Cornerstone Law LLP (“the LLP”) was incorporated on 16 April 2009 and commenced practice on 1 May 2009. The LLP is a boutique practice comprising of 5 senior lawyers who bring their respective wealth of experience and expertise to the LLP.
The LLP has won several awards since 2015 from Global Law Experts, Corporate International, ACQ Global Awards for inter alia the Boutique Banking & Financial Services Law Firm of the Year and Property Law Firm of the Year. The LLP has received notification in February 2020 from Global Law Experts that it has won awards for “Banking & Finance Law Firm of the Year in Singapore- 2020” and “Property Law Firm of the Year in Singapore 2020”. Also, the LLP has received an invitation from Advisory Excellence in January 2020 to join them as its recommended Banking & Finance Law expert in Singapore.
2 Partners: (i) Ms Grace Kwek Joo Lee; (ii) Mr Paul Tan Tzu Kwang; and
3 Consultants: (i) Mr Chandran s/o S Ayathurai; (ii) Mr Suresh Gupta; and (iii) Ms Tian Geok Peng.
The LLP offers a complete range of legal services, including banking , conveyancing including fractional sales and purchases and decoupling matters, civil and commercial litigation, company, corporate, family law including matrimonial matters, business relocation and immigration, employment law, insurance, wills, trust and estate matters etc.
The Lawyers:
Ms Grace Kwek Joo Lee (“Grace Kwek”) (Partner) : LL.B. (Hons) Singapore Advocate & Solicitor, Commissioner for Oaths & Notary Public
Grace Kwek was called to the Singapore Bar in 1982. She has been in practice now for 38 years. She was a Legal Assistant with M/s Teoh & Co for about six years and practised as a sole-proprietor under the name and style of M/s Grace Kwek & Company from 1988 – 1991.
She then merged her practice with Messrs Ong Tan & Nair in October 1991 to form Messrs Ong Tan Nair & Kwek.
On 1 May 1996, she started the LLP, Chan Kwek & Chong together with two other partners, Mr Chan Weng Kee and Mr Patrick Chong and on 30 September 2007, she dissolved the partnership and joined Colin Ng & Partners LLP as a Consultant. On 1 May 2009, she started the LLP together with Ms Donne Marie Aeria (who has since retired from the LLP on 31 March 2013) and the late Mr Balasingham Ganeshamoorthy (who had passed away on 20 May 2011).
Her main areas of practice are presently civil and commercial practice dealing particularly with conveyancing and corporate matters. Over her 38 years of practice, she has many clients including foreign clientele and has acted for her clients in their purchases, sales and financing of residential and/or commercial/industrial properties as well as for the many banks in Singapore in the Mortgages etc. She was also involved in the successful purchase of a hotel cum service apartment outside of Singapore in Phnom Penh. Her other areas of practice include banking, company, corporate, immigration matters and family matters. Grace Kwek continues to handle civil litigation but she handles mainly banking, conveyancing and corporate matters.
Mr Paul Tan Tzu Kwang (“Paul Tan”) (Partner) LL.B. (Hons) Singapore Advocate & Solicitor, Singapore, Commissioner for Oaths
Paul Tan joined the LLP as Partner on 21 July 2011. Prior to joining the LLP, he was practising as a Director of Samuel Seow Law Corporation and headed its Litigation and Dispute Resolution Practice Group and prior to Samuel Seow Law Corporation, he was practicing in M/s Colin Ng & Partners LLP as a salaried partner.
Paul Tan completed his solicitors’ traineeship in London and was admitted to the England and Wales’ solicitors’ rolls in October 1995. He was admitted to the Singapore Bar in February 1997.
Since then, Paul Tan has gained extensive experience in all levels of counts, arbitration and mediation in a diverse range of matters including banking, building construction dispute, company and commercial law, intellectual property law, employment law, matrimonial law, landlord and tenant disputes. Paul Tan is equally conversant with company law, conveyancing and banking work.
Some notable cases in which Paul Tan had been involved in the past are as follows:
(i) successfully represented a developer in a claim made by an encroachment party claiming that she had acquired title to a significant strip of land by adverse possession in the Court of Appeal; (ii) successfully set aside an Anton Piller order made against a software company for alleged copyright infringement in the High Court; (iii) successfully represented an elderly claimant for personal injuries resulting from an accident caused by a taxi-driver in the Subordinate Courts.
Paul Tan had advised and represented inter alia:
(i) subsidiary proprietors in their claims against the MCST and Managing Agent for breach of by-laws; (ii) a plumbing and sanitary sub-contractor in their multiple claims against several main contractors relating to various commercial projects; (iii) majority shareholders in an action commenced by minority shareholders for minority oppression under the Companies Act in the High Court; (iv) a multinational food products company in contentious winding up proceedings against a food catering company in the High Court; (v) clients in a High Court dispute on an alleged defect on title in relation to an immovable property in Thailand; (vi) a collective sale committee in a dispute involving two marketing consultants contesting a claim in respect of commission payable for a completed collective sale etc.
As part of his efforts at social outreach, Paul Tan also volunteers frequently at the Pro-Bono Community Legal Clinics organized by the Law Society of Singapore.
Mr Chandran s/o S Ayathurai (“Chandran”) (Consultant) LL.B. (Hons) Singapore Advocate & Solicitor, Singapore
Chandran graduated with a LLB (Hons) Degree from the University of Singapore in 1975 and was admitted as an Advocate & Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Singapore on 28 January 1976.
Prior Work Experience:
- 1976 to 1981 – Legal Assistant at Allen & Gledhill in the Real Estate Department.
- 1982 to 1998 – Partner at Allen & Gledhill in the Real Estate Department.
- September 1999 to – Legal Consultant at Allen & Gledhill. January 2000
- January 2000 to – Associate Director at Yeo-Leong & Peh LLC in the Property August 2001 Department.
- October 2001 to – Partner at B T Tan & Co. 14 September 2011
- 15 September 2011 to – Subra TT. LLC. 3 June 2013
Chandran has been practising as a property and conveyancing lawyer for the past 44 years. He has been acting for individuals and corporate clients in the sale and purchase of residential properties, HDB and JTC commercial and industrial properties. He had also acted for clients in mortgagee’s sales, auction sales, sales by tender and en-bloc sales.
Chandran had also acted for licensed and unlicensed housing developers for sales of residential properties under the Housing Developers Act and commercial building projects under the Sale of Commercial Properties Act involving submitting applications to the controller of Housing and obtaining the Housing Developers’ licences, preparation of Options to Purchase, Sale and Purchase Agreement and ancillary documents pertinent to the residential and commercial properties. Some of the properties handled by him were Rocca Balestier (56 units) and Mataban (46 units) being mixed developments. While he was at YeoLeong & Peh LLC sometime around June 2008 to April 2009, he handled housing projects of Keppel Group i.e. Reflections at Keppel Bay and other projects.
He has also acted for several banks: OCBC, SCB, UOB, HSBC, CIMB, RHB and finance companies: Singapura Finance, Hong Leong Finance in respect of Mortgages, Debentures and other security documents. Between 1985 to 1986, Chandran was a consultant/tutor for Conveyancing Practice, a Practical Law Course conducted by the Board of Legal Education for Law Graduates and in 1998, Chandran was awarded “Service to Education Award” by the Ministry of Education for serving as a Member of the Advisory Committee of Siglap Secondary School for 18 years.
Mr Suresh Gupta (“Suresh Gupta”) (Consultant) LL.B. (Hons) Singapore Advocate & Solicitor, Singapore
Suresh Gupta graduated from the University of Singapore in 1976 with LLB (Hons). While in Law School, Suresh Gupta was one of 3 law students, who represented the Law Faculty in 1975 at the Philip C Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition held in Washington D.C., U.S.A. 2. Suresh Gupta was also admitted in Western Australian Bar.
After graduation, Suresh Gupta underwent his pupillage at the LLP of M/s Lee & Lee and after being admitted as an Advocate & Solicitor commenced his legal career as a Legal Assistant at M/s Lee & Lee. From 1979 till September 1992, Suresh Gupta was a partner in the law LLPs of M/s Charles Tan & Gupta, M/s Gupta & Sam and M/s Gupta Sam & Wijaya and between October 1992 and September 2007 he was a Consultant initially in the law LLP of M/s Ong Tan Nair & Kwek and thereafter in the law LLP of M/s Chan Kwek & Chong. He joined Edmond Pereira & Partners as a Consultant in October 2007.
In his legal career spanning 44 years, Suresh Gupta has had wide experience over a broad spectrum of the law as an Advocate in civil litigation and a Solicitor rendering legal advice to clients and performing solicitor’s work. Areas of law in which Suresh Gupta is conversant and familiar with include the law relating to commercial transactions, corporate law, banking law, law of tort, conveyancing and property law, law relating to land titles strata matters, wills, bankruptcy and winding-up matters and matrimonial matters.
During his legal career Suresh Gupta has appeared before the Select Committee of Parliament in 1986 after he made written representations regarding proposed amendments to the Land Title (Strata) Act. He has also been a tutor with the Board of Legal Education.
Ms Tian Geok Peng (“Tian Geok Peng”) (Consultant) LLB (Hons) Singapore Advocate & Solicitor, Singapore
Tian Geok Peng graduated from the University of Singapore with an LL.B (Hons) in 1988 and was admitted to the Singapore Bar in 1989. Tian Geok Peng started her practice as a legal assistant with several law LLPs. She was with Colin Ng & Partners as their partner and assisted in overseeing the conveyancing department. She left Colin Ng & Partners in early 2009 to join Engelin Teh LLC and thereafter to PKWA Law Practice LLC.
Tian Geok Peng’s property practice involves the full range of conveyancing transactions including acting for the Central Provident Board, local and foreign banks, finance companies, individual vendors and purchasers in retails loans.
Her corporate loan experience includes acting for developers in the purchase of land for redevelopment, applying for housing developer’s licences and sale of its developments, advising on land and construction loans involving both industrial and residential property and all accompanying security documentation, acting for corporate clients in reviewing and advising on leases of residential and commercial units, including Housing and Development Board (HDB) and Jurong Town Council (JTC) leases, supplemental agreements, variations of leases etc.
Her real estate-related experience includes acting for the landlord in the leasing of office and commercial units in and acting for owners in their en-bloc/collective sale of the developments.
The LLP’s Clients:
Throughout the respective Partners’ and the Consultants’ years of practice and experience, they have developed a good clientele ranging from foreign, local banks and financial institutions to private companies and individuals.
If you should have any queries whatsoever, please do not hesitate to contact Ms Grace Kwek (6499 0632), Tel 96366058, email: [email protected], who will gladly assist.
Thank you.
Grace Kwek Partner