Mahesh Rai

Mahesh is a Managing Director of the Dispute Resolution Department and the Deputy Head of Construction & Engineering Department in Drew & Napier. He is called to the Singapore and English Bars and has rights of audience before the DIFC Courts.

Mahesh has appeared as counsel in over 250 matters. His practice spans international commercial and investment arbitration under the SIAC, ICC, UNCITRAL, LCIA, HKIAC, KCAB and ICSID rules, and litigation at all levels of the Singapore courts, including the Singapore International Commercial Court. He is regularly instructed as lead counsel in high-value, cross-border disputes in the construction, infrastructure, energy, technology, telecommunications, blockchain and digital assets, and shipping and commodities sectors, and in complex shareholder, joint venture, fraud and insolvency-related disputes. He also sits as arbitrator and is empanelled at leading arbitral institutions across Asia.

Clients and peers have described Mahesh as “unmatched in his field”, “a first-rate litigator”, “quick on his feet, precise in detail and clear and concise in explanation”, and “an excellent disputes lawyer and a master strategist with a deserved reputation for solving complex issues”.

Mahesh is ranked in Chambers Asia-Pacific and Chambers Global 2026 for Dispute Resolution: Litigation, Dispute Resolution: Arbitration, Construction, and India (International Firms – Expertise Based Abroad). The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2026 recommends him in five practice areas: Dispute Resolution, International Arbitration, Construction, Projects & Energy, and White-Collar Crime. He is recognised as a Litigation Star for Construction by Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific 2026 and as a Thought Leader for Arbitration by Lexology Index 2026.

He has been named as one of Asia's Super 50 Disputes Lawyers by Asian Legal Business (ALB) from 2021 to 2024 and was awarded Young Lawyer of the Year at the ALB SE Asia Law Awards in 2019.

In 2021, Mahesh was awarded the Joseph Grimberg Outstanding Young Advocate Award, conferred by the Singapore Academy of Law in recognition of exceptional advocacy, professional excellence and ethical standards at the Singapore Bar.

Mahesh graduated from the National University of Singapore as a Shaw Foundation Scholar and holds an LL.M. in International Arbitration & Litigation from University College London, where he represented the United Kingdom as an oralist in the UCL team that was runner-up in the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition.

For his pro bono work in expanding access to justice, Mahesh was named one of Asia-Pacific’s Innovative Lawyers at the Financial Times Innovative Lawyers Asia-Pacific Awards 2018 and was shortlisted for the 2018 IBA Outstanding Young Lawyer Award for his representation of accused persons facing the death penalty in Singapore and of civil-party victims before the UN Khmer Rouge Tribunal.

• LL.B. (Hons), National University of Singapore (2008), Shaw Foundation Scholar

• LL.M. International Arbitration & Litigation, University College London (2009)

• B.Sc. (1st Class Hons) Politics & International Relations, London School of Economics, External (2006)

• Advocate & Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Singapore (2011)

• Attorney-at-law of the state of New York (2011)

• Advocate, Dubai International Financial Centre

• Barrister of England & Wales (2025)

• International Panel of Arbitrators and Mediators, American Arbitration Association – International Centre for Dispute Resolution (AAA-ICDR)

• Insolvency Committee Liaison Officer, International Bar Association (IBA)

• Director, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators Singapore Branch

• Fellow, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators

• Fellow, Singapore Institute of Arbitrators

• Panel Arbitrator, Singapore International Arbitration Centre, Reserve Panel

• Arbitrator, Asian International Arbitration Centre Panel

• Panel of Arbitrators, Thailand Arbitration Centre (THAC)

• Panel of International Arbitrators, Korean Commercial Arbitration Board (KCAB)

• Panel of Arbitrators, Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC)

• Legal Practitioner, Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Courts

• Assessor, Panel of Assessors for COVID-19 Temporary Relief, Ministry of Law

• Accredited Specialist (Building and Construction), Singapore Academy of Law

• Chairman, CIArb Young Members Group

• Member, Law Society of Singapore

• Member, Singapore Academy of Law