Christian Teo > Oon & Bazul LLP > Singapore, Singapore > Lawyer Profile

Christian Teo

Work Department

Litigation & Dispute Resolution, International Arbitration, International Trade, Shipping, Employment

Position

Partner, Litigation & Dispute Resolution 

 

Career

Christian is a Partner in the Litigation & Dispute Resolution team at Oon & Bazul. 

Christian focuses his practice primarily in the areas of commercial and international disputes. Advising clients from diverse jurisdictions around the world, his experience extends to all aspects of commercial disputes, including shareholders’ disputes, directors’ duties, fraud, debt enforcement, commodities, shipping and insolvency litigation. He is recognised as an Accredited Specialist in Maritime and Shipping Law by the Singapore Academy of Law. 

The clients he has worked with include state-owned companies, banks, listed companies and high net worth individuals. Given the international nature of his work, Christian has acted for parties in arbitrations governed under various rules, including SIAC, LCIA, LMAA, ICC, GAFTA, SCMA and AIAC. 

Christian is particularly adept at helping clients in managing crises. He has assisted oil traders in responding to the consequences of sanctions on their trades, parties resisting hostile takeovers and companies in dealing with errant employees embezzling funds on compact timelines. 

Christian also regularly assists companies and individuals in negotiating and drafting legal documentation – such as shareholders’ agreements, sale and purchase agreements, employment agreements and complex settlement agreements. 

He graduated with a Bachelor of Laws, magna cum laude, from Singapore Management University. He also holds a Bachelor of Social Science (Sociology), magna cum laude. 

During his time in university, he was awarded the top student in Legal Research and Writing, where he was also placed on the Dean’s List.  He won awards at several mooting competitions and represented his university in an international witness examination competition. He was admitted to the Singapore Bar in 2016. 

Notable Cases:

• Acting for the Korean developer of a large-scale offshore wind project farm in relation to capacity reservation agreements with its transport contractor relating to fees of approximately USD 17 million. 

• Acting for a Dubai-based oil trader in obtaining an anti-arbitration injunction and resisting an anti-anti-suit injunction in a claim for bailment relating to cargo worth over USD 40 million. 

• Acting for Russian-owned shipowners in charterparty disputes for unpaid hire in excess of USD 50 million. 

• Acted for oil traders, as interveners, in several misdelivery claims brought by international banks. 

• Acted for a Chinese businessman in a claim for S$2 million for breaches of an oral contract and fraud.

• Acted for a Swiss bank in a claim against a listed trading company related to cargo worth USD 19 million. 

• Acted for a commodities trader in claims brought by banks on Letters of Credit and Warranties of Title in relation to cargoes with an aggregate value of over USD 150 million. 

• Acted for a director and shipping company in a claim against them for USD 11 million by a major fruit supplier on allegations of conspiracy, breaches of fiduciary duties, dishonest assistance and knowing receipt. 

• Acted for a Malaysian healthcare recruitment company in AIAC arbitration proceedings for breaches of representations and warranties in an acquisition with damages amounting to MYR 11 million. 

• Acted for a Japanese exporter in a claim for unpaid goods and services worth S$2 million where summary judgment was successfully obtained. 

• Acted for a Malaysian foreign exchange trader in a claim by a local brokerage for losses on a trading account amounting to around S$400,000, with a counterclaim of over S$1million. 

• Advising an SGX-listed company’s newly opened commodities trading subsidiary on its operations. 

• Acted for foreign individuals in a claim arising out of cryptocurrency scam worth over USD 700,000. 

• Acted for a shareholder of a recruitment company with offices in China and Singapore in its application to convene an EGM with a waiver of quorum and to resist winding up proceedings. 

• Acted for liquidators in their claim against former directors amounting to S$7 million for breaches of fiduciary duties, undue preference and undervalue transactions. 

Languages

English, Mandarin

Memberships

Singapore Academy of Law

Accredited Specialist, Maritime and Shipping Law

Education

Bachelor of Laws, magna cum laude, Singapore Management University

Bachelor of Social Science (Sociology), magna cum laude, Singapore Management University