Ushan Premaratne
Partner | Singapore
Secretary Swee Hong Chua
Operating as Withers KhattarWong LLP in Singapore.
Ushan is a partner in the litigation and arbitration team.
Ushan enjoys a broad-based international arbitration and litigation practice. He regularly appears in commercial arbitrations relating to shareholder, private equity / venture capital investments and joint venture disputes and is frequently instructed to act in arbitration-related litigation before the Singapore Court. He offers experience handling cases governed by SIAC, ICC, AIAC, AAA, HKIAC and CAS rules.He is often instructed by both local and foreign law firms to act as instructed / lead counsel in respect of a myriad of complex and novel disputes before the High Court, the Court of Appeal and Singapore International Commercial Court. His portfolio of ongoing matters consists of both trial and appellant disputes with a special focus on cross-border commercial disputes and high-value contentious trust / probate disputes for Ultra-high-net-worth individuals and families.
On the advisory front, Ushan acts for founders and investors in the tech space. Most recently, he was involved in the widely published investigations relating to the Wirecard entities (which concerned a €3.5 billion fraudulent scheme) and Zilingo (identified as one of the top unicorns in Asia before its collapse in 2022). He also advises companies in the hospitality sector, most notably, Marriott International and was part of the team of professional advisors involved in securing the first JW Marriott and EDITION hotels in Singapore.
Ushan has also acted as an expert on Singapore law in legal proceedings before the Hong Kong courts.
His expertise has been recognised by several publications, including The Legal 500, Global Arbitration Review and Benchmark Litigation. In 2022, he was identified as a "Future Star" for "Commercial and Transactions" by Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific. He is also recommended for Dispute Resolution (Local Firms) by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific (2022 edition).
He wins praise from clients for ‘his very quick grasp of the financial figures', being 'very responsive, meticulous and prepared to roll up his sleeves', 'the go to lawyer for difficult, complex commercial disputes', 'highly skilled strategist for difficult cases' and ‘always several steps ahead of the other side and able to present practical legal solutions', his ability to 'read the opponent, understand objectives and leverage on the strengths of his client's case to achieve results' and his 'strategy [that] is dynamic, put into motion at the most appropriate time and is extremely result oriented depending on the client's expectations'.
Ushan graduated from the National University of Singapore with a Double Degree with Honours in Law and Business Administration (Finance) in 2010 and was called to the Singapore Bar in 2011. He was placed on the Dean's List during the course of his studies.

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