALB Asia Rising Stars Singapore (2022). He has also been recognised as an Accredited Specialist for Building and Construction Law in Singapore Academy of Law’s Specialist Accreditation Scheme.
Avinash sits on the Singapore International Arbitration Centre’s Users’ Council. and was the recipient of the Sir Dingle Foot Scholarship from Gray’s Inn, in 2006.
EXPERIENCE
Projects
- Acted in various engineering disputes; ranging from projects for tunnelling, road, and trackworks, to projects for amusement / recreational rides and data centres.
- Acted in vessel construction disputes – ranging from tugs to semi-submersible rigs with contracts ranging from untouched SAJ to bespoke forms.
- Acted in various building disputes under different standard forms encompassing issues such as delay and concurrent delay, prolongation, extensions of time, liquidated damages, variations, defects liability and warranty claims.
Oil & Gas / Power
- Acted in various disputes arising out of EPCC / turnkey contracts.
- Acted in various disputes relating to the supply of goods and services, both offshore and onshore.
- Acted in various disputes arising from power purchase agreements in respect of power plants in Southeast Asia.
Joint Venture / Shareholder Disputes
- Acted in a dispute between a leading global oil and gas service provider, publicly listed on the main board of a Southeast Asian country, and an African oil and gas contractor specialising in well construction and remedial services. The dispute involves claims for unpaid sums said to be wrongful withheld under an agreement for the acquisition of shares in a company owning oil & gas-related assets, as well as counterclaims arising from allegations of breach of warranty.
- Acted in a dispute relating to a joint venture for the development of solar farms in Europe, involving concurrent proceedings in arbitration and in courts in multiple jurisdictions.
- Acted in a dispute relating to a joint venture for the design and development of a plant for the disposal of industrial waste, involving new and untested technology.
- Acted in shareholders’ dispute relating to a business for the exploitation of mining assets in Australia.
- Acted in shareholders’ dispute relating to a venture for the development of a bitumen production plant located in Malaysia.
Directors’ Duties & Corporate Fraud
- Acted in a claim by a group of companies in a multi-jurisdiction dispute concerning breach of director’s duties in the context of a business of investment in high-end technology and patent rights, involving issues of equitable fraud and tracing.
- Acted in a multi-jurisdictional dispute in relation to the participation in a business involving the ownership and operation of a social networking website.
- Acted in a claim by a group of companies specialising in the timber industry against the former managing director.
Other Experience
- Advised and acted in dry shipping matters, including charterparty disputes.
- Acted in a claim concerning the authenticity of fine art pieces.
- Defended claims against a major international bank in misrepresentation and negligence, in the context of the Madoff fraud.
- Defended claims against a major international bank in misrepresentation and negligence, in the aftermath of the Lehman Brothers collapse. The total amount claimed exceeded S$1 billion.
MEMBERSHIPS / DIRECTORSHIPS
- Member, Singapore Academy of Law
- Member, Law Society of Singapore
PUBLICATIONS
- Author, Malaysian Chapter of the GAR Know how – Construction Arbitration published by Global Arbitration Review (2017 and 2019)
- Co-author, Chapter on “Malaysia”, The Asia Pacific Arbitration Review 2019
- Author, Chapter on International Arbitration in Malaysia in The International Arbitration Review (2016, 2017 and 2018)
- Author, Chapter on Investment Treaty Arbitration in Arbitration in Malaysia: A Practical Guide (2016)
