Leonard Loh

Associate Director

  • Leonard Loh
  • Phone: +65 6311 0073

    Import to Address Book

  • Selvam LLC
    16 Collyer Quay #17-00
    Singapore 049318

Leonard Loh is an Associate Director in the Litigation, Arbitration and Dispute Resolution Practice Group of Selvam LLC.

Leonard’s main areas of practice are in financial, employment and family disputes. He has a wide spectrum of clients, ranging from multinational financial corporations and regional construction companies, to family businesses and high-net-worth individuals. He has represented such clients at all levels of the Singapore judicial system, as well as in domestic and international arbitrations, mediations, neutral evaluations and adjudications. Leonard’s deep interest and expertise in family disputes have also seen him acting for local and foreign individuals in heavily-contested divorce, guardianship, relocation, maintenance, personal protection order, adoption and estate administration applications, many of which involve cross-border and foreign law elements. On a number of these cases, he also worked with foreign counsel, child representatives and governmental agencies for the commissioning of specific reports.  He has also contributed articles to the Singapore Law Gazette regarding probate and administration issues.

He graduated with 2nd Class Honours (Upper) from the National University of Singapore in 2014 and was admitted to the Singapore Bar in 2015. He was placed on the Director’s List in 2013, when on exchange with the Centre for Transnational Legal Studies in London, UK.

Leonard is fluent in English and Mandarin.

Areas of Practice

  • General Civil and Commercial Litigation

  • Construction Disputes

  • Family Disputes

  • Arbitration

  • Alternative Dispute Resolution

Representative Matters

    Commercial Disputes

  • Acted for a Singapore fund management company and its Cayman Islands incorporated fund in multiple litigation matters in the General Division of the High Court and the State Courts. Key victories include obtaining interim and final injunctions to restrain the commencement of winding up proceedings, and obtaining a winding up order against a key debtor by fending off allegations of conspiracy to trigger defaults.

  • Acted for a branch of a prominent Singaporean family in a minority oppression claim before the General Division and the Appellate Division of the High Court, and parallel proceedings for the removal of executors in the Family Division of the High Court.

  • Acted for a high net worth Singaporean individual in a dispute with a securities firm and remisier, involving allegations of misrepresentation and negligence.

  • Acted for two finance companies before a three-arbitrator SIAC Tribunal in a dispute with a British Virgin Islands company and an Indonesian individual involving breaches of facility agreements and personal guarantees.

  • Acted for a leading bank before the High Court and the Court of Appeal in an account of profits arising out of the infringement of the automatic Dynamic Currency Conversion Patent, and successfully argued that no further sums needed to be paid beyond an interim payment paid shortly after an adverse decision on liability. The decision was reported in Main-Line Corporate Holdings Ltd v United Overseas Bank Ltd and another [2017] 3 SLR 901; [2016] SGHC 285, which was affirmed on appeal without written grounds.

  • Acted for a group of investors in proceedings before the High Court and the SIAC Tribunal in a dispute with the Singapore arm of an international bank involving re-pricing of online FX trades after the EURCHF de-pegging on 15 January 2015.

  • Acted for a leading securities company before the High Court in two cases involving allegations of unauthorized trading, fraud, negligence and breach of MAS regulations.

    • Employment Disputes

  • Acted for a prominent Singapore company in respect of allegations of misuse of confidential information by its ex-employee.

  • Advised a multinational corporation and it subsidiaries on various employment matters, including issues on employee benefits, transfer of employees and review of employment contracts.

  • Advised a subsidiary of a global conglomerate in respect of allegations of constructive dismissal and breaches of fair employment practices.

    • Construction Disputes

  • Acted for a Belgian company in an SIAC construction arbitration that involved disputes over the application of specialized technologies.

  • Acted for a sub-contractor in adjudication proceedings against a main contractor, successfully resisting claims for backcharges, liquidated damages and third party takeover costs upon the application of section 17(2A) of the Building and Construction Security of Payment Act. The decision was reported in BCX Pte Ltd v BCY Pte Ltd [2020] SCAdjR 315; [2020] SGSOP 11.

  • Acted for one of the world’s largest suppliers of cement, concrete and aggregate solutions before the High Court in a contractual dispute with the Singapore arm of an international construction company involving claims for payments and counterclaims for delay and defects.

  • Acted for a local SME in successful proceedings before the High Court and the Court of Appeal involving liability and damages arising out of a fire at light industrial premises at 141-143 Kallang Way. The decision was reported in Grace Electrical Engineering Pte Ltd v Te Deum Engineering Pte Ltd [2018] 1 SLR 76; [2017] SGCA 65.

    • Family Disputes

  • Acted for two New Zealanders in a successful application to recognise a New Zealand Enduring Power of Attorney, resulting in vesting orders and a limited deputyship order made pursuant to paragraph 7 of the Second Schedule to the Mental Capacity Act 2008.

  • Acted for a British-Hong Kong individual in various applications in the Family Court and the Family Division of the High Court. The latest victory related to, among other things, the successful striking out of enforcement claims. Decision reported in VEF v VEG [2023] SGFC 32.

  • Acted for various members of a prominent Singapore family in a contentious probate dispute before the Family Division of the High Court, successfully defending allegations of invalidity of the patriarch’s will and codicil. Decision reported in WHR and another v WHT and others [2023] SGHCF 32.

  • Acted for an American mother in a successful application for child relocation from Singapore to the United States. The decision was affirmed on appeal and reported in VJM v VJL and another appeal [2021] 5 SLR 1233; [2021] SGHCF 16.

  • Acted for a Singaporean individual before the Family Court and successfully prosecution an application to revoke his perpetual maintenance obligation to his ex-wife, which had been previously to under a consent order. The decision was reported in VOX v VOY [2021] SGFC 11, which was affirmed on appeal.

  • Acted for an Austrian individual as lead counsel before the Family Court in a rare but successful application under the Women’s Charter and the Maintenance Orders (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act against her child’s biological father (who was  based in overseas) for child maintenance, despite the child being born out of wedlock.

  • Acted for the matriarch of an affluent Singaporean family and successfully defended allegations of breaches of trust in respect of family property. The decision was reported in Tan Yok Koon v Tan Choo Suan and another and other appeals [2017] 1 SLR 654; [2017] SGCA 13.

Admissions

  • Singapore

Education

  • National University of Singapore, Faculty of Law, LL.B., 2nd Class Honours (Upper), 2014

Experience

  • Selvam LLC
    - Associate Director, 2023-present
    - Senior Associate, 2022-2023
  • Tan Kok Quan Partnership
    - Senior Associate, 2018-2022
    - Associate, 2015-2017

Professional Activities

  • YSIAC
    - Member, February 2022-present
  • Law Society of Singapore
    - Member, Probate Practice Committee, January 2022-present

Civic and Charitable Activities

  • Member, Community Legal Clinic Committee, Law Society Pro Bono Services, January 2022-present
  • Criminal Legal Aid Scheme, Defence Counsel, May 2015-present

Selected Publications