Felicia Tan

“Learn from, not live in, the past.  Face the problem, take the bull by the horns, embrace the next challenge.”

Felicia Tan

LL.B. (HONS) (LSE)
PARTNER

NEXT PROFILE

Felicia is an experienced advocate who specialises in dispute resolution, with a particular focus in commercial, employment and insolvency disputes. Prior to joining TSMP, she spent several years in the dispute resolution department of one of the big four firms, before moving on to head up the China practice at another firm where she represented clients across industry sectors on a full range of legal issues and high-level cases.

From Felicia’s dispute resolution background, her clients have come to expect nothing but direct, comprehensive and commercially savvy advice, especially since she also spent years as a senior in-house counsel at the Jurong Town Corporation where she had a diverse portfolio advising senior management on projects spanning the divestment of multi-million dollar properties, construction and infrastructure disputes, regulatory compliance and collaborations with other government agencies.

It comes as no surprise that in her work Felicia frequently juxtaposes novel arguments with a firm grasp of convention and first principles. A passionate fan of both modern and traditional cultures, Felicia is trained in the form of chess known to the Chinese as Wei Qi 围棋, and the Latin salsa dance, while she also enjoys playing the musical instrument Er Hu 二胡 and online competitive battle gaming. Felicia writes and speaks fluent English and Mandarin (including the Hokkien and Cantonese dialects).

“Very committed to the client and responsive. Has a good team with other senior lawyers.”

— Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific

“Good communication and commercially astute.”

— Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific

“Exceptional service rendered with dedication. Able to navigate complex compliance issues to maintain our operating licence.”

— Mr Tan Siang Hee, Executive Director, CropLife Asia

“We have worked with Felicia on the protection of a competitor’s data, employment laws, an M&A job and other matters. Her advice was clear and her responses, fast. She has been always energetic and candid. We enjoy working with her, and have also introduced her to some of our associates.”

— Mr Koh Ching Hong, then-Regional Managing Director, Intertek Group PLC

“It has been a great experience working with Felicia. Her confidence, her ability to breakdown complex legal issues to simple, clear and straightforward explanation, as well as her responsiveness, tenacity and dedication give you assurance that you are in good hands.”

— Ms Ondi Nababan, Country Legal & Integrity Officer – Singapore, ABB Group

ACCOLADES

Future Star (Insolvency), Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific, 2023
Recommended Lawyer (Restructuring and Insolvency), The Legal 500 Asia Pacific, 2020-2023
Rising Star Partner (Restructuring & Insolvency), IFLR1000, 2022

NOTABLE BRIEFS

Successfully represented primary shareholder in dispute with founding shareholders of famous Indian matchmaking portal shaadi.com, and obtained permanent anti-suit injunction in favour of primary shareholder. Westbridge Ventures II Investment Holdings v Anupam Mittal [2021] SGHC 244 is a landmark case in the Commonwealth as the first reported judgment confirming what law is applicable to govern subject matter arbitrability at the pre-award stage. This case was an Impact Case Winner in the Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific 2023 Awards.
Lead Counsel in a landmark case before the Court of Appeal in which the CA was invited to consider how the fundamental rules of insolvency interact (and should continue to interact) with the century old practices of the shipping industry. This case was raised in Parliament and specific amendments to the Companies Act were attributed to this.
Successfully represented local businessman in shareholder dispute involving claims of breach of shareholders’ agreement over a company whose main asset is its F&B business at the Marina Bay Sands, Singapore.
Successfully represented global brands in intellectual property infringement matters against local entities.
Successfully defended local university against claim for defamation and other employment claims.
Successfully defended statutory board against judicial review applications at both the Singapore High Court and Court of Appeal levels.
Successfully defended statutory board against injunction, breach of lease agreement and misrepresentation claims where the claimed damage was approximately SGD one billion.
Successfully defended a statutory board against a reputable international contractor’s complex multi-million dollar arbitration claims for liquidated damages, unforeseen physical conditions and other variation costs in relation to several infrastructure contracts.
Successfully defended one of Singapore’s leading power generation companies and key provider of energy solutions in a complex arbitration against another major oil and gas company over a multi-tiered gas supply agreement.

APPOINTMENTS

Executive Committee Member, The Law Society of Singapore (2018 – present)
Council Member, The Law Society of Singapore (2016 – present)
Co-Chairwoman, Women in Practice Task Force/Committee, The Law Society of Singapore (2018 – present)
Co-Chairperson, Civil Practice Committee, The Law Society of Singapore (2020–present)
Vice-Chairperson, Civil Practice Committee, The Law Society of Singapore (2017 – 2019)
Member, Civil Practice Committee, The Law Society of Singapore (2014 – 2016)
Member, Criminal Legal Aid Scheme (CLAS) Committee, The Law Society of Singapore (2015 – present)
Member, Law Awareness Committee, The Law Society of Singapore (2011 – 2015)
Member, Singapore Academy of Law (2007 – present)
Member, Singapore Corporate Counsel Association (2016-2017)
Member, Singapore International Chamber of Commerce (2016-2018)
Member, Singapore Business and Professional Women’s Association (2018 – present)
Member, Finance Committee, The Law Society of Singapore (2020–present)
Member, ASEAN Law Association (2018–present)