Oommen Mathew

Oommen is an immensely experienced and established counsel who has been in both arbitration and litigation practice for more than 30 years. Oommen started his career in 1992 in the biggest law firm in Singapore. After his Master's programme in Cambridge University (1993-1994), Oommen did short stints in Clifford Chance, London and the then- 3 Grays Inn Place (presently 3 Verulam Place) Chambers before returning to practise in Singapore in 1994 and continuing his litigation and arbitration practice in 2 boutique local firms till 2009. In 2009, Oommen switched his focus to full-time international arbitration when he joined the international firm of Eversheds LLP where he was Managing Director from 2013 till 2017 before moving on to head the Singapore office of another UK-based international law firm until 2020. In 2020 he commenced practice in his boutique firm, Omni Law LLC.

Oommen was a core member of an International Arbitration Group practice of an international firm which had been ranked in the top 15 arbitration practices in the world by Global Arbitration Review (“GAR”). Oommen has been described as “helming an arbitration practice par excellence”, “knowledgeable with the ability to reassure the client” (Chambers 2014), as a “good clear advocate” (Chambers 2015), “accurate in assessment and displaying good tactical awareness” (Chambers 2017) and “well regarded for his broad commercial arbitration practice” (Chambers 2018). He has been noted to "[have] the ability to transcend borders and deal with clients from different cultures and backgrounds effectively, and his strategic acumen is first-rate". He has also been consistently cited and ranked in Chambers from 2012.

Oommen has been known for his big-picture view of problems. He takes practical viewpoints and is able to offer solutions and a way forward. He has been handling cases ranging from corporate and shareholder disputes, trust issues, insolvency, property, commercial disputes, sale of goods, upstream and downstream oil and gas to renewable energy cases. Combining Big Law experience with international firm exposure, Oommen beings a unique blend of top tier work experience, trial and appellate background with boutique firm rates.

In addition, Oommen has also started accepting nominations as sole as well party appointed arbitrator. He is called upon to act in commercial and corporate disputes and is well placed to handle these with his vast and varied experience in such dispute work. Outside of his arbitration and litigation experience, he has been a member of the Strata Titles Board since 2008 and in 2020 was appointed Deputy President of the STB by the Minister for National Development. In 2023, in recognition of his services, Oommen was awarded the Pingat Bakti Masyarakat (PBM) as part of the National Day Awards by the state.