Dijen Lea De Saram

Dijen Lea De Saram is our exclusively recommended Dispute Resolution expert in Sri Lanka on the Advisory Excellence website. If you need assistance in this area, please contact Dijen directly using the contact details listed above.

D.L. & F. De Saram is one of the oldest law firms in Sri Lanka, founded in 1898 by Richard Francis De Saram, and carried on in partnership by his sons, Douglas and Fred De Saram. This tradition has endured without interruption well into the 20th century when Fred De Saram’s four sons, Colonel F.C. De Saram, F.J. “Coo” De Saram, Robert De Saram and Maurice De Saram, and a nephew, Clifford Trevor De Saram, guided the fortunes of the firm. Interestingly, the tradition is kept alive by the present partners, Michael Sproule and Dijen De Saram, grandsons of Fred De Saram, and Savantha De Saram and Prabash De Saram, his great grandsons. De Saram’s is one of the largest full service law firms in Sri Lanka, which, while taking great pride in its rich heritage is, in these rapidly changing times, not anchored by its traditions.

With the globalization of the world’s economy, trade and communications have become truly international, and the legal needs of our global clients change on a daily basis at lightning speeds. Our team of partners and associates keep constantly on top of these changes as they apply to the Sri Lankan legal framework. We are confident that we are in a unique position to meet the needs of our clients, individual and corporate, domestic and international.

The firm has been consistently ranked as a top-tier legal firm by IFLR 1000,The Legal 500, Chambers Global and Chambers Asia Pacific. We provide cross border legal services to major international firms in, inter alia, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, China, Singapore, Hong Kong, India, Europe and Australia.

Our highly qualified, versatile and experienced legal team specialises in infrastructure project development (including ports, power and energy, highways, etc.), with emphasis on PPPs and cross border financing. We acted as local counsel to the US $ 1.5 billion Port City Project, the largest infrastructure project undertaken in Sri Lanka. The firm’s M & A team has been involved in three of the largest M & A transactions in Sri Lanka: the acquisition of Aviva NDB Insurance PLC by Aviva Company; the merger of the Lafarge and Holcim entities in Sri Lanka pursuant to the global merger of these entities; and the sale by Lafarge Holcim of its shares in Holcim Lanka Limited. We also advised on antitrust implications of the Lafarge and Holcim merger under Sri Lankan law. Our M & A team advised GE Transportation on its recent purchase of supply chain software provider ShipXpress in Sri Lanka.

Our Compliance and Employment team advises International Financial Services firms and multinational companies on various aspects of Sri Lankan labour laws, including the preparation of labour contracts, collective agreements, employment and compliance guides and notebooks; we also undertake compliance audits.

The firm has considerable experience in advising clients on Sri Lankan anti-bribery and corruption laws, and assisting as Sri Lankan counsel in Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (FCPA) investigations. We also have extensive involvement in cross border banking and finance transactions. We recently advised multinational banks and financial institutions on financing transactions in Sri Lanka, with particular emphasis on Sri Lankan exchange control laws and their implication on cross border financing, including structuring transactions within currency regulations.

The firm undertakes company incorporations, including Board of Investment of Sri Lanka approved incorporations, and assists in the establishment of branch, liaison and representative offices. Through our subsidiary, Corporate Advisory Services Pvt. Ltd., we provide the full gamut of company secretarial services to over 500 domestic companies, many of which are listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange.