Suganthi Singam

Practice Areas

Immigration

Employment & Industrial Relations

Career

Suganthi is a Partner in Messrs Shearn Delamore & Co specialising in employment and immigration areas in both contentious and non-contentious matters. She is engaged in trial and appellate advocacy at all levels of the Malaysian courts. Suganthi graduated from the University of Manchester in 1994 and after her admission to the Malaysian Bar in 1996, she went on to pursue her Masters of Law from the University of Malaya whilst practising in Messrs Shearn Delamore & Co.

For newly incorporated companies and foreign investments in Malaysia, she advises on the drafting of employment agreements, policies and handbooks as well as the entry requirements for ex patriates and corresponding legal requirements. She also trains employers to manage misconduct issues and poor performance in employees, advises on issues relating to employee stock option schemes, share awards, prepares panel members for domestic inquiries and trains personnel on how to conduct domestic inquiries.

For corporate acquisitions and mergers, Suganthi provides strategic guidance in dealing with the employment and related immigration issues that arise. She provides legal counsel in relation to business acquisitions, employment permits, long term social visit passes entry requirements, reorganisations, and voluntary and mutual separation schemes, harmonisation of employment terms and retention of key management. In relation to workplace risk management and safety, she provides legal advice on occupational health and safety issues as well as sexual harassment policies and procedures. She also handles trade union recognition.

Professional Memberships

• Vice Chair, Human Resources Group WLG

• Member, American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA)

• Member, Malaysian Bar

• Member, International Bar Association (IBA)

• Member, World Law Group (WLG)

Publications

• Law and Practice of Employment Law in Malaysia – Sweet and Maxwell, 2021 and 2022 [contributor]

• Virtual Round Table Labour & Employment Law 2021 – How Has the Covid-19 Pandemic Impacted the Labour and Employment Landscape in Malaysia – Corporate LiveWire, February 2021

• The Annotated Statutes of Malaysia 2020 Issue 179 – Lexis Nexis, 2020 [co-author]

• A Paradigm Shift Redefining the Employment Landscape – CLJ, 2020 [co-author]

• Surviving Covid – 19 Redefining the Employment Landscape – Corporate LiveWire, April 2020

• Rise of Mental Health Related Illnesses The Aftermath Covid-19 – Corporate LiveWire, June 2020

• Managing Mental Related Illness in Employment (Institute of Labour Market Information & Analysis – ILMIA, 2017

• Malaysia – A Promise Made Good? – GMS Digest, 2016 [co-author]

• Malaysian Chapter for Global Mobility: An Overview for Human Resource Professionals – LawQuest, 2015 (3rd edition)