Photo_SG_Avinash Pradhan_2024.jpg

Avinash Pradhan

Deputy Head, International Arbitration, Rajah & Tann Singapore
Co-Head, South Asia Desk

Practice Area:

International Arbitration
Construction & Projects

LLM (Corporate and Commercial Law), University College London
LLB (Hons), University College London
Advocate & Solicitor, Singapore
Advocate & Solicitor, High Court of Malaya
Barrister, United Kingdom
Acc. Spec. (Building & Construction), Singapore Academy of Law

T +65 6232 0234
E avinash.pradhan@rajahtann.com

Avinash’s practice encompasses a broad spectrum of commercial and corporate disputes. He is familiar with conducting international arbitrations under the major arbitral institutions as well as ad-hoc arbitrations, and he regularly appears in the Supreme Court of Singapore.

He has been recognised in the 2017 to 2020 editions of Best Lawyers as one of Singapore's leading lawyers in international arbitration and in Asialaw Profiles (2019) as a leading lawyer in Dispute Resolution.  He has also been recognised as an Accredited Specialist for Building and Construction Law in Singapore Academy of Law’s Specialist Accreditation Scheme. The voluntary accreditation scheme was launched in 2018 as a mark of recognition for lawyers who have gained professional excellence in their areas of practice.

Avinash has particular expertise in construction disputes, oil & gas disputes, joint venture disputes and shareholder disputes, as well as personal and proprietary equitable fraud claims against company directors. A large number of the matters he has been involved in have been factually and legally complex, engaging multi-disciplinary technical issues.

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. He is adept at formulating and applying for urgent interim relief, including freezing and anti-suit injunctions.

Avinash also practices in Malaysia as a partner of Christopher & Lee Ong, a firm within the Rajah & Tann Asia network.

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

Avinash’s experience includes acting in:

Oil & Gas / Power
  • Various disputes arising out of EPCC / turnkey contracts.
  • Various disputes relating to the supply of goods and services, both offshore and onshore.
  • Various disputes arising from power purchase agreements in respect of power plants in South East Asia.
Construction and Projects
  • Various engineering disputes; ranging from projects for tunnelling, road, and trackworks, to projects for amusement / recreational rides and data centres.
  • Vessel construction disputes – ranging from tugs to semi-submersible rigs with contracts ranging from untouched SAJ to bespoke forms.
  • 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.
Joint venture / shareholder disputes
  • Dispute between a leading global oil and gas service provider, publicly listed on the main board of a South East 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Shareholders’ dispute relating to a business for the exploitation of mining assets in Australia.
  • Shareholders’ dispute relating to a venture for the development of a bitumen production plant located in Malaysia.
  • Shareholders’ dispute relating to the sale and purchase of a major transport infrastructure business, in which third parties had attempted to block the completion of the deal.
  • Shareholders’ dispute relating to a cross-border business in the healthcare industry.
Directors’ duties and corporate fraud
  • 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.
  • Multi-jurisdictional dispute in relation to the participation in a business involving the ownership and operation of a social networking website.
  • Claim by a group of companies specialising in the timber industry against the former managing director.
Other Experience
  • Advice and representation on dry shipping matters, including charterparty disputes.
  • Representing a client in a claim concerning the authenticity of fine art pieces.
  • Defending claims against a major international bank in misrepresentation and negligence, in the context of the Madoff fraud.
  • Defending 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.
Publications
  • Author, Construction Arbitration in Malaysia on the GAR Knowhow website (2017)
  • Author, Chapter on Investment Treaty Arbitration in Arbitration in Malaysia: A Practical Guide, (2016)
  • Author, Chapter on International Arbitration in Malaysia in The International Arbitration Review (2016, 2017 and 2018).
  • Author, Section on SIAC Arbitration in Lexis® Practical Guidance – Dispute Resolution (2015).
  • Author, Singapore and the Prevention Rule – A Step Too Far – Construction Law Digest, December 2011.
  • Author, Reconstructing Consent: The Doctrine of Immunity – The Commonwealth Lawyer, January 2006. 
Memberships / Directorships
  • Member, Singapore Academy of Law
  • Member, Law Society of Singapore