Sivaram is a Partner in the Dispute Resolution practice at Christopher & Lee Ong.
Sivaram was called to the Malaysian Bar in 2015 and joined Christopher & Lee Ong in 2016. His practice covers all areas of dispute resolution including contract law, employment law, construction law, corporate law, enforcement of foreign judgments, arbitration, media and maritime law.
He regularly appears as lead counsel or co-counsel at all levels of the Malaysian Courts including the Industrial Court, High Court, Court of Appeal and Federal Court.
EXPERIENCE
- Appeared as co-counsel for one of the largest publicly listed companies in Malaysia in a high-profile suit filed against the former directors of the company for alleged breach of fiduciary duties relating to a multi-million dollar transaction.
- Appeared as co-counsel for a high profile celebrity charged with an offence under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 relating to a social media posting.
- Appeared as lead counsel for a vessel owner and successfully intervening in a suit to secure the release of a vessel arrested in Terengganu.
- Appeared as a co-counsel in the High Court in a successful Order 14A application that resulted in the dismissal of a shareholder oppression claim, based on the principle of “no reflective loss”.
- Appeared as co-counsel for a now industry leading startup dealing with online parking payment, in securing the dismissal of an interim injunction which sought to prohibit the founder from dealing with the company.
- Acted for a multinational engineering company in successfully resisting the entirety of a multi-million dollar LAD and EOT payment claim under the Construction Industry Payment & Adjudication Act 2012.
- Appeared as co-counsel for an Italian security company specialising in automation solutions and pedestrian/vehicle access control in successfully applying to set aside an injunction obtained by a local plaintiff in breach of a contractual clause requiring proceedings to be filed in Italy.
- Appeared as counsel in the High Court defending against claims relating to Murabahah Financing facility agreements.
- Appeared as counsel for a multinational bank in enforcement proceedings against a bankrupt in the Federal Court.
- Advised multinational clients on admiralty and shipping claims relating to detention and demurrage charges stemming from contractual breaches.
- Appeared as counsel at the Industrial Court on behalf of a global logistics firm in a collective agreement dispute with one of the largest unions in Malaysia.
- Advised a Spanish construction and engineering firm in conducting a retrenchment exercise, including defending the firm in multiple cases relating to the same at the Industrial Court.
- Appeared as counsel for a civil aviation training company defending against a claim for unfair dismissal before the Industrial Court.
- Appeared as counsel for a global human resource firm in resisting the enforcement of an Industrial Court award ordering the reinstatement of an employee at both the Industrial Court and the High Court.
- Appeared as counsel for one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in the world in defending a claim for unfair dismissal at the Industrial Court.
- Advised a global engineering consultancy firm on disciplinary action against its employees relating to a claim by a 3rd party for alleged copyright infringement.
- Advised a major oil and gas exploration and production company in the suspension and termination of its CEO.
- Advised a hotel business on the suspension and dismissal of an employee allegedly engaged in falsifying booking records.
- Advised a UK technology firm on the dismissal of an employee involving issues relating to a multi-jurisdictional employment relationship and uncertainty over whether the employee was an employee of the firm’s UK entity or its Malaysian branch.
- Appeared as counsel for a multinational steel reinforcement solutions company in defending against claims of unfair dismissal at the Industrial Court relating to a complete closure of one of its local branch offices.
- Appeared as counsel for a local IT Firm in defending against a claim for unlawful dismissal by its main branch manager at the Industrial Court.
- Advised various MNCs on drafting of employment agreements and mutual separation agreements.
Published Cases:
High Court and Sessions Court
- Public Prosecutor v Zulkifli Ariffin [2022] 2 SMC 695
- Chew Chin Ping & Ors v APL-NOL (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd & ors [2022] 1 LNS 1749
- Gartner Research & Advisory (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd v Industrial Court of Malaysia & Anor [2020] MLJU 730
- Frank Geerken v Soventix South East Asia Sdn Bhd [2019] 1 LNS 2231
- Nissha Industrial and Trading (M) Sdn Bhd v Coco Floor Sdn Bhd & Anor [2019] 9 MLJ 170
- Lau Kean Leong v Lits Solutions Sdn Bhd & Ors [2017] MLJU 1437; [2017] 1 LNS 1228
- YTK Engineering Services Sdn Bhd v Towards Green Sdn Bhd and other applications [2017] MLJU 632; [2017] MLRHU 1.
Industrial Court
- Mahmud Redza Arbee v Research & Advisory (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd [2021] 2 LNS 0496
- Mok Yoke Heng v BRC Prefab Holdings Sdn Bhd [2019] 2 LNS 2837
- Tee Boon Keong v Astrazeneca Sdn Bhd [2019] 2 MELR 326
- Ng Wee Jian v BRC Prefab Holdings Sdn Bhd [2019] 2 LNS 3091
- Ng Pei See v BRC Prefab Holdings Sdn Bhd [2019] 2 LNS 3092
- New Wee Yan v BRC Prefab Holdings Sdn Bhd [2019] 2 LNS 3163
- Gan Soon Chyi v BRC Prefab Holdings Sdn Bhd [2019] 2 LNS 3164
- Nurafifah Jakaria v Tecnicas Reunidas Malaysia Sdn Bhd [2019] 2 LNS 0376.
MEMBERSHIPS / DIRECTORSHIPS
- Member, Malaysian Bar
- Member, Kuala Lumpur Bar
- Member, Lincoln’s Inn
PUBLICATIONS
- “Arbitration: When May Means Must”, The Sun Daily (May 2016) – A study into case law on “permissive arbitration clauses” in light of the Privy Council’s ruling in Anzen Limited and others v Hermes One Ltd [2016] UKPC 1
- “Busting some myths on employment contracts”, The Sun Daily (May 2018)
- “Malaysian Arbitration & Maritime Law”, 2021 Maritime Arbitration Enforcement Series, Singapore Chamber of Maritime Arbitration (Dec 2021).
