Dharini is a Partner in the firm’s Shipping & International Trade Practice. She is qualified to practice in three jurisdictions – Singapore, India and England & Wales.
Dharini specialises in commercial dispute resolution with a particular focus in shipping, international trade, trade finance and sale of goods. Dharini also has experience in dealing with insolvencies involving trading houses and shipping companies.
Dharini has experience representing clients in court proceedings in Singapore and India, as well as in arbitration under various institutional rules such as SIAC, SCMA, LMAA and ICC Rules.
Prior to beginning her law practice, Dharini was a LAMP Fellow, working as a research assistant to a Member of Parliament in India (a programme run by PRS Legislative Research in New Delhi).
EXPERIENCE
- Advising the judicial managers / liquidators of Hin Leong Trading (Pte.) Ltd. in one of Asia’s biggest restructuring / insolvencies with liabilities exceeding USD 3.5 billion with a particular focus on trade finance, sale of goods, shipping, bankers’ security in trade financing deals, and rights of warehousemen.
- Acting for an international metals trader in a London arbitration arising out of the alleged Trafigura-Gupta nickel fraud.
- Acting for a Fortune 500 oil major in a Singapore High Court trial and subsequent appeal to the Court of Appeal, involving misdelivery claims following the insolvency of O.W. Bunker A/S and its subsidiaries. The Singapore Court of Appeal considered the relevance of the underlying sale contracts when construing the effect of a bill of lading. The decision of the Court of Appeal is reported as The Luna [2021] 2
- Advising judicial managers / liquidators on of Agritrade International Pte. Ltd. transactions relating to shipping and trade of goods (palm oil, coal).
- Advising and acting for a commodity supplier in claims for breach of fiduciary duties, dishonest assistance, fraud and conspiracy against its former employee, including obtaining pre-judgment and post-judgment freezing injunctions. Reported decisions: Sumifru Singapore Pte Ltd v Felix Santos Ishizuka and Ors[2020] 4 SLR 904 (on variation of freezing injunction to police compliance); Sumifru Singapore Pte Ltd v Felix Santos Ishizuka and Ors[2022] SGHC 14 (on fiduciary duties owed by the employee).
- Acting for various commodity finance banks in the enforcement of security following the collapse of oil, metals, and agri-commodity traders, including arresting ships under bills of lading pledged to financing banks and subsequent litigation.
- Reviewing and drafting general terms and conditions of sale for bunker traders.
