Singapore

RCLT Law Corporation (RCLT) is a conflicts-free law firm that has built a strong reputation specializing in dispute resolution. Established in 2019 by co-founders Remy Choo Zheng Xi and John Lo, the firm focuses on commercial, civil and criminal trial and appellate work at all levels of the Singapore Courts, as well as international and domestic arbitration. Unencumbered by institutional conflicts, RCLT prides itself on fearless advocacy, often representing clients against powerful institutions, major corporations and even state entities when necessary. The firm’s practice marries “Big Four” law firm pedigree with the agility of a boutique, led by a new generation of litigators who left established large firms to create a dynamic, independent outfit. In mid-2025, the firm rebranded from its original name (RCL Chambers) to RCLT Law Corporation as it expanded its leadership and scope, adding former senior state prosecutor Navin Thevar as a director and launching a corporate practice under Valmiki Nair. Despite this broadening of services, RCLT remains best known for its dispute resolution prowess, providing clients with first-rate expertise in areas such as fraud and asset recovery, international arbitration and enforcement, company and trust litigation, and financial crime and investigations. 

Commercial and financial disputes lie at the heart of RCLT’s practice. The firm regularly handles complex, high-value cases in the High Court and Court of Appeal, achieving significant results for both corporate and private clients. In one standout victory, a team led by Choo secured a High Court judgment after a full trial on behalf of a Singapore investment firm. The decision not only awarded RCLT’s client the full sum claimed with interest, but also clarified an important point of evidence law: the judge held that even where a written contract exists, an oral condition precedent can be proven by extrinsic evidence, carving out an exception to the usual parol evidence rule.  

The firm also excels in multi-faceted shareholder and equity disputes. Its lawyers have successfully guided shareholders through contentious buyouts and minority oppression claims, often resolving these delicate matters via creative settlement structures or, when needed, by obtaining favourable court orders. For example, RCLT recently represented majority shareholders in a drawn-out family business conflict that spanned multiple lawsuits, culminating in a Court of Appeal ruling that dismissed the opposing party’s dilatory applications as an abuse of process, allowing RCLT’s clients to enforce their rights at long last. This outcome reinforced the courts’ intolerance for vexatious tactics. 

International arbitration is another key forte for RCLT, despite the firm’s compact size. Its lawyers have acted as counsel in major arbitrations under SIAC, ICC and even ICSID rules, representing clients from Asia, the Middle East, Europe and beyond. Recent examples include advising on a US$15 million SIAC arbitration over a real estate fund joint venture involving Middle Eastern investors, and a US$14 million SIAC case concerning a complex technology implementation dispute between an Indonesian manufacturer and an Indian IT consultancy. The firm’s partners are adept at managing international disputes that straddle multiple legal systems. They have, for instance, handled a cutting-edge IP and cryptocurrency arbitration between a Chinese publicly listed tech company and a Belarus-based digital asset firm, and are currently representing a Singaporean investor in a high-profile investor–state arbitration against the People’s Republic of China for the expropriation of high-value property assets. The latter is an extremely rare investor–state case, being heard under the World Bank’s ICSID rules.  

The firm’s criminal and regulatory defence practice regularly advises corporations, executives, and public figures entangled in white-collar investigations or facing criminal charges. With Thevar’s experience in high-profile financial crime and regulatory matters, RCLT has quickly become a sought-after adviser for cases involving fraud, corruption, securities offences, and corporate misconduct. In a recent trend-setting High Court case, RCLT’s team defended a foreign construction company’s Singapore branch that was prosecuted under anti-graft laws for an employee’s bribe-taking. The company was ultimately acquitted on appeal, with the High Court declining to attribute the rogue employee’s guilt to the company due to a lack of evidence that top management was aware of the corruption. This ruling clarified the standard for corporate criminal liability in Singapore by affirming that firms are not automatically responsible for an individual worker’s crimes unless the wrongdoing can be tied to the “directing mind and will” of senior management. The decision has provided much-needed assurance to businesses about the limits of their liability for staff misconduct. 

RCLT’s lawyers are also known for their willingness to champion public interest litigation, bringing cases that test constitutional principles and hold public authorities to account. The firm has been involved in several of Singapore’s most significant public law cases over the past decade. A recent example was its representation of one of the appellants challenging the constitutionality of the colonial-era criminal ban on consensual gay sex under Section 377A of the Penal Code. In a 2022 judgment by a rare five-judge Court of Appeal, RCLT’s client achieved a partial victory with the court formally holding that Section 377A was “unenforceable” as a result of government policy and acknowledging, for the first time, the doctrine of substantive legitimate expectations in Singapore law. Although Parliament went on to repeal Section 377A in 2023, the Court of Appeal’s statements, secured through RCLT’s advocacy, were a historic step in Singapore’s LGBTQ+ rights discourse and constitutional development.  

RCLT’s dedication to causes of public importance is further evidenced by its role in other landmark cases. For instance, its lawyers acted for the complainant in disciplinary proceedings against two public prosecutors implicated in the high-profile Parti Liyani domestic worker case, a matter which resulted in formal findings of misconduct against the prosecutors. The firm has also defended activists and journalists in constitutional and contempt of court cases, including representing the social worker and free-speech advocate Jolovan Wham in the first prosecution under Singapore’s new contempt law, where they challenged the law’s constitutionality before a five-judge apex court.