Alvin is a Principal Director of M & A Law Corporation and heads our Building Construction and Personal Law Practice Group.

In his practice, Alvin advises local and regional clients on a wide range of areas. Alvin’s primary work covers general litigation with a particular emphasis on building and construction disputes, family disputes and insurance litigation. He also advises his clients on strata building and management issues, mortgagee disputes, arbitration, commercial agreements, shareholder disputes and landlord and tenant disputes.

As head of our firm’s personal law practice, Alvin also regularly represents and advises high net worth individuals in divorces and family disputes. Alvin has acted for multiple clients in divorces involving matrimonial assets in excess of $10 million.

Alvin has also worked on corporate compliance issues, incorporation of companies, corporate secretarial services, and has prepared a wide range of business-related agreements for his various clients, such as employment and management agreements, confidentiality and non-competition obligations, distribution and licensing agreements, as well as shareholders’ agreements and joint venture contracts.

Aside from the above, Alvin has also advised clients on various aspects of non-contentious personal law, such as estate law, probate and administration and immigration matters.

In his practice, Alvin has argued cases both in the High Court and the Court of Appeal of Singapore. Amongst the more significant matters which he has been involved in include the following:

Construction & Arbitration

• Represented a local construction company in a successful adjudication claim against a home owner for unpaid progress payments under the Building Construction Security of Payment Act. The adjudication claim was heavily disputed by the home owner, but the Court of Appeal eventually decided the claim in favour of the client.
• Represented a multinational corporation successfully in an application to the High Court for leave to appeal against an arbitrator’s interim award in domestic arbitration proceedings against a leading local transport company.
• Represented a local construction company in successful High Court proceedings against a multinational Korean corporation for damages resulting from defective paint materials supplied by the Korean corporation. This decision was subsequently affirmed by the Court of Appeal.
• Represented and advised a prominent Japanese corporation in arbitration proceedings with a government linked corporation resulting from disputes over a construction project involving some S$60 million in damages.
• Acted for and advised a major local contractor in their arbitration proceedings with a sub-contractor arising out of the Marine Cove project at East Coast Park.
• Acted for a homeowner successfully in an application to discharge an injunction obtained by his contractor to prohibit him from calling on a performance bond due to the contractor’s failure to carry out building works in accordance with the building contract. This decision was subsequently affirmed by the Court of Appeal.
• Represented a local painting contractor in proceedings against its main contractor for unpaid additional works. The main contractor was subsequently wound up by the Singapore High Court.

Family Law

• Represented an individual in a Court of Appeal hearing to decide the issue of division of matrimonial assets worth in excess of S$2 million.
• Acted for and advised a prominent local doctor in a contested divorce with matrimonial assets in excess of $18 million.
• Acted for and represented a foreign spouse in a divorce involving numerous matrimonial properties worth in excess of $15 million.

Civil / Commercial / Employment Law

• Represented and advised a prominent client in a High Court case which set out the guidelines and protocols for the proper discovery of electronic documents.
• Acted for a local telecoms company in a dispute with a Malaysian telco arising out of the termination of an agreement for international private leased circuit (IPLC) services.
• Represented and advised a local company in a successful High Court Suit against a bank for damages as a result of the bank’s breach of its duties as a mortgagee in possession. The company was eventually awarded damages of over $3 million.
• Acted for a multi-national recruitment specialist in their suit against a former director for numerous breaches of his post-employment obligations.
• Acted for a Chinese software company in their claim against a Macau company for unpaid invoices
• Acted for and advised the owners and operators of a major local tourist attraction in their disputes with a director.
• Represented a local corporation in a High Court action brought by an ex-employee for wrongful dismissal of her employment. The ex-employee was eventually made a bankrupt in Singapore.

Corporate / Conveyancing

• Acted for a well-established corporation in refinancing their mortgages for loans in excess of S$20 million.
• Acted for various high net worth clients in their sale and purchases of several private residential properties valued in excess of $5 million.
• Acted for and advised one of the major local online media companies in their ongoing corporate governance and operational matters and disputes.
• Represented a local company in its purchase of a commercial property worth S$15 million.

Criminal Law

• Appeared before the High Court in a petition for criminal revision involving section 71 of the Singapore Penal Code, and the issue of whether an individual ought to be punished for 5 separate acts of molest, all of which took place within 15 minutes of each other, and whether those acts ought to be in reality treated as only one criminal act.

Alvin is a member of various professional bodies, including the Singapore Academy of Law, and the Law Society of Singapore. He has also previously served on several committees in the Law Society of Singapore, including the Sports, Publications and IT Committees.

In addition to the above, Alvin has served as a committee member and on disciplinary panels of various sports associations, including Singapore Hockey Federation, Singapore Silat Federation, and Home United FC, amongst others.

Alvin is a regular speaker at conferences, seminars and contributes articles to various magazines and websites.