SIVA BALAKRISHNAN

Managing Director

Siva is a tri-qualified lawyer (New York, England & Wales, and Singapore) with experience at both local and international law firms in Singapore and Dubai.

He has extensive experience acting for high-profile clients in commercial disputes, litigation, arbitration and mediation, civil fraud, energy and natural resources, marine insurance and reinsurance, private international law, shipping (including shipbuilding and ship sale disputes) and commodities and international trade disputes.

Siva’s experience spans a wide spectrum of court litigations and international arbitrations, ranging from small claims procedures to multi-million dollar disputes in London, Singapore, Dubai, and Hong Kong.

He is appreciated for his ability to turn around seemingly bleak cases, provide commercially viable legal advice, and dissect judgments and arbitral awards in his clients’ favour.

Qualifications

LL.B. (Hons) (Dunelm), University of Durham (2004)
Graduate Diploma in Singapore Law, National University of Singapore (2005)
Bar Vocational Course, Inns of Court School of Law, City University (2007)
Qualified Lawyer Transfer Scheme Assessments, Kaplan QLTS (2013)
New York State Bar Examination (UBE), The New York State Board of Law Examiners (February 2023)

Admissions

Advocate and Solicitor, Supreme Court of Singapore (2006)
Barrister-at-Law, Inner Temple (non-practicing) (2007)
Solicitor, Senior Courts of England and Wales (2013)
Attorney and Counselor-at-Law, New York (2023)

Languages & Dialects

English
Tamil

Appointments / Memberships

Member, Law Society of Singapore
Member, Singapore Academy of Law
Member, Inner Temple
Member, Law Society of England and Wales

Some of Siva’s notable cases include

Acting for the 1st and 2nd Defendants to successfully resist the Plaintiffs’ US$30m claim against them for alleged deceit and conspiracy to defraud – reported at EFT Holdings, Inc. and Anor v. Marinteknik Shipbuilders (S) Pte Ltd and Ors, [2013] 1 SLR 1254 (Singapore High Court).
Acting for a time charterer to resist the disponent owner’s application for an interlocutory mandatory injunction in the Singapore High Court that the time charterer and other defendants, under their respective letters of indemnity, jointly and severally provide bail or security in the sum of about US$11.2 million to procure the release of a vessel under arrest at a Chinese port.
Acting for salvors in relation to their claim against the defendant cargo owners for failure to provide scopic security under Lloyd’s Open Form, and arrested the cargo on board a vessel.
Acting for salvors to recover their salvage fees of about US$5.1 million in relation to an incident involving a dumb barge and cargo of 2 gantry cranes; the barge having grounded on the reef of the Horsburgh Lighthouse in the eastern approaches of the Singapore Straits, and the righting of the barge followed by the toppling of the 2 cranes under the direction of the Singapore authorities coordinated by the Singapore Maritime and Port Authority.
Acting successfully for a Singapore oil company in respect of its US$7.5m claim against a Chinese state enterprise and shipyard for breach of 2 shipbuilding contracts in Hong Kong arbitration proceedings.
Acting for a Singapore company to successfully resist an Indian steel company’s US$6m claim under a hot rolled steel coils contract in Singapore arbitration proceedings.
Acting successfully for a BVI company in relation to its €2m claim against a Taiwanese company under a Memorandum of Agreement for the purchase and sale of a vessel in London arbitration proceedings.
Acting for a shipyard in respect of its claim for US$1.5m for repairs carried out to a vessel.
Acting for a Singapore oil company in respect of its US$880,000 claim against a Malaysian oil storage company for breach of 5 floating storage contracts in Singapore arbitration proceedings.
Acting for a defendant shipowner in respect of the arrest and re-arrest of its vessel for unpaid crew wages.

SIVA BALAKRISHNAN

Managing Director

Some of Siva’s notable cases include

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