P. Sivakumar

P. Sivakumar has been in practice for more than 30 years. He is an Advocate & Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Singapore and a registered Singapore Patent Agent. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (U.K.) and a member of the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators.​
His practice specialties are corporate and commercial law, criminal law, intellectual property, information technology and media, tortious claims, insurance, employment, immigration and tax law.

He is also involved in commercial litigation and international and domestic arbitration and has represented a diverse array of local and multinational clients in civil litigation and arbitration.

He has advised and acted for clients in matters that are subject to both domestic and international arbitration, be it ad-hoc or under institutional rules such as the Singapore International Arbitration Centre, Singapore Institute of Architects, Refined Sugar Association (UK), Grain and Feed Trade Association (UK), and others, through which he has honed practical experience in construction, oil and gas and commodities related disputes across jurisdictions. He has also represented clients in court proceedings relating to the jurisdiction of arbitral tribunals, challenges to arbitral awards and attempts to resist enforcement of foreign arbitral awards.

In his corporate and commercial practice he has been involved in advising on mergers and acquisitions as well as in providing tax advice relating to investment structures and business operations.

Sivakumar has diverse experience in general and commercial litigation. He has handled cases involving contractual disputes, torts, negligence, libel and defamation, medical malpractice, employment disputes and debt recovery.

His clients include corporations, clubs and societies and private clients such as medical professionals. He is seasoned in formulating litigation strategies for clients and is adept at managing negotiations and crisis communication.

His criminal practice is especially focused on “white-collar” offences. He has also been involved in the private prosecution of intellectual property offences initiated by intellectual property owners.

He has advised on block chain technology related matters as well as rendered opinions on coin offerings.

He has advised high net worth individuals and families on legal issues related to wealth planning and the setting up of trusts and family offices.

He has advised on various aspects of corporate governance issues including anti-trust, consumer protection and product liability. He has conducted programs for clients including financial institutions relating to personal data protection and privacy. He has advised on the sale and purchase of businesses and shares and has drafted documentation of various types of corporate financing structures for various clients including banks.

Sivakumar was the lead counsel in the first trade mark opposition case heard by the highest court in Singapore and was lead counsel in the first patent infringement case under the new Singapore Patents Act before the highest court in Singapore. His experience in patent infringement litigation caused him to propose changes to the Singapore Rules of Court governing patent litigation and he was invited by the Rules Committee of the Supreme Court to sit in a sub-committee of the Rules of Court Working Committee to propose new rules governing patent litigation in Singapore. The new rules have since been adopted in Singapore.

Aside from contentious matters, Sivakumar also assists his clients in the drafting and review of their agreements relating to commercial transactions and intellectual property, including distributorships, franchises and licensing.

He has organised programs to conduct full audits of their intellectual property rights to advise them on how best to safeguard, exploit and enforce those rights. He also regularly advises clients on anti-counterfeiting campaigns.

Sivakumar has been involved in advising local and multinational companies on various aspects of employment law including the drafting of template employment contracts as well as individualised employment contracts for key appointment holders. In addition, he has created employment policies and manuals for use by the human resource departments of various companies. He has regularly advised on breaches of employment contract and has represented employers in legal proceedings in the Singapore courts in relation to breaches of trade secrets and breaches of the duty of good faith and fidelity. He has also regularly advised clients on the secondment of employees to other countries.

With Sivakumar’s extensive corporate, finance and disputes expertise, he has advised and acted for liquidators in both compulsory and voluntary liquidation proceedings, including on issues such as directors’ duties, insolvent trading, and potential dissipation of assets. He has also advised and acted in proceedings with cross-border elements, having advised liquidators and creditors on the recovery of assets across jurisdictions.

​Sivakumar has been a speaker at various conferences and forums on legal issues both locally and overseas.