07 Jan 2020

Rajah & Tann Singapore partner Murali Pillai appointed Senior Counsel

Murali Pillai, a partner at Rajah & Tann Singapore, has been appointed a Senior Counsel of the Supreme Court of Singapore. Mr Pillai is also a Member of Parliament (MP) of Bukit Batok SMC.

His appointment was made public by Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon at the opening ceremony of the new Legal Year 2020. It brings the total number of Senior Counsel in Rajah & Tann Singapore to seven, the most of any law firm in Singapore.

Senior Counsel – Singapore’s equivalent of Britain’s Queen Counsel – are an elite group of advocates who have top-tier advocacy skills, professional integrity and are learned in the law. They have a duty of leading and being an example to the rest of the Bar, especially younger members.

Patrick Ang, Managing Partner of Rajah & Tann, said: “On behalf of all my colleagues at Rajah & Tann, I extend my heartiest congratulations to Murali Pillai on his appointment as Senior Counsel. We are very happy for him for this well-deserved appointment.

“He is an excellent role model, an outstanding practitioner who achieves successful outcomes for clients, a dedicated mentor to young lawyers and a public servant who tirelessly works to improve lives in the community.”

Mr Pillai has been in commercial and white collar crime litigation practice for 24 years and has handled cases in employment, fraud and directors’ disputes, and financial services. He also advises financial institutions on contentious regulatory matters. Prior to pursuing a career in law, he served as an Assistant Superintendent of Police in the Singapore Police Force.

Commenting on his Senior Counsel appointment, Mr Pillai said: “This appointment as Senior Counsel is an honour which I share with my clients and colleagues. They have been instrumental in shaping my practice and I am indebted to them for their support and guidance.

“As Senior Counsel, I will continue to devote my skills and effort to serve clients’ needs with excellence and exemplary ethics. To the young lawyers who may wonder if it is all worth it, the hard slog, long hours, I wish to say, ‘yes, lawyering is deeply fulfilling because we serve the cause of justice and the public good. Also, please do contribute to the community that we serve too’.”

Rajah & Tann Singapore is one of the largest full-service law firms in Singapore and South East Asia, with market leading practices in M&A, dispute resolution, international arbitration, shipping, insolvency, restructuring, capital markets, competition law, corporate & commercial, among others. Through Rajah & Tann Asia, it is a member of one of the largest legal networks in ASEAN with some 750 fee earners.

About Rajah & Tann Asia – www.rajahtannasia.com

Rajah & Tann Asia brings together leading law firms and lawyers in Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam, with each offering the highest standards of service to locally-based clients while collectively having the capability to handle the most complex regional and cross-border transactions and to provide excellent legal counsel seamlessly across the region. With over 750 fee earners, all working towards one shared goal, we are lawyers who know Asia and who give our clients home advantage.