Paras is a Partner in the firm’s Commercial Litigation practice, with a focus on international arbitration and cross border investigations.
He brings extensive experience in handling complex, multi-jurisdictional disputes, and regularly represents clients before the Singapore Courts and arbitral tribunals in both institutional and ad hoc proceedings.
His experience includes corporate finance, M&A, banking, joint venture, energy, and directors’ and shareholders’ disputes.
Paras is dual qualified in Singapore and New York, a qualified arbitrator and a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. He is empaneled with arbitral institutions such as SIAC, HKIAC, ICDR, KCAB and THAC, amongst others.
Paras actively contributes to the legal community through his roles on the Advocacy Committee for the Law Society of Singapore, the India Committee for ICDR, and as a member of the Inquiry Panel and the Panel of Counsel for Disciplinary Matters of the Law Society of Singapore.
He has been recognised by Lexology Index (formerly Who’s Who Legal) as a Future Leader in Arbitration 2025, named one of Singapore’s 30 Most Influential Lawyers Under 40 by Singapore Business Review, and a Rising Star by Asian Legal Business in 2022. Paras has also been endorsed by Best Lawyers Singapore for his expertise in Litigation and Banking & Finance (2022 – 2026).
EXPERIENCE
International Arbitration / Arbitration-related Litigation
- Acting for the appellant in Marty Limited v Hualon Corporation (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (Receiver and Manager Appointed) [2018] SGCA 63 before the Singapore Court of Appeal, comprising Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, Judith Prakash JA and Tay Yong Kwang JA. The appeal involved issues relating to approbation and reprobation of an arbitration agreement contained in a disputed agreement, the scope of an arbitration clause contained in a Charter of a company, and whether a party had waived and/or repudiated an arbitration agreement by referring a dispute falling within the scope of that agreement to litigation in the BVI.
- Acting for a foreign company in a complex commercial arbitration administered by the SIAC arising out of a share purchase agreement valued at more than US$800 million. The arbitration involved, among others, issues relating to the duties of an arbitral tribunal where there is a risk that the contract underlying the dispute has been tainted by corruption.
- Acting for a prominent Thai airlines in three SIAC arbitrations, with a claim value of over US$18 million. The matter involves issues relating to conflict of laws, repudiation of arbitration agreements, waiver, estoppel and the allocation of contractual risk between an aircraft lessor and lessee.
- Advising a Singaporean investment company in relation to an ICC arbitration against a government entity in a developing country in South Asia. The matter involved a redevelopment housing project in the capital of the country, which was terminated by the counterparty. The client’s losses were estimated at over US$300 million.
- Acting as Singapore counsel for a Japanese chemical manufacturing MNC in SIAC arbitration proceedings arising out of breaches by the counterparty of a Sale and Purchase Agreement in respect of shares in a Vietnamese company. The matter involved issues of force majeure (including whether COVID-19 was a force majeure event under the parties’ agreement), collateral agency agreements and estoppel.
- Acting for the majority directors of a regional shipping company in a SIAC arbitration brought by the minority directors. The dispute involved issues relating to directors’ breaches of fiduciary duties, minority oppression and the newly introduced emergency arbitration proceedings under the SIAC Rules.
- Acting for directors of a semiconductor company in an appeal arising out of the decision of the Singapore High Court in AAY and others v AAZ [2011] 1 SLR 1093, the leading Singapore Court decision on confidentiality in arbitrations.
- Representing the directors of a private company in the semiconductor industry at the assessment of damages phase of a split-arbitration against the previous shareholder of the company. The amount of damages sought in the arbitration was in excess of S$95 million (US$70.5 million).
Cross Border Investigations & Regulatory
- Advising one of the world’s leading Energy, Oil & Gas companies on its potential exposure to criminal liability and/or regulatory action in Singapore arising out of various transactions with Chinese trading companies.
- Advising and acting for a major regional banking group in internal investigations involving potential insider trading concerning one of its employees.
- Advising and acting for a global experience entertainment company headquartered in Singapore in internal investigations into the conduct of its employees based in the Middle East. The investigations involved allegations of setting up of undisclosed subsidiaries, creative accounting and fraud on the company’s shareholders.
- Advising a multi-national shipbuilding company headquartered in Singapore on its rights in relation to regulatory investigations in the US, UK, Germany, Brazil and Singapore arising out of allegations of bribery and corruption made against it and its employees in Brazil.
- Acting for one of Japan’s most prominent chemical companies in cross-border internal investigations relating to allegations of abuse of power, excess of authority and use of improper investigation methods by one of its departments. The investigations involved interviewing employees and assessing evidence located in Japan, China, Singapore and Thailand.
- Advising and acting for a major casino in Singapore in internal investigations into certain patrons and members of staff for running a credit scam against the client.
- Advising a government-linked company in respect of allegations of cross-ownership made against it by Komisi Pengawas Persaingan Usaha (KPPU), an anti-monopoly body in Indonesia. This matter also involved, among other things, related class action suits commenced in Indonesia.
Civil & Commercial Litigation
- Acting for Finaport Pte Ltd, a Swiss wealth advisory company licensed by the MAS, in applying for an anti-suit injunction to restrain proceedings commenced against it in Hong Kong. The matter involves issues relating to equity and trusts, derivative rights and obligations, the application of the Vandepitte exception in Singapore and Hong Kong, the imposition of concurrent duties in tort and contract, and the effect of multi-tiered dispute resolution clauses.
- Acting for Razer Asia Pacific Pte Ltd, the world’s leading gaming and gaming peripherals company, in a dispute in the Singapore High Court against its subcontractor, Capgemini Singapore. The dispute related to a significant data breach caused by the disabling of a security feature in the IT system managed by Capgemini.
- Acting for a prominent defendant in a S$5.5 billion claim brought against her in the Singapore courts by a Hong Kong based conglomerate. The case involved issues relating to breaches of trust, knowing receipt and dishonest assistance, unlawful means conspiracy as well as the ambit of worldwide Mareva injunctions.
- Acting for a majority bondholder in a dispute with the issuer of the bonds, a publicly listed company on the SGX, in respect of whether bondholders’ rights of redemption under the terms of the bonds had been triggered as a result of the suspension of trading of the issuer’s shares. The case involved complex issues such as the redemption rights given to bondholders in Singapore, and trustees’ duties and obligations.
- Acting for an MNC headquartered in Korea in its claim against a subcontractor for failures of cable joints and sealing ends. The claim involved issues relating to implied terms in contracts, negligence, non-delegable duties and the ambit of the independent contractor defence in Singapore.
- Acting for an MNC headquartered in Korea in defending claims by its subcontractor in projects for works relating to the laying of cables, including cable monitoring works. The case involved issues relating to the law on settlement agreements, agency and secret profits.
- Advising and acting for the Wall Street Journal in a defamation claim by the then-Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato’ Sri Haji Mohammad Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak, in relation to the Journal’s coverage in Southeast Asia of the 1MDB corruption scandal.
- Acting for a group of companies in the construction sector in Singapore in civil proceedings against a former director and others in the General Division of the Singapore High Court. The matter involves allegations of conspiracy, fraudulent conduct, breach of trust, breach of director’s duties, breach of employment obligations and various other wrongdoings.
General Advisory
- Advising a prominent commercial property development company in relation to potential defamation claims arising out of a newspaper article.
- Advising a Japanese MNC in relation to its rights to sell its shares under a put option contained in its investment agreement with a listed technology firm.
- Advising a prominent CEO and investment banker on a complex, multi-jurisdictional dispute against his former partner in relation to an investment in Malta to own and operate three hospitals in a deal worth €1.6 billion over a 30-year concession period. The dispute involved various agreements and arrangements spanning 10 years and various jurisdictions including Malta, Singapore, BVI, Jersey, Delaware and the UK.
- Advising a Singapore holding company that owns and operates a portfolio of e-commerce websites globally on a potential dispute involving customers in the North American region.
MEMBERSHIPS / DIRECTORSHIPS
- Fellow, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
- Member, Singapore Institute of Arbitration
- Member, Inquiry Panel
- Member, Law Society of Singapore Panel of Counsel for Disciplinary Matters
- Trainer, Advocacy Workshops for Part B of the Singapore Bar Examinations
- Panel of Reserve Arbitrators, Singapore International Arbitration Centre
- Panel of Arbitrators, Korean Commercial Arbitration Board
- List of Arbitrators, Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre
- Panel of Arbitrators, International Centre for Dispute Resolution
- Panel of Arbitrators, Thailand Arbitration Center
PUBLICATIONS
- “Singapore: A Year in Review for Arbitration in Singapore”, Lexology.com (May 2025)
- “The importance of pleadings in a documents-only arbitration – Case update on Wan Sern Metal Industries Pte Ltd v Hua Tien Engineering Pte Ltd [2025] SGCA 5”, Bayfront Law Legal Update Newsletter (March 2025)
- “The Future of Arbitration: Highlights of SIAC’s 2025 Rules Update”, Bayfront Law Legal Update Newsletter (December 2024)
- “Surviving a Dawn Raid – Practical tips for when the Authorities come Knocking”, Bayfront Law Legal Update Newsletter (October 2024)
- “The Contours of Minimal Curial Intervention in Arbitration Proceedings – Case updates on Swire Shipping and DJO v DJP”, Bayfront Law Legal Update Newsletter (August 2024)
- “Asia’s Power Couple – Japan and India’s Unstoppable Rise, and Arbitration Opportunities in Singapore”, Legal Era Magazine (June 2024)
- “HODL-ing on to Cryptocurrency Debt – an update on the Singapore High Court’s decision in Loh Cheng Lee Aaron and another v Hodlnaut Pte Ltd”, Bayfront Law Legal Update Newsletter (December 2023)
