Barrister to practise in Singapore following invitation from Ministry of Law
The members of 20 Essex Street have announced announce that Mr Nakul Dewan will be practising from Singapore with effect from 1 June 2014. He will practise as an independent counsel and be based in Singapore (as well as continue his practice in India). 20 Essex Street was invited by the Ministry of Law of the Republic of Singapore to open an office in Singapore, which is housed at Maxwell Chambers.
In what is a ground-breaking move for a qualified Indian and Singapore lawyer, Nakul will continue to practise and be instructed in his home jurisdictions.
Nakul is called to the Bar in India and Singapore. In India he practises as an independent counsel, and in Singapore from Allen & Gledhill LLP (where he will cease to practice from with effect from 30 May 2014). He is acquiring full rights to practise in the English Courts and has been invited to become a member of 20 Essex Street upon qualification. His notable recent casework has included:
- acting as a junior to the Solicitor General of India in the widely reported $2bn Vodafone tax dispute before the Supreme Court of India;
- appearing for the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) before the Constitution Bench of the Indian Supreme Court in BALCO v Kaiser, where the Court overruled earlier decisions to disallow Indian courts from intervening in a foreign seated arbitration; and
- appearing as co-counsel in a multi-million dollar arbitration in London under the LCIA Rules.
Nakul says: “I am delighted to have been invited to join 20 Essex Street. It is one of the leading commercial sets with an international outlook and will, I believe, be an excellent platform to continue to develop my practice.”
Iain Milligan QC, head of chambers at 20 Essex Street comments: “We are very pleased that Nakul will be joining 20 Essex Street. He is a highly regarded practitioner with a wealth of experience in international arbitration, and we have no doubt that he will add a significant extra dimension to the legal services we offer. His decision to join Chambers underlines our reputation as a forward-thinking set focused on delivering a first-class service to our clients across the globe.”
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