Alvin TAN is a Consultant with the Firm with more than 30 years’ experience of practice in civil and commercial litigation with an emphasis on corporate and shareholder disputes. He has conducted numerous trials and appellate hearings in the Supreme Court as lead counsel, several of which have resulted in notable reported judgments.

Alvin was lead counsel for Mr Alan Yeo and certain members of the Yeo Hiap Seng family in successfully winding up the Yeo family holding company which held shares of the public listed company, Yeo Hiap Seng Limited in 1994. This was one of the first cases involving minority oppression issues in a family dispute over a company selling well-known Singapore beverages. The case was widely reported in the media at the time.

Alvin also acted as counsel in Vita Health Laboratories Pte Ltd and Others v Pang Seng Meng [2004] 4 SLR(R) 162 in a long and complex case where he represented a director resisting allegations of breaches of fiduciary duties in relation to a regional group of companies within the stable of an Australian public listed company. The case is now widely studied for important propositions of law on the common law duties owed by a company director. Alvin was complimented by the Court in the following terms: “Mr Tan displayed admirable diligence in single handedly dealing with the factual complexities and multitudinous documents that emerged in these proceedings. He presented the defence with commendable clarity.”

Another notable shareholder dispute in which Alvin successfully acted for the minority shareholder was Lim Chee Twang v Chan Shuk Kuen Helina [2010] 2 SLR 209. The Court eventually ordered  the purchase of shares of a number of companies within a group. This included companies incorporated in foreign jurisdictions and was the first known of order of such a nature, given that the jurisdiction of the Courts is normally limited to locally incorporated companies. The Court complimented Alvin’s cross examination of the witness in the following terms: “Ms Chan was very upset and broke down in tears a number of times during cross examination.  Two things need to be said at this juncture.  First Mr Tan was very courteous, while still pushing hard, in his cross examination of Ms Chan.  He exhibited the best traditions of the Bar in pushing his client’s case hard but without discourtesy to Ms Chan.”

Outside of the law, Alvin is an avid traveller. He once took a 3-year sabbatical to pursue this passion.