Mr Ian de Vaz > WongPartnership LLP > Singapore, Singapore > Lawyer Profile

Mr Ian de Vaz

+65 6416 8128 ian.devaz@wongpartnership.com View profile

Work Department

Litigation & Dispute Resolution Group; International Arbitration Practice; Infrastructure, Construction & Engineering Practice; Middle East Practice.

Position

Head –  Infrastructure, Construction & Engineering Practice;
Partner – International Arbitration and Middle East Practices.

Career

Ian has a diverse practice in construction and civil engineering work, spanning both front-end matters and dispute resolution work.

Work Highlights

• Raffles Education Corporation Limited for the proposed disposal of the group’s entire stake in Langfang Development Zone Oriental University City Sino-Singapore Education Investment Co., Ltd.
• Surbana International Consultants Holdings Pte. Ltd., an international urbanisation consultant, in its acquisition of Sinosun Architects & Engineering Co. Ltd., a PRC-based multi-disciplinary local design institute.
• Hebei Oriental Zhuyun Property Development Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Raffles Education Corporation Limited, in the divestment of four land parcels in the Langfang Development Zone, Hebei Province, PRC, to Langfang Fenghe International Golf Club Co., Ltd. for a total consideration of RMB1.047 billion.
• Singapore-Sichuan Investment Holdings Pte. Ltd. in its development of Singapore-Sichuan Hi-Tech Innovation Park located in the Chengdu Hi-Tech Zone’s south park within the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Zone in the PRC with a total estimated investment of RMB20 billion.
• Keppel Telecommunications & Transport Ltd. in a joint venture agreement with the Jilin City government to jointly develop and operate the Sino-Singapore Jilin Food Zone International Logistics Park to serve the Sino-Singapore Jilin Food Zone.
• Optima Investment & Development Pte. Ltd. to develop a residential project in the Sino-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City located in Guangzhou, PRC (a landmark project with support from the Guangdong and Singapore governments).

Awards & Accolades

Since 2013, Ian has been recognised as a leading Energy practitioner by Best Lawyers. In Best Lawyers 2022, Ian was named “Lawyer of the Year” for Construction Law in Singapore – an award conferred on only a single lawyer in each practice area and jurisdiction.

In Chambers Global – The World’s Leading Lawyers for Business and Chambers Asia-Pacific – Asia-Pacific’s Leading Lawyers for Business, Ian has been described as “one of the leading figure[s]”, an “engineering expert”, “known for acting on both contentious and non-contentious mandates” and one whom interviewees have described as “meticulous, concise and helpfully insightful”, “very good and very experienced” and who “consistently deliver[s] good work”.

In Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific 2021, Ian is ranked as a “Litigation Star” for construction practice in Singapore.

In asialaw Profiles 2022, Ian is recognised as a “distinguished practitioner” in the construction field and he has been touted for his “excellent reputation for EPC” by The Legal 500: Asia Pacific – The Client’s Guide to the Asia Pacific Legal Profession.

Outside the region, Ian is recommended in The Legal 500: Europe, Middle East & Africa 2014 for construction work in the United Arab Emirates.

Publications

• Contributing Editor, Law and Practice of Construction Contracts (5th edition, 2018)
• Contributing Editor, Singapore Journal of Construction Law (2016-2019)
• Contributor, Security of Payments and Construction Adjudication (2nd edition, 2012)
• Contributor, Building and Construction volume of Halsbury’s Laws of Singapore (2019 reissue)
• Contributor, Singapore Precedents of Pleadings (2006 & 2015 editions)

Languages

English, Mandarin.

Memberships

Adjudicator, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators; Senior Adjudicator, Building & Construction Industry Security of Payment Act (Cap 30B, Rev Ed 2006); Member, Society of Construction Law (Singapore); Committee, Building & Construction Law Committee, Law Society of Singapore; Practitioner-Representative, International Statutory Adjudication Expert Committee; Adjunct Professor, National University of Singapore.

Education

Admitted to Singapore Bar, 1996; Admitted to Roll of Solicitors of England & Wales, 2009; Senior Adjudicator, Singapore Mediation Centre, 2021; University College London (LL.M.).; National University of Singapore (LL.B., Hons.).

Leisure

Football, fishing and cooking.