Construction & Projects

Recognised as one of the leading practices of its kind, the team covers all aspects of construction law, with a strong reputation for resolving complex, high-end disputes. From the inception to the final closeout of a construction project, there are countless decisions and steps to be taken. At every stage, you need the best possible legal advice – from a firm with long and wide experience, and cutting edge knowledge of the key issues affecting the industry.

Deep Expertise

Rajah & Tann scores highly on all counts. Our dedicated team provides a service based on in-depth expertise in every aspect of the construction industry. We advise clients at the earliest pre-construction phases ranging from project feasibility to financing to contract drafting. And when disputes do arise, we have a proven track record of helping find the right resolution. Five of our team members have been recognised as Accredited Specialists in Building and Construction Law in Singapore Academy of Law’s Specialist Accreditation Scheme. The accreditation serves as a mark of recognition for lawyers who have gained professional excellence in this area of work.

Extensive Experience

As for the breadth of our experience, we’ve been involved in virtually every type and size of construction project, both private and public, including:

Building construction including residential, retail, industrial, mixed development and commercial
Land reclamation and marine engineering
Mines and mineral processing facilities
Oil and gas projects
Ports and airports
Power infrastructure such as hydroelectric / combined cycle / thermal power stations
Process engineering
Public Private Partnerships
Sports and leisure facilities
Telecommunications and IT infrastructure
Transportation infrastructure such as roads / rail projects
Water and environmental engineering such as sewerage systems

A Client-Focused Approach

You’ll find we’re accessible whenever you need us. We work efficiently and deliver value – placing great importance on allocating the right lawyer to the right task to ensure high quality yet cost-effective service.

Being part of a full service firm with integrated practices means that our clients have access to the experience and skills of all our lawyers across the full spectrum of legal practices. Our Practice works closely with the other lawyers in the firm to provide clients with a comprehensive, multi-jurisdictional and truly quality service.

International Reach

Having established a dominant presence in Singapore, our lawyers also have considerable international exposure, working on projects in many countries including Australia, Brunei, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, France, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, People’s Republic of China, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and the UK.

Practice areas

Our team routinely represents clients in complex legal matters, often with hundreds of millions of dollars at stake; these involve contracts for major projects across Asia as well as claims arising from difficult site conditions, change orders, acceleration, delay / disruption, suspension, inspection and acceptance, termination, insurance coverage, errors and omissions, payment and defects.

Legal Documentation

Our lawyers have developed a comprehensive understanding of all aspects of documentation relating to projects. Our lawyers are familiar with the principal forms of the standard contracts such as the FIDIC, JCT, NEC, PSSCOC, REDAS and SIA.

Dispute Resolution

We have a specialist team advising on all aspects of disputes. Our leading dispute resolution practice is one of the largest in the region. In addition to litigation in the courts or arbitration, we are able to advise on other dispute resolution options, including interparty negotiation, mediation, adjudication and mini-trial/medi-arbitration.

Please contact us for a discussion on any issue that you may be facing on a construction project such as:

Business entity formation / taxation
Bid preparation and procurement
Project finance
Real Estate matters
Contract drafting and interpretation
Dispute resolution through, amongst others, domestic or international arbitration, litigation, adjudication and mediation
Regulatory Issues such as competition law, energy or workplace safety and health
Insurance coverage issues

Recognition

Tier 1 - Construction

The Legal 500 Asia Pacific (2024)
Tier 1 - Projects & Energy

The Legal 500 Asia Pacific (2024)
Tier 1 - Project Development

IFLR 1000 (2023-2024)
Outstanding – Construction

Asialaw (2023-24)
Outstanding - Infrastructure

Asialaw (2023-24)
Band 2 - Construction

Chambers Asia-Pacific (2024)
Band 2 - Projects & Energy

Chambers Asia-Pacific (2024)
Tier 2 - Construction

Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific (2023)
"Rajah & Tann has a good mix of knowledgeable and experienced partners and hard-working associates, all specialised in particular areas."

Chambers Asia-Pacific (2024)
"Deep legal knowledge and experience in advising on projects. Thorough analysis of legal issues. Ability to deal with complex issues and provide practical solutions."

The Legal 500 Asia Pacific (2024)
"They are fully dedicated and do the job perfectly."

Chambers Asia-Pacific (2024)
"The are very knowledgeable about the contract clauses and provided invaluable advice, including the drafting and proposed clauses, to close the issues with the counterparties."

IFLR1000 (2023-2024)
"I believe that the Rajah & Tann team has some individuals in the firm who are well known and well regarded in the industry."

The Legal 500 Asia Pacific (2023)
"R&T provides excellence at every level, bringing together individual stars to form a multi-faceted team who work brilliantly together for the good of the case."

The Legal 500 Asia Pacific (2023)
“Rajah & Tann Singapore is collaborative and pleasant to work with, and experienced in construction disputes in the region.”

Chambers Asia-Pacific (2023)
"They are good at strategising and advising how to prepare positions and documentation, and to manoeuvre to maximise our situation in protecting our position against the contractor."

Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific (2023)
“They demonstrate a keen understanding of our commercial realities.”

Chambers Asia-Pacific (2023)
A "well-reputed construction practice" which stands out for "ability to draft well thought-out contracts and meet agreed timelines within fee scope."

Chambers Asia-Pacific (2022)
"The team I worked with is the construction disputes team – they were very communicative with the client and highly service oriented. The advice is practical and makes a lot of business sense to me."

The Legal 500 Asia Pacific (2022)

The team picks up quickly on issues and are solution-oriented. They have strong construction legal and industry knowledge and offer sound and practical advice."

The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2024