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Gerald Paul Seah

Director, Dispute Resolution

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Practice Areas

Qualifications

  • LL.B (Hons) First Class, University of Nottingham (2016)
  • Advocate & Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Singapore (2018)
Overview

Gerald practices commercial litigation and international arbitration. His cases cover a wide variety of subject matters including artificial intelligence & cryptocurrencies, pharmaceuticals & medical devices, judicial management & liquidation, joint ventures & family trusts, and civil & criminal investigations. Gerald has particular expertise and interest in cases involving trusts and equity.

Gerald regularly appears before the Singapore courts and in international arbitrations. He is frequently involved in proceedings before the Singapore International Commercial Court and the Singapore International Arbitration Centre, and regularly works with foreign counsel on cases with cross-border elements.

In 2021, the Legal 500 Asia Pacific published client feedback which mentioned Gerald for having “showed mastery of the facts of the case and demonstrated excellent client hand-holding throughout the process”.

Gerald graduated from the University of Nottingham in 2016 with First Class Honours. He completed his pupillage with Drew & Napier and was called to the Singapore Bar in 2018.

  • Successfully acted for the former Prime Minister of Georgia, Mr Bidzina Ivanishvili, and his family in bringing claims for breach of trust and fiduciary against Credit Suisse Trust Limited. The Singapore International Commercial Court awarded damages of US$926 million. The Court of Appeal “dismissed the key points of CS Trust’s appeal”: Ivanishvili, Bidzina v Credit Suisse Trust Ltd [2023] SGHC(I) 14 / Credit Suisse Trust Limited v Ivanishvili, Bidzina [2024] SGCA(I) 5.
  • Successfully acted for the estate of an Indian mining baron in bringing claims against an errant trustee for breach of trust and recovery of trust assets valued at around US$690 million. The case involved documentary evidence spanning more than a decade. The case also involved complex issues of Indian law and expert evidence, including Indian legislation such as the Foreign Exchange Management Act 1999 (India), the Customs Act 1962 (India), and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002 (India). The matter is pending appeal: Lakshmi Anil Salgaocar and another v Darsan Jitendra Jhaveri and others [2023] SGHC 47.
  • Successfully acted for the former Chief Executive Officer of the Beyonics Group in defending claims for diverting business to a competitor. The Singapore International Commercial Court struck out the claims for being an abuse of process and found that the diversion did not cause any loss. While the Court of Appeal found that there was no abuse of process, the Court of Appeal agreed that the diversion did not cause any loss: Beyonics Asia Pacific Ltd and others v Goh Chan Peng and another and another appeal [2022] 1 SLR 1.
  • Successfully acted for a Philippine company in an SIAC arbitration in bringing claims against its joint venture partner in relation to a mining project. The tribunal allowed the claims. Also successfully acted for the same company in resisting an application to set aside the tribunal’s award: CIP v CIQ [2022] 3 SLR 39.
  • Acted for the Pasir Ris Punggol Town Council in bringing claims against its former town councillors, general manager and secretary: Aljunied-Hougang Town Council and another v Lim Swee Lian Sylvia and others and another suit [2019] SGHC 241.

The Asia-Pacific Legal 500

“Among the younger lawyers we worked with, … Gerald Paul Seah [has] to be specifically mentioned. [Gerald] showed mastery of the facts of the case and demonstrated excellent client hand-holding throughout the process.”

  • Member, Singapore Academy of Law
  • Member, Law Society of Singapore
  • Assigned Solicitor, Legal Aid Bureau