Tan Chau Yee

Tan Chau Yee is a Consultant and Co-Head of the Firm’s Construction and Engineering Practice Group at Harry Elias Partnership, focusing on Construction Law. His main areas of practice are commercial and contractual cases, with particular emphasis in construction disputes, general civil litigation, shipping and employment law.

He has extensive experience in construction law covering both contentious work and front-end work for engineering, construction and infrastructure projects. He has also been involved in the drafting and review of construction contracts, construction management contracts, trade contracts, supply contracts, work orders, service agreements and consultancy agreements for residential, commercial and industrial projects.

He has advised major developers in construction disputes as well as court applications and arbitration proceedings ancillary to and in connection with property development projects, and was lead counsel in several High Court and Court of Appeal cases, arbitration, mediation and adjudication cases. Chau Yee and his team have advised on some of Singapore’s ‘Firsts’, such as Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort, the first integrated resort in Singapore, and Singapore Flyer Pte Ltd, the first and largest giant observation wheel in Singapore.

He has also advised on shipping-related arbitration, ship arrest, cargo claims and other shipping matters, with particular emphasis for foreign litigants in arbitrations and suits in Singapore. In addition, he has extensive corporate work experience and is company secretary of various companies incorporated in Singapore, including subsidiaries of multi-national corporations involved in energy, oilfield and infrastructure projects, and has been involved in and advised on joint venture, acquisition and divestment projects.

Chau Yee is a “Ranked Practitioner” for Construction Law by Best Lawyers Singapore (2024–2027), a “Litigation Star” for Construction by Benchmark Litigation Asia Pacific (2022–2026), and “Highly Regarded” for Project Development by IFLR1000 Asia Pacific (2024–2025). He holds an LLB (Hons) from the National University of Singapore and a CDipAF from ACCA, and is a Fellow of the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators.