Rajah & Tann

Rajah & Tann
Name	Rajah & Tann
Headquarters	Singapore
Founded	1976
Founders	Rajah, Tann
Key people	R. Padmanathan, Rohit Ohri, Tan Kok Quan
Practice areas	Corporate, Litigation, Arbitration, Intellectual Property, Banking, Real Estate
Company type	Partnership

Rajah & Tann is a leading Southeast Asian commercial law firm with a prominent presence in Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, and the Philippines. The firm serves multinational corporations, financial institutions, state-owned enterprises, and international organizations across sectors including banking, energy, telecommunications, technology, infrastructure, and shipping. Rajah & Tann’s practice spans transactional, dispute resolution, regulatory, and advisory work, engaging with global law firms, arbitral institutions, and courts.

History

The firm was founded in Singapore in 1976 and grew alongside regional developments such as the ASEAN Free Trade Area, the Asian Development Bank projects, and the liberalization initiatives in Indonesia and Vietnam. Over decades, Rajah & Tann expanded through strategic alliances and mergers that intersected with firms and institutions like the International Chamber of Commerce, the London Court of International Arbitration, the Singapore International Arbitration Centre, and the Supreme Court of Singapore. The firm’s growth paralleled landmark events involving entities like the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and major corporations including DBS Bank, Temasek Holdings, CITIC, and Petronas.

Services and Practice Areas

Rajah & Tann provides a broad array of services encompassing corporate and commercial transactions with clients such as Standard Chartered, HSBC, Citibank, JPMorgan Chase, and Goldman Sachs. Its dispute resolution work engages with arbitration panels under UNCITRAL, ICC, SIAC, and HKIAC rules and involves cross-border litigation before courts including the High Court of Singapore and appellate bodies. The firm advises on mergers and acquisitions for conglomerates like Jardine Matheson, Keppel Corporation, and Sembcorp, and on project finance for energy and infrastructure clients such as Shell, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Siemens, and ABB. Intellectual property practice supports technology and media clients including Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Apple, Samsung, and Netflix. Regulatory and compliance teams work with telecommunications and media regulators, central banks, securities regulators, and competition authorities, supporting clients like Singtel, Vodafone, Grab, Shopee, and Alibaba.

Corporate Structure and Governance

Organized as a partnership with managing partners and practice heads, the firm’s governance aligns with best practices observed in firms that interact with institutions like the Singapore Academy of Law, the Law Society of Singapore, the International Bar Association, and the Asian Business Law Institute. Leadership oversight covers risk management, conflicts protocols, and professional ethics consistent with standards enforced by courts such as the Court of Appeal of Singapore and regulatory agencies like the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Financial Services Authority. The firm collaborates with chambers, bar associations, and university law faculties including the National University of Singapore, Harvard Law School, Oxford, Cambridge, and Yale for recruitment and continuing legal education.

Offices and Geographic Presence

Rajah & Tann maintains a network of offices and affiliated firms across Southeast Asia and beyond, interfacing with jurisdictions such as Indonesia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Thailand, the Philippines, Cambodia, and Laos. Its regional footprint positions it to advise on projects involving ASEAN Secretariat initiatives, cross-border transactions mediated through Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo, Seoul, and engage with multinational clients operating in markets served by corporations like Mitsubishi, Toyota, Samsung, and Hyundai. The firm’s Singapore headquarters serves as a hub for arbitration and international dispute resolution alongside institutions like the Singapore Exchange, the Singapore Management University, and the Subordinate Courts.

Notable Cases and Transactions

The firm has acted on high-profile mandates involving mergers and acquisitions, bond issuances, project financings, and major disputes representing clients against corporations such as PetroChina, Gazprom, Royal Dutch Shell, BP, and TotalEnergies. It has advised on privatizations, cross-border restructurings, insolvency proceedings, and shareholder disputes with parties including Temasek, GIC, BlackRock, KKR, and Carlyle Group. In arbitration and litigation, the firm has been involved in matters under UNCITRAL, ICC, SIAC and ICSID frameworks, representing sovereigns, state-owned entities, banks, and multinationals in disputes touching contractual interpretation, investment treaty claims, and maritime salvage involving IMO conventions, classification societies, and shipping lines like Maersk and Evergreen.

Pro Bono and Corporate Social Responsibility

Rajah & Tann engages in pro bono work with charities, non-governmental organizations, and social enterprises, partnering with entities such as the United Nations Development Programme, UNICEF, WHO, and local legal aid organizations. CSR initiatives include legal clinics with university law schools, public legal education campaigns, environmental and sustainability projects aligned with initiatives by the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Wildlife Fund, and support for community programs affiliated with Rotary International and Lions Clubs International.

Recognition and Rankings

The firm is regularly ranked by international legal directories and ranking organizations including Chambers and Partners, Legal 500, IFLR1000, Best Lawyers, Asialaw, Benchmark Litigation, and Who’s Who Legal. It has received awards for litigation, arbitration, banking and finance, corporate/M&A, intellectual property, and shipping, being acknowledged alongside global firms that regularly feature in top-tier lists compiled by Forbes, The Economist, and Bloomberg.

Category:Law firms of Singapore