FJ & G de Saram

Precedent Partner: Ayomi Aluwihare
Board of Management: Shehara Varia, Manjula Ellepola, Anjali Fernando and Lohan Gunawardene
Number of partners: 14
Number of lawyers: 30
Languages: English, Sinhala,Tamil

Firm Overview:
Founded on 13th May 1841, F.J. & G desaram is the oldest and one of the largest law firms in Sri Lanka. The firm practices in all areas of corporate and commercial law. The firm is divided into four main departments, namely, corporate law, real property, intellectual property and litigation. It is the only firm in Sri Lanka which has an in-house litigation team. Each department is headed by senior lawyers with over 25 years in the bar. The Firm is a highly specialised law firm and is consistently ranked by legal directories as a top tier firm in the main areas of corporate and commercial law including mergers & acquisitions, banking and finance, project financing and dispute resolution.

Main Areas of Practice:

Corporate/M&A:
Number of partners: 10 Number of fee earners: 9
Recent work highlights:
■ Acted for China Merchants Port Holdings Company Limited in a transaction where China Merchants Port Holdings Company Limited sold its shares in Gainpro Resources Limited to Fujian Transportation Maritime Silk Road Investment and Management and advised on the corporate and regulatory approvals required for the completion of the transaction and the conformity of the transaction under Sri Lankan law.
■ Advised the International Finance Corporation (“IFC”), IFC Financial Institutions Growth Fund, LP (“FIJ”) and IFC Emerging Asia Fund, LP (“EAF”) on all aspects of a transaction where IFC together with FIG and EAF invested in Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC including advising on the transaction documents, corporate and regulatory approvals and the closing of the transaction.
■ Advised Dialog Broadband Networks (Private) Limited, a subsidiary of one of Sri Lanka’s leading telecommunications service providers, on the acquisition of shares of H One (Private) Limited (one of the largest resellers of Microsoft enterprise solutions in Sri Lanka), a company previously part of the Hirdaramani group of companies, and drafted and negotiated the underlying transaction documents and conducted a due diligence study on the company prior to the acquisition.
■ Conducted a due diligence study for Accel - KKR on the legal aspects of Shipexpress Technologies (Private) Limited certain assets of which were to be acquired by Accel – KKR.
■ Conducted a vendor side legal due diligence for Piramal Glass Private Limited of Piramal Glass Ceylon PLC and advised on the regulatory and procedural aspects of the divestment of the shares of Piramal Glass Private Limited listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange and reviewed the transaction documents for compliance with Sri Lankan law.
■ Advised Alpha Aviation Group (Philippines) on the legal and regulatory requirements in relation to the investment by Alpha Aviation Group (Philippines) Inc in Fairway Aviation Academy (Private) Limited and conducted a due diligence study on the legal aspects thereof. The Firm also drafted the share sale and purchase agreement for the investment and negotiated the terms and conditions of the draft agreement.
Key Clients: Colombo International Container Terminals (Private) Limited, Teejay PLC, China State Construction Engineering Corporation Limited, Colombo Stock Exchange, Pearson Lanka (Private) Limited, Shangri-La Hotel (Sri Lanka), Microsoft, Uber, IBM, Unilever Sri Lanka Limited, Carson Cumberbatch PLC, Central Finance PLC, Sunshine PLC, Lanka IOC PLC, Mahendra and Mahendra, SG Holdings of Japan, Sojitz Corporation
Contact Name: Ayomi Aluwihare
Tel: +94114605115
Email: [email protected]

Banking & Finance:
Number of Partners: 4
Number of Fee Earners: 7
The Practice Group:
■ Advises many local and international financial institutions on matters related to conventional debt, project financing, asset-backed securitizations, derivatives, Islamic financing products, new investments, and regulatory framework.
■ Advises several foreign banks and financial institutions in matters relating to security in conventional lending transactions and also handles complex security aspects of project financing transactions.
■ Frequently advises foreign clients on entering into ISDA Master Agreements with local counterparties and on entering into Global Master Repurchase Agreements with local counterparties (local counterparties, in such instances, being the Central Bank, public corporations, public enterprises and companies incorporated under the Companies Act).
■ Advises several payment service providers on matters pertaining to the Payment and Settlement System laws of the country.
Key Clients: International Finance Corporation, Citibank N.A. (Colombo Branch), State Bank of India, JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A (Colombo Branch), Union Bank PLC, Capital Alliance Investments Limited, Nations Trust Bank PLC, Berendina Group, Lakjaya Microfinance Limited, Vision Fund Lanka
Contact Name: Himali Mudadeniya
Tel: +94114605120
Email: [email protected]

Litigation:
Number of partners: 2 Number of fee earners: 11
Recent work highlights:
■ Representing and successfully negotiating a settlement in favour of a UK based aviation company in an action instituted for the winding up of the national carrier of Sri Lanka.
■ Advising the subsidiary of a multinational pharmaceutical company in a dispute with the National Medicines Regulatory Authority relating to the classification of specified products in Sri Lanka.
■ Represented a German multinational conglomerate in a fundamental rights application filed in relation to a project of national importance and successfully obtained dismissal of the said action against the client and several others.
■ Successfully represented a major Sri Lankan fixed-line and mobile telecommunication service provider in a Fundamental Rights Application before the Supreme Court challenging the allocation of mobile frequency spectrum to a state-owned competitor by the telecommunication industry regulator.
■ Successfully represented the client in arbitral proceedings seated in Singapore and enforced the arbitral award against an entity owned by the Government of Sri Lanka for a sum exceeding USD 9 Million through the High Court of Sri Lanka.
■ Represented and successfully enforced an Arbitral Award on behalf of a multinational software company in an arbitration conducted under the SIAC Rules of Arbitration in a claim arising out of a Joint Venture Agreement.
■ Advising a major insurer on a post-M&A dispute in a Singapore-seated arbitration conducted under the SIAC Rules.
■ Successfully defending a licensing dispute on behalf of a major Sri Lankan telecommunication services provider against a state-owned competitor in judicial review and Fundamental Rights proceedings before the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court, respectively.
■ Representing a Swiss based security solutions giant in an international arbitration seated in Colombo, Sri Lanka and conducted under the ICC Rules of Arbitration, against a statutory agency of the Government of Sri Lanka, pertaining to a 5 Billion Rupee investment dispute.
■ Representing a large Indian construction company in an international arbitration seated in Sri Lanka, conducted under the UNCITRAL Rules of Arbitration, against the Government of Sri Lanka, relating one of the largest public infrastructure development projects in Sri Lanka.
■ Representing Scandinavia’s largest dredging contractor in an international arbitration seated in Sri Lanka against the Government of Sri Lanka, relating to an LKR 3 Billion dispute.
■ Representing an Indian construction company in an international arbitration seated in London, UK under the LCIA Rules of Arbitration, against an apex body of the Government of Sri Lanka.
■ Representing a Swiss based Engineering Company in an arbitration against the Ceylon Electricity Board in respect of Phase 1 and 2 of 300 MW Coal Power Project in Sri Lanka.
■ Representing two major Japanese Construction Engineering Companies in an international arbitration seated in Sri Lanka against the Ceylon Electricity Board in respect of several claims arising out of a Contract for Civil Engineering Works for a major Hydro Power Project in Sri Lanka.
Key Clients: Interna Contract SPA, Dialog Axiata PLC, Siemens Limited, India, Nyras Limited, (UK), Haecker Kuechen GMBH & Co. KG (Germany), Pöyry Switzerland Limited, IFS AB, (Sweden), Ceylon Beverage Holdings PLC, Lanka IOC PLC and State Bank of India
Contact Name: Avindra Rodrigo
Tel: +9411-4605137
Email: [email protected]